MERIKH: THE BLACK POWER

Episode 6: THE BLEEDING STAR

I had stepped into a bloody mess.

I blinked several times not being able to believe the situation. Suddenly the world blurred. I squinted my eyes as the rays of the sun fell on me.

When I opened them, Celia was standing in the distance looking at me. I looked around the garden and everything was as they were. I turned back to see Theon was still reading his book. My gaze lingered on him before I took a long breath and moved towards Celia. She smiled looking at me approaching, but her smile lacked sincerity.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, my voice laced with concern. She shook her head in disapproval. “Let’s have a walk”

I looked at her waiting for an explanation but she had already moved forward. I walked faster to match her level.

“What did you wish for?” Celia was looking at some far distance, her gaze clearly unfocused. Before I opened my mouth she continued.

“It’s said that if more than one person makes the same wish, there’s a better chance it will come true.”

“Celia—”

“Next year,” She looked at me, “Let's wish mother to come back to us.”

I stopped in my path and held her hand.

“You don't really think it would come true, right?”

“I am hoping for it,” she said smiling. I put one of my hands on her arm and cupped her face in the other.

“Cel, you know hope never takes you anywhere.”

She placed her hand over mine and held it.

“Hope makes us alive.”

“What’s the point of it? You really think a wish of ours can make our mother finally remember her daughters.”

She pushed my hands back, “So, are you suggesting we should forget about her?” She frowned; her voice was laced with a fear that felt too foreign to me.

“She is the one who forgot us,” I said, turning around to the other side. Celia walked and came in front of me, “She is just busy.”

“So busy that she forgot she had two daughters.”

“No...no...” Celia shook her head as if consoling herself.

“Mom is just busy. She is working for us.” Celia said looking at my eyes.

“Enough Celia,” my voice was sharper than I intended, “stop defending her. That woman is too busy building her own life in the Citadel to care about her daughters.”

“That woman is our mother” her eyes swelled with water.

Mother? The term felt quite unfit.

I took a long breath though the place started becoming suffocating.

“Let's end the discussion,” I said, moving forward. Celia ran up to me, holding my wrist, “No you can't leave it here. I… I know you don't like mom but… but—”

“CELIA!” I glared at her, “Enough!”

She fell quiet. A silent sob passed her.

“Are you sisters planning to celebrate the entire Novara here.”

Bernard's voice came from behind us. I turned around to face him. Celia stood behind me to hide her reddened eyes.

“We were just heading the stage.” I said, forcing a smile.

Bernard nodded and moved towards the crowd. I turned around Celia and held her hand.

“Let's go”

She nodded. We walked towards the stage. She didn't let go of my hand the entire way there.

Warrick stood beneath the lantern-lit trees on the stage beside Oren. The crowd slowly quieted as Warrick lifted a hand, his gaze sweeping across the gathered students.

“Tonight we honour Deus,” Oren began, his voice carrying across the gardens. “The one who shaped the world from nothing. The one who gifted life to the immortals and justice to the wicked.”

Lantern light flickered across the long wooden tables and the silent faces around them.

“Novara is not only a night of gratitude,” Warrick continued. “It is also a reminder. A reminder that no sin—great or small—can escape divine judgment.”

His voice grew heavier.

“For Novara is the day when Deus punished the greatest sinner.”

Warrick had just begun reciting the ancient tales of Deus when a scream ripped through the garden.

It was so sudden that I nearly lost my balance. Celia gripped my hand more tightly. People turned violently toward the sound.

Near the edge of the lantern-lit path, a man had collapsed onto the stone. Flames devoured him. They crawled across his body like living things, bright and merciless, as if his flesh were dry wood thrown into a fire. His clothes burned first, then his skin, curling black beneath the heat. Yet the man did not sound like someone dying in agony.

He was… laughing like a madman. I involuntarily took a step back placing my hand in front of Celia, shielding her.

“Stay back!” Warrick shouted as he pushed toward the front of the crowd. Bernard and Oren followed him.

The burning man lifted his head, his eyes wild.

“Diabolus iterum surget!” The Devil will rise again. he cried, his voice breaking through the crackling flames.

People stumbled backward. Chairs scraped across the stone paths. Panic rippled through the garden.

“What is…” Celia was breathing heavily, her voice breaking.

I cupped her face, “Breath, Stay with me, okay?”

Teachers and students raised their hands, summoning glowing energy orbs that flickered to life in their palms, ready to strike if the man lunged toward them. But he did not move. His legs were already turning to ash. The fire climbed higher, consuming him piece by piece. Yet the madness in his eyes only burned brighter. Then he screamed again, louder than before.

“BEWARE THE BLEEDING STAR!”

The flames roared around him.

“FOR THE DEVIL SHALL RISE FROM SILENCE!”

