Where The Dead Ones Go Book 1 -Magistracy-

Chapter 18

"It's so beautiful..."

We all agreed at Estelle, who looked at the ice walls covering the cave as we walk into its depths.

"It is like we are walking in a mirror house but all that we can see are scenes from our past!" Vaski exclaimed as he pointed at the wall before showing his younger self running around a castle while a young Rebie was just watching him silently.

I felt a tinge of jealously when I just saw my reflection looking back at me.

"Welp, it looks like I and Vivet got the short end of the stick, huh? We can see no past here. A pity," Morris said as he also looked at his reflection sadly.

Zenith and Avesa suddenly stopped walking as Eonia and Gala motioned us to keep quiet.

"What's with his eyes?!"

"A freak!"

"You are not welcome here!"

"Get away from me and my child!"

"Why is a Pagosian here in our country?!"

"The mistress of Hephaestus is harboring him, what an odd family!"

"Your son is not responding to any input for several months. I am afraid we have to kick him out as he is unnerving other kids."

"Nobody wants you!"

"You don't belong here!"

"He looks funny!"

"Why is he acting weirdly!"

"Scram! You good for nothing piece of trash!"

"He is so thin, pathetic."

"Don't make eye contact!"

"If you look at him, my mother said you will get cursed!"

"What a disgrace!"

"He can't even defend himself. Laughable."

"Nobody wants to be your friends because you are disgusting!"

My heart broke when I saw in a vast open room deep inside the cave Taurei sitting at the center and listening to the painful memories of his past being replayed right before him by the ice walls.

He tried to cover his ears, but the voices get louder and louder by the second.

"Taurei!"

Narcine screamed for her friend and ran towards him without thinking.

A streak of lightning falls from above, and I reacted quickly.

"Elpis: Benevolent Light!"

My barrier surrounded her just in the nick of time and absorbed the strike before dispersing.

"But how?!" Asher asked, but Avesa pointed weakly above us.

I screamed in horror as I saw a giant white peacock flying above us with its magnificent train wide open and countless eyes brought to bear all containing...

"My electricity!" Zenith exclaimed as another lightning strike was released from one of its eyes and head straight for the son of Zeus, who deflected it with his own, "He is storing them all this time?!"

Rebie stepped forwards and cracked her knuckles, "Since he started having seizures, I began to feel suspicious. No one can survive the voltage Zenith pumped into him without so much as a scratch. There has to be a trick, no, a reason, on how can my close friend survive that onslaught. At least I now know where he diverted that electricity from you."

The albino peacock let out an angry scream. A mighty wind suddenly whipped from its wings and almost blow us away if not for Avesa deflecting most of it.

"Hera: Herd of Cows!"

Translucent cows formed a defensive line in front of us and weathered the mighty gusts of winds staunchly.

"Poseidon: Piercing Trident!"

Vaski throws his signature spear at the peacock that just shattered it to dust with one of its lightning bolts.

"Zeus: Lightning Strike!"

Zenith threw a massive lightning bolt, but it opened its beak and eaten it before we saw in horror how the previously empty eyes are now filled with electricity once more.

Gala raised her sword before pointing at Taurei, "Athena: Systematic Encasement!"

Gray metal bars appeared from thin air and surrounded our classmates only to be smitten by the bird getting angrier and angrier by the second.

"Such power!" Asher exclaimed as he slammed his hands on the ground, "Lytta: Ravaging Fangs!"

Four regimented dogs appeared beside him and rushed towards Taurei to pin him down but were quickly blown away by the wind.

"We are not getting anywhere!" Rebie complained as she sent a wave of a flash flood with the help of Syden that was also blown away, "Avesa, clearly you have an idea on how to calm him down, the sooner you try it, the better!"

The peacock landed and engulfed our classmate within its body as it prepared to unleash its wrath against us all.

"You are useless!"

"Who is he anyway?!"

"Scram!"

The sounds from his memories seemed to make the peacock angrier and more violent.

"Hephaestus: Molten Iron!"

Liquid metal erupted from the ground, and the bird got distracted dealing with it as our class president face Morris.

"We need to cut him off from his painful past! The more he sees and hears the memories, the more difficult it is to get through him!" Eonia shouted out loud as an ear-shattering cry was heard and rain of several bolts of lightning at were sent in our direction as Zenith deflected them all with great difficulty, "Can you spread darkness, Morris? If you can also cut off the sound the better!"

Morris nodded and looked at the daughter of Aphrodite, "I need a distraction, Estelle. I am going to chain the powers of my father in succession. I need time!"

"You got it!" she answered confidently before running towards Asher far west of the room, "Aphrodite: Alluring Visage!"

The peacock took the bait and focused only on the couple as Morris closed his eyes and began preparing.

"Zenith, after the darkness, I need you to lure Taurei to me," the High Priestess asked the son of Zeus, who is parrying the violent winds unleashed by the bird's wing with his own, "He paid for the memories he yearned for with his sanity. If we don't calm him down quickly, we will lose him!"

