Time's Mistress

Discovered Ruins

Iris donned a black cloak with gold lining the hood and sleeves as her sister guided her through the city streets to the gate where they had entered over a week ago. The previous night, Iris had visited her lover with the intention of asking questions and telling her what she found out only. But that wasn't the case as the moment she opened her eyes, her love was there already attacking her lips with her own. There were no words as the two battled all night for dominance over the other. But by the time Iris had gained that win, it was time for her to leave.

She sighed. Iris didn't even have time to call her by her name. She looked up as her sister approached the door and opened it as they both slipped inside. The white walls filled the environment as she saw Blake sitting at his desk. He looked up and smiled when he saw them.

"Your majesty's, it is good to see you today. Have you come to pay me a visit for another session?" Iris nodded her head.

"The last one helped. But we still need to keep going in order for me to regain what is lost."

"As you wish, my Lord. I am but your humble servant." He smiled and stood. "This way," he gestured to a doorway that the two women walked through. "Are you sure that your sister should be here to witness this?"

Iris nodded. "I don't want to hide things from her, plus she won't see much, so I can trust her for this much, at least," she said to him lowly. He nodded and gestured to a reclined chair. Iris sat down and made herself comfortable.

"It's going to be just like last time. Relax your body and close your eyes. You're going to sink into a deep calm before your connection between the conscious and subconscious will connect." Iris took a few deep breaths as she felt Blake's hand on her forehead. She felt herself start to slip away to nothing before an energy blazed up in her. Here it was, another memory.

Cassidy looked at her sister and Blake. She wondered what Blake was doing.

"Blake, what are you doing to my sister?"

"I am putting her in a trance so that she may see and connect with what she has lost. This is what I did the last time we were together. But don't worry. It will only last a few hours, she will wake up but with a new memory and a piece of herself returned." Cassidy looked at him in surprise and then to her sister that appeared to be sleeping peacefully. She hoped that this really did help her.

*********************

Iris opened her eyes to see the same room that she had been in before she closed her eyes. Only now, the room felt different, like there was more seriousness. She looked to see Blake watching her closely. Her mouth opened, and words started flowing out even though she didn't know what she was talking about or saying.

"My keeper I have found something of great importance to myself. It is the ruins. They are the ones that I read about. The ruins of the lost city of the gods where the war initially began. I have found them inside the city while exploring the tunnels. I have even found old manuscripts of the time before about the knowledge that was gathered there. I am getting closer to locating the tree. That is the last step in the chain before finding the tree's location."

"My Lord, that is incredible. Soon, you will be able to unlock your true potential. The one in the tree has all the answers that you seek."

"I must find out if I am, in fact, the goddess reincarnated. If I am, that would explain everything. But the only way is to break the seal. But if I am her, that means that my intuition has always been right. There is a reason why I have no interest in my betrothed. Because it would mean that I really am fated to her that is sealed."

Blake nodded. He noticed the excitement in her voice. "That would be interesting indeed. But what about the mad demon that has been trying to capture you? He wishes to sacrifice you in order to break the seal on the tree."

"I know. He is mad. He will never be able to break the seal. Only the one destined for her can break it. But I will kill him." Iris pulled out her twin axes and looked at them. There is an ice blue hue reflecting back at her in the light of the room. "These were her weapons, and they have chosen me to be their wielder. I will destroy him with these without question and then break the seal to release her."

Blake nodded his head. His master was truly amazing in her confidence and skill. She was almost unstoppable. "You will succeed, my lord." Iris smiled at him.

"If you truly are my keeper, I wish for you to hold onto something for me." She reached into her pack and pulled out a rolled up manuscript. "This the map of the tunnels. I want you to ensure this stays safe. I will be leaving the city for a while to investigate the place this demon was last seen. I need to kill him before I return to finish this journey." She handed the scroll over to him. "Protect this with your life because if something happens and I can not return for a while, you are the one that I entrust these things too." Blake nodded in seriousness.

"I will protect this with my life. I vow to always protect your memories and life-force with my life as I am a part of you, my lord." Blake stood at attention with the scroll over his heart as he said the words to her. Iris smirked at him before rubbing his hair.

"I admire your determination and devotion to me, Blake. If you were a woman, if this were a different time and life, who knows, we would have been together." She chuckled as did he. "But me and my men will be off Blake. When I return, we will have much to discuss, and excitement will be happening as I will be getting crowned on my return to the city." Blake kissed her hand.

"Yes, my Lord. I will see you on your return."

The memory faded, and a new one came into view suddenly. This was the first time there were multiple memories, she thought, as she faded into the next one.

********************

Iris looked around. She was in an underground cave. The walls were wet with moisture, and the air was heavy. All of her men were walking behind her in the dark as the sound of their foot steps could be heard echoing her own. She held a metal pole that was ignited on the end to help lead the way. This place would definitely seem like a demon's lair.

The heat was almost unbearable as she wished to shed her clothes. They clung to her as she sweat profusely. She knew that her men weren't fairing any better in the current circumstances. Finally, there seemed to be an opening up ahead, and she let herself almost sigh, ready to get out of such a stuffy place. She walked through only to pause. There was a city. Better yet, the ruins of a city. There was a hole in the ceiling, letting in the ash covered sky's light just enough to see the crumbling marble walls and the gold decor of what was once a great city.

