Remnants of Worlds

Chapter 5 - The Failure

“What is with you always wanting to kill things?” Etheera asked, slipping the ring off her finger. Ozias’ eyes lingered on her, his expression curious as he examined her from head to toe.

“I’ve never wanted to kill anything in my life,” he replied, tossing the gun aside and sliding off the hood of the car. His imposing height looked even more intimidating now that she was inhabiting Annabel’s much smaller body, but it was still better than meeting him without a body—the last time they had faced each other, she had died by his hand. She was one of the few he had killed personally since she kept slipping his wraiths.

“I wonder if there ever existed a soul who was more oblivious to the irony here.” Etheera grimaced, looking around. “You speak of balance, yet you do not create life, only take it. This land, these trees, these people—how is their death going to restore your balance?”

“The balance is already broken,” Ozias replied, a line forming on his forehead. “They broke it first, so they need to pay a price too.”

“No. What they did was disrespect you, that’s why you killed them,” Etheera replied in a surprisingly calm voice, considering how fast her heart was beating. She had been mentally preparing herself for this moment, for her death—the final one this time—but even with that in mind, she still couldn’t help but shudder as her memories flashed before her eyes. All featuring this monster of a man that kept killing and destroying everything then scrubbed the blood off his hands with his righteous words.

The pain and hatred she thought she had buried squeezed her throat while her hand balled into a fist, eager to hurt. Anna had stayed quiet the whole time and even now she barely stirred inside their mind, but her fear and uneasiness were palpable.

“You think me that shallow, child?” he asked, c*****g his head to the side.

“Yes,” Etheera replied. “I think you are no different from us. You are arrogant, greedy, and merciless and you love to be feared and revered more than any of us. At least we were honest with ourselves while you looked down on us as if we were poisonous insects that stained the earth.”

“Etheera…” Seuss’s voice rang behind her, but she was too focused on Ozias to pay him any mind. The God of Death’s calm and relaxed look disappeared in favor of a stone-cold expression she knew very well. But it wasn’t like it mattered, none of them were there for the sweet talks; everyone knew fighting was unavoidable. So she needed him entirely focused on her so they could take him by surprise. The light on William’s bracelet had already switched to blue, but ever since they arrived, Ozias hadn’t glanced at him even once.

“And the humans that you love so much, what have they done to deserve the death you just brought to them? Because they felt curious? Because they felt threatened? Because they felt superior with their weapons? If you loved humans so much, you wouldn’t have so little regard for their life. You wouldn’t have killed the ones you loved. You wouldn’t have murdered your own children. Just like Persenia did.”

A loud gasp escaped Hedda’s lips while Seuss cursed under his breath. Etheera knew she had done it, she had poked into the only weakness Ozias had. But this was the only chance since he would have killed them either way, even if she prostrated herself at his feet and begged for mercy. This way, there was a chance for him to fall for her ploy in order to avoid doing the same thing Persenia did so long ago. The same thing that pushed him down his dark path.

Ozias licked his lips, his shoulders dropping. He lowered his eyes to the ground, letting out a heavy sigh. He opened his mouth to speak, but Etheera was faster. This was what she was waiting for—a moment of distraction.

She summoned her spear, removing the space between her and Ozias in a single breath. Her weapon flew, aiming straight for his heart. He reacted almost like in a slow motion, his hard eyes looking at her with exasperation. A ward flickered around him and her spear slid off its surface, piercing empty air. She jumped back, restoring her balance when she noticed the dark tendrils of Ozias’ power slide from his body and dart toward her. The moment they passed through his ward, the shield disintegrated with a hiss.

Etheera fell into a defensive stance, holding her breath in anticipation while her eyes watched the darkness approach. Just before it reached her, William’s power slid in front of her, forming a ward that repelled Ozias’ attack. For the first time since she could remember, Etheera watched the Ozias’s eyes widen in shock before his attention switched to William. Larson was already pushing more of his power out while Hedda and one of the other gods stood behind him with their hands on his back, filling him with their energy.

