Chapter 36: - Engage
The battle was quick, yet felt as though it would last forever.
Alan, a boy who grew up thinking the world was all there was to see, beneath the dirt, stone, and wood the nature put onto this earth. He always thought that there was nothing beyond the world he lived in.
Talks to the Eternal world were merely fantasy to him.
But when times turned, and his life was put on edge, he began to accept this as reality. And soon, looking beyond the Ancestral world no longer became mere fantasy.
Even then, however, after years of thinking, searching, and reading the logic written down on the page, he thought it was all over.
'That's it, there's nothing new. Nothing exciting to find, or to discover.'
And like that, fantasy became reality. The same, dull and boring reality he dreamed in, but never of.
Fantasy became reality, but reality never turned to fantasy ever again.
But now, as he stood in this stone chamber, blood seeping from dozens of wounds, his bruises already turning purple, he began wondering again.
'How? This shouldn't be possible.'
And like that, his desire to find the unknown grew once again.
Reality was dull to him, the same corrupt, faceless, heartless people that roamed the earth could be found everywhere he went. No amount of killing would ever rid their rotting flesh from the world, as they corrupted the ground and hurt the people closest to them.
He knew this better than anyone.
When the Eternal world was first introduced to him, he thought, 'finally, a place that isn't so corrupt. A place of beauty where the world is as it was.'
But soon, his visions of the 'oh so perfect world' ended.
'Take the men, scorn the village of all who dared to defy us. Our summoners will make quick work of them.'
He could still remember the day his mother ordered him to take their family's summoners, and burn a village to the ground.
Men, women and children all fell before their feet, and at the tender age of twelve, he saw death fro the first time.
His father argued with his mother, day in day out about his well being, but they were all hopelessly ignored.
The beautiful world of summons, and their powers that seemed to stretch on to infinity, were turned into mere weapons before his eyes.
Weapons that killed. Weapons that slaughtered. Weapons that burned all that laid before his mother, that ever defied her rule.
To this day, he never knew why he stayed with his mother, trying so desperately to prove himself to her, when life had never intended for it to be that way.
But now, even as he stood here, faced with a blur of images - a man with incredible speed - he was reminded of his fate.
'So…I'm just meant to die? Is that it?'
He admitted his attack on the girl - Lia- was wrong. He admitted his actions until now were that of evil. Killing, looting, all for the sake of his mother.
But now, she no longer tied the shackles of her life on his feet. He was free. Yet here he stood, still fighting with evil in his heart.
'Maybe I am just like her. A heartless b*tch.'
A cut here, a cut there, and Alan knew his life would end soon. Either at the hands of this blur, or at the hands of that man who knew too much.
'What was his name? Ah, Cain. That's what they called him.'
Cain.
Alan was sure of it. Even if he were to die here, free of this hellish torment people called 'life', he knew, deep down he knew…
...exactly what Cain would do.
'I don't expect to get out of this alive. So, even if I die, best to prepare him for what's to come.'
As his eyes left the untraceable blur of black and gray, he found Cain, leaning over the body of the girl, whose stomach he had ripped open.
Ironically, his first thought was of her well being.
'Hope he wakes her soon.'
Thinking back to his mother, Alan compared Cain to the likes of her, and reached one steady conclusion.
'They're going to clash one day. It's destined to be.'
Chuckling to himself, Alan decided then and there that he would accept his destined death, giving Cain one final bout he would remember.
'At least the universe got something right. This can either be my final stand, or the day I truly die from the inside.'
Smiling, Alan began his preparations.
'Might as well give the universe something to remember.'
***
Cain and Lia walked for what seemed like hours. The darke, empty expanse showed no signs of ending, much less any signs of her 'gift' Cain claimed she would receive.
Right now though, her legs were aching and throbbing in pain.
"Cain.."
She groaned, her legs shuffling against the ground.
"How much farther. There's nothing even out here."
"I know."
"Huh?"
Surprised, Lia raised her head to meet Cain's eyes, his expression giving Lia some strong urge to punch him.
