For what that is already dust

Chapter 4: Reflections

But then again for some reason after her long life of several millenia (if it can even be considered a life at this point), Vykaria found the movie ridiculously intriguing despite its stupid clichés humans have the talent to grab your attention in a way that spoke 'Im obligated to watch out of sheer disbelief just to make sure its not that bad' when in reality it always ends up worse then initially expected anyways.

Judging by their absurdly short lifespans,mortals have a tendency to put things in a narrative or try to achive the inconceivable which makes sense why the notion of this sorry excuse of a film felt insulting. It almost reminds Vykaria about her mother Ixia later known as Ishtar not out of reverance but associated with the brutal way she tortured her lover Elphash,a mortal queen she forgot about, because she wasnt raised by her mother but by Elphash her father ,since Ishtar was executed by her own subjects after they found out what she had done behind closed doors. Ishtar her mother was once a generous kind hearted soul (often why she was referred as Ixia) according to her people, but her want for knowledge was dangerous the queen practicing old ritualistic dark arts,it first started as curiosity at the behalf to benefit her people's suffering to make their plight easier, but when it worked in her favour under the influence of the mage's deceptive suggestions,Ishtar began seeking immortality following the texts instructions,she selectively gathered 10 young men to serve her,who were assumed to be servants in the eyes of ordinary people,however the truth was much more sinister after a certain period of time ,Ishtar tampered their wine with poison, and the queen slept with the men while rehearsing some strange enchantations for the ritual to drain their life force,stealing not just the years from their own life but the centuries of their potential predecessors if they had any legacy, to ensure her own lifespan,among those sacrificial men was Vykaria's father Elphash who was immune to poison due to his distinct origin or maybe divine protection who knows,the servants were later killed by the guards, but Elphash managed to escape slipping from notice which disrupted the ritual.

Her mother knowing this,didnt give chase immediately instead let him wander ,out of morbid fascination which later transfixed into obsession.

After several witnesses enough to testify the queen's cruelty,especially with the undeniable testament of Elphash's survival,Ishtar's own subjects turned their back on her and executed their queen on sight.

But they didnt know Ishtar had a child,his daughter...Seeing the unsettling resembelance between himself and his tormenter the now dead queen,he knew with certainty Vykaria was his offspring so Elphash took his daughter under his wing and raised her to not to be like her mother,guiding and protecting Vykaria as he lived.

Her father was a scholar who later on became some influential playwright about morality ,through the psychological warfare which shaped his trauma and wrote hymns about good and evil ,each word filled with wisdom under the duress of his turmoil,usually dedicated to Jewish history and their God,where Elphash descended from.

Unfortunately after 120 years later Elphash's mortality was prevalent and her father he later died,but Vykaria oh she lived instead of fate being kind ,she inherited her mother's curse immortality,passed down by blood ,passed down by her sins.

This movie is a sacrilege against ancient writers,philosphiers such as her father she's somehow more offended on Elphash's behalf than her own. An insults for the suffering he endured. In the end Ishtar traded the lives of ten men for a lie,an illusion a farce,she didnt even make it past 25.

But Vykaria by now was used to the idiocracy of mortal antics it wasnt exactly the first time but it Unfortunately wont be the last either. No there was no point in her to be angry,she'll definitely vent at home.

Vykaria's fingers dig into the armrests, her ancient eyes narrowing as the villain onscreen delivers another bombastic monologue about "eternal dominion." The sheer absurdity of it makes something in her chest twist-not anger, not even annoyance. Just...tiredness.

"Dale" she says very quietly, "if I had known you were taking me to witness a parody of my own existence-badly written and poorly acted-I would have let you drag me to a vampire romance novel adaptation instead."

(A lie. She would rather be stabbed with a wooden stake.)

The movie cuts to an over-the-top fight scene where lightning strikes dramatically for no reason other than spectacle. [Internally] "Elphash wept when storms delayed his plays' premieres... and this is what they do with his legacy?"

(Somewhere beyond time?)

(Her father is facepalming.)

A pause. Then she leans toward Dale just enough that he stiffens (he knows that tone). "...You're paying for my therapy after this," she mutters darkly.

A flash of memory: Elphash kneeling in candlelight, scribbling hymns with ink-stained hands while murmuring Psalms. A man who wrote tragedies not for spectacle but because he understood loss too well. And here was this wretched creature playing at divinity with all the grace of a drunkard stumbling through scripture.

"Dale...We're leaving now." The finality in her tone so indifferent it made the silence bristle,Vykaria didnt have to tell him twice as he followed suit it wasnt a request.

"okay uhm..Can we get a drink atleast?" Dale suggested weather if he was foolish or an attempt to try lighten the mood she didnt know.

"I need a break." She sighed inwardly,if this was what eternity got her to she would've buried herself in a coffin for another 1000 years.

And for a while,he had a rare display of common sense,his voice carrying a note of concern.

"Are you okay..." Dale prodded,it wasnt really a question,they both knew the answer to that. Since when was she ever okay?

Vykaria can still recount her mother's declaration towards her, despsite the millenias the words were still engraved in her mind:

"Vezu nuha vezov" In some forbidden ancient tongue ,which sounded more like acknowledgement than affection.

"Blood of my blood"

"Flesh of my flesh."

And for a fleeting moment she felt like that same vulnerable 5 year old again,toddling towards Ishtar in confusion at her mother's sudden fondness when a parent back then was a child's entire world. The nostalgia suffocating her in bitter tragedy. Vykaria despised her lineage with unadulterated vitriol,she loathed this body for who 's blood she was resposible carrying in her veins, and in who's womb she once resided in.

She was surprised Ishtar had half the decency to not sacrifice her own child as a sustenance as an offering to ensure her goal,Vykaria was astonished her mother wasnt as cruel as she had anticipated.

Right it was ironic, the name Ishtar was known to be the babylonian goddess of love and war,however people often associated their queen with such a title not out of respect but because Ishtar was infamous for torturing her lovers in myths and had an obsession that mirrored her own mother.

While Vykaria's name meant 'chooser of the slain' a fitting name considering her existence is what caused Ishtar's failure and execution while Elphash her father's name meant 'the endeavors of God' a swift etymology echoing judgement, a brutal rebuke towards Ishtar for the men she wronged. It was sardonic the hewbrews would've labelled it as a poetic justice on behalf of their kin Elphash,as the abrahamic beliefs didnt tolerate any idols for such debuachery.

Vykaria's breath hitches-just once, sharp and quiet. The name Ishtar lingers in the air like smoke, curling around her throat with phantom weight. For a moment, she is not an ancient being standing outside a theater but that same small child again: confused by the sudden warmth of maternal pride in eyes meant to be cold.

"Dale" she says after too long, "I am going home."

(Not our home.)

(Just hers.)

(The one buried under centuries of silence where no one can follow.)

Dale opens his mouth-maybe to protest, maybe to ask something stupidly well-meaning-but Vykaria is already walking away without another glance back at him or the wretched movie behind them. [Internally] Ishtar's hand reaching toward her child a ,with something too twisted to be called love,a facade eso candidly harmless as sif she were not guilty of sin. "Vezu nuha vezov." The words slither up from some buried place in her throat-she chokes them back violently.As if blood ever made anything sacred."

A beat passes as Dale hesitates on the sidewalk (he's learned better than chasing). Then he mutters: "...I'll bring you whiskey tomorrow?" (A peace offering more than comfort; they both know it won't fix this.)

[Thoughts] She doesn't answer. She just keeps walking until streetlights blur into streaks above her head and buildings lean too close for comfort.