Crystalline Universe: Team Fortress 2 Overwatch - Volume 3: Crystalline Universe: Bloodline's Curse Chapter 90 The Purgatory

The sight of the purple-faced hanged Scaphism reflected upon Mike’s merciless eyes. He stared at it for a long time before the body abruptly disappeared in a blink of the eyes. Mike remained oblivious to the fact that others were still searching for Karson amongst the rubbles.

Mike suddenly heard a faint voice not far from his feet and with a single flip of his finger, he lifted a large piece of wall that topped over the source of the sound.

[Liverpool] – “Whoooo! Whooo! woo!… Where the devil am I? ”

Mike advanced toward the buried man and pulled him out of the hole.

[Mike] – “In your hotel, old friend. I’ll send a construction team over, tomorrow to fix this mess. ”

[Liverpool] – “Oooh… I feel like every bone in meh body broke, I’m must be bloody drunk. ”

[Mike] – “You are pretty damn lucky to have survived this whole ordeal, old pal. ”

[Liverpool] – “We should probably celebrate this with a good scrumpy. ”

[Mike] – “Yeah but maybe another time. ”

Mike suddenly stabbed the man in the back with a syringe which immediately put him to sleep. Mike quickly shot Mergiann and Darlynn with a similar syringe which caused both of them to fall asleep as well.

Mike then turned to Azur, who quickly backed off in confusion as to his true intention.

[Azur] – “Before you shoot me with “that”, can you explain why first? ”

[Mike] – “I won’t. ”

[Azur] – “Huh? ”

Mike moved the bodies toward him and inspected their belongings before setting them comfortably on a flat surface.

[Mike] – “I said I won’t. Unlike others, I know I can trust you. ”

[Azur] – “But why me? They sacrificed as much as I did. ”

[Mike] – “To put it precisely, their loyalty to me is not their priority. Mergiann’s true loyalty is her dedication to her friend Karson and Darlynn’s true loyalty is in honour and justice. ”

[Azur] – “What did shoot them with? ”

[Mike] – “Amnesic drug, they’ll forget what happened tonight here. ”

[Azur] – “What about Karson? ”

[Mike] – “He is dead! ”

Azur couldn’t believe her ears. Although she didn’t care for him at all, these words still came as a shock to her, who witness the first death amongst someone that has been close to her.

[Azur] – “Dead? But what about his body? ”

[Mike] – “These are not of your concerns. ”

[Azur] – “That can’t be right, I’m so confused, I need answers! ”

[Mike] – “Follow me, I’d like to address a few things to you once we moved to a secure location. ”

–

There was darkness accompanied by the feeling of a fluid that covered the surrounding. Then there was a movement, then a light appeared. Moving closer to the light, all that could be seen is a blinding white of nothingness. In the mother’s embrace, a new life is born.

Years after years, the girl grew like any other child but she didn’t know the potential she had. Then after many years came her little sister who has blonde hair and blue eyes unlike her, who had black hair and brown eyes.

The mother loved her two children but had a scar deep in her heart. Each night, after the sisters had fallen asleep, she would take a syringe and inject herself with some of that “good stuff” to forget her miseries.

The life of a K-pop star is a difficult one. The girls are recruited at a very young age with strict rules and regulations. Contracts that looked like a legal right to practice slavery and the living conditions once in the industry could be related to that of a concentration camp. None of this is an exaggeration, it’s the life of an artist in a society where everything is a contest and a challenge to your survival ability. Most of the girls in the industry wasted the entirety of their teenage years following a dream that was doomed from the start. But those who managed to rise to fame have a whole other world of problems of their own.

It’s not because you are famous that you are no longer human. You can still feel pain but no one could see it.

Ari Park is a Korean K-popstar who has risen to fame after the 3rd world war for her inspiring music who captivated the mind of those who wanted to evade the echos of war. On stage, she was the kind and loving star whose voice sounded like velour and face looked like the girl of anyone’s dream. But behind the scene, her boss, an American man, profited off her. She was eventually forced into a marriage with him and gave birth to 2 daughters while still in her twenties.

Not only her career was forced to an early end, but she was also dragged into a deep state of depression. But despite all, she showed unparalleled affection for her younger daughter whose eyes looked like a pair of glowing sapphires.

