Destiny Sorrow

by Rod S. Galves

  “It remains sealed,” replied a guard, “yet there is a hole in the corridor to the top floor, caused by an explosion.”

  Tess became increasingly anxious and, as soon as he arrived at the Heart, turned to the Astra Guardian.

  “Wait for me in my office, I have things to take care of.”

  “Sir, my job is to ensure your safety. It's not wise for me to abandon you.”

  “But I am the Pharaoh, the voice chosen by the God-Computer. So, follow that voice and wait for me while I deal with a private matter.”

  The woman agreed and Tess rushed to room 1515, quickly passing through the two metal doors. There he saw Zizi lying on the floor painting a canvas without technique.

  As soon as she saw the scene, Tess sighed with relief and went to the liquor office.

  “I need a drink to relax,” Tess said.

  “Did something stressful happen?” Asked Zizi without taking his eyes off the canvas.

  Tess looked at her with doubt and then smiled.

  “You're always kidding, aren't you?” Asked Tess “I'm glad you're okay, I was very worried about what they would do to you.”

  The woman looked at the abstract art painting and rubbed her face on it, getting dirt with a series of colors.

  “Now it’s good!” She said proudly, “it’s ready.”

  “Aren't you at all curious?” Asked Tess disappointed. “You heard the explosions for sure.”

  “I heard. I also saw when this Sorom talk on tv.”

  “Well, I'm just glad you're okay.”

  “Could you give me a stun gun?” Asked Zizi without seeming to really care.

  Tess looked at her suspiciously.

  “You're not going to use it on the parrot, are you? Well, if that's what's going to make you happy, of course I'll arrange it. Now I need to talk to a certain traitor, see you later.”

  She just nodded. Tess, as soon as he finished her drink, he left the room, reuniting with Guardian Astra.

  “Now I'm going to talk to the prisoner,” Tess said. "You can come with me, but don't do anything.”

  The woman agreed and went with two more Royal Guards to a room with a glass window. Through the window it was possible to see another room, where Garreth was tied up shirtless and full of injuries.

  A tall man with an expression of few friends approached Tess, wiping the blood from his hands. He had very short dark hair and wore a military uniform full of medals.

  “General Sorom,” Tess greeted, “how is the prisoner?”

  “He denies saying anything.” Replied the general in a voice as terrible as his expression. “He says the terrorist tricked him and that if he knew what he was going to do, he never would have invited him.”

  “Of course,” Tess replied without believing a single word. “Would you mind if I came in?”

  The general made a sign with his hands and Tess went to the next room. Garreth barely seemed to hold consciousness, was hanging by his arms and bleeding from his head.

  “Careful, Garreth, you can catch an infection like that.”

  The man did not answer what worsened Tess's mood.

  “How long have you been working for these terrorists?”

  “I don't work,” Garreth replied with the few strengths he had.

  “You know what's going to happen, don't you?” Asked Tess. “If you tell us what we want to know, you will suffer the minimum necessary. Tell me, where's their base?”

  The tied man shook his head in denial. Tess pressed a button, discharging electricity into Garreth's body.

  “I did not hear well, “said Tess.

  “I don't know, I don't know.” cried Garreth “I thought he was my friend, but I didn't know his plans! He was just using me!”

  After saying his sentence, the adrenaline began to subside, and he returned to be quieter.

  “Let me understand then.” Tess spoke calmly. “Because of you the Chaos Agents leader came very close to killing me, stole a number of ships, including some of the Guardians of the Order, and killed several soldiers. Even though this is all your fault, you can't you say anything to help us against them?”

  Tess waited patiently for Garreth to catch his breath to respond.

  “I really don't know anything,” said the man beginning to whine. “I don't know! He never told me any details.”

  Pharaoh made a macabre expression for Garreth.

  “You'd better get used to your new quarters then. You're going to spend the rest of your life here.” Those were the last words exchanged between the two of them.

