by A Y Venona
“Young Jason, come here and assist me in keeping conflict among our kindred at bay. Today we are going to honor your father. His body is intentionally kept for this particular ceremony.” He looked at everybody and then continued. “Since all the pieces are all here, let us begin the main reason of today’s gatherings. So, Janus, do you wish to continue?”
Janus scrambled for words to say with an appropriate calm voice. Zeus set the stage for him and everybody was waiting. But how to keep his anger down proved to be a war in itself. He cleared his throat before speaking.
“Thank you, Alpha deity Zeus.” Janus then swept his gaze at his comrades. “Two years ago, we have stumbled upon the truth, the truth that has been hidden from us for thousands of years. The truth that has been kept as a secret by our own scribe and diviner, deity Apollo.” Then his gaze found Melo. “Melo will tell us everything, won’t you?”
Lawrence’s heartbeat sped up, his stomach lurching as murmurs of surprises buzzed against his ears. He pulled Xander to him as he held Melo’s gaze.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” he said to him.
“Trust me,” Melo said before stepping to the front and faced the crowd. “Apollo has a secret.”
✽✽✽
Sometime in the past
The An-Kian language was the hardest language to learn. One vowel sound could have hundreds of meaning and so far Apollo had only found around fifty for each. He was the only one alive who succeeded in decoding at least thirty percent of their ancestor’s original prophecy text. Imagine, therefore, how Apollo felt when finally he was able to piece together the most important part of it.
“So do you have the translation ready, Apollo?” Melo asked.
"I do. The prophecy has given us the timeline as to when the curse can be broken. The sign is on the birth of the alpha and the omega."
“What does that mean?”
"Our race shiane is known as the alpha and omega race because we have dual genes. If an alpha soul or a Shii inhabits a shiane, it will activate the alpha gene, and in the case of an omega Shii, it will be the omega gene. However, out from the lines of our ancestors, none were born with the shiane genes. Or not yet."
“Not yet?” Janus asked. His forehead creased.
They hunched over a table, examining a piece of document. The table itself was littered with gemstones, books and hundreds of potion bottles in varying colors—red, purple, green, yellow.
“Not yet. But when it does happen, the curse can then be broken.”
"A timeline, indeed," Melo said, echoing Apollo's earlier comment.
“So what are we going to do if a boy is born with the shiane gene or the dual gene?” Janus asked. “Did it say something about how to break the curse?”
Apollo took time to answer this one, and when he did, his voice was somber. “It means he is the sacrifice needed to break the curse. But here’s the thing, this shiane has to be an omega.”
“But we cannot just sacrifice an omega suspected to have dual genes,” Janus replied. “We have to be sure.”
Janus spoke the truth. Killing a wrong omega may likely condemn the whole race to perdition. So they had to ensure that the Omega was the prophesied shiane. Apollo studied the text further. Hundreds of years later, another piece of the prophecy was revealed to him.
He was prepared to present his report to the Legion especially to Fenrir and Janus, but his personal life took a priority and stalled him from meeting the council. His son Lawrence was pregnant and had had some hard time carrying the Shii. Apollo had to concoct herbs that alleviated nausea and cramps. He lived in his son’s home the whole duration of the pregnancy and was there present when the Shii was about to be born. He was not going to entrust Lawrence and the baby’s health to Melo when Apollo was the greatest healer of his kind. But this decision he regretted later when he held his grandson for the very first time. He shouldn’t have been there. He shouldn’t have been the one who declared the identity of his grandson’s soul.
“So what is he?” Lawrence asked. He had the smile on his face when Apollo gave his son to him. Hector was beside him too eager to hear the gender of their son’s soul.
Apollo scanned the people who were in the room. Janus was there. Beside him was Heimdall. Then Dionysus. There were many others who were there too, but Apollo did not pay them any mind. Fenrir was in the other room, taking care of his spouse Muzil and the newly born. They just had the baby a few seconds ago. His gaze found his son’s face again.
