Dark Sanity
Chapter Twenty

Synthesis

Flint majestically hovered through a dimensional tunnel. It was semitransparent, allowing him to see the dark realm of space and its distant stars. As he floated through the prism that pulsed with energy, his body gradually healed. He could see numerous planets as he floated deeper through space. The stars sparkled before him, radiating an eternal light. He soon passed a white dwarf, staring at it without getting blinded.

He thought that this was the most beautiful sight and phenomena he’d ever experienced in his life. To him, it was as though dream and reality became one. This felt so real to him, and yet it was a dreamy feeling. He then reached a cluster of colorful gas clouds, similar to the Hypo Nebulae sector; the only major difference was that this interstellar region of space had an orange- and red-colored gulf of cosmic dust.

The nebulae vanished shortly after, as did all the planets and stars. Flint was distraught by their sudden disappearance. For a while, he stared into nothingness. Before him was an empty realm where no life existed. Utterly frightened, he wondered what had happened to the universe. At that precise moment, new worlds, moons, and stars appeared. This was a tremendous relief to him.

Each planet he saw had a different color. The serene spacescape before him was an even more magnificent panorama than he’d experienced upon entering the semitransparent rainbow-colored tunnel. Once again, the planets, moons, and stars vanished. Flint stayed calm, trying to be patient. After several seconds, the celestial bodies returned. And, as usual, they were different than the previous ones. With this experience, he felt as though he were traveling through other dimensions.

This time he witnessed the birth of a star, its stellar core shining. Upon passing the newly forming star, his somewhat middle-aged body started to slow down. He spotted a green planet not too far from the newborn star. When he looked at the world, he began to fall toward it. The velocity of his body flying made him feel as if he were falling due to a presence of gravity. He refused to scream despite the fact that he was afraid. At that moment, he saw another gateway hovering near the green planet. His journey through space and time was coming to an end, he realized. And then, in the blink of an eye, he entered the spherical gateway and dropped into an ocean.

Flint was flustered, swimming up as fast as he could. It wasn’t long until he reached the surface, gasping and breathing fresh air. The waves pushed him forward instead of sucking him in, and he hurled onto a sandy shore. Flint remained flat on the ground for a while, catching his breath. He gazed at the sky, noticing it was green. Somehow, he had a feeling he’d been here more than once. Yes, he thought to himself, this was definitely Parronus. The white colony, however, wasn’t standing before him, not even its rubble. Instead there was a beach house a mile away.

The moment Flint noticed it, he felt his heart skip a beat, and his eyes widened. He then broke into a run toward the beach house with countless thoughts. He wondered to himself, could Hamarah be there? Was this in fact Parronus? It definitely seemed like it. But then, in the far eastern expanse—opposite the ocean—he spotted Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Upon seeing them, Flint stopped running and stared at them in disbelief. He looked at the sky again; yet it was still green, not the blue sky of Earth.

He didn’t understand what was happening, nor did he know for sure where he was. But he nevertheless continued running toward the beach home. As he drew closer to the house, it became evident to him that it was the same one from his dreams. He’d dreamt of being on the balcony years ago during his time in Desonas.

At last, he reached the house. He tried to catch his breath, anxiously going up the stairs. It was so quiet. The only sounds he heard were the waves crashing down along the shoreline. Still, he did not see Hamarah anywhere. He then opened the house’s front door and stepped inside. It was silent inside. Flint observed the interior and saw photographs of him and Hamarah in frames that hung along the walls.

When he looked at the photos, however, he felt as though a sharp piece of twisted metal was stuck deep in his throat. He couldn’t breathe, realizing that Hamarah was a younger form of Amanda Cross. He backed away, bumping into the wall behind him. A frame fell, and its glass cracked. He wore a look of horror and ran upstairs. Once he reached the second floor, he heard a strange humming sound emanating from the bedroom.

His heart pounded again, and his head throbbed in terrible pain. He wasn’t sure what he’d replace in the room. In fact, he didn’t know if he wanted to replace out; but he was willing to take a risk if there was even a slight chance to see Hamarah again. He warily entered the bedroom. No one was there. The house had been empty for ages. He’d hoped Hamarah would be there, humming a lovely tune while waiting for him. He was wrong. The source of the eerie sound was from a dimensional rift by the ocean-view balcony.

