Onyx is quite correct in his assessment of the situation, since the moment those words leave his mouth, a great, fiery, cavernous hole opens directly in front of the throne, and begins to steadily grow in diameter.
“What the -” Evander inserts a choice expletive that he probably picked up during his time doing Earth studies to be the record keeper.
Looking deep into the chasm, it becomes quite clear what it is, as the fiery insides begin to pick up momentum and creates a strong gust of wind - which never usually happens in the Upperworld.
Onyx swallows hard. “That’s the entrance to the Underworld, and it will consume us all if we don’t hurry.” Then he turns to the now-panicking crowd. “Everyone, stay back! And stay calm!”
Evander grips his arm tighter. “Let’s get you on that throne, and close this thing up.” Onyx nods, and they both run around the perimeter of the circular chasm, leaving enough space between it and them so that they won’t fall in. The air directly adjacent to it begins to warm up rapidly, but it isn’t the tepid serenity of the Upperworld - it is the blistering hot and scalding temperatures of the netherworld.
“Okay, they are moving Zephyr’s body off of the throne, and then you’re going to get onto it. Got it?”
Onyx nods nervously, but a million questions remain in his eyes. “But what do I do once I get up there?”
“Just look pretty until we figure out what to do next.” Onyx recoils at Evander’s untimely sass, but he nods, clearly seeing that he is merely trying to lighten the mood during a doomsday scenario.
“Well go on, climb up!” Onyx nods, and starts to climb onto the platform, but the hand of a hooded figure lays a strong hand on his shoulder, jolting him away from the throne.
“Who are you? What are you doing?”
“Oh Onyx…” His name drips from her lips like poison. “Have you forgotten about me already?” The hood is removed to reveal a head of platinum-silver hair framing a pair of eyes colored by intense rage.
A kick to the back of his knee causes him to crumble to the floor, and she successfully gets to the top of the throne at the precise moment that Zephyr’s body is lifted away from it. As the Disturbers hold his large, limp body in their hands, Onyx cannot help but tear his eyes away from Jade for a split second to see the remains of his previous leader. The long, bony form seems so destitute now, dangling precariously in the hands of the sorters.
“What do we do with him?” One of the more muscular sorters yells across the chasm in the direction of Evander and Onyx. A moment of clarity reveals itself to Evander, and he shrugs his shoulders in the heat of the moment, and motions toward the chasm with a dramatic point of his index finger. The sorters carrying Zephyr’s limp body take one last look at their leader, and then throw his body deep into the depths of the chasm. And it falls, down, down, down, until Zephyr is no more. Even his muffled screams are absorbed into the aperture of the damned.
CHAPTER 18
Above, Jade begins to audibly cackle loudly, as the acoustics of the Great Hall amplify her voice - likely the reason that Zephyr’s voice always seemed to boom over the ears of whoever was there conversing with him at that moment. The very granite pillars of the Grand Hall seem to vibrate with the presence of her excitement.
Luna catches up to Evander at the base of the throne, and tugs on his arm to get his attention. “Evander, what is happening to the Sorting Room right now? With the screens all blank?”
He turns to her and briefly yells over the noise and chaos filling the room, between the panicking Disturbers and the ever-widening chasm at their feet. “Careful of the portal, Luna. I cannot explain right now, but I have frozen the space-time continuum again until we can stabilize both realms.” She nods, even though very little of that explanation makes any sense to her. A quick glance down to the widening, fiery chasm gives her all the information she needs. For now, she just stays far away from the opening in hopes to survive this revolution and resume her happy life with Onyx.
Evander looks up briefly at the throne, and he realizes that Jade is about to sit down onto it. “NO! Jade, don’t do that! You will be eviscerated upon it - you do not have any ties to Earth, the current will not take to you!”
