DESTROYER, RENEWER, SEEKER

By Patrick Conmann

The world has ended. Everywhere I turn, I see infinite darkness and empty space around me. Nobody
is left in this world. Nothing remains in it. Everything else has rotted and turned to dust. Even the light that
has always shone in this world refused to give it light resulting to eternal darkness.
There is nothing left of this world but sand from the dust that has built up, and darkness. No hope
remains for this world.
I failed the duty entrusted to me by the heavens. I failed the people of this world. I failed those
people who believed in me, the people who have helped me and supported me, the people who I held most
dear to me the family who raised me, those who loved me, and most importantly, her. I have failed to
save her and this world she lives in.
I blankly stared at the girl sitting in front of me. I have lately been seeing those dreams more and more often.
I have never talked about my dreams with anyone before. Its not that I think they wouldnt believe me. I just dont
have anyone to talk with about it.
I dont have any real family. I grew up in a small home with my foster parents. When I was old enough, they
told me the truth. They told me that they found me lying on the street inside a basket and legally adopted me. They
really loved and treated me as their own. And I loved them back.
I always do everything with the best of my efforts for them. I attend my classes, study hard everyday, do the
chores and stay out of trouble. Theyre old now. I wouldnt want to give them anything to worry about, especially
with some strange dreams that I have occasionally.
When it comes to friends, I dont have any, or more likely, I dont trust anyone besides my parents. I have
always had this strange feeling when I talk with other people. I feel as if they are always lying or hiding something
from me. I feel as if no one is to be trusted and if I do, Ill wound up getting hurt.

Im a coward. I know that.

getting hurt, myself.

And I acknowledge that Ill always be one.

I hate seeing others get hurt and

The world is a strange place. The people who live in it enjoy inflicting pain on others, but hate pain themselves.
When things dont go their way or how they planned it, they blame others or even the heavens. When they feel sour
and bitter, they would want those around them to feel the same. But when they feel happy and proud, they would
brag about it to others and would want others to think lowly about themselves.
This world is full of such selfish people, but who am I to judge others. Each and everyone is the same. They
were born clean into this world. Filth only clung unto them and stained their minds and hearts. Its not their fault if
they were born with such weak hearts and minds.
What I wish for this world is for it to be rid of its filth and to start anew. Only then, could people live peacefully
and happily.
But the chances of that happening would be one is to one hundred forty-three million two hundred fifty-one
thousand four hundred twenty-five.
With all the people thinking of only themselves right now, its next to impossible to change the world. The
easiest way would be to destroy it and build a new one where people could live in it, but that would be impossible.
I thought that, all those thoughts I held unto that day were just silly, wishful thinking. But they proved me
wrong. I was told that I possess the greatest power of all the power to protect. To protect all those I hold dear, but
what have I to protect when I consider no one dear to me?

Chapter One
It was summer afternoon. I lay on a branch of the big apple tree that grew tall in front of the school building.
In this world called Kraft, summer days hold the shortest days and the longest nights. Summer is the hottest season
in the year which is why it was made the shortest season. Summer only lasts one month or forty-seven days in Kraft.
Let me explain. In the world you call Earth, there exists three hundred sixty-five point twenty-five days in one
year or one complete revolution around the sun. And there exists twenty-four hours in one day or one complete
rotation on its axis. That is the reason why those living in the planet experience day and night. To expound more,
there are sixty minutes in one hour and sixty seconds in one hour. If one converts that per day, that would be eightysix thousand four hundred seconds per day and one thousand four hundred forty minutes in one day.
In Kraft, one minute is equivalent to sixty-seven seconds; one hour is equivalent to sixty-seven minutes. One
revolution around our star, Stellar, takes three hundred seventy-six days. It takes approximately nineteen hours for
Kraft to rotate on its axis making our days shorter than in Earth.
We were taught that the world, Earth, no longer exists; that it died centuries ago. I still believe that somewhere
in this galaxy we all live in, Earth is still in existence in a parallel world, a world similar to ours but of different space
or dimension.
I believe that all my talk of space and time is boring you now. Lets return to what I was telling you awhile
back.

