Nothing like power to ostracize a person, especially at a young age.
Once we were close enough, I finally gave Miriam a long hug before traveling with Gabriel closer to the atmosphere, only to leave him behind too. It resulted in her being a couple of minutes away, while her brother was not even a thirty seconds distance from reaching me if I needed his help. The distance was too far for me to communicate with Gabriel myself, given the more limited range compared to the unlimited distance that Miriam and I shared, but our plan was for him to pay attention to my speed to detect how it was going.
Obviously, if he sensed me practically teleporting around, then I was fighting.
As I descended into the thick cloud cover below, I passed Gabriel’s partner, Priscilla, who was more than ten miles away and not visible through the atmosphere, but plenty close enough for her to give me a simple greeting. Gabriel had obviously kept her up to date on everything going on, and wanted to keep her safe just like I wanted Miriam to be.
On the trip here, they had also shared with me Ragnarok’s likely location, with him having his own private midnight castle quite a distance away from the capital city. Miriam actually had a castle as well, on the other side of the planet, that she had spent the last eighteen years building by herself in secret, giving her an outlet for her desire to rush to me despite the risks.
She seemed a little embarrassed to admit that to me in private, but was really looking forward to hopefully showing me the home she had made for us, assuming we could get through this incident unscathed.
Once I broke through the clouds, I kept my distance from the city itself, using the volcano and sea of lava as reference for which direction to head to get to Ragnarok’s place. Even though it was doubtful Jericho would make an appearance, I didn’t want to chance running into her or her brother at a time like this.
I needed to focus.
I had to avoid the lose/lose situation that would result if I couldn’t force Ragnarok into a stalemate.
Taking a deep breath, I steeled my nerves, reminding myself to stay level-headed.
When his castle came into sight, it was just as large as I’d seen in Miriam’s thoughts, like its own small town hidden within massive pitch-black walls covering several square miles. The primary internal building then rose even higher than the walls, being shaped like mirror E’s – according to Gabriel, it was a human symbol that represented ‘king’ in one language.
Specifically, Ragnarok’s original language.
Each level of the mirror E’s were higher than the next, with the lower portion being just barely above the black walls, while the middle level was elevated by several dozen feet, and then the upper part truly soared into the sky.
The upper rooms of the highest level also didn’t have a roof, since precipitation was nonexistent here. And it was where I’d find Ragnarok’s throne room, in a massive hall high in the sky, with the turbulent clouds above as his only ceiling.
I was already approaching from really high up, at a moderate pace for a demon, so I could see my target by the time I was close enough to sense his presence as well.
He was already sitting on his midnight throne, almost as if he was waiting for me, being barely indistinguishable due to his shadowy coloring, except for his piercing red eyes.
I waited until I was almost directly above him before descending below, and even as we came within telepathy distance to communicate, neither of us said anything. My movements were intentionally slow, both to ensure Gabriel didn’t get the wrong idea, as well as to avoid seeming threatening, not wanting to appear as if I was here for a fight.
I could also sense that there were well over a hundred others inside the castle, though I ignored them, knowing they shouldn’t be much of a threat even if this did turn into a battle, despite their numbers.
Ragnarok continued to remain silent as I slowed down, his expression impassive, until I finally dropped into the room, the midnight walls around me jutting more than twice my height into the sky.
We held each other’s gaze, no emotions in our expressions, before he suddenly grinned widely.
“Ah, this is unexpected,” he said, shifting his weight to lean against the armrest of his throne.
I decided not to waste time, not wanting to play games. “I came to apologize for my infraction against you. I was confused and thought you were–”
He abruptly held up a hand, cutting me off. “You’ll bow before an Original when performing your penitence, child.”
I kept my expression neutral, with Miriam urgently warning me in the back of my head to not let him get under my skin. However, I was hesitant to take my eyes off him, concerned about that laser attack he had up his figurative sleeve. Thus, I reached out more fully, to see if I could spy on his thoughts without him noticing.
Unfortunately, his specific thoughts were indistinct, as if he was intentionally on guard against a mental attack, but it was enough for me to grasp his vague intentions – enough that I felt confident I’d be warned in advance if he became hostile.
I wasn’t sure what he meant by ‘bow,’ so I dropped down to one knee and tentatively bowed my head, preparing to repeat myself, only for him to cut me off again.
“Lower!” he barked out.
Keeping my frustration at bay, I didn’t look at him as I dropped my other knee and then bowed fully, planting my forehead against the stone floor, prostrating myself before him.
I began repeating myself again, keeping my tone level, only to be interrupted for the third time.
“Ah, here we go,” he said eagerly.
I glanced up at him, only to realize he wasn’t even paying any attention to me, instead focused on something around the corner that he could see from his location in the room. Confused, I looked in that direction too, sensing three individuals, coupled with the sound of something scraping against the stone floor.
My eyes then widened when two midnight demons came into view, each of them holding onto an arm of a humanoid figure with tan skin, the two dragging this third’s broken body like a prisoner beaten to death.
