Chapter 1: Rewind the Clock

A/N: Skip to the line break if uninterested. Yes, it's a new story. Everything else I've written is dead. Maybe this one might die too, but maybe not. I'm not going to think too much while writing stuff anymore and just go with the flow. If anyone wants to beta this story, be my guest.

Tick.

A statue of a young man barred the massive golden gate.

Tick.

The personification of darkness and despair reformed itself and lunged into the statue once more.

Tick.

To no avail, as the seal refused to budge.

Tick.

Nothing ever changes here. Nothing ever will.

CRASH

The first thing Minato Arisato awoke to was music. An aria from the past that he hadn't heard in a long time.

"I see you have returned to us."

It was also a familiar voice, one he hadn't heard in ages. As he opened his eyes, he was met with the sight of a hunchbacked old man with a crooked smile and large nose.

"Igor." Minato greeted him. "Is it already the end of time?"

Igor chuckled in response. "Hardly."

"Then why am I here? Did the seal break?" Minato asked, a hint of panic entering his voice.

Igor was silent.

"Tell me!"

"…We are unsure of what has occurred." Igor replied solemnly. "When you chose to use the power of the Universe in such a fashion, it created a seal so powerful that it ensured no force could ever destroy it."

"Then I shouldn't be here." Minato interjected, albeit with relief.

"Indeed, however, allow me to finish." Igor continued with a hint of irritation in his voice. "I understand that you are concerned for your world. Your Journey has already reached its conclusion, and yet a strange phenomenon has occurred. It seems that the clock has been turned back."

Minato leaned back into the chair, contemplating Igor's words. "So you're saying we're back into the past. How far, exactly?"

"It has been rewound quite a bit."

"Before or after the seal?"

"Before." Igor answered. "However, something seems to have… changed. It has led me to believe that we are no longer in the same fabric of time."

"So we're in a different dimension or multiverse?"

"Indeed." The Proprietor of the Velvet Room paused. "It is strange. For a guest to return to us after his Journey has been completed is... unheard of.""

Minato thoughts were racing. "Was everything we went through pointless, then? Did we change nothing?"

"Ah, not quite." The smile returned on Igor's face. "Your sacrifice has safeguarded your world from Nyx for eternity. It was simply the most marvelous thing I have witnessed in all my years as the Proprietor of this Room."

Minato sighed in relief. "So what do we do now, Igor?"

"I admit, I am uncertain how to proceed."

Minato was surprised. Igor always seemed to know what needed to be done. "Do you have a counterpart for this… dimension or whatever it's called?"

"The Velvet Room exists beyond dimensions, young man." Igor chuckled. "Have you already forgotten what I have told you about this place?"

"It exists beyond dream and reality, mind and matter." Minato's face then took on an incredulous expression as he realized something. "Just how many guests have you had?"

"More than there are stars in every existence." Igor smiled his Cheshire smile. "And allow me to assure you, none have been as interesting as you are."

"So I assume I'm the first to actually enter an entirely different dimension?"

"You would be correct. You will find things very similar here. It appears that your soul has latched onto the closest possible thread of the universe, quite possibly due to its familiarity."

Minato read between the lines. "You're saying that I should take part in this reality."

"It is entirely your choice." Igor said. "The contract you have signed with us simply states that you will accept all responsibility for your actions."

"Me being in a different dimension wasn't exactly a consequence from my actions."

"Perhaps, but I am referring to your current choice. Whether or not you choose to enter this world will have significant effects."

Minato chose not to respond to that, and the two said nothing for a while. The aria continued to permeate the room.

The young man closed his eyes and let the music soothe him. Ever since his first visit, the pianist had been singing her heart out. Once, he had asked Igor about the music. Apparently, the pianist was once a guest who had made the decision to keep singing for eternity to soothe the souls of everyone in existence. The story had brought tears to his eyes, for nothing was at stake and she could stop whenever she wished. Yet, she chose to give comfort to those in pain. It gave him a further appreciation for her song; even more so now, as he had made a similar choice for humanity. That detail brought something to mind.

"…You said that this reality is similar to mine." Minato murmured. "Does that mean that Nyx will come to this reality as well?"

"That is correct." Igor answered. "I am, to be frank, unsure of the outcome. While you are in a similar dimension, you do not exist as you are here."

That brought Minato to raise his head sharply. "What are you saying? Is this reality doomed if I don't intervene, then?"

"Not quite. I believe that a new guest shall arrive soon. Ironically, she is your counterpart in this reality. Your… replacement, if you will."

"…She?"

Igor chuckled. "Yes, she. She too possesses the Wild Card, and will forge her own Destiny in the days ahead."

"Is she going to be another scapegoat for humanity, like I was?" A pained expression flickered across his face.

"Igor, how many times will Nyx come to destroy humanity? How many times will someone else be called to sacrifice their eternity?!"

