Raising Sera- Lineage

by Andre Ellison

  Leo lowered his hands as Neoma backed him into a wall. As the tip of the serrated knife dug deep into his neck, he stepped closer into the blade.

  "So what now..." he whispered. "A little bit of rough house and now you want to kill me?"

  "Don't ever put your hands on me again."

  "Forgive me for stating the obvious, but I can not die."

  "Then forgive me when I say I'm taking back what's mine."

  Leo grabbed her hand and reached for the knife.

  "I won't allow you to do that... not until I reconcile with our daughter."

  "Jubilee...” Neoma cried out. “Jubilee is gone. It’s not your fault and I have forgiven you many times over...”

  “She is not gone-”

  “You must let go... You can't continue to go down this path of self-destruction... I went into the underworld once before because I loved you... I will not choose to go back a second time."

  Neoma backed away.

  She released the blade from Leo’s neck.

  "Even now, I find myself still giving you..."

  Leo looked down at her.

  "I'm taking back my life and all that I ask is that you leave me alone."

  Leo didn’t respond.

  "Leave..." Neoma uttered. "NOW!”

  Glass shattered from a nearby window and a gust of wind blew through the cabin. It passed over the wooden table, twisting and turning, violently hurling the plated food.

  "No," Leo rasped.

  Neoma breathed in deep then looked up into Leo’s brown eyes.

  "You leave me no choice then."

  She held the knife against her wrist.

  With a deep thrust, she slashed herself.

  “Wait!" Leo cried out. "Don’t do this!”

  Neoma stumbled backward. She held her bloody wrist and dropped the knife.

  "I’ve made my decision. I'm making right on my promise...to protect Pangaea.”

  Leo approached her but she pushed him away.

  “Tartarus will come...” she continued. “Why can’t you see we don’t belong together.”

  Leo ran to her side as she collapsed to the floor. He held her in his arms and applied pressure to her wrist.

  "Kill me," he winced. "Take back what’s yours... A life without you here is a life I am not ready for.”

  Neoma stared back at him. She said nothing.

  "Say it dammit! Say the damn word," he cried. "The world needs Gaia... and so do I.”

  He reached for the blade and pressed it against his throat. He eased in the knife and kissed Neoma.

  A bright yellow circle swirled before him. As he fell on his wife, a gateway opened up. Erebus emerged then Osira followed. She ran up towards Leo.

  "We're too late!" she uttered.

  Erebus approached Leo. He rolled his body off of Neoma; Osira checked his wrist for a pulse.

  "He's dead," she confirmed.

  Osira hovered over Neoma. Warm air breezed against her face.

  "She’s alive!”

  Erebus looked at Osira.

  “Is she alright?” he asked her.

  "You two," Neoma whispered in a raspy voice.

  Osira looked at Neoma’s wrist. Her wound was regenerating and a scar formed over it.

  "Let get her to a chair," Erebus cried out.

  He put his arm under her shoulder and Osira assisted. As Neoma rose to her feet, she glanced down at Leo. Her body jerked forward and her head snapped backward. Her eyes glowed white and her body came rigid.

  Erebus held her wrist as he struggled to hold her down. She slipped through his grasp and pushed him out the cabin with tremendous force.

  Erebus fell on the cold wet ground. He rolled to his knees and cried in agony. He reached for his back as pain shot up his spine. He looked at himself through a reflection in a puddle. Unable to recognize himself, he solemnly touched his face. As whispers gathered in the echoing forest, Erebus glanced up with fear.

  A pair of black eyes blinked in the brush just a few yards ahead of him.

  Erebus rose to his feet.

  As if alarmed, a flood of black eyes appeared throughout the woods. Erebus shuffled towards the cabin as a group of terrors stirred in the distance.

  ***

  "EREBUS!" Osira yelled.

  She grabbed Neoma and twisted her arm. She swept her feet and dropped Neoma to the floor.

  With her feet in a scissors lock, Neoma twisted Osira’s ankle. Both women were on the ground.

