Chapter Eight: The Final Resolve

“I went to their world and I saw what they have. So many opportunities and buildings, the future seemed to be filled with amazement and sin." Absalom said to himself as he stood alone in his room. He felt his collar and put his head down in shame. “So many gods, so many different ways to view the world. So much sin to be judged, yet people don't know what happens."

Absalom placed his hand on his head and knew that this was all because of one person.

“Benji, the day I meet you was the day that my life collapsed. If only I could have avoided that faith." Absalom said standing up as he looked into the fire place below him. He looked at it and it reflected in his eyes, he saw the fire it burned in his heart and he felt good. Standing up off of his uncomfortable bed he sighed and contemplated what to do.

“Benji why must you confuse me, everything you do pushes me from faith and everything pushes it away from me. I can't handle this, why would god create two universes, one full of sin and destruction?" Absalom said as he looked around he needed answers, he landed on his knees and knelt on the bed. Placing his hands together he asked for answers, he needed answers he deserved answers.

He stood for a few seconds waiting for something to reply, a vase flying off to warn him not to defect. The archbishop appearing in his fire and warning him, a strike of lighting, anything would have worked. But as he stood up he heard nothing, nobody replied.

“Benji, still you do what you do. Even in you cannot repent, I believe I can give you morals. You must believe in myself and I will make you do so." Absalom said as he sighed to himself knowing that even he was pushing it with his reasoning.

Looking behind him, he walked towards his closet and moving his black suits to the right he looked at the blue vortex behind him. Bright said that was a natural rift between their worlds, a way to interact and transport. He looked at it and figured that even god wouldn't allow it to exist.

And perhaps for the first time in his life he thought with logic. Turning around he ignored the rift and stared at his fire. It blazed with and it led him to the conclusion he needed. Grabbing his neck, he pulled the white collar out of his shirt and threw it into the blaze.

The cloth caught fire and he stared as it turned into ash. Turning from the fire he walked forward, grabbing a bag of coins and turning towards his closet. He walked forward towards the rift and reached forward with his hand. As he touched it, his body turned blue and his body was slammed into the portal.

Disappearing with a blink he had one goal in his mind. Change Benji to his mindset, he knew he could do it and if he believed he could he would most definitely do so.

…

“Come on you know you want to take me back." Benji said as he sat down with Martin, the lizard sighed as he did so. Benji interpreting the static as a somewhat good sign. At least he had Martin thinking about what he wanted to do. “Then again, who is paying for this dinner. I think you might have to... you know… well as they say…"

“What just say it already you're not building any tension, we all know where you're going!" Martin said as his eyes nearly shot out of his sockets. People turned towards him and his face blushed as he turned towards Benji. Somehow he was turning into the bad guy, how was that possible?

“Benji, I'm just saying you are so big, your personality and ego is massive. I find it so hard sometimes to deal with you, I just need some time to deal with my feelings and find out what I want. I'm not saying you're wrong or right for what you did to Scott, you lost your arm any one would be angry but that wasn't a way to deal with it." Martin said as he calmed down. He took a few breaths from his mask as he calmed down.

Benji sat down and spun his mechanical hand and then changed it into a fork. He punched down into his food and pulled the meal into his mouth. Martin groaned and rubbed his face as Benji did so.

“See you made a big deal out of your previous arm, but here you just use it with no big deal. You seem happier with this mechanical arm, I don't understand, lost arms aren't a big deal anymore." Martin said as Benji chewed further and swallowed his meal. Benji looked at him and ignored him, the silent treatment was in effect, Martin groaned.

“Why do I have to appear like the bad guy, all I have done is present a rational argument to follow. I'm not against us getting back together." Martin said finally reluctantly agreeing with Benji. Seeing the shark shift as he ate his foot and raise his eyebrow, he knew he was going towards the right direction. It practically hurt him to admit defeat but he knew the shark wouldn't let up.

“See was that so hard, you'll find that I am a very agreeable person if you just let me keep on swimming." Benji said flexing his gills, still a practical organ but on land practically useless, a bit like a metaphor for arguing with him. Still he admired Martin's reluctant but knew he could bring the lizard over to his side of the moral compass.    

“Now then, I say we can continue this later as it appears, we won't have much time…" Benji said nearly trailing off as suddenly it appeared that a tranquilizer dart had made its way into his and Martin's neck. He fell face first into his food.

…

Pulling apart the beaded entrance, Martin found his senses assaulted by multiple scents, sights and sounds, all fighting for his attention. He coughed a bit as he tried to clear the space around his head of the smoke but found him unable to do so. In the tent, many ingredients in jars had been placed on shelfs lining the area, on could find any herb or medicine they needed.