"You mean to tell me we've been walking for hours, and it was for nothing?"
"Yes. I could conjure up your gift whenever I wanted to."
"Then why-"
She said, her voice rising before being cut off by Cain, who raised his hand to stop her.
"The more tired you are, the less noise you will make."
"What?"
Lia was a little surprised that this entire walk was just to tire her out and keep her quiet. What angered her more was that he admitted it, which only fueled her anger that easily replaced her surprise.
To bring her this far just to keep her quiet. Lia was sure that if she could represent her pain in anger, she would be raging right about now.
"What, did you think I would scream like a child? I'm more mature than that"
Once again, Cain, who had a questionable look on his face, as if to doubt Lia, raised her anger to levels where she wasn't even sure if she could stop herself from punching the man.
"Wipe that look off your face."
She said through gritted teeth, her anger seething from her voice.
"Fine, fine. I'll stop picking on you."
"Finally."
She sighed, rubbing her sore knees as if to rub off the pain she was feeling.
"My knees feel like old rusted door hinges."
"Ha, they'll feel like that for a while. But don't worry, you'll get used to it."
"I hope I don't. Hearing you say that makes me think I'm going to be walking for a while."
Turning his head to glance at Lia, Cain's face was written with doubt and confusion.
"Did you forget that you're no longer a princess. You're going to have to walk places from now on."
Groaning, Lia stretched her back by reaching to the sky, some slivers of relief entering her body.
"I know that. Though, honestly, it's probably going to be the one thing I'll miss being a princess."
Thinking to herself for a moment, her mind formed a question that made her genuinely curious.
"Say, how is my family doing anyways?"
Stopping, Cain's hand, which was raised before him, froze in place, as if the question itself paralyzed him.
"Why do you ask?"
His voice was somewhat cold and showed the same signs of his old emotionless appearance.
Seeing this, Lia felt a twinge of pain, knowing that she might ruin the 'down to earth' Cain and replace him again with the 'emotionless' one. She didn't want to lose this side of him, a side she hadn't seen before.
"Just asking. If you take someone that's always been there, out of another person's life, curiosity would get the better of you. Eventually you'd want to see how they react."
Thinking on her feet, Lia made some half hearted excuse for her question. Though it wasn't as half hearted as she let on, knowing full well that this was actually what drove her to ask the question in the first place, it wasn't the only reason.
Thankfully, the excuse seemed to work on Cain, who nodded his head in agreement with her words, satisfied with her answer.
"They're fine. Of course, if you want to, I can let you see them."
Though Cain's words sounded innocent, Lia knew they were more likely a test of her will and resentment, than anything.
So naturally she said no.
"No thanks. I'd much rather know what they're up to in case I run into them again later in life."
Catching a glance at Cain's face, which happened to be turned away from hers, Lia was able to catch a glimpse of some form of smile on his face.
Not the sinister type that he normally displayed, or the crazy one that she often imagined him having, but a more heartfelt one.
Almost like he was proud.
"What's that I see? Is that a smile Cain."
In the end, she couldn't help but tease him when seeing his smile, though it disappeared as soon as she said something.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Of course, Cain feigns ignorance to her words, pretending as though nothing happened.
"Don't act like it wasn't there, Cain."
"Yeah, yeah. Keep talking and you won't get your gift."
Surprised that Cain had bit back on her teasing with even more teasing, Lia was more than happy. So, naturally, she kept quiet.
Seeing Lia oblige his request, Cain hurried up and prepared the gift.
Raising his hand once again, Lia, for only a moment, thought she saw it come in contact with a wall. A wall painted black just like everything else around her. But when Cain's hand pressed against it, the surface he touched was highlighted white with a glowing hue, before quickly disappearing before her eyes.
"What was that?"
She asked, but received no answer, as Cain's hand fell back to his side, revealing before him, a small podium.
Confused, but just as curious, Lia joined Cain at his side, staring down at the grayish and silver podium.
"Now, what's that?"
