Final Power

Where You Go

"Hello."

"Hey."

"We can't go back anymore, can we?"

"Afraid not."

"I tried learning chronomancy. Finding artifacts. Fighting fire with fire."

"But."

"But that timelock. That was you, right? I tried so hard to break it."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not sure what to say."

"It's fine. Take your... I mean, just... think on it as much as you need. This was all my fault anyway."

"I don't know if I agree."

"Don't know a lot of things anymore, do we?"

"No. How do we?"

"We don't. We can't. We never will. Just gotta learn to live with what happened."

"I don't know if I can do that either."

"Yeah."

"So even though we fixed it, it won't matter."

"No."

"All those timelines?"

"Yeah."

"If they were going to exist anyway, why did I try?"

"Because you cared, and you never gave up."

"Maybe I should have."

"Did you ever want to do it? You know. 'Take revenge'."

"...Yes."

"Is this how you expected it to end?"

"No."

"Do you regret anything?"

"A part of me wants to say I regret everything. Another part of me... regrets I didn't kill you from the start."

This story was written for the 2024 Dialogue Only contest hosted by X. Thank you for the opportunity.