To my surprise, Zenith nodded firmly, "Got it. I also need to know who he really is and why I feel strong emotions whenever I talk to him."

"Soon, very soon, the answers we all seek will be within our grasp," Avesa said confidently before closing her eyes as if preparing for something, "Morris, Vivet, now!"

"Elpis: Fleeting Faith!"

The light from my lanterns vanished. The only illumination left is coming from the ice walls showing the painful memories of our classmate.

"Thanatos: Pitch Black!"

Impenetrable darkness spread from the son of Thanatos as we heard him unleashed another power.

"Thanatos: Silent Mourning!"

The voices from the wall ceased, and only the cry of an angry peacock echoed around the room.

"Narcine, light a path!" Zenith shouted loudly somewhere from above before unleashing bolts of lightning around the bird to get its attention.

"Persephone: Path of the Moonflower!" the daughter of the goddess of flowers screamed as a road made of glowing white bulbs. It appeared in the darkness as it illuminated Avesa and the albino bird that is still screeching defiantly.

We all shouted in horror as the peacock charged straight towards the High Priestess, who walked forward to meet the giant bird calmly.

"They have ridiculed you, laughed at you, took away your dignity..."

We heard her soothing voice amidst the loud screeches of the rampaging bird.

"They have treated you like trash, forgotten and kicked out..."

Several streaks of lightning bolts are fired towards our guest, but surprisingly, none hit her directly.

"This is not who you should be. This is not who you are meant to be..."

The giant bird let out a cry. It opened its wings and sent a powerful gust of winds that almost blow us away but barely affected Avesa, who just keeps on walking undeterred and undaunted.

"You know me, Taurei and I know you..."

She looked up at the majestic bird and smiled sadly.

"You are you, what you are, what you do defines me, defines us..."

The peacock lowered its head, and we thought it will peck the daughter of Hera to death but instead let her touch it gently.

"What they say or think about you, doesn't matter," Avesa said clearly as she smiled at it, "You know who you are, Taurei. You and I are one and the same. I accept you, just accept yourself, brother..."

A blast of pure unadulterated light chased away the darkness. The whole room is illuminated by a beautiful and magnificent golden radiance as the walls around us showed us the truth of Taurei's past.

"Take him away from here, Hephaestus."

"But mother, why? This is his home, his father's home. Why do you need to separate him from his sister?"

"If the Pagosians learned that he is my creation, he might experience things I wouldn't even wish to the children of Zeus."

"How about your temple at Auralia?"

"I just found out that the twins bear the opposites of my divine powers. One born with my grace and prestige. The other born with my rage and wrath. For the sake of the two, they must be separated until they are old enough to accept one another."

"Because you yourself can't accept your two conflicting selves, mother?"

"I... Yes, that's the truth. So, please, take him to the republic. In time, come what may, the two will meet again, and at that moment, may they undo the wrongs that I have did."

"So you are expecting my brother and sister to clean up your mess? Well, at least you're not throwing them off the Olympus, mother."

"The moment I created them for my prized High Priest, I just realized something, Hephaestus."

"Mother..."

"I realized that even someone as stubborn and inflexible such as myself can change for the better, even if just a little..."

We all watched as the majestic Heavenly Queen gave her son to Hephaestus, who carefully cradled it in his burly arms before limping away from view.

"Avesa, I wish in the future, you will be the one who will accept Taurei for who he really is and cherish him more than I can ever do..."

The High Priestess is on the floor and cradling her brother, who is crying in her arms quietly, "I am here now, brother and I am not going away. You are finally found."

The daughter of Hera's hair began to change slowly from black to white blonde as her fair skin became as pale as her brother's while Taurei's face subtly altered to make it more pronounced, smooth, and similar to his sister's regal appearance.

"Taurei!"

He looked at Rebie and Narcine, who rushed to his side before the daughter of Amphitrite slapped him so hard he was shocked to even react.

"How dare you run away like that?!" Rebie shouted as Avesa laughed as she let her brother be at the mercy of his angry close friend while she calms the crying Narcine, "Do you know how much grief you have caused me?! I thought you will die! You idiotic bird brain!"

Syden, Vaski, and Asher laughed out loud when they heard Rebie's sermons.

"Zenith," Estelle called out at the son of Zeus, who ordered Rebie and Avesa to move away from Taurei, who just cried when he looked at him.

The son of Zeus then unleashed tremendous electrical bolts of arc from his right hand. He pounded it on Hera's son, who just looked at him confusingly because he is not affected in the slightest.

"Zenith, I'm..."

Our classmate stopped his assault before smiling purely at the boy he is always at odds with, "I thought I should recharge your reserves. Now that I know you could store them for me then expect a full-course buffet of what I can dish out."

"Your mother, I'm sorry. I..."

Zenith grabbed his arm and pulled him out, "You and your sister is not your mother, Taurei. What happened between our parents, it's their problem. Not ours. That and I want to apologize for my behavior to you. I don't know why I feel that way but at least now I know, you really are insufferable, you know that?"

