Chronicles of Eden - Act XII

by Alexander Gordon

  “Are you alright now?” Sasha asked Mika who managed to breathe again.

  “I can’t think straight,” Mika whined shutting her eye tightly. “All I can hear is Aeon’s voice in my head. Dammit, what the hell happened? What was I doing? I hurt all over.”

  “You attacked us under Aeon’s orders,” Forrus explained, with Mika shaking her head sharply before turning to her in surprise.

  “What?”

  “You don’t remember?” Daemon asked.

  “I remember being in the ant girl’s jail,” Mika recalled. “Aeon appeared. She froze time so nobody could hear, nobody could hear as she… she…”

  “She tortured you, didn’t she?” Hollia guessed.

  “That’s putting it mildly. It seemed to go on for days. She kept… mutilating me. Raping me. Tearing me apart. Then she would wind back time and do it all over again. I felt nothing but pain in every way for so long, and then… nothing.”

  “Nothing?” Tabitha questioned.

  “I lost track of time. I could only hear Aeon laughing, could only hear her talking to me as she murdered me over and over again. And then at some point… everything went dark. I couldn’t feel anything while her voice kept echoing in my head endlessly afterward. I don’t know what happened after that. It was all just noise until I woke up here.”

  “You don’t remember fighting us?” Forrus asked.

  “I was fighting you?” Mika worried. “No, I don’t remember doing that. I don’t remember fighting anyone. Did… did I hurt you?”

  “Pssh,” Rulo scoffed with a wave of her hand. “A weakling like you? You went down without a sweat.”

  “You really do have a fragile ego, don’t you?” Hollia asked her.

  “You and Nuci were sent here by Aeon to kill us,” Tabitha told Mika, the human showing further surprise from that.

  “Nuci tried to kill you as well?” Mika questioned. “But she’s Aeon’s guardian. And she’s so gentle and nurturing, she wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  “Aeon turned her brains to mush just like she did to yours,” Rulo said pointing to her, then pointed off to the side, with Mika looking over and then jumping at the sight of seeing three familiar bodies washed ashore by the lake. “She blocked the tunnel here to stop us, attacked and blew up Saffron’s sisters and their ride, and then murdered those three desuwraiths right in front of us. She’s not Aeon’s guardian anymore, she’s her attack dog.”

  “She… killed them?” Mika breathed out. “Tara, Lara, Sara. But… they were her friends. Her helpers.”

  “Not anymore,” Tabitha said shaking her head. “Now they’re worm food. Nuci’s not exactly herself anymore, just like you weren’t a little while ago.”

  “What was Aeon talking about with you?” Forrus asked. “You mentioned she was speaking to you during your torture with her. What did she say?”

  Mika closed her eye and hung her head low, with Daemon and the girls exchanging curious glances as the sorceress suddenly fell silent. She bit her tongue and held in her cry as she shook her head a little, not wishing to relay what she had heard from the Dark Queen.

  “Mika? What did Aeon say to you?” Daemon inquired. “What was she speaking with you about?”

  “She said something to you, didn’t she?” Hollia questioned. “What was it?”

  “She…” Mika slowly said, pausing for a moment before turning to Daemon with defeat. “She bragged about how she used me from the start.”

  “About tricking you with releasing her?”

  “Yeah… only… it’s worse than you think.”

  “How so?” Sasha asked. “We already know how she did it.”

  “Not exactly,” Mika said. She gulped then glanced around at the girls who were watching her carefully. “She lied to me.”

  “Lied to you about what?” Forrus asked.

  “Max.”

  “What are you talking about?” Tabitha demanded. “Spit it out already. What did Aeon say to you?”

  “I didn’t rape him,” Mika blurted out. Everyone fell silent as the sorceress became noticeably flustered. “I didn’t rape Max on that day. It never happened. Aeon only used my fear of that incident to have me free her from her tomb, she knew I would come after her if she threatened me like that.”

  “But that incident never happened?” Sasha slowly questioned.

