“Meyzellah,” Kindra sternly retorted. “The tyrant’s City of Eden is in the broken isles of Meyzellah.”
“Yes,” Aeon slyly mused. “That’s right. Hidden amongst treacherous waters filled with jagged rocks and dangerous mermaids, concealed high atop the tallest mountain within those isles that serves home to savage griffins, guarded in its deepest cave by a tribe of devoted pegasi, with their empress serving as the guardian to the City of Eden itself that is blanketed by a second barrier they erected to block all sight and sound from the tomb and it’s prisoner. That’s the place, right?”
“Y… yeah,” Kindra slowly agreed. “Wait, what’s guarding it? Holy shit, talk about being safely locked away from the world. I didn’t know it was protected by all of that. Mermaids, griffins, pegasi, and… hold on, what was that about a second barrier? Why is there a second barrier for her city?”
Aeon slowly breathed out before stepping closer to the kitsune. Kindra quickly backed up while growing tense, watching as the chronofly looked up at the stars above them for a moment before back to the kitsune with a blank expression.
“You know about Seraph, don’t you?” Aeon questioned. “Or do you only know her title? Do you know anything about her? What makes her special? What makes her the most dangerous monster on the face of Eden?”
“I only know she’s a despicable harbinger of death, just like you,” Kindra snapped. “That’s all I need to know about her. You, the reaper, the gemini, her; what’s the difference between you?”
“I can control time,” Aeon explained. “The reaper has mastery over magic. The gemini, well, were near-immortal. But the tyrant, Seraph… she’s something else entirely. Her semblance isn’t time, magic, or anarchy. It’s tyranny.”
“What does that mean?” Kindra asked. “What makes her so dangerous?”
“No monster can oppose her,” Aeon answered. Kindra stared at her in confusion, with the chronofly sighing and shaking her head with a sympathetic look at her. “You poor, stupid girl. You know of the Dark Queens but know nothing about them.”
“What the hell are you getting at here? Just spit it out already.”
“I just told you, no monster can oppose her,” Aeon warned. “All it takes is a mere gaze into her eyes, the sound of her voice, or even being within one hundred yards of her. Any monster, any monster at all, would fall completely under her control then. A succubus could only dream of being able to charm anyone with as much power as she can. Any monster, the Dark Queens included, would become a devoted slave to Seraph and obey her commands without question. None of us can resist her.”
Kindra’s eyes widened as she became speechless, her tails slowly calming down behind her as Aeon crossed her arms and glanced away with a bitter scowl.
“Even I cannot approach her. I can see the future well enough to know that should I try, even if I halt time itself around her, I too would fall under her control should I get near. She’s a born sovereign, a monster with the innate ability to rule over all monsters in Eden. That is her unique talent, little fox. And once she returns there will be no monster in all of Eden that can stop her.”
“But… but the ones watching over her city…” Kindra tried to protest with.
“All those monsters outside the City of Eden are safe,” Aeon explained. “Seraph’s charming aura cannot penetrate the city’s barrier, and the second one made by the pegasi blocks all sight and sound from passing through.”
“So Seraph can’t charm them from within,” Kindra realized. “She can’t charm anyone then. She’s safely locked away in that city forever.”
“No, she’s not. She’s dead.”
“What?” Kindra exclaimed. “What do you mean she’s dead?”
“I mean she’s been dead for over a century,” Aeon said with a shrug. “Nobody knows of course, how could they? No sight or sound can come from within that sealed city after all. Nobody’s actually seen her ever since she was imprisoned in that tomb. But I know the truth. Her time expired long ago. I see no fate flowing for her at all now. She killed herself, ripped out her own heart with her bare hand; that was her destiny long ago. Seraph the Tyrant is dead.”
“Seraph… committed suicide?” Kindra slowly asked. “But… but you just said…”
“That she’s coming here?” Aeon repeated with a sly grin. “Yes, she is.”
“But how could she if she’s dead? That doesn’t make sense!”
Aeon instantly appeared before the kitsune, grabbing her hair and holding her close to the chronofly’s chilling gaze.
