The Zero Countdown

Chapter 17: Last chance

The distortion of time that prevents the current timeline from going forward had was now finally gone.

As Brina previously stated, her premise that the Time Keeper residing in the Hestia Flower Shop at that moment is factual and true.

Elyon just needed to uncover the one responsible for it, so as to keep himself from guessing blindly and wasting options, he accomplished what he loathes the most; that is the act of committing a total of 3 homicides in mere seconds from desperation.

The punishment the Unknown Entity had imposed upon harming a civilian or someone not involved in the game is something the Fantasm wouldn't want to know, but Elyon no longer cares because if he hesitated once again; his neck will be next in line.

Completing his mission without getting caught is his highest priority. Elyon scrambled fast leaving the premises as Brina tailed wherever the wind of entanglement may lead him. The local authorities eventually arrived late, they found no evidence nor any CCTV footage in the crime scene because Saya herself is a criminal, and she doesn't want anyone to see the 'collection' she keeps in her private chamber.

"Hey! Elyon! Hear me out!" Brina had shouted beside him back at the park where the loop in time had been established. Under the same crown of a tree that gave them comfort from the cold night, the two of them are resting on the damp grasses, their back leaning at the tree trunk as if nothing had happened.

"What?" Elyon's guilt gradually consumes his sanity.

The sunlight spotted on them through the interstice of the trees warms their unwavering will. To wake him up from drowning in remorse, Brina beat his face twice with her bare hands.

"Do you know what you did?! You killed three of them and ran away! Even if the Time Keeper is there, you still killed two bystanders who totally were innocent!" She shouts at the top of her lungs, pointing out the mistake he did of his own volition.

Expecting that he'd silence himself and accept he's wrong, Elyon took a stand and told her, "And what? Let the Time Keeper escape? It was you who said I shouldn't hesitate! We have to do this or else we'll be next!"

Shaking her head hearing an unreasonable consideration, Brina had hit Elyon's head once more, knocking some senses onto him at the least.

"Tsk. You truly are hopeless. Have you forgotten that the Unknown Entity penalizes those who don't follow the rules?" Brina gritted her teeth, afraid they are already in a precarious situation and they have no argument of knowing it.

"This is the only way, I'll let myself be the sacrifice. Am I not a tool of yours? You should use your power now and see the future than bickering of small details." Elyon's merely being pragmatic than reckless. He takes the opportunity to keep the risk than finding what he might get at the cost of accomplishing his task at hand.

"That's the thing, I still can't." Brina blatantly answered.

"Huh?" Elyon disagrees.

"I actually have no idea why but the future's still fuzzy. I see something but it's all a clump of a mess. It might be because I used it too much today. Even Fantasm Abilities have a limit of their own as well as the weakness we can't ignore." She honestly said, rubbing her forehead hoping her headache could dissipate.

"Is that so? We'll lay low here and hope we don't get caught by anyone else." Elyon closes his eyes. His hands are shaking, trembling from executing people he barely encountered.

His heart wasn't prepared for anything that defiles the way of life, he can't picture himself doing the exact same act, because he'd rather end his own than commit the equivalent sin he detests the most.

The two of them rested until the fated dusk came, letting the stars above alight, shimmering all alone in darkness from a faraway land brighter than anything else in existence, unparalleled or beyond.

The moonlight raining on Elyon's face is what woke him up from his deep slumber. He wasn't sure what the warm thing covering his shoulders and arms and so when he took it off, he perceived it's Brina's fitted blazer protecting him from the cold night.

"You... Brina...?" He was going to give it back but he found out she's laid out flat near the mossy grasses beside him.

Her white shirt got dirty but they had no choice, to begin with. They ended up falling asleep the entire time, wary of the future they couldn't see nor fathom.

"Why would you..." It was then Elyon's tears poured on his cheeks down his neck.

It wasn't the horror of death nor the cruelty of the world, nor the fear of losing something that brought his tears flooding—it is the simple act of kindness that Brina had done, covering him in a warmness of her blazer when she was there beside him, shivering in her sleep.

