The egg took a sip from a completely monochrome drink in an ornate glass. His body flashed monochrome for a bit, and he seemed to be in a self-made silent movie. When he came out of the illusion, he spoke. I have one question for you. SHOOT, the triangle said casually. The egg pulled out an Ultra Slugger and shot three glasses positioned on the countertop perfectly, punching clear holes through them. He brought the smoking nozzle to his mouth and blew on it, in that gesture every gunslinger does to seem cool. What was it like? Holding the flames of reality, I mean. The triangle squinted his eye, bringing his hand to his frame in a gesture of thinking. ...INTERESTING. IT WAS WHAT I USUALLY SAW, BUT AMPLIFIED. I COULD SEE EVERYTHING CLEARER, AND IN A METAPHYSICAL SENSE TOO! THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN EVERYTHING IN EVERY CONCEIVABLE EXISTENCE UNFOLDED FOR ME, EVEN THE ONES I COULD NEVER SEE NORMALLY! And what about when you were almost dying? Could you, like, feel yourself slipping into darkness or something to that effect?
At this, the triangle’s body paled, his pupil shrinking to a dot and darting around. OH, UH, WELL, I... He sighed, putting his towering glass on the counter as it sloshed with what seemed like drinkable tar. I KNOW THAT TRUTH IS OVERRATED WHEN YOU COULD EASILY LIE AND MANIPULATE THE BELIEFS OF EVERYONE AROUND YOU IN DOING SO, BUT I’LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, FLUMPTY. I SAW MY DEATH. The triangle seemed to age as he said those words. You saw yourself be consumed by white flame? The triangle’s body turned back and forth, as though he was shaking his “head.” NO, NO. I KNEW I WOULDN’T DIE IN THE ARMS OF GOD. THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIM WILL FIND THEMSELVES PROTECTED BY A— The egg motioned to a watch he didn't have. Reign it in, Jehovah’s Witness. MY POINT IS, I WASN’T ABLE TO TALK, BUT I WAS ABLE TO THINK. AND I KNEW THAT I WAS GOING TO LIVE. BUT I ALSO KNEW THAT I WAS GOING TO DIE, LATER. AND I SAW MY DEATH. MY EVENTUAL DEATH. The egg was quiet. ...What was it like?
The triangle stared into the distance, his body’s orchid color fading into static before displaying a sequence of events. A cascading comet spiraling across a starry void, wrought with amethyst fire that trailed into twin beams of red and blue. Fragments of glass scattered across the void, blending into static. A broken, burned top hat was tossed aside, discarded. The frail figure of a broken triangle charted the abyss, and though there were no sound waves, there was sound. A beat that played every second. It sounded like a clock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick...
And then there was a sudden explosion. A burst of light that expanded into a blinding red fireball. A fireball that surged across the entirety of the triangle’s body until the light coming from his exponentially outweighed the natural light of the bar. With a single motion, the triangle snapped his fingers, and his body returned to normal. THE CRITIC WAS RIGHT, he said. NO MATTER WHAT I DO, I’M DESTINED FOR DEATH! ALL I ACCOMPLISHED WAS THE DELAYING OF INEVITABILITY. AND BELIEVE ME, I PRACTICALLY EMBODY INEVITABILITY AT THIS POINT. WHEN I DIE, MY EYE GOES ALONG WITH ME. AND WHEN MY EYE GOES... The sentence didn’t need to be finished. The hard-boiled egg understood perfectly. But there was the sound of someone getting up from behind the egg and the triangle, and before they understood, an empty Snapple glass slammed onto the counter. The two turned and saw the figure in the red cloak. “
It revealed a ghostly white face with green glasses. Split. “
Together, the three of them spun through an arm of a reality with no center, gazing at the miracle of an old ending.
< 3.8: ON RAGE | 3.9: AN OLD ENDING | [x] >