Till the Last Breath

by Alvin Atwater

  It took about a half-hour or so to spawn into the dream world. Unlike humans, my spirit traveled here and I have full control of my movements.

  The dream world is located somewhere beneath the land of the dead—but that’s a secret hidden in folk tales. As usual, I had on the same clothes I slept in. I imagined myself with some pants and shoes on then glanced around.

  My heart dropped at the setting. Rainbows everywhere, a smiling sun, unicorns and fluffy rabbits dancing about on giant cakes meant one thing: fairy territory.

  Due to the male fairies missing for millennia, fairies are an all-female entity. Pushed back to the dream world due to a war with beings called sprites, they had stolen the agenda of the succubae. In fact, they were worse. The creatures seduced mostly human men, supposedly fell in love and tricked suckers into thinking they’re in a sweet dream. Then kaboom, the saps are trapped into the dream world—but in the real world, the phenomenon is diagnosed as a coma.

  I was unsure if they fed on vitality or sexual energy like the demons did but it wasn’t a stretch to assume so. The only hope for men was to wait for Teemie, a dream angel that patrolled every dream. The fairies obeyed her as if she were a queen. Her origins are still a mystery to me though.

  I could see the winged women moseying around, having tea or conversations. I was prepared to turn around when someone whispered into my ear.

  “I see you’re pent up.” My blood went cold as I spun to see one of the mischievous creatures gazing at me.

  “You’re mistaken, fairy,” I said with venom tinging the edges of my voice.

  She smiled.

  “No need for hostility, I just want to help. You’re in the dream world. So, who cares if you released here.” The woman moved closer until she was just a hair’s touch away. “Look, I haven’t had a male’s touch in centuries.” She placed a hand on my chest. “And you won’t get any from that goddess unless you either initiate in that risky vow of Paradise Realm marriage or become a father. And since we both know you’re not ready for that—maybe when you’re nearly thirty—you’re stuck in a bind. Even old righty reliable will get boring after a while.” She placed her lips at my neck. “So why not use me. At least I won’t get pregnant.”

  I stared to those violet eyes and full lips. I placed my hand on her stomach… then promptly blasted her with Conus-level force. She’d fly for a few miles.

  “If I were that weak, I would’ve had an orgy of fairies by now,” I called after the flying woman. Someone else spoke from behind.

  “Harsh, but effective.” I smiled and turned around to see Teemie in her fully glory—a young woman with long wavy white hair, green eyes, and glowing dragonfly-like wings. “But really, an orgy of fairies?”

  “It’s the only example that came to mind,” I said with a shrug. I decided not to bring up the fact that I learned that term from Devante.

  “Come, let’s talk for a bit.”

  I followed her, wondering of her age, but dared not to ask.

  “Have you fully healed?” I said after a minute of silent walking.

  “I wasn’t damaged—more like caught off guard by her banishment,” Teemie said.

  “It is Karma,” I said. “Kicked our asses and then let me win against her in some crazy scheme for political power.”

  Teemie sighed.

  “I’m not so sure why the idiots in Paradise Realm often call the Venus clan softies,” I continued.

  “No kidding,” Teemie said. “Your girlfriend is number six in the elite. Her mom is Mother Nature, her father Natural Selection, her sister Karma. I wonder if she plans to follow suit.”

  “She’s the princess,” I said. “Originally supposed to marry me, thus having a part of the universal throne.”

  “True.” Teemie shrugged. “Paradise Realm and their politics.”

  The half-fairy, half-angel stopped in front of a strange glowing-gold mansion.

  Rainbows surrounded this place but no fairies. The ground changed from a field of flowers to cloud-like, like back in my hometown of Paradise Realm. “I guess now would be a good time to talk about the debt you owe.” I flinched. She laughed. “I’m kidding. I didn’t complete the job, so you owe me just a little less.”

  “Are you sure?” I said. “You did get me out of that trial.”

