Rey ran like hell to escape the horde. He glanced back and saw the tigermen clash with the demons. It was the last fight of the Tigermen. If they somehow survived this, it would be nothing short of miraculous. Also, Rey would be their mortal enemy because he wasn't sure Aearbon could keep them in check, no matter what their culture dictated.

  Did I inadvertently cause the extinction of the Tigermen? He snorted and shook his head. Now, that would be ironic as fuck, that a human caused all the tigers in Hell to go extinct as well.

  He couldn't think about that now. He focused on running as fast as he could. Then he saw some demons running straight for him. This was a nightmare of epic proportions. He had never expected this to happen.

  Shit. Shit. Shit on a stick. This was worse than the time when I…Honestly, I've made some gigantic screwups, but this one? This is a chef's kiss catastrophe. Discounting the time when I destroyed the Eternal Heart and ended up in the past.

  Right then, a vortex appeared in his path. He tried his best to stop himself, but failed miserably. He tripped over his feet, went rolling head over heels, and rolled straight into the dungeon.

  He found himself in a dark tunnel. He ignored the pain in his right ankle and jumped to his feet. Pretty soon, this tunnel would be swarming with demons. He needed to get inside the dungeon and be ready for them. After all, there was a veritable army of them. Any of them could be denoted as the boss. With any luck, the boss would be the first one through, and he could kill it before it had time to set up shop and be out of here.

  The dark tunnel was nothing new; it was like any other dungeon entrance. He had to keep going until he came to the dungeon proper. It felt like this tunnel was a bit longer than the rest he'd been in, but it finally ended, and he stepped through into an empty dungeon.

  The whole place was dark too. Not dark like you're blind dark, but more like 'the calm before something eats you' dark. However, he didn't get that feeling yet. In this dark dungeon, there was only one source of light, and it came from this hut that was far off in the distance. It glowed like it was the only place in this dungeon that had paid its electricity bill on time.

  He decided to head for the hut, as that would be where the boss would most likely set up base. He could easily ambush it there.

  Rey kept his scythe ready because he didn't want to be set upon by some demons that liked to fuck around in the dark. He also activated Gravity's Domain around him. He kept the gravity at a solid fifty percent.

  It was slow going, but slow and steady was the name of the game here. As he got closer, the world became brighter, and this dungeon truly was empty. This meant that it had just opened up when he inadvertently stumbled into it.

  Rey got to the door and found the light coming from the hut wasn't too difficult to look at, but if he stared at the door for too long, he would have a permanent white spot seared into his eyeballs.

  He gently pushed the door open with his scythe. There was no creaking. So, the door must've been kept well-oiled, which went totally against the fact that this was a dungeon in Hell.

  Rey was about to peek inside, but someone spoke.

  "You have nothing to be afraid of, Rey." It was a child's voice—a boy.

  Rey stopped in his tracks for two reasons. One, that it was a child's voice. He hadn't heard a child's voice in a long time. Hell wasn't particularly kind to kids, and two, the demon had called him by his fucking name.

  Rey didn't reply and looked back in the direction he had come from, but saw nothing but darkness. Many questions were running through his head, chief among them, how did this demon know his name? Was it the kid of some demon he had killed? Was it the son of the Black Hand?

  "Please come in," the boy said. "I truly don't mean you any harm."

  Rey thought of making a run for it, but where would he go? There was nowhere to go in this empty place. Besides, he was confident in his abilities to take him down. After all, he had Gravity's Domain active.

  Rey stepped inside the hut and found himself in a child's room with the walls lined with dolls. On closer inspection, they weren't dolls but puppets. Hundreds upon hundreds of puppets of all kinds. Humans, demons, angels, even Baaghrors and other species that Rey had met in his travels through Hell, and others that he hadn't met.

  The kid sat at a table, working on a new puppet. It was of a dark skinned man in a suit. The boy was cutting off its strings.

