There are 7 people on the island at present. Seven individuals who are all linked to each other far closer than they realize.
Barry, who is a ghost, a psychic and is working for vampires, somehow also is the brother of Valdis, the queen of vampires.
Ro, who was a half-psychic, now is a ghost and is also working for vampires, somehow is really important to the vampires.
These two of them are standing near someone who is fallen on the ground. This man who is on the ground with his eyes closed is one of the strongest, if not the strongest psychic in the world but he doesn't even know it and has caused a major disruption inside himself.
The three psychics being next to each other causes all the psychic energy in the surrounding to be attracted towards them. Seeing this, a certain someone is left to wonder why Ro's psychic energy is still present around him even though he can no longer use his ability. This man, Ethan, is a completely normal human being, or so he says.
He has the Eyes of Truth and has fooled many psychics with his schemes.
Noticing the expression on Ethan's face, a woman powerful enough to decimate mountains looks sharply at the ghost of her former "colleague". From the fact that Ethan is looking at him, she understands that he is not someone to be taken lightly under any circumstances. The cold smile on Ethan's face – the expression that says he is interested in this man – is a clear message for her, Sneha.
Ethan and Sneha stand a little distance away from Kais and are facing the two ghosts.
The person who is trying to keep an eye on everyone also more or less gets this impression of Ro from the atmosphere. This person, no, this dragon that is feared throughout the ranks of Vermillion as well as The Vampire Kingdom is calm. At least, that is his facial expression. His real feelings at the moment are that of turmoil. This dragon – someone who doesn't even have a name – is also one of them.
He is standing diagonally away from both parties. His positioning is something like that of a referee before the match begins.
Finally, the woman whose only desire is to kill this dragon and has vowed to sacrifice everything for that purpose but still could not completely give up on her humanity for the sake of this purpose – Sona – is the last one of the seven.
She is standing a little distance away from the dragon diagonally behind him.
These seven people are in complicated relationships with each other. Ro and Barry do not completely trust each other but work together because that seems to be the best for them. Ethan and Sneha don't completely trust each other but work together because their goals align. Neither of two parties is at good terms with the other. Then there is the dragon that is a source of concern for everyone because no one knows what he is thinking. He himself is cautious of everyone because no one here has earned his trust. Finally there's the woman who doesn't seem to be a part in the grand scheme of things but is still connected to this scenario somehow because of her wanting revenge against the dragon.
Finally, there's him, someone who all the parties want on their side. And so all of them are trying to either deceive him or coerce him into joining them. But the problem in front of all of them is –
Barry: "He is too cautious, isn't he?"
He says while looking at the person he is talking about.
Ethan: "Isn't that your fault though?"
Ethan says also looking at the person they are talking about.
Barry: "I suppose."
If Barry had never done the atrocious things he did 12 years ago, Kais probably wouldn't be this cautious about things.
Barry: "But there was nothing I could do about that. That was something I had to do."
He doesn't show any tinge of regret.
Ethan: "That so? And what was the reason? Why was it something you 'had' to do?"
Barry: "Do you really expect me to answer that?"
Barry turns towards Ethan as he answers. Annoyance, just for a moment, had come to his face but Ethan regained his mask and said,
Ethan: "I don't."
He closes his eyes as he continues,
Ethan: "But I can take a guess."
Barry furrowed his eyebrows urging his to continue.
Ethan: "Let's see, you wanted him to kill you."
Barry: "And why would I want to be killed?"
Ethan: "That's easy."
Ethan lifts his finger and points at Barry.
Ethan: "To get like that."
He is pointing towards a man with light blue cape with stripes on it, the dress hidden within the cape being crimson-brownish. He has fair skin and a rather good-looking face that somehow matches with this weird mix of colors.
Ethan: "Or to be more exact, to become a ghost who is working under vampires."
This clothing he has was made especially for him by the vampires. It was made with the same material they use to restrain ghosts. Something like this can only be worn by a ghost who is working for vampires.