  “No,” Mika told her. “When she was ripping me apart limb from limb for the umpteenth time she threw the truth in my face just to spite me. I never raped Max, I only dreamed I did. I drank the laced tea I made by accident, I knocked myself out and fantasized that I raped my brother. I never actually touched him, I just dropped like a rock in the kitchen and freaked my brother out who thought I was simply overworked that day.”

  “You drugged yourself?” Rulo dryly asked.

  “Yes,” Mika admitted. “My brother and I are still virgins, but I thought I actually raped him and lived in anguish ever since. That’s what Aeon used to trick me, my own misunderstanding of what happened. And to make matters worse, despite how overjoyed I was momentarily at the thought of my brother being untouched and that I never did follow through with that horrible decision and moment of weakness, this means that when Aeon threatened me with telling Max about what I supposedly did…”

  “She threatened you with a false truth,” Daemon finished, with the other girls face palming as they realized what that meant.

  “Which means you let loose the Dark Queen of time all for nothing!” Rulo shouted at her. “She had nothing on you to begin with and you still let her out!”

  “Oh, Mika,” Hollia groaned shaking her head.

  “You are simply unbelievable,” Sasha derided. “You not only screwed up your attempt to rape your brother, but you also freed a Dark Queen for absolutely no reason!”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Mika shouted at her. “Aeon made the point painfully clear as she ripped my uterus out and force-fed it to me!”

  Daemon showed a small amount of surprise through his stoic gaze while the girls around him showed considerably more from that statement.

  “She did things to my body that most wicked monsters in Eden would consider appalling even by their standards, and she did them to me over and over again! And yet through everything she made me experience the one thing that struck at my heart the most was knowing how she blackmailed me with something that never even happened! I know I screwed up! I know this is all my fault! I already know I’m the worst person on the face of Eden, so I don’t need you reminding me any further!”

  “Well as long as you’re aware of the facts,” Forrus dryly mentioned.

  “Why did she even have you admit that false truth to all of us after you let her out then?” Tabitha asked. “What was the point with that display?”

  “To shame her,” Daemon answered. “Aeon wanted to cause Mika as much pain as she could, so she used her fear from what she believed to be true to do as much damage as possible to her spirit.”

  “I don’t believe this!” Rulo yelled while stomping her feet. “You have to be the world’s biggest screw-up in all of history, Mika!”

  “Yes,” Forrus scorned. “How very fortunate to hear that you didn’t in fact molest your dear little brother, you just instead let loose one of the worst of all evils in this world all because you are the most gullible human in all of Eden.”

  “I’m well aware of how much I fucked up!” Mika yelled at her. “I get it, you were all right and I was an idiot. I never should have underestimated her, I never should have believed her, I never should have done what I did! I’m sorry, alright? I’m sorry! I never wanted this to happen, I never wanted any of this to happen!”

  “You’re sorry?” Rulo snorted. “Oh, you’re sorry? Well I guess that makes everything better, now doesn’t it? We’re all fucked because you were born an idiot, but at least you’re sorry!”

  “Rulo,” Daemon said holding a hand up.

  “But we are! She let out the Dark Queen of time all for nothing, an
d nothing’s going to stop her from slitting our throats in the blink of an eye!”

  “So then how come we’re all still alive?” Sasha questioned. Everyone stopped and looked to her before gazing around the area as everything became quiet.

  “Wait,” Mika worried. “Wait, what’s going on? Where is she? What is she waiting for? Why isn’t she here attacking us?”

  “She’s not coming after us,” Daemon answered standing up.

  “What? But why not?”

  “Something is amiss here,” Hollia warned. “If she’s so powerful and can stop time, she should have no trouble killing all of us without so much as lifting a finger. Why is she not coming after us if we’re such vulnerable prey?”

  “Mika,” Daemon said looking down to the woman. “Aside from Aeon tormenting you with ridicule and spite, did she say anything else to you, anything at all?”

  “I don’t… I don’t remember. She just kept tearing into me, both with her hands and scathing words.”