“No, it makes perfect sense, you stupid fox,” Aeon hissed. “Think about it. Seraph could not escape her prison, she was cut off from the outside world in every way, so what other option did she have to be free?”
“Suicide?” Kindra scoffed. “How would that be considered being free?”
“Because she’s no longer confined to her City of Eden, that’s how!” Aeon shouted, shoving the kitsune back against a tree. “You’re just as shortsighted as her former guardians are, the same ones who are still guarding over that empty prison without so much as a clue to what happened. Didn’t you hear what I just said about her? She can charm any monster she lays her eyes on, any she speaks to, any that come remotely close to her. She knew this, and also that staying in her prison would mean the end for her. She grew desperate, so desperate she formulated a plan of escape at the cost of her very life. So tell me, little fox, where do you think her soul would have been sent after she died? Where was it that she planned on going?”
Kindra struggled to pry Aeon’s grip from her hair as she squirmed against the tree, her tails burning the wood behind her while the chronofly merely waited for a response. Pausing for a moment Kindra slowly began to show surprise as she pondered the Dark Queen’s statement, eyes carefully moving downward then back to Aeon as there was only one answer she could think of.
“Hell. She would have been sent down to hell.”
“And what would be waiting for her there?” Aeon asked.
“Demons. Demons come from hell… but… wait, are you saying…”
“I’ve foreseen her return to the land of the living,” Aeon said, slowly stepping back and letting go of the stunned woman. “I cannot see her in hell at this time for she possesses no timeline as she currently is, she’s not alive after all. But I can see in the future when she returns to life, when she returns to Eden with time restored for herself, and she is not alone then. I see two beelzebubs at her sides, bowing to her, obeying her every command.”
“Beelzebubs?” Kindra repeated. “Demon lords?”
“I’ve seen more than enough to know what’s coming our way,” Aeon gravely told her. “Seraph has charmed those demon lords into serving her. The same demon lords who are able to set foot into our realm. The same demon lords who are going to revive her with their dark magic. I can see the precise moment this is destined to happen, when those demons resurrect Seraph the Tyrant, and damn the entire world in the process.”
Kindra slowly looked down to the ground as she fell silent, the tree behind her crackling then dropping with a crash as her tails had burned through its base. Dust and cinders blew through the clearing while Aeon merely observed the speechless kitsune with a dull grimace.
“You’re going to call me a liar,” Aeon said, right before Kindra started to open her mouth at her with a spiteful glare. “You’re going to say I’m full of shit and this is all just a trick. Well, it’s no trick. She’s coming back to life soon, something I’m unable to prevent in all my wisdom and power.”
“How can you not prevent it?” Kindra snapped. “You control time. You can see where and when it’s going to happen, can’t you? Just kill those demons before-”
“The resurrection spell isn’t being cast here in Eden,” Aeon argued, silencing the kitsune once again. “One beelzebub is here in the land of the living, the other is not. She’s in hell, a realm beyond my reach and control, and is gathering her power to bring Seraph over with her from
their side. I cannot stop them no matter how much I wish I could, and believe me I do. I’m just as fucked as you are when she gets here! No monster, no monster at all can oppose her, remember? And that includes me!”
Kindra stared at her in shock as Aeon clenched her fists with a frustrated growl, her glowing eyes glaring down at the ground as if to pierce through to hell itself at the one she both cursed and feared. With a slow breath the chronofly calmed herself somewhat, her wings fluttering once behind her with distorted ripples of air as she turned her sharp gaze onto Kindra who was at a loss for words.
“When she gets here, you and I will be the same then,” she morbidly foretold. “We’ll be mindless lapdogs for her to order around as she pleases. You, me, your sister, and all monsters in this world; we will either be charmed into being her slaves forever or die at the hands of her never-ending army.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Kindra grunted. “This has to be-”
“It’s no joke, I assure you,” Aeon warned. “I’m deadly serious about this. Think about it. Why else would I have placed her prized weapon in the hands of a human?”
