Chronicles of Eden - Act VIII (48 page)

Both Sasha and Rulo dropped their weapons as they were rendered speechless and stunned, the two girls staring at Daemon with wide eyes as he headed over towards where Hollia was looking around at the desolate ruins of her home. Upon approaching her she quickly turned to him and stepped back a bit, seeming to be nervous about being close to him while her eyes showed they were holding back tears.

“What have I gotten myself into?” she quietly asked. “An army of horrible demons, a male monster, an angel, seals and divine artifacts, all of this is only making me question if I’m even awake right now. Am I dreaming all this? Is Ruhelia still standing? Is my family still alive?”

“You’re awake,” Daemon answered as he eyed over the surrounding land under the moonlight. “All of this is very real. Though I can understand how it may be more than you’re ready to accept right now.”

Hollia slowly walked up to Daemon then knelt down before him, dropping her spear with her hands down at her sides as she watched the swordsman with a distant look in her eyes.

“I feel numb,” she softly spoke. “I feel… dead inside. Everything has been taken from me. My family, my home, my kin, even my understanding of the world is being contended. I feel completely lost and alone, like I’m in another world entirely.”

The other girls had fallen silent as they watched Hollia kneeling before Daemon, the centaur gazing into the swordsman’s cold blue eyes as she appeared to be losing touch with reality.

“I no longer know where I am. I don’t know what to do or where to go. I feel the weight of the world crushing my spirit, it’s becoming too much to bear. Please, I fear I don’t have the strength to push on. This… this nightmare is draining the life from me. Those horrible demons that destroyed everything I held dear… they killed my soul as well. I can’t take it anymore.”

Slowly she held her hands together in a pleading manner as a single tear formed in her eye.

“Avenge my people, avenge my mother. I beg of you. Please, Daemon, it’s all becoming too much, everything is lost to me now. I implore you, please… kill me.”

Daemon merely raised an eyebrow at her as she showed a sorrowful smile from those words.

“Kill me, grant me release from this twisted world to which I cannot understand. My heart is broken, my mind is torn, and my soul feels heavy. Please, make this horrible nightmare end for me. I feel everything suffocating me now, nothing makes sense, everything is becoming too much to accept. Kill me, please.”

Daemon remained silent as the centaur begged him to end her life, watching as the princess’s eyes appeared to lose focus with everything she had gone through hitting her like a wave all over again. After a long pause he slowly drew out his sword, the centaur’s gaze shifting to it then to him as she began to cry. Daemon held the sword up to her cheek with a blank expression on his face, seeing the centaur closing her eyes and awaiting death from him.

With a gentle tap from the flat side of his sword he hit her cheek, catching her by surprise as she suddenly looked to him with a small jump.

“And so falls the princess of Ruhelia,” Daemon declared before sheathing his sword. “Died of a broken heart after her kingdom was razed to the ground.”

“What are you doing?” she quietly asked.

“I did as you asked, I put the princess out of her misery. Now what I ask of you is what remains before me?” Hollia stared at him in wonder and confusion as he gazed around at the surrounding landscape. “What is it that is still here, alive, and able to push on? Answer me that.”

“I don’t… understand.”

“You’re not dead,” he informed her. “The side of you that was once a princess, heiress to the kingdom of Ruhelia, has passed on from her spirit being crushed. So answer me, what is it that remains kneeled before me?”

Hollia looked down at her body in question as she was rendered speechless then back to him with a small shrug.

“You. You’re still here,” Daemon answered. “The world is not how you imagined it. There is much you don’t yet know or understand, it is a cold and harsh place to live, and it is not forgiving in the least to any. But you’re still here, you’re still alive in it.”

“But… I…”

“I’m not going to kill you,” Daemon stated crossing his arms. “If you really want to end your own life then do so, that’s your choice. But I’ve seen the fighting spirit you have, the way you attacked those who invaded your home, the way you pressed on even with a broken leg so as to avenge your family. I’m not going to put an end to that, it would be a waste to do so.”

Hollia opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, words failing her as she saw the swordsman watching her with a piercing gaze that made her heart start to beat more heavily in her chest.

“Pick up your spear,” Daemon ordered. She glanced down to it then back to him while remaining silent. “I said, pick up your spear.”