  “Did she say anything that stood out?” Sasha asked. “Try to remember, did she mention any reason why she wouldn’t come after us herself? Why did she send you and Nuci after us?”

  “I don’t remember,” Mika groaned as she shut her eye. “She was laughing… she was mocking me… she was… saying something… but I can’t remember what.”

  “Dammit, you really are useless,” Rulo muttered.

  “Think harder, Mika,” Forrus urged. “We’re in the dark here, we need to know at least something about what Aeon is plotting.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mika whimpered, lowering her head with a tear running down her cheek. “I don’t remember what all happened. I couldn’t focus on anything. I’m sorry.”

  “Well that’s just great,” Sasha dryly complained as she stood up. “So now what do we do? Aeon’s out there but she’s not trying to kill us herself, she’s just sending weak-minded fools after us in her stead. No telling what she’s up to now or where she could be.”

  “Nuci blocked the tunnel so we couldn’t get to Green Haven,” Hollia said looking over towards the collapsed railway passage. “Seems Aeon didn’t want us venturing any further for some reason. Who wants to bet a gold coin the Dark Queen is plotting something with the elven forest as we speak?”

  “I’d take that bet since it seems like a sure thing,” Tabitha reasoned. “But if we find her there what are we supposed to do? We thought Nuci killed her before but she was just playing dead the whole time. How are we supposed to actually take her down when we find her?”

  “We still need to deal with the gemini in Green Haven,” Forrus pointed out. “Or at least those who resemble gemini. The Sisterhood needs to be stopped before they wreak havoc on more of Koskaysil with their bloody crusade. Seems one way or another our journey leads to the elven forest.”

  “But how are we supposed to kill Aeon?” Tabitha demanded. “In case you’ve forgotten she’s nearly untouchable, and even if we do manage to strike her down she can apparently just get right back up again. How can we stop something like that?”

  “We’ll just have to kill her more than her guardian did before,” Hollia reasoned with a shrug. “There must be some way of putting her down for good. Perhaps if we cut her up into little tiny pieces she won’t be getting back up again.”

  “That sounds like a great idea!” Scay screamed before straining herself with laughter and holding an arm around herself. The naga giggled uncontrollably and dropped to the ground, with the girls merely watching her for a brief moment before ignoring her.

  “I suppose hoping for such is all we can do now,” Sasha had to agree with. “Either we take the fight to her or wait for her to strike whenever she decides to at her advantage. Though I don’t like the thought of not one Dark Queen waiting to greet us in that forest but instead two. One alone is going to be a challenge to defeat.”

  “Doesn’t she already have the advantage?” Rulo asked scratching her head.

  Saffron squeaked and ruffled her hair before turning to Daemon, the cambion merely gazing upward as he pondered what the Dark Queen was planning.

  “Maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t,” he said with a shrug. “There’s a piece of this puzzle we’re not seeing just yet. At any rate, we can’t stay down here and just wait for her to make a move. We’ll proceed to Green Haven and maybe find out what Aeon was trying to hide from us. Whether we find the gemini or the chronofly there, hopefully we’ll find some answers waiting for us.”

  “What about her?” Forrus asked looking down to Mika. Everyone turned their eyes to the woman who was whimpering as she slumped against the boulder, the girls holding in their quiet sighs of discontent before Daemon turned his focus towards the collapsed tunnel.

  “Scay, release Mika from her binds.”

  “You’re going to let her go too?” Tabitha flatly asked as the naga used her dagger to cut Mika’s legs free. Scay pushed Mika aside and quickly sliced the ropes holding her hands together then backed away, leaving Mika to slowly sit up and rub her wrists as she kept her watery eye aimed down at the ground.

  “You may have made some mistakes in your life, Mika,” Daemon said, with the sorceress slowly turning her saddened gaze up to him. “But you’re not the only one who has. We all have a darkness inside that pushes us towards bad paths in our lives. The monster that hides within me isn’t without fault, blood has been spilled by its claws that I greatly wish could have been avoided, that I constantly have to live with every day.”