Igor remained calm in the face of Minato's anger and waited for him to calm down.

"I apologize." Minato said. "It's just… I became the seal on the condition that my will never wavered until the end of time. I was aware of every second that passed. That damn clock never let me forget it." The young man sighed. "Believe me, I was sorely tempted to just… give in."

He paused and took a deep breath. "It was the hardest thing I've ever done, Igor. I… I don't know if I can do it again."

Igor was silent for a moment. "Perhaps you will not have to. Another may choose do so."

At this, he stared directly at Igor. "I would not wish it upon anyone else. Tell me, how many more realities will face Nyx?"

"It will depend on the outcome of this universe. Your reality, Minato-" Minato jerked his head in surprise. Igor had never used his name directly before."-is known as a primary universe. It is one of the two leading realities on Fate's path."

"And we are now in the other, I suppose." Minato assumed.

"Indeed. The passage of time of this reality is just behind your own. In other words, your reality will always be the first to experience the hand of Fate. And this reality the second. Should the coming of Nyx be halted here-"

"Then the rest of the multiverse will never have to deal with Nyx, because stopping the Fall would have been set in stone." Minato surmised, comprehension dawning on his face.

"Exactly! Truly, you are the most intriguing guest we have ever had." Igor said with glee. "In fact, I would theorize that your will to stop Nyx has transcended time and space simply to ensure the survival of all existence. If your final fusion was present, I would be willing to wager that the power of the Universe have evolved into the power of the Multiverse."

"That sounds really far-fetched, Igor." Minato mused skeptically. "As I said, I was constantly on the verge of giving in. My willpower isn't that strong."

"I would beg to differ," Igor countered. " But that is neither here nor there. Another explanation, perhaps was that the will of your friends attempting to help you somehow triggered this event. But however it occurred, it matters not at this point. You now have a chance to live your life free of such obligation."

Minato snorted in response. "Please. Something like this never happens without a reason. I doubt I'm as free to live my life as you say I am."

"…Perhaps." Igor conceded solemnly. "Nevertheless, as long as you abide by your contract, we of the Velvet room will continue to support you regardless of your choice."

Minato smiled a genuine smile, touched by the support that had never wavered in all his time as a guest. "I've never really thanked you for everything you've done for me, have I? For what it's worth, thank you, Igor. For everything."

"You are indeed most welcome." Igor smiled sincerely in return, a sight rarely seen.

"Speaking of 'we', where is Elizabeth?"

"She chose to leave the Velvet room after your sacrifice to search for a way to free you from your seal. I have sent her a message of what has occurred. She will no doubt be here waiting for you upon your return."

"I see. Please thank her for me as well." Minato paused, then frowned. "Never mind, I'll do it myself when I see her again."

"As you wish. However, the time has come to make a decision." Igor snapped his fingers, and a deck of Tarot cards began floating around in the air. The Aria began to increase intensity.

"I can weave your thread of existence into the fabric of this universe, Minato." There it was again. Why was Igor suddenly using his name? "What is your choice? Will you once again be involved in halting the Fall of humanity? Or will you allow Fate to run it's course? It is up to you to decide."

The young man who had become the Great Seal in a different reality knew that this was his last chance to turn away and live a normal life. A chance to have the family he never had, the children he could have raised. A chance to enjoy his life without the haunt of loneliness. A chance to truly live before he died.

And yet, it was a chance to live at the cost of letting another soul take his place. And that was where he drew the line.

"I never really had a choice, Igor." A ghost of a wistful expression lingered on his face.

He smiled wryly as he took a deep breath.

"I chooseth this fate of mine own free will. If I have to do it all over again, so be it."

The cards began to rapidly encircle the room at his words as an aura of power seemed to emit from both of them. Igor even seemed to glow for a moment.

"Very well!" Igor declared. "Let the wheel of time reverse!"

More cards began to join those in the air as an intense look of concentration appeared on Igor's face. Out from the corner of his eye, Minato caught a glimpse of the Tarot cards. From the World, it began to reverse in order, to Judgement, to the Sun. The familiar cards were burned into his mind as it continued down to Death, and so on until the final four where it began slow down. To the Emperor, the Priestess, the Magician and finally…

The Fool. He was intimately familiar with that Arcana.

"The Journey of the Fool shall begin once more."

And Minato vanished from the room, leaving Igor with a satisfied but tired smirk on his face.

"And so the story is retold."

A/N: Yes, I'll be having a Hamuko and Minato duality. Hopefully it won't be too similar to anything else on the site, but even if the plot is, the writing style and execution will be different, so it doesn't matter. You can't sue me for it anyway. And I hope you enjoyed the false origins of the "Poem for Everyone's Souls'. Anyway, ciao. Review if you want to give feedback.