  As for the boy, it was hard to describe him. He had the most average looks that Rey had ever seen. One moment, his skin seemed fair, and the next, it was tanned. His hair was dark brown, and he had no distinguishing features. All in all, he could be from any country on Earth.

  Rey used Identify on him, because he had a severe doubt that he was really just a child.

  [?]

  That stumped Rey more than anything he had seen in the past half-decade that he'd been in Hell. That wasn't all. Now that he examined the boy, he realized that the glow from all around him was not coming from the hut, but the boy himself.

  Rey took a step towards the door. "W-Who, no, what are you?"

  The boy smiled. "I'm not a demon."

  "I don't know what the fuck you are," Rey replied.

  "I'm a puppeteer. See." He motioned to all the puppets along the wall. "Come, take a seat. We have a lot to talk about."

  Rey stayed rooted to his spot on the ground. There was no way he was getting anywhere closer to someone that even the System couldn't identify.

  "You can keep your weapon in hand, if it will make you feel safe," the boy said.

  Why are you afraid of a fucking boy? Demon Rey snapped. Let me take control, and I'll spank his ass so hard, he'll remember my name every time he shits.

  Rey drew a deep breath and moved for the chair. Demon or not, Rey wasn't going to let this kid scare him. He sat down on the chair but had to turn off Gravity's Domain, or he feared that the chair would cave inwards under his weight. Besides, it wasn't doing anything to the kid anyway.

  "So, if you're not a demon, then what are you?" Rey asked. "An angel?"

  The boy chuckled. "If I were an angel, you would know by now. No?"

  Rey had a real close encounter with an angel once, who had nearly smote his demon ass. But if he were an angel, the System would've identified him as such. He could only figure out what he was by continuing to talk with him.

  "What do you call yourself then?" Rey asked. "You must have a name."

  The boy stared off into the distance, then shook his head as his lips curled up into a small smile. "I'm the one that everyone battles against, but no one has defeated me yet." Then he looked up at Rey. "Lately, you've been fighting with me the most."

  Rey frowned. "I haven't been fighting with you, kid. If I were, I would've belted you so hard you'd file a complaint to your ancestors."

  The boy snorted. "I always love your one-liners. I'm the one they fight with all their might, but in the end, they all admit defeat against my plans." His expression turned hard. "And you, Rey, have been messing up my designs, changing everything so I have to work extra hard to put everything back as it should be. You see, there is an order to the world, and you've been trying to break it. You've been trying to save people who should've met their end long ago, like Jerry and Maria. Trying to kill others so they couldn't do the task that they were meant for, like the Black Hand. He was meant to maintain some order in the city, but thanks to your actions, that city is eating itself from the inside out."

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "Wait, you know of the Black Hand?" Rey leaned in and couldn't stop himself. "Do you know his real name?"

  The kid gave Rey such a look that it sent shivers down his back. He quickly leaned away from the boy. There was a certain feel about him that said that he was far older than he looked.

  The boy continued as if Rey had never interrupted him. "And recently, your actions have brought about the extermination of the Baaghrors, who were meant to live out their lives, keeping the demons in check. Time after time, you're making things worse for everyone."

  "I'm sorry…" Rey did his best not to run out of the hut, which was growing darker with the boy's mood. "Again, who are you and how do you know so much about me?"

  He drew a deep breath and breathed out his anger. Light returned to the hut. "Here's a hint. You've been trying to…what was the expression…ah, yes. Punch me in the face."

  Rey shot up out of his chair. "You're Fate?"

  The kid smiled warmly. "Fate, Destiny, the Puppeteer, or even the Writer, I go by many names. You can call me whatever you like. I have as many names as the regrets of the dead."

  "You're bullshitting me."

  "I am not. If I were then how would I know that you wanted to take a mammoth-sized wrench to my nuts?"

  Okay, he's not joking.

  This kid was serious, but there was only one question on Rey's mind. Actually, there were many questions on his mind. There was only one thing that mattered—why was he here?