  Back in the room with the general and guardian, he began to think of his next move.

  “That brat does not stop disappointing me,” said the general.

  “And what are you going to do about it?” The Pharaoh asked. “It is you fault for what you did to the boy. If you were more drastic, none of this would have happened.”

  The general approached and faced Pharaoh Tess with intensity, despite being much smaller, Tess did not give in and continued with his serious expression.

  “I made a mistake because of love,” General Sorom said. “It will not happen again; I will kill the child with my own hands.”

  The general left with heavy steps, leaving Tess with a sadistic smile on his face.

  Recovery

  The next few days at the Chaos Agents base were of mourning and recovery. Those who were well organized the weapons and ships for the next attack, while Sorom spent most of the time alone in his quarters.

  As soon as Willys regained consciousness, Sorom went to the base communicators.

  “Norna Dluks, Golbert Sotark, Willys Inga, Dijo Mugo and Evelin Simeht, please report to the meeting room.”

  When Evelin arrived, she saw that everyone was already present. No conversation occurred and they barely looked into each other's eyes. She was happy to see Willys standing, even with bandages on his head. As soon as she sat down, Sorom started.

  “I want to clarify a few things. I didn't do anything that day on impulse. Having declared myself to the world serves for me to fire the spark of revolution on other people who expected validation. Do you know how many people suffer because of fate, even without being chaotic? I did it to show that we're not quiet and that we're on their side.”

  He shut up expecting some comment, yet everyone was still silent.

  “Maybe Willys wasn't hurt, maybe everything was different, but what I did gave us a chance to be here right now. A lot of people died, but they all knew what they were getting into when they joined the Agents.” At this point he turned specifically to Evelin: “I know you're upset, and I don't take that away from you, but I don't regret what I’ve done, and I won't apologize. If Simeht had reached us, eighty percent of the Agents' leadership would be lost and possibly no one to blow up the tunnels behind us. Everyone at the base would have been caught.”

  Once again, the silence became over time and Sorom looked at each of them anxiously.

  “Don't you have anything to say?”

  “What about Garreth?” Asked Norna. “Where does he fit into all this?”

  It was visible in Sorom's expression that this subject bothered him.

  “The whole world is more important than him,” Sorom replied sad. “And more important than me. You think I wanted to make him suffer? He only has 24 more days...”

  The last information generated doubt in the group.

  “What do you mean?” Asked Golbert.

  “His fate is a countdown that ends in twenty-four days. I intend to overthrow God before then and not find out what happens when the number reaches zero.”

  “I understand the reasons that led to their decisions.” Said Evelin cold. “Which doesn't mean I like them.”

  “You don't have to like them, or me, you just need to help me kill God and end fate.

  “If that's all, I'll be going,” said Evelin leaving the room.

  Dijo helped Willys get up and so did the two.

  “I'll see how Dice is,�
�� said Norna leaving.

  Golbert stared at the leader clearly upset.

  “This remembers me of the beginning.” Golbert said, trying to force a smile. “Both of us against the world.”

  “In the beginning I had only hurt those who deserved it...” Sorom replied, “Now it seems I hurt everyone.”

  Golbert went to Sorom menacingly and, when he got very close, hugged him tightly.

  “I am here with you, Little Dee. It's going to be all right!”

  When Sorom was released, he was pale and dizzy.

  “Try not to break me next time.” Complained the leader.

  “I'm helping you! You have to be emotionally prepared for the next mission!”

  Sorom snoozes and threw himself into one of the chairs without energy.

  “With the state of mind, we're in, I don't know if we're going to get that cannon.” He interrupted himself and became contemplative and said to himself: “I just wanted to help everyone...”

  ...

  Evelin found Jamin and Sliger in their room thrown into their beds.

  “How are you doing?” She asked.

  “Sliger is talking less than usual,” commented Jamin without much emotion, “and there's a Tug's die if you want to get it for yourself.”

