The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 64: Refuse.

Part 2/4

A swirling portal manifested in front of Ben, and a shadowy figure came out of the portal. He had pale skin, a muscular body, and a white dress shirt and baggy blue jeans just like Ben. His hair was much longer, but he looked almost exactly like him. His most notable feature were the voids that culminated in front of his eyes. They were like black holes. He almost looked like Ben.

Ben’s eyes grew weary at the sight of him. A long lost memory floated back into Ben’s mind.

“You…”

“It has been so long since we last met. You really have gotten yourself into a conundrum, old friend,” the mysterious man noted. He smiled softly at him. He seemed to be carrying something bloody in his hand. Ben’s eyes darted to it and he saw a heart that still beat.

Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum.

Bum.

“What the-”

Ben quickly moved his right hand over his heart, but there was no pulse. Ben turned just as pale as his clone. He smiled in response.

“Oh don’t worry, you’ll have this back in no time. You won’t die… As long as you answer my questions. We need catching up to do,” he said. He raised his other hand in the air, and a key appeared in it. He twirled the key around, and then clutched it as hard as he could. Chains wrapped around the heart, causing it to stop beating. Ben let out a gasp. He felt his limbs getting weak.

Loud voices boomed. Ben was unsure whether they were coming from the stars, or somewhere beyond that, but they seemed upset.

“You know how much she loves this guy!” a distinct voice said.

“I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry…” another voice boomed back. The mysterious man chuckled in response.

“You’ll thank me later for that. Now. Let’s get down to business, Ben. What near death situation have you gotten yourself into to have ended up here? Lost within the inner depths of thy soul?

“Nothing you should be worried about… Key Master,” Ben replied with a sneer. The Key Master gave an annoyed look at Ben.

“Don’t give me that crass… Qb lbh jnag zr gb znxr lbh erzrzore, Ora?” the Key Master said. Ben glared.

“Qba'g rira guvax nobhg vg.”

The Key Master gave a devilish grin to Ben. He glanced over at the constellations.

“Lbh'er yhpxl V pubbfr gb uvqr lbhe frpergf sebz gur pbafgryyngvbaf. Gurl pna'g haqrefgnaq hf yvxr guvf.”

The Key Master seemed to stare at the constellations for a bit. He muttered something under his breath.

“Don’t even think about translating,” he muttered.

Ben cut him off.

“I’m here because of an encounter. Three scouts wanted to take me to their leader. She wants me, for some reason. I ended up… dying.”

“And do you know what that reason is?”

“No.”

“That’s funny,” the Key Master said. He began to toss the heart up and down like a ball, “Now. Answer me, Ben. Why’d. You. Choose. To. Forget?”

“There’s no reason. If I let myself remember, I would just go back all the time. I needed to learn to move on on my own without that world at my disposal,” Ben answered as honestly as he could.

“Lies,” the Key Master sneered, “I know why. You’re scared… Scared you’ll lose control. Keep going back, and you’ll never come back. You’ll just live your life there, with that girl-”

“Shut. Up.”

“Ahh, there we go! I guess you do remember,” he giggled, “You look really mad. I think deep down you never really forgot ME.”

The Key Master slunk into a lying position. He tossed the heart up and down in the air some more. Ben could feel himself growing dizzier.

“You know, it’s kind of funny to me. You used to be so heartless! But now here you are, groveling for what makes you most precious. You used to be even worse than that man with the soulless eyes,” the Key Master said, “But you do move on fast. It only felt like yesterday that…”

Ben shot another warning at him. The Key Master shrugged.

“Look. I know what you want. You want to return home. Return to the West. Return to your love. You want to keep that promise… But, I won’t let you forget your roots. Why you’re still alive. You can’t just leave that in the past. I’ll make you remember,” the Key Master snapped. The voids in his eyes began to grow larger.