  "I didn't mean that, you know." Then, in a low tone, he muttered. "And I didn't think that I would meet Fate in the flesh."

  Fate chuckled. "That is true."

  "Why are you here?" Rey asked. "Actually, why am I here?"

  "It should be obvious. So, we can have a private chat without your patron listening in."

  "About…" Rey had no clue what Fate wanted to chat about, aside from all the shit talking he had done.

  "About not undoing my designs with your knowledge of the future."

  "But if your Fate and everything is predestined, then how can I even go about changing anything?" Rey asked.

  "Nothing is set in stone, Rey," Fate replied. "Not even my designs for you mortals. Your decisions can change your fate, though not by a lot. In the end, my brother reaps you all."

  "Your Brother?"

  Fate smiled. "He's the one being that none of you ever want to meet. Some of your cultures depict him as a hooded figure wielding a scythe quite like yours."

  Rey eyed his scythe and gulped. Death…Fate…This is way above my pay grade. Hell, it's above my existence grade.

  "So, you're here to tell me to stop meddling in your affairs by changing the fate of my friends," Rey concluded.

  "That is one thing, for sure," Fate said, smiling.

  "But I've already left them behind."

  "I know your nature. I know what you're planning to do, and I cannot fault you for being you, but understand this. No matter how you try to fight me, in the end, I will win. For I hold the threads of your destiny."

  He lifted a puppet wearing animalistic furs, and his face was lathered with dirt and a brown substance that had to be dried blood. The puppet seemed quite familiar to Rey. Then he started, realizing why.

  He pointed a trembling finger at it. "That's me."

  Fate smiled. "You have been quite naughty." He picked up the scissors that lay on his table. "Do you know what will happen if I cut your strings"? He brought the scissors to the threads that held Rey's puppet in place.

  Rey gulped. "I die…"

  "That's right." Then he snipped the thread, and Rey's breath caught.

  Rey expected to fall dead on the spot, but a minute passed and then another, and nothing happened. His heart was still beating, and his breathing was still fine. Well, as fine as one would expect of someone in that 'I-just-pooped-my-soul-out' kind of situation. He stared at the being of ultimate power, who began to laugh.

  "Oh, you should see your face." He opened his scissors, and the thread holding Rey's doll was fine. Nothing had happened.

  "What the hell was that, asshole?" Rey snapped. "I thought you killed me."

  "If only I had that kind of power. I've been forbidden to cut off a mortal's strings until my brother reaps their soul. If I had the power to end your life, I would've done so before you stuck your sword in the Eternal Heart."

  Rey's eyes widened. "You know?"

  Fate smiled. "Oh, I know everything. How you tried to distract Zarius and ended up thrusting your blade in the most important and powerful artifact in all of creation."

  "Look, I didn't mean to. I thought it would just distract that dick lord enough for his brother to finish him off. How was I to know that this supremely powerful artifact would be weak as shit?"

  "If I could really kill you, I would have done so then and stopped all this mess that you've created. But you see, my Maker has forbidden us to interfere in mortal affairs directly. We're only to stick to our roles. So, I can only influence you, write your journey, and guide you towards the path I've destined for you, but ultimately, it's you who must decide to walk on it. Your decisions matter most. They can change your fate, but I know every mortal well enough to know that their destiny might as well be written in stone. But you…"

  Rey gulped. "And you didn't see that I would destroy the Eternal Heart?"

  "Truthfully, no," Fate replied. "I didn't think you would ever have the power or the rage to do so. Zalathar chose the wrong moment to reveal his treachery. If he hadn't done that, we wouldn't be here having this conversation."

  "So, isn't it his fault then?" Rey asked.

  The boy raised an eyebrow.

  "Okay, my fault. I got it. But still, how am I back here? In the past, reliving everything again. And how did I retain all my memories from my past life?"

