Adronitis: You Only Live Forever

Chapter 2: The Nature of the Beast

 "Don't allow thyself drown in tomorrow's challenges, or you won't be able to enjoy the happiness you have today." – Reynsla

Far away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, somewhere deep into the woods, Reynsla was getting tired of observing  Yulia's nervous pacing.

"What seems to be the problem?" He gently asked. Yulia stopped in her tracks, pondering about the precise words she was going to use. "On one hand, it's too early for me to bother you with personal issues. On the other hand, it looks like we have no choice but to stick together for the foreseeable future. So, I might as well tear down such walls from now." 

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think I already know what it is that concerns you. I was only asking out of kindness." "And would that be?" "Despite your odd relationship with Michael, you were certain that a part of him deeply loved you, which is why he shielded you and stood by your side. But now that you know he was ready to die and leave you behind all along, you feel like you don't know him anymore. It's no surprise you are upset." 

Yulia stood in shock, not sure what to say or feel after being read like an open book for the first time in her life. "You seem to know a lot of similar details. How?" She asked suspiciously. "Maybe I'm actually Michael from the future." Yulia chuckled in response. "Yeah... I'd believe anything at this point."

"So, what do we do now?" Said Yulia after a minute of silence. "Well, until Michael finishes with his task, I'd say we shall take this chance to enjoy the little things. Glance at the bright blue sky, listen to the sound of the wind as it slashes through the trees... that kind of thing."

Yulia looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "Glance at the sky? He may take hours. Maybe even days! Are we just going to sit around here and wait?" She exclaimed with astonishment. 

"Well, if you have matters of higher urgency, I shall help you attend to them at once. Do you?" Yulia was now more dumbfounded than before and couldn't help but stand speechless for an uncomfortable amount of time. 

"Forgive me for not minding my own business, La-. Excuse me. Yulia." He corrected himself. "I don't frequently share advice without the listening side asking for it. But if there's one thing I must say at this moment, it's this: Don't allow thyself to drown in tomorrow's challenges, or you won't be able to enjoy all the happiness you have today. There is nothing to attend to at this moment. Why not take the chance to enjoy this brief moment of happiness now, before the inevitable tragedy of existence takes over again?" 

Yulia still seemed astounded and got more confused by the second. It looked as if she was having an internal fight with herself. As if she knew that what she was listening to was right. But she couldn't bring herself to admit it. She also felt like she had a solid reason for not agreeing with Reynsla, but she was struggling to find the right words. "Wha-. I thought we were supposed to stop a serial killer. What the hell happened to that? Are we not in a hurry?" 

"This... creature, has been destroying worlds for literally millions, maybe even billions of years. A few more days are not going to make much of a difference. Besides, it is likely that we'll spend months, perhaps even years tracking her down. Breathe, Yulia. Sitting around and observing the world is good for the mind. I believe you humans call it meditation. Besides, we are not heroes. The world's bullshit is not ours to save."

"He sure likes the sound of his voice." Yulia thought in her mind. And she also found it interesting how he sometimes switched from a formal way of speaking to downright swearing, particularly when he wanted to get a point across. "Wait, did you just say millions of years?" She pointed out as the realization kicked in.

"Thousands, millions, billions. Hard to say. Time is not a definitive measure, as it flows differently here than on other planets. 100 years may equal 10 or 1000 elsewhere—mostly depending on the gravity and how quickly we are moving through the fabric of space itself. That is to say, her age is relative, as it is for all multi-planet species."