  “It still feels half-baked, so I’ll let you off this time, at least for now. You’ll pay in another way.” Gift horse?

  She motioned for me to follow her into the mansion. The doors opened on their own and soon I was staring at luxury.

  Walls decked with expensive paintings, marbled floors, giant chandeliers, you name it. “We can speak freely in here without worrying about anyone overhearing us. Not even your goddess would be able to see or sense this place without my permission.”

  I nodded and followed her to a room with a round table in its center. We sat.

  “Alright, what’s the latest from Paradise Realm?” I said to my spy.

  Chapter Two

  Teemie’s expression shifted to business and gloom. “Everything’s happening behind the scenes. My source got wind of the secret news of the Fallen appearance in a human world city. Apparently, Mother Nature pretended to not know the name of said city, angering Conus to no end, but he passed the word to the army. She also told him that you and your friends fought it off, triggering a surprised reaction from him. Unfortunately, someone from the House barged into the conversation and said it still doesn’t get you off the hook.”

  “No surprise there, really,” I said with a shrug. “What else happened?”

  “The House member then told the two that in a few days, there will be a large-scale meeting. Treat the importance of it as if meeting with the King.”

  My eyes widened. That line...Treat the importance of it as if meeting with the King.

  “Did something happen?” I said, “or is it a meeting over the Fallen?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ll have to get more details from my source.”

  “Your source?”

  “You can’t expect me to bust into Paradise Realm, guns blazing, not after doing just that to help you escape.”

  “Then who’s helping?”

  “Aether,” she said. “The other demigod.”

  My eyes widened. “Explain please.”

  “In exchange for helping him escape a fairy, he agreed to get information for me.”

  “Fair enough,” I said then stood up and held out a hand. “You didn’t have to do this for me, but—”

  “Don’t get all mushy on me,” Teemie said as she stood and accepted my hand. When I blink, I was gone. Still dreaming but…now found myself walking through an endless hallway.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I said softly.

  There was a reply.

  “You cannot survive. You are doomed. Doomed! Doomed! You will perish! Perish. Perish.” It repeated that, many times, as I continued down the hall, unable to stop. Unable to turn around. There’s an instinct, deep down telling me not to look back, but I wanted to so badly.

  “You cannot sur—”

  “Shut the hell up!” I yelled. Something whispered in my ear.

  “Give your heart to me,” it said in a deep, dark voice.

  Now I’ve been to Hell and thought I was desensitized to demon kind, but upon turning around, regret, fear, and bewilderment struck me like a lightning bolt.

  There were three human-like mouths the size of toasters, each deck with knife-like teeth, beaming at me. Two snake-like eyes floated above the mouths.

  Nothing else.

  I immediately forced myself awake. So glad Demigods can do that. We also don’t scream, gasp loudly, or disturb anyone around us. That’s why Amelia was still soundly asleep. I took a deep breath and exhaled.

  To think I’d get attacked by a night terror of all things. Somehow it broke through my natural defenses and hijacked the dream.

  I glanced at the clock. Four in the morning. I laid my head back and just let my thoughts rampage.
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  What would happen to Secure Corps after Sunset is finally caught? Well, I’m moving up in life, step by step but something felt off.

  I crawled out of bed, summoned Ruin, and began to charge it. It’d take some time to get full strength, unless I found a crazy power source.

  Just then, I felt another presence, before I found myself someplace else. First it started off as a white void of nothingness then shifted into a place of endless hills, valleys, and flowers.

  “How many people plan to take over my dreams today?” I said then turned to see my mother’s spirit standing behind me. She smiled.

  “Just one more,” she said. Shortly after, we commenced the training that would hopefully make me whole again and free my mom.

  There are seven locks, each containing a section of my original power. As I am now, I can’t control it.

  We sat on the voided ground. I relaxed my mind to dive into an intense meditative state. She released the first lock. The goal of the training was to direct the release of power around the veins of my body, seven times. Each lap increased the intensity like a tug of war. I imagined my power as blue electricity with the intent of outlining my body multiple times.