Slowly she reached down and grabbed hold of the weapon, eyes remaining locked onto his as he motioned her up with one hand.

“Now stand.”

Getting back onto her four legs Hollia stood before the swordsman in awe, her hair gently ruffling in the wind while she couldn’t take her eyes off him in the least.

“The princess in you may be dead, but you’re not,” he lectured her. “So, tell me, what remains of the centaur that stands before me?”

Hollia looked to the spear as she held it in both hands, seeming to be thinking deeply about something that she then turned to Daemon to announce.

“The will to fight.”

“To fight what?” he asked.

“Whatever the world throws at me. Whatever despicable monster tries to hurt me or my people. Whatever surprises or horrors await me. I’m not going to fall again to anything.”

“Sounds like you’re not dead after all,” Daemon reasoned before he turned to walk away. Hollia eyed the spear in her hands for a moment then quickly ran over in front of Daemon, halting him as she stood tall with a firm expression.

“Tell me everything,” she implored. “Tell me what it is in this world I do not yet understand or know. Tell me what it is you seek. Tell me what you are. Tell me what it is you fight for. I must know.”

The other girls slowly gathered around, with Forrus and Tabitha glancing to each other with low growls while Scay was hopping about with a strained murmur of excitement. Sasha and Rulo walked closer to Daemon with soft smiles as they felt renewed strength from his acceptance to being their master. And Hollia bowed gracefully with her spear held behind her back, a bold smile returning to her face as she saw a new path in life to take that she was determined to follow.

“Tell me everything I must know so that I may serve my knight.”

*****

Under the moonlight a radiant glow flew across The Outerlands, crossing over grassy knolls and vast fields before coming across what was once the centaur kingdom of the land. Flying through the air the winged maiden held her hammer in one hand while the other was clenched tightly, her eyes glaring with rage as she soared through the night sky with only rubble and dirt passing below her. Valentina circled around the remains of the fallen city, carefully searching for any sign of those that deceived her with their ruse before finally touching down where she had last seen them. Slowly she looked to one side then the other, realizing Daemon and his followers were long gone, and then lowered her head as a bitter smile came across her face.

“Alright, I guess that victory goes to you, big brother,” she scoffed before struggling to keep the smile on her face. “Well played, very well done. You and your…
pets
got the better of me on that one. Ha, ha. Yes, yes you did.”

Her forced smile gradually shifted into a fierce scowl, the light around her brightening while a surge of energy shook the ground below her and kicked up a dust cloud away from the furious angel.

“You’d better keep moving, big brother. You’d better not stop, not now. Don’t stop for anything. Because when I find you… oh, I’m going to caress that adorable face of yours with so much affection and care. I’m going to show you your little sister loves you
so
much. Yes I am.”

The ground cracked apart from the sheer amount of energy being exuded by the angel, her wings glowing brightly while a dark aura that could rival that of a demon spread far and wide across the ruined landscape.

“But when I find your
pets
… when I get my hands on them…”

With a furious yell she wound back with her hammer, the light around her becoming a glaring silvery contrast to her dark surroundings.

“THERE WILL BE NO MERCY!”

The angel swung her hammer down into the ground, shattering everything below before a bright flash erupted from the hit. Eden itself appeared to shake violently even from a far off distance from the fallen city, a horrific blast of light and debris exploding from the angel’s powerful strike that decimated the rubble and remains of Ruhelia into dust. The sky appeared to part around the massive glow that shined like the sun from the eruption, clouds blowing away from the forceful blast in all directions while a powerful wave of wind raced outwards from the shining star across the land.

Within the blinding light Valentina gently flapped her wings to keep in place as the ground below her had been completely destroyed, the angel now hovering over a large crater that encompassed the entirety of what was once Ruhelia. A vicious smile was spread across her face, eyes glaring with a haunting glow, hair flowing behind in the torrent of wind, dress fluttering 
and revealing that nothing was worn underneath
, magical hammer crackling with arcs of energy that struck down towards the ground like bolts of lightning.

“I will see you again soon, big brother,” she spoke with a cold voice. “No matter where you go, I’ll always find you again. I
promise.
”

In the world of Eden it was common to come across those with abrasive or annoying personalities. Maybe they had a bad attitude or outlook on life, perhaps they had a quirk about them that was difficult to tolerate, or it could have been they were simply bitter to the world around them for one reason or another. They were jaded individuals who typically caused trouble and discomfort wherever they went. However this wasn’t to say they were all truly evil or malicious at heart, that this harsh persona they exuded was who they really were.