That summer afternoon, I was resting underneath the shade of the tall apple tree trying to hide from the suns
intense rays of heat. The night before, I was up the whole time reviewing for the final exams and making breakfast
for the next day. I overworked myself too much that my body felt so heavy in the morning.
I was finally about to be able to get a nights worth of sleep when I felt the tree shake. I looked below to check
what was wrong.
I was greeted with the same annoying face and voice Charles Keith. Charles and I sit on the opposite poles of
a really long bar magnet. We completely think opposite the other. Our views of the world totally contradict the other.
What I hate the most, he loves the most. Its a miracle that I was able to bear with him all these years.
I practically grew up in the same neighborhood with him. My parents introduced him to me when I was four and
he was three. Thats right. Im older than him by exactly one and half a year, but were on the same year. He went
to school earlier than me for that matter.
Charles looked up at me; all the strands of his hair fell back as he did so. He waved his hand frivolously
showing his stupid, annoying face at me. Hey! Steiner! Come down here! I have something to show you! He
shouted gathering everyones attention.
I jumped down at once to prevent him from gathering any more attention. You never do keep that voice of
yours down, do you? I said sarcastically said as I whacked him on the head with the review papers I was holding
onto. What do you want this time, Charles?
Look! Its a picture of Leah, the new transfer student, he said waving his phone to my face.
Hold still. Geez, why are you always so fidgety? I grabbed his hand and took a closer look on the profile of
girl depicted on the screen of his phone. For a moment, I felt my heart pound against my chest a bit harder. The girl
looked familiar but I was sure that I had never met her before.
Straight black hair fell on her back. Her skin is pale and white as snow. Her eyes, the shade of slate gray,
slightly cast downwards. It was clear to me that she was carrying some kind of pain buried deep inside her. Her
plush lips curved into the faintest smile.

She was definitely thinking of something that, I concluded. But by staring at her smile, I felt my own lips curve
into a smile as well.
Pretty, isnt she? He grinned one of his stupid smiles. Too bad, shes already taken. I could see that shes
your type, Steiner. He said ruffling my hair.
You know that annoys me, I said slapping his hand away. And he laughed telling me that I was fun to be with.
At that exact moment, I never lived a normal life.
I had another one of those dreams.

I was in a dark and secluded room. I was running definitely from something terrifying. I was
running and running, but the exit was nowhere to be found. Until the room morphed into a long tunnel, I
found no hint of light. I ran towards what seemed to be the end of the tunnel towards the light. When I
grew near, I could form a silhouette of a girl. Her body frame indicates that she was about the same age as
me. As she turned to face me, the light illuminated her face a bit enough to make out her facial features.
It struck me that she was the same girl as the one I saw from Charless phone.
She opened her mouth as if trying to converse with me. She held out her hand to me and I
instinctively reached out mine. Before our fingers could barely touch, the girl disintegrated. And I was back
to a world of nothingness.
Charles shook my shoulders as I regained my consciousness. Steiner, are you alright? You look kind of pale,
man. We need to get you to the infirmary right away, he said feeling concerned.

As I woke up, my body felt extremely light. I felt fully rested. I sat up and looked out the window. The city
lights fully lit up the dark sky. They looked as if the star were right before your eyes.

