There'll Be Another Time (p)

After a long, restful night's sleep. If one could really call it that in the world that always looked the same. Night and Day were one in the same and everyone only rested when they felt like it. He would slowly stretch outwards, moving his gaze to stare down at the little Majin that was buried against his chest once more. It seemed that most days started with this, though each day felt more and more tainted than the last. The Demon had no way to know what the girl was going through honestly, he could only make feint guesses in his mind of what could be going on. When she kissed him the spark that was there just felt so sad, perhaps her overjoyed feelings from getting her body back were dying down and she no longer felt the same way that she did before. Really, who could say if that was true or not but the girl herself?

He would softly set his hand atop of her head once more, stroking her hair-like features, standing up with her as he held onto her so that she was still against his chest. Pushing his ki below him a bit, the Demon would levitate upwards, flying into the air to spin around slowly with her in the quiet hellish sky that surrounded them. Everything was so solemn down there... but it was made more peaceful given time with others. "I know I haven't exactly told you why I am leaving... but I feel it is time to put it out there. It won't take me long at all, and I just need to be alive for it. If I could attend while dead I would and just come right back here afterward but it isn't that simple. This universe we live in... it is all damaged and in ruin, and it doesn't have much time left in its lifespan. If I don't do this... it might not even last another week." he would solemnly stare up at the sky of hell and its more uncharacteristic yellow clouds. It was hard to say all of this so matter of factly... if he and the others failed at their duty, everyone, this girl included, would be wiped out without even knowing it.

The Demon would pause a bit more as he slowly looked back down at Liari. "It's not going to take even an hour of my time... for me I'll be leaving here, doing everything that I need to go, and then I'll be gone one hour to do my duty. But, I won't be able to just come back to hell after that... I'll be alive. Once you tear out of this place though... and I will show you how to... I'll come look for you, or you can come look for me, and it'll all be fine from there." he would speak as softly as possible, trying to caress her with his words rather than worry her further. He would lower both of them down to the floors of hell setting them down together once again as he would stare down at her. "I'll be leaving soon enough... but let's make these last hours count."

The Demon's face would grow more and more saddened as he heard Liari's soft sobbing... her sounds and her looks all showing the pain that she was going through without even the slightest bit of words to go by. It was obvious that she was feeling grief from every bit of this... it hurt him to have to tell her these things now, knowing that they were tearing her apart. But, for now, he would choke on his tongue to let her cry for as long as she needed to, to let the tears out, just making her stay close to him while she did so. Every second passing made his heart drop a bit more as she finally spoke, her words broken and shaky as she would cry, causing the demon to pause for a second with his mouth open, before softly smiling.

"Liari... if I could take you with me, I would. It hurts so much knowing I have to leave your side for even a moment after being together with you... but then again, what kind of man would I be if I didn't sacrifice everything I had to make sure you could live on." his hands would softly caress her face, softly wiping her tears out of the way as he set his hand on her cheek, trying to get her to stare right back up at him. "But because of that very reason... I have something to fight for. I'll survive fighting for the Universe that has betrayed me time and time again but I feel doesn't deserve to die. Protecting those that don't deserve to be taken, like you." his hand would slowly slip off of her cheek as he would look up into the sky, his mind thinking over all of the people that would be erased, never knowing why their lives abruptly ended without warning... all because he could possibly fail. Sure there were many more fighters that could take his place, and many that were more than strong enough to deal with this problem without him ever entering... that was probably true. But, what kind of person would he be if he turned his back on all of that?

His gaze would slowly drift back down to the girl as he would smile more, trying his best to give her a calm face to look upon as he would caress her face once more. "You underestimate yourself as well... you're a powerful girl. You collected the energy to will this body of yours back into existence so quickly... I know you'll be able to break out sooner than you could ever imagine. Please, just... believe me, alright? I've helped get us this far, now hold my hand and follow me one more time. Even if it is just a day or two I know you'll be able to rip yourself out of this place following in my footsteps, if not just because of how recent my own tear will have been made." his words would continue to be as soft as they possibly could, his worry for her well being rising as he spoke. She seemed extremely dependent on him... she just needed to last a bit of time on her own, and they would be able to find one another once more.

"...This thing I am fighting in is a tournament, however... as silly as such a thing sounds for the safety of our universe. I wish I could let you fight with me, but the people they are taking have been decided before we even met. And once I am done with the tournament, I'll be coming right back. I'll remember your energy... I've held it so close and intimately for so long there's no way I wouldn't be able to feel my heart skip a beat the moment I feel you on the same planet as me. I take pride in a little planet called Earth as my home... if you know of it, go there and I'll be able to find you as soon as we are both there. Just, wait for me, okay?" his words had been long winded now, but he just needed to get a lot off of his chest. Every little bit of it was sincere as he just felt... a need to be with her and to keep her safe now. He had no way to be in two places at once, to stay with her and fight in the tournament... and by Kami he wished he could do both.

