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  I was on my knees on the dirty and dusty floor, square in the center of a gigantic crater where the city of Beijing used to stand. I stared blankly at the desolate landscape, my eyes devoid of any and all life, while my arms hanged limply at my sides. I slowly blinked a few times and stared up at the sky and directly at the sun, feeling my retinas being burned slowly. Another failure. I thought in pure despair as a wide grin began to spread across my face, my lips parting into a psychotic smile akin to that of a serial killer. It’s funny. It’s so funny, isn’t it?? They all had died. All ten of those useless idiots, their bodies probably ripped to shreds throughout the wasteland before me. The only one still alive was Seven, but that didn’t mean his fate was any better. Probably being endlessly killed over and over. I finally stopped staring at the sun once I had gone entirely blind, letting my head hang on my shoulders while my smile disappeared. I slowly raised my hands until they reached my eyebrows, digging into my skin with my nails as hard as I physically could before beginning to claw at it. My mouth contorted into a painful grimace, gritting my teeth from the pain that I was inflicting on myself, the veins on my arms bulging as I attempted to rip my own face off as vigorously as I could, as if in a frenzy. Blood began to pour down my face and stain the length of my arms, making a puddle in the floor in front of me, and yet I still refused to stop. I only ceased my self inflicted mutilation once my arms were physically too tired to keep going. I slowly got to my feet, wobbling weakly from side to side thanks to my self-inflicted injuries, blood loss already getting to me. I put a bloodied hand into my pocket, finding the crumpled cigarette within and pulling it out shakily, opening my mouth as I placed it on my lips yet didn't bother to light it. Spreading my arms out, I turned the clock. Here we go again. Happy birthday to me.

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  I was now in front of a baffled One and Seven, standing in the rubble of a New York skyscraper. I gave them a smirk and a raised eyebrow, putting my hands on my hips as if I hadn’t been in the process of killing myself five seconds ago. “Come on. No point in standing around doing nothing. The rest of the Celestials are going to get here soon enough, and I’ll have a LOT of explaining to do~,” I turned around to leave, but Seven quickly grabbed my shoulder before I could begin to walk away. Ironically enough, he was probably the only Celestial weak enough for me to forcefully escape his grip, but I decided to stop anyway. I turned my head to look at him and cocked it to the side inquisitively. Seven’s brow was furrowed, his eyes sparkling a crimson red. He opened his mouth, his voice coming out as more baffled than mad, “Oi, don’t just walk away so casually like that!! What’s with you suddenly showing up here?!” I responded with a snicker and a shrug, condescendingly patting his hand before answering, “Hey, I said I had a lot of explaining to do, didn’t I? I’d rather not explain twice, Immortalis. Let’s just be patient until the rest of the ten show up, yeah?”

  With that, Seven resignedly let go of my shoulder with a defeated sigh and instead turned to the very shocked and confused Angellica, to which he gave her a harmless kick in the shin and told her to “get your lazy ass moving.” With that, the three of us walked silently until we reached the Association New York branch building. The place was wrecked through and through; the roof was gone and there were only two walls left standing. I had placed a stack of plastic chairs a couple of years prior right on the corner between the two standing walls to ensure that when this day came they wouldn’t get destroyed like the rest of the furniture in this wreckage. No matter how many times I see it, this place never stops looking awful. I thought absent-mindedly, grabbing the plastic chairs and forming a half circle with them. The final chair was placed in the center of the circle, facing the others. Immortalis merely watched while leaning on the wall with his arms crossed while Angellica nervously looked from him to me with the expression of a panicking cornered animal, her body still clearly exhausted beyond belief. Once I was done, I wiped my hands on my pants and promptly sat down on the chair facing the rest, laying one leg over the other as I yawned.