Reality sunk into my mind. I was sleeping half the day in the school infirmary. I checked the room, but it
appeared as if I was the only one left. I wondered if Charles or the school physician already went home. Even though
it was totally out of character for Charles to leave for home without waiting or waking me up, I saw no sign of him.
As I walked towards the door, it opened. A man and woman greeted me, both holding a tray of hot coffee.
If youre looking for your friend, hes sound asleep on the couch, the woman said as they both entered.
I see youre fully awake now. It seems that your powers are too strong for you to handle with your current
state. That would explain why you always feel tired after witnessing a vision. The man sat down on a chair next to
the coffee table at the corner of the room.
The woman set down the tray of coffee and handed a cup to me. Sensing my confusion to the situation, she
smiled and tried to explain everything in laymans terms.
They first introduced themselves to me. The man was named Ian Tremors. He is the representative of the
Federal Bureau of Unexplained Scientific Paranormal Activities under the division of Parallel World Activities. The
woman was named Sherry Hawks. She is the Chief Executive Officer under the division of Protection of Parallel World
Stability and Dimension.
It would seem that greatest power in the world was divided into three the power to destroy, renew, and
protect. Those three powers were entrusted to three people. Those three people were given the names Genesis,
Exodus, and Leviticus. And I was one of them. I was Leviticus, the one who holds the greatest power of the three
the power to protect.
Genesis was known to have the power of destruction. A single touch from could taint anything and immediately
turn it into nothingness. They said that he is a heartless fiend who only thinks of himself. Once he has set his eyes
on his prey, he would never let go of him and would want to destroy him bit by bit.
Exodus was known to have a completely negative way of thinking about the world. He believes it to be a
corrupt and an unjust world. Once he sees something tainted even just in the slightest he wishes to renew it.

Now, I dont find that in the least threatening except for the fact that the manner of his renewal is not so
much in agreement with mine. He has to return it to dust. For it was written, from dust you were, to dust you shall
return.
Just thinking of a world filled with nothing but remnants of sand isnt amusing to me. The moment I heard that,
I a chill ran down my spine. I had a terrible feeling that somewhere I have already witnessed something as terrible as
that.
Leviticus, I, was said to have the power to see into the past, present or future. It was also possible to see an
event happening at a different dimension or as others may call it a parallel world.
They told me that Kraft was one of the parallel worlds of Earth. They told me that the only way to save all the
other parallel worlds is to prevent the clash or alliance between the two Genesis and Exodus.
Their very meeting with each other could be the end of for that world. And that is what we must prevent.

Chapter Two
I walked the uphill road to school. Today was a chilly morning. Unlike the days before, today was snowing
harder than usual. I placed my hands inside the pocket of jacket and paced faster to shorten the time I have to stay
outside.
As reached the top of the hill, I felt a heavy slap on my back. For sure, I knew it was him.
That hurt, you know? I complained creating fog as a spoke.
Its your fault for not waiting for me! He hollered his mouth against my ear.
Didnt anyone ever teach you not to shout at peoples ears? Okay, fine. Im sorry that I didnt wait for you. Ill
treat you lunch. Happy?
He still looked at me with those hurt eyes of his. Seriously, he could be such a kid. No, he whispered.
What do you want then?
Your lunch.
I beg your pardon. My lunch?
He nodded hi head quickly. No one can beat your cooking, Steiner. Its been years since I last tasted them.

Years? Now, youre just exaggerating. You just ate my lunch last week!
But, I already decided to forgive you if you agreed to exchange lunch with me. He pouted.
Okay, fine. I get it. You can have my lunch. And as those words slipped from my mouth, we felt the world
around distort.
Something changed. And I felt as if something terrible will happen soon.
Charles, did you feel that? As I turned to face him, nothing was left of him. He vanished through thin air.
Charles!
I frantically searched the whole town for him. The strangest thing is that every person I asked if they had seen
Charles or not, they would always reply whos Charles. It was as if Charles had never existed at all.
Now with Charles gone, I absolutely have no one to talk about this huge mission of mine.
I dragged my feet solemnly against the pavement and entered school gate. I walked directly into the classroom
avoiding contact with anyone and sat on my chair. I gazed lazily outside the window and wondered who would take
Charless seat.
I looked at the empty chair beside me where Charles was supposed to sit and sighed. I raised my head and saw
Leah enter the classroom.
I have never interacted with Leah before at all. The only one time Ive actually seen her was just a picture
Charles took last summer. Now that I thought about it, she was never in my class before. So why was she entering
the same classroom I am in?
She sat on the chair that Charles used to occupy. She noticed me watching her. She faced my way and smiled.
Good morning, Steiner, she greeted.
Morning, I replied then looked away from her.

