Rebirth

by Valerie Willis

  I need this to work.

  I want it to work.

  I’ll make it work.

  A wave shot through him. It was electrifying and pulsed with great force. It was like a drop of water hitting a placid surface. The sound waves had amplified this drop a billion times, shifting it out of the ordinary. It flowed through everything around it. His entire body started to heat up. Hotan felt like he was on fire. It felt right.

  What is this?

  Don’t stop.

  The gray quickly melted away to a mass of glowing blue that swallowed him whole. Another wave of energy shot out. There was something there. Something he knew he needed.

  Don’t let go.

  Hotan felt his hand snatch up and grab a startled arm that had pulled away. Fear raced through the arm as a second pulse released from Hotan’s body. He could feel himself draw upon something from his grip. Hotan was using Mr. Piedmont’s powers to his advantage to dig deeper into himself. If there was any shouting from the motion, he couldn’t hear it. He focused within his own mind, taking no acknowledgement of what was going on outside of it.

  Something new was here and without hesitation, he reached out to a white orb. There inside his mind it was just him and that glowing, burning ball of blue energy. It’s glow had engulfed the space.

  This has to be it. This has to be what I am looking for.

  As his hand melded into it, another wave shot out. There was so much power there. A blinding flash took over. His ears and body hummed as it poured over him. It was like being spoken to in every language humanly possible all at once. He was desperate, trying to catch the information or at least pin point one line out of the flood.

  What is all of this coming from so deep inside me? Why was this locked up? Was the real Hotan afraid of his own power? Is he still here?

  Stop it. You’re going too far. He could hear someone else plead from inside the blinding light.

  I have to. I have to unlock this to fix everything. He pushed further into the white energy that seared his hand.

  I went too far and destroyed everything. I was selfish. It was burning him, attempting to push him out.

  I won’t make that mistake. He broke pass it.

  Another pulse hummed louder than the ones before it. It shot out from the orb with more force, a scream riding on its wind.

  The real Hotan had shattered.

  Hotan hadn’t disappeared as he had made him believe prior. He had been hiding. Imprisoned himself deep within his host, afraid of what he had done.

  With the former Hotan gone, he could inherit everything there was of the element of Rebirth. Information spilled over him as he stood in the light. As he took more and more in, he could feel its knowledge within him. Out of all that he had received, none of it would be memories. Those were not his to have. That belonged to the broken soul that had finally left him.

  Stop it! Hotan snap out of it! You’ve gone too far! Talib’s infuriated voice ripped at him.

  He could see lines of silver energy enter the glowing realm of his mind. Watching them as they glided over to him from all directions, he gently touched one. It clung to him, tugging lightly. Hotan smiled as he realized what he was seeing. This was Talib’s power creeping into his mind. He could see it, feel it, and best of all, manipulate it.

  He waved his hand about and saw that he could make it let go and move about like puppets. The mechanics of how these powers worked was clear to him: They were an extension of one’s soul. He could feel the desperation in those appendages as Talib tried to pull him out of his own mind.

  This whole time another soul was blocking me from gaining access. There can only be one user, one soul to contain the element of Rebirth. The remnants of the old Hotan needed to be wiped out. Did Talib already know this?

  Please! You need to come out! You’re not physically strong enough for this! This is too much! Too soon! Talib’s voice cracked, choked, as it pleaded with him

  Was he crying?

  Another pulse released and Hotan gasped for air as he allowed himself to come out. He went from the comfort of the heat to the cold damp sensation of his body. Releasing Mr. Piedmont’s arm, he rolled off the chaise. Hitting the floor, he succumbed to coughing and gasping for air. Frantically looking up, his vision was blurred. The old man’s blob staggered backwards.

  His jaw was painfully grabbed, forced to look at another blurred face. He could only see the silver blur on top of a pale skin tone splotch.

  “What were you thinking?” Talib was furious, but he could feel his energy fading quickly. “You went too far! Why! Why did you push so far!”

  He could hear Mr. Piedmont repeat over and over as everything started to go dark, “He, he didn’t let me use any of my power. I don’t know how he did it!”

  “Whose idea was this! This was naïve of you all!” Talib had dropped his jaw and was fuming after the others in the room. “We have no idea how unstable he was to begin with!”

  “It,” Hotan grabbed what he hoped was the back of Talib’s pant leg. “It was my idea.”

  “You shouldn’t even be conscious!” Jacob exclaimed. “Let’s at least get the poor guy off the floor, Talib! We can discuss this when he wakes up.”

  It was the last thing he heard as he felt himself go limp, no energy to even shiver the cold that consumed him.

  Book of Ancients: Rebirth

  Rebirth.

  This is my curse.

  “Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.”

  Malachi 3:9

  This last book of the old testament speaks volumes to what has happened to us and our people. My torture would not allow me to take back what I have already loss, what had been robbed from me. It was clear I had cursed myself with my obsessions, yearnings to try and use the power given to me to fix all that was taken from us. In the end, I had fallen into my own selfishness and set aside the teachings like a fool.