“What current?” She cackles gleefully. “There’s no current here, you are just trying to scare me.” And with that, Jade brazenly sits in the middle of the large throne, even kicking up her feet sacrilegiously onto the plush red armrest. “See? I’m totally fine. There’s no -”
She never gets to finish that sentence, as a look of horror registers on her face, and her skin begins to melt off of her body as her hands move to her throat in a last ditch effort for relief - which is ultimately fruitless. Her eyes bulge in agony as she screams until her vocal chords are vaporized, and the life is gone from her body. The putrid smell of her burning flesh mixes with the disgusting vapor of her fried silvery hair. What once sparkled, is now black and rotted.
The entire room goes silent for a moment, as everyone falls witness to Jade’s gory, painful death upon the very throne that their leader had inhabited until just moments ago.
Luna shrieks at the sight, and Onyx looks away as Evander squirms uncomfortably. Jade’s bones are exposed in a deathly, skeletal shadow of who she once was. After a few moments of staring at her skeleton perched on Zephyr’s throne, Evander motions for one of the other sorters to dispose of her remains into the chasm. They do so reverently, grabbing her corpse by the shoulders, and ultimately letting her bones fall deep into the Underworld, never to be reanimated again.
At this moment, Onyx realizes that by ascending that throne, he would indeed be risking his life. He tries to turn back, but then remembers his somber command to Luna: After all we’ve been through, haven’t you learned? You’ve just got to do it afraid.
He takes one last look at Luna in the crowd below him, and her eyes are filled with fear. He knows, without a doubt, that he could end up eviscerated just like Jade. He tries not to mourn her loss, even though she had been a friend and mentor to him for centuries. She was destroyed by her own pride and false sense of entitlement, and Onyx hopes that he is not guilty of the very same thing.
Okay. I’m going to do it afraid. Just like I told her. He takes a deep breath and then eases himself onto the plush throne, afraid of what bad thing could happen to him.
In this moment, all the fighting seems to go completely silent as he lowers himself to the throne, bracing himself for the agony of evisceration. All eyes are on him, and Luna peeks through her fingers, awaiting his fate while Evander firmly grasps her forearm protectively.
To his delight and utter relief, all the chaos seems to instantly die down as he lands on the throne – and survives. Even the portal to the Underworld shrinks considerably, and then completely closes up within a few moments. With it, the heavy wind dies down, and the temperature of the Upperworld returns to its normal tepid comfort. Some of the Upperworld beings cheer, while others look glumly down at their feet, but most are dumbfounded by the gruesome death and apocalyptic struggle they had just witnessed.
“Onyx, how are you feeling?” Evander speaks to him from the base of the throne amidst the excited chatter of the beings. Next to him stand Luna, Brielle, and Griffin, with expectant looks on their faces. The crowd in the Grand Hall begins to dissipate, and word quickly travels that the Sorting Room receptor screens are back to normal, and there are even orbs being produced again. In the lowlight of the Grand Hall, Onyx’s bleach-blonde hair seems to glow, not unlike Zephyr’s.
“I think I’m okay… I think, I think it worked!” Luna smiles big, and starts to climb up onto the platform of the throne to get to Onyx, but Evander stops her.
“Luna, you are not authorized to be up there. If you so much as touch that throne, you’ll have a fate similar to Jade’s.” Luna freezes at that thought, and the realization that Jade is finally gone sinks in. She begins to break down and cry, and Onyx tries to get up to console her, but he then realizes that he is quite literally, s
tuck to the throne.
“Evander, do you have any idea why I cannot get off of this?” Onyx tries to hide the pained expression on his face, as not to scare Luna, but he knows that sitting here for all of eternity might be a slow and painful death for his highly intellectual needs.
Evander scratches the back of his neck while trying to think of why that might be. “If I had to guess, I would say that the life force current has joined itself to your central nervous system, which means you are physically bonded to that throne now. Have you ever noticed why Zephyr never left his throne? Now we know why.”
Onyx’s cerulean eyes glow with concern as he realizes the gravity of the situation. “I - I cannot sit here forever. I’m a guide, I have to help the recruits…”
“Not anymore you don’t. Now, you’re the Most High Being, Onyx. Your position as Head Guide has been nullified.”