Kindra blinked then jumped with a startle as Aeon showed a sly grin.
“Ah, you finally appear to be seeing the whole picture,” the chronofly chuckled. “Yes, that’s why I placed Ragnarok in the hands of Daniel Sorres. Because I saw the opportunity to rob Seraph of her mighty weapon and give it to someone who can’t be controlled by her.”
“That’s why you gave Ragnarok to Daniel Sorres?” Kindra carefully asked. “To keep Seraph from taking hold of it again?”
“It’s going to be hilarious,” Aeon laughed. “I can see it already. Seraph will emerge in Eden once again, arrogant and commanding as ever, and will set her sights on this world to conquer as she always has. She will gather her armies, plot to rule this world as its one and only queen, and attempt to retrieve her sword that was banished to the depths of the ether after her imprisonment. But it will be for naught, as no matter how hard she tries she won’t be able to grasp her dear sword of destruction, for it has already been seized by the hands of a mere human.”
A smile began to slowly spread across Kindra’s face as she contemplated Aeon’s strategy, however it quickly vanished as a glaring flaw soon presented itself.
“Wait, hold on,” she argued, holding her hands out. “I get that you wanted to take Ragnarok away from Seraph, but isn’t she just going to come after it anyway? She’s going to hunt down Daniel Sorres and rip it out of him however she can.”
“Yeah, she is going to be royally pissed off to discover her sword has been stolen,” Aeon reasoned with a shrug. “But this is a far better arrangement than letting her wield it upon her release and sealing all of our fates.”
“This isn’t going to help us though!” Kindra cried out. “If Seraph comes back and charms every monster on this side of Eden to serve her, who cares if she has Ragnarok or not? She’ll be unstoppable with that many monsters under her control! We’re all doomed if she comes back with or without her sword!”
“At least now we have a chance at stopping her,” Aeon retorted. “Whereas we would have none if Seraph was armed with her sword to begin with.”
“And how’s that?” Kindra demanded. “How are you expecting us to stop her when no monster can oppose her? Wait, don’t tell me. You’re not planning on having Daniel Sorres be our trump card here, are you? He’s not the one you’re betting the lives of everyone in Eden on, is he?”
Aeon merely tapped her nose with a smirk in response, causing Kindra to scream and grab her hair as she clearly did not like that plan at all.
“That is a horrible plan, you stupid bitch!” she yelled at the chronofly. “Daniel Sorres isn’t ready for anything like this! He may have Ragnarok but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to fight an entire army and a Dark Queen!”
“Didn’t he already do that in Green Haven?” Aeon quipped.
“Oh please, he fought a few bumbling monsters and two rabid dogs! He got lucky with the gemini, and even luckier that the entire army of The Sisterhood didn’t come charging in after him when he showed up. Placing hope for the entire world and everyone’s life on the slim chance that Daniel Sorres somehow manages to fight off all of Seraph’s soldiers and then Seraph herself is fucking asinine!”
“Well he wasn’t exactly my first choice for this,” Aeon admitted with an annoyed scoff. “I was trying to… recruit someone else to help with this problem, someone more combat ready than that imprudent boy, but that individual has been… stubborn with cooperating. As it stands, Daniel Sorres is not only the one I used to take away Seraph’s sword, but he also may have to be the one to fight her as well.”
“He’s not ready for that at all,” Kindra argued. “He nearly died in Green Haven fighting the gemini. This time he’ll be up against beelzebubs, an army of monsters, and a Dark Queen hell-bent on tearing him apart to get her prized sword back. He’s not capable of beating that, I know he’s not.”
Aeon sighed and looked back towards Daniel’s carriage while crossing her arms. After a moment of silence she glanced to Kindra who was glaring at her with rustling tails as she was growing even more anxious and furious about the approaching danger to Eden.
“Here’s a little secret of mine,” Aeon spoke up. “The future for any that I can see is… cloudy, at best. Free will can change the course of events very easily and also very drastically for many. Right now our best chance at stopping Seraph is that human over there. I don’t see his victory assured on this path but I also don’t see Seraph’s victory either, at least not yet, it’s too soon to tell. Maybe he’ll stop her, maybe he won’t, but as things stand now he’s our best hope of surviving this.”
