“You’re not afraid?” Destroyer asked
“I am very much afraid, but I sense no killing instinct from you.” Jerome replied
“I could kill you here, right now.” Destroyer said
He walked past Jerome and looked at Omnipotent Vision, who was frozen in time.
"A friend of yours?" He asked
"Probably" Jerome replied
"She did help me get back up, but I'm not too sure if I can trust her." he continued
"I see" Destroyer said
He continued walking until he passed by a corpse trapped under a brick wall.
“And you have Burning Eye too.” Destroyer said
“She was the enemy” Jerome replied
“Why are you here?” Jerome asked
“As you have seen, the war is nearing its conclusion. You were trapped in that false convenience store of yours with that insane fool you call boss. It was about time you went out into the world we’re currently living in” Destroyer said
Destroyer held unto Jerome’s shirt and propelled high into the air, entering a portal and exiting out to a building’s rooftop garden.
“This world has been abandoned by mankind” Destroyer said
“No, this world has forsaken mankind” Jerome said.
Destroyer raised his arms to the sky and slid it across an imaginary sphere.
“Phantom Room” Destroyer said
A dome appeared above them, blocking out the sun and the outside world.
“This dome will keep our talks private. It’ll also allow us to project whatever is in our mind unto these walls.” Destroyer said as he slid his hand across the walls.
“Why are you doing this?” Jerome asked
“The war is about to be over, and you are at the top. If I kill you here, I’ll end up as the number 1 breaker.” He continued
“You’ve suddenly become braver, Jerome.” Destroyer said
His red seal emerged from his body. The atmosphere within the dome gradually became heavier.
Jerome stared as his seal slowly formed itself beneath his clothing. His feet refused to move, and the air felt heavier, but he has no reason to stand down anymore. The death of the convenience store owner placed an end to the false life he has been living. He was ready to embrace death should it come flying towards him.
Destroyer stared into Jerome’s eyes and saw that the pupils within flickered.
Jerome soon started to notice that his hands were uncontrollably shaking. Even if he knew that all breakers could be defeated, being in the presence of Destroyer’s seal was more than enough to disengage him from his train of thought. One slip and he’ll die, just like every other battle between breakers. A single mistake can cause the life of a breaker, no matter how experienced they are. Destroyer can easily be slain here, but he knows well from the seal alone, that he would fall first before landing a single strike.
Destroyer stood up and released his breath. The relaxation broke his stance. His seal turned black again, and his posture returned to its original form.
“There is no need to kill each other so hastily. I came to talk.” Destroyer said
“Talk about what?” Jerome said, as his own seal shuts down.
“The years that came, and the years to come.” Destroyer said
He looked into one of the many screens that levitated within the dome, and in an instant, a scene appeared, showing the chaos that occurred 3 years ago.
“Life today is empty. The structures we built lasted longer than the builders. The bridges we created lay in wastes as they could no longer let anything pass between them. We live in a city that has decayed in time. All because of that one disease.” Destroyer said
Jerome stared at the monitor. He saw people dying on the roads, on the alleys, in their homes, and wherever they stood.
“We are the few that’s left. We, who have somehow survived this cureless disease, adapted to it, added it into ourselves, and transformed it into our own powers. The system that beats along with out hearts was the disease that ate the hearts of countless others.” Destroyer continued
“All that information has already been passed around. Its nothing new.” Jerome said
“Why are we talking about this now?” he continued
“Its because of this new set of evidence I’ve found.” Destroyer said
“In a lab somewhere in the middle of the city, I stumbled upon equipment. It was last used three years ago.” He continued
“What significance does it add to the story of humanity’s destruction?” Jerome asked.
“Its proof of humanity’s scripted downfall.” Destroyer replied
Another screen flashed open. On it was a silhouette of a man holding two spheres; one was black, the other was white.
