*
Morning sunlight is said to be the best alarm clock in existence, but to Alza, it was merely an annoyance. She stretched out her limber arms, her violet eyes blinking in the dawn light. Standing up, she glanced around the recently forged cave, noticing that Ion was nowhere in sight. Before she could dwell on this, a strange feeling from her abdomen reminded her that she hadn't eaten in days. Coincidentally, a peculiar yet robust smell caught her attention, and she spent several minutes searching for the source. Resting against the cave entrance she found a small cloth package, covered in a light dusting of frost: in defiance of the steadily rising desert heat.
Hesitantly, she opened it, wary of any malicious items within. Inside lay three medium-sized green and silver fish, water droplets still coating their cold scales.
“Fresh fish in the middle of a desert? She’s showing off.”
Gingerly picking up the valuable nutrients, she retreated back into the cave. After gathering a few flat rocks from outside and laying the fish upon them, she closed her eyes. She sought out the power that rested deep within her, trying to remember the clear flame from the night before. It hung there, in the darkness of her mind, flickering weakly. It seemed to be insubstantial, as though it had lost its intensity during the night.
“I'm getting weaker. I need to reach the oasis today. It's the only way I can regain my full strength.”
Alza pressed harder, focusing her all into recreating the flame. It wobbled uncertainly, as though it could feel her indecision. She tried to remove everything else from her mind, leaving only the sight of the plasma, the smell of the ash, and the heat of the flame. In a sudden burst of willpower and concentration, she brought the ball of fire into being. It hung there, hovering mere inches off the ground, almost transparent.
Moving quickly, she mentally willed the fish into the air and gently inserted them into the flaming sphere. After counting to ten, she removed the fish and dissolved the miniature blaze. They had been cooked to perfection, and were full of flavour even to Alza's inexperienced taste-buds. After finishing her meal and disposing of the bones, she gathered her belongings and Kingston's medicine pack, and left the cave behind.
Well-fed and somewhat rested, Alza soon picked up a fairly quick pace. She walked whilst thinking of her past. Prior to waking up in Kingston's hut, her life was a monochromatic blur, with events all jumbled together in one massive mess. If she concentrated, she could barely make out a scene or two, but they were often out of sequence or out of focus. In comparison, her memories since meeting Barsch were crystal clear, filled with vibrant colours and sound. As she walked, a feeling of familiarity stole over her. The warm sand and the sparse environment gave her an odd sense of déjà vu, though she could not remember why the desert should elicit such feelings.
Shaking off the strange sensation, she concentrated on making it to the oasis, which was now a slightly larger dot of green on the horizon. After a few hours of non-stop walking, even she began to tire. Although she could throw around seven-foot tall re-mech with her mind, her stamina was the same as a normal girl of her age. Stopping under a rocky overhang for a much-needed break, she began to relax slightly.
Almost immediately, her mind wandered back to her fragmented memories. She would never had said as such, but the state her mind was in irked her to no small degree. As she sat there in the cooling shade, she thought back to her first meeting with Barsch and Kingston, and their inexplicable desire to ‘help’ her. At the time, she hadn't understood them, and thought that they must have had an ulterior motive. However, as time passed and she got to know them better, Alza had come to the conclusion that they were just naturally helpful and supportive.
“They are irregularities. Emotion is a weakness. They cling to life with such helpless fear, all because they allow themselves to be ruled by fleeting feelings and beliefs. If one wants true strength, one should discard all emotions and superstitions, that is why I am fortunate, since I was born without either. But... Barsch, is strong in his own way, a way that I cannot contemplate yet.”
Alza sat there, lost in her thoughts, unmindful of the world around her. Nearby, a sluggish snake had awoken due to her presence. It was a wicked thing, with a pure white body and crimson slits for eyes. It was filled with hatred and malice, born from generations of scorn and persecution. Its genetic memory told it that here was a specimen from the very same species that had almost hunted its kind to extinction, many years ago. Instinct spurned it on, using its empty stomach as another unnecessary incentive. It was unnecessary because this particular snake needed absolutely no excuse to kill. Had it been seen by a shaman or priest, they most probably would have remarked that it was the reincarnation of a mass-murderer or some twisted psychopath.
It slowly slithered towards its unaware prey, intent on finishing things quickly, with minimal personal risk. While humans had still been around, it had been called the Devil's Halo, which referred to its chosen method of attack. In a solely unique evolutionary adaptation, the Devil's Halo was thin and relatively short, which hampered its ability to constrict. Therefore, it had adopted the tactic of ambushing its prey and quickly wrapping its muscular body around their neck, before crushing their windpipe and choking them to death, hence the peculiar name. The locals had another name for it: Ouroboros, the giant serpent that appeared to eat its own tail, forming an endless circuit. Coincidentally this is what the Devil's Halo did in order to ensure it stayed attached to its prey.