Kindra looked over to the carriage with a low growl then back to Aeon as the chronofly fluttered her wings, distorting the air around her as she slowly shook her head at the kitsune.
“Soon you will see something very unique and unheard of in Eden,” Aeon informed her. “Something Daniel Sorres will be responsible for when his dear friends return from their journey. Wait and see for yourself, then judge if that human is or is not capable of the impossible. That’s all I recommend. Or, if you prefer, you can go over there right now and try in vain to steal Ragnarok from him, and throw any chance we have at defeating Seraph away in the process. The choice is yours.”
“He’s not ready to fight Seraph,” Kindra argued. “He’s not ready to control Ragnarok, or fight an entire army, or any of what you think he can do. He’s just a human.”
“To defeat Seraph the Tyrant, we could wield no better weapon than a human,” Aeon remarked. “Especially one who commands the tyrant’s own sword.”
She smirked at Kindra who merely growled in frustration with her internal struggle to believe the Dark Queen’s words. With a playful chuckle the chronofly turned to leave, taking only a few steps before suddenly stopping with a painful cringe. Staggering to the side holding her head Aeon let out a strained groan before dropping to her knees, her wings shaking and slowly lowering behind in her sudden distress.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Kindra asked.
“What… just happened?” Aeon grunted, trying to shake off her daze before quickly gasping in surprise. Her eyes darted around ever so slightly, her sight staring off into the unseen flow of time as she became startled by a sudden disturbance rippling through its river.
“No… how did… when did… no, that’s not right,” Aeon murmured to herself.
“What are you talking about?” Kindra snapped. “What is wrong with you?”
“I need to go now,” the chronofly scorned with a dark glare, slowly standing back up and focusing deeply on the unexpected aberration. “If you’ll excuse me I must deal with yet another problem that requires my attention.”
“What do you mean another problem? What’s happening now?”
“Time has gone askew,” Aeon growled. “And I’m going to find out why. As for you, heed my advice, little fox. D
aniel Sorres is right where he needs to be, don’t ruin that. Don’t let anyone else ruin it. He needs to remain in the reaper’s company, he needs to learn to properly use Ragnarok before Seraph arrives. It’s in the best interest of all life on Eden, including ours.”
“You expect me to trust the reaper with him? To trust you?” Kindra angrily demanded.
“You don’t have to trust either of us if you don’t want to. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. I’m merely warning you what awaits us in our future.”
She walked off with fluttering wings, a wavy distortion rippling around her before she vanished in the blink of an eye. Kindra snarled with rustling tails as she glared at where the chronofly had quickly departed, her frustrated gaze then moving over to Daniel’s carriage in the distance as everything fell quiet around her.
“To trust not only the reaper but also the chronofly with the fate of Eden,” she muttered to herself. “This is completely fucked up.”
She looked down towards the elven encampment where cheers and joyous shouts were heard from the people, her tails slowly calming down behind her as she observed the surrounding area before focusing her sights on Daniel’s home again.
“You’d better amaze me soon, Daniel Sorres,” she said, crossing her arms with a skeptical look on her face. “Or else I’m tempting fate and coming for Ragnarok myself.”
*****
Under the moonlight Aeon stood over the broken shards of the Archlight’s Blade, the glimmering fragments of the holy weapon lying scattered across the barren field as a quiet wind slowly blew through the empty land.
“What the hell?” Aeon scowled, glancing around at the twinkling shards of steel before resting her frustrated glare on the handle of the broken weapon. She stood there, making not a sound or move as she stared deeply at the remains of the holy sword while becoming lost in thought. After a while she blinked before clenching her fists in anger, a furious growl escaping her lips as she searched the surrounding area.
“What madness is this? How did this happen? This sword was never fated to be broken, especially not now. Why… but how…”
Chronicles of Eden - Season II - Act I Page 23