Barry: "And why exactly would I want to be something like that?"
Ethan: "Simply because, you were not always his brother. But you were always her brother."
All eyes look at Ethan, all except Barry's. He looks down for a moment and then closes his eyes.
Barry: "I see. That's what you say, huh?"
His voice is calm, his face has a gentle smile on it and it paints him in a light completely different from what he usually looks like. Right now, the solitude of his life is showing itself on his face. Noticing that expression from the corner of his eyes, Ro becomes baffled.
Barry: "Well, you are not completely wrong."
Ethan: "I see."
Ethan can't show this ghost sympathy but he can say this,
Ethan: "You'll someday be free of all this."
He can say this because it is a fact he knows.
They are two people who have played villains extremely well. So, while looking at each other, there has to be some iota of sympathy welling up inside them.
For both of their companions, seeing this is bizarre but for once it doesn't look like either them is trying to fake their smiles.
Barry: "I guess we should be glad he is not conscious yet."
To someone who has come to hate one and be wary of the other, this does not bode well. So he is glad that someone who is unconscious, or is he?
Barry: "The hell!"
He exclaims with a look of horror on his face. Ethan looks at Kais and understands why Barry reacted that way.
Ethan: "I see."
However, unlike Barry, Ethan doesn't show surprise or shock. His expression remains calm. Because what is going on is not a problem for him, but it's a problem for his opposing party. Just because the two men came to understand each other to an extent doesn't mean their enmity suddenly disappears.
Sneha: "Just what is going on here?"
Sneha asks being unable to understand what has gotten Barry so freaked out.
Ethan: "Well, Nietzsche once said,"
A quote that is a little too terrifying in this context.
Ethan: "When you gaze into the abyss for long,"
Darkness starts enveloping the island as everyone but Ethan panics.
Ethan: "the abyss gazes back into you."
???: "Well done!"
A demonic voice rings out. Ethan looks at the source of the voice, and the source of the darkness.
???: "Now, I need to kill someone here."
Ethan closes his eyes and smiles before adding,
Ethan: "So that 'someone' is here after all."
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Nietzsche also said, "There are no facts, only interpretations." And so one is free to interpret anything and everything whatever way they want to.
Valdis: "That's a terrifying thing to think about."
Reid: "Yes, your highness."
In the palace corridor of the Vampire Kingdom, the two people are walking.
Valdis: "Ha! To think that all our history could have been made on lies and the truth might be hidden somewhere under the rubble that we may never be able to dig out. Truly, that's a truth I'd wanted to avoid knowing if I could."
Reid doesn't say anything but he understands the queen's feelings. After all, he is thinking the same thing.
It hurts to find out that all you think you knew about the history was a lie. What if someone who was praised as a hero in the history books was actually a villain?
It is a terrifying concept.
Reid: "Your highness?"
Valdis: "Yes, is something bothering you?"
Reid: "Actually, there is."
The two of them are just walking down the corridor. They aren't particularly doing anything other than walking and talking. And yet there was much gloom in the air.
Reid: "I never thought of Ozyllus as a hero."
He is praised as someone who united psychics, ghosts and vampires. All records of him only praise him. Yet, Reid never really thought that highly of him.
Reid: "But … but I never thought … he would be …"
Reid had always known why this interpretation of history exists. It was because Ozyllus won. So those who wrote about history wrote about him as if he was a hero. If he had lost, that would not be the case.
Reid: "I never thought he would be such a demon."
But even if he had lost, he would have probably been considered a fallen warrior. He would probably be seen as someone who had a dream and failed to accomplish it. That's how Reid had imagined it. But unfortunately, the untold story of Ozyllus – is too dark and brutal.
Valdis: "I see. I understand. I never thought he would be someone like this either."
But now they know the truth. Now they know – that Ozyllus was no savior or hero, he was quite opposite to that.
Valdis: "The question is - does Barry know all this?"
Reid: "He probably does."