  Immortalis approached the formation of seats, already beginning to understand what I was doing. “This is cocky. REAL cocky, even for you,” he told me with a semi smirk, settling down on his designated seat before looking at me with an almost menacing look in his eyes, “How many times has this stupid meeting happened for you to be so casual about it, ah?!” Before I could answer him, though, a portal suddenly opened up behind the semi-circle of chairs out of which stepped out the entire entourage one by one. Starting with Number Ten, aka Crusader, his pearly white eyes immediately landing on me before quickly switching over to Seven and then Angellica. Behind him was a floating collection of handle-less swords, none of them sporting intricate patterns or even the most basic of decorations. He quickly caught on to what was happening and gave me a disgusted frown before taking a seat, the swords embedding themselves in the ground around him in a sort of circle. “You’ll answer for this, Number One, mark my words. I'll be amicable for now, but it won't last,” he threatened me through grit teeth, to which I gave an apologetic yet unbothered smile. Deep down, though, I was chuckling at his childish threat. As if, I welcome you to try. But you won't. I know the script.

  Next to walk out was Number Nine; aka Stalwart. He gave the room a quick scan as soon as he stepped out of the portal, his dark expression brightening up as he too realized what was going on. He subsequently sighed in relief, giving me a genuinely warm smile while his dull gray eyes glinted, all while scratching the back of his head as if pondering something important. "Looks like the threat's been neutralised already, how efficient!" he joked softly, unbothered that no one else laughed at it. He then lazily sat down next to Crusader, giving Immortalis and Angellica an acknowledging yet somewhat warm nod each before interlocking his fingers, the barrier around his skin disappearing and instead forming a sphere around the ruins of the building - just in case. At least he’s tolerable. I thought disdainfully.

  Soon after arrived Number Eight; aka Empress. Her purple eyes were raging with volatile energy, but they quickly died down as soon as she looked down at the Celestials sitting down in plastic chairs. She, like the last two, gave the room a quick glance and figured out what was going on nearly immediately. She sighed in exasperation while placing a hand on her forehead and shot me a deathly look, the kind that an employee would never want to receive from his boss. She balled up her fists and shook her head in disappointment, taking a seat with crossed arms. She looked at Immortalis and gave him that same deathly look, making him put his hands up mockingly in a sign of innocence and confusion, as if to tell her he wasn't in on it. Empress then turned to look at Angellica, raising an eyebrow in curiosity at the presence of this random girl that was also there. As annoying as ever. I thought with a pleasant and neutral smile. Good thing this isn't the timeline where you instantly try to break my spine.

  Out of the portal jumped Number Six, aka Warpbreaker. He chuckled while smiling broadly, his navy blue eyes sparkling brilliantly with energy as multiple smaller portals all appeared behind him in a pattern similar to a crest, as if with the intention of using them offensively. He looked around the room, his smile quickly fading and turning into an upset frown as the collection of portals closed and he groaned in frustration, taking half a step forward and teleporting unto his seat, staring at me with apathy and resentment. “Screw you, man. At least let us have SOME fun before forcing us into another boring meeting!” he accused me. I shrugged apologetically, giving him a sarcastically innocent look. Don’t you worry, 'friend,' I have a LOT of very fun activities in store for all of you.

  Number Five, aka Maquineer, stepped out as well. Her mechanical eyes whirring with killer focus before widening when she noticed everyone positioned in flimsy plastic chairs, looking from side to side in bafflement. Her shoulders had two grenade launchers attached, her left hand was holding a minigun, and her right arm had been transformed into a vibrating blade. She slowly panned over to Eight, who gave her a brisk shrug to which Maquineer’s body returned to normal, all of her weaponry disappearing in an instant. “Umm… hi? I was under the impression that we were going to fight a huge monster or something… Is that not what we're doing anymore??” she muttered softly, looking around for validation to her confusion. Empress sighed, answering the poor girl, “I have a feeling the monster has been dealt with by now. Just sit down, consider this as beginning the Celestial meeting early,” she told Maquineer with a twirl of a finger, pointing at the chair next to Immortalis. Maquineer nodded politely and gave the rest of the members an apologetic smile before quickly scurrying to her seat, her face bright red from shame. Crusader didn’t bother to look at her - since he was too concentrated on staring directly at me, Stalwart gave her a reassuring nod, Immortalis snickered audibly, and Warpbreaker jokingly ruffled her hair from where he was sitting using his space manipulation, causing her to get startled. I barely managed to hold back an amused chuckle myself... or so I made it seem. So bright, yet so inept. Such is the fate of an existance like hers, I guess.