“But all my training! I didn't sign up for this! You brought me back against my will, and now I have to sit here. Forever? What about Luna?”
Evander steals a glance at Luna who blushes amidst the concern that is registering on her face. “What about Luna?” He pauses for a minute, and then he understands. “Oh… OH.” He looks at her and smiles sadly, and then shrugs. “I mean, whatever thing you guys have going on, it’s probably over unless Luna wants to camp out in here. And before you say anything about that, she also can’t touch you. No one can, or else they’ll be obliterated. It’s because of the current flowing through you - it’s too strong for just anyone to come into contact with.”
Onyx runs his hands through his hair. “Evander, I must be honest with you - this isn’t going to work for me. I’m, as you know… part humanoid, and so I have, needs that must be met. I cannot live like this. Luna needs me, and I need her.”
“I understand but I cannot think of any way to free you. And even if I could, what would happen to the Upperworld and beyond? I think you really might just be stuck there.”
Throughout all this conversation, Griffin and Brielle had been standing around, waiting for the crowds to dissipate, and they seem to be having a conversation of their own. Regardless, they both bow politely to Onyx, to which he rolls his eyes at them in response.
CHAPTER 19
“Everyone, everyone, please, settle down. I want to start by thanking you for your swift thinking and bravery during this tumultuous time as of late. Your valor has proven how truly strong the residents of the Upperworld truly are. Together, we have survived the loss of our leader, and also gained a new one - which you all have so aptly chosen. If all continues like this, we will be truly unstoppable. And you have every reason to feel so proud of that.”
The crowd of the Disturbers all clap after Evander’s celebratory speech during the party he hosted after the revolution took place.
“It is scary to think about what could have happened, had we not stepped it up the way we did. But we did, and it paid off. Congratulations to each and every one of you.”
More clapping and whistling fills the air.
“Evander! Evander! Evander!” They begin chanting his name, during which he blushes and takes a bow awkwardly while they continue to praise his efforts.
“I cannot take the credit for this stellar achievement! Really, you must acknowledge the things you yourselves have done to get to this point, it is utterly incredible.”
“And now, we can move into a brighter future, a future with a leader who does not seem to distance himself emotionally from us. A leader who genuinely cares, and has sacrificed his own needs to serve us for all eternity.”
“So how is Onyx doing? Is he okay with it?” A sorter in the crowd raises his hand, with a quizzical look on his face. “I mean, it’s such a big change, and if he wasn’t expecting it, adjusting might be hard.”
Evander swallows hard and then smiles calmly. “Well, you are right indeed that it is a big change. And there are, indeed some stipulations involving it, that were definitely unforeseen. But beyond that, it has been a really good thing. Once we find the right balance of everything, then it will be perfect.”
Another sorter raises a hand. “But, he does know what he’s doing, right? I mean, all our jobs are important, but generating orbs and predestining where they go, that’s easily the most important. Is he definitely up to the task?”
“If he wasn’t, he would have been obliterated, to put it plainly.” A few gasps fly through the room. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just a fact though, that is all I mean. You all saw what happened to Jade.”
Murmurs fill the room, but after a few moments, things settle down again in a respectful silence. Evander breaks it before everyone gets too uncomfortable. “But hey now, we’re supposed to be celebrating today! There will be time to mourn the dead in a few Earth moons. Until then, please help yourself to some celebratory refreshments!”
He tries his best to inject some life back into the party, but Evander is no stranger to awkwardness. Being a record keeper of the Upperworld has undoubtedly left him with less social skills than someone like Onyx, for example, since the very essence of his job description is built on relating to and earning the trust of others. After his accidentally dark speech, everyone slowly trickles out of the room, either making the trek back to their pods for rest time, or starting their shifts in the Sorting Room or record offices.