By the fact that he is the one to ask them to contact their strategist and ask him about this before leaving the Vampire Kingdom makes it highly likely he knows this. And if that is the case, why did he still go to the island? Why did he go there knowing he may not return.
At this stage; if they lose Barry, they lose the war.
Valdis: "I guess everything went according to Ozyllus' plan, didn't it?"
She says with a bitter expression on her face as she barely stops herself from shedding a tear.
I saw a strong light shining on me and sensed a pull from it. I see. So I thought, "my time in The Cage is already up."
But then I realized that it isn't the light that I would face after waking up. It is the light that would not allow me to wake up.
???: "Well, hello there."
What? Who are you?
???: "Aw, you don't recognize me?"
I don't. But I do … I do recognize this pull. It is the same one that … that I felt when I stepped in the tomb.
???: "Starting to piece it all together? Good. Now, who do you think I could be?"
The voice keeps coming from all directions. Where is the source of the voice exactly and who is its owner? The voice itself keeps echoing not making it easy for me to understand anything from it.
???: "So you can't figure it out?"
Damn!
???: "Well, then I guess I should just tell you."
Okay then, who exactly are you?
???: "I am Ozyllus."
Just as I heard that, the faces of the people on the island come to mind. And then it dawns on me – the truth, the lie; the reality, the forgery; the god, the human; it all became clear to me. And for just this moment, I know everything.
I know everything.
I know who Sona is. I know why the dragon was trying to deceive me. I know why Barry caused that tragedy. I know who Sneha is. I know how much Ro has suffered. And I know why Ethan Kales is doing what he is.
And I … can do nothing. This is a war we are meant to lose. Our life's story is … a goddamn tragedy.
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This chapter was shorter than usual and cutting it into two parts would have been pointless. So, there won't be any chapter tomorrow.
*****
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Ethan: "So that 'somebody' is here after all."
Ethan says so while the darkness looming over them threatens to destroy everything.
???: "He is. And Kais isn't ready yet."
Ethan: "You sure about that?"
???: "Huh?"
Ethan: "I think he just needs a jolt of the truth."
No response comes back, just like Ethan predicted. Darkness has covered the whole island. This darkness comes from the devil inside Kais. And in front of that devil,
Ethan: "Lead him to the truth of what happened 12 years ago. That should be enough for him to get 'ready'."
Abyss: "Tell me, why aren't you even a little afraid of this darkness?"
Ethan: "I have supernatural eyes which is why I can't escape from the illusion of darkness having taken over the place. But that's it. You can deceive my eyes because they are supernatural but there is nothing else you can do to me."
The energy composition with which this illusion is made is so complex and incomplete that unless it can combine with the energy of others, it doesn't even work. And that's the catch. Everyone who has supernatural energy flowing around them can provide the energy required for the illusion to work, but someone like Ethan or any other normal human being will be completely safe.
Ethan sighs and starts walking towards the centre of this illusionary darkness.
Ethan: "I don't want to blame you for trying to protect him from learning the truth but do remember, that bastard will kill billions just because you got a little attached to a kid and decided to play house."
Abyss: "Ugh!"
He keeps walking without worrying about himself. After all, only an illusion is blocking his path. There is no need to feel afraid.
Ethan: "So then, what were you really planning when you did this?"
Ethan moves right into the darkness and comes out of it on the other side – unharmed, as one would expect.
Ethan: "Oh, that's it. I am little disappointed. But I guess I should have seen this coming."
He sees that Kais is nowhere to be found but footsteps have appeared from the point his body was at.
Ethan: "Those footsteps are probably a diversion, but whatever."
He looks back at the darkness to see the presence of the entity he had been talking to.
Ethan: "He ran away while you kept me distracted. Well, so be it. Not like he can run away forever."
Abyss: "Just out of curiosity, what if I decide to keep protecting him?"
Ethan: "Then I'll destroy you."
A quick answer given with eyes widened enough to show the sickening conviction. Hearing it, the devil sighs.
Abyss: "I see."