  Neoma crawled towards the entrance as she scurried out of the cabin. Osira followed behind and grabbed at her foot. She kicked Osira in the mouth then rose to her feet. She ran towards the door but Osira tackled her. As both women got up, Neoma hip tossed Osira.

  Erebus came limping towards them.

  Osira rose to her knee but became still and weightless. Neoma held out her palm.

  She exhaled a breath of cold air as she stared at Osira’s face. She brushed a fallen strain of hair into place.

  She glanced over at Erebus.

  He stood inanimated as a pack of ravenous humans lurked from behind him.

  Neoma enjoyed the quiet. The sobering peace of the morning air reminded her of a life once familiar.

  She turned towards Osira.

  "You are worthy of my resurrection..." she spoke.

  She place a finger across her temple.

  "But as a subordinate... you have failed me miserably."

  Neoma held her hand across Osira’s face.

  "With the power of the Occulus, show me all that which you hold dear...”

  She pulled out the orb and a golden light radiated from her palm. She looked at the sky and touched Osira’s forehead.

  SHROUD

  Block

  "There is no refuge for the memories that linger... Deep within your mind, that remorse you feel... a foolish constraint. With the repentance of your sins, your psyche will be scarred forever. Let me unravel those wounds... so they may never heal."

  Chronos gestured his hand in an arching motion. The cave inside Osira’s mind was illuminated. He transcended her subconscious and was greeted by a typhoon surrounded by a whirlwind of flying terrors. As he approached the center of the mass, the terrors drew near. They phased through his body as they passed him, changing in color from black to gold.

  “What is this?” the Titan uttered.

  He walked towards the center of the windstorm. The multitude of terrors echoed a harrowing screech. Continuing their circuit through Chronos’s body, the terrors return to the violent torrent of the typhoon.

  A heavy thump pulsated beneath the cyclone's core.

  Chronos watched in silence as the speed of the typhoon twisted faster. With hesitation, he approached it.

  The demons shrieked as the tyohoon accelerated. They gnawled and chew as they collided into one another. After a terror was subdued, it fell out the cyclone and disintegrated into golden particles.

  Chronos bent down on one knee. He placed his hand on the ground and illuminated a trail of white light that raced towards the center of the typhoon.

  "Chronos!" a voice cried out as a female face emerged from beneath the pulsating core

  "Nyx," Chronos whispered.

  The emulated face of Nyx tilted her head upwards allowing her long black hair to whip against the small nape of her neck. Her eyes glowed with a scarlet red as she looked down upon Chronos. She bit her own lip and licked the blood with her tongue. Feverishly, she smiled.

  "Return me to my place of rest," she sibilated. "I command you."

  Chronos moved closer to the sprawling figure and held up the Occulus.

  "With this artifact, I command you!" He paused for a moment. "With that said... you will show me that which you protect."

  "I will not allow," the emulated figure scoffed. "These memories are contained by a higher order. You are not permitted."

  Chronos illuminated the orb in his hand. He held it high above his head.

  "By order of who?" he insisted.


  The face of Nyx looked down upon Chronos. It inflated in height and girth, she laughed hysterically.

  Chronos’s eyes squinted.

  "Stop it!" she cried out, suddenly blowing up in disporportion to her own features; her head was pin shaped, her eyes were budged out and a burning bright light emulated from within her throat.

  "What are you doing... to me?" she croaked.

  As the glow from the Occulus continued to pulsate, the symbiotic face of Nyx continued to inflate. Her head was enormous, to the point it pushed against the ceiling of Osira's subconscious mind. She echoed a high pitch shriek in the enclosed chamber. Pieces of Nyx fell from the barricaded ceiling, exposing a labyrinth of organic channels high within her superego.

  "Give me what I want," Chronos growled.

  "Release me."

  He squeezed the orb, changing the glow of the Occulus's light from a brilliant white to a deep blue. A bolt of electricity surged around his hand. Directing the current down to the floor, Chronos watched as it raced towards Nyx.

  "Answer me," he demanded.

  The stream of electricity sparked a connection between the neurons that formed the symbiotic Nyx. The synapse of the neurons grew shorter and shorter with each jolt.