He didn't know if there was anything else he could do to soothe her... but explain the situation that was happening. There was little hope that she would be entirely okay after all of this, but he just had to hope that just the idea of them meeting together would keep her fighting strong to get out of this place as soon as possible.

For better or for worse... his words had struck some sort of chord with the girl. She was giggling once more and giving him a smile, as shallow as it was compared to the ones she gave when she first got her body back... but they were filled with more life than most. He felt like he was hurting her more with his words, his hands holding onto her even tighter as she kissed him once more, their lips moving with one another as they would just stay there belong to each other... his time there was limited but he knew that he would be able to see her again... they wouldn't abandon each other after all of this.

His smile would grow a bit more content as she placed her hand on his cheek, moving his own hand to cup hers within it to hold it there, relaxing and leaning with his eyes closed. "You know I'll come back... you won't have to worry about being without me for very long. I'm going to fight like my life depends on it, because everyone's life depends on it. But don't worry so much, the strongest people in this Universe will be there to help me, and we'll win this fight. I'll be home in no time." he wouldn't be smiling any longer... but rather his face held a look of contemplation as he thought over how this tournament was going to go. The universe was at risk of being destroyed but he still didn't fear failure... not anymore. He wouldn't go out without a fight and he knew the others wouldn't either, that gave him more hope.

The Demon would just shake his head a bit as he would break his train of thought, that wasn't what he had to focus on. "Now listen... you gathered enough energy to get your body back fairly quickly. We've had more than enough time to get you more energy... so... I want you to focus on my point of exit when I leave this place. I've put a lot of work into making my own tear, but that doesn't mean that it'll repair automatically. If you maintain it, you'll probably be able to tear yourself through the same spot, okay? It should make it a lot easier for you to get out that way." he would smile at the girl once more, hoping that his words would soothe her more when it came to getting her out of here as well. He hoped that he wouldn't have to leave her behind for too long... she didn't deserve to be down here as long as he had been.

The Demon would blink softly a bit as the girl looked up at him, her face was obviously confused... perhaps it made no sense for now but then again it wasn't something easy to explain, he probably would have to show her exactly what he had to do to rip out of Hell on his own. Maybe if she saw how he did it, it would all become more clear, he would cock his head to the side and smile a bit as she away from him. He felt a little bad about all of this still... having to leave her without her being able to come with just yet. "I'll show you then, it'll all be okay."

He would get immediately quiet, however, as she pulled him into a tight hug that would make his eyes go a bit wide, looking down at her while she rests on his shoulder. It was such a relaxing sight despite how desperate it all seemed... but there was not much he could do to help that for now, he had a duty to uphold and he would rather go on with his duties than to stay here just waiting to die. He was a fighter... he didn't want to just sit down and give up. Her words to him would make him close his eyes slowly, yet a bit sadly as he would accept her kiss once more, before looking down at her with a bit of a solemn look. "I promise I will stay safe, for us."

Despite how sad all of this was, he knew he had to get on with this, so he would slowly move away from her, beckoning the girl to follow him as he would float out to the point where he designated himself to have the tear. It wasn't much to look at, as it wasn't a tangible thing, to say the least, but he kept that spot in his mind from the moment he created it. "Right here... is where I started to work on the tear. For me, it works a little bit like I explained to you how to get your body back." he would turn his vision to that spot, mentally visualizing the spot being there for him to grab onto as he would reach one hand out and grab onto it once more. His hand would visibly hold onto it as some sort of physical resistance would pull back against him, causing his muscles to tense up.

"Willing the spot to be where you left it, in the same state... it can be sort of awkward to handle but, I believe in you more than I believe in myself to keep it here. I know you can take care of it." he would look back to her, smiling a little bit as he would shake his head and then look back towards the tear that he was working on. He hoped that it worked that way... perhaps the space around it would be weak after he physically tears it open, to the point that the little Majin girl would be able to rip it apart right after and get out herself. He could only hope that she would be able to manage it that way. "It doesn't take much energy to work on it like this, I've found, you just need to cultivate your energy for long enough and you have been down here with me for quite a while... just make sure to keep trying to tear it open, it will give in." his words would trail off into silence right after as he would look back at the Majin. All of this must have been overwhelming for the girl to have to learn right now... he should have trained her more over time but he didn't really have this plan all set up for long anyway.

His face would go back to being a little bit sad, as he would float over to her and set his hand atop her head. "I'll miss you so much... please, take care of yourself. And get out of this place soon... find somewhere nice to wait it out, spend time with others. We'll see each other soon." he would smile again as he looked into her eyes. He was probably going to leave right after this... but so much of him wanted to drag out every last moment with her.