Saying so, he disappears along with the illusion he had created. Ethan tries to go into the forest when two dogs – Jack and Jill – come in his path.
Ethan: "Ha-ha! You are still around!?"
He sees the dogs being hostile to him and backs off as he looks back only to find everyone else lying unconscious on the beach. Among those 5 individuals, his eyes fell on Barry. Just a while ago, the two men had come to understand something about each other. They had come to understand the fact that there is something good within them. They had been able to relate to each other.
But that is as far as it will go. Nothing can erase the fact that they are two opposing factions. Neither of them can drop their guard against the other and so they will never be friends or anything of the sort. All they can be are enemies who sympathize with each other.
Ethan: "Well, that's how it will be, I guess."
Turning to look at the forest again, he spotted little remnants of the illusionary darkness still lingering. Seeing them, he tightened his fists.
Ethan: "There's too much at stake for you to be worrying about him."
*******************************
Panting, I lay myself on the ground near the tomb. Well, now that I have left false footprints and teleported out of there back to the tomb, I can finally catch my breath.
Kais: "Still, what was that all about?"
What was up with Barry and Ethan?
Kais: "Also Ethan saw right through that illusion and I had to rush out of there. If he had taken some more time in figuring things out, I could have taken a peak in their minds to try to figure out more about all of them and make all this little less confusing."
Come to think of it, just whose voice was it that told me that he had seen through it and to run away. In the spur of the moment, I didn't question it at all but, was he … that demon?
If he was, why did it seem like he and Ethan knew each other well-enough. Damn it! That guy is actually really terrifying.
Kais: "Ha!"
Didn't I used to think no normal human could ever match up to a psychic? That is why I was so unafraid of Ro and Mohammed when they tried to force me to join Vermillion. And now, I am afraid of someone who isn't even a half-psychic like them. Man, am I a hypocrite?
Kais: "I guess I am."
Of course I am. I am a hypocrite by all means. That's why I am such a failure of a psychic. I try to be cautious and measure every move I make. So what happened when I walked into those slew of monsters back there? I was smiling, goddamn it! I wasn't trying to figure out my way out of the situation, I was just anticipating whatever was about to come, and I was SMILING!
Kais: "And now that I think about it,"
Back in the tomb (or wherever I went to when I stepped in the tomb), I tried to attack Ethan because he was saying things I didn't wanted to hear. Isn't that hypocritical? Just because I thought he was weaker than me (which is true, I guess), I tried to attack him to shut him up. It's not like he was spouting any lies back there. He was saying the truth. And I didn't want to face the truth.
Kais: "Damn! That's even worse than being a hypocrite."
At that time, I was just trying to run away from reality. Just like all those years that I had tried to look away from the fact that I killed Barry. But ever since this whole mess started, it's like I am being made to face all those truths again and again. It's like someone is deliberately trying to make me face everything I don't want to face.
Kais: "Um …"
I look at the sky and think about it. And then I remember something really important.
Kais: "No way!"
Ozyllus.
I had completely forgotten about him. He appeared in The Cage. I felt a pull from him, and it was just like the one I felt when I stepped in the tomb. Does that mean …
Kais: "It was Ozyllus who brought me to the place I ended up in? Then did he also bring Ethan there? Did he want us to meet?"
No, that might be jumping to conclusions. But he definitely pulled me in that place. I even thought of it back in The Cage. Seeing how The Cage is basically in my subconscious, my thoughts should have been heard by him. And he never denied it. Well, it's not concrete proof, but I have to assume for now that was the case.
Kais: "And that could or could not mean the dragon is working with him."
If the dragon sent me there knowing Ozyllus would pull me to a different place, then at the end of the day, he could be willing to help me since Ozyllus seems to be very happy to have me on his side. But if that is the case, why did he send the girl with me? She couldn't have stayed there with me. Maybe causing me to fall in this confusion was the goal? … Or maybe I should stop going down this spiral of thought.
