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"Can you change the universe, as an axis power?" Khun asked in a hushed tone, watching Bam explore his new abilities in awe. "Like rewrite the past?"
Bam smiled sadly at him, "I can't overwrite what was already written, but I can change your future."
"That's… kinda surreal." Khun, who hated rules and the structure that enforced them, had apparently lacked ‘true’ agency for the entirety of his life. Were the choices he made—from the very beginning—simply an illusion?
But in the end, every step of the way led him to Bam.
Was something like destiny really something to despise after all if it gave him this much fulfillment?
"Aguero..." Bam tilted his head, "do you want to be free? It was fate that tied you to me in the first place, and put you through so many hardships..."
"What are you saying, Bam? I am free. We escaped the tower together—"
"I can't change the past you— who was destined to support me unconditionally— but I can change the future you, so that you can live your own life in peace."
"I don't want that. I want you."
"Is that you, or your author speaking?"
"I don't care," Khun insisted, brows drawn together as fear overtook him in the form of his blood running cold, "It's how I feel. You can't tell me... that my feelings for you aren't genuine... even if someone wrote them into place, Bam, my time spent with you wasn't fake!"
“I'll let you decide. Not the axis power who shackled you to me." Bam's eyes glowed, accentuating golden irises like liquid pools of honey, and he extended a hand, his palm facing Khun. "I want you to make your own choices, Aguero."
Khun bit his lip with anxious eyes, refusing to back down. He watched Bam intently and stood his ground, unyielding.
"No matter what you do… I'll always choose you." Khun promised. “Even if you erase my memories, or send me away. I’ll find you.”
"Then show me." Bam smiled wistfully, waving his hand. “Farewell, Aguero.”
The world turned black.
"Boy, you rippled the surface of your glass pond of water with that stone you threw."
"This power isn't right," Bam asserted to the outside God. "People aren't your puppets."
"You rewriting that boy's future is no different from me creating his past."
"Yeah?" Bam clenched his fists, anger displayed clearly on his face, "Well at least he can decide for himself—all I did was lift his chains."
"For such a young man, he carried refined wisdom." The God stated. "His experiences were unique to him, whether they were written by another or not. In many ways, even those greater than axis powers are defined by the laws of the universe. But we all carry on with our own stories."
Bam grit his teeth, nails digging into the palms of his hands. Talking as if regular humans were simply toys for these ‘gods’ to play with, and do as they wished… he found it absolutely vile.
"That must be easy for you to say, when you're the ringleader of this bullshit,” he spat.
Aguero wasn’t his personal doll to play with. Bam refused to listen to the God’s pseudo-philosophy lectures—and nor would he accept the notion that freeing him was anything similar to the horrid actions taken by axis holders.
"You still have much to learn, boy." The God replied sagely, unbothered by Bam’s comments. “You may have obtained the powers of an axis, but that doesn’t mean you can escape your destiny so easily. If it was fate that led you down this path—then, even if you have a small stake in the story now—it will be fate, too, that guides your future.”
Khun, in the face of a rapid shift in mentality, now experiencing an existential crisis—reverted to what he always did when he was frustrated. Fishing.
Bam hadn't erased his memories. Nor did he feel any different towards him. Whatever spell was cast (or perhaps, removed) didn’t seem to have an effect at all.
The way he thought about everything, however, had completely transformed after their last conversation. Or maybe, 'regressed' was a better word.
Didn't he once tease Bam for Rachel being his rule? It was so long ago, he barely remembered what he said. And yet, here he was. Bam was allegedly his own 'rule'—written into place by some higher power.
"What the hell is a rule, anyway...?" He muttered to himself, under his breath. "Something to protect you? Or something to control you?"
Probably... the kinds of rules he hated... were the ones that felt forced upon him.
Loving Bam came as natural as breathing shinsu.
A fish caught on his hook, and Khun reeled it in. Out of the stream flopped a koi with stunning, otherwordly patterns of colors—and he stared at it, wondering what the hell a koi was doing in a body of water like this.
"Another rule..." Khun grumbled. "What, are you here to 'help' me? You’re an entity from the tower—a little far away from home, aren’t you?"
The koi said nothing, and only splashed around.
Fish were always a theme in Khun’s life. For whatever reason, the shinheuh of the tower favored him, protecting and empowering him as he climbed.
Well, he supposed the reason wasn’t so much of a secret now.
Let’s see who God loves more, Khun had said to Rachel, during the Dallar Show, when he decided to test fate’s allegiance. It turned out not only did God love him more, but to write his life in such a way where he was satisfied with everything he accomplished…
Maybe Khun was even his favorite character.
Wordlessly, he removed the hook from the koi’s lip, and released it back into the stream. It swam in a circular pattern, as if motioning for Khun to follow, and with a sigh, he stood from his perch.
One of the good things about fate was how predictable it could be. Laws were consistent. Part of why science was considered objective and factual was due to how readily observable it was.
Liquids flow to fit the shape of the container they’re in. Light and sound travel at quantifiable speeds. Two is the smallest prime number.
And Khun was in love with Bam.
The universe contained endless ‘givens’ that everyone took for granted—himself included.
Rules be damned, he already knew where this path would lead. In the moment, he felt he was in charge of the decision to follow it—and no matter what anyone wanted to say to him about imaginary agency, if Bam made him happy, that’s all that was important.
“Show me where he is,” Khun murmured, eyes trained on the vibrant koi, which took off down the stream. “I know you will.”
At some point, the stream had reached its end, and the scenery around Khun transformed without him realizing it.
Bam stood in a clearing, eyes on the stars that dotted the night sky, twinkling mutedly. His long hair billowed gently in the breeze.
“Bam,” Khun breathed.
The axis’ whipped around at the sound of Khun’s voice to face him, golden eyes filled with fear and shock reflecting the moonlight up above.
“What are you doing here?”
“Are you telling me an axis holder doesn’t even know when a ‘regular’ like me is pursuing him?” Khun mused, stepping forward with a soft smile until they were inches apart.
“You’re not part of the story I’m responsible for, Aguero.” Bam muttered, brows furrowing. “I’m not going to track you like that… I see you as an equal.”
“And are you part of that story?” Khun countered. “Maybe we’re both removed from it, and we’re tied to another by a fate neither of us have control over.”
“I was sure I broke it, that fate.” Bam whispered sadly, “but you’re here. Oh, Aguero…”
"No thanks to you. I thought I told you to tell me where you were going when you went somewhere, Bam?"
"Why... would I do that... when I was trying to set you free?" Bam asked, broken and conflicted and scared all simultaneously.
Khun smiled warmly, brushing Bam's cheek with his hand. "So that I can chase you any time, of course."
“I couldn’t break his destiny. What you wrote was too strong.”
“No, boy. You certainly changed it,” the God corrected. “Perhaps a little too much.”
“Then why did he come back? I don’t understand.” Bam shook his head, guilt eating away at him. After Khun had dropped the line about chasing him, he had given in instantly—but he couldn’t rid himself of his doubts. “Why wouldn’t he hate me immediately after realizing he was forced to love me all this time?”
“There is no such thing as a person with zero agency,” God explained, “nor is there such a thing as someone with unlimited agency. Sometimes, even for an author of a story, the characters have a mind of their own and write themselves against the writer’s wishes.”
“You… didn’t plan this?”
“It isn’t so much about planning, as it is about managing. And maintaining. As you’ll see when you begin your own story, boy, it’s impossible to monitor every single character.” The God waved a hand in Bam’s direction. “As proven by yourself. I caution you to be careful who you grant administrator powers to, in the future…”
“What?” Bam gaped. Had he heard correctly? Administrator powers? “Wait. What?!”
“You heard me. That young man is a budding axis.” The God sighed. “As I said, you still have much to learn.”