She and her men walked down to explore this forgotten place. It was eerily quiet. Even their footsteps seemed too loud in this abandoned place. They made it look like the center, and there was a crumbling fountain. In the center was a sculpture of what appeared to be her. What could be made out looked exactly like her. The shock registered as she stared at it. But on the ground next to it was another one, but this one was carved in black marble and it was a woman also. She remembered the old legends, and after a few moments, they continued on past it to the entrance of the temple.

They walked in, but she stopped after about 10 feet and looked around. "Halt," she said to her men. "We are not alone." There were metal poles, just like the one she had lining the walls, and they were all lit. She looked down towards the end to see a twisted tree in the shape of a delicate woman. There were no leaves or flowers. Only delicate twisted branches that reached out in front of her. She felt her heart jump at the sight. This is the tree that she had been searching for. She had finally found it.

She heard shuffling before a dark shadow revealed itself. A dark voice boomed from the direction of the tree where the shadow was.

"You have finally come to see my master." The beast chuckled, almost sounding like it was choking. "I have been waiting for you, light goddess. It is about time to sacrifice you to my lord."

Iris snorted, "it is you who will be dying today, creature. Now show yourself." Iris pulled her axes from her back.

"I see that you have brought your loyal servants with you, Oria and Helios. It is of no consequence. You may have her weapons, but I have my master's strength and army to guide me." Just then, snakes molded out of the floor and started to twist and morph into demons.

"I have no time for these games creatures. Why don't you just die, you worthless thing?" Iris shouted as she swung her mighty axes, releasing waves of power that destroyed the creatures in one go. Iris ran to the beast, but it had disappeared from its spot. "Show yourself, you coward. I will kill you here and now." She looked around searching. Suddenly, one of her men yelled before there was silence. Shadow creatures emerged from the walls and started taking her men out one by one. She heard swords meeting claws. A group emerged from the floor in front of her, and she backed up bumping into the twisted tree.

Her entire body pulsed as she made contact with it. She turned to it, staring as her body started to heat up suddenly. A noise shook her out of it as a creature lunged at her. She swung her axes, killing the inky black shadow instantly. She grew annoyed at the distraction and summoned her energy to spend strike after strike until there was nothing left. She looked to see her men laying dead. They were in pieces. She sighed. Iris didn't know if she killed them on accident or if they were already dead when her attacks started.

"Finally, we are alone, light goddess. Now, I can finally take form to bless you before you are sacrificed for my lord." A man stepped out of the shadows. But as he walked a little closer, he changed. His hair turned blood red, his eyes turned completely black as his skin paled to almost translucent. His hands stretched as his fingers grew long and changed to black. His body warped to thin out as his stomach hollowed to the point of being able to count the ribs of the cage.

"You still have humanoid features. You must be a highly ranked demon." He only chuckled, showing his small sharp pointed teeth that were dripping something onto the ground. "And it seems your bite has poison. It drips from your teeth. I wonder, has it ever killed a God before slave?"

"You will be my first kill light goddess. It will please my lord greatly if you are sacrificed to set her free. You are the reason that she is trapped in the first place." He looked her over with his dead eyes. "So it's only right to kill you."

Iris grew impatient and clinched her jaw. She was tired of this. She ran at him in a flash and cut across his chest. He had moved just in time for her to miss his neck. She jumped back as he ran at her. He went in for the kill, trying to stab her through the heart with his claws. She flipped and kicked him in his chin. He raked his claw across her, grazing her stomach. She ran her blade across his face, leaving a gnash over his nose leading over his eye that she managed to get. He was blind in one eye now. Enraged, he ran at her throwing his claws. She dodged, but he hurriedly reached down and bit into her lower arm. She cried out in pain as she flung him around the room into a pillar, causing it to break.

The wounds began to fester as she saw the poison creeping up her arm. She was going to die if it reached her heart. She felt her arm starting to lose strength. Her axe fell from her hand as her arm went limp beside her. She shouted in anger. "I will kill you before I die you f*****g worthless creature!" She shouted running at him.

"I will tear you apart piece by piece to give you to my master." He shouted before catching her in the air. She swung her axe landing it in his thick neck as he bit down on her arm again, but beginning to pull. She had her axe halfway through his neck when he yanked her arm free, pulling it from the elbow down and severing it. He tossed it to the front of the tree before pulling away from Iris. The blood was leaving the both of them too fast to continue. They would both die before either of them accomplished their goals.

As the demon begin to lose consciousness, he managed to summon one of his followers. "Make sure she doesn't die. Make sure I don't die. And keep those axes away from her," he managed to say before he fainted hearing her yells fade away. Iris saw him faint as she tried to stand. But the blood leaving from her arm was too immense. She managed to crawl close to one of her axes before she too collapsed on the ground in front of the tree that she had been searching for.

*********************

Iris woke up clutching her missing arm. She was sweating and her clothes were soaked from her sweat. She jumped up and looked around in haste, trying to figure out where she was. Cassidy jumped from her seat when she saw Iris react so violently. She got close but stopped when she saw a golden hue emitting from her sister's hand. She looked up at Iris as her eyes flickered colors. What was happening to her sister?