  Number Four, aka Breadman, was next in line. Yellow light emanated violently from behind his sunglasses, illuminating the dust particles all around his face. The light quickly dimmed, however, as soon as he gave the people gathered a look of dismay, realization setting in within him. He gnashed his teeth in anger, and without a word turned around 180 degrees and began to walk right back towards the portal. “You’re going to want to hear this one out, Breadman,” I called out in an almost lazy manner before he left, making him stop in his tracks as he clenched his fist in frustration and quickly turned around to look at me, his arm suddenly transforming into a dough-like tentacle and extending towards me in the blink of an eye, his grip wrapping up around my neck tightly and lifting me up into the air. Everyone in the room immediately became silent, watching the both of us as the tension in the air became practically palpable. I didn’t even react despite the crushing feeling around my throat, merely giving him a passive smile even as he violently clenched his other fist in anger. “This better be worth it,” he finally mumbled discordiously after analyzing my perfectly neutral expression for any hint of emotion and finding none, retracting his arm and turning it back to normal before taking a seat, leaving me to catch my own fall. The tension quickly eased up as everyone else relaxed again, like a ripple ammanating through the heroes gathered. “I'm not your lapdog for you to toy with as you please,” he growled as a threat, staring directly at me, his hands on his lap, “You’d do well in remembering that, before you make me lose my temper.” Ironically enough, I’d claim you’re the most reasonable of them all, Breadman. I thought with an inner sigh, rubbing my aching neck a little from how hard he had squeezed, my feet also emmanating a bit of discomfort due to the fall.

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  Number Three, aka Dreamstress, gingerly stepped through the portal with a yawn not one second after Breadman had finished his threat. She scanned the room from left to right, her eyes narrowing like a cats’ while one of her eyebrows raised, pursing her lips in disdain, her gaze pausing once she recognised the spot reserved for her before carrying on. Finally, her gaze rested on me, and her face went from bored to one of utter loathing in a split second. “Oh. You,” she hissed hatefully, taking a few steps forward, "I was half hoping the monster had somehow killed you," she finished with a growl, her eyes glued to me as the dual light emanating from them intensified. I openly grinned at her while cocking my head, interlocking my fingers. She had been my one source of entertainment for so long by now, it was almost impossible not to appreciate that special quality that made her so damn fun. Her utter hatred of me. "Nope, sorry, still here,” I answered back with an overtly toothy grin, making the veins on her forehead pop in an unseemly manner and her teeth grit so hard it made an audible scratching sound. “It’s nice seeing you again, Dreamstress,” I continued politely, nodding at the empty chair, "Why don't you join us for a talk?" Her eyes narrowed even further as she stared at me before finally making a move towards the seat. Everyone watched her with slight fear and apprehension as she made her way to her spot, finally sitting down and cracking a smile once more, locking herself behind a mask for the time being, seemingly having calmed down in the short walk from the portal to the chair, now looking up at me with a raised eyebrow and a playful glint in her eyes as if nothing had happened. “You better have a GOOD explanation, you bastard,” she called out disdainfully, "My hair's a mess cause I had to rush."

  In the end, the last person - or thing - to walk through the portal was one of Number Two’s many bodies. Aka, Horde, it was probably the creature that caused me the most disgust in the entire world. It? They? The body I’m speaking of is that of a male, so I’ll just refer to him as such. God, what a confusing mess. At least he doesn’t seem to care one bit about how we refer to him. I thought, dialing down my desire to scowl in disgust as he looked around for a few seconds before simply sitting down without saying a word, like a businessman attending a perfectly routine and expected meeting. He looked over at me passively for an explanation, his expression empty besides the nearly imperceptible glimmer in his pupils, his head having a slight sideways tilt. Horde’s disguise is almost perfect, and any normal person wouldn’t even notice that whoever they were talking to wasn’t a normal human at all, not even after years and years of generally talking to them. But I knew how to differentiate this thing from the rest of humanity from a mere glance, an ability I had honed over many, many years, and that I had acquired due simply to overexposure. It was the slight things, from moving a bit too robotically to the ever so dim unnatural glow coming from his pupils, the tiny details almost everyone else would overlook. This thing was an utter mockery of humanity, and if it was up to me I would have burned them all down. But alas… I needed Two alive, for better or worse.