“He’s an alpha recessive,” he answered.
Confusion reigned in the room. Apollo knew that he could spin a lie and convinced them that Alexander was just an ordinary omega. But he had two things working against him. One, he said alpha recessive first. And second, Melo was there. In fact, Melo was staring at him, waiting for him to say more. And Janus noticed it too. In fact, Janus asked Melo to confirm the declaration.
“Is it right, Melo?”
Apollo stared at Melo, trying to tell him to refrain from saying it. But it was too late because even before Melo met his eyes, he already said that damnable word.
“He is an… omega with a recessive alpha gene.” This meant that Lawrence son, Alexander, had the dual gene, the shiane gene—the same one told in the prophecy.
Right there and then, they sealed the fate of Alexander.
“That’s good,” Janus said. “I’ll inform the Legion.”
But the nightmare was not over yet. Fenrir came inside the room with a baby crying in his arms. The baby kept looking at Lawrence son so the oblivious Fenrir brought the baby near Lawrence. His son immediately circled his little hand around the equally tiny hand of Apollo’s grandson in Lawrence’s arms. When their hands linked, a bond was immediately established. But it was only Apollo who quickly realized the identity of the baby in Fenrir’s arms.
The nightmare had begun.
He had no choice but to bury the truth. This could not come out. And so when the Legion called him for a meeting, he hedged. The Council of the Gods sent their guards whom Apollo, a master sorcery, easily eluded. But he could not hide from them for long especially when they threatened his family.
The Legion visited Hector and Lawrence’s home.
“So tell them,” Janus said.
Fenrir was with them and had no idea what this meeting was about.
“Alexander is the one prophesied to break the curse by sacrificing himself.”
At that revelation, Lawrence broke down. His son knew what it meant. Hector’s growl shook the entire chamber.
“No, you can’t do that! Father, you can’t!”
The word ‘father’ that escaped his son lips pierced through his heart, sharper than any sword his brother Hephaestus ever forged.
“We will make it as painless as possible,” Janus said.
“Wait a minute,” Fenrir said. “Alexander is my son’s mate. It will greatly affect him too.”
“It will not matter when upon the baby’s death, the reincarnation will be reinstated to all of our kind,” Janus answered as though he was simply solving a math problem and not considering murdering Apollo’s grandson.
Lawrence was screaming at them when the gods tried to take Alexander from him. The other gods restrained Hector. Melo was just standing there, stunned and looking at Apollo for direction. What should Apollo do?
“Wait,” he started. “The prophecy said that since an omega who died is pregnant, the omega to be sacrificed has to be pregnant too.”
Everybody stopped. Even the wind stopped. And the time too. Or Apollo was imagining it all. He really wished that time he was not that smart to decipher the codes. If no one could read it, then no one would know the truth. Alexander would be safe. Right?
“Are you sure you’re not doing this to stall the fate of your grandson?” Janus asked.
Apollo also wished that time he could turn Janus into a toad.
“You don’t believe me? Go ahead, murder Alexander, an omega. Murder him and risk getting anoth
er omega curse. The prophecy said that equal restitution. A life for a life. An omega for an omega. A Shi’la for a Shi’la, a pregnant omega for a pregnant omega.”
Silence followed broken only by a collective sigh. That night, Apollo had saved his grandson’s life.
Since then the Legion hounded him, monitored his study until he broke and told them what was the rest of the prophecy. Except for one—that one he kept as a secret.
But he shared this knowledge to both Melo and Muzil, the father of Jason Hunter—Alexander’s mate.
“There’s something you should know about your son.”
Before he told him the secret, he first made Muzil drink the potion of secrecy. The truth turned out to be too heavy for Muzil to carry. He could not take this secret so he begged him to help him hide his son. Of course, hiding his son would also invite suspicion on Fenrir. Since Fenrir was the speaker of the Legion, they could not share this information with him. Driven by his love to his son and insanity as well—for Apollo had long suspected how the secret damaged Musil’s psyche—Muzil committed suicide just so he could invoke the Deathbed Vow and wrought Fenrir with it without asking a question.