  "Kaos," she uttered. "I was summoned here, from my own realm by Kaos... to protect this mortal."

  Chronos gripped the Occulus firm. The orb changed in color to a golden brilliance.

  "He too shall perish!"

  As the neurons between the nerve endings began to connect to one another, the stages in Osira's life began to illuminate. Chronos released his hold on Nyx. She returned to the core of Osira’s subconscious and deflated in size. Finally, she disappeared.

  Chronos leaped high in the air and entered into Osira’s conscious memories.

  ***

  "Follow the light, Angela."

  Dr. Belmont held a penlight to a child’s face. He stood alongside her as she laid in a hospital bed.

  "Her pupils are not dilated, and her heartbeat is regular... everything seems to be fine but I'm not sure we are doing enough. I need to run more test."

  He turned around and waited for the young girl’s parents to respond.

  On the other side of the bed, Dr. Alexander Mason stood close to his wife, Hera and consoled her.

  "It's fine, doctor. No matter the cost... whatever it takes... just restore my daughter back to normal health."

  "No worries, Mr. President, I have an interest in Angela's health as well... considering she will be my future daughter in law."

  Dr. Belmont gathered his equipment from the bedside table and approached Hera and Alexander. He rested his hand on the president's shoulder then nodded his head.

  "I might have found a match for your daughter's new treatment..." he whispered. "He can absorb the initial run-through till we perfect the formula."

  Dr. Alexander looked back at the doctor then quickly glanced over at his wife.

  "Do you think the treatment will hold?" Hera uttered.

  "Eventually," Dr. Belmont replied as he left the room.

  Angela turned her face on her pillow. She looked down at the wheelchair beside her bed then closed her eyes. Hera glanced at her daughter. She stormed towards the window and closed the blinds.

  ***

  Ethan put on his sunglasses then stared back at Angela through the side mirror of his motorcycle.

  "Of course, I will," he agreed.

  Angela smiled.

  She looked back at the canyon and noticed a sprout peeking up through the ground.

  "Look..." she uttered. "...seems like the seeds are already growing."

  "Strange," Ethan noticed. "That soil must be richer in water than what I remembered."

  "How did you find this place?"

  "My mother used to come here... when I was a child. She didn't speak much of it other than she found her first Oblivious here."

  "I assume that's what sparked her interest in opening up a flower shop? She sounds very strong-willed... It such a shame your father wasn't as bold."

  "He's dead to me," Ethan interrupted. "That's all that needs to be said."

  "I'm sorry... I never should of-"

  "Forget about it," he confirmed.

  Putting her hand on his shoulder, Angela laid her head on her palm.

  "You'll be a good dad, I know it, Grim."

  Ethan looked out into the open desert. The highway that stretched back towards New Gate seemed endless but broken.

  "Does Hunter know about us?" he uttered.

  "No," she replied. "If he did... I wouldn't give a damn."

  Ethan smirked.

  "Harsh... you’re beginning to sound like your mother.”

  Angela punched him.

  "He deserves to rot in Obsidian," she gruffed.

  Ethan gripped the acceleration on his bike. He put it in gear and rode off.

  "Obsidian," Chronos uttered watching Ethan and Angela ride away. As they took off down the highway, fragments of their body glitched. They shattered against an invisible wall then suddenly disintegrated. Chronos reached out his hand as he approached the barrier. He pulled himself through and entered into Osira's repressed memories.

  ***

  A cryogenic chamber stood prominent among other laboratory equipment in the center of a vaulted room. Chronos approached the glass of the chamber and looked inside the hatchway. Suspended in a cooling agent, Neoma stood naked.

  "Give me a sample of the subject’s blood," Dr. Belmont instructed to Dr. Mason as they entered into the room.

  Dr. Mason walked towards the cryogenic chamber’s control console. With a push of a few buttons, automated syringes injected themselves into Neoma's skin.

  Her muscles flinched involuntarily.

  Dr. Mason continued typing as he glanced up and looked into the chamber.