  Evelin saw her companion's red die and felt Dommerick's die in her pocket.

  “Why are you like this?” Asked Evelin with a strange inspiration. “Did you all know this could happen, or is it the Chaos Agents' first death?”

  “Of course not,” replied Jamin angry, “but it was Tug!”

  “Would Tug want you to be corroding in your beds? We still have a lot of ground ahead of us, we can't stop now!”

  Sliger got up, rubbing his face.

  “She is right, we are close to overthrowing God, I can feel it.” the speech made Jamin also stand up.

  “Great,” said Evelin. “There are more people who need to hear a few words. You get up and go to raise other people's morale.”

  The two men nodded, leaving the room in a hurry. Evelin withdrew her orange die from Dommerick and placed it next to Tugsten’s red die then went to the hangar.

  There she saw Dice with tools moving on Norna's ship.

  “Dice,” said Evelin, “do you know where Norna is?"”

  “Right here,” Dice replied pointing upwards and Evelin saw the woman's red hair hanging from one of the wings.

  Evelin climbed on the wings and saw the woman lying there listening to music.

  “I thought you'd be all excited about Rubilacxe,” Evelin said.

  “He is very interesting,” Norna replied, “but I am not in the mood to fly now. What's more, he's being analyzed for the construction of Ringnug.”

  “What is what exactly?”

  At this point, Dice appeared on the wing with an end-to-end smile.

  “Well, this is Rinlojm,” said the engineer pointing to Norna's ship. “My creation, of course. Now Ringnug is the evolved version of this ship, powerful enough to compare with God's technology!”

  Evelin was amazed by Dice's animation.

  “She's pretty excited about ships, huh?” Asked Evelin. “So, you need a ship to stop God?”

  Norna looked at Dice with disapproval, but without the energy to really scold her.

  “You weren't supposed to talk about Ringnug the new girl.”

  Dice opened a yellow smile and kept talking.

  “Well, Rinlojm needs to be in good condition for the mission anyway, so I'm going to finish my inspection.”

  She got off the wings and moved the ship again, leaving them both alone.

  “You're mad at Sorom for the way he treated this Garreth guy, aren't you?” Asked Evelin.

  “In part. Garreth always did everything for Sorom and he never reciprocated as he should, now I can hardly imagine what's happening to him. You're mad at him too, aren't you? I heard he used you as a hostage for Simeht to leave you alone.”

  “Yes, Sorom sucks, but he is still the leader of this operation and I really believe in the cause.”

  Norna looked at the young woman and saw the same determination in his eyes that she saw in Sorom.

  “I would trade you for the weapons,” admitted Norna. “If you hadn't convinced Kurtrick, I would have made a terrible choice, all to achieve Sorom's dream.”

  “It is the cause for which we fight. Not that I'd like to be traded, but you were going to do what you needed to do to do a greater good.”

  “How much is it worth achieving a greater good if we all hurt along the way?”

  Evelin didn't have an answer for Norna.

  “Are you thinking of quitting?” Asked Evelin.

  “No, not that. I'm just wondering if we're as bad as the people we want to stop. Sorom's problem is that he doesn't mind becoming a demon if it makes him end fate. Is this the right way?”

  “I think that only you can decide,” Evelin said, “but we cannot simply abandon the cause and everything you have done in the last years. I know it's hypocritical since I've lived in luxury all this time, but you've gone too far to stop now.”

  The woman smiled at her recruit and stood on the wings.

  “I will think about the changes I want to see here,” continued Norna, “and then we will have another long talk with Sorom.”

  “That's for sure.” Agreed Evelin.

  The two said goodbye and Evelin walked to her next goal in the medical ward.

  There she found Willys and Dijo looking at Ratz's unconscious body. The young man had the entire front side of his body with serious burns, which left the scar on Willys' head looking banal.

  “How is he doing?” asked Evelin.

  “He will survive,” Willys replied. “If we had real medical equipment, maybe he'd be awake by now.”