For a moment, I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing, because the humanoid shape didn’t have horns, wings, or a tail, and their skin was shattered all over to the point of being almost unidentifiable. Like, if this had been a human, then their entire body would be just one massive black and blue bruise. And I knew there was only one explanation for the lack of limbs – they had been torn off.
But then the tormented soul lifted her head, a pair of icy blue eyes meeting mine through patchy white hair, before dropping again almost just as fast, as if the life had long since been torn from them.
Instantly, it was like someone had struck me with lightning.
Shock, horror, disbelief, and guilt all overtook me at once, but all of them were quickly overshadowed by another emotion.
An unstoppable one.
Pure unadulterated rage.
Ragnarok chuckled. “Now, what were you saying?”
As my blood began to boil, I slowly turned my head to look at his smug expression.
‘Stay calm!’ Miriam was screaming at me repeatedly. ‘Michael, stay calm!’
I knew what was at risk. I knew that killing this monster might very well result in being killed myself one day.
But in that moment, I didn’t give a damn.
The world around me began vibrating, as my ability to contract and expand space began affecting all of my surroundings. It first started off slowly, until the entire castle around us began to shake like a minor earthquake was occurring underfoot.
Ragnarok’s expression finally dropped.
“As you were saying,” he retorted aggressively, his tone deep and menacing.
Miriam was still screaming at me. ‘I can’t lose you! You can’t kill him! Stay calm! Stick with the plan!’
Unexpectedly, the inferno burning within me peaked and instantly grew ice cold, the world around me losing all color as the vibrating stopped entirely.
> It was absolutely silent for a long moment, while I held the gaze of my prey.
Ragnarok was about to speak again, but this time I interrupted him, my tone coming out cold, calculating, and dead.
“What is that?” I asked, sounding almost apathetic, gesturing infinitesimally towards the broken prisoner.
His sinister crimson eyes narrowed, his response seeming just as calculated. “One of my punching bags,” he replied just as evenly, obviously using a reference I’d understand.
“Yours?” I repeated, making a mock effort to raise my eyebrows, as if in surprise. “Don’t you mean Enkidu’s and Lilith’s? I wonder…what’s the consequence for a thief in your world?”
Ragnarok instantly rose to his feet, hatred finally crossing his expression. “You better shut the hell up, before I–”
“Before you what?” I snapped, beginning to vibrate my surroundings again, intentionally this time.
The earthquake rapidly became so intense that Ragnarok stuck his wings out to hover above the floor, so he wasn’t shaking with the rest of the building. His guards followed suit, lifting Jericho’s limp, naked, and fractured body off the ground, with those within the building scrambling into the surrounding courtyards far below.
Doubtful they had any idea a person was causing the localized tremor.
Rather than respond right away, Ragnarok just glared at me with pure hatred, giving me the opportunity to continue.
My tone was low and cold. “You’d be wise not to mistake my humility for weakness.”
“Ha!” he finally barked out. “You want to war with me? You’d be wise to not think I’d be so easily cheated a second time.”
“Cheated?” I scoffed. “And what? Your attack was fair, but mine wasn’t?”
His glare intensified. “The retribution for homicide is annihilation.”
“Which, in my confusion, I believed you had committed,” I countered. “Last I remembered, you were trying to kill both me and Miriam. And if you had less sinister intentions for her, you left little room for me to interpret otherwise, especially when you were aware my death would mean her death. Even if indirectly.”
When the outrage in his expression only further escalated, I continued.
“Having been severed from her mind, I was confident you were responsible for her death – I had nothing to indicate otherwise. And I had a right to avenge her, based on your own laws.”
Noticing his fists clench tightly, I quickly shifted my accusatory tone, stopping the tremor as well, having finally collected myself some.
“Which is why I came to apologize,” I said evenly.
“You dare invade my territory with hostility, and seek absolution?!” he roared.
“No,” I snapped sharply, having had enough of this nonsense. “I came only to state my error and retrieve what doesn’t belong to you. What you wrongfully stole from your brother and fellow Original.”
I didn’t give him a chance to respond.
In the moment I had finished my statement, I was gone – suddenly directly behind the two demons holding Jericho. In one swift motion, I shoved my black bony wings in between them and her on either side, and jerked them away, launching forward to ensnare her broken body in my arms, before the world around me bent to my will.
The last thing I saw was Ragnarok’s head just beginning to snap in my direction, not having had the opportunity to fully register my abrupt disappearance.
Chapter 10: Reconciliation
I didn’t stop for Miriam or Gabriel, instead warping directly back to Earth, knowing Jericho needed blood immediately – her devastating wounds were nothing like Ragnarok’s had been. I had no idea how close to death she was, or if she was even in danger of dying, but I wasn’t about to waste time asking those questions.
Dammit, this was all might fault! Why hadn’t I considered that he’d be able to single her out?