  The boy sighed, and he set Rey's puppet back on the table. He sighed in relief internally. Even though Fate had proved that he couldn't really kill Rey, who knew that his brother, Mr. Death, wasn't hiding in the closet waiting to jump out, scythe blazing. From now on, he wasn't talking about any of these metaphysical beings in a bad manner.

  "When the Maker or God, as you might call him, created the Eternal Heart, he created a failsafe in the Heart, so that it could never be destroyed."

  "I'm sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Fate, but why did he create the Heart in the first place?"

  Fate smiled. "It is the fulcrum on which the entire universe spins. The Heart is something that holds everything together. So, when you destroyed it, in essence, you destroyed all of creation."

  “I…ended…the universe…” Just the magnitude of those words was too much for his tiny brain to grasp properly. Rey coughed lightly. "And I'm assuming the Maker knows this."

  "He knows everything. See, when you destroyed the Heart, you forced him to do something that he hasn't done since the conception of the universe. He had to step in and activate the failsafe because you shattered the Heart so completely that the failsafe couldn't activate itself."

  Rey, you're fucked. You're beyond fucked. The big man upstairs knows you've been breaking his marbles.

  "He isn't mad, is he?" Rey asked. He had been gulping so much that he had lost the ability to swallow.

  Fate smiled. "Luckily for you, he plays by his own rules. Meaning, that he doesn't interfere unless absolutely necessary."

  "Phew, and here I thought I was about to be erased from existence."

  "You were about to be erased. We all were. But then the failsafe saved you. Saved us all," Fate said. "It was designed to reset the universe back before the Heart was destroyed. Only the Maker knows the details of the failsafe. Since no one expected it to be destroyed, its details were never known, even by me, who is supposed to know everything."

  Clearly not, jackass. Demon Rey again. With his unhelpful opinions.

  "Okay, so the Heart reset the Universe by five years, but then why did it send me back to before the apocalypse on my world with my memories intact?" Rey asked.

  Fate shook his head. "I wish I could tell you. I fear someone's hand was at play, or maybe the Heart saw that you were thinking of your grandmother and used that as a reference point, and sent you back so you could see her once again. Though why you retained your memories is a mystery to my siblings and me. There must be a reason you have your memories and are making my life hell."

  Rey chuckled nervously. "Sorry."

  "And now we come to the main reason I've brought you here." The boy's face grew hard. The joviality vanished from his face. "I'm here to warn you not to make the same mistake again. Do not stab the Heart. That when your end comes at the hand of the brothers, and it will come, since that is your immutable fate, your destiny. Your canon event, if you want to call it that. The one thing in your life that you cannot change. When that time comes...DO NOT STAB THE HEART."

  Rey backed up a step. "Message received, sir."

  Fate's smile returned. "Good. Now, you may leave."

  A vortex appeared behind him, making Rey jump, and here he was, wondering if he would need to kill this thing to find an exit.

  "Um, before I go, I was wondering if I'm meant to die at the hands of Z & Z, then why did some of my friends die when I made them escape their initial deaths?"

  "Who said all canon events are tied to one's death?" Fate replied smugly.

  "I see…" Rey rubbed his chin. "So, if I had somehow made, say, Jerry avoid his canon event, then he wouldn't have died?"

  "Eventually, yes, he would've died. He is a mortal, after all. But if you had managed to do the impossible, then he would've gone with you to the very end of your journey."

  It felt like Rey needed a week to unwind everything that the literal personification of Fate had told him. But the thing was a fucking idiot. He had just revealed his biggest secret—as long as Rey could change a person's canon event, he could change their destiny. He wondered if that would be the case for all his friends.

  "So, if I change Kassandra's canon event, would she also go with me to the very end?" Rey asked.

  Fate squinted his eyes. Then his eyes widened as he realized what he had given Rey. "Oh no…"

  "Oh yes. Thanks for the tip, kid. See you around, and protect that nutsack."

  Rey winked at him and jumped into the vortex.