Chapter Text

Rachel looked up on weak legs into the eyes of the man called Baam. His arms surrounded her. His scent surrounded her. Shocked as she was, she could only feel so warm. So safe. This both was and wasn't the Baam she remembered. Something had clearly changed. Some deep spark in his eyes. But all she could see clearly in them, was her reflection. In his eyes, Rachel was all he could see... It was a bit... scary.

"I don't... I don't understand." Rachel said after long embrace.

"I know." Baam slowly releasing her muttered. "Sit with me? We have a lot to talk about,"

And so, hand in hand, the two people walked among the stars. When Baam at last found a spot he liked, one where he felt the stars were most beautiful, they sat down together in the middle of the sky, feet dangling, bodies held up by the power of the God domain... and they talked.

"I"m sure you have a lot of questions for me. But first. How much do you remember?" Baam started things off, staring directly into her face as if he were to even blink, she would disappear.

Rachel blushed, "I can remember all the way until you were the First Baam, I think..."

Baam nodded silently, seemingly deep in thought. After a pause, Rachel took the initiative.

"Baam I... why do I feel this way? After everything I've done to you... after everything you've done to me... why does my heart beat so loudly in my chest... I'm not a little girl anymore, I'm not trapped in my own self delusions! I know now and even still, I--" At this, she started to squirm.

Baam crocked his head back and a solar wind blew in, ruffling his hair as he explained, "The heart goes where the heart wills,"

"But, Baam!", she exclaimed, "I mean, I've killed you! You've killed me! This is so messed up!"

"Did you know? There is no such thing as an immortal sin. Mortal sin, yes. Definitely. When you kill someone, even if it will take you a near infinite amount of lives, and a near infinite amount of time, mortal sins will stick upon your soul. They will writhe and rot like karmic imbalances upon you. But although it is almost infinite, it is not infinite. The universe ever seeketh balance. Eventually your soul will reach absolution for it's previous mortal sins. The next life, even carrying the weight of the old lives, will be its own life. You are not doomed always to repeat the same mistakes. You are not doomed always to repeat the same sins. You are not doomed always to be on an eternal cycle of suffering, despair, and hate. You have the hope. The hope to do it better this time. The hope to change The hope to love." Baams eyes sparkled again with that mysterious light as he turned again to look at her.

At this he really smiled at her, really, truly smiled at her. "More directly as to *why* you feel this way... we are soul mates."

"Soul--soul mates!?" Rachel yelped.

"Yes. But we'll get to that in a second. I want to finish this point first. The Tower wasn't a happy place. It could never have been a happy place. To create a God you cannot do it upon joy, love, and happiness alone. When people are fulfilled they do not seek for a higher power. They do not wish. They do not want. They have. They are. So the Tower was designed... by its very nature... for human suffering. To bring out the worst in people. To put them in impossible positions, to distory them, twist them, break them. Over and over and over again... until a God was created. The "us" who hurt and killed each other... they were fated to do so. But now, we are under no such fate. Now we can live as ourselves. In these lives we are given here... we are finally... free." Baam finished by adding one last thing.

"I am sorry," He said. And that was it. What was he sorry for? Why did it seem like he knew more? How did he come to know all these things?

"I... I can't say that I understand everything but. I am the same as you. Even if no one else forgives you. I will. It's okay, Baam." Rachel's heart rose and sank with every word. Being around him was driving her a bit crazy.

"I still have a lot more questions though!" Rachel shot out, to hide her nervousness.

"Alright," Baam chuckled, "I'll answer what I can."

"Uh, so like, are you a God now or something?" She wondered if that was the spark she was seeing in his eyes.

"Originally, I was a cosmic being. Then I was reincarnated into a human in the Tower. Then I became a God. Then I died. Now I am here. I am alive. But only as a soul. We are both only souls now. What this soul is... how I am even alive after all this... even I don't know that." Baam looked a little bit lost in front of her, before quickly regaining his confidence.

"All I know is that I am here with you, and I am so grateful for this chance." He finished.

"A cosmic.. being?" Rachel responded.