“Hello, welcome to the Bright Apothecary, oh it's you." The shark said as he lifted his body over the desk, his face turned to disappointment as he realized the priest had arrived. “Well then Absalom, let's make this quick what do you want and how do I have it?"

“I need your help, I figured everything out. But Benji must pay for his crimes against humanity; join me again and we can help him repent for his sins." The priest asked Bright for his help, hoping they could work together once more. It would be simple, at least in his mind.

“I'm not sure I can do that, if I were to say strike Benji he would return after me ten-fold, and the Outsiders would take this place away from me. I enjoy my life now." Bright said as he showed his dispensary to Absalom, trying to convince the priest not to strike. “Now someone, or something has given you that portal for a reason, I suggest you smarten up and figure out what you are going to do before someone else decides to do so for yourself."

“Fine then, see if I care. But I will need one herb from you, and I do have payment to do so." Absalom said as he brought up the bag of coins to the counter, hoping to appeal to Bright's greed instead of his sense of morality.

“Well then we have a done deal." Bright said as he cleared away some of the smoke from around his body and coughed a bit as well. Absalom backed up and searched the wares trying to find the jar that contained the materials he needed. Looking around he avoided the food spices and stuck around the more natural herbs.

"I must ask what is with the smoke covering this place; it's like a layer of smoke trying to crush my lungs." Absalom said as he coughed a bit, the smoke tasted strange but he did fine himself a bit more relaxed around it. Waving it away he scanned through the must have been a hundred herbs and spices trying to find the one he needed.

“Oh its nothing, it just helps me see clearer. Elliot says it represses my psychopathic tendencies and makes me a more likable person in general." Bright said as he took a breath in and out, breaking the smoke into his lungs. “Oh, maybe I could get you some as a gift, everyone I sell it to keeps on coming back."

“No but thank you for offering, here this one get me 20 grams of this material." Absalom said as he pointed to the material in its jar. Bright walked behind the counter and grabbed the jar. Taking it over to the front, he placed a metal piece onto his balance and weighted out enough of the herbs.

When the balance's matched, Bright shoved it into the bag nearby and sealed it. Handing it to Absalom, Bright felt good knowing that he had helped out another one of his friends. Bright took three of the coins out, knowing their worth had increased massively in the time that passed between their dimensions.

“You know this is the stuff they make cough syrup out of, do you have a sour throat, because some wormsworth would help with that, only one coin more." Bright said as he waved away the smoke and showed him the jar.

“No, I need this for other reasons, this is my swan song. At least if I do have my way, I may or may not be back so if so thank you for all you did." Absalom said as he walked behind him waving his hand. Bright was surprised as his head waved back and forth that the priest was able to figure that out. Bright disappeared behind the beaded entrance and left Bright to his own.

“Oh Absalom if only your future we're so Bright, the visions are intense and the future is hopeful but you will not be the one to lead, and neither will I." Bright said as he placed is herb down and enjoyed the atmosphere around him. He felt relaxed and all was well for now.

…

“And thus with my own accord and perhaps disbelief I will begin work on a final solution, a final battle for both of us. One will come out alive and the other will die, a situation where Benji will have to kill me in order to escape. And it will be glorious, a fun situation, one will he will die or I will." Absalom said to himself as he walked down the street. Holding two darts with the melted down and boiled version of his herbs he prepared to act.

Benji's perception filter no longer worked on him, he could find the shark and quite often in the street did he pass him. Looking through the modern buildings, filled with sin and stickiness, he knew this is what he had to do. Looking around he found the shark sitting at a table with the lizard.

Wasting no time he threw the darts forward, one landing in Benji's neck and one landing in Martin's the two were quickly knocked out and fell into the their dishes. Looking over he grabbed Benji knowing that he had to leave the lizard behind. Activating Benji's perception filter, he would have disappeared into thin air to the other restaurant goers.   

…

Benji gasped for air as he woke up, yet as he did he found himself gasping in the air. But still found nothing, he couldn't breathe. He was in an airless environment, he couldn't breathe. His mind started to race as he realized he couldn't breathe, it would be impossible to live for more than…

He felt to the ground, the lack of air only letting him wake up and enjoy what would be the first of many deaths. In a few minutes he woke up again, his body standing up and Benji finding himself awake. He felt around he had lungs filled with oxygen so at least he would have at most three minutes.

