"It took you long enough."
"In making preparations with Kali, I wanted to ensure there was no room for failure," she replied.
Leo winced as he gripped his arms. Hecatan placed her hands on his burns. Leo grimaced until his eyes met with hers.
Green, he realized.
He studied her more, trying his best not to seem so obvious. Brown short hair falling short of the nape of her neck. Knitted black tank top barely covering the top of her breast. Leo watched as she took in air.
"You're preparing for war, huh?” he spoke. “I could think of a million of other things you've could have done with that time that would have taken just as long."
With a blank stare, Hecatan looked at him. They both paused for a moment before Hecatan looked down at her chest. She looked up at him with squinted eyes.
"Do your ears ever get tired of hearing your mouth speak," she replied.
She yanked his hands up.
"That burn isn't going away anytime soon. You must stay here until you recover."
Leo pulled his arms away.
"Wait a second... Hold up!"
Leo backed away from Hecatan as he stood.
"You locked me in a room, didn't mention any facts like where we are or why... streams of acid come pouring out of fountains and now you're telling me I have to stay? No lady... you're giving me answers! We ain't going nowhere!"
Hecatan stood by the edge of the fountain. She closed her hands together and bowed her head. As a force of green energy rushed from her body, Leo covered his face with his arm. Multiple clones of Hecatan emerged alongside her.
“Leo...” she spoke. “...I have the power of illusions. I am the daughter of Brontus, the survivor of Rhea and the disciple of Phanes."
Leo squinted his eyes as the intense light emulated around her.
"Now, I have the power of Kaos at my command."
Leo lowered his arm as the light dimmed down. He approached Hecatan.
"Then tell me..." he uttered. "...if you're such a bad-ass, why do you need me?"
Abruptly, the liquid streamed out of the fountain and gravitated towards Hecatan's clones. Devouring their flesh, the liquid burned into the multiples clones of Hecatan like a corrosive acid.
Hecatan screamed as she raised her head towards the sky. She stopped her summon as the last clone fell. Leo grabbed her from the platform. The stream nearly washed over her face.
"The lifestream," Hecatan panted. "It's the very thing that keeps the Titans imprisoned."
Leo held her in his arms. "Is this the cause of the disease?"
“Xeno-CID...” she replied. “Yes! It emerged from the Occulus when the orb was scattered. The lifestream is the last form of my father's consciousness. To some, they would see it as a curse... others as a weapon. But it is too powerful in its current state."
Hecatan raised herself from Leo grasp.
"For the humans, the lifestream has a colorless, odorless presence. Only the Awoken are inflicted by its nature. The disease is Apex's way of categorizing the lifestream for they own agenda... But for us... that are immortal... the lifestream is something far worse."
"Worse? Worse like how? Death?"
"It strips us of our divine powers, making us mortal."
"I don't understand... without the divine powers-"
"The Protogenoi will fall and so will our universe."
"Neoma," Leo uttered.
Placing her hand on his shoulder, Hecatan continued. "Neoma is safe now, the goddess of the night protects her. That is all that I can say."
"You told me before that this world is from her creation. I thought that I killed her. What exactly happened in Lacedaemon?"
"Chronos happened."
Leo had a troubled looked. "Were you there?" he uttered.
Hecatan hesitated before responding.
"Yes!” she asserted. “...fighting alongside him.”
“But why?”
“He wanted his place as king and I... I just wanted revenge for the death of my parents."
"As oppose to now?" Leo reminded her.
Hecatan sighed in agreement. She walked back towards the stairwell. Leo followed in haste.
"Let me tell you a story..." she spoke. "This castle came to be because of Gaia’s infatuation with the humans. So much so, that she denied her king and husband, Uranus."
"I was there for this story..."
Hecatan walked ahead of Leo.
“Both men and women loved her...” she continued. “...and often times she would have her relationships with them. But when you came, she commanded all other relationships to stop. She had a human family. And although those previous lovers honored her request, they always admired her from afar. Once she was cast into exile from Azure, they knew she would miss her home. Those humans she loved, built her this castle as a replica of Azure. They called it Shangri La."
