gardener // y!dsmp x reader

EPILOGUE XI : KARL

therefore, he came to the conclusion that he'd never use his powers anymore. he'd let everything take its natural course like the universe wanted—and in a way, this may or may not have affected his entire view on how destiny and fate works. once you go against the universe, it just makes things wrong. it was unfortunate that he had to watch many of his good friends and wives and husbands die away. in-spite of this, it shaped him—tore him down and built him up. he learnt to live with the pain he had to carry from time to time, knowing that a new generation of bonds was waiting for him, and that acceptance of fate was ultimately the key to unlocking potential. that generation would be in the eternal cosmos, his present home in greater smp.

currently, karl dragged himself away, deep within the forests where camouflage seemed to erupt naturally from thick trees and brush covering him. he ran until his legs hurt, and he felt like he would melt from the sun's heat beating down on him. somehow, he was able to drown out the sounds of explosions and screams, not wanting to add onto the trauma he already endures as an immortal time traveller.

he eventually stopped, feeling like he didn't have a choice in dropping to the ground and crying his heart out until his throat felt like it was closing. he needed to let out all the pain first before he could think clearly. he stayed on the ground for a solid half an hour, attempting to straighten out an empty head and a broken heart.

he couldn't believe he saw you die in front of him. that was what was on his mind the most despite not getting the chance to strengthen your friendship—and perhaps pursuing something more than that. after so long, after he vowed to never marry again after burying his many past soulmates from different timelines, he bashfully fell in love with you. boy oh boy how he missed having a crush on someone.

that feeling of his heart fluttering, feeling like his chest is going to burst open and explode, and the butterflies sparking within his stomach is the one feeling that he learnt that humans were never able to understand no matter what timeline he travelled to. nobody was able to truly define what love was, yet many craved such a powerful feeling... a powerful language paired with an irresistible desire.

after calming his breathing and sobbing, karl turned around to face the way he came from. through some slits between the trees, he was able to make out thick orange flames and smokey mushroom clouds rising from manberg, almost appearing as calloused hands that were dragging a grey veil over the kingdom.

he took a long moment to think through everything that's happened. everything that not only he's done but what everyone else around him has done. if he wanted to change something, he had to consider every single possible trail of multiple people's lives and the decisions they have made to create all the events in the timeline he was in right now.

of course it was hard to piece together because he didn't know everyone. he couldn't even begin to take a guess of who would try and explode manberg since everyone he knew was in his line of sight at the time, sitting at tables, getting food, or chattering with people at the festival. everyone he knew was at the festival. everyone.... including you. plus he had to consider the possibility that maybe it was someone he didn't know - that he couldn't have control over.

he sighed, holding his head in his hands, a headache slowly forming from stress. he cared about you so much. he wished he could've protected you better. yes, maybe asher wasn't near you and he kept his promise, but still, you got hurt in the end by something else. it only broke him more. he didn't want to lose you. the feeling and thoughts of bejeweled intimacy coursing through his body merely scratched the surface. it shouldn't have ended so soon. ' could i fix this? ' he thought over and over.

in retrospect, he had the power to. although he knew that if he did use his powers, it would only be a repeat of what he did in the past. that's what he discovered about the universe and the timelines it held—everything was held by the same strings and knots, making events repeat themselves because that's the only thing time can do.