"Step back for a second."
As Lia stepped back, black mist began forming around her feet, rising higher and higher the closer it got to the podium.
Eventually, the black mist began swirling into a spire, resting on top of the podium. In one swift motion the black mist had taken a distinct human shape before suddenly exploding in every which direction.
-Bang!
Lia instinctively covered her face to the mist, before slowly letting her arm fall in shock.
"That's…that's Kal."
"So you remember."
Standing before them, motionless and sentient, Kal Odyssian, the summons Cain had called out to help them deal with the spiders and protecting Lukali.
"How…What does this mean?"
Smiling, Cain began circling Kal, his eyes locked on hers.
"Since Kal is a summoned creature I called out, you would think he could only be summoned by me. Right?"
"That's what I thought…"
But now she was starting to think otherwise, a nagging feeling that she just couldn't get rid of.
As if knowing this, Cain nodded his head.
"Kal is my summons. And like many others in the future, he can be called forth to assist you where I cannot."
"Wait. Why wouldn't you get involved?"
"Well, in many ways, if you rely on my powers so much, then your own may be dwarfed. But with people like Kal, who specialize in one category, it still leaves you open to improve on others."
Thinking about what Cain said, Lia couldn't help but agree with him.
On one hand, if she relied so much on Cain, he would become a crutch to her. This was something she already knew, and had accepted for herself. But on the other hand, she didn't see any other way for her to get out of a tight spot without Cain, especially if the situation required it.
"But what does that have to do with this?"
She said, gesturing to the podium, and Kal's apparently lifeless body.
"What does this mean?"
Smiling Cain spoke, dropping a pure and utter bomb shell on Lia's mind.
"What it means is, with this skill I give you, you are now able to re-summon any summoned creature I call forward."
Standing still, frozen in place, Lia began processing his words in slow but thorough thoughts.
"Re…re-summon them?"
"Correct. But the only limit here is that they have to be people 'I've' summoned. You can't just decide on summoning any creature you want."
"But what if the situation requires it?"
Chuckling, Cain merely shrugged to her disbelief.
"Then you just have to grow stronger. The stronger you get, the more summons I'll allow you to access. Eventually, who knows…"
Locking eyes with her, Cain spoke in a clam and steady voice, the words leaving his lips slowly and steadily.
"...one day, you might even possess an army."
Shocked, Lia tried desperately to process what Cain's words meant for her.
"You mean…"
As if knowing what she would ask next, Cain nodded his head.
"Yes. Your only limit is the people I let you summon. There is no limit on how many, or for how long."
"So, how do I use this skill?"
"Simple. If you want to use the skill, just say its name."
"And that is?"
"...Vox aeterna. It translates to Eternal Void."
"Eternal Void…"
Taking a quick look around her and the empty and dark expanse that stretched on for miles, only one word came to her mind when she saw this.
'Void.'
"You mean this place is -"
"Shhh."
Before Lia could finish her statement, Cain held one finger to his lips, quieting her instantly.
"It's about time for you to come back."
"Wait."
Desperately trying to answer the questions still forming in her head, Lia reached out to Cain, desperate for answers.
"How do I use it? How can I be sure they will listen to me? How…"
Hearing the continuous questions forming from her lips, Cain just silently stared on, his calm expression gradually having an effect on Lia, before she eventually silenced herself.
"There are many questions in the world Lia. Some are answered through texts and passages. Scripture or prophecy. Some are answered through experience. Through blood, sweat and tears. Others however…"
As his voice drifted off, one question remained in Lia's mind. A question that, unlike the others, gnawed at her brain more than anything else.
It was a question she thought she had already answered, but after today, at this moment, she wasn't so sure.
As his voice drifted off into the distance, Lia couldn't stop herself from voicing this question aloud, more desperate for answers now than ever.
"Who really are you?"
And it was then, as her voice flew through the air, carrying weight - a heavy weight to the silence that surrounded them, Cain's voice resonated in the darkness once again.
"...others are better left unanswered."
-Snap!
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