Honestly, I wasn’t even sure how he’d done it – maybe someone noticed she was with me and snitched – but I’d been foolish to not worry about her. To not think she’d be safe after helping me out. And dammit, what about her brother? Was he safe? Or had he been beaten too? He hadn’t gone to the city with us, so he should be fine, right?
Unfortunately, I had no way of knowing at the moment, so first I’d get her blood, and then go from there. Jericho certainly wasn’t any help, her mind completely closed off from me. I wasn’t even able to catch a glimpse of what thoughts she might be having, if she was having any at all.
Already knowing where a blood bank was, I carefully laid the broken soul down in a dark forest, before zipping a few miles away, not wanting to go very far. Thankfully, it was still nighttime at this location, and apparently our earlier break-in had gone unnoticed, so I was able to grab a crate and stuff it full of blood bags.
Not even a full minute had passed before I was setting it down next to her side, squatting beside her as I tore the tubing and tried to press it to her lips.
Blood just dripped against her skin and to the ground, her icy eyes unfocused.
“Jericho,” I whispered, reaching out to touch her, only to stop myself.
There wasn’t a single place I could touch that wouldn’t result in causing her pain. I could see now that white bony protrusions were coming out of her back where her four wings had been torn off, including the smaller arms that would normally cover her chest. And similarly, there was a large bony protrusion on her lower back, where her missing tail had been.
“Jericho,” I repeated. “It’s blood. Open your mouth and drink it.”
Still no response.
She just laid there lifeless.
“I’m…I’m sorry,” I whispered, feeling miserable and helpless.
Her lips finally moved, just barely – just enough to speak audibly – just two words.
“Go away.”
My expression pained for a moment, the guilt clawing at my chest, squeezing my heart.
I couldn’t even fathom what torment she’d experienced. And worse, it had been while Miriam and I were secluded in our own little paradise, enjoying ourselves while she was beaten to death, literally torn apart, with no way to make it stop.
No power to defend herself.
Pissed at myself. Pissed at this whole situation, I abruptly dropped the blood bag, my hands flying up to my left horn, gripping it firmly.
It felt like someone was stabbing a knife in my skull as an audible crack ricocheted off the trunks surrounding us.
Unexpectedly, Jericho gasped, looking up at me in shock. “W-What are you d–”
I ground my teeth and yanked harder, causing her to bolt upright, an agonized expression crossing her face from the movement.
“Stop it!” she exclaimed.
But it was too late.
I ignored both her, and Miriam’s, oppositions as I gave a final tug, the pain radiating down my spine, making me feel sick and dizzy. The moment my horn snapped loose, I fell backwards, my thoughts shattering from the anguish.
And that had only been one horn.
I couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to have both torn off. What it’d be like to have my wings ripped apart, one bony finger at a time. To have my tail torn off, segment by segment. To have my body beaten to the point of being almost unrecognizable.
When I was able to focus again, Jericho was on top of me, tears streaming down her fractured cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated, discovering her mind still locked tight.
However, much like I had been when she first met me, while she wouldn’t let me in, I realized I might be able to pull her into my head. When it began working – when she willingly let me pull her in – I used the opportunity to show her everything.
Meeting Miriam, almost getting killed by Ragnarok twice, getting bitten and dying, and then having Ragnarok pursue us a third time to finish me off before I fully transformed.
Followed by waking up in that pitch-black dome, meeting her, remembering everything when I saw that bastard, th
inking he was responsible for killing my love.
As well as how I felt about it all now.
The devastating guilt in my heart. The fact that her kindness had been repaid with torture, all while I was oblivious to her pain.
“I’m sorry,” I said more meaningfully.
She dropped her forehead to my chest, sobbing, finally breaking down after everything she’d experienced in the last day, maybe longer, depending on how long it took for Ragnarok to single her out.
Bastard.
I really just wanted to end him.
If only there wouldn’t be any consequences.
But for all I knew, this might not be over. As much as I wanted it to be, I knew there could still be more to come. After all, I hadn’t really given Ragnarok the chance to agree to a stalemate, or at least to come to that conclusion on his own.
“Jericho,” I whispered gently, still being careful not to touch her fractured skin with my hands, though obviously the front of her exposed body was pressed against mine. “I really need you to feed.”
“What’s the point?” she sobbed. “I just want to die.”
My expression pained again. “Were you the only hostage he was holding? He didn’t have your brother too, did he? If he did, then I need to–”
She unexpectedly began crying even harder, before whimpering in response. “M-My brother’s d-dead.”
“What?” I gasped in disbelief, the world around me becoming unfocused.
Dead? Like, dead dead?
She was barely coherent through her sobbing. “H-He came w-when he found out. T-Tried to make h-him give me back.” She whimpered again. “W-When he saw m-my wings had b-been torn off, h-he attacked.”
No.
No, this couldn’t be happening. Seth was gone? Like, really gone? And it was my fault. All this was my fault. Her brother of something like two-thousand years was dead, an anchor in her life ripped away just like that. It was one thing when you knew death might come one day, but when you thought you’d live forever? When you thought that your loved ones would live forever? Only to have it ripped away without warning?
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