by J. J. Egosi
“That’s insane! You four are my friends,” he said.
“He makes a good point. I’ve known him a long time and I don’t think he’d be capable of something like that,” Isabella interjected.
“I’d love to believe him so much,” Julianna said with a sullen gaze.
“Then, believe me. Please,” he said.
“But I have to know why you had that ring, and how you could use it, Michael,” Julianna pressed.
“Guys, please.” A cold sweat cascaded down Michael’s shaking face. He felt the accusations weighing down and had no answers to lighten the burden. “I’m not”—
“I’m sorry, but this is all a bit too disconcerting for my taste,” said Alexa.
“Would it help if I handed the ring over?” Michael dug into his pocket to reveal the ring. They all stepped back with cautious glares.
“I think the damage is already done, Michael,” said Ursula.
The girls’ made up their minds. They turned from him and walked away. Their abandonment of him brought tears to his eyes as his heart ached with remorse.
Michael would not give up just yet. He chased after them. “Where are you going?”
Alexa looked over her shoulder and said, “It’s best we keep our distance for now. At least until we can figure out just the sort of person you are.”
“The sort of person I am?” Michael recounted their evening by the campfire and the discussions they shared. “You know who I am.”
“…but do you, Michael?” Alexa stopped in place. Looking over at Michael as he gulped nervously from her icy glare.
“Figure out why it is the archangel can use demonic magic and cast forth a titan thought to be in Lucifer’s possession,” Alexa continued.
“When you do, you can come and find us,” Isabella added.
“But, you know the sort of person I am.” Michael insisted.
Alexa took a deep breath. “I thought we did.”
“I would never hurt you. Just listen.”
Biting back her anguish, Alexa turned her attention forward before nodding. She didn’t bother to look at him.
“Wait! You’re all seriously leaving me behind?” Michael said.
“I’m sorry, Michael,” Ursula said with a tear running down her cheek. The girls released their wings and flew away.
By the time the sun fully rose, Michael could no longer see them. They had completely disappeared. He dropped to his knees in disbelief.
“They left me all alone. No.” In his mind, he could hear Lucifer’s chuckling. It scratched at his mind like rusted nails.
“And it’s all because I summoned that stupid fucking titan!” Michael smashed his fist into the ground.
Michael remembered the many days and nights he spent wandering his home village in the Dark Realm. They grew identical with each passing thought. The same scowls of derision from passersby. The same belligerent shouts from those who refused to welcome him and the same isolation he felt in his own home.
Tears rushed down his face. “I can’t go back to who I was. I can’t.”
He recalled the day he slammed his fist against the glass and the blood that spilled from his fingers.
I haven’t felt that way for even a moment. Not since I welcomed them all into my life with open arms.
Michael recalled the joyous days he spent capturing the elementals with Julianna, along with the day Isabella joined them on their mission. There were hardships, but their company made them easier.
Though his time with Alexa and Ursula was far shorter, one of his happiest moments was healing their broken bonds because he saw much of himself in them. So much of his loneliness and desperation. Now, it was all he had.
“I should have treated them better. I should have listened when they asked me to train. I should have been more open about my feelings.”
He recalled each morning that they painstakingly woke him up. He would roll towards the other side with a groan, still smiling with the presence of someone by his side. Someone who cared.
All they wanted was the best out of me. They even went out of their way to help me when I drank my potion. And I repay them by using demon magic?
Michael struck his fist down at the nearest rock. Blood spilled just as it did that day against the glass.
And now I’m back to where I started. But why do I feel even worse?
His mind raced with the visions he saw of that familiar estate. The sight of him calling forth a titan he’d never seen locked in. He soon began to question it all. What it meant and how he came to know all this. And how he forgot it.
Just who the fuck am I?
He looked up at the beating sun and screamed out of rage.
I’m alone. More than ever before because the person I am is becoming almost impossible to recognize.
Michael curled up in a ball as memories of his childhood flooded in. The memories of his adoptive parents beating him. The shouting he received from Isabella. And the world’s refusal to let him in.
Why does this keep happening? Is this what fate has for me? Eternal solitude? That can’t be all I have to live for!
He laughed to himself, shaking his head.
I won’t give up that easily. Not this time. I won’t seek solace at the end of a liquor bottle. I’ll earn back their trust if it’s the last thing I do.
He rose to his feet and dusted himself off. He looked into the direction the girls flew—into the woods ahead of the open fields.
The golden horizon hanging over the branches was as warm as the winds around him were cold.
His wings were strained from the battle, so he knew it was best to get started before the sun set again, fully aware of how long it could take to find them.
Whatever it takes, no matter how much I need to beg, I’ll find a way to get back in their good graces.
He took the little he had on him and walked towards the direction in which they flew, hoping they had made no turns.
The girls advanced into the woods, entering a murky swamp-like region with pools of water around and branches hanging inside. The trees echoed with the croaking of frogs and the groaning of alligators. The pungent scent of the swamp filled the air, making their stomachs churn.