"Yes... that's why I asked how much you remembered. Before we were in the Tower... I was a cosmic being. I was tasked by my people to investigate yours. The humans. So I would watch you all every day. And while I was watching, I found this curious woman. Every night, she would walk up amongst the fields and stare at the stars. Sometimes she would reach out her hand like she was trying to grab them. And although she never could... she never stopped trying." Baam laughed and licked his lips for a second.

"I watched her for days. For months. For a little over a year... before I finally go the courage and shamelessness to abandon my mission and appear before her alone. The lady had such a warm, hopeful smile. It was something my people had long lost. Your wonder captured me Rachel. And from there something even more unexpected happen. We fell deep, deeply, in Love. And for a while, it was good. So good. You lived a good life together with me. I even built you a Tower to reach the stars. And we lived along with all your ... our friends... in harmony." Baam seemed entranced by this past that only he could see. But she was entranced by him telling it.

"And then you died. You had lived a good life, but for me, as a cosmic being, it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye. And so I despaired and wallowed. When things were at their bleakest a fire came and spoke to me. It was a God. One my people had never even heard of. He asked me what I would do if I could bring you back. If I could be together with you again. If I could become your soulmate, tie ourselves by fate, and live out all of our future lives... together. And, of course, you know me, I jumped at that and boldly proclaimed that I would take on anything if only I could!" Baam shook his head, as if he himself was aware of how ridiculous he could be at times.

"So a deal was struck. The Tower was converted into an instrument and binding of fate. A lot of peoples lives were unfairly taken and tied to the system. All of our friends... all of your people and more... but at the time I didn't care. Still, the God said to me, that although the reward for my decision would be our future destiny together, that was not the reason for the system. The reason was to save humanity. From themselves and from cosmic beings like my people. I'll never forget what he said... 'This tower will be like a great fire on the souls of the unworthy... and from this fire the forest of hope will grow. The day will come when the tears of pain are tears of laughter. The children well learn. And the Universe will learn with them.' I couldn't really understand what he was talking about. I never even knew that it would take so long and so many lives for us to reach here. I always though it would be settled pretty quickly and painlessly... I never could have imagined, the things we would have to suffer through... to get here again."

"Wow..." She sighed.

"It's a lot to take in, huh?" He looked at her with worry... and some fear?

Ah. "Yeah. I believe you though." She smiled at him and his shoulders relaxed.

"So... wait. You're saying that originally... I was the one to have lots of friends?" Rachel's disbelief came back qucik.

"Haha. It may feel weird to you now, but, yeah. That's one of the main things the Tower twisted. When I came to you the originally, you were the one to have all these amazing people around you, and I was the one alone. When we entered the Tower... Fate set things up so that your friends would become my friends and that you would be the one alone. A particularly cruel twist of fate... if you ask me... but... that's over now." Baam finished with a little bit of glee.

"Rachel. They are waiting for us." As Baam spoke, a single star came over behind them. It showed the next lives of all of her friends. Khun. Androssi. Rak. Everyone they knew and had loved in one life or the other. They were all being born again, in one place, in one time.

Baam stood up. "Will you come with me this time?" He looked down at her, both hands extended to pull her up... all she had to do was grab them. To accept his hands, his offer, his kindness, his love.

Rachel was extremely scared. Scared more than she could ever remember herself being. But there was something that scared her more than the fear of his love.

After a pregnant moment, she grabbed his hands, and he pulled her right to her feet. They stood close together and for another moment it seemed as nothing would happen.

But Rachel, unable to handle his gaze any more, looked quickly down, then quickly shot up onto her tippy toes, and kissed him.

A star exploded somewhere off in the distance and in the light of its ephemeral glow, their hearts and lips were joined again at last.

She was much more afraid of being without his love. "Let's go, Baam. Let's walk together to the place they are waiting."

She beamed up at him beautifully, and the pulled him along like she had known where they were going the whole time.

And as they walked their souls slowly lost shape and turned into two beautiful streams of golden and brown light, intertwined.

They were no longer running.