"So that's why father said that I should look out for you," our class president said as she touched Taurei's cheek, "Our sister, Lovely, will be thrilled to learn all of this."

He nodded and looked at Gala apologetically, "I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused."

"You should be, Taurei," the daughter of Athena snapped back before grinning, "Although, after that display of sheer power, I will let it slide. This time."

The daughter of Aphrodite pinched the cheek of Taurei as Syden, Vaski and Asher clapped his back cordially.

"I can see it!"

I heard in my mind his excited voice and my blood ran cold when I saw where is he going...

"Morris, no!"

I screamed on the top of my lungs as the son of Thanatos ran further into the cave alone as if chasing the visions luring him in.

"Vivet, wait!"

I didn't mind Vaski's plea as I run as fast as I can after my companion.

A few seconds later, I arrived at the second chamber that is far larger and grander than the last one.

Beautiful stalactites and stalagmites can be seen as the mirror-like walls of the cave and I saw Morris standing at the very center.

"Show me my past!" he shouted loudly as his voice echoed, "Where I am from, how did I get here, who am I really?!"

Only a deafening silence answered him back as he cursed loudly.

"Vivet!"

I looked behind me and saw our classmates running after me.

Taurei stepped forward quickly, "Beware, Morris. Nothing comes for free."

"So what?! If you can find out the truth of your past, why can't I?" he growled back angrily as his black majestic wings erupted and tore his clothes apart, "I can feel your presence! Show me what is hidden in my past!"

A moment of silence, and then we heard the voice of a boy seemingly coming from the walls.

"If you want to learn about your past, a toll has to be paid," the voice said as the walls began to shimmer in strange hazy light, "What will you offer?"

"Anything..."

"Very well, the payment has been paid," the voice said as the entire room began to cave-in and the passage that we have used to get here is blocked by rocks.

"Your past, is your friends!"

"No!"

The ground beneath us opened and we fell to a bottomless pit as we are separated by Morris who tried and utterly failed to save us.

"Vivet!"

"Save yourself, Morris..."

-0-

"Are they cosplayers?"

"I am so posting this in Tintstagaram!"

"Let's make this viral on Tracebook, darling!"

"What kind of clothes are they wearing, I'll check Toggle."

"I wonder if we can ask for a selfie!"

"More like a groufie, sister!"

"They look so weird, is this a new fad or something?"

"It's like an anime!"

"Well, their dresses may be weird but they certainly look good."

"I spy with my little eye several hotties!"

"Demigods for sure!"

"The internet is so slow here, what gives?!"

"Maybe you ran out of data, bro."

"Can't even connect to the wi-fi!"

I looked around and saw my classmates still with me and covered in snow, dust and small rocks from our fall.

"Where are we?!" Asher asked loudly before looking above and howling in surprise, "What the heck is that?!"

We all looked up and saw what I thought only existed on the chaotic fragmented memories of Morris.

"Metal birds from the scriptures," Avesa shouted as she grabbed the arm of her still disoriented brother and urged him to look up, "It is real, brother!"

The son of Hera nodded and looked around us before talking to the daughter of Athena who is already formulating theories with Eonia, "I don't think we should stay in the middle of the streets any longer, Gala. We are attracting more and more people around us."

He is right.

Someone in the crowd began suggesting to call the police or enforcer.

I quickly grabbed Syden and Vaski as Rebie and Narcine quickly dragged Estelle and Asher who is still looking in disbelief at the skies where several metal birds are flying above us.

"Vivet, I can't find Morris," the daughter of Hephaestus whispered to me as we decided to seclude ourselves in the nearby park under the trees where children play without a care in the world, "Can you sense him? You don't think he is separated to us or something when we fell in the chasm?"

I shook my head as I can only hear my own thoughts inside my head which is unnerving me greatly, "No, I can't hear him, Eonia. I think he didn't fall with us."

"Take a look at this, you guys."

We turn around and saw the son of Lytta who rummaged the nearby garbage can and brought back a newspaper that he showed us the frontpage.

"IT'S OFFICIAL! THE IMPERIAL COUNCIL APPROVES ADDITIONAL FUNDING OF THE NEW SPACE EXPLORATION VESSEL ASTRAEA! NAMED AFTER THE GODDESS OF STARS! ZEUS APPROVES! TENTATIVE LAUNCH DATE IS OCTOBER 20, 2020!"

"Tentative launch date is October 20, 2020" Estelle read the date loudly as she slowly turns to us with his eyes in shock and horror, "Wait, our year is..."

"In our calendar, it's the year 5000," Syden said in disbelief as he angrily slammed his head, "This doesn't make any sense! First, we are about to get buried alive. Second, we fell into a humungous hole and now, we are here! Where in Tiera are we?!"

Rebie stepped forward and took the newspaper from the hands of Asher, "I think the better question is, when are we?"

We just stare at disbelief as a train went passed on the other side of the street in such speed, it is already gone in a blink of an eye.

I closed my eyes and tried to remember the memories that Morris has shared to me before taking a deep breath and facing my classmates.

"I think, we are all in the past..."