The watch glistened with silver crystals within the black metal. It was beautiful and expensive, and it had been created with precision to be perfectly accurate. As it ticked away, each second passing by in an eternal cycle, Julian stared at the hands of the clock, his heart beating faster than it had ever beaten before.
A luxury brand watch… A Zenith collection masterpiece.
But also a watch with memories for Julian.
Or rather, specifically towards black watches, one made of magitek, given to him as a gift from Eleanor, bought and made on his fifteenth birthday and the day of her death.
The second time…
A gift that Sena bought for him, and something she placed on his wrist the night before the Devil took her life, and destroyed the last bunker in their city.
"Julian?" Sena’s worried voice echoed, causing the hand holding the watch to tremble, before Julian gazed up to look at her and the world twisted… distorting.
The bright light of the mall dimmed, and shattered, replaced by the twisted and nightmarish landscape he remembered, corpses and bones scattered across the archway, and floors. Monsters feasted on the people who were shopping happily a moment before, their screams lingering through the air.
Above it all, the Devil stood with wings of shadow, smiling at Julian, who found himself wearing his combat suit from years ago, just like he was back then.
"Julian?"
"Oi, what’s wrong?"
Sena and Maria’s voices drifted into the distance… distorted as if speaking a foreign language.
Their faces overlapped, becoming more monstrous by the second, the human forms vanishing into the nightmare that had taken hold of Julian. Sena was staring at him, but he could see the Devil looking through her eyes.
Julian closed his eyes.
The vibrating sound, as if his ears had popped, echoed and rang constantly, and screams resounded in his mind.
He stumbled, the watch tightly gripped… wandering, as he climbed over invisible rocks, bumping into people, yet pushing them aside.
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Around him the world became hell, with fire… the scent of smoke and burning flesh filling his nose as he tried to stabilise himself. He heard no sounds except for the screams and explosions of the past and saw nothing but the bodies of his companions.
Not only that, but he ran faster and faster, trying to escape the memories that threatened to engulf him again, but they wouldn’t leave. No matter how fast he moved, the monsters followed, the devil always on his tail.
He ran until he bumped into someone, and the watch fell out of his hands and landed on the ground.
As Julian looked up, he saw a girl staring back at him, then she placed the watch into his hand again, before she vanished into the crowd out of sight.
Without the watch, he staggered towards the car park… broken and destroyed passages guiding him to the rooftop, as he staggered near the edge of the wall.
"Julian!" a distorted screech echoed… yet he couldn’t ignore this frightful noise. Something inside told him to stop, yet his distorted sense of reality dragged him into madness.
He reached towards the setting sunlight, memories of the past flowing into his mind, in this strange PTSD-like state… memories couldn’t be rejected, and his eyes brimmed with tears.
"Eleanor…"
The name of the person who meant more than life itself slipped from his mouth.
A tear rolled down his cheek as he gazed up at the sky.
His arms stretched out to the sky, and a smile formed on his face.
"Did I make it this time?"
Julian’s body began to collapse, as Sena’s body flashed forward, her body swirling with a misty blue aura with a pink tint,
Sena’s hands grabbed Julian’s hand, pulling him away from the edge as they both fell to the ground. Yet even as she held on to him, Julian didn’t move or react.
He gazed towards the doorway, where Maria stood with her back illuminated by the sunlight.
Maria remained on the spot and stood frozen solid, her face turning white. Her lips trembled, curling into a small, pure smile—a joyful yet heartbreaking expression.
The moment Julian’s gaze focused, and he saw Maria… the distorted world shattered, reforming, and the smile brought him back to reality.
As he breathed heavily, sweat dripping down his cheeks, he slowly regained himself.
"Speak to me, Julian. Are you alright?" Sena’s concerned voice brought his rational mind to the surface. His hands gripped her cold yet delicate hands.
"I’m okay," Julian replied weakly, glancing back at the rooftop edge. "Sorry." The words seemed to be aimed at both women, but he didn’t specify.
"What happened? Did you see something that caused you to panic? Or did someone use magic?" Maria questioned with a soft and anxious gaze. She sat beside the pair, and he noticed her gaze lingering on him, but he couldn’t quite understand or read her intentions.
Neither woman pressed him for an answer, though both seemed to carry lingering thoughts and some kind of idea as they guarded him.
Sena gently stroked his head, comforting him.
Julian closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and finding solace in the touch. It was only after a few minutes when he felt ready to speak again.
’Those memories were too intense, so there was more to the story between my past and Eleanor.’
"The watch is gorgeous, Sena, sorry that I acted so strangely." He didn’t mean to make her feel bad about the gift, so he apologised first.
"No problem, don’t worry about it," she reassured him. "I just got it because I thought it would look nice on your wrist."
"She’s right, a black watch would suit you well," Maria added. Her emerald eyes are normally cold, but right now, they felt warmer than the fading sunlight.
"Sena, will you put it on me?"
"Mhm," she hummed in response.
She picked the watch from his pocket, brushing the surface with a relieved smile when she noticed no damage or scratches. Then she carefully placed it on his wrist.
As she did, Julian couldn’t help but glance at Maria, who had a conflicted expression on her face, as if she wanted to say something.
’How complicated is this going to become?’