“Was it a good idea to leave him behind? I don’t think there was any malcontent behind summoning that titan,” Ursula said. She recalled the sincere look on his face before they left him. She choked on her tears as more sympathy built in her.
“You’re probably right. I think that innocent and somewhat dimwitted side of him will always be there,” said Julianna.
“But this whole being a god and twin brother ordeal will take a lot of time digesting. As will his connection to that titan,” said Alexa.
“It’s not like it’s his fault,” Ursula began. “He learned about this just as we did.”
“Assuming that’s even true, that doesn’t explain where he got that titan,” Julianna said.
The squelching of the swamp under their feet attracted the attention of a denizen—far larger than an alligator—lurking in the muddy swamp. Its yellow eyes glared at the oblivious girls as a jagged grin formed across its face.
“How do you think he got it, though?” Isabella asked.
“It’s possible he stole the ring and just forgot about it,” said Alexa.
“Normally, I’d scoff at such a suggestion, but he is a pretty heavy drinker. Maybe it’s true that he forgot,” Isabella said.
“What I know is he’s the last person who’d ever hurt us.” Julianna recounted his battles with Ursula and Alexa. “He makes enough mistakes for any lifetime, but he isn’t a bad person and you know that.”
Alexa took a deep breath. “I know. It was just a lot to take in.”
“So, you’re not mad at him?” Ursula’s eyes glowed with hope.
Alexa recalled the night prior when dinner came to a close, then she and the girls got to their share of work on the dishes.
“I can’t believe how many servings this one g
uy can finish,” she groaned.
She looked over her shoulder, turning to where she last saw him.
“Hey, if it’s not too much trouble for the archangel, do you mind cleaning your damn dishes”—
She saw him sleeping on the ground with a blanket wrapped around him. He rolled back and forth, mumbling under his breath. He said her name and the rest of his friends’ with a smile on his face. The frustration she felt melted with the warmth of his simple words. Like watching a child rest, Alexa smiled too.
“A little, still, but I’ll get over it.” Alexa smiled. “As you all said, he’s not a bad person. He’s just a dumbass.”
“Wait, when did any of us say that last part?” Ursula asked.
Alexa dismissed the question with a smirk. “Let’s say we gather a few provisions—meat and wood, perhaps—and make a nice dinner as a way of apologizing and for thanking him for dinner last night.”
“That’s a great idea,” Ursula exclaimed.
They all nodded in agreement, and then walked in opposite directions, scouring the swamplands for branches and wild boars.
Ursula strayed away from the group with a certainty that she heard a squeal. “Come on, little piggy. Where are you?” She followed the roots of a tree and tripped over one of them.
The rest of the girls heard the thump in the distance and ran in her direction.
“Ursula, are you alright?” Alexa asked.
“I’ll be fine.” Sore from the fall, Ursula rose to her feet and noticed a scrape on her knee.
“You’re injured. Let me help.” Isabella walked towards her with a healing spell prepared in her hands.
“Thanks.” Alexa and Julianna held her up as Isabella performed the remedy.
“How did you fall, anyway?” Alexa asked.
“This tree root just came out of nowhere,” Ursula said.
“Why does that excuse sound familiar?” Alexa said with a dim eyed glare.
“I’m serious. Look down.”
Puzzled, she and the others looked at the web of roots on the ground. They noticed a sickly pink one among the earthy shades.
Alexa nervously gulped as she watched it squirm.
“Ursula.”
“Yes?”
“That’s not a fucking root!”
They all dispersed with panic and confusion, but it was too late. The deceptive vein among the tree roots had captured them.
Their screams bulleted across the forest and Michael received them. His heart thundered with terror.
“Shit! That was them!”
He ran with haste, following the sounds of their cries, jumping over ponds and ducking below the rotting logs.
They’re in danger. Something got them. I know it!
He dove through the vines and trees. Over the many scum-covered ponds and mossy stones, along with a wooden sign that said: “Beware of the jagged distortion that resides here. In the wetlands of Mgla, all shall be consumed.”
As Michael ran, he noticed his surroundings change. The trees grew emaciated and caves emerged from the weeping shadows, all splattered with blood that trickled into the mud-ridden waters.
His heart beat faster. He hardly noticed the bloodstains or the mounds of animal and human remains hanging and laid around him.
Making his way deeper, the sound of a roar left him frozen in place. He peered into the water and saw an alligator rise. It stared in his direction with glowing yellow eyes. His heart pounded as the alligator’s jaws slowly opened.
Why do I always have to run into wild animals? Why can’t I just walk into a forest in peace for once?
Michael panted as the alligator slithered towards him. He prepared himself to summon his scepter as a defense when he felt a tugging at his feet. With frightened eyes, he looked down. The mud grew so thick and potent; it pulled him down like sticky quicksand.
He attempted to break free with his lightning, but the mud absorbed his strikes. “Damn it!”
He gritted his teeth as he reached for the branches around him, but they were too far away now that he was sinking deeper.
More than halfway into the ground, he looked up at the menacing glare of the beast just a few feet away. He saw the carcass of the last animal it ate. Its bones hung from its jaw.
