章節 29: Farewell, My Beloved
I N T E G R A
I dream of him every night. He is the half of my soul, the voice to my thoughts and the tune to my beating heart. Stragis is like the steady rhythm in the melody of my life –constant, comforting, and utterly irreplaceable. His kindness is a beacon that brightens even the darkest days. There's a gentleness in his words and actions that speaks volumes about the goodness in his heart. And when he smiles, it's as if the whole room lights up. That smile has been my source of joy, and I fall in love with him all over again every time I see it. Our story is a beautiful tapestry woven with threads of laughter, tears, and countless shared dreams. I'm doing everything I can to get that all back.
I was awakened by a series of lightning strikes echoing outside. A storm is brewing and it's going to be formidable. I can just tell. A foreboding sensation swallowed me whole. I finally woke up from my slumber and try to make sense of whatever it is I'm feeling. Something has happened and it's not pleasant. Vatic. Where is he? I must get back to my child. I told him going outside is beyond dangerous. Did he meet him? I hope not. He doesn't know everything just yet. I've been planning to tell him what really happened but I just need to have the perfect circumstance wherein either of us won't lash out.
"Mistress, where are you going?" I hear Calista slithering nearby as I get my cloak and ready myself to go back out there.
"It's Vatic. Something happened to him. I can feel it in my bones." I try my best to stay calm.
"With the huge storm incoming. I don't feel very good about this, Mistress."
"I know what you feel. So, we must make haste and find him!"
Before I can even exit the cave, the rain has started to pour heavily and the wind has started to whip violently to all directions. What is Vatic and his friend doing at this time of day? I know he and Masid told me that they met two strangers out there but I only sensed that Portia girl who, if I'm not mistaken, a slave pirate of some kind. I like that girl. I think she and my son go well together. My hope is that I can do about his curse before something awful might happen to either of them. More importantly, I'm hoping that they haven't come across Dalakethnon.
With the rain soaking everything it touches, the wind muffling every sound around me, and the bright flashes of the lightning strikes obscuring my few, I find it a bit challenging going back to the place where Vatic and Portia are. But it turned out I didn't have to go there as I sensed someone's life force somewhere in the Cathedral. My worries escalate even further as I realized that the former holy place serves as the beast's habitat and prison. This is where I always go in my Harvest to help him. This is the place where I go to turn him back. Without any more moments wasted, I rushed on just to be welcomed by its interior's dilapidated state. This isn't how it was when I was last here. Something definitely happened.
"Mistress, look there!" Calista hisses.
As I turn my head towards where my familiar points, I see something reflecting the light from the ball of fire I conjured moments before. I come closer and pick the object up. "It's my son's broach." Worry washes over me. My senses heighten. "Vatic is here."
"If he's here, Masid is probably around. I'll try and sense him myself, Mistress."
"Thank you, Calista."
Every room we go into, they all looked like the storm has already gone through them even before it manifests. Dalakethnon's been here for years but the state of this place hasn't been this devastating. What has happened here? If someone could enlighten me, that's most likely Vatic. Where is he? It's feels like the more I search for him, the more likely I won't find him. This feeling of helplessness isn't I'm most fond of. I can sense him somewhere nearby but he's nowhere to be seen. It's not that this place has some hidden space somewhere, has it? I must look further either way.
"Vatic! My child, where are you?" I call out but no answer. "Vatic, Mother's here?" The heavy rain and the harrowing wind are concealing my cries for my son.
"Mistress," Calista says, beckoning for me to look to a room towards west where the doorway is wrecked and the rain from the outside is pouring in. We realized that it's some kind of an enormous storage room but it's not anymore with the heavily damaged ceiling and collapsed flooring. "The floor is hollow." She confirms.
"I didn't know this drop exists. We should get down there." I respond, clasping my son's broach between my palms.
"It's dangerous, Mistress. What if he is in there?"
"I've been dealing with him for years, Calista. I know how to handle him. Besides, it's faint but I can sense Vatic down there. We must descend."
"Whatever you wish, Mistress."
I jump feet first to this drop. With a help of some wind magic, Calista and I glided safetly until we reached the ground. I was speechless realizing that a five-story dungeon like this is just sitting silently under the Cathedral. Did Dalakethnon himself do this? No one can really tell. Where is that beast anyway? I wasn't able to check up on him with my last Harvest because Vatic and his friend made me very occupied. Once I've found my son, maybe I can go find him next so I can test some of these new potions I've concocted. Calista once again hisses from nearby.
"What is it?" I ask as I approach her, not paying any attention to the rubble, blood stains, and massive piles of bones everywhere.
"Isn't this that slave girl?" Calista asks, slithering around a dead body. Portia's dead body.
I gasped, "She is." Her body is covered with dried-up blood, her hands are wrapped around her neck, and a subtle smile reflects on her lips. For whatever reason, she died with a happy thought in his mind. "Yrub siht ydob." I chant.