"Neoma had other lovers?" Leo interrupted.
"Yes!" Hecatan replied. "Gaia had multiple lovers indeed... but as Neoma, she bore a child with only you."
"And Tartarus," Leo included. Hecatan paused as Leo stopped walking.
"The Awoken Ones are pagans... men and women who shared their spirit with Gaia in the first incarnation."
"Shared spirits, you mean 'relations' right?"
Hecatan sighed as she continued forward.
"The day Uranus killed you, it set in a chain of unfortunate events. Gaia proposed an indecent proposal to the primordial, Tartarus, in exchange for your life. Tartarus has since gone missing, but Gaia was not without penalty. She gave new life to a cyclops, my father, Brontus."
"Who?"
"The Eye of the Occulus," she uttered with irritation.
"For the chance to give you an immortal soul, Gaia made a covenant with Tartarus. He resurrected you, but it wasn't without cost. Gaia’s aura was lost to give you immortality... that's how much she loved you."
Hecatan stared at Leo.
"Brontus, my father, was locked away in Gaia's womb. He would never be free again thanks to the Protogenoi... My father lost his life alongside my mother at the hands of Chronos... and to this day, I will never understand why."
"Maybe he was jealous of your father?"
Hecatan interrupted Leo as she stopped in front of a red door.
"Come inside?" she uttered.
"Ladies first!" Leo replied with a grin.
***
Leo ducked his head as he entered a small entryway. The room was dark but he proceeded forward. He coughed as dust populated the stagnant air. Hecatan trotted onward towards the center of the area.
"Illustrant," Hecatan whispered.
A series of candles lit up, illuminating around the room for five stories up. Two statues stood erected in the middle of what simpled to be a library, towering over Leo and Hecatan. Leo approached her as she lit an incense over a shrine. She inserted the stick into the foot of the male. Two torches lit up in his hands. She repeated the ritual again, placing the incense at the foot of the woman. Two more torches lit up.
"This must be Brontus," Leo looked up observing the one eye statue. “...and this...” he continued. “...your mother?"
"Rhea," Hecatan confirmed, still lighting incense.
Leo threw his hands up.
"I don't get it? You have your orb... why can't you just resurrect them?"
Hecatan blew out an ember on a burning incense.
"They can be brought back to life, but my father's imprisonment will still hold. He's locked in the void of Gaia by means of a cosmic scepter. Only the one wielding the scepter can release him. Chronos has it now. The staff is a relic passed from one king to the next."
"So the Occulus has its limit."
"The Occulus is a mirror. It’s a reflection of who you are and what you want to be. In rare cases it can also absorb a person soul.
"Just a mirror, huh!" Leo smugged.
"Nothing more," she admitted.
"What did your father see in that eye of his that had eve
ryone so spooked?"
"Being the offspring of Tartarus, many believed he envisioned a reflection of his father's tortured soul, and as such, was consumed by it. Later, it was apparent, that he did see something... another universe... colliding with ours. Colliding with a multitude of other universes. All colliding... until nothing was left."
Leo stared at Hecatan. Slowly, a grin crossed his face turning into an all-out boastful laugh.
"You can't be serious?" he replied. "Are you telling a joke right now?"
She looked at him with a blank stare.
“I fear no,” she continued. “No I am not."
Leo looked at the altar and gazed up at Brontus. Hecatan knelt before her parents and closed her eyes.
"Every time I'm in here, the same vision occurs to me. I see images of Phanes and Tartarus. I see Kaos outfitted as a soldier unveiling my father to Gaia and Uranus. I see the darkness... a vast void spanning far and wide into infinity. I fall into its abyss. I am lost or at least I think I am. I reach out my hand and the darkness bends. It's an illusion. This space has a destination, but I can't travel any further. I see Phanes as he approaches Tartarus... they whisper, 'Egress'.
Leo snapped his fingers in front of Hecatan's face.