  I clasped my hands together and stood up, giving those gathered a wide smile. “Well, now that we’re all gathered here, I’d like to give you all an explanation about the current events!” I began while walking from side to side while giving a big fake smile. This caught their attention, the ten people sitting in chairs before me turning to look expectantly, not one of them at ease or with anything on their faces but a scowl - be it worried, hateful, annoyed, or otherwise. I continued, pacing back and forth unassumingly, “My fellow Celestials, I can hear you all wondering! ‘Why oh why is a third of New York City burnt to ashes, and more importantly, why oh why aren’t YOU, Kronos, stopping it?’ Well, long story short, I’d like to introduce you all to this pretty lady over here,” I signaled towards Angellica, motioning for her to stand up. Angellica looked around in confusion, the gazes of the extremely renowned and famous Celestial Ten on her, making cold sweat run down her face. She blushed a deep bright red in embarrassment and quickly got to her feet, giving a tentative wave before quickly dropping her hand when she realised that none of the heroes gathered had any intention of waving back. I opened my mouth to continue, only to rather rudely be interrupted by a very sharp blade poking into my neck, a drop of my blood running down the edge of it. I looked over at Crusader, one of his hands stretched out and one of his swords no longer embedded in the ground in front of him. Angellica gasped, taking a step back, while the rest of the Celestials watched on without interfering, varying degrees of concern or approval on their faces.

  “I’m not impressed, One,” Ten hissed, standing up from where he had been sitting, his eyes completely narrowed while they glowed an intense and piercing pearly white. “Inaction is the same as perpetration; and that applies ESPECIALLY to YOU. You, of all people, are the most aware of the untold thousands you just killed, Kronos,” he finished, the blade poking deeper into my neck, another drop of blood sliding down the edge of the sword, making his point crystal clear. I turned to look at him, my eyelids falling half-way down my eyes while my smile completely vanished from my face. Stalwart watched on with concern, his worn out expression sour while in deep thought. Empress had one leg over the other, her hands resting on her lap elegantly as she simply resigned herself to observe, her eyes unblinking thanks to her vested interest in the situation. Immortalis scratched his chin in amusement, smirking as his crimson eyes watched our every move eagerly. Warpbreaker trailed his eyes over us neutrally, absentmindedly passing around a ball of condensed unrecognizable matter from one hand to the next soundlessly, making it impossible to know if he was analyzing the situation or merely bored. Maquineer was holding onto her seat so tightly it was beginning to crack under her grip, pursing her lips as her dark green eyes shifted around as if she was in a panic, unsure of what to do. Breadman nodded along to what Crusader was saying, his own hands balled into tight fists, his teeth gritting together as the light coming from the sides of his sunglasses intensified. Dreamstress giggled softly, being the only one to actually make a sound as she placed a hand over her mouth, her eyes locked unto me, the swirling in her eyes speeding up being the only indication that she was feeling any sort of strong emotion, despite it being impossible to tell which one. Finally, Horde shook his head in disappointment and distaste at Crusader’s actions, despite his expression remaining stone cold and neutral. Angellica sat back down, pressing her knees against her chest, her eyes still wide and fearful as they bounced between each of the heroes gathered in turn.

  “Go ahead,” I answered back in a perfectly normal tone, my voice not betraying anything I was feeling. Crusader blinked a few times, taken completely aback in surprise as I took a step forward, allowing the extremely sharp blade of the sword to cut deeper into me until my wound was actively gushing out blood down the length of the weapon and dripping on the floor once it reached the other end of it. “This is the best way to prove my point,” I added, looking over at the rest of the people gathered, “This is probably the single most insane thing I’ve ever done, but I absolutely need you all to trust me on this. I would never do this just because. Never. You all know it,” I love lying. I thought in amusement, hiding my real feelings with masterful expertise. Crusader pursed his lips, his eyes flaring before he finally flicked his wrist while sitting down, the sword floating backwards towards him and doing a flip before embedding itself on the floor, blood staining the dirt, "If your explanation does not suffice, I will make you pay a thousandfold for every death you caused today," Number Ten grumbled, closing a hand into a fist and causing one of his swords to crumple up into a ball as if it was made of paper. Empress lifted a hand, as if to silence the already quiet tension brewing among those present, her eyes fixated on me, “First thing's first. What makes you so convinced of this being the only way, Number One? And this girl you brought here, Angellica... I can already see where this is going, but I still must tell you this. There is exactly one, and only ONE way to justify what has just happened here. You understand, yes?” she stated calmly, lowering her hand once more as if she had just asked a question in a class and I was the professor, despite the paradoxic nature of what was actually happening, her piercing gaze making it very clear that this was my one chance to properly explain myself. A small smile returned to my lips despite the wound in my neck, opening my mouth to answer, the entire room dotted with pairs of glowing eyes intently following my every move.

