by Oxford, Rain
“Then, finally, I was born as Dylan. The universe tried desperately to kill me, but with the help of beings with greater magic than my little sliver of soul had, I survived. The rest of me was dormant. I, Dylan, had no idea who I was, but over the years, as I grew in power, my soul healed over to become complete. That was also thanks to you.
“Then, I was awoken completely with the help of that pathetic little Noquodi and the Iadnah powers.”
“You’re Zero.”
He smirked. “Yes. However, I am also Dylan. When Dylan was ‘killed,’ his soul was returned to the void, where it once again became a part of me. By some odd coincidence, Dylan is the part of my soul that can attain humanity. For that, I grew up wanting peace. It was difficult for me to feel nonchalant for anything living. Zero, on the other hand, was incomplete as well, and could only feel indifferent. Although I knew what I was then, I wasn’t concerned enough to mention it. As the two parts of my soul were disconnected, I didn’t remember the interaction when I became Dylan again. Now that my soul is whole, I am remembering the entity that I once was. I will never be that again, for the humanity in my soul is too strong.”
“But you will never be Dylan again, either.”
“Oh, I am still that person. You should be able to feel it in your soul. No part of Dylan was lost. I am just… more.”
I did feel it, like my soul was finally whole after so many months, but I was also guarded. “Why didn’t any of the Ancients obey you?”
“If I had known my power, I could have commanded them to, but they didn’t remember me. I’m sure they could sense me, but the part of my soul that was left, before it went dormant, wiped their memories of me and their other creator. Janus was the only one powerful enough to eventually remember, and only after Zero was awoken. I also created the void-bloods and other void guardians.”
“How could we not know about this? After all these years?”
He shrugged. “Honestly, there were clues everywhere. Hell, I think there were clues before I was even born. Think back to every unexplained thing you can remember.”
“Well, ‘god of the abyss’ wasn’t exactly something someone could just come up with. How were we supposed to figure that out? Is Ron like you?”
“He is not a part of my soul, but he is my son. He is half Iaidonor. I am why you were sent to the spirit realm and not destroyed by the void; you cannot be destroyed by the void because your soul is imperative to the health of mine. I would have died without you to balance my power against the forces of the universe until I was strong enough to do so myself.”
The pentagram on his chest started pulsing angrily. “Is that bad?” I asked, since it was still green.
In the calmest, carefree tone, he said, “He hasn’t done anything yet, but he is about to kill someone. Divina, probably.”
I stood. “Then prove that you are still my brother and save her!”
He grinned slightly. “Don’t worry, I plan to. You just have to follow my plan. You have to kill me.”
Chapter 16
Dylan
I came into my body with great difficulty not because Atos was more powerful than me, but because of the iron pentagram. My body was not big enough for the both of us and short of forcing him into the pentagram, I couldn’t outright expel him. The mortal struggled and, realizing how much more powerful I was, tried to retreat. I wouldn’t let him.
Instead, I stood clumsily to my feet and faced my brother. He was still covered in the blood of the monster he fought, his claws were extended, and he was panting. The sword appeared in his hand with my magic.
“Is it you?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said.
I looked at my wife and children by the door, who were confused and afraid. To them, what they were about to see would be traumatic and even impossible. Xul and Edward would hold them back, even though Xul didn’t understand, either. The boys would probably be scarred by this, but there was literally no time to explain.
If Atos escaped my body, there would be no telling what trouble he could cause. I looked at my brother because I couldn’t stand to see Ron’s face during this. “Be quick,” I said. I couldn’t hold Atos for long. I refused to close my eyes because that would have been unfair to my brother. Mordon aimed the azurath blade, hesitated, and then thrust it into my chest. Ron screamed.
The magic of the sword came from me even as Mordon wielded it because I was its master… and the azurath blade couldn’t kill its master any more than Mordon could kill his brother.
I felt Atos’s soul disintegrating and dispersing into the void… which was now my blood. I was part of the void. His energy, as miniscule as it was compared to mine, flowed through the blade into my brother. Mordon was now powerful enough to take the magic of his fallen foes. Still, fortunately, Mordon was unable to use demon magic unless it was mine. Atos, though not a demon, had developed the ability to use the void magic after his death from his frequent dealings with demons.
Mordon removed the sword from my chest. Although the blade pierced my organs and blood vessels, magic held me together because of the sword’s inability to harm me. My internal workings reformed when the blade withdrew and my wound closed behind it. The sword had no blood on it. I did, however, have to change my shirt because of the large hole in it.
Weird. My life is so weird.
“Dad?” Ron’s quiet, scared tone tried to break my heart. How many times would I scare him past his breaking point?
I could see him for what he was when I looked at him. It was not his future, for that was far too complex, but I could see what he would be. He would be amazing. He would be powerful, wise, and kind. Someday, he would be loved by billions all over the universe. Until then, he was going to be a major brat.
As the balance in him came alive in his system, he was driven closer. He could have fought it, but he didn’t understand it. He approached me hesitantly and held his right hand out flat.
