User blog:Seieireppa/God Eater:Universitas, chapter 27: Erasure

Death.

The feeling could best be described as what a mouse feels when it faces down a lion, at the moment just before the beast strikes, ending the small creature’s life in a quick, decisive moment.

Baluar’s pride was immense, to be sure… but in the face of Sigma, whose power could truly be considered “almighty,” he knew there was no hope for victory. Nonetheless, his pride wouldn’t allow him to back down… and so here he stood, God Arc at the ready, prepared to lay his life on the line to prove his own power and determination.

“Sigma…” Bal began, seething with his readiness for battle. “I’ve got nothing against you, but I need to demonstrate for you that I’m stronger than you think!”

“Very well,” came Sigma’s response. “Come at me whenever you’re ready.”

Bal readied his God Arc and lunged towards Sigma—

—who vanished before Bal’s eyes. Without Bal even blinking, Sigma had vanished, only to appear behind Bal as if nothing had happened.

“What… the…” Bal muttered, turning to face Sigma. “That goes beyond speed… I didn’t even see you move! What did you do?!”

“Hmph.”  Sigma’s response was detached and teasing. “Is that all you’ve got, Baluar?”

“Not hardly!” came Bal’s reply, as he shifted his God Arc into its gun form—

“Bal, you idiot!”  Nia called out to him from towards the edges of the room. “Fire that thing in here and the entire place will be wrecked!”

She had a point…  Bal shifted his God Arc back to its short blade form and charged once more towards Sigma, but once again, without Sigma even making any indication of moving, he was gone, standing behind Bal like nothing had happened.

“Goddammit, how the hell are you DOING that?!” Bal’s voice betrayed signs of anger. His eyes, augmented by his Aragami half, were incredibly precise and could perceive even the smallest and most minute of tells in an opponent’s actions.

But this wasn’t even an issue of Sigma erasing his presence or making no wasted movement. No, Sigma wasn’t even moving. He wasn’t moving, and yet…  And yet…!!”

“If that’s all you can do, Bal,” began Sigma, his voice taunting and serious, “you’ll never even get close to Feldman at his full power. He’ll erase you from this earth without so much as a thought.”

Bal wasn’t listening, though. Without a second thought, he hurled his God Arc straight at Sigma faster than Bal himself could move—but, once again, Sigma was gone, and Bal’s God Arc with him. Once again, too, Sigma was behind him, holding Bal’s God Arc and looking it over.

“A fine piece, to be sure,” came Sigma’s calm words. “This has seen you through many a battle… but powerful weapons alone won’t be enough to stand up to Feldman. This battle should have shown you that, if you—”

“It’s 「time」.”

Sigma stood still.

“It’s 「time」, isn’t it, Sigma?”

A smile crept onto Sigma’s lips. “How did you figure it out?”

“It hit me after the second time you dodged out of the way,” came Bal’s answer. “At first I thought you were just moving faster than my eyes could see, or teleporting, or something… but then I noticed. Whenever you vanished, everyone else in the room changed positions slightly, as if I was watching a video and pressed the skip button. You’ve been 「erasing time」, haven’t you?”

Sigma began to chuckle. “I’m surprised you noticed this quickly, honestly. You’re every bit as skilled as they say… but it’s just as you’ve said. Whenever you come at me, I merely 「erase」 the next five seconds of time. During these five seconds, everything proceeds as normal—but only I am aware of what transpires during these five seconds.”

“So,” Bal interrupted, “you mean we all just lose our memories of what happens during those five seconds?”

“That’s not it,” came Sigma’s response. “You see, you never HAD any memories of that time, because, again, only I am conscious of it in the first place. Think of it like this:  you’re walking forward amidst a crowd of people, and then you close your eyes for five seconds while continuing to walk. After five seconds, you open them again—everyone around you has moved, time has proceeded normally, but you have no idea of what happened during those five seconds.”

C, who was still there—much to the immense surprise of everyone in the room—spoke up this time.

“You mentioned the skip button on a remote control,” she chimed in. “If I’ve got this right, it’s the 「results」, correct?”

Sigma merely nodded.

“I thought so,” continued C. “What happens is that the five seconds for which your ability is active still happen, but the rest of us, who are not aware of what transpires during those five seconds, are only aware of the 「results」 of what happens. Think of it this way as well—Bal, say Ken goes to toss you a water bottle, but Sigma activates his ability. The next five seconds are erased, but afterwards, Bal, you find yourself holding the water bottle. You know that Ken threw it to you, but you don’t actually remember him throwing it, because, as far as you’re concerned, that never actually happened.”

All of a sudden, Bal realized the full implications of what Sigma had done. If he had wanted to, Sigma could have ended it with one strike during the erased time. All it would have taken would be a blade to the throat, or a stab to the heart—and Bal would have been powerless to do anything to stop it.

Absolute control over time… what a terrifyingly fearsome power.

“So this is the extent of the Horizon’s power,” spoke Bal, his voice shaky. “I get it now… my power and your ‘power’ are on completely different dimensions.”  He sheathed his God Arc and faced Sigma once more. “You win… I concede this match. It’s your victory.”

Sigma looked back at Bal. “Now you see, do you not? This is what it means to be touched by the Horizon.”

“Right,” came Bal’s response. “Now I see why you want us all to go there with you. Right… that settles it. I’ll do whatever it takes to get stronger. My power might not be as great as yours, Sigma… but I’ll show you, I’ll prove to you that my determination won’t lose to yours or anyone’s!”

Sigma laughed, a faint laugh that barely showed on his face.

“That’s the spirit,” Sigma spoke. “Now… do the rest of you understand what you’ll be getting yourselves into? Obtaining the Horizon’s power will not be easy, but the payoff will be more than worth it when it comes to fighting Feldman.”

Everyone in the room nodded.

“And with that in mind,” Sigma continued, “you have three days to prepare for the departure. Come hell or high water…”

“…we WILL take that bastard down!”

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