After all they may only appear to be rough on the outside.

*****

With the sun slowly rising over the horizon a new day began in Eden. The rays of light crept across The Outerlands while only a few small clouds occupied the sky above. Flying through the air two birds made their way across a stream and over a small forest, their faint chirps barely heard from down below where a white horse was sleeping quietly in a soft bedding of flowers and grass. Lucky’s ear twitched slightly as he dreamt what horses normally dream about, or enchanted ones at the very least, while near the campsite where the travelers’ carriage was parked a harpy was beginning to awaken.

Perched on a small log Doku slowly lifted her head from her huddled position, parting her wings and yawning softly before standing up and stretching out her back. With a flutter of her wings she came to her senses and looked around at the serene view of the wilderness surrounding her.

“What a beautiful morning.”

Lying next to the log on the grass Clover was mumbling something as she turned to her side and held an arm over her eyes.

“Clover? It’s morning,” Doku announced. She hopped off the timber and gently poked the elf’s shoulder with her foot. “Wake up, Clover. Rise and shine.”

“Don’t wanna,” Clover grumbled. “Too early.”

“You always sleep so late every day. You mustn’t waste this time you have in the day.”

“Why do you insist on me getting up so early anyway?” Clover murmured while half-asleep. “What are you, my mom?”

Doku sighed at the stubborn elf then looked up as a few birds flew into a nearby tree. She watched them chirping amongst themselves for a moment then Clover as the elf was holding a hand over her ear to block out the sounds.

“Alright, do as you wish,” Doku said in defeat. “But I need to get to work. Lucky needs to be fed and I need to prepare breakfast for all of you. Please don’t be late to eat with us again this morning.”

She started walking towards the carriage and Lucky, casually picking at her feathers with her beak to clean them, then gazed around at the trees surrounding the clearing with a faint smile coming across her face.

“Wait,” Clover tiredly called out. Turning around Doku saw the elf slowly sitting up and rubbing her eyes, the girl mumbling something to herself before looking down with a sigh. “I’ll help you with breakfast.”

“You want to help me with that? That’s not like you, Clover.”

Clover glanced to her with a dull expression while remaining silent. After a pause Doku smiled curiously as she saw a faint blush form on the elf’s cheeks.

“You want to be a kindhearted girl for Daniel, don’t you?”

“Shut. Up,” Clover mumbled standing up. She wiped off the grass from her tunic and undid her pigtails, muttering to herself as she straightened out her hair a little bit before grabbing her bow and quiver from the ground and following after the harpy.

“I just… want to do my share around here. That’s all.”

“Of course,” Doku lightly giggled.

“That’s it! I mean it!” Clover snapped before looking away with a grunt. She blinked then noticed someone was not in the clearing with them that morning. “Hey, where’s Star?”

The two girls looked around and saw no sign of the jinx. The basket of apples she had brought with her the other night was still sitting next to the carriage however the cat was nowhere in sight.

“Hm, I wonder where she went,” Doku pondered. “Star? Are you out there? Star?”

Clover carefully eyed the surrounding area then the carriage as she started to get a bad feeling in her chest.

“You don’t think she would…”

Doku and Clover looked to each other for a moment then quickly raced into the carriage, running across the front hall towards the bedroom archway where they came to a sudden halt and jumped in surprise. They saw everyone lying in bed from the previous night, with Kroanette resting on her side with Specca and Luna holding each other near her waist, the three girls completely naked with only a sheet partially draped over the centaur’s lower half. Pip was nestled in the centaur’s bosom while dreaming of more boobies smothering her, her tiny giggles of excitement showing she was enjoying her sleep while she tenderly held onto Kroanette’s chest. Squeak was curled into her usual ball with Falla holding her hand in her sleep, both of them naked while the butterfly girl’s wings were lowered down behind her. Triska and Alyssa were both sleeping in the nude in Daniel’s arms, with him snoring loudly while on his back with the two girls cuddled close to him on either side. Alyssa murmured softly while holding onto him, her focuser crystal shimmering slightly against her chest while Triska gently kissed his shoulder in her sleep and snuggled closer to him.