"Bring it here," he insisted. "Bring it back to Shangri La!"
Hecatan met Leo stare as she stood up.
"You have much to learn," she uttered.
"Isn't that why you brought me here?"
She grabbed Leo’s hand. "Neoma is alive but severely wounded. Nyx is her only protection."
"So let me find her. No kooky castle or burnt hand is gonna stop me."
"Not even the lifestream?" Hecatan added.
"Hasn't bothered me yet!"
"The lifestream is dangerous to all who inhabit this planet. Even you. If you want Neoma to grow stronger the lifestream needs to be contained.
"I'm nobodies savior."
"You want your wife back right... and honestly, I would take heed to the prophecy of the Eye. Without Gaia fully capable, we might not have a future to exist in, at the very least know what Egress is."
"Sounds like some real heavy stuff there. I suppose I can leave now?"
Hecatan shook her head. She waved her hand halting him from leaving.
“I will return you now, but take heed...” she uttered. “Neoma will not be the same as how you knew her before."
"I am quite fine with that! Just as long as she's not 'relating' to multiple men, I'm good."
"She's a Goddess, for goodness sake! Get over yourself."
Leo smirked.
"Just be ready should the worst presents itself. The survival of all that exists depends on it."
As Kali entered the room, she lowered her head and approached Hecatan. She gave her the Occulus then stood beside her.
"Preparations are ready, Madame."
Hecatan summoned Leo towards her. She reached out her hands and passed him the orb.
"I am trusting that you will succed and bring Neoma here back to us. With this orb, you can manipulate your reality as you see fit."
Leo nodded his head.
Kali turned the dial on her amulet opening a portal into New Gate. A ruined city lay wasted beyond the projected image. She then set the destination to Black Angel. Leo looked through the gateway and smiled.
"Can I get a little help here?" he gestured to Hecatan.
A pulse of energy fired from her hand as she uttered, "Elevare."
Delighted, Leo jumped in the portal alone.
QUID PRO QUO
Status
Ethan pushed his idle into the red! As he raced the deserted flatland, he white-knuckled the steering wheel and depressed his foot further onto the gas pedal. I'm coming for you mom, he thought to himself. This time I won't fail you... I will kill him.
Bottles of Kindle clanged in the back of Ethan’s seat. Twelve bottles, just enough to get me where I'm going. He thought about his conversation with Bernard. I suggest you look at the common denominator...
"Dr. Belmont," Ethan spoke.
He released his grip from the steering wheel slightly and reach for the flash drive device. He held it up out in front of him.
"How deep is the Abyss?" he continued, putting the flash drive back in his chest pocket.
Overhead, a roaring shriek broke Ethan’s concentration. Glass shattered from the windshield and Ethan covered his face before looking up. The sky was cloudless, but a black shadowy mass hung in the distance.
The pod shook violently. Ethan eased his foot off the accelerator. As the overheat warning flashed on his dashboard, he watched as the darkness soared over him with incredible speed towards New Gate.
"For fuck sake?"
It came from that direction, Ethan thought, recalling the location of the canyon. Another shadow...maybe.
***
With a twist of the cap, Ethan opened a bottle of Kindle water. He topped off the radiator then slammed the hood of the engine closed. He sat back down in the pod.
"Here’s to wishful thinking,” he uttered, firing up the ignition. Grabbing the clutch, Ethan put the pod in gear. He gave the engine a rev. It bellowed with smoke and dust shrouded the flatland.
"Alright," he cried out. "Let's do this!"
With no variation in idle, Ethan cruised full throttle through the deserted flatland towards New Gate.
***
Headlights illuminated the concrete rubble as night fell upon the entrances of New Gate. Ethan depressed his foot from the accelerator, slowing the speed of his transport to a crawl. As he rode into the ruined city, gray and black smoke billowed from burnt abolished buildings. Touching the night sky off in the distance, a full moon hung brilliantly.
There's a chance she might have gotten out, Ethan assured himself. She’s resourceful, right? Time is not an option. I must make it to Black Angel. I've got to find Leo.