✷✷✷
While Onyx remains in the Grand Hall serving as the Most High Being, Luna finds herself working as a sorter again. The job no longer scares her, since she has been through a lot worse, and experienced a lot of different things. Some very good, like the nights with Onyx, and some very bad, like the violence and the fear she witnessed and experienced while living on Earth. Now, she is just stuck going through the motions, as she feels alone, and under stimulated. Nothing about the Sorting Room holds the allure that it once had for her. Once she felt love, and human connection far more powerful than anything she had ever felt as a sorter, she realized that she didn’t miss this place as much as she had thought. Sure, the Sorting Room had become familiar, but on Earth, she was beginning to slowly adapt to a new normal - and she liked it. For the first time ever, she had agency over her own life and personality. She could love Onyx with all her heart without any backlash, and she could don clothing besides the rubbery frocks of the Upperworld. Shameful as it may seem, Luna secretly kept the Earth clothes that she and Onyx had arrived back to the Upperworld in. That purple sweater was Onyx’s favorite, because he said it perfectly complimented her eyes. And it really does. Luna also kept Onyx’s black and red plaid shirt and denim pants. She put those, along with her jeans, shirt, and even those silly Earth undergarments into a secret drawer in her pod. Luna desperately wanted to remember her time on Earth, and odd as it may seem to some who have never experienced Earth, those clothes will forever represent a part of her life that she would be quite loathe to forget.
She is distracted from her personal reverie by a knocking on her door. She opens it to find Brielle standing there, smiling shyly.
“Hello, Luna. I just wanted to come by and… talk, if that’s okay? I can come back if it is not an opportune time…”
Luna shakes her head. “No, no, I’m fine, really. Come on in.” Brielle follows her through the walkway and plops next to her on the couch in the sitting area of the pod. A few minutes of awkward silence ensues.
“So… what’s going on? What can I do for you?” Luna sits back on the couch, rubbing her temples with her index fingers. She’s been through a lot of stress as of late, so it makes sense that she’d be feeling at least a little tense.
“Well, um, I just wanted to talk to you about… what happened.”
“Well, which thing? A lot of interesting events and occurrences have been going on lately. So you’ll have to specify a little more than that.”
Brielle recoils slightly from Luna’s brash response, but Luna attempts to smooth it over with a kind smile. “I’m sorry, I’m just… dealing with a lot at the moment.”
&n
bsp; “Like what exactly?”
Luna exhales, and then sits up a little straighter on her side of the couch, and turns to face Brielle. “Well, living on Earth was not easy, but I came to really like it during the time I was there. It is so much different than being here, and there is so much more freedom. No schedules, or uniforms, or anything. And life is just structured so much differently.”
“Wow, that sounds so… fascinating. What would you say is the biggest difference, or the thing that made the most impact on you?”
Luna looks wistfully out the window of her pod, and she can’t help but think of Onyx and the love they shared. His touch, his kiss, his everything, was the most powerful sense of human emotion she had ever experienced. Unfortunately, that kind of emotion isn’t really condoned in the Upperworld, for two reasons. The first and primary reason being that sorters and other Upperworld beings are not typically half-human, as Luna and Onyx are, so they do not experience complex emotions like love or attraction. Secondly, in the rare occurrence that an entity is rebooted like Onyx and Luna both were, those emotions, though very real to them, are not encouraged as they may pose as a distraction to the very important work that is accomplished in the Upperworld.
“Well, let’s just say I got to… explore some things about myself that I never got to before. It was… thrilling, and powerful, and unlike anything I ever thought was possible.” Luna blushes at her memories with Onyx in their house.
“Wow, that sounds amazing. What else?” Brielle perches her face on her hands, resting her elbows on her lap.
“Well, there were hard things too, of course.” Luna doesn’t want to remember what happened with Garth, and then consequently, Seth. She also doesn’t want to think about how Seth had to be killed - unborn or not, he was her son. And in some twisted way, that is something she will always have to carry with her, for better or worse.
The Fall of Zephyr Page 15