Looking around there was a glass wall in front of him. Behind it a metallic plate and then it rose. The plate rose up and behind it Benji was horrified as he saw Absalom behind it. Immediately he formed a laser blaster in his hand and fired it at the window.

To his surprise, it blasted around wildly knocking around and then hitting him in the back. Benji screamed out letting his breath out, and the shark fell to the ground as he died from his own weapon. Absalom laughed a bit knowing that the beginning of Benji's repent had started.

Benji woke up again in a few minutes, his lungs once again filled with fresh and free oxygen. He needed a plan, he needed to formulate a way to get out, get out and win the battle. He needed a way to win, he couldn't lose and keep on dying. Eventually Lucifer would have just taken away his powers and Absalom would lose his interest in him.      

He'd probably be thrown out into the streets and into a garbage can, where'd he come back to life and then he'd get revenge and feel piss poor in the morning as usual. He looked forward and Absalom was standing there in front of him, laughing a bit and enjoying his death.

“So then what is this time, have dragons decided to rain down on the planet and you need to save me as your savior, or have you gotten curious again on how many times I could die in one day." Benji said as he walked forward looking through the glass. He showed his mechanical hand, figuring it probably wouldn't work as well.    

“Now then you need to repent for your crime, we will deal with you one death at a time until realize the value of a human mortal life and how you need to act in order to save your soul." Absalom said as Benji groaned knowing that someone was going to try to redeem him. They would end up wasting their time and no progress would be made.

"Please I'm unsavable, do you realize how many souls I have sent down to hell. All of them, they all go to hell there is no heaven. I could take you there and you'd be able to see what I see. You'd know that no death is permanent." Benji said presenting the temptation before the priest. Benji knew he could escape easily but where was the fun in that.

“You lie; god is trying to tempt me. He placed your sinful soul down on this earth to punish me for my sins and test me. I will remain sternly here and your temptation will not move me." Absalom said remaining stagnant in his reasoning, Benji groaned again.

“You know you would like this movie." Benji said as he realized in his talking he quickly turned his oxygen into carbon dioxide. He fell to the ground and died, not to Absalom's surprise. Who only smiled.

“One at a time Benji, your sins shall be removed from your body and one day perhaps today or the next one you can walk this world knowing that your soul is clean nothing can bring you down." Absalom said as he watched Benji's body work, waiting for the miracle of life to return his body and allow him three more minutes on this world.    

“You would like this movie." Benji said standing up as life returned to his body. “It's called, The Last Temptation of Christ, created a lot of controversy when it came out, but in it at the end as Jesus is hung on the cross, he has a choice. Inspire mankind or become mortal and live out his life with Mary Magdalene."

“In it Satan, Lucifer, or the devil as I'm sure you know him, gives to Jesus, this idea of living this mortal life, perhaps a present for him or as a way to admit defeat. Or perhaps his last choice before he returns to “Heaven."" Benji said as he put up air quotes, Benji paced around lecturing Absalom, or to perhaps appear as if he knew what he was speaking off.

“So I ask you Absalom, priest of the church do I appear as the devil to you, am I and this world your temptation? Would you be able to choose to live with in this world or not?" Benji said hoping that he could confuse Absalom enough that he might shut down and he'd be able to get out.

“Yeah I think I'm going to enjoy your many deaths." Absalom said as he walked away from the window and decided to let Benji work on his own. The shark started to run around knocking on the window before passing out again. Benji fell to the floor and got knocked down.  

Benji stood up and looked around, he had nothing to do. Forming something to do, he looked at the laptop in his hands. Somehow it was being charged, it was drawing electricity from somewhere, but he had no idea where that was. He figured that might come in use later. So instead he formed a chair below him and sat down, switching out his computer for a cross word puzzle.

Time passed and Benji filled out about five or so, as death came to him and the object stabilized. With multiple deaths under his belt, he wondered how far he would be pushed until his body couldn't regenerate and he just stayed dead. His mind though that his DNA might change a bit every time he died are revived, would it be possible for him to mutate.

“So then how is it going?" Absalom said as he hoped penance was helping Benji. He knew it had to be true, a good period of reflection always helped everyone he knew. Yet the shark seemed adamant, he continued to write down the answers in his crossword puzzle.

“I don't know; I'm looking for a seven letter room that means a complete dumb-ass." Benji said sassing back as he tried to get Absalom to do something, waiting wasn't going to work. He needed to push the priest, opening the door would probably chock Absalom long enough that he could have striked but he didn't want to hurt the priest.  