  No matter how many times I tried, I could only use the forward momentum of Rebirth. I could bring age to all things, but no youth could be returned. There was no rewinding time to undo what was done. Even if I had figured this feat out, it would not have filled the void in my heart. My curse had eaten my heart and soul by this point and I have spent decades, centuries repenting for the events I put in motion.

  I blame myself. It was my doing that I placed us all in purgatory. Perhaps I really did notice my powers first, but I was consumed my grief. The obsession I had over the loss of my wife had taken its hold. Our powers originated from my element, that much I can be sure of. It was not my intention to curse the others, to spread this disease that my corruption created.

  Trying to be mindful of everyone else perhaps was how I accidentally imposed the abilities on them. Constantly I reminded myself that I needed to push back my sorrows and focus on those who were looking to me as a leader. I failed. Blinded by greed, I did not heed any of the warning signs. Instead, I spread my wickedness onto the innocent lives who were closest to me.

  Talib had tried so many times to comfort me, but seeing him with his wife Saphellia ravaged my mind with jealous thoughts. This would be followed with the drowning depression of images of my wife, pregnant with our unborn son. She almost made it here with me, but the sea swallowed her. Where did I fail? I wish I had been the one who drowned in that storm. If I had not made it, then the doom that I unleashed on earth would have never came into existence.

  I gave birth to Death.

  Its rage consuming the masses riddles the history books. I have sinned more times than I want to confess. As I write this memoir, I am aiming to repent. Death has been following my trail, seeking me out across lands old and new. The element of Rebirth stirs within me as he gets ever closer. These people came to a new land, but I will have to find a means to persuade them to leave. I came here to separate myself from civilization in hopes of avoiding a mass killing yet again.

  Talib is here, he has also been seeking me out. Perhaps I should give up hidin
g from him. If any element was best suited for persuasion, it would be Judgment. He does not know about Death. I pray I never have to explain my selfish actions. Maybe he does know of my Death and what may come to pass in this new world?

  Before leaving our paradise, I made a grave mistake and hope to right the wrong I have done. It was immoral for me to bring Death into this world and then cast him out of paradise. I am not God. That was not my place to decide who should stay or go. There is no shaking the feeling that this action is the reason none of us will ever be allowed to rediscover that island. This is why Malachi speaks of “I will not open you the windows of heaven.” I cannot shake that this is the warnings and end result of what happened.

  Centuries of thinking and planning has gone into this moment I am waiting for. In case it fails, I hope this book provides some light on the matter. This is not a request for forgiveness, nor hopes for understanding. My only wish is to confess my sins, to explain what I have done in hopes of stopping the plague I have fueled over thousands of years.

  Talib, I am sorry I failed to take in your words of wisdom. If I had not been blinded by my grief, perhaps none of this would have happened. Even after bestowing the gift of Judgment to you, I still would not let your power persuade me. I was stubborn and ignorant. From you, I wish to be forgiven for what I have done and will do after I close this book for the final time.

  Death has a name. He calls himself Iapetos.

  I cast him out from our island, and he raged war among the people. They called him a Titan, a God of sorts, who aimed to defy his father according to the myths and histories from the Greeks. There are no words to describe the pain I feel to see his anger echoed in the history books so clear.

  I am his father. It was me who willed him to life. It matters not if it was unintentional. In a moment of greed, I attempted to bring my wife back and instead was greeted by a strange man claiming to be my son. Crawling out of the ocean, pale and shivering as he reached out to my with those dark, sorrowful eyes. My selfishness darkened my heart. Enraged, I exiled him. I was naïve, to think that a power I could only control in a forward motion would not bring life to the unborn child. Why had I wanted her over my own child? May she forgive me for casting our child to the side...

  Due to his condition, he had become the embodiment of Death. There are twenty-one immortals in total. After what happens when I face Iapetos for one final time, there may be only twenty. The things I have spent centuries deciding on and experimenting with will be put to action here in the new world. One of us will need to dissolve into the unknown. Whether my power will be passed on to a new holder is still a mystery to even me. If that is the case, I pray he finds this journal and know that I never intended for anyone to carry my curse as I have.

  If I fail, may God protect the poor soul that will be met with vengeance intended for me. I am the one who was brought Death to this world. It was me who allowed him to consume so many lives. History may have labelled these atrocities as natural and man-made but I know the truth. These waves of mass deaths were intended to ensnare me, but Iapetos failed. Death cannot claim Rebirth, and Rebirth cannot claim Death. They are one in the same but play very different and active roles in life and nature.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Do you think he’ll ever wake up at all?” He could hear Kyle, but he couldn’t respond. “That was the scariest thing to feel, let alone to see. I’ve never seen anyone’s powers pulse out in waves like that.”

  “I have no idea.” Talib’s voice was much softer compared to the last time he heard it. “To be honest I am not sure what he did or what exactly happened.”

  “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have even tried.” Mr. Piedmont’s voice was heavy with guilt. “But he grabbed me when I pulled back. I still don’t understand how he was using my powers of his own freewill. It was amazing. I used none of my energy source. All that power. I had no idea he was that strong.”