Despite how much she wished she would stay beside her, her life was cut short due to complications caused by the drug she took. The father didn’t bother to care for his children. He was given a position in Talon’s narcotic management and left, leaving his girls both orphans.

The elder sister showed an immense connection to the crystal and was taken to be trained as an executioner. As for her little sister, who showed little potential in crystal, was later taken to be a low-class executioner. The sisters were forever separated up until this day.

–

Azur stared at the night sky with her glowing blue eyes through the plane’s windows. She slowly realized that the blue hair dye she used has deteriorated since the last time she dyed her hair was a few months ago. She pulled a string of her hair where the pale dye revealed the golden colour concealed under.

Somewhere else, the brown eyes of the girl stared out in the window of her lair while a voice pleaded behind her. She returned to sit on her throne and looked without empathy toward Scaphism.

[Scaphism] – “My lady! I beg you, give me a second chance! It’s Mike, you also hate that mother f.u.c.ker, right? I can kill him if you give me a second chance! ”

Ellie pointed at a glass cylinder tank that stood behind the man.

[Ellie] – “I give all deads equal judgement. I think you are fairly well-sentenced for your doings. ”

Scaphism turned around to see his dead body floating inside a transparent greenish fluid. To his shock, he touched himself to realize that his current body is only a hologram.

[Scaphism] – “What black magic is this?? What have you done to me? ”

In a panic, Scaphism accidentally saw the crystals on Ellie’s arms and figured they must be responsible for his situation.

[Scaphism] – “That’s your ability power, right? You can bring me back to life like this, right? ”

[Ellie] – “Ever heard of Australium? ”

[Scaphism] – “No… what the hell is that? ”

[Ellie] – “Explaining it would just be a waste of my time. But despite your sins, I’ll give you a second chance at life if you answer one question correctly. ”

[Scaphism] – “Spell it out, I’ll answer it! ”

[Ellie] – “It’s very simple. What will you do once I give you a second chance? ”

Scaphism was stupefied by the simplicity of the question, but he failed to acknowledge the true meaning behind it. Ellie showed apathy toward each of the men that passed in front of her, she’s the cold-blooded guardian of Talon’s purgatory where every dead man is judged before their ultimate fate. She wanted to hear something that no one would say, something that will prove a human’s worth in being given a second chance.

[Scaphism] – “I will kill that bastard Mike! I will give you unlimited power! I will be your loyal servant up until the end. I will make you queen of the new world after I kill lord Sniper using Mike’s assets. ”

All Scaphism could hear is a cold and grim laugh from Ellie before his hologram mind is being sucked back into his mortal shell. Through his decaying eyes, he stared through the glass at Ellie one last time before being sent down an obscure hole. Around him are thousands of decaying corpses just like his, each staring at him with a tortured expression on their torn faces.

At that specific moment, he realized the truth: this is the hell amongst the human world, the place of infinite agony where Ellie keeps the most heinous of individuals forever locked in their dying form. He let out a scream of terror that no one could hear before disappearing into the darkness.

Karson opened his eyes. He didn’t where he is, neither what happened during his sleep but the first thing he saw was his dead body in a glass tank. It took him a second for him to realize it was himself inside that tank before he jumped up in surprise.

[Ellie] – “Karson Tristram! ”

The young man turned around to see a beautiful woman with sharp eyes and a gorgeous body on a throne in front of him.

[Karson] – “Ah… haha… I’ll be damned to say I’m not in heaven. ”

[Ellie] – “You’ve got quite some blood on your hands, young man! With at least 5 kills on your name! ”

[Karson] – “Haha… I mean… do bad guys count as well? I mean, I’m a good Christian during my life and all, so… ”

[Ellie] – “Please, do you think I look like Saint Peter? Please keep this trial professional. ”

[Karson] – “Then where the bloody hell am I? ”

[Ellie] – “The purgatory! ”

Karson, for the first time in his life, was at loss for word as he calmly waited for more answers. As time passed on, Ellie pronounced all of Karson’s doings, made a few judgement based-off the severity of his sins and finally concluded his final sentence.