He stood in his cell as he died again and again, again and died around once every ten minutes. As he stayed in his cell, his watch's batteries died and he needed to keep time. Using his finger to keep in sync with the passing of seconds, his world became more about those figures than the others.

“660 seconds since my last death." Benji said to himself as he counted along with his finger, if he was right then… He fell to the floor, the oxygen in his blood disappearing and finally the effect of deoxygenated blood causing the blood in his to stop pumping.

“659" Benji said falling down, and as he kept track of the seemingly jovial amount of seconds between his deaths, yet as he counted down he kept noticing something, something that bugged him.

“657." Falling down the lingering thought in Benji's mind continued, his time to death was getting shorter. For all it was worth, it seemed that every time he passed out and died, his next incarnation had less time to work with. He was dealing with a ticking clock until inevitability the graph hit zero and he started to die before he could even react.

“Based on exponential processing, time until zero death is two hours." Benji said as he drew a line graph, placing his current level of death. He needed to get working fast, after the point of one hundred and eighty seconds the graph took a nose dive. But that gave him hope, which pushed him along to be more and figure out a better way out.

“642." Benji fell to the ground as he wrote his ideas down, he needed to figure out what was causing him to die quicker. In his next life, he extrapolated the data to the point where he had not died, yet it should have as little. He figured that at the beginning he had 1200 seconds of air in his lungs but on current levels it only said he had 1020.

Something was wrong, something was throwing off the graph slowly and at some controlled rate. He needed to find it, he needed to figure out what the unaccounted variable was and eliminate it from the equation as to lengthen his time to zero death.

“636." Benji fell again, and he felt it the answer was on his tongue. More literal than even he could imagine. Waking up again he knew what was happening, as he died. All the air was released from his lungs, the carbon dioxide blood removal process still continues after death.

Yet when he awoke, his lungs and body condition reset, presumably back to the same air condition on that dark and gloomy night in Boston. Constant resetting meant the carbon dioxide being released by his body had been building up. In addition to taking oxygen for metabolic processes, his body had been releasing more dioxide than even he thought.

“556.", Yet he could use that to his own advantage, recalculating based on how much he would release with his speeches, he realized the drop was going to occur any death but at the point before zero death if he could apply pressure on the right point at the window.

Benji stood up knowing that he had three hundred or so seconds until his next death so he wanted to start a speech for his next five or so deaths. Getting the priest's attention he turned at the window and walked forward.

“Now then let's talk about what's happening here. You think I'm going to repent for my sins, but in the end this closed system will just collapse." Benji said as he walked forward. “221."

From this point on he needed to everything with a planned out intention and make sure he was using his time effectively.  He stood back up counting down the seconds until his body shut down, at this point the room was about 4 percent oxygen, the rest his dead carbon dioxide; yet if he was right the amount of oxygen in the room was still the same. The oxygen didn't disappear it only got overshadowed.

“In chemical reactions, as it turns out chemicals don't often change to one chemical and instead the solutions travel back and forth between products and reactants, until they reach a point of equilibrium at this point. The solution the solution is balanced and solution will stay as." Benji said as he knew this life's time was nearly half over, he needed to get to his point.

“Now then there is a story about air pressure, on this Earth we say screw it to our icebergs and water levels and have only just now decided to deal with the massive amount of carbon dioxide in our air. If you were smart enough… 102." Benji fell over his speech cut to nothing.

“Any who if you had a sense of smartness, or used your brain a bit you might be able to have foreseen what was going to happen. You can't simply trap me in a cage, that would be to simple. What you have to do is study me, see if the carbon dioxide affects me, see what resets and what doesn't. 23." Benji said knowing he only had three more lives with more than ten seconds.

“Now then, what you forget is that I release carbon dioxide and for the last day or so, my body has been push out dioxide and increasing the pressure in your room. Now then… Ten." Benji fell down.

“And if I'm right this should push against the windows and if I can apply the right amount of pressure, I can. Seven." Benji fell down again, the carbon dioxide building up as Benji made sure to exhale everything in his lungs.

“And in the end, you forgot to check with equilibrium, nothing changes. Now you may think that a hell of a game changer or perhaps that equilibrium failed you, but personally I just think I'm that a hell of a rule breaker!" Benji yelled as he felt the pressure just right, he punched forward his fist striking forward with pressure of the carbon dioxide pushing forward.

A tiny crack was make, perhaps scrapping nanometers of glass off the strengthened metal but it was enough. With the force of an entire room pushing on it, the carbon dioxide followed into the crack and continued to push, making a bigger crack and separating the glass molecules.  