A voice within his mind was beginning to whisper something to him. He tried to block it out and ignore it. Yet a part of it stuck with Flint, telling him a deep miserable truth that all the photos had shown him downstairs. He closed his eyes, trying to listen to another voice. Yes, he thought, this second voice was exactly what he’d wanted to hear. It was telling him that Hamarah was here with him. And when he opened his eyes, an ageless Hamarah sat before him—she was by the windowsill in a see-through gown, smiling at him with sensual eyes.

“Hamarah!” he cried out.

“Ethan!” she also cried out.

Together they ran into each other’s arms, kissing passionately. Flint could hardly believe that this moment had finally come. After what had happened to him on Parronus, he’d lost faith, no longer believing he would replace Hamarah. But since he’d been sucked into the dimensional rift, he was somehow able to be with her.

Flint felt so relieved to finally see Hamarah outside of his dreams. When he saw her body through the gown, he felt the urge to grab her, put her on the bed, and make love to her. She was the only one who attempted to speak while Flint took off her gown, kissing her soft voluptuous breasts.

“You did it,” she said, moaning and taking his clothes off. “After three long centuries, the tribunal is dead.”

“Yes,” he whispered, caressing her delicate skin.

“The military is deeply wounded,” she began in a murmur, “but it hasn’t fallen just yet, Ethan. Someone will have to keep fighting.”

“Browder will continue the war,” he said, kissing her all around her body. “He will fight on and protect those who have been suppressed. And because of him, Sarah and Jake will be able to start a new beautiful life together. They’ll have a family, just like you and me. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“Yes,” she purred, moaning loudly.

“I love you, Hamarah.”

“Oh, and I love you,” she said blissfully.

Feeling so much pleasure, Flint closed his eyes. Though, when he did so, he could no longer hear or feel her. A burning sensation he’d been feeling around his groin traveled to his upper body. He gasped on the bed, feeling his chest tighten and burn as if a knife were cutting through him. Flint couldn’t breathe. He started to convulsive. His eyes blinked rapidly, froth coming out of his mouth. Then he fell flat on the floor. After a few seconds, the convulsions stopped. He coughed violently and breathed in a heavy, rasping tone. Little by little, he regained his composure.

Opening his eyes, he found himself in the dysfunctional synthesis chamber, just beyond where the tribunal lay dead. The building shook, on the verge of collapsing. Blood dripped down Flint’s burnt face, his vision blurry. Barely able to breathe, he gagged, wondering what had just happened. Could it be that he’d hallucinated? Or was his experience the result of a synthesis glitch before breaking down?

At that moment, two voices arose within him. He shook his head, trying to shake them away. He wasn’t sure which one he should listen to, if any. The second voice eventually faded away. Only the first voice remained—the voice of reason. In this final moment, he’d finally accepted the frightening realization he’d had at the beach house. Just as he’d lost his memory as Ethan and became Flint Cross, Hamarah had lost hers and became Amanda Cross.

He cried miserably. All this time, he was searching for a woman who’d been in front of him his whole life in Desonas. He’d been so certain that the woman in his dreams was different from Amanda Cross that he subconsciously separated the two. Though his memory had been severely tampered with, he nevertheless blamed himself for her death.

The pulse of life he’d managed to regain a few years ago quickly withered away again. Suddenly, destroying the tribunal no longer satisfied him. Winning the war against the military became worthless to him. Freedom was trivial because he’d lost the only precious thing left in this world.

Amid his torment, he wondered why he’d experienced such a wild hallucination—being with Hamarah at the beach house. A voice within his mind told him that he knew the answer: he’d fantasized of a greater outcome to this war. He yearned for so much more, yet his body lay ruined. There was nothing more he could do except replace tranquility in the final moments of his life.

Flint Cross may have once been a gunslinger and revolutionist. Now, he desired to be a husband again. Hamarah was waiting for him, he conceded, and now he was ready to join her. He was content with this outcome, no longer questioning his sanity, and so he closed his eyes and finally surrendered, knowing his mission had been fulfilled.