  Sasha and Rulo lowered their heads with solemn faces while the other girls watched Daemon curiously from that remark, seeing him turning his eyes to his sword for a moment before returning his focus to Mika again.

  “You have to do what we all do, overcome the monster inside you. You’ve fallen, very hard and very far, but you’re not dead yet. You can still redeem yourself in this world and stand again. You’ll just have to find that strength within you. Good luck, Mika Harollson.”

  He turned to walk towards the collapsed tunnel, making it only one step before his leg was suddenly grabbed hold of. Looking back he saw Mika holding onto him desperately that the other girls took quick resentment towards.

  “Hey, get off him!” Rulo shouted.

  “How dare you grab him like that!” Sasha yelled as she and the orc brandished their weapons.

  “I’m not strong enough!” Mika screamed out. Everyone remained still with tension in the air as the woman shook her head while holding onto Daemon’s leg. “I’m not! I’ve fucked up again and again, always making the worst decisions that cost me everything! I wasn’t strong enough to repress my feelings for Max, I wasn’t strong enough to protect my sisters when we confronted The Sisterhood, I wasn’t strong enough to resist Aeon, I can’t keep failing like this! Everything in my life is slipping through my fingers with each mistake I make, and nothing I do is able to stop it!”

  “Let go of him or else you’re losing all your fingers,” Tabitha hissed.

  “Please help me!” Mika begged. “Please, I have to make all this right again, I have to right these wrongs before I leave this world! Even if I find out where Max is I can’t face him, not now, not after everything I’ve done! I need to atone for these sins before I could ever look him in the eye again! Please, tell me how I can stand again after all this, tell me what to do because I don’t know what to do anymore!”

  “You can get off my knight before you lose your life, that’s what!” Hollia raged.

  “Please,” Mika whimpered. “I have nowhere else to go. I have nobody else to turn to. I don’t trust myself anymore, I can’t, not with all the mistakes I keep making over and over again. All I have left is Max and he’s beyond my reach in more ways than one. Please, I need to make amends for everything I’ve done. I have to correct these faults of mine or I’ll never find peace in the afterlife. Help me, I’m begging you. You’re the only one I can trust to guide me.”

  “You are such a pest,” Forrus growled.

  “The monster inside me i
s going to win,” Mika feared. “It’s already pushed me past the edge, I’m falling further and further with each move I make. Don’t let me lose everything by hitting the bottom. Please, Daemon. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, I’m sorry for everything. Just tell me what to do, tell me how I can make it up to you. Tell me how I can redeem myself in this world.”

  “For starters you can get off me,” Daemon said shaking his head. His only reply was Mika holding onto his leg and waist tightly with a low whine. The girls around him got ready to charge before Daemon held out his hand to stop them, the cambion slowly breathing out before pulling the woman’s arms off him and stepping back.

  “You have to find your own path to salvation, it’s your life after all. Only you can slay the monster inside you, that’s a battle only you can face,” he continued, with Mika lowering her head and closing her eye. Daemon turned to walk away before halting as he heard the woman weeping behind him. After a moment he looked back over his shoulder to see her glancing up at him from under her bangs.

  “You really want to make up for the trouble you caused us?” he asked, with the woman nodding quickly to that. “Then take responsibility for your actions. You released Aeon, help us track her down and kill her. You wanted to aid us with putting down The Sisterhood, help us mow down the waves of grunts that get in our way of finding their leaders. You want to stand before your brother with a clean slate, put your skills of hunting monsters to good use and help us clean up the mess that’s steadily growing out there.”

  “Oh fuck,” Tabitha muttered. “We’re bringing her with us? Seriously? She’s like an annoying death cloud, she’s only going to bring us more trouble.”

  “Hooray!” Scay cheered with arms raised high. “More friends! We can all stab others together! This is awesome! SO HAPPY!”

  “I suppose her magic could be useful to us,” Forrus dryly said. “Provided she follows my lord’s strict instructions and stops her habit of constantly screwing up everything.”