Etheera sidestepped the shield, dashing toward Ozias again while he was too busy staring at William. Just as she was about to run her spear through his chest, his eyes snapped to her again and another shield blocked her way. Etheera gritted her teeth, pouring even more of her power into her weapon. When she had her original body, in terms of pure power, she was almost as strong as Ozias, but his darkness was what set him apart from everyone else. He had never needed a weapon to win. No one could withstand that terrible, destructive force within him.

Until now. Because his dark power was still dealing with William’s attacks and while the Ascendant held, they still had a chance.

Etheera drew more of her energy, feeling her body grow weaker as she approached her limit. She needed just a few more seconds. If she could pierce his heart with her spear, it would be over. Even if she died, it would be worth it.

The tip of her spear punctured his shield and slowly sunk in, moving closer and closer to his body. The weapon pressed against his chest, sending a whiff of smoke into the air as it burned the skin. She kept her focus on Ozias’ face, waiting eagerly to see the moment when fear would flash in his eyes, but as he looked back at her there was only annoyance in there.

“That’s quite enough,” he said.

“Look out!” a voice shouted right before something slammed into her, sending her flying back. She fell on the ground and rolled a few times, raising her head tiredly as screaming filled her ears. Two wraiths had appeared from the trees, jumping on her family and tearing into them. She locked her eyes on William, who was now standing by himself, the tendrils coming out of him growing weaker as he struggled to hold on to his power. He was past his limit now, draining his life energy one second at a time.

“I said enough!” Ozias shouted and his darkness exploded from within him, dashing toward Larson. Etheera watched with wide eyes as the god’s power shattered William’s protective ward, severing his outstretched arms almost at the elbows. His hands fell to the ground with a loud splash while the human continued to stare at the bleeding stumps with eyes that refused to accept the harsh reality. The tendrils lashed at him again, cutting at the rest of his body until he crumbled to the ground, convulsing while blood sprayed from his wounds.

William! No! Do something! Annabel screamed inside their head. Etheera tried to push herself up when a shiver ran down her back and her head snapped to the side, eyes locking on the wraith that was running toward her. She tried to stand perfectly still, letting go of her power, but the creature didn’t stop. She tried to roll away from its path, but it was too late. Just as the creature’s giant maw was about to lock around her head, it stopped.

The wraith stepped back and raised its head, looking at its Master who had drawn near them. Etheera pushed herself up again, but her shaky hands gave in and she crashed onto the ground. Ozias was just opening his mouth to speak when she felt Annabel snatch control over their body. She pushed herself up and took the last steps toward Ozias in a sprint, her own spear forming in her hand as she screamed when she attacked. Etheera grunted when the girl drew all of her power, then reached for what was remaining of Etheera’s. It was reckless and stupid, but Anna’s fear and horror were so overwhelming that even Etheera had a hard time pushing it away. But if she kept taking, then neither of them would be in a condition to repair their body and that was going to be the end. Etheera could not allow that, so she had to…

Ozias didn’t even bother using his power until Annabel was upon him. She thrust with her spear, aiming for his throat, but he just tilted his head, narrowly avoiding the blade. Annabel’s energy licked his neck, leaving behind ugly burn marks but he didn’t even flinch.

Annabel jumped back, restoring her balance, and prepared to attack again when a black tendril wrapped around the edge of her weapon, stopping its advance. The darkness devoured her energy, turning the weapon pitch black so fast that she didn’t even have time to let go.

Etheera screamed just as Annabel did, their shrieks echoing lonely through the dark forest. After what felt like forever, Ozias released them and Anna dropped on her stomach, gasping for breath. She kept her eyes open, barely, so Etheera could see Ozias stepping toward them.