Calista moves out of the way as the ground slowly but surely swallows her body whole. I genuinely wish that being buried underneath a former holy place offers some kind of closure to her soul and may she ascend to the heavens where the Gods are. Then, I realized that my son's life force spikes from nearby. He is here. I gestured for Calista to help me look for him and when we did find him, my heart almost stopped. My throat failed me as I couldn't call out my son's name. My feet are threatening to melt in place. My vision is blurring as my eyes start to water.
Vatic is lying on the ground near where Portia was. His energy has been majorly depleted and he was rendered unconscious. I can see no wound in his body aside from the one on his neck. With one of his arms placed near the wound, I suspect that he tried to heal himself with whatever energy left in him but he failed. I rushed over and healed him myself. As suspected, his energy is drained beyond his natural limits and he won't wake up for quite some time. I must take him back to the cave so I can tend to him even better. Not too long after, Calista found Masid lying unconscious nearby. Since Vatic hasn't fortified his abilities yet, he being worn out couldn't sustain his connection with his familiar. That's why Masid is also out of commission. He'll wake up as soon as Vatic does.
"Mistress!" Calista calls out somewhere near a mountain of soil and debris. There's an undeniable panic and mourning seeping through her voice.
"What is it?" I ran towards where she is, slowly feeling my own emotions to spike.
Amongst the dirt lies the lifeless body of the Beast of Hiraya. Much like Portia's corpse, the beast's body was covered in blood which is starting to turn black. The blood came out of his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. I can see his emerald green eyes shooting towards the skies. There are still tear streams from his eyes I can tell he's been crying. I look at Vatic. This feat can only be done by a curse and the only person on this island who is cursed is my son, Vatic. The reason why I don't want them to meet in any circumstance is not to keep my son safe from him but it's the other way around. The beast isn't invincible as the stories let on. He has a weakness. And that weakness is his son.
Before I even knew it, my eyes had already let my tears pour out. With my strength leaving my limbs, I fell straight to the ground. I've been trying for years for them to not meet but the Gods have other plans so it seems. I've been trying to come up with something to counter the curse. I've been trying to make everything back to normal –however normal it is I can take back– but all has been burned, turned to ashes, and have gone with the wind. Since I've been doing the Harvest, I'm been dealing with his condition. I've been checking up on him every other month to monitor his progress but, as I said, all has been for nothing.
"Mistress, what are you going to do?" I heard Calista ask but I couldn't make myself respond right away. My mind is too dazed to comprehend everything that's happening.
"H-He's dead, Calista." I mumble, my tears couldn't stop from pouring out. "He's not coming back anymore."
"I'm sorry, Mistress. But, your son needs you. You must stay strong."
"You're right. I must stay strong." I wipe the tears off my face as I realized something that I didn't register to my thoughts before. "She is still out there, Calista. I just know it."
"Who is, Mistress?"
"Noicnusa." The anger in my voice sends discomfort to my familiar.
I sense Calista slither back a few paces away from me. "But, she's not in this realm anymore. That's what you said."
"I know what I said, Calista. However, it's not actually the case as it seems."
My blood boils as the thought of my beloved's former lover clouds my thoughts. I know she's the one who bestowed the curse upon him and our son. She said it herself before. It turned out that she couldn't accept that Stragis' heart wasn't hers anymore but mine. On a night after Vatic and I moved to the cave where she holds dear with all their history with my beloved, I finally had the chance to confront her. Initially, I'm not that confident taking on an actual nymph. What can a witch do against a Gods' kin? Then again, I must stand firm for my son. She may have gotten to him already but I won't let her get to Vatic.
I was just a few steps away from the cave's entrance that night when Noicnusa revealed herself. She claimed ownership of the place which I opposed. As soon as I stand my ground against her wishes, she channels her own life force towards our surroundings. The rock-filled mountainside has been swallowed by vegetation. She's using her magic and she means great harm towards me and eventually to my son if I'll let her. I won't and I didn't. With my mastery to the all magic types I know, I held my own against an actual nymph. To make matters even worse for her, I managed to conjure one of the forbidden spells in the realm of witchery wherein I can sacrifice something essential to me to greatly strip her of her innate abilities. I decided to offer my eyes.
Since then, I'm under the impression that she already left the mortal realm but the Gods may have favored her as she still managed to stay alive up until now. But, how? Was she able to build her strength all this time? Where is she now? I've been doing my Harvests multiple times throughout the years but I didn't sense her even the slightest. Did she have something to conceal her presence? Whatever the reason is, I know she already made contact with Vatic and made him kill Dalakethnon –kill his Father. Even now, I've been so weak that I've failed to protect my son, once again.
"May the Gods welcome you to the gates of the heavens," I whisper as I lean closer to the beast's corpse. "My Beloved."
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票