Chapter 264 Reaper V/S ????

"Hmmm… so many things happened, huh?" the old man spoke as he finished listening to my story before he stood up and stretched a little before he turned at me and spoke.

"Come, let's fight."

I was confused at his reaction… is that all? Won't he say anything about my choices? Won't he feel sad or perhaps get angry at me? Won't he bash me or perhaps scold me?

Confusion filled my eyes as I looked at that man before I stood up and observed him walking towards the ocean before walking on the water till a distance.

"Perhaps…" I heard him muttering before…

-BOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!

The water from all around started evaporating, before a strange cyclone developed all around us with that old man sitting at the centre. There were two energies that were colliding against each other. Air and Water.

"Kid… As the former holder of the Space Fragment, would you like to learn how to control your element?" he asked with a smile and my eyes opened up wide before I observed him…

'This….' I thought as my eyes opened up wide and I kept observing him…

"I am ????, the former holder of Fragment of Space, The Fragment of Absolute Existence," he spoke with his height increasing slowly twice his original and the air and water around him swinging heavily.

I could only gulp at him… just how did I end up defeating him last time? If he had so much power… then how come he didn't use it last time… so many questions filled my mind before I stood up subconsciously from the swing and walked forward with my own energy slowly sweeping out of my body.

"I am Reaper… the current holder of the Fragment of Space, Fragment or Rejection," I spoke as I took out my blade and pointed at him and he smiled as he looked down on me as if he were looking at an insect yet his words contradicted his expression,"That is good… that is how you should speak. As someone who wants to save the entire world…no, the entire universe perhaps.. This is how you should face your enemy."

The difference between was that of heaven and earth… even if I used my sacrificial move, I don't know if I could kill him…

"Reaper. Your journey might have been odorous and it might have been hopeless always but in the end I want you to believe in yourself… for what you will face in the future you will need a brave heart… or perhaps you can change fate again?" he spoke as he looked at me before he continued,

"Destiny Zero.

Destiny isn't a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice.

It is not a thing to be waited for, but a thing to be achieved.

You have been given a chance to change the future,

And since you are giving so much effort, perhaps…

I will lend you a hand as well."

He spoke before he vanished and then appeared behind me in an instant and before I could make any move,

-Boom! He kicked me as he spoke,"for the first thing that you need to do is to face despair… which you had already done."

Then he appeared behind me again,"and rage… which you will do in the future."

-Boom!

"So if Despair is done and Rage is sure to come, then what is left is only one thing…" he mumbled before he appeared in front of me and spoke,

"Love… you need to be loved… not by anyone but yourself… or shall I call it acceptance in your terms?"

He spoke, and it made me confused… Rage and Despair… but how come Love is connected to that?

"From what I have heard in your two timelines, you have always done things for others' sake. Whether it was for Lucia in previous timeline where you made yourself strong enough to protect her, or to protect everything in this current timeline, not once I felt like you have done anything for your own sake," he spoke before he pondered with a slightly sad expression as he asked,

"Tell me, Strange one, what would you do after you save everyone?"

"I would probably kill myself…" I spoke out loud without hiding anything. Even with so many people with me… I can't help but feel that this timeline… it isn't mine. I should have been dead…

"Is this because of that Girl Lucia?" He asked as he looked at me and I looked at him as I gulped a little before I sighed and spoke,"no… it's not because of her… I just… once I lost all my reasons to live… all the reason that I needed to live in the previous timeline was gone. In this timeline, all I wanted was to save everyone and then use charm magic so that they forget about me… before i kill myself too…"

"Perhaps… that girl has played too much with your mind… well she had her reasons too so I can't really blame her… though I believe it is about time that your 'that' emotion needs to be unlocked for I was always against her methods," he spoke as he blinked in front of me.

'Huh? Unlock emotions-' I questioned, but before I could do anything, he touched my head and…

-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!

I screamed loudly as a deafening pain entered my mind, and I almost lost consciousness. The pain continued for the next few minutes, that felt like eternity… and after it was done… my eyes opened up, confused, as I looked at that old man standing at me with a smile on his face.

I was confused, but something…. Something felt different… I looked at him with a confused expression… before he spoke,

"I have unlocked your ability to love, which has been locked for ages now."

'Huh? What does that mean?' I questioned as I looked at him, but he only chuckled as he spoke,

"Now that you have gained the ability to truly love someone… Let's start again. You have a lot of people to save… perhaps… you can even save me."

He then looked at me with a pride filled expression as he spoke,"Kid… try attacking me again."

[Author's Note: Hey so I am throwing a lot of unexplained things, but I assure you this is worth it, or more like I am kick starting the story from here onwards, which may confuse you for a couple of chaps before you understand the reason behind it. Doing it slowly would have taken 1000s of chaps, which I don't want. Also, about 40% of the story is done. The rest half would involve mostly parasites along with the greater plot behind everything.

Hope you enjoy the story! Thank you for reading. See you at the latest chaps!]