A swirl of darkness emanated from his skin. I raised my hand in the same fashion, but it was a swirl of light that came from my hand. As we slowly brought our hands together, the light and dark ebbed and wove around each other in a friendly manner, until our hands touched.
“I am the darkness,” Ron said in a stilted tone.
“I am the light,” I answered as I felt the void inside me accept him as another Iaidonor.
“I am everything that exists.”
“I am the abyss.”
“Wait, Dylan is the void? But the void is evil,” Divina said.
“The void is necessary,” I argued. “There is nothing inherently good or evil about something older than any universe. Without the void, there can be no life. Good and evil is determined by the perception of man.”
“But I wanted to be the most powerful being in the universe,” Ron said.
I smiled and ruffled his hair. “And you will be, someday.”
“I can’t beat you.”
“But I belong to the void. I will rule the void and you will rule the universe. Of course, I have to live here since my mate and brother cannot live in the void, but I will respect the boundaries of the balance.”
“What does that mean?”
“Whatever the hell I want it to mean; I am more powerful than the balance. I could crush this universe in a heartbeat, but I won’t. The balance can try to force me out, but it won’t. Now that I know who I am, I think the balance will know better than to bother me.”
“So you’re not going to act blatantly against the balance just for the hell of it in exchange for staying here.”
“Correct.”
Hail seemed to finally snap back to reality. He ran to hug me and I had to use magic to keep from toppling over. Ron joined in.
“I don’t understand,” Divina said. Edward put his hand on her shoulder.
“Let’s get some tea and I will explain it,” he said.
Instead of acknowledging him, she came to me and kissed me. I returned her affections until Ron made a gagging
sound and Hail started groaning, and then I had to let her go because I was laughing.
* * *
Edward made tea, Mordon cleaned himself up, and we all piled into the kitchen. Ron took the hints from his brother and started cooking while I explained everything all over again. After we ate, we went outside and the boys played fetch with Ikiru, Seimei, and Hobble. Edward, Xul, and Mordon both sat on chairs while I sat on the lawn couch next to my wife. My arms were wrapped around her as her head leaned against my chest.
Without really focusing on what I was doing, I reached out with my magic and thought of healing Hobble. He was almost a full sized gargoyle, but his living stone flesh had never repaired itself. My magic was at its height, so healing the gargoyle was a small matter. The little creature stumbled and studied its repaired leg with absolute astonishment, as if he couldn’t remember ever being whole. Then he pranced around with exaggerated joy.
“Are we okay?” I asked my wife.
“We will always be okay,” she answered immediately and honestly. I kissed her head.
“What happened to the female?” Mordon asked.
“Well, that’s another problem. She hasn’t a fraction of my power, but she is still powerful enough to rule the void. The problem is, she wants me back.”
Divina growled. “You’re mine.”
“Unfortunately, I was hers first.”
“Did you love her?”
“I never knew love before I was born on Earth. You are my heart and I’ll never leave you. However, she believes that if she can demean all of you and save me, it would convince me to return to her. She has been causing all these problems because that’s all she can do in this universe. My father was very lucky to make it to the Land of the Dead, because she could have used him against me.”
“But I was pulled into the void,” Mordon said.
“You cannot be destroyed by the void because your soul is bonded to mine, but she could have taken you and figured out a way to use you against me. You were sent to the Land of the Dead because that was the safest place for you.”
“Is that why Xul was so eager to serve you?” Divina asked.
“Yes. The Ancients don’t recognize me, but they feel compelled to obey. Now that my soul is whole, no demon or void-blood can refuse my orders. But they cannot disobey Her either, unless it is for a direct counter-order from me. She is the one that the demons call the goddess.”
“Back on Lore, you sent me home. If you didn’t believe I was betraying you, why did you do that?”
I poked her gently in her abdomen until she squirmed. “Because I couldn’t let Alice get hurt.”
“What?” Her voice broke.
“You didn’t know you’re four months pregnant?”
She made a strangled sound. “No, I’m not!” she patted her flat stomach as if to be sure she didn’t have a colossal baby bump.
“I would sense it if she was that far along,” Mordon argued. Xul nodded his agreement.
“Nope,” I disagreed cheerfully. “Alice is just special. And we’ll do it right this time; we won’t feed her puppy food or give her anti-growth vitamins like we did with Ron.”
“Hey!” the boy said, outraged.
“Why did you say she wasn’t Iadnah?” Mordon asked.
“Alice wasn’t the only reason I sent Divina home. See, the Iadnah didn’t like me very much, especially after I started the war between them.”
Divina sat up and pulled away from me quickly. “You are the reason my entire race is dead? Why would you do that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I was bored, I guess. Anyway, you were created by the Iadnah to destroy the Iaidonor, but since I am your soul mate, you became a killer of the Iadnah and anyone else who was my enemy instead. If Oiad hadn’t ended the war, you would have.”
I let her process that.
Ron stopped playing and leaned against the rails of the porch. If he knew his hair was all sweaty, he would have freaked. I couldn’t help but feel happy that his hair and eyes were natural again. “So, we don’t have to be Vretial’s Guardians anymore?”
“Sorry, sweetheart, but you can’t be Avoli’s Guardians.”
“Why not?” Hail asked.
“Alice will be his Guardian on account of her being his mate.”
Divina choked on her tea.
Alice was the reason Divina nurtured Avoli as well as why I got so frustrated with him. He wasn’t good enough for my daughter, but I was willing to put up with him as long as he made her happy. She would be the strength that Avoli needed and make his world into a place of peace and prosperity. She would keep the people kind, strong, and free.
Vretial needed my sons just as much. Fortunately, Sheena would be willing to move for Ron once he finally accepts her as his soul mate. Hail would have no trouble getting Sari to live with him on Raktusha, but he would have a hard time convincing Thessa that he and Sari will love her unconditionally.
Oh, well. It will work out in the end, or I will help along the way.
“Why didn’t you destroy the mage staff?” Hail asked. “You could have prevented all this crap if you had destroyed it like we said to.”
I sat back, strangely unconcerned with my son’s frustration. I wanted to explain, to ease his worries, but at the same time, there was a strong part of me that didn’t care. A large part of me didn’t care about people or this family.
Then a mental image was forced on me by Mordon. The first time I saw Hail. He had looked up at me with nothing but love, trust, and wonder in his huge purple eyes. I did care. I was Dylan. “Soon,” I said, as if that explained anything.
Hail scoffed. “I see. You’re going to start talking like Vretial now! God, everyone with their riddles!”
Mordon opened his mouth to ask about Sydney, but instead he growled when Sen and Vretial appeared. I stood and blocked his path when Mordon tried to get up and attack Sen. “Kill him,” Mordon demanded.
Sen’s expression was devastated.
“Sen? That ruby your mother got for you… Were you able to use it?” If Sen’s magic had made Emiko pregnant with Mordon’s child, my brother would be trapped. He would take care of the baby, but he would hate himself and Emiko. Unfortunately, Mordon’s stake in this made it impossible to see if it were so.
He looked questioningly between Mordon and me. “How did you know about it?”
“Just tell me before Mordon shifts and eats you.”
“I didn’t. Mom gave me a ruby on the day that I stayed with Ron. I haven’t had a chance… I just… I just wanted them to be happy. I thought a baby would make them both happy.”
“Dylan, on account of you being alive, I am removing my spell over the dragon-mage,” Vretial said. “You can now kill him, eat him, strip his magic, use him for a dart board, etcetera… Also, I want to know how you survived this time.”
“Come over to my place later and I’ll fill you in,” I said. The realm I took Mordon and Edward into was like Vretial’s, except it wasn’t the Land of the Iadnah. It was actually a space that was a mixture of both the void and the universe. Only with my power was it stable and able to support both life and demons.
“I’ll do that,” he said, then vanished.
I was almost amused when Mordon grabbed my arm, drew in my energy, and summoned Ghidorah. The Guardian appeared in the yard facing us. “Judge him,” Mordon said, pointing to Sen. Ghidorah took one look at Sen and moved to attack.
“No!” I jumped over the porch rail and landed in front of the ten-year-old. “Back off!”
Ghidorah stopped, but glared. “I must judge him. It is not a choice.”
“Not him. Leave Sen alone.”
“You know it doesn’t work that way. He is Maslye’s son.”
“He is Emiko’s son. He is important to Mordon and me. Mordon is angry right now, but he will forgive him. He’s my family, and I won’t let you hurt my family.”
“He’s evil,” the Guardian insisted.
“That’s our problem,
not yours, and we’ll deal with it as a family, like we always have before.”
“He must be judged. I cannot make an exception.”
“Can you pass the judgment onto someone else?”
“No. Dylan, you asked me to judge the mage king and I did; you owe me. Step away from him. This isn’t easy for me, but I have to do it and I don’t want to hurt you in the process.”
“You’ll have to go through me to get to him and you cannot beat me. You are my friend, though, and I’d rather not fight you. Just walk away.” But Ghidorah couldn’t. “What was your judgment for Maslye?”
“You said you didn’t want to know.”
“I don’t. But she needs to,” I said, pointing behind Ghidorah. Emiko stood there, confused and frightened. The moment Ghidorah arrived, I had summoned the dragoness. Really, I just wanted to see if she cared enough to protect her son. Apparently, she didn’t.
“I don’t understand. Dylan sent you to punish the mage?” she asked the huge man.
“I have the ability to see souls and pass judgment. I can see and implement the perfect punishment for each and every living person… except other Guardians, Mordon, Rojan, and the boys,” Ghidorah explained.
She looked from me to Ghidorah as her brain tried to assimilate. “What did you do to him?” Ghidorah walked up to her slowly, leaned down, and whispered in her ear. Mordon started to growl, but I snapped his finger to get my brother’s attention. When he looked at me, I put my finger to my lips. Ghidorah stepped back and Emiko had an astounded expression.
I sent all three of them back to their homes without another word.
“We have bigger matters to attend to before we can rest easy,” I said.
“The female Iaidonor,” Mordon surmised.