The other possibility is that he did not know about it which opens a whole different slew of mysteries. Did Ozyllus not want me to do as the dragon says? Or did he just pulled me in then because that was the only time he could and he has nothing against me doing as the dragon says? Damn! The questions just keep multiplying.
Kais: "This is the worst predicament I could have fallen into."
I take a sigh. I will get nowhere like this. Ignoring these questions is no longer a possibility. I have to find the answers to them. So, what's the crux of the problems for me here?
Kais: "Maybe the fact that I don't know the situation this 'war' is in at the present. What are the factions fighting this war? I know Vermillion is one of them."
Wait; didn't Barry also say something about that?"
Yeah, I think he did. He said the alliance is formed between Vermillion, the dragons and The Ghost Nation. But he also said he and Ro, despite being ghosts, are working with/for vampires.
Kais: "Damn! This is a complicated situation."
If this war is going to occur between these two factions, then I highly doubt The Vampires' chances of winning.
Another thing that is concerning me though is something Ethan said about Barry when I was faking unconsciousness. He said Barry had not always been my brother, but he had always been her brother. This 'her' – who is she? And what does it all mean? I'd be glad to find out that bastard was not really my brother in reality. But Ethan's phrasing was 'not always my brother'. It sounds like there should be something more to it than that.
Kais: "Well, I'm not getting anywhere."
I feel like the clues are right in front of me but I am unable to grasp them. But what should I do at this point? The best bet seems to be reading their minds. But if I go back to do so, I don't think getting away from them will be possible after that. I should do everything I can while they are not here and leave the mind-reading to when being hidden from them is no longer an option.
Kais: "At least that is what I'd like to do."
But I can't figure anything out. I need to make good use of the time I have right now so I don't regret it later. But how exactly am I supposed to use it?
I turn my head to look in various directions to see if anything strikes my mind and then it occurs to me –
Ozyllus came into The Cage and he told me his name. But I don't remember anything after that. What exactly did he do? I have no memory of whatever happened after that. And I am pretty sure it's not that I have just forgotten but he doesn't allow me to remember. And I also feel there is something else I don't remember, something that happened before Ozyllus came.
Kais: "But what exactly could have happened inside The Cage?"
It's my subconscious after all. Unless someone like Ozyllus tries to invade it, nothing should happen. And then,
Kais: "I am … not the only one that place belongs to, am I?"
No, I'm not.
Kais: "Yeah, there's someone else in there."
Come to think of it, whenever I try to remember anything about the conversation that was going on when I and the dragon reached the beach, I feel a strange sense of alienation to those memories. I think they are mine, but at the same time, they are not. And that could mean –
Kais: "That demon?"
If what I think is correct, then the situation is much less pleasant than it first appeared – not that it ever appeared pleasant anyway.
Kais: "Barry did say once in that conversation, that I'm not who I am or something like that."
That part is a little hazy. And I think it has been made hazy so it is not very easy for me to remember it. I am being made to not remember the things that are going on with the demon within me.
Kais: "I see."
If that's case, then is my subconscious doing it? IS Ozyllus doing it? Is that demon doing it? Which seems the most likely?
Kais: "Obviously, the answer is –"
None of them – they are not responsible for this. The one who is responsible for this is … well, Barry.
Kais: "He did put me to sleep after all."
At the time, it's not very easy to remember but I think he wanted to ask me, not the demon, what I think of the situation. In order for him to do that, he probably thought it's best if I do not remember everything that happened or my opinions would get mixed up with that demon's.
Kais: "But I'm not that weak."
Sure, his power is on a different level. But he is not so far above me that I will completely forget something if he wanted me to.
Kais: "So now that the situation has spiraled out of his control, I can take advantage of this."
There is, after all, something about this place that doesn't match up with the legends. If I can take advantage of that, I may finally understand things better. So, with that decided, I stand up.
Kais: "I have wasted enough time doing nothing."
It's time I stop being dictated my how others want to play this game, and start playing it for myself.
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