STEINER! Is that the proper way to treat your girlfriend? How can you be so cold? Did you two get into a
fight? Cecilia butted in.
Girlfriend? But I dont have any, I said with confusion.
Have you eaten a lotus seed or something? You confessed to her last week and she happily answered you.
Cecilia explained.
Cecilia, may I speak with Steiner in private for awhile? Leah asked.
Go right ahead. Cecilia said as she left the two of us.
Steiner, I know that youre really confused right now but it seems that the world changed around us just some
time ago. And it seems to me that were the only ones right now who have noticed the change. I also know fully well
that your friend, Charles Keith vanished. Am I right?
Astonished to what my ears were actually hearing, I felt my jaw drop open for a bit. How did? That was all
that I managed to say.
How did I know? Well, when I entered my original classroom, no one seemed to recognize me and they were
all asking me if I were a new transfer student. I know I am one but Ive already been studying here for at least a
month.
When I learned that I was transferred to your class, I know that someone had to have left the class in my
place. Thats when I realized that Charles mustve left since he was no longer around you, which is strange since he
always hang around with you.
How did you know that Charles is always with me?
About that, she looked the other way and whispered. I have always been watching you.

Sensing that Ive reached a topic that was quite awkward, I decided to drop it. Enough about that. What do
we do now? I checked my phone for any message that the agency couldve sent me for my current condition. I
found none.
Is it possible that we keep the lovers act as to not raise any suspicion on us? She timidly asked.
Well, I dont really mind but why bother?
I guess, Im asking too much. Sorry.
I never said that I object to the idea, did I?
And she smiled that same smile I have fallen for many times over. Even though this was my first time meeting
her, that was what it seemed to me.

The teachers, lessons, everything in school remained the same. Practically, the only that has changed was that
Charles has somewhat vanished and the fact that I am now dating Leah even if it is just to avoid disrupting the flow
of the world.
During lunch, I ate at the same spot I usually eat at. Except, this time Im with Leah not Charles. She eats in a
rather slow manner which kind of set my pacing off a little. After eating for years with that old goof Charles, I mean
I was used to just swallowing my meals, never really having the chance to taste them for once.
After school was over, that same day, the headquarters contacted me and instructed me to go to the school
infirmary. They told me to bring Leah along as well, since she holds a valuable piece of the mystery as to why the
world suddenly distorted.
I took Leahs hand in mine and assured her that everything was going to be fine. Her hand quivered a bit as I
held on tight to it. It was clear to me that shes afraid of the uncertainty that lie ahead of us. Surely, even I am
afraid. I squeezed her hand once I saw the sign that leads to the infirmary.

As I was ready to open the door, she tugged on my sleeve pulling me back a little.
Im scared, she whispered.

We both are.

Im here, I said a braved it out a little for both our sake. I gave her hand light squeeze and slid open the door
not knowing what lies in store for us
. Ian sat on the chair placed near the coffee table putting on his usual grumpy face. It never seemed to me that his
face could ever lighten up at all. His brows would always seem to meet each other. The curve on his lips shaped that
of a rainbow.
Sherry greeted us with a gentle smile and offered us seats. She looked great as ever. She wore her usual
black, fitted, work suit. She handed us both a cup of coffee and waited for us to settle before she started.
I would like for you two to hear me out first before you say anything else. There might be things that wouldnt
make sense to you for now, but I assure you that we are all doing what we can to the best of our abilities.
We nodded to assure her that we have understood and remained quiet to hear more of what she has to say.
The parallel worlds right now are at disarray. As of now, we dont have a lead on who is the main cause for this
happening. All we know right now is that either Genesis or Exodus is the one behind all this. But as to, who they are,
we have no suffice information yet.
The reason behind this disarray is that either one of the two is acting up. Like a child having his tantrums, the
same is happening. To stop any further disruption on the time and space, we must investigate and calm him down.
Right now, since youre the only two who have noticed the change, we would like the two of you to work
together and investigate on this happening. First, we would like to send both of you to the headquarters. From there,
we would see to it that everything else be explained in detail.
She paused and clapped her hand twice. Suddenly, from no where, a woman dressed in the same fitted work

suit as Sherry but white this time teleported in.

