Secrets of the Universe

*Thum!* *Thum* *Thum!*

Waking up to the sound of heartbeats, Jake found himself in a dark place.

Suddenly, the place lighted and Jake saw a young teenager, about 18 years, bound to a chair with multiple chains.

The young adult screamed at a hidden figure, demanding it to release him.

The scene changed to a much later version of the previous one. Here, the young adult was riddled with several cuts, each revealing his inner sides.

He kept shaking as the hidden figure used a rather large scalpel to make incisions in his skin, all the way smiling.

Looking at this, Jake felt baffled, 'Strange. This is too familiar.'

After a while, he finally got his answers, 'Hmmm, this boy is extremely handsome. He can't be anyone, but me!'

He wondered, 'Strange. Why do I not remember this?'

Jake pondered as the young adult screamed at the top of his lung. Just one look and Jake could understand that the pain was too much for the boy.

After a while, the young adult stopped screaming.

His face became serene and unattentive as the hidden figure kept cutting his skin while the young man was awake.

The scene changed and Jake's transparent body turned into a blob of light that went into the forehead of the young adult.

The new scene was set in a purple field.

Jake's ghostlike body could see his young self lying on the purple grass and looking at the stars.

Emotionlessly, Jake's young self stared deeply into the souls of the stars, without a hint of his thoughts.

Watching this, Jake smiled, 'This is just like me. I was way more tight and robotic in my past life. If not for M and the Dungeon of Miracles, I wouldn't have changed for the better.'

The scene was interrupted with a wild laugh, "Hahahaha."

It did not come from the two Jakes, instead, from a Jake-lookalike which appeared close to Jake's younger self.

The lookalike was just like Jake's younger self but had some spotting differences.

It had blood purple fingernails, earrings, grey eyes instead of Jake's younger self's blue eyes. It dyed the edge of its black hair purple and had a few more crazy features.

It was like Jake decided to become rebellious!

Jake's younger self coldly looked at the lookalike, "Khaos, I did not come for you. Do not disturb me. I need peace!"

One could tell from the tone of the younger self that he was exasperated.

"Hahahaha, why have you come to hide? Don't you know you are the one invading my private space?" mocked Khaos.

"It is as much my private space as it is yours," briefly replied Jake's young self as he kept looking at the stars.

"Noice! What are you looking at Jake?" questioned Khaos.

"The Stars."

"Why? What is in the stars?" mused Khaos.

"Perfection," Jake's younger self replied, donning a smile that reached his eyes.

"Exactly! Perfection! Jake, let me out, let me free us!" negotiated Khaos.

"No!"

"Why? They are killing us! And you are doing nothing, just hiding inside your mind!" fumed Khaos.

His anger could be seen from his eyes. The moment he took his first angry breath, purple blood tainted the sun, it formed a sea, burying the beautiful grass.

Meanwhile, Jake's younger self did not react. If anything, he was used to this side of Khaos.

For the first time, Jake looked at Khaos, "You know you are wrong."

"Where exactly am I wrong? We both know with my powers I could end this fiasco," challenged Khaos.

"No! It's too risky," explained Jake.

"I am starting to think. You are just jealous I am the one with the ability," smirked Khaos, as he cooled down.

"No, you are not. You are just a manifestation of my sealed side," retorted Jake.

His answer unsettled Khaos.

"You can't hide a part of yourself forever. It is akin to eating yourself from inside," hissed Khaos.

"You are too unpredictable, and you carry a part of my uncontrolled sealed powers. Most likely, they were sealed for a reason," Jake spoke out.

"You are a piss poor. No, fun!"

"The last time you were out, you destroyed a building just to see what happens when a building falls"

"But it was fun. I always wondered whether it would blow up, disassemble, or fall like a brick of toys. Hahaha, didn't you smile then?" laughed Khaos.

Young Jake twitched his mouth. That time, he didn't know Khaos could feel him smiling.

He moved on to his next argument, hoping to win the case.

"The first time you were out, I was kidnapped and powerless. You killed my kidnappers….plus, the other kidnapped teens"

"Hahahaha, I remember that time. In my defense, they cried too much. I was so annoyed that I accidentally killed them. Last I remember, you were the first to possess that thought," teased Khaos.

The current Jake who was watching this scene, laughed as he recorded, "2-0"

Young Jake was livid. He could remember that time perfectly well.

Before Khaos took over, he had tried using his young brain to search for an escape, yet his so-called "peers" kept crying like a tank. In the end, he could not concentrate.

Young Jake tried another argument, "Ok, what about that time when we were on a mission to assassinate a target in a banquet? You were so overjoyed that you conducted your so-called, brilliant plan. You would sneak into the kitchen and poison the food, killing all the people in the banquet along with your target.

But, you decided to play chef, created a horrendous food which was equal to the poison you added in it. After that, as a backup plan, you infiltrated the banquet as one of the members.

Everything seemed to be going well, the members ate the skeptical food, but someone forgot he wasn't supposed to eat the food he poisoned!"

"Hahahaha, about that. It wasn't a big deal; I had the antidote. Also, weren't you the one that wanted to taste the food I cooked?" laughed Khaos.

*Puchi*

"3-0" recorded the current Jake.

That time was really wild. It was a race against time as the poison started to take effect on Jake's body.

By the time Jake injected the antidote into his body, his left leg was already in the underworld, but he dragged it back.

It was really thrilling.

Young Jake sighed. Back then, it was his fault. He was just beginning to perfect the art of cooking. So when Khaos cooked the dish based on his instruction, he asked Khaos to eat it. So that through their shared senses, he would be able to grade it.

Realizing that most of their joint adventures usually fell apart due to the combination of both Young Jake and Khaos, he searched his memories for one that wasn't his fault.

"Ok, what about the time you wanted to prove you were more adult than me? I let you out to prove it. You went into a motel, had the audacity to disvirgin my body with some prostitutes. You even forgot to wear a condom.

In your panic, you decided the best way to eliminate any chance of pregnancy was to kill those you had sex with. So, you proceeded to kill all of them, but you couldn't cover your tracks.

To eliminate all evidence, you killed all the people in the motel. You then killed the policemen who had found some evidence linking to you.

Worst of you killed the news reporter, who covered the case?! What the hell did she do to you? She makes some damn good news and you killed her!"

Khaos laughed, defending himself, "She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Also, didn't I successfully protect our identity?"

In a Buddha-like manner, he concluded, "It matters not the means, but the results."

"But you called a lot of people," argued Young Jake.

"Do you care?"

"No, I don't. Still, you always act recklessly," scolded Young Jake.

Since he was born, he never really cared about people. It was always about himself and it was perfect like that.

Relationships were like chains to him. There were only one or two people Young Jake ever cared for.

"You know very well I'm just like you. I always consider my actions before acting. I just tend to take the more thrilling option," laughed Khaos.

"In fact, I am freer than you. You are too restricted like a man who wears tight jeans all day. He would always fear long stretches," mocked Khaos.

"Says the person who needs my permission to get out," retorted an irritated Young Jake.

Feeling the effects of Khaos' words, he stood up and disappeared, opting to go back to the outside world and bear the pain inflicted on his body once more.

Khaos smirked as Jake disappeared, "Hahahaha, he can run for now, but when I get out, Chaos will rain! Hahahaha…..."

The current Jake watched as the scene ended and everything disappeared, leaving him to wake him from his dream.

The first thought he had was, 'I remember now! They are my memories. I lost them after the rebirth process and couldn't remember. At the rate this is going, all my lost memories would come back!'