Persphyni : I am Death

67

My name was called out by Bellamy several times as he searched for me while I endured the pain of my past but I never answered or heard it.

When I managed to catch my breath, I finally ventured into my mental cage of obsidian and fire. Temporarily transporting myself into my mind. The breeze of smoke and ash filled my lungs peacefully as I stared into the dark purple shadows. Grey nowhere in sight like my forced isolations before.

My hair whipped around me calmly as I stood, my feet moving towards the fire surrounding the inside of the walls. My boots reached the tip of the flames and forward into the bright orange and yellow as I stepped inside the flames. The blue tips licking at my hips as I stood in the warmth. My hand hovering over the obsidian before I set my hands on the cool black and purple stone.

"Show me the City." I whispered into the stone, the dark purple wavered as a bright city full of busy streets and clean buildings replaced my view. My hand rested on the vision as the flames danced up my waist, encircling my lower body in a comfortable embrace.

"City of Light." I spoke, the vision waving slightly as it listened to my command. I closed my eyes and leaned further into the vision, my hand slipping through the portal as I began to fall through— fast.

_______•*•*•*•_______

I fell, straight towards the city below. The difference was, I controlled my mind. Not Alie. And my code couldn't be detected by her or else I could be stuck here forever.

With this in mind, I snapped my eyes open, catching myself on the wind as I circled above the city. Orange and yellow flames followed my body as I eyed the streets with hawk-like precision. I flew over a stretch of the fountain and I saw what I had become. The exact image I had pictured as I fell.

A Phoenix.

The mythological creature one of the most powerful and one of my favorