“You’ve been watching me?”
“Mika Harollson, I’ve been watching everyone,” the voice arrogantly replied. “And yes, that does include you and your ill-fated battle in Nibelvale. My condolences for your losses. Your sisters fought quite well against those wretched fiends. Honestly, those troublemakers have been such an eyesore lately. All the death and suffering they’ve caused… all the anarchy… it brings a tear to my eye really.”
“Don’t remind me about that battle!” Mika yelled out. “And don’t you dare disparage my sisters like that! Who the hell do you think you are spying on my family and belittling us?”
“I wasn’t ridiculing them, I was being sincere with my words. And you should choose yours more carefully, you really shouldn’t be so cruel to the one who kept your brother alive this far to begin with.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Your little brother has lived thus far because of my intervention with his fate,” the voice explained factually. “If it wasn’t for me he would have been dead long before you arrived home. He would have been raped and killed by monsters most foul. Thanks to me however, he avoided such a gruesome fate.”
“You saved my brother’s life?” Mika retorted. “Bullshit! Why should I believe any of what you’re saying? Why would I believe the idea of a monster wanting to save my little brother at all? That’s absurd!”
“If I can prove to you that I saved his life by my actions will you come to my rescue?”
Mika slowly looked around at the darkness while struggling to calm down, the woman taking a moment to collect her thoughts before closing her eye and lowering her head.
“I need you to save me. You are the only one I’ve foreseen that can do it. You may be a monster hunter but for me you’re the only one who can be my monster savior. So, if I can prove that I have seen all that I claim and am able to help you find your brother again, will you please come to my aid?”
Mika hesitated while hearing the voice of the woman in her head, the monster’s words seeming desperate and pleading more than anything else. After a long silence the hunter looked forward with a narrowed eye, feeling as though she were staring right at the unseen watcher who was looking back at her.
“Prove to me that you kept him from dying and that he’s still alive, then I’ll consider it.”
“Very well. Thank you for the chance to prove myself. Time to wake up then, Mika Harollson. And, please keep all of this between us for now, alright? I don’t quite trust those you are with to offer me any sympathy.”
“If you’re lying about Max you’ll receive none from me as well.”
“I assure you I speak the truth, and I’ll show you just that.”
“Your name,” Mika demanded. After that only got silence she continued. “Tell me your name. I won’t help you at all if you don’t tell me at least that much.”
“Fair enough. My name is Aeon. And my future is in your hands, Mika Harollson.”
Slowly Mika could feel her body falling asleep, or rather waking up as she now felt like she was lying down on something. Her eye opened to show she was on the floor in her home, her vision gradually clearing to reveal red beams of sunlight coming through the broken wall of the sales floor and crossing over bare shelves and tables that still stood inside the shop. Sitting up from where a pile of ripped clothing had been used as a headrest for her she saw ant girls packing all the wares and supplies that remained into boxes before scurrying off with them.
“You’re awake,” Hollia spoke up. Turning to the side Mika saw the centaur standing next to the front counter with her spear in hand and a curious eye on the human. “Are you alright now?”
Mika carefully stood up, catching her balance for a moment before looking around to seeing the sales floor having been cleaned out by the ant girls. Turning to the side she saw Sasha leaning against the counter’s end while watching the human with a raised eyebrow. At her feet was a crate that had clumps of silvery ore in it along with a reptile girl longsword that stuck out over the edge.
“I wasn’t sure which velarite you intended for me to take,” Sasha said crossing her arms. “The raw ore you had in your storeroom or the sword that was made by a reptile girl who you appeared to have killed before taking.”
“I’ve also killed orcs, lycans, and nagas,” Mika bluntly quipped. “You saw for yourself what we had here before those ant girls took everything. There’s no hiding the truth. I’ve killed a lot of monsters in my life. Do you expect me to apologize to you for every one?”
“You really are a monster hunter,” Sasha scoffed as she picked up the crate. Glancing around at the empty store she then spoke to Hollia. “The ant girls are nearly done collecting what remains in the back room. After that we’ll be ready to leave.”
“What about her?” Hollia asked keeping her eyes on Mika.
“We searched the perimeter of your homestead while you were asleep,” Sasha told the human. “We found no other monsters lurking nearby nor any sign of your brother’s whereabouts. Whoever killed these lowlifes could have taken him, or perhaps he ran when things got dangerous. All we know for certain is nobody else is here, nobody that’s alive anyway. At any rate you’re free to do as you wish. We’ll be taking our leave soon.”
Mika remained silent as she lowered her head. After a moment she slowly walked forward with a distant look in her eye, the woman making her way out the broken wall and onto the rubble before glancing back to the two monsters.
“I suppose this is the price I pay for my actions in your eyes,” she solemnly said. “Maybe I do deserve it. Though I’d rather pay that price alone than have Max do so. He doesn’t deserve such a fate, that much I know for certain.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Hollia agreed. Sasha remained silent while watching Mika, the human taking a moment to look around the destroyed interior of her home before walking off outside.
“She may be a monster hunter,” Hollia sighed. “However I do feel some sympathy for her loss. I know how it feels to lose your family, it’s truly the worst feeling of all.”
“Can’t say the same,” Sasha said walking away. “My family were dishonorable assholes.”
Mika went across the burnt ground outside her home, her gaze going around at the quietly rustling trees and worn road beside her ruined home. What was once considered sanctuary for her and her kin had become nothing but a bleak monastery where monster hunters once lived. She blinked then narrowed her eye while clenching her fists before glancing around at the air.
“Alright, Aeon. If you’re there then prove your words to me now or else never speak again.”
“Very well, Mika Harollson,” Aeon calmly spoke in her mind. “Let’s go for a walk while I tell you a very unique tale. Make your way to the back of your home and it will all become clear very soon.”
Mika scoffed then started walking off to the side of the cottage while a few ant girls rushed past her into the home to loot whatever else they could. It appeared they were taking more than what was once in the sales floor, that being anything at all they could get their hands on, but she didn’t care. There was nothing else at the cottage she wanted other than the truth about what happened to Max.
“Truth be told, I saved your brother’s life by accident,” Aeon admitted. “You know of the elven forest, Green Haven, yes?”
“Yep,” Mika flatly replied.
“I was actually trying to save someone else’s life, the daughter of the late priestess of the forest. The Sisterhood were going to do… very nasty things to that poor girl.”
“What does this have to do with Max?” Mika snapped as she walked around the building.
“See those copycats up ahead?”
Mika slowly approached three copycats who were piled up near the backdoor, the human remembering passing them earlier in her frantic state. She then finally noticed what the copycats had chosen for their form, a shocked look coming across her face as she saw that herself and her two sisters were mimicked by th
e shapeshifting monsters.
“Look closely,” Aeon encouraged. “These three monsters were going to rape and kill your brother. I know because I saw his fate, just as I can see everything in time. He was to be raped and taken away by the fiends, used as their personal breeder until his death. You can see how they managed to get into your home, how they tricked your poor brother into letting them get close to him. They really are sneaky cats, aren’t they?”
“Oh my god,” Mika breathed out as she saw her double in the form of a copycat with a gouged eye, ironically being the same eye she herself was missing now.
“As luck would have it however they were foiled. See how they died? It wasn’t by sword or spear, it was by arrow. Your brother has never fired a bow in his life, has he? He couldn’t have killed these monsters like that at all.”
“What are you getting at?” Mika demanded. “What happened to them?”
“The elven child I helped escape Green Haven did so by the only way she could, through a special gateway in their forest used to bring in water from a faraway land. In her attempt to flee the gateway was damaged, and it randomly sent her flying off into the unknown away from her captors. The elven child who goes by the name of Grace landed here in your home, Mika Harollson.”
“You expect me to believe that?” Mika argued. “An elf was here with Max?”
“Not just her,” Aeon chuckled. “Lelu. Does that name sound familiar?”
“Lelu,” Mika recalled. “Yes, Mae said Max had a friend named Lelu when she met up with us after returning home briefly. She was someone new to the area.”
“Indeed she was. After all she originally came from Ruhelia.”
“Ruhelia?” Mika repeated with a startle.
“Your sister only saw the young girl when she was behind the front counter, unable to see her bottom half that she fearfully hid from her. She had no idea she was talking to a centaur the entire time.”
“What?” Mika shouted shaking her head. “Now there’s another young monster in the story? I don’t believe any of this, I can’t! Why would Max even let monsters into our home?”
“Bluntly put, they ran in out of fright of The Sisterhood or were magically teleported into your home without meaning to. They came across your brother by chance. He didn’t choose to kill them however, rather he let them stay willingly. Seems he found them to be nothing like how monsters are known to be and harbored no anger towards them.”
“You’re saying my brother let a centaur and elf stay here with him?” Mika derided. “That’s impossible to believe. Max may not have shot these copycats himself but someone else could have that you’re not telling me about. And there’s no way Mae wouldn’t be able to see she was talking to a centaur, she may need glasses but she’s not that blind. And Max wouldn’t act like that with monsters at all, he’d either grab the nearest blade and try to kill it or run away for safety. What proof of any of this can you show me?”
“Would you like proof that centaurs have been there recently? Head to the forest nearby, near the two tall trees that meet with your backyard. There’s something there that wasn’t when you last left.”
Mika grunted then looked to the copycats, seeing the likenesses of herself and her sisters in them along with multiple puncture wounds that showed they had been slain by arrows.
“That elven child saved your brother’s life, but she wasn’t the first to perform a noble deed here. Please, Mika Harollson, you need to know what your brother did for Lelu.”
“What he did for her?” Mika asked as she started walking towards the trees.
“The poor girl and her mother ran all the way there to your home from The Sisterhood who gave chase every step of the way. Although the child managed to flee unscathed her mother wasn’t so fortunate. She was critically wounded, and yet pushed on with all her might to see that her daughter would survive somehow.”
“What does that have to do with Max?” Mika questioned while walking into the woods.
“Stop there,” Aeon said, with Mika halting and showing a puzzled expression. “Look to your left.”
Mika looked over to see only trees nearby, nothing appearing out of the ordinary at first glance. Searching the area she took a few steps closer before seeing something carved into one of the timbers.
“Jessa?” she wondered as she saw the name carved into the wood.
“That was Lelu’s mother’s name,” Aeon sadly explained. “She didn’t survive any further than this. Gremlins saw to that.”
Mika slowly held a hand out onto the engraving then looked down, seeing that she was standing on a fresh patch of dirt that had a circlet of flowers resting at the top near the tree’s base.
“That is where she now lies. She was put to rest there by your brother’s hands.”
“What?” Mika breathed out.
“Search the grave if you want proof. The fallen centaur and mother of that poor girl now lies beneath your feet.”
“Max buried a centaur here?”
“He did so in respect for his friend,” Aeon explained, with Mika looking up in surprise. “Although there wasn’t much left of the poor woman after the gremlins got hold of her, your brother laid her remains to rest to help ease Lelu’s troubled spirit. Go on, Mika Harollson. See for yourself.”
Mika looked down to the dirt before quickly dropping to it and digging with her hands. She shook her head with shaky breaths, fearful if Aeon really was telling the truth. She dug through the dirt hastily before coming across a woman’s face buried within it, a startled gasp coming from Mika as she backed up and stared in shock at the sight.
“The gremlins that killed her ran away scared because they recognized who lived at this cottage,” Aeon continued. “Lelu however remained as she was too frightened to go anywhere all by herself. Your brother allowed her sanctuary here.”
“Why would Max let her stay though?” Mika asked. “Why would he want a monster in our home?”
“He couldn’t kill her,” Aeon empathized. “His response to Lelu when asked why he wouldn’t end her life was simply that he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t bring himself to kill a frightened girl. He felt sorry for her.”
Mika gulped then slowly started digging again, her eye remaining focused and unblinking as she needed to know for certain if this was a dead centaur she was seeing or not. After tossing out more dirt to the side she stopped as she saw a horse leg buried in the ground, the human’s eye then slowly going up to the face of the woman as she fell silent. Very carefully she brushed aside more dirt, revealing the remains of the centaur’s torso along with her only front leg that was still attached.
“Your brother allowed Lelu to stay for safety from the monsters outside,” Aeon praised. “He gave her food and shelter, and even a pillow to sleep on at night.”
“Lelu stayed here overnight?” Mika asked looking up.
“She did, and she didn’t rape your brother at all,” Aeon calmly said. “She was even spared her original predestined death at the hands of those copycats when the elven child arrived and killed them herself. Mika Harollson, you may be a monster hunter and don’t quite trust our kind that much, and that’s understandable. But your brother has already given some monsters a chance to show they’re more than lustful evils in the world. And his kindness was rewarded, as that young centaur has become a very loyal friend to him. I dare say she’s just as protective of him as you are.”
Mika looked down to the fallen centaur in stunned silence, a quiet wind rolling through the area and blowing leaves about while she struggled to believe what she was seeing and hearing.
“How… how could you know all this?” she softly asked. “How could you have seen all this?”
“I told you, I can see everything, Mika Harollson. It’s my gift. I can see the past, present, and even futures of all living things in this world. For example, I’ve seen in your past that you came across a very unique individual recently who was also kind and caring towards monsters. Daniel Sorres was his name, yes?�
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“You saw that too?”
“Yes, I see everything. And you had to have seen how it is possible for monsters and humans to coexist peacefully with each other. He was doing just that, even telling you just that despite your reluctance to listen. Well, know that your brother too doesn’t believe all monsters are pure evil, at least not anymore since he made friends with two of them.”
Mika looked down to the centaur’s remains then over towards her cottage, seeing fallen monsters littered about the destroyed residence while ant girls were running off with arms filled with more supplies taken from the home.
“And you yourself know for a fact that not all monsters are pure evil,” Aeon gently accused. “Daemon Warrick and his companions, they’re not demons to you, are they? The guardian and her three helpers who watch over the City of Eden, you offer your faith in them to keep the Dark Queen sealed away, don’t you? Ask yourself, is it really impossible for your brother to have befriended these two wayward monster children? Would he really be so cruel as to attack or send them away in their hour of need, or do you think your brother might show his heart to those unfortunate girls as a caring person?”
“Max…” Mika breathed out. She shut her eye for a while and thought about Aeon’s words, the woman then looking down to the centaur who lay beneath the ground after having been put there by her own brother.
“You really see everything?”
“Yes, I do. Everything in time I can see very clearly. Though there are some exceptions, slight disturbances in the timestream that are hard to predict, but mostly I can see everything.”
“So you know that my brother is still alive? You know where he is?”
“Yes.”
“But you won’t tell me where he is?” Mika whimpered. “Please, I need to find him. If you know all this and where he is then please tell me. You can do that, can’t you?”
“I’m sorry, Mika Harollson. But if I do that you’ll choose to leave me where I am and go after your brother.”
Chronicles of Eden_Act X Page 53