“I theorize that none of us is the breaker. The original breaker was a man who held both powers we base from: the power to create, and the power to destroy.” Destroyer said
“Our powers are different, but they are all based on one of those original powers. I have mastered the power of destruction, you have the power to create air. But recently, you were able to create an object you attempted to analyze.” He continued
“I can’t do it again. Perhaps it was just another one of Vision’s hidden powers.” Jerome said
“If it is, then you never would’ve learned Gominus Na in the first place. There is too much you do not know about your own ability.” Destroyer said
“This Original Breaker used both powers to create the disease. He destroyed the society we lived in, the barriers that kept us away from each other, and created a new society of advanced humans whose powers are based on their aptitudes.” He continued
The photos of Burning Eye and Omnipotent Vision appeared before them.
“Burning Eye had the power of destruction. She could destroy things with intense heat. Omnipotent Vision on the other hand had the power of creation. She could manipulate metals to do her bidding, create metals from nothing, and create data from her eye” Destroyer said
“So, what you’re saying is that all of our powers are based on two ideas, and that our skills, talents, and experience forge the power that we have now?” Jerome asked
“That is correct”, Destroyer said, “But none of those powers makes us a breaker.” He continued
“What made you say that?” Jerome asked
“If you could only control one aspect, you’re merely using the power of creation or destruction. But if you possessed both, you’d be able to break this world, and recreate it in your idea of a perfect creation. The power to create a modern genesis is what makes you a breaker. To break society and all the rules that have bound humans to the ground, that is something only a breaker can do.” Destroyer replied
“Does that make me a breaker then?” Jerome asked
“You’re still incomplete. You can only affect a small area with your powers, but a breaker would be able to affect the entire world.” Destroyer replied.
“Then what if I hone my powers?” Jerome asked
"You’d become my only enemy. In the end, two powers from the opposing ends meet and clash to create the one true breaker. When the day of the final battle comes, I want you to be my enemy. I don’t know why, but there is something that connects us. Until that mystery is solved, I shall do my own work. During that time, you should strengthen yourself for our final showdown. No two powers are alike, your Ernisum ka is uniquely yours, so is your Gominus Na. Those two should become foundations once you spread your powers to your other abilities. When we enter the final stage, it’ll be a clash of opposing powers. Yours, and mine.” Destroyer said as he collapsed the dome he had created.
“I only shared this information with you since you’ve only began joining the war. The other breakers are aware of this. You should be aware too.” Destroyer said as he vanished into air.
“We will meet again.” He said
Jerome walked into the building and walked down its staircase. There were a few missing steps, but the staircase was still usable nonetheless. It has been three years since the building was last used, just like everything else.
He closed his eyes and reminisced the events.
It came like a storm, people were falling wherever they stood, and many others were running around hoping to find a cure. It spared nobody, the entire human race was infected. In a single day, the world stopped revolving, and over 99% of people vanished.
The corpses of the dead immediately turned to ash, and almost no part of them remained to be seen here on earth.
Those that survived had varying degrees of memory. Those closest to the primary infection site have forgotten their life before the fall. Those further away remembered those well and ended up living in the borders of insanity as their mind tries to process what occurred on that fated day. Such was what happened to boss.
The building he's in could’ve been a really great work office. Perhaps, before the event three years ago happened, it was doing well. Perhaps Omnipotent Vision, and Burning Eye, and Jerome himself could’ve been office mates. Maybe they could’ve lived a good life.
Maybe the society wasn’t as bad as it was assumed to be, perhaps it was better. But none of that would ever be known, not anymore. Nobody would ever walk these steel framed steps again, nor would anyone step into this building after him.
The end of society has come, and humanity is facing extinction. The true breaker could recreate society in the way they imagine it. Would it be the same, or would it be different? Nobody knows.
The only way to secure that society would still be functional in the way it is imagined is to win the war itself.
And with more knowledge, Jerome walked out of the building and into the sunset-lit roads, hearing again the bugs of the night as his shift comes to an end.
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