‘Hide my son from the gods. Never give him to them.’ This was his death wish, an irrevocable vow that Fenrir could not break. And so Fenrir hid Jason to an island, away from his kind, away from the council he served. And this he did without question.
✽✽✽
“So what is Apollo’s secret, Melo?” Zeus asked. His voice was calm and soothing like he was a friend who was ready to listen to all your problems and miseries.
“He didn’t know,” Lawrence said. “My father did not tell him.”
“Let me repeat what I said. Two years ago, we stumbled upon a secret… now Melo what is it that we found out?” Janus prompted.
“Janus, Heimdall and I went to Apollo’s place and found his book, his translation of the prophecy.”
“It can’t be or else I should have seen it first because I was the one who cleaned Apollo’s home including his workshop,” Lawrence said. Confidence was back in his voice.
“It’s in the box. You don’t have a key to it.”
“And you have one? You think my father trusted you more than me?”
“I don’t need a key to open the spelled box, Lawrence,” Melo said. “I’m older than Apollo. I taught him the spell myself.”
“And, of course, whatever you discovered you shared it to them. Glad to know where your loyalty lies, Melo,” Hector chimed in, his voice laced with venom.
“My loyalty is to my kind. But I wouldn’t have shared it to them if Apollo had not written it in the language our kind could easily read!” This time Melo’s calm exterior broke. “Why would he leave it there inside the box that I could easily open? Why did he set me up? Lawrence, I wouldn’t tell them. I wouldn’t. But Janus read it himself.”
“The alpha and the omega written in Apollo’s journal.” Janus’ voice was melodic. “Are the reincarnation of An and Ki. To pay for his sin and break the curse, Ki himself has to endure the pain he has inflicted upon the family of the dead omega.” Janus’s gaze found Jason.
“Welcome back, Ki.” And then to Alexander, he said. “And you as well, An.”
Chapter 25
“You brought the curse upon your lineage. You’re the only one who can end it,” Zeus spoke, his voice soothing.
At Zeus’ penetrating gaze, Jason felt naked, exposed. He did not know who Ki was and what he did to them. His father did not tell him any stories about a curse nor a reincarnation but instead talked about death with a sense of finality—the end of everything.
"I don't believe in any of your prophecies. I didn't grow up in your world." Jason answered.
Zeus sighed and gazed at him with a flicker of understanding. The god walked back to the sarcophagus and stood behind it. Zeus's gaze found him again.
“Come over here,” he said.
Aside from the nervous breathing, Jason could hear from his mate, the crowd was totally quiet, watching them like they were a pair of actors on the stage, performing a tragic play. Jason gave Xander a reassuring look before he went to follow Zeus’ request to stand by his father’s coffin. Touching the cold stone that confined his father’s body reminded him of his loss.
“Don’t worry after today, your father will be reincarnated with Muzil,” Zeus said. His voice had a fatherly tone in it, tempting Jason to trust him, to believe in him.
Then the god’s face turned grim and somber. He touched the top of the coffin, and it glowed blue in the shape of a sword. The crowd shouted in surprise. A few questions were thrown before it died down into a complete silence.
“This is the sword of Ki that killed his Omega friend, touch it to know the truth,” Zeus said.
Should he touch it? What was it to him? Did he even care to know the truth? But in the end, it was not the answers to those questions that compelled him to touch it. The sword itself called him. And as soon as he found his grip around the sword’s hilt, his head was immediately beset by images so vivid, so real.
✽✽✽
The golden-haired Ki thrust his sword, deep into the stomach of the warlord Ord. Blood came out of the Lord’s mouth as he fell to the ground. His spirit a heartbeat gone.
“Ki!” called the dark-haired with eyes of a pale moon.
“Chons!” Ki uttered his name in his voice regrets shewn. “I didn’t mean to kill him.”