The Demon would smile even more happily down at the Majin as she said she would miss him as well, it was so good to know that someone cared for him in such a way, that he wasn't really going to be alone anymore. It was such a nice thing to feel deep inside and he couldn't help but tear up a bit at it. She was so cute with how she acted and he couldn't stop himself from feeling so immensely emotional at all of this. She would take his hand herself and press it against her cheek, which would make him lock his eyes back with the little Majin girl as she stared right back up at him. It was such an enchanting moment... and he could feel every little emotion from her as she looked up at him, it was so amazing and it warmed his heart so much.

But at the same time... he knew he wouldn't see it for quite some time. He would lean down and plant a kiss of his own on her lips right after she kissed his hand making sure that they stayed locked for a few seconds. He was so happy with this kind of ending for now, as he would very slowly move away a bit, smiling at her as he knew it was his time to leave. But even then, he wasn't going to escape so easily as she would stop him once more before he could leave, causing the Demon to look back at her with a curious look as she called out to him. She was stuttering again in that cute way, being unable to even speak now as she kept repeating the same thing over and over again. It was just... so perfect... and he didn't want to lose it. He would slowly move towards her, pushing a finger softly against her lips as a way to quiet her now.

"I know what you want to say... but do you really want to say it here? If you do... I'll listen to it, but my suggestion to you... is... to save it. Save it for when we meet for the first time all over again, to see our TRUE bodies standing together once more in the mortal world. Among scenery that we can take in and enjoy so that those words can have even more meaning together. You can save it till then and we can have every moment to cherish it... but if you can not wait that long, I will give you another moment for now... to take it in together even here." he would smile softly as they stayed together now, moving his finger off of her lips so that she could speak her mind once more. He wouldn't take away her ability to say more before he left... but at the same time, he didn't know if he could handle what she had to say. If she said it right then and there, perhaps he wouldn't even be able to bring himself to leave.

It seemed that the girl was silent now, once he had placed his finger to her lips. It seemed that the time for talking was over now, and the demon would give the girl one final smile before turning towards the tear in the fabric of reality. It was not yet tangible, but it was there, waiting for him. Almost casually, his hair would spike up into its cyan radiance as his aura would ignite around him, burning with the desire to get out of this place to go and do what he needed to do now. He was fueled by a determination far beyond just getting out of there now. He had far more things to protect.
He would slowly turn to look at the Majin one final time with a smirk, his sclera turning black as his body would slowly start emanating that black smoke all over again. Bernael would then close his eyes and cock his head to the side as he would give her a thumbs up. He wanted to give her as positive a goodbye as he could... as weak as she was as she said goodbye he didn't want to make her feel bad after all of this. They would see each other again in no time, this was the end of a chapter, not a story. With that set in stone now, however, his gaze would turn back towards that point as he was fully powered up now.

The Demon dared not speak another word till he was leaving, and that was where his focus would be placed for the time being. He would slowly reach out and grasp on to the point that he had so clearly designated in his mind, making sure he could still do so as he would then hold on with both of his hands. He had practiced this for so long... it had finally come time to put it into action. The Demon's eyes slowly drift shut as he focused every last bit of the energy he had gathered from the afterlife. The more and more energy that he had gathered in this place the more it felt like he was able to just push through the fabric of reality itself to get back to the mortal world. Was this the phenomenon that the Grand Supreme Kai spoke of...? It was very strange indeed and the demon truly had no explanation for why it was happening but it made his heart race as the energy poured through his body and out of his fingertips as it fueled the tear in front of him as he very slowly started to pull outwards.

Lightning would fly off of his body, striking against nonexistent surfaces as he would start to yell, his screams turning into power themselves as his entire body was devoting itself to tearing a hole out of this hell. Every last drop of his energy and power was being put into this escape route as it would spiral out of him and into the intangible field before him. Soon enough, the fruits of his labor were coming to show themselves as he the fabric of the afterlife was being torn open just like the Grand Supreme Kai talked about. He had observed it now... but he still did not understand it. At last, the field he was making would give in as his hands would fly to his side, entirely pulling apart that hole in the afterlife that led to the only place he could think of... the Timeless Lookout.

Bernael was almost so exhausted by this act that he almost didn't jump through the Portal, instead almost opting to lay down and go back to sleep. But that wasn't the time to relax... he had somewhere to be. His gaze would turn back to the Majin behind him, giving her a little peace signal. "See you soon, Liari... take care of yourself while I can't." was all he could manage to say before the portal itself would suck him in as he fell a bit towards it, the portal slamming itself around his body, slowly disappearing back into its intangible form until the entirety of hell looked the same again. So much of the Demon's afterlife energy was put in to make that portal work, and it still lasted so briefly. But that meant nothing in the long run of things, as the Demon was off to continue his own adventure until the two of them met again.

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[Exiting Thread: Taking SP which will then be converted into PL]