Chapter 46: Hope
"Huh?"
"Is something wrong?"
"N-no....just th-thought someone s-said....thank....you...."
"It is only us here."
"Mm. M-must have been th-the wind."
๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐'๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด....๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐จ๐ช๐ณ๐ญ ๐ด๐ข๐บ "๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ" ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ. ๐๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ง๐ถ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ช๐ต....๐ช๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ง๐ถ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ.
They had been riding on the Forest Tigers the entire day and the sun was starting to set, night would be coming soon, which meant the ritual would start. ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐf ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ ๐ช๐ต ๐ช๐ด. ๐๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ญ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ต! ๐๐ช๐ฅ ๐ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ข ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ? ๐ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ! ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต! ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด๐ฏ'๐ต ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ....๐จ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ!!!
Trying to take my mind off the flag I just set, I asked Taleena a question.
"H-how much longer?"
When I looked over at her I was startled by the intense expression on her face. If looks could kill, I would be dead.
"Very close. Soon I will kill them all and get my daughter back."
"O-o-o-o-k."
Her look might not kill me, but it sure did a number on my already poor communication skills. Taleena seemed to notice my even worse than usual communication, as she quickly returned her expression to normal, and replied.
"I'm sorry, that was not directed at you, but"
"I-I know."
We looked at each other awkwardly, and silence fell between us. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ ๐ด๐ข๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ? ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ, ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐จ๐ถ๐บ๐ด ๐ด๐ข๐บ? ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต?
"U-uh....I-I will do everything I c-can, worst case.... I will use my m-minions and hold th-them off so you can escape with h-her."
".....Thank you....this kindness.....I will do anything to repay you."
๐๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ?
The first thing that popped into my head was.....THAT, but oddly enough there was something else beyond that. Suddenly thoughts of just having a meal with her filled my mind. Then my thoughts shifted and we were walking down the street as she leaned on my shoulder.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ?!? ๐ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ!? ๐๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฆ?!? ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ....๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ....๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐บ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ต! ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต?!? ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ.... ๐ถ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฉ..... ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด! ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ.
As I wrestled with my thoughts, my gaze caught hers, and our eyes locked. She let out a small smile.
"If that is what you wish I will oblige. Do not worry, if you grow bored with this old lady, I will not hold you down."
She reached out and her soft hand caressed my cheek. It was warm to the touch, I suddenly thought that I would be ok with dying as long she and her daughter could get away. My life up to this point had been pretty worthless, trading me for them..... it was an easy decision to make.
"It has been so long, but I have finally met another worthy human. For as long as you want it....it would be my pleasure."
"I-I"
Before I could say more, she placed a finger on my lips.
"So you have to make sure you survive."
"..."
She did not release her finger from my lips, and continued looking into my eyes. I finally realized what she wanted and nodded my head.
**********
I slowly opened my eyes and blinked several times. My vision came into focus and I found myself in the middle of what looked like an ancient ruin. Nature had reclaimed the ruin, covering it fauna and foliage. ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ? ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ?
I tried to move to get a better look around, but felt a force on my wrists that stopped me. I looked down and realized I was shackled to the ground. Immediately I started to panic as my memories came flooding back.
I was abducted by strange men while out picking mushrooms in the forest. I had tried to fend them off, but in the end it was fruitless. They had taken me back to their cave where I thought they were going to have their way with me, but before the worst came to pass mother had come.
Mother was strong, I knew that, and before I knew it the men had been dealt with. Right as I was about to celebrate and run to her embrace.....that woman came.She wore a black mask and was accompanied by others wearing the same type of mask. I had thought mother would easily triumph over them too, but reality was different. Mother was beaten and they took me away. The last thing I remember was another person in a mask casting a spell on me and then the world went dark.
"Oh it looks like she is awake. How fortunate, you can now bathe in their glory."
I heard a woman's voice from behind her. I turned around and saw a group walking up the stairs led by the person who had beaten mother.
Mother had always told me that father was a great man who died bravely, risking his life to protect us. I had always imagined I could be brave like him..... and this was my chance to prove it. ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฅ. ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ข๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ.
I pushed back my growing fear and asked the woman a question.
"Wh-what are you going to do with me?"
"No need to be so scared my dear."
My attempt to hide my fear had failed, the woman had seen right through me.
"There is nothing to be afraid of, you will serve a greater purpose soon. Rejoice! Your life will be traded to bring their glory to this world!"
Even with the mask on, I felt like I could see the madness in the woman's eyes. I could definitely hear the fanatical zealotry in her voice.
"Wh-who are they?"
"Why.... the demons of course."
"But the demons are already here you don't need to sacrifice me! They are on the land across the water from the Victus Imperium!"
I couldn't contain myself, I had blurted out the first thing that came into my mind. Then for the first time since our conversation started, I could feel anger from the woman, and it brought back all my suppressed fear.
"DEMONS!? THEY ARE NOTHING BUT FILTH LIKE YOUR MOTHER!!!"
I flinched and pulled back from the woman's hoarse and angry yell. Then, as if the anger was never there, she returned back to her original soft voice.
"Ahem. No, I should not be angry at you, you and everyone else are just ignorant. Do not worry, I will enlighten you soon. With your blood, the blood of demons and heroes, we can at last havveeee.....paradise."
Her last words sounded almost euphoric, as if she could see the future before her. My fear and anxiety started to grow out of control and I could only think of one person, mother. She had always protected me. She was the strongest person I knew.
"My mother will come for me."
"Hahaha."
The woman let out a laugh....no it was not a laugh, but a cackle.
"My dear child, no one is coming for you. By now, your mother is either dead, or wishing she was. Hope....is a lie. Hahahaha."
"What did you do to her!?"
"Do not worry my dear. Soon you will not have to worry about anything."
With that, before I could say anymore, the woman and her entourage had walked away. All I could muster was a small cry under my breath as tears streamed down her face. I was scared, afraid, and..... alone. ๐๐ฐ! ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ! ๐๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด! ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ! ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ต๐ฉ! ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ.... ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ.
"Mother...."
I had just said it out of instinct and did not expect anything to come from my whispered plea. However, reality was different, and instead I heard blood curdling screams. I quickly shifted my vision toward the screams and there I saw mother....and a stranger.....and a large group of demonic beasts?
They were tearing through the people guarding the entrance to the ruins. Suddenly I saw wings appear on mother's back, saw her horns extend, and a tail whip out from behind. I had only seen her do this once before, when she fought off a large demonic beast near our home. After she had demonized the monster stood no chance. Tears of happiness streamed down my face, I was saved.
"Mother....MOTHER!!!"
"FIONA!!!!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone