Chapter 233: The Phantom Survivor Part 2 (2/2)
”And that is?!” Acceptance roared back.
”They mean nothing to a Child of the Garden.” He hissed back, clenching his hand as an intense hailstorm burrowed into Alton's palm. Crushing it, hundreds of icicles flooded all around Acceptance, holding in place. Lifting his hand, he looked at Acceptance with a look of pride, laughing. ”And this is where your truth leads you. One thousand bleeding cuts.” Acceptance was bombarded with a never-ending nightmare of attacks. His very existence was torn apart, leaving nothing but a small fabric of his tie dwindling in the wind. One last icicle pierced it, pinning the tied to a tree as Alton was left victorious with a comfortable one-sided victory. The sky was pierced as the sun cracked through with a light flurry of snow. Alton held his hand out, letting the snowflakes rest on his hand, staying in their perfect form. ”Never thought I'd be happy to see this power again.”
Kira limped over, slowly spinning around in awe. ”So, this is the true power of Alton Brantley… How does snow feel so warm?”
”You got me there; I have no idea. How long has this little dream of mine gone on for?”
Kira kneeled down, swiping a chunk of snow in her hand, making it into a snowball. ”Four years, I believe.” She throws the clump at Alton, chuckling. ”Time to wake up, yeah?”
”Indeed, time to wake up. The world I'm returning to is nothing like this. It's fallen to ruin and corruption. It'll be a fight to survive… You aren't going to convince me to try and stay?”
Kira shook her head. ”I'd kill you if you tried. Everyone needs you, Alton and I believe you need them too. Just do me a favour… I know it's not even remotely important to you, but please. Save my family, save Scarlett; she can do good. I know she can. She's my great… You get it.”
Alton looked at himself in the reflection of the ice seeing himself after so long living in someone else's shoes. ”I'll do what I can.”
”That's all I can ask.”
Turning back, Alton saw everyone else standing there. Adam, Eve and even Hannah nodding to him. Holding his chest, Alton smiled, flicking the frozen tear from his eye. ”Everyone, I cannot thank you enough. Even if this was a dream, a fake truth, it felt real to me, and that's all that matters. I'm going now for everyone.” Turning around, Alton took a deep breath smirking. ”Will I even remember the life before, huh?” That goofy looked faded into a serious one as the dream began to shatter. ”Time to end this once and for all Acceptance.”
****
From the cell, a shockwave sent Acceptance back, falling against the railing. His eyes widened as he yelled out. ”This is the power of the Phantom Survivor!” He was frozen on the spot, unable to force any other words out. Alton sat up, looking at his hands-free from his chains standing. He walked over, holding onto the bars coming to his senses. ”Everyone… I've been drowning in my own self-pity for too long.” The bars shattered as Alton took his first step to freedom smashing Acceptance, leaving nothing behind. The alarms blared his eardrums as he gripped his chest, smiling. ”Alice, Emil, Scarlett… Zinnia, worry not anymore. I'm coming to protect you all.”