  “One more thing to ask Sorom for,” said Evelin. “Speaking of which, I'd like to talk to you about him...”

  “You don't have to,” said Dijo. “I overreacted, but Willys got hurt and it made me very angry.”

  Willys smiled and squeezed Dijo's cheeks with his metal fingers before speaking.

  “You warm my heart by talking like that. I'm so proud of the man you've become.”

  Dijo dismayed Willys as a rebellious teenager, so Evelin turned to the demolition specialist.

  “And you, how are you?”

  “Preparing Dyna42, it will be essential to our adventure in the Air Temple!”

  “Aren't you upset about Sorom?”

  “I took a bullet because I threatened to blow up your father.” He spoke casually. “Not that I was actually going to do it! It was just a bluff. If not, we all would become ashes as well.

  “That's... good.” Said Evelin who did not expect this conversation. “So, you are prepared for the rest of the plan?”

  Willys raised both his thumbs and showed the teeth that he still had in a smile.

  “You also have work,” said Willys pulling Dijo. “Evelin, could you get a barrel of liquid explosive from the deposit?”

  “Do you keep explosives in that place?”

  “Only the ones that expire! It's the ones that usually gives the best results! I'll be waiting for you, don't be late!”

  The two left and Evelin went to the warehouse. There were several things thrown in a disorganized way, nothing that seemed to have any use. Evelin searched the room looking for Willys' request and ended up finding something else.

  A cloth with a design similar to the Chaos Agents banner, but the color was cyan, and the scripture was "Defenders of Harmony". Evelin couldn't hold a laugh thinking that name had been made by Sorom.

  ...

  “I've been looking everywhere for you.”

  Sorom was startled to hear Evelin's voice. He was sitting on a steel beam looking at the sunset in the Hoan Mountains by the glass dome.

  “Clearly I didn't hide properly.”

  Evelin walked to Sorom and noticed that the beam was seven meters above the mountain shore, which made her fear joining Sorom, but
she eventually gathered courage and walked up to him, throwing a piece of cloth at the man.

  “What is this?” Asked Sorom.

  “You answer me,” said Evelin with a malicious smile, “Defender of Harmony”.

  Sorom took the cloth and was embarrassed.

  “Is that such a bad name?”

  “It's not bad, I just didn't expect something so... cute of you.”

  He picked the cloth and threw it back at Evelin.

  “That's what I wanted to represent at first. Harmony. But it was a very peaceful name, so I created the Chaos Agents instead. I think it represents us better.”

  The two stood for a quiet moment looking at the sunset.

  “This place is really beautiful.” Said Evelin. “Too bad we're surrounded by radiation.”

  “Who knows when we take down fate, we can clean up this radiation... Is it too wrong for me to think I don't owe you an apology?”

  Evelin pondered the question before answering.

  “I don't know. I'm still mad by what you did, and I don't know if excuses would do any good. I think Norna's going to want to talk to you about the morality of the Agents.

  “I imagine... I just wanted to get this over with. That everyone could start a new life the way they want.”

  “And do you think that only by removing fate will the world become a paradise?”

  “Of course not, but I know it will be better than it is now.”

  “A world where people have no destiny... Is that really possible?” Asked Evelin.

  “Certainly.” Sorom replied showing his determination.

  “How do you know? Everyone on the planet, when they're 10, gets a destiny. Maybe killing God won’t change that and destinies will keep showing up.

  “I'll tell you how I know. It's my biggest secret. That's how I killed Pardalis and the chosen one without them completing their destinies. I'll show you my destiny.”

  He raised his arm at the classic sign of revealing destinies, Evelin was waiting for the glyphs to appear and be translated, but nothing happened.

  “Whenever you want.” Spoke Evelin impatiently.

  “I'm already showing it.” Sorom said looking deep into her eyes.

  First the young woman began to get angry; however, upon realizing Sorom's gaze, she was amazed at the whole thing.