  “I never knew too much about my brother’s abilities to begin with.” Talib sighed and he could feel a rag placed on his forehead, warm and comforting to the touch. “It was dangerous to attempt. Far as I knew, he was unstable. His power would raise and drop sporadically. I was trying to figure out a way to first stabilize it before attempting to help him learn his abilities. He was a ticking time bomb.”

  “What kind of readings are you getting now?” Kyle was almost mumbling, as if hating to ask the question. “Is he, is he ok?”

  “Well,” He could hear Talib lean back in a chair that gave out a mild groan. “He has been the most stable I have ever felt. I do not think my brother ever got his powers to lie as calm as I feel Hotan has done. At the same time, it has made it hard for me to be able to go in and feel around. He has managed to seal every leak he had prior.”

  “You can’t get in?” It was Mr. Piedmont again. “You, of all, can’t find a crack?”

  “Indeed I cannot.” Another Talib sigh of frustration. “I have no idea when he will come to. It could be weeks, months, possibly longer. The waves of energy he released were massive. I have no idea how his body managed to handle the payload like it did. I am unable to even come close to one of those waves in power. You would think it would tear someone apart.”

  “My word…” Mr. Piedmont was speechless.

  “He’s been down for over a week.” Kyle’s voice was sad and low. “Pushing two weeks in fact.”

  Two weeks! Frantic at the information, his body wouldn’t twitch nor could he manage to open his eyes. All Hotan had were his hearing and thoughts. I’ve been unconscious for two weeks!

  “Oh my god!” Kyle exclaimed in excitement. “Look at that! He is awake!”

  I can’t move! They could hear him. I can’t do anything!

  “I would hope not.” Talib scoffed. “You put your body through an immense exposure. The fact that you are somewhat awake is a miracle. We can only assume your power kept you from dying after the stunt you pulled.”

  “Don’t be so harsh.” Mr. Piedmont scorned Talib and released a sigh. It was as if he had been holding his breath for quite some time. “It is a relief to know you’re ok! You gave us quite the scare, sonny.”

  You think not being able to move or open your eyes is ok? How do I fix this? He couldn’t stand the idea he had wasted so much time. Is there any way to recover faster?

  “Yea, to take it easy.” Kyle giggled. “Your mind obviously handled the onslaught ok, but your body is going to take a lot longer there, Buddy. Guess you’ll be stuck here until you can get moving again.”

  Where is here anyway? I can’t look around help me out here. It was depressing to know he couldn’t speed up the process. This was going to be a long road to recovery.

  “You are at my home.” Talib did not give up his stern voice. “You are going to stay here for a while until we can get you back on your feet.”

  Oh this sucks. If only he could sigh. It just doesn’t feel right not being able to sigh.

  “I am the only one who has the time and space for it, as well as experience.” He could hear Talib leaving his chair. “Come on everyone. He will never get to sleep knowing we are in the room. The sooner he goes back to sleep the quicker his body can heal.”

  “Aw man. Well, I guess we can talk later Hotan.” Kyle was on the other side of him from the sound of his voice. “You don’t have to push so hard Talib!”

  “Go!” He could hear the sound of a door click close.

  At least he could take time to piece together what exactly he had managed to do for himself. It all happened so fast that night. The real Hotan had used what was left of his spirit to seal up a majority of the Rebirth element within his mind. That move had caused the instability among other issues. He had grown afraid of his own powers, and now that they flowed through his body without limits, he understood why. It was like sharing your body with something alive and Godlike. His stomach turned as another thought surfaced.

  Hotan was still in there, within my mind. He was still alive. When I unlocked t
he element, he shattered. I killed the last remnants of Talib’s true brother and in doing so, he died by my hand. How am I going to justify doing something so harsh? Was it even my place to take control of my own inheritance of the power with brute force? The fact of the matter is that two people cannot share the same mind and body. It was causing a dangerous issue that could have ended a million times worse.

  He still could feel he was far from knowing how to use his own abilities, but there was one advantage he had gained. Any powers he had witnessed or been in contact with was now his own.

  I can copy anyone’s abilities. That became very clear when Talib attempted to pull me out while I was hijacking Mr. Piedmont’s abilities. I may not master Rebirth ever, but at least I have a defense mechanism.

  On top of that, he had sealed his mind. No more leaking his every thought to Geliah, and whoever else that had an open ear. That was a great relief. Another advantage he obtained was that he could feel when someone was using their abilities on him. No more wondering or fearing Geliah’s abilities being used to tweak his own behavior. At least this had freed him of the panic he felt in being able to confront both Geliah and Talib. He may even be able to distort more information with mastering this new copycat ability.

  His body felt cold and dead to him. It was quite different from the fiery warmth the powers gave him when he released the white orb. It wasn’t the mild cold shiver that he had experienced after the church. Even his heart felt heavy with an icy dead sensation.

  This was the risk that all of the Levites faced when overusing their ability. Lilly was so brave to even consider pushing herself to hard and enduring this lifeless sensation. Stamina was a very big factor and perhaps that came from their survival when they first inherited their abilities. Today, they have not endured such a physical test and it’s a dangerous issue in using the elements.