  "Readings on her bpm are spiking..." he uttered, "Something’s wrong!"

  Dr. Belmont did not respond as he continued to work from behind his desk.

  "What's going on?" Dr. Mason repeated.

  Sweat dripped from his forehead and it fell to his shoe. With a quickened pulse, Dr. Mason feverishly continued to type on the keyboard. His finger pressed the sequence for the hatchway door to open, exposing Neoma. With a blink of an eye, her eyes glowed red and she teleported towards Dr. Mason. She stroked his brown hair and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  His eyes rolled towards the back of his head.

  She strolled behind him and gently whispered in his ear.

  “Give me the Occulus."

  His eyes widened as he hesitated.

  "No." he uttered, timidly. "You're not real... You're... Get out of my mind!"

  "Give me the Occulus now!" she repeated.

  "Stop it!" he yelled, holding his hands against his ears.

  He fell to the ground and pulled at his hair. Dr. Belmont rushed to his side and pushed a button on the console for emergency help.

  "Mr. President..." he called out. "What did you do?"

  "She's gone," Dr. Mason spoke. "She has the orb...”

  Dr. Belmont turned to the Occulus still intact in its placeholder.

  “The voices...” the President continued, “...they won't stop!"

  "Whose voices? What are they saying?" Dr. Belmont demanded.

  Dr. Mason remained silent as he looked outwards into a blank stare.

  Dr. Belmont turned to the chamber and observed the surrounding area. Neoma remained in confinement and was secure in the chamber. Apex soldiers stormed into the laboratory. They circled around the two scientists and raised their weapons.

  "What do you want us to do, sir?"

  Dr. Belmont looked down at Dr. Mason. She has the orb, he thought to himself as he recited the President’s last few words. He took off his glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief.

  "Take him into holding," he directed the soldiers. "I will speak with Hera and update the situation about her husband. This man is unstable and must not be left unattended
."

  Dr. Mason struggled to stand up. As the soldiers grabbed him, he fought their advance and let out a scream.

  From the bottom of his gut, he let out a cry. Far and wide it could be heard as he reached out through the bars of a barricaded window. He gazed upon the lava that surrounded him and collapsed on the floor. Dr. Mason was a prisoner of the new found Obisidian Ward.

  ***

  Chronos stood on the edge of the cleft. In one hand, he held on to his sister, Rhea.

  "I trusted you to be my wife...” he groaned, ”...instead you betray me with the Cyclops."

  "You don't deserve the scepter," Rhea uttered, still dangling over the cliff. "What monster devours his own children?"

  "The Supreme Being!" Chronos replied.

  He lifted her higher in the air. Blood trickled from her thigh down into the lava pit.

  "Give me my child," she uttered.

  "You will never see that girl again!”

  Rhea struggled as he kicked the titan.

  “I will raise her as my own,” he continued. “Make her a warrior... and together, we will overthrow the Protogenoi."

  "The Protogenoi will never die. I have seen the future... It is in Brontus's eye."

  Chronos roared with a golden glow emulating from his stare. Rhea reached out to her brother as he released her from his grasp. Still bleeding from her open wound, she hugged Chronos.

  He looked down at his sister.

  “Goodbye, my wife.”

  With a brush of his hand, Chronos pushed Rhea off of his shoulder and into the fire brimmed lava below.

  An image of Kali appeared as Rhea’s body disintegrated.

  "Chronos," Kali uttered. "Release yourself from this woman at once."

  "It's too late if you want to plead mercy. The palace of Shangri La is falling as we speak."

  Kali looked up and held her hands together.

  "Resist him, Angela," she prayed. "You are no longer a slave to your past. Use your will to remove all demons."

  "No more," Chronos uttered, as he stretched out his arm to Kali. "I command you, terrors... seize her in darkness."

  A legion of terrors demons raced over the volcano’s mouth and attacked Kali. They savagely ripped at her own self-consciousness as they forced her out of Osira’s mind.

  Reflect

  Neoma released her hand from Osira's head.

  "So the child is a descended of yours...” she uttered. ”...and the human with the blue eyes.”