"Huff, Huff, Huff,"
"Huff, Huff, Huff,"
A family of three could be seen running through the streets of New Delhi, India.
Samara, Kinzi, and Manad were initially a regular family that made their earnings through touring the states with dance groups from India.
Kinzi had always been a cheerful girl, Samara a loyal wife, and Manad a responsible father.
They were normal people, who lived normal lives doing what they loved, but all of that changed after a particular concert.
Something strange started to occur after the last concert with The Ascending Gods Band.
Multi-Colored flames flew onto the stage, but as professionals, they continued to dance and soon the flames comforted and nursed them.
They still recalled the feeling, it was ethereal and beyond anything worldly.
But they could not imagine the consequences that would come about from being bathed by such flames.
Manad had a weak heart since he was a boy, but recently he found his body improving in all aspects: physically, mentally, and spiritually.
He found that he could feel what others felt, and even make them a bit happier when they were sad.
Manad's wife, Samara, had also noticed the improvements to her body and mind.
She also found herself more sensitive to the emotions of others, but unlike her husband, Samara found she could draw energy from the emotions of others and turn them into the symbols they represented.
She could pull a butterfly from her husband's intense love for their family.
Her husband literally had 'butterflies in his stomach'. She could also pull a clown from the nightmares of her daughter.
This was not the issue, the issue came when their daughter, Kinzi, accidentally used her ability at the nearby Post Office.
At first, they were frightened when the multi-colored flames lit up Kinzi's skin, but soon they knew the situation had become dire.
They had been running ever since.
It has been about 2 weeks and this time the couple knew that they would not be able to escape the impending tragedy.
"You girls go ahead," Manad encouraged as he stopped.
As the man of the family, he had to make sure that the women were taken care of. Traditions, though antiquated, still held important value to some.
"No, No, we can …" Samara tried to say but Manad was quick to shoot her down.
"Shut up woman! You have a responsibility to our daughter. Be the amazing woman I know you are and run!" Manad yelled ferociously and started yelling, drawing their pursuers in another direction entirely.
"Let's go, honey," Samara said consoling her daughter.
How could Kinzi not see the pain in her mother's eyes?
"But father," Kinzi said with pain on her face as she watched her father running in another direction.
"I said we GO!" Samara yelled pulling Kinzi along forcefully.
A few minutes later...
*Boom*
*Boom*
Samara continued to run forward, not minding the noise of guaranteed death that had enveloped her husband.
She had a responsibility to her daughter, and that was all that mattered right now.
But soon they were blocked from all sides, and there was no more hope.
Suddenly, multi-colored flames lit up on the body of Kinzi as she turned in a specific direction and asked "Please help us? I don't want my mother and father to die. I will make a deal with the devil if god will not help me,"
Zeel watched the young girl in front of himself, he could of course recognize that Elizabeth's flames had changed these people during their last performance.
The moment he was knocked out, prayers naturally bombarded Zeel like usual, but the prayers he encountered this time was a bit closer to home.
The moment he heard the prayers of those he tried to protect by deleting their identities, Zeel indeed had the intention to save them.
But he thought about how sad Elizabeth would feel when she realized that she was responsible for the death of the mutated Dancers.
Knowing that, Zeel was prepared to watch every one of the mutated humans die, and maybe even help kill a couple with troublesome abilities.
However, nothing ever goes as planned.
Currently, the young girl Kinzi was staring at him and begging for help.
She wanted to make a deal with the devil, did he look that much like a devil to humans?
It did not matter because Zeel was going to refuse, he had seen too much tragedy to care about just one more.
However, the moment he turned his back to the girl, Zeel could feel his divine cloud dispersing at a rapid rate.
Now he could understand why the prayers compelled him to come here, the girl was someone of pure soul and fair heart.
Gods could not reject the prayers of those Pure of Heart. At this moment, the girl only had one thought – save my mother and father, I don't care about myself.
Pure of heart did not have to be a virgin or someone without sin. It just had to be a single thought at a moment that was completely selfless and unrestrained by worldly values.
Kinzi, seeing no response from the man floating in the distance, stared at the guns and men in suits surrounding them.
She had seen countless dancers get captured by the men and were never seen again. They had probably died from all the experiments conducted.
She knew that her father was already dead and that soon her mother would die as well.
Kinzi could not help but lament in despair, if only she was strong enough to protect her parents – why was the world so unfair?