Marigold, please see to it that Ms. Leah, be escorted back to the headquarters safe and sound. She addressed
the girl in white.
Marigold looked around 5-7 years younger than Sherry but no more than 5 years older than us. Her white suit
made her look complexion paler than it already is. Her lips are red as a ripened apple. Her hair is tied up into a bun
with little strands falling from behind her left ear.
Steiner, stay here for awhile. I would like everything to be ready before you leave this world. Sherry said
facing me, her face suddenly with every hint of seriousness in it.
What about Leah?
Listen to what I have to tell you now. The world you knew and grew up in is a fake. That is just a world
created by a being with the ability to create from nothing simply based on emotions. To put it simply, Kraft is just a
world that was unconsciously made by that being.
Being? You mean, other than the three of us, there is one more? I asked starting to get confused.
Not quite. Its more like, the three of existed from a single being. She, on the other hand, is a completely
different being. She is her own.
Wait. By she, do you mean
Thats right. Leah is that other being.

Chapter Three
I stared at the ceiling wondering what everything Ive done up to now was for. It still baffled me, even though it
has been already days since Sherry broke the news to me.
After living in a world you grew up in for fifteen years, you couldnt exactly expect me to be calm after learning
that all of that was just a fake. So what does that make me a fake, too?
Things were not making any sense for me right now. I grabbed the glass of water from the bedside table and
sat up. As I sat up straight on my bed the one given by the FBUSPA the door slid open. All the doors of the
bureau slide open automatically to the presence of body heat when not locked. It was for convenience purposes, or
so the bureau says.
I turned to see who it was. The light from outside surrounding the silhouette made it hard to distinguish who it
was. I squinted my eyes a little to get a better view.
And I couldnt believe who it was.
I loosened my grip on the glass of water I was holding to my surprise and disbelief. And it fell. As it touched
the floor, the glass shattered into a dozen pieces and water spilled on the marble floor. The sound of the shattering
glass echoed throughout the room deafening my ears.
The oh-so-familiar silhouette that always annoyed me ruining my mood every morning stood before me right now.
Strands of hair covered half of his face.

It was Charles.
Charles! I exclaimed. I quickly stood up to my excitement. But as soon as I got up on my two feet, Charles
had vanished once again. There was no trace of him at all. No evidence that the door had even slid open.
I sat back on my bed and thought. I must be delusional. This cant be one of my dreams, can it? This is way too
different from all the other dreams I had from before.
I tucked my head between my knees as I organized my thoughts. Charles was just before the door. And now there
was no trace that he had actually been there. Could it be possible that Charless thoughts are connected to mine?
When my mind was about to give, I picked myself up and decided to take a stroll.

The interior design of the building was amazing. The walls were made of pure glass. The glass gave off a
classic executive feel for the place. To maintain the privacy of each room, tint was added. The floorings were lighted
with special lights that glowed brightly lighting almost the walkway itself, but not so bright that it could strain your
eyes. Potted plants could be spotted everywhere within the vicinity. It was obvious that the people here are
environmentalists.
As my stroll along the corridor ended, I reached the reception area. A huge artificial, electrically-powered
waterfall was built in the middle. The waterfall was ornamented with real, live plants. And the pond where the water
actually fell into was a home to a rare species of goldfish and guppies I have never seen at home before. How they
managed to build that, we have science to thank.
Four-sitter black leather couches were placed against the wall. Each

EPILOGUE