“Fight me!” Chons screamed, his anguish pierced Ki’s soul more fatal than any sword, leaving him with a gaping hole.
Ki did not want to fight him. But when Chons came charging with his sword, he pulled the sword out of Ord’s stomach and with the skill of a battle-honed warrior he parried the onslaught, stroke after stroke. Then his steps faltered. His warrior’s hand by instinct swung his sword and countered the final blow that Chons flung. But his blazing blade met not a steel, but the soft skin of his friend’s neck, severing it from his body with unwanted zeal.
Ki dropped to his knees, in a wreck as he cradled his friend’s head. He howled in pain, his eyes bright.
At the podium, Chons Bhraym’s father wailed.
“I invoke Ma’at! I demand vengeance!”
And then Ma’at appeared, his eyes in white veiled. Facing Ki, he uttered in a prophetic voice the penance.
“Your House shall beget an omega sans his alpha
To ignite the flame that will destroy the House of Ki.
And Ragnarok shall come, in your Houses, it shall dwell
To bury your sons deep into the bosom of Lord Hel.
But time is merciful and will grant you a rebirth
To pay the restitution and break the curse from your race
With the same sword, and by your own hand
You shall sacrifice your own mate.
A life for a life,
An omega for an omega,
A Shi’la for a Shi’la.”
✽✽✽
Jason opened his eyes and gazed at the people around him. They stared back at him with those cold accusing eyes, judging, hating. Alexander ran to him and he hugged him close.
“I did this to them,” he said to his mate. “I brought upon the curse to my kin. To you.”
"It's all right," Xander said with a smile despite the tears welling in his eyes. He held Jason's hands. "We can fix it. Together."
“The Ma’at demanded a similar sacrifice, the life of your mate by the same sword.” Zeus’s voice rang behind them.
“No,” Jason said, shaking his head as he stared at Alexander. “I can’t. I would rather kill myself than hurt you.”
“Apollo said for it to work Xander has to be pregnant,” Lawrence intervened, his voice laden with barely restrained anger. “And he is not pregnant. Right, Melo?”
Melo stared into Lawrence’s eyes filled with desperation.
“Xander is pregnant,” he answered.
The words were a knife that stabbed Lawrence right in his solar plexus.
> “No. You’re lying,” Lawrence said. “You wouldn’t know.”
“Lawrence, you know it’s true. He exhibits the signs.”
“You’re not touching my son!” Lawrence screamed. The gods blocked his way when he made a few steps toward his Xander. “Out of my way.”
Hector growled and started glowing.
“Father, don’t!” Xander called, his voice pleading. “Let me do this.”
"This is nothing but a myth. There's no reincarnation," Lawrence said in desperation.
“Father, this is the only way to get back what we all lost.”
But his fathers had the stubbornness of a steel. Lawrence released a spell, but it bounced back to him when three gods countered it. Hector barreled into the gods who hurt Lawrence, but the gods blocked it with an energy shield. Hector growled as he was unable to move any farther.
“Please don’t hurt them,” Xander said and then to Jason. “You have to do this.”
Jason once again shook his head. His soul was screaming in agony. He wouldn't do it. He couldn't do it. Tears dripped down his cheeks, begging Xander not to force him. But Xander made the decision for them.
Xander picked up the sword and aimed its point at his stomach. It was as though time stood still and everything was muted. Jason screamed as he tried to take the sword away, but Xander was fast. As soon as Jason covered Xander’s hands that were holding the sword, Xander pushed the sword down and into his stomach.
“No!” Jason screamed in shock. But before he could do anything to save his mate, a blast of energy came to engulf Xander.
Xander fell to the ground. Dead.
A pandemonium ensued. Jason followed his mate to the ground and held his body in his arms. The pain like no other coursed through him. He felt as though his heart was split apart, its inside was exposed. And his stomach was in a knot so tight he could hardly breathe.
“It’s done!” Melo said, his voice full of anger. “Now, you can all die!”