“Nice alligator. I promise I’ll get out of your swamp and be on my way. As soon I can figure a way out of here.”
Michael sank deeper into the swamp’s depths as the alligator grew closer. Wisps of its fiery breath flared from its nostrils onto Michael’s face. He looked away in despair.
I need to get out of here fast. Even if they don’t want my help or even want to see me again, I owe them that much. And I owe it to myself, too, to get back the only people that have ever been there for me!
With a vicious grunt, he took one last chance at grabbing one of the vines nearest to him. Before he could, the alligator lunged at it and broke it with its jaws.
“Of course you just did that. Fantastic!”
Michael closed his eyes as the alligator prepared to pounce when only his head was left sticking out from the ground. Michael expected the alligator to eat him alive right then, but instead, the roar of another beast met him. He creaked one eye open to the sight of a massive tentacle clutching alligator.
“What the fuck was that?!”
Michael looked around and only registered now he was stuck in a bog of rotting flesh. Countless boars, rabbits, cattle, and many other beasts hanged from the trees and scattered through the ponds and grounds—mutilated, as the buzzards picked at their remains. He concluded that whatever yanked him out was the culprit behind all the carcasses.
The last of him began to sink into the mud. He closed his eyes, accepting fate when a massive hand suddenly pulled him straight out.
He gasping for air, turned around with bewilderment. He was thankful to be alive, but still wondered what just grabbed him.
He looked down at the furry pink slug-like exterior, gazing into its horrific golden stare, knowing he was better off underground.
The beast mightily threw him towards the ground and he landed in a very open region of the swamp. He then looked forward, seeing an abomination of jagged clawed arms on either side, with tendril tongues pouring from its gaping jaws. It had the most hideous face he’d ever seen. Distorted past his understanding, its jaws spread nearly throughout across what resembled a head.
Its teeth glistened like a bottomless chasm of spikes. The trees corroded as it salivated all around the swamp like the savage slob it was. The tentacles emerging from its mouth and arms were especially deplorable. With antler-like horns and a single eye to top off its grotesque appearance, it was like something from another world.
As if broken from the trance placed by the creature’s revolting appearance, Michael heard the screams of his friends. His eyes immediately widened as he saw the beast carrying them in its tentacles.
“Ursula, Isabella, Julianna, and Alexa.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Isabella asked, struggling to break the creature’s grip.
“Saving you. Even if you don’t want my help, you’ve got it. Always.”
Julianna looked at the others with a smile, knowing the decision to trust him all along was right.
“In that case, hurry your ass up.”
“Our weapons fell when this beast grabbed us.” Isabella eyed the pile of swords, a mallet, and an ax laying by the tree.
“And this beast’s grip is too tight for us to use our magic,” Ursula said, feeling her arms tightened under the coiling grip of the swamp beast.
The tentacle holding her craned towards the beast’s jaws as they slowly opened. Alexa watched in defeat as a screaming Ursula inched towards its mouth.
“Ursula!”
Michael’s rage grew from the very sight.
“That’s it. This ugly fucker’s finished!”
He immediately transformed into his etherial state. He cast his scepter by his side and released his wings. In the blink of
an eye, he rushed towards the four of them and slashed through the tentacles holding them, releasing them from the beast’s grip. They safely thudded onto the ground before the bleeding creature sprayed them with its puss.
“Michael, you saved us!” Ursula hugged him tightly with a smile.
“Not yet,” Michael replied, catching his breath. He looked up at the hulking creature. It roared with fury as its tentacles slowly grew back. “I still need to make sure this beast is over with.”
The girls nervously gulped, stepping back. Michael spread his feet apart and raised his staff in a horizontal position, and then voltage emanated from his fingertips. It shocked and lit up brighter until he could no longer contain it.
“Go! Electric burst!”
Bolts of lightning rushed from his scepter and into the water, electrocuting the beast. The beast roared as it blackened to ash. With a final groan, it collapsed into the water, unleashing a tidal wave that soaked them all.
Michael watched the creature sink in the swamp. He took a deep breath, preparing to approach his friends.
When he walked over to them, he saw wandering gazes of embarrassment on their faces.
“We could have done that ourselves, you know,” Alexa said, pouting.
“I know you could. I did it to say thanks.”
The girls looked at him, confused.
“Thanks for what?” Isabella asked.
“We’re the ones that left you behind,” said Ursula.
“Thanks for being my friend. Even if you don’t know if you can trust me yet, I’ll do everything in my power to earn it.”
“Michael. We”—Alexa began.
“I know my still missing memories will be a pain for us all as I learn more of who I used to be, and how I got that titan in the first place. But I won’t let that get in the way of who I want to be right now: someone who cares deeply for his friends. So, if you’d be alright giving me another chance”—
“Yes, Michael.”
Julianna’s swift response took him by surprise. “Wait, you mean that?”
“Don’t get it twisted. I think we’re all pretty annoyed you didn’t tell us about meeting Lucifer before,” Alexa said.