Back on The Island
Zeel had just awoken from his mild sleep. He sighed but still called for everyone to gather.
This needed to be done or he would be the one to suffer, it was time for Elizabeth and Alice to understand that every action came with consequences.
"When I was younger, my father taught me that no good deed goes unpunished, and no bad deed goes unrewarded," Zeel mused while drawing strange runes on the ground.
Unlike Hybrid Runes, these ones were much more profound and had cyber-lines pulsing throughout.
"Isn't it the other way around?" Alice asked.
"No, it is exactly as it sounds. All heroes are killers, but not all killers are heroes. Sometimes helping someone is exactly what leads to their demise. I know you think of me as someone cold and uncaring, but I have seen too much to not know what tragedies my actions bring," Zeel said finishing the Rune on the ground.
"It is time for you girls to learn the consequences of your actions," Zeel said gesturing to Elizabeth to walk inside the circle.
Elizabeth felt the atmosphere turn heavy, but she still walked into the circle Zeel had drawn on the ground.
She recognized the symbols as the base of Hybrid Runes.
"Homo-Superiors were good at two things: killing other races, and being in complete harmony with each other, or at least that's how it was for most of the time," Zeel commented and continued "Due to the way we died. Homo-Superior Runes have gone extinct. It is banned anywhere in the known Universe. That's why I created Hybrid Runes instead. If a Homo-Superior Runes is used, it will be forgotten and disappear forever, so use it well,"
Zeel then sighed at pointed at the rune on the ground and said with pain in his voice "It means Home,"
Elizabeth felt strangely sad stepping into the circle. She knew that Zeel was disappointed in her because of something, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
"What should I do," She asked meekly, avoiding eye contact with Zeel.
The circle suddenly lit up with blue light causing energy to pulse outward and circulate inside the circle.
"Create two circles with your hands, one above the other. Like an infinity symbol, and then pull towards yourself," Zeel said dismissively "This will call people connected to you home,"
Elizabeth felt suspicious about Zeeel's intentions but still did as she was told to prove him wrong. After all, she knew that nobody was connected to her in this Universe apart from Zeel and Alice.
Kinzi's Location
Kinzi knew that her mother would die, but she also had the flames on her body to fight off the men in suits.
Kinzi decided it was best to die here than in a lab somewhere, her mother had the same idea.
Samara pushed Kinzi behind herself and wore a fierce expression, like a mother bear protecting her cub.
A fierce look flashed in her eyes, but it was nothing but to the men surrounding her, it looked like the squeal of a frightened kitten.
*Pow*
*Pow*
Bullets were shot towards Kinzi and Samara. The Hunters knew that the government only needed the bodes anyway.
Kinzi could see the bullets approaching both herself and her mother, but she was frozen in fear.
Suddenly, they both felt a tugging motion and could only see the bullets getting further away as they were pulled backward by a mysterious force – a force that felt like home.
Similar situations happened all over the world, and in multiple government facilities.
Back At The Island
Zeel watched as dozens of people appeared one by one. Many missing arms and legs, some dissected inside-out but still struggling to live on.
Many were just parents clutching the hands of their children and crying.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you!
"Thanks for saving my family,"
They cried tears of joys as they knelt and thanked Elizabeth. They knew she was the one to bring them to safety because of the innate connection they felt near her.
Zeel didn't feel anything, Alice was surprised but more concerned when she felt Elizabeth's pained heart.
Of course, Elizabeth was instantly heartbroken by their thankfulness because she was the one responsible for their current predicaments.
Zeel just stared at them silently and then turned his gaze to Alice who started to walk forward.
Alice began to slice off the heads of many of those who arrived, with no remorse or leniency in her action.
After all, Elizabeth was The God of Punishment and Retribution. Some of the people Elizabeth rescued were once happy dancers but turned to crime and rape after their abilities blossomed.
Zeel looked at Elizabeth, who stood in the circle frozen and in shock, he passed by her and whispered "No good deed goes unpunished,"
I wrote this chapter because even I was beginning to think that Zeel was a heartless bastard.
Haha.. jk... I want to remind you guys that nothing is always as it seems.
Zeel knows this and prefers a non-intervention approach, unlike Elizabeth and Alice who are good people who always want to help...
Zeel is a Homo-Superior so he has grown used to worship and other things, but now it is time for Elizabeth and Alice to experience some growth.
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