He wiped his face clean because he can't let Brina see the pathetic side he can't show to anyone. What he did instead was lay her own Blazer over her chest, covering her hands staying flat on her bosom.

"What a joke. And I call myself an adult? I guess I should continue my sleep tonight so I could wake up early tomorrow..."

As Elyon's about to close his eyes, he glances at Brina's condition for once. The moonlight embracing her made it look like she's a princess waiting for her prince to wake her up. Her sideburns kept behind her ears accentuates her elegant face and fair complexion.

He thought Elora and Ruther must've been waiting in their hotel room, but he had to ensure Brina's safe without disturbing her and so he chose to stay in the park with her.

"Never have I thought I'd sleep in a public area like this. At the same time, no one cares about us. They probably thought we're homeless so they didn't bother bothering us, I assume."

As he turned around the other side, he notices the remaining time on Brina's head is less than 3 digits.

Elyon thought his eyes are deceiving him, so he peeked once more counting the remaining time she has only to realize he messes up.

"What is the meaning of this... Why is her—"

Elyon suddenly sprung forth from where he rested, and suddenly shook Brina's shoulders waking her up at the emergency they had never foreseen.

"Why are you... Just tell me what it is." Brina leans on the roots of the tree, rubbing her eyes so she can properly see what's going on.

"The time above your head! It's less than 30 seconds! What should we do?!" Elyon no longer understands what's going on, after all, he's confident that he already eliminated the possible candidates who hold domination in the distortions of time.

"Seriously?!" Brina fishes out her smartphone in her pocket. She scrolled through her notes and find nothing.

To assess whether her implication is correct, she used her ability to see the future ahead, but to no avail as what she observed is utter blank.

"We're about to..." Elyon closed his eyes. He thought his mission was already complete, yet he committed the gravest mistake he had yet to overcome.

"Hah... That explains why I still can't see the future. This means we lost... Better luck next time, Elyon." Brina said and the distortion of time reverted everything from emptiness, and from the abyss comes life.

The exact same scene engrave in his screwed-up memories, Elyon never expected he could find himself on the same wooden bench. Beside him is Brina listening carefully to whatever Elora and Ruther were saying.

Just as he previously had done, he waited for the couple to be on their way because if he gets help from them, he can't stand for himself.

Waving farewell at Elora as they cross the opposite street, it was then Elyon realized what is truly going on. He finally could bring out the missing pieces stitching his way in from all the mistakes and regrets he underwent.

"Silence means two things, either you're still stuck in this repeating loop in time, or you already know the answer." Brina assumed. She witness Elyon's resolve building up, for she knew the latter is the right answer all along.

As they have time and advantage, Elyon recounted all the things that happened so far and filled Brina with the details. Including their past mistakes, and using his experience, he becomes unstoppable.

"How foolish I am not to notice? I already know who's the Time Keeper. What is left is the elimination of the one responsible for the reversal of time." Elyon declared. He no longer wavers that there is no hope for he believed the fact he's still alive means there is a way forward.

He can't commit the same blunder twice, for he already establishes the conclusion he seeks with the new beginning he was bestowed.

"Is that so? Go get it done. Having my ability disabled is a mess, to be honest." Brina tailed Elyon along the way instead of the other way around.

Both of them arrived at the 4th avenue at the boundary of the commercial district. What lies near the intersection is the Hestia Flower Shop selling various flowers, herbs, and seedlings, and they stopped at the wooden bench at the perfect time when there will be fewer customers coming in.

"Listen here, whatever you do, never pull the trigger unless said so, is that alright? What you hold is my g*n anyways, and my favorite one at that." Elyon stated what Brina can and cannot perform.

"Hmph. Who cares? This is mine now. I stole it from you." She asserted.

"As long as you're fine at my conditions, we'll get through this. Just stay outside and help once the owner of this flower shop shows her true color."

A dignified nod was the response Elyon had taken, he went inside the premises of the flower shop, and from there, the chimes rang the sound of victory he gazed from afar at the last chance he has.