Benji's fist plunged through the glass, the force of carbon dioxide being able to escape pushed him through and he crashed at the wall. Standing up, he quickly changed his mechanical hand into a gun and formed a barrier of bricks blocking Absalom from escaping that way.

“Now then let's talk about me, do you know how much of a rule breaker I am. I can generate bricks out of thin air, defying the abilities of the universe to enforce conversation of mass. I could extend the life of the universe, if I said I wanted to. I am the biggest rule breaker and you should consider me your god." Koji said probably not meaning most of that sentence only trying to frighten Absalom away for good this time. 

Absalom said nothing and ran into the room, managing to jump over the glass He ran to the end of the room and opened the door. The sound of flashing lights and songs began as Benji released that it was you can let your ego disappear and go through the door anytime you wish challenge.

He ran back into the room, taking in the fresh oxygen and filling his lungs back up. Turning into the room he wondered what Absalom had set up for him. Benji jumped through one of the walls not even trying to view the horrors of baptism and signing nuns ahead.

Following Absalom, he passed through the warehouse and saw the priest make an exit. Benji threw himself at him, forming the dog mask in his hand and changing to his more canine form in order to gain speed.

However, as Absalom exited the warehouse Benji stopped, as it appeared he was next to Charlestown Bridge. Following the red bricks of the Freedom trail, Benji changed back as he realized it was night. Looking around he figured he must have been captured for a long time, one and a half days at most. He followed Absalom by the bridge, he must have been going to Bunker Hill.

Yet Absalom stopped, below him the rushing cold waters of the Charles Rivers called to him. He stepped up onto the edge of the bridge, looking down. Benji stopped as he realized what the priest was doing, years of self-doubt about god and himself finally too much.

“I stand here and I know, no one will miss me. I have no one in this world in the next to care about, or to save. I started this day believing in god, and thinking I could save you; yet as this day sets I am no longer confident that either of those things are real." Absalom said his body shaking as he stood over the water.

Benji said nothing as he tried to think of a comeback or something to say. He didn't want to let Absalom just go, he was supposed to kill the priest in anger not the waters of the Earth.

“Exactly, tell me you said that hell existed while heaven didn't. Therefore, I don't have to have a need to worry about my soul being saved or redeemed, what will happen there?" Absalom said, asking Benji as he tried to justify what was happening.

“Your soul will be cleansed of sin and you will be placed into a modern body." Benji said as he knew what the fact would convince the priest off. He backed up as he knew that he couldn't change what was going to happen now. It was set in the future as much as stone, he could have blocked Absalom, found a way to stop him but he respected the priest's decision to know when to die.

“I was going to be a scientist, in my world. I was going to be one. I meet this guy he was called Benjamin Franklin, I loved him. We worked together and he discovered something called electricity in the clouds. I guess it's ironic that the death of me is another Benjamin." Absalom recited as if he prepared something to say, he knew what was going to happen and would make the best to tell his story.

“However, my mother disagreed and sent me into the vocation. It was the worst time of my life, I was told to be worthless and nothing; and I was forced to promise not to take any of heaven's gifts. It was supposed to redeem my soul, but it only sunk me further. So then if something asks you to tell you the story of Absalom Byrn, tell them that was my story and this is how it ends." Absalom stepped forward, Benji closing his eyes as he could feel the sinking body. It was all over for him, he would surely drown.

Benji turned around looking away, sad the another life had been taken away because of his action or lack of their off. He wasn't sure what to feel, in his mind it seemed that Absalom had justified his own actions but even he were to save him he wasn't able to say to himself that he'd be able to make Absalom feel worthy to live.

He wasn't sure, in his logical mind it was sad because entropy was introduced into a previously functioning system and that was sad. However, his emotional sense he felt happy because Absalom had been notoriously unhappy and unstable, he needed something to release him.

Benji still did decided to give his peace to Absalom, he breathed in and transported his soul to hell. Opening his eyes he found himself in the room of Lucifer. Except no one was around, in fact Hell seemed quite peaceful. No one was rioting nor were any demons throwing rocks onto the window. It was peaceful, something was wrong.

Benji looked around, the devil never left the comfort of his room. Something big was happening, someone had gotten Lucifer. It had to be Greg, his body was presumably finally regenerating and his soul was taking actions for the final action.It was time, perhaps two or three days at most. He needed to get away from Boston, he needed to get money. Perhaps he could take shelter in Outsider bunkers in Washington. Hell was coming over the world and he needed to get him and Martin a place to stay and avoid the Final Resolve.