  The first lock was much easier than before. Lap number seven hit me in no time. “Remember with each state, you will gain the ability to use dormant inherited abilities. Now, here comes the second state.”

  I…was not looking forward to this. When Mom released the lock, the pressure felt both intense and painful. Hell, I focused more on not letting the shit explode rather than moving it. “Do not let it control you, Epex, you must exert your will over it. Honestly, I don’t know why your father didn’t just start you in the basics. Busy with the realm isn’t an excuse with catastrophic powers like yours. Now, take a deep breath and force your will onto the flow.”

  “Easier said than done,” I said, straining. “The flow of power is massive.”

  “Call it essence,” mom said. “Respect the essence and it will respect you. Focus, strain against it, then relax. You must gain control of it.”

  I let go of the next round of bitching I had prepared for her and followed her instructions. Well, this didn’t go well. The second I relaxed into the increased flow of power—a burst of force smacked be backward, at least twenty yards.

  “Try again,” Mom boomed, her voice echoing from everywhere. “Focus.”

  I closed my eyes again. What’s that term she used...essence. I attempted to exert my will over the essence and rather than playing the push and pull game with it, I mentally joined the wild stream of energy.

  To do that, I imagined it as a lake and then jumped inside. My muscles tensed, spasmed, and bulged. I fought the excruciating pain. About three seconds later, the pain vanished, surprising me. The flow calmed and mimicked the intensity of state one. I imagined it as red electricity flowing through my veins like blood.

  Mom chuckled.

  “You got it. And it only took a few weeks.”

  I nodded then woke up to Amelia staring at me with wide eyes.

  “What?” I said. When I looked around the room, I sighed. Books, papers, and clothes were scattered. “Oh.”

  “You were also glowing with the silvery advanced heavenly-light. So, do you mind explaining the dream that caused you erupt like Mount Kilauea?”

  Since I already told Amelia about how I survived her big sister Karma, explaining the secret training to utilize my second state of power was easy.

  “Get dressed,” Amelia said then pointed at a pair of sweats on the floor. “Training clothes. The sun’s out, so let’s see if you can use that to gain a boost.”

  I shrugged.

  “Nothing better to do, I guess.”

  Amelia loudly sang the lyrics from, I’ll Make a Man Out of You. You know, the one from Disney’s Mulan. A flashback of how my goddess’s fucked up training hurt a lot made me regret agreeing to this.

  Chapter Three

  I am Epex Helios, born in the Helios clan, and while half of me is human, the other part could still utilize somewhat godly powers.

  Before Conus locked my powers, one sneeze from me could potentially obliterate the entire planet. Maybe even the solar system. Honestly, the ridiculous power curse still hasn’t been explained to me, but once this hunter thing passes over, I will find out.

  Helios is the crest of the sun—and just because I’ve been exiled doesn’t I can’t turn myself into a solar panel. I had a sneaking suspicious that the sun is why I could manifest things so quickly.

  Amelia continued to hum the Disney theme song as we walked to Amanda’s house. I cannot figure out for the life of me why humans don’t give high-priced apartments yards. These prices are ridiculous!

  Abruptly, Amelia stopped as an obviously homeless man stared at a group of pigeons, hopelessness in his eyes. I closed my eyes and read his state of being, a trick Amelia recently taught me. A second later, I opened them, knowing what my goddess planned to do next.

  I stood nearby as she talked, asking him light questions while spreading hope to the miserable human. Ten minutes later, she stood up.

  “I have to go now, but it was nice chatting with you, Mr. Grandon. I have a feeling something good will soon happen. Don’t doubt yourself anymore and go for it.”

  I knew I’d never see the man on the streets again.

  Amanda hugged Amelia immediately after answering our knock. Despite choosing to live with me over them, they still received her mysterious blessings in full. I figured it had something to do with faith.