[Ellie] – “I see no valid reason to send you to hell but I can’t have enough reason to revive you neither. Your dead will be sent to your friends and you’ll be returned to the earth to rest in peace. ”

[Karson] – “But wait, that’s all? You mean my life is over… just like that? ”

[Ellie] – What more could you expect? It was a short one indeed but nothing about you stood out more than others’: you don’t impress me at all. ”

[Karson] – “But it can’t just end like this, there must be a miracle… I don’t know like in those anime where I get to be reincarnated as a super OP character, ayt? ”

[Ellie] – “Don’t be stupid, real life is not a comedic animation. What makes you think you deserve a second chance? ”

Karson walked off the platform he stood on and walked toward Ellie.

[Ellie] – “If you try anything funny, it won’t work. After all, you are just a hologram. And if you piss me off, I can send you to hell immediately. ”

[Karson] – “I know there is somethin’ I can say to convince you to give me a second chance. ”

[Ellie] – “Then say it, I’m waiting. ”

Karson thought for a second and observed his surrounding before suddenly coming up with a set of weird ideas. On the other hand, Ellie was intrigued. It was the first time someone acted so unusually toward her.

[Karson] – “Heck, look, I know you collect dead people for a living but how about I bring you more? I’ll bring you the big fishes in Talon. ”

[Ellie] – “Who said I collect the dead bodies of men? This is the weirdest thing I ever heard from a dead man wanting a second chance. ”

[Karson] – “Look, I can make things work. Just give me a damn task I can do. You said there is nothing special about me but have you ever met someone who killed 2 high-class executioners and brought down a Divine Servant? ”

[Ellie] – “I’ll give you credit for those accomplishments, yes. But I don’t have the need for anything. ”

[Karson] – “Alright, how about just 2 months, give me 2 months then I’ll come back. I’m out of ideas, I don’t know what you grim reaper people want from me but I need time to say a proper goodbye to my friends and keep Mergiann safe. ”

[Ellie] – “Why you? So many people desired a chance to say their goodbyes but didn’t get it. Why should you? ”

[Karson] – “Because I’m willin’ to sacrifice. Because I want to say this: I want to trade my life for someone else’s life. I want to protect Mergiann until the day she is safe. It’s a dangerous world out there, I don’t her to be hurt. I just need more time, just a bit more time… it’s too soon for me… ”

Ellie didn’t show it but she finally heard the answer she wanted from the deads. Everyone wanted their second chance to accomplish something simple or something grim but never has one said they wanted a second chance to give someone alive the occasion to live longer. It’s the wish of equal trade Ellie wanted to hear after all those years guarding the purgatory; that one selfless phrase that would bring a smile to her face.

[Karson] – “Can you make it happen? Just give me a bit more time for me to stay in the living world. I will oblige your every demand just for it, I’m willin’ to sacrifice everything. ”

[Ellie] – “The true answer from the one that truly deserved a second chance… I’ve decided… ”

Karson fearfully glanced at her, pleaded for the best and then closed both of his eyes.

[Ellie] – “You’ll have 2 months just as you said. But at the condition that if you didn’t give your second chance to someone else, you’ll spend your eternity in hell. ”

Karson didn’t think twice and with a proud and courageous face, he accepted her offer.

[Ellie] – “You are the first but this will also be your last. Savour it well, man of gold heart! ”

The next time Karson woke up, he was in a camped street alley sleeping on an abandoned bed. He checked his body to see that there was no wound at all and that he was well and truly alive. He looked around and didn’t recognize any of the streets but recognized the barbershop across the road to be one of the designated hideouts of his team.

He was more than astonished that he came back from the dead. All he could remember is how he died at Scaphism’s hands but never thought he would see the light of the day again. But this joy was soon washed off by the fact that he only has 2 months to live.

The birds flew across the sky in waves and the trees let out a relaxing song of their leaves. The gentle breeze filled with the flavour of nature passed through his nose while the rising sunlight shined upon his forehead. Karson, despite all, let out a slight smile before walking out of the alley. He hoped deeply in his heart that all the events were just the work of a dream he took time to wake up from.

Unbeknownst to him, Ellie stood behind him all the way until he could no longer be seen. In a swift move of her hand, she opened a pocket dimension behind her and disappeared without a trace.

To be continued… Next Chapter: [Another day like others]