For a moment, it felt like those words had direction. His body collapsed in ward. Within seconds, nothing remained but a dark pile of ash scattered across the stone. For a moment, the entire garden stood frozen. Then the murmuring began.

Jane, Calix, and Kyren pushed through the crowd until they reached us.

“Guys, this place doesn’t look safe,” Calix said, his voice carried no trace of humour. “We should get out of here.”

But my feet refused to move. My eyes were fixed on the ashes.

Bernard was the first to approach them cautiously. Oren and Warrick followed. Bernard glanced at Oren. Oren turned sharply toward the crowd.

“Students!” he called, his voice cutting through the chaos. “To the Academy. Now!”

No one argued. Students immediately began rushing toward the Academy gates.

“Let’s go,” Kyren urged.

Calix and Kyren held Celia from both sides and hurried after the others. But I still couldn’t look away from the ashes.

Warrick turned to the teachers, his expression tight. “This matter will be taken to the Citadel.”

“Are you planning to stand here all night?”

Jane’s voice finally pulled me from my trance. She grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the Academy.

The inside of the Academy was even more chaotic than the gardens. Some students paced the hall in restless circles, their footsteps echoing against the stone walls. Others had given up entirely, sitting in silence on the long benches, their faces pale with shock.

I couldn’t remember the last time something like this had happened. The last immortal to die had been five centuries ago. My father.

“I’m starting to feel dizzy watching you all pace around like madmen.”

The cold, irritated voice cut cleanly through the noise.

While the rest of us panicked, Theon leaned lazily against one of the couches, one arm resting on the backrest while the other flicked a lighter open and shut. The tiny flame sparked, disappeared, sparked again.

“It is something to worry about, Theon,” Bren said from across the hall.

Bernard’s son stood with his arms crossed, his expression unusually serious. “Immortals don’t just die from burning themselves.”

He stepped forward, drawing everyone’s attention.

“An immortal can only die if another immortal intentionally kills them.” I spoke. Everyone’s attention turned to me. Bren nodded his head.

The hall fell into uneasy silence. Theon sighed heavily and pushed himself off the couch.

“I’m already bored with those history lesson,” he muttered, raising his hands dramatically. “I’m out.”

Without another word, he walked out of the hall.

“I need some air.”

Celia’s voice made me look down. She was sitting on the floor beside the leg of a couch; her arms wrapped around her knees.

“I’m going outside for a while.”

“You are not going alone. I’ll come with you,” I said, rising to my feet.

She stopped me with a small lift of her hand.

“I want to be alone.”

The words were so quiet I almost had to read them from her lips. Of course this had shaken her.

“You are NOT going alone.” There was no way I was leaving her alone.

Celia tried to stand up holding the couch in one hand and my hand in the other as support.

“I need some air, Odessa. I will come back.”

I opened my mouth to argue but she placed her hand over it.

“Please,” she said almost pleading.

I took a long breath. I felt my heart heaving as if trying to say something. “Don’t go too far,” I said, my voice barely audible to myself. I don’t know why that felt important. She left the hall without another word. I looked at her until her silhouette disappeared.

Maybe… I should’ve followed her anyway.

The door closed behind her. Maybe someone said something but I couldn’t hear. A hand landed on my shoulder. I flinched and turned back. Jane was standing beside me. “Don’t get too stressed. She will be alright.”

I nodded and sat on the couch. She sat beside me. A moment later, Melantha entered. The entire room turned toward her instantly, searching her face for answers.

“Students, go to your rooms,” she said gently. “It’s dangerous outside. Don’t wander around.

We—”

A scream shattered her words. The sound tore through the academy like a blade. Murmurs erupted instantly. I suddenly got to my feet.

“CALM DOWN EVERYONE!” Bren shouted, trying to quiet the rising panic.

But the scream continued. And something about it made my stomach drop. It sounded horrifyingly familiar.

Celia.

My eyes widened. Before I realized what I was doing, my legs were already moving. Walking turned into running. Voices called my name behind me, but I barely heard them. My heart hammered in my throat as I sprinted through the gardens.

No… no… no…

Not Celia.

Deus… please…

I stopped so suddenly I nearly fell. A pool of crimson spread across the stone path. I had stepped right into it.

As I looked around to search the source, my heart almost stopped beating.

Celia lay motionless on the ground. Her silver hair, stained with blood, spread across the grass like fallen moonlight. The night had gone strangely silent as if the world itself had stepped back to watch.

My vision started blurring. I could hear distant sounds. Perhaps others had gathered around. I don’t remember anything after that. Maybe I walked towards her; maybe I cupped her face, putting her head in my lap calling her out; maybe it was just a dream and I woke up or maybe my world stopped right there.