  Yeah, too bad I won’t have access to such luxuries and extra powers—damn lucky full-born heavenly-beings. Okay, maybe I didn’t care. Amanda hugged me too, despite my past protests. They claimed they wanted to chip away my dislike for humans as much as possible. Damn, I shouldn’t have squealed my past.

  “Where’s Keisha?” Amelia asked.

  “She went to Jade’s memorial,” Amanda answered.

  “I see,” Amelia said in an even tone.

  I placed my hand on her shoulder, allowing her emotions to run through me. She still mourned her friend, her human sister. Jade lost her life tragically, eaten alive by the biggest enemy of all beings, the Fallen.

  Just thinking about the creatures gave me chills.

  “We need to use your backyard again for training,” I said, changing the subject.

  I concentrated, absorbed the sorrowing emotion from Amelia, and then converted it to resolve. Think of it like drawing heat from a source and cooling it.

  Amelia looked at me, appreciation in her eyes, and then we went around to the backyard, followed by Amanda. The redhead loved watching Amelia go full sadist on me during these training sessions.

  Today was perfect for this session. Clear skies, moderate temperatures, and a pleasant atmosphere.

  “Alright, as much as you hate it, go ahead and draw your power from the sun,” Amelia said. “Amanda, toss me that bamboo pole.” I frowned as she smiled. “This hurts me more than it hurts you.”

  I groaned. “Do we really need to start with the dodge-training?”

  “What’s that anime parody you were watching the other day? With the green guy constantly screaming dodge and then punishing that little boy.”

  “Never mind,” I said and then focused on the sun. The energy itched and burned as I drew it in. The divine powers fought with my human half and it hurt. I needed to draw in more, maybe on a daily basis to stop the pain completely, but never found myself able to rely on it. My body seemed to produce its own essence, so why go through the pain. Amelia wanted to beat that logic out of me.

  “Now, use that energy exclusively to dodge my swipes. Dodge ten and we’ll move on. One hit and we start over.”

  “Sir yes sir.”

  Amelia glared and without warning, swiped. I barely dodged and then cartwheeled out of the way of the second attack. The goddess quick-ascended behind me. I felt the pain before I could process what happened.

  “Teleports are nearly impossible
to dodge,” I said.

  “That’s because you’re not using any of the sun’s energy. You’re just dodging.” Amelia poked my nose. “Focus exclusively on what you’re treating as invasive energy. Welcome it. Combine it with yours.”

  Those words…She’s right. I treated the sun’s energy like a separate entity for so long that I virtually declared it an enemy. It’s my birthright. The only problem is that utilizing it is easier said than done.

  I failed the dodge exercise about eighteen more times before Amelia called for a break. I panted, covered in sweat. Amelia didn’t look so much as winded.

  “I could only imagine the training the elite put you through to maintain that sweatless state,” I said.

  “All you have to do to get like me is one hundred pushups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and run ten kilometers every day.”

  The reference made me glare at her briefly before we laughed. Amanda brought us water before we resumed the training for two more hours. Keisha eventually joined the ginger to watch and then left to go study after an hour.

  In the end, I managed to bridge the competing essences within my body. The feeling was bliss. I felt Amelia’s teleport before she did it and dodged just a second before the strike hit the ground.

  “Not bad, not ba—”

  I dodged her “reassurance” swing. Amanda clapped.

  “You were almost a blur with that dodge.”

  “Not bad at all,” Amelia tossed the bamboo to the side. “Now for some hand-to-hand, dirty combat.”

  “Nothing below the waste this time,” I said then took a Kung Fu fighting stance. Amelia mimicked me.

  We went at it for half an hour. Amelia was true to her word when it came to dirty combat as she took a swing at my balls at least three times.

  When the training ended, Amelia and I jogged back to my apartment to shower. About twenty minutes after the shower, I received a phone call.

  “Yeah?” I said to Sin.

  “It’s time to stop masturbating and come in to work. Amony’s got another job.”