Ethan continued forward, passing what he recognized to be the second and third district. A sign that read: Advent City General Hospital, laid alongside a pile of concrete. Ethan soon realizes the concrete slabs were tombstones originally located within the Third District Cemetery.
Further, in the district, pedestrians scurried the streets. A man and woman dressed in expensive garments, cradle each other as they walked blindly into the night. People desperately cried out to their loved one, only to be seized by rogue soldiers. Ethan noticed a man climbing from out under a barricaded storefront. The man dropped his loot as he looked out towards the blackened sky.
Ethan surveyed his surroundings. He recognized the eerie shriek that shrilled over his head earlier. As the shadowy figure swirled above the remains of the Apex building, Ethan covered his ears as the creature swooped down to land. It created a seismic boom that echoed throughout the center of New Gate.
"Help!" a voice cried out. "Please... someone."
The cry originated a few yards ahead of Ethan in a pile of rubble.
Ethan remained in his pod.
"Help," the voice continued. "There's a child with me."
"Dammit!" Ethan groaned. He opened the broken door of his transport. He walked over to the voice and drew his gun.
"Please, sir... help us," the voice continued.
Ethan slowly approached the pile of debris. He covered his face, as the dust and particles accumulated around his nose and mouth. His eyes itched and water seeped from out their corners. He squinted and saw a black figure in the distance. The figure stared back with red glowing eyes. It took a step forward then leaped into the air and flew off.
Ethan turned towards the call of the distressed voice. He approached a pile of rubble and was barely able to make out the head of a man. With caution, he pulled out his gun and walked towards him. The man was pinned down under a slab of concrete. He struggled to get himself free. He looked up and stared at Ethan. Ethan kept his gun raised.
"Please, sir... I beg of you."
Ethan looked around as bystanders accumulated. He held his gun firm.
&
nbsp; "What happened here, Sonny?" Ethan demanded.
"A flood came," replied the man.
"Flood?"
"Yes! It swept through the city... and then the explosions.”
Ethan coughed as his lungs burned from the dust and debris occupied each breath.
"You need to help me," Sonny continued.
"Where's the child?" Ethan interrupted.
"Underneath me, beneath this pile. A girl... I tried to save her."
Ethan tucked his gun away and reached beneath the stone to lift it up. The soldier struggled as he assisted with Ethan. He noticed the Apex patch on Sonny’s uniform. Ethan glanced down at the young man.
"There... right there, you see her!" Sonny exclaimed.
In between the soldier's legs, a brown-haired young girl, (probably eight in age), lay unconscious beneath the fallen debris.
"She's won't make it," Ethan replied, releasing the concrete slab.
The young man stared at Ethan with a stunned silence. He gritted his teeth and hung his head low.
"I'm sorry, Sonny," Ethan uttered.
"I tried to save her. I watched as the building gave way. No one else tried... As an Apex Soldier, I am bound by duty-"
"I know your duty,” Ethan interrupted. “Serve and Protect Advent City; Control and Enforce the Central District.”
Sunny placed his hand on the Apex logo embroidered on the shoulder of his uniform.
"This girl...” he stammered. “...she was District."
Sunny looked up at Ethan. Using his last bit of energy, he continued to muscle up the slab. Reluctantly, Ethan helped the young man shimmy through the rumble. The young girl slid between his legs.
"Keep holding it," the soldier directed Ethan. "I'll pull her up. She deserves better."
"You're in no condition," Ethan began, as he held the pressing slab. "Just hurry!"
Sunny shuffled in the darkness, carefully sliding the girl out.
"You there!" a gruff and throaty voice hollered in the distance. "Leave them alone. Let them die!"
Dropping the slab, Ethan squinted his eyes as he turned around. An old fat man wearing a green and gold embroidered robe approached him.
"Who are you?” Ethan demanded. “You're definitely not this girls father!"
"For goodness sake, no! But that man right there... he denied me help. Instead, he wasted his time on this mongrel."
Raising Sera- Lineage Page 13