Chapter 173: Live Life (1/2)
”I find it so amusing. You Anti-Humans never cease to surprise me. Truly each and every time.” Alice woke to that voice one from which she recognised so dearly yet couldn't make out in the slightest. A tall, slender man in an old magician's outfit sat idly next to her. Flicking his long silver hair, he chuckled. ”It's almost like looking into a mirror. You look almost identical to her it's unreal. My dearly departed sister Eve.”
”You're… Adam Berry.”
”Why yes, I most certainly am. I don't go by that name much anymore. Address me as Bargaining if you may.”
”Where am I?” Alice questioned, looking around an old worn-down park with each of the swings and slides rusted, falling apart. ”An old memory. One growing up in the Garden the day before we broke through the seal and escaped. That's when everything changed. Do you remember?”
Alice held her head uncomfortable. ”The memory sounds familiar, although I cannot see any clear picture.”
Bargaining nodded swaying back and forth on the swing. ”That's to be expected. Sharing the same body with my sister can cause difficulty in remembering everything.”
Alice stood up, patting herself down. ”I have no interest in speaking to her brother. I wish to return to my own life.”
Bargaining stopped looking puzzled. ”Well, that might be a tiny winy bit difficult. Impossible, in fact.”
”And why's that?”
”Well, for starters you're dead Alice.”
Alice heard those words ring through her ears as everything went blurry. She began stumbling backwards, falling onto the bottom of the slide. ”No, that's, that's ridiculous. I cannot be dead.”
”Oh, but I'm afraid you are little Alice. Killed by your own sister in fact. A pity and now the Garden will return, and all of this will be for fucking nothing.” Bargaining hissed. ”Tch. What can be done? 400 years of planning wasted.”
Alice shook her head, not believing a word. ”I do not believe anything that comes from your mouth. I took your sister back. Freed mine of salvation the Garden should stop.”
”You're not wrong there. I sorta lied, you're not totally dead. It's like somewhere in the middle. Your soul has died and is lingering in limbo while Eve is still in control. Until you two swap places the Garden is still a go.”
”How do I swap back? There has to be away!”
”Nay sister. There is no other way.”
Alice gave it a thought for a while coming up with anything that comes to mind. ”Let's make a deal then. Swap places and I'll do what you say. That's got to work.”
Bargaining chuckled at the thought, shaking his head. ”While I admire your determination, little Alice, we cannot make deals.”
”You made a deal with Alton no? I heard about that, it's not a problem even if I'm a Child of the Garden.”
”Alton Brantley is a strange case I must admit. A seal doesn't work on our true kind. But it's a little more complicated. If one of our kind like myself becomes a seal, they too can use it on others. I can use my seal on Children of the Garden, yes. But you see you are more than that. You are a seal yourself. The last semblance of Salvation, all be it much, much weaker. Given a little while longer, the seal would have faded from you. As long as you hold Salvation under your belt, any seal is cancelled out by your own. One inconvenience after another. Might have been amusing making a pact with my sister's vessel as well… A real bloody shame.”
”So that's it? We just give up?”
”I mean you are more than welcome to. I'll be returning to your world soon and ridding the world of Anti-Human filth. Then it's off to Fairy-Tale.” Bargaining grumbles kicking the floor. ”Guess I'll have to salvage what little I have left from you.”
”I refuse to give up ever!”
Bargaining rolled his eyes, walking over to Alice sighing. ”Did you not just hear what I said? Do I have to spell it out for you? You've lost it! L. O. S. T. Lost. In a matter of hours, Victoria will fall, and your friends in team Rhapsody will all die. And soon your lost soul will fade into nothing. The fucking end.”
”Even if that's the case. If even there is no chance in winning, I refuse to let the people who showed me so much kindness, care and love, die.”
Bargaining covered his eyes as a bright light emitted from Alice's hand. Bargaining walked over, snatching her grip looking at her palm. His was left dumbfounded. Indented in the palm of Alice's hand was a small symbol. An open book and a four-pointed star in the middle. ”What sort of madness is this… This cannot be true. The sign of fairy-tale.”
Alice glanced at her hand, feeling a warm sensation. ”It the same feeling again… The one I felt when Alton and I came together.”
Bargaining looked deeply shocked as he stepped back chuckling. ”The rumours? They actually hold a piece of merit? This can't possibly be. Could we actually be the fallen angels or Fairy-Tale? My, my, what fun. What absolute fun.”
Alice felt something tug at her as she was pulled into the air before falling back down. ”What the?”
Bargaining smirked smugly swinging again. ”It appears that not all is a loss. Luck might just be on my side after all… I must apologise little Alice it appears the land of the living isn't quite done with you yet.”
Alice was lifted in the air once more floating more and more. ”What are you talking about?”
”Why a miracle, of course. Yours and Alton's connection to Fairy-Tale are bringing you back. I knew the rumours of that race to be highly regarded, but I never thought it to be true.”