Still trembling from the echoes of the pain, Etheera waited for his next move. They had been defeated, even though they had gone much closer to him than she had ever seen anyone else go. They had even hurt his body, albeit barely. Now all she could hope for was that her gamble would pay off and her words would bring the outcome she was aiming for. It was a small chance and Ozias wasn’t usually one to fall for such obvious ploys but when Persenia’s name was mentioned, he often lost his edge. Even after all this time.

He used his boot to push Annabel on her back. She gritted her teeth, tensing her body in preparation for his attack, but he just stared down at her.

“Go to sleep, little girl. Etheera, come out.” Etheera grabbed for control. Annabel resisted for a second but then let go and sunk deeper into their consciousness, her presence growing weaker. “I admire your tenacity, Etheera. Of all the gods that ascended or were later born like you, I think you are one of the few—maybe even the only one—that I didn’t hate. Do you know why? It’s because you hated yourself almost as much as I did myself, because our circumstances were so much alike. But your guilt was stronger than your loathing for the others, even for me. And despite all your mistakes, you have tirelessly worked to appease that guilt instead of throwing yourself at your hate. I admire that. But I cannot allow it to go on any longer. It’s my duty to protect the balance and this world has become way too unbalanced.”

“Balanced or unbalanced, this world is not yours,” Etheera said with a weak voice, forcing the words out with the last of her strength. “This is their world and you have no right to meddle. If it ends in disaster, it would be their fault. If it ends in progress, it would be their success. Not yours.”

Ozias sighed.

“Perhaps you’re right,” he finally said, letting his hands fall by his side. “But it’s the duty of the strong to prevent the weak from making mistakes. Still, there is some truth to your words.” He crouched next to her, pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. She could feel their body shutting down, she could feel her head throbbing and warm blood seep out of her nose and ears, but she refused to pass out. “I will give them one week to fix this mess on their own. I see now why the balance has been so easily broken, it wasn’t just you crossing over. These half-bloods, they have grown too strong.” He raised his hand and touched the burn mark on his neck. “You have seven days to bring every remaining god and half-blood back into the Otherworld and I will spare the humans. I’ll even spare the half-bloods and let them live in peace in the Otherworld. If they refuse to comply, I will come back and destroy everything. Leaving just a dozen of them should be enough to repopulate the earth in time.” He stepped away, but then he turned his head aside, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. “Don’t mention that name ever again and don’t compare me to her or I’ll make sure that what awaits you back at home is a fate worse than death.”

He strode away from her when he suddenly stopped and looked down. It took her a second, but she realized he was staring at William’s body which had grown entirely still. She could not even sense a heartbeat and his energy was flickering so weakly, he looked seconds away from crossing a line there was no coming back from.

Ozias grabbed Willaim’s shirt, dragging him along as he started to walk away.

“One week, Etheera! This world’s fate is in your hands!”

A portal materialized a few feet away from him and he stepped through it without slowing down. Once the portal closed, Etheera closed her eyes and tried to muster enough strength to get up. The sound of loud chewing and vicious tearing made her freeze and open her eyes. She looked toward the source of the noise, her breath catching in her throat as she stared at the wraith that had attacked her before, now tearing into the body of one of the gods.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she reached toward her pocket, slipping the Ring of Dispel out of it. Her tired fingers dropped it on the ground and she gritted her teeth as she poked her hand into the sticky much, searching desperately. The wraith raised its head and listened, sniffing the air.

Etheera finally managed to slip the ring on her finger and as her powers drained from her completely, she relaxed on the ground. She was just trying to come up with a plan that would allow her to get out of there without being torn to pieces, when the wraith’s head snapped up again, locking on something in the distance. Another wraith’s roar echoed through the forest, followed by a few more. The creature broke into a run, disappearing from her sight even as the ground shook underneath its heavy steps.

Etheera tried to get up again, but without her power, it was hard to suppress the pain in her chest and left leg. The strain in her muscles and the damage to their body seemed too severe for her to even sit. All she could do was lay there and chew on the bitter taste of her victory.