Undetected, it neared its prey, careful to stay in her blind-spot. A single thought, a simple desire filled its entire being: kill the giant. Moving with an almost poetic grace, its coiled its serpentine body and sprang forward, aiming for Alza's unprotected neck. Without waiting for her reaction, it began to tighten its hold, as it had done so many times before. Its powerful muscles were the result of decades of genetic selection and evolutionary adaptation, which allowed it to bring down even the toughest of animals in mere minutes. Alza, by comparison, had a relatively weak body, and as such she could already feel her windpipe begin to collapse.
Falling to her knees, she felt her burning lungs cry out for air, as her face coloured and her vision dimmed. Her slender fingers tried to find purchase on the bleached scales, but they held fast, tightening in response to her dying actions. Alza had remained relatively calm throughout the attack, but now that the darkness was beginning to fill her view the first signs of fear began to manifest. In desperation, she tried to reach the unknown power lurking within her. However, her mind was starved of oxygen and the concentration required for the task refused her call. She fell face-forward, her outstretched arms the only thing between her and the ground.
The snake seemed to relax just a fraction, as if it thought the deed already complete. In that split-second of relaxation, several things happened at once. Alza's left hand reached up and grasped the snake's scaled head, whilst another, unseen hand reached for its midsection and pulled with an inhuman strength. The shock of such a two-pronged attack caused the snake to release its tail from its deadly fangs.
Obeying the laws of kinetic motion, it unravelled and flew in an arc towards the shade of the overhang. On Alza's fair neck, in its place, was a thick purple band. She coughed and spluttered, as air rushed in to re-inflate her starving lungs. She reached for the power dwelling within her, fully intent on using this opportunity for a counter-attack. The power came easily this time, filling her with warmth and courage. The bruises around her neck faded until they ceased to exist, and strength returned to her body.
She retreated back a few steps, until she was out of the shadow of the overhang. She concentrated on the few tonnes of rock above the snake, willing it to obey her commands. She could feel the minuscule cracks, the subtle differences in strata, and even the ever present pull of gravity. She dove deeper, searching for the core of the rock, the place where everything converged.
After a few heartbeats, she found it. It pulsated, responding to her clumsy probe. She tried to reas
on with it, attempting to convince it to give in to the sweet allure of gravity. It was stubborn, but it gradually began to respond to her will. To an outsider, it looked like she merely closed her eyes for a few seconds and then the huge slab of rock collapsed, but in reality it was a fairly serious mental tug of war. It was her first time manipulating such a gigantic object, as her previous attempts: crushing a re-mech and summoning fire from the void, seemed to pale in comparison. As such, it was still almost too much for her, evidenced by her legs threatening to buckle beneath her.
As for the unlucky Devil's Halo, it received several tonnes of solid death raining down upon its slender head for its troubles. Needless to say, its life was ended without so much as a hiss.
“Nicely done. A bit over the top if you ask me, but effective nonetheless.”
“Ion.”
And indeed it was she. Ion stood a short way off, her cloak of deepest blue bringing with it the disturbing smell of the ocean. A small puddle had formed under her feet. Noticeably, it refused to evaporate, despite the midday heat.
“Nice to see you too, little girl, did you miss me?”
“Your assistance was not required. I had the situation under control,” Alza said, somewhat truthfully.
“Oh, really? Guess I must have been mistaken then, because what I saw was a child that barely escaped death.”
“You are mistaken then. Why are you here?”
“What? I can't just drop in and say hello? And after all the trouble I went through because of you. Finding fish in the middle of the desert isn't exactly the easiest thing to do you know.”
Ion wore a strange smile on her too-beautiful-for-words face. She looked -in Alza’s opinion- like she was enjoying herself, which was troubling.
“Your concern was not necessary. I would have managed just fine without your help.”
“Honestly! Sometimes I really regret not choosing that boy as my charge.”
For a split second, an image of greenish-blue eyes flashed across Alza’s mind. “Are you talking about Barsch? Is he still alive?”
“Hmm... So he's the first one to pop into your mind? Interesting. Are you worried about him? And as for whether he's alive or not... at this stage, I guess it all depends on him.”
Alza's face coloured slightly, but returned to normal almost immediately. Evidently, she had not noticed, as she continued on unabated, “It is not worry, nor is it any other foolish emotion. He is a tool, one that I will use in order to get what I want. That is all.”
“And what exactly is it that you want, little girl?”
Alza couldn't answer. Maybe she didn't want to tell, maybe she didn't even know the answer herself. Either way, her goal remained unclear. Letting the power drain from her body, she took one last glance at the heap of rubble that served as a tombstone for the unfortunate snake, before continuing onwards to her distant destination.
Awakening Page 89