  “Yes, of course,” I finally added, my own hand balling into a fist as I grimaced deeply, darkness shrouding most of my gaze. A few seconds passed and I lifted my head again, smiling softly yet filled with so much sorrow and pain that the only person in the entire room that wasn’t fooled was Dreamstress, though she didn’t interject to expose me. “I will keep it short. Angellica here will save far, far more than just a few thousand people in the future. And yes, before you ask, we wouldn’t be able to do it without her. I can't ellaborate... but we need her, and this was the only way.” This explanation seemed to satisfy some of the gazes trained on me, at least the more trusting ones. Most of the people gathered continued to stare into me with narrowed eyes, however, not ready to accept trading the lives of thousands with a mere promise of the future. And rightfully so, to be honest. I thought amusedly, looking over at Horde as he stared unwaveringly into my eyes as if searching for a soul. Angellicas’ eyes were as wide as they could be, looking more like a startled animal and less like a Celestial by the second, her mouth hung open as if trying to protest against what I was saying yet incapable of forming the words. “If you’re not convinced with just my words, then let me add this. If in a year she hasn’t proven her worth, I’ll willingly subject myself to a trial, and, if need be, imprisoned for life,” I expressed, staring at each of them one by one, suddenly cracking a mischievous smirk, “I’d say the death penalty would be more appropriate, but that’d be a bit difficult for me.” There, that’s enough to convince them. The next three hours will be just a scripted back and forth that I can mostly tune it out. They aren't happy about it, but they'll eventually accept it~ As for the newly appointed One… well, Angellica's whole family is dead this time round, so Empress will give her somewhere to live while she prepares an official debut. At least that's how I've rigged things so far. But who knows, maybe I'll be surprised. I thought pessimistically, rolling my eyes at my own thoughts. Yeah, as if.

  But then I was genuinely startled as I began to think of the future, my attention being forcibly dragged to the present by a sudden and confusing deviation from the script. “Kronos,” Empress suddenly spoke slowly, her eyes fully narrowed as she stared up at my face. I raised an eyebrow and nodded to show that I was listening, genuinely confused about her tone. She’s being so… intense. What’s up with her? “How many times has this day happened?” she asked politely, savoring every word, her eyes unblinking. This immediately caught the attention of everyone gathered, even though the tension had already begun to clear. Even Angellica stopped panicking silently for a few moments as her eyes darted to me, a slight golden color flowing into them as she stared expectantly at my face. My polite expression disappeared in an instant, my face becoming perfectly neutral and darkened over as I stared into Eight's glowing purple eyes with my own dull pitch black ones unwaveringly, genuinely stunned. This was... unexpected. She hasn’t ever asked me this before. How strange… I wonder what changed? Was my acting somehow off? I smiled again after regaining my composure, tilting my head to try and reassure everyone around. “I see I can’t fool you, Number Eight. Truth is, this is the FIFTH time this meeting’s happened. Trust me when I say, she’s worth it,” I assured them, holding up five fingers, one per repetition. Dreamstress’ lavalamp-esque eyes flickered with light momentarily at my words, a wide psychotic grin spreading on her lips and blush overtaking her cheeks for just a few milliseconds as she was able to clearly sense my emotions, immediately realising that I had just blatantly lied. I’m sorry, Empress, but I wouldn’t be able to answer you even if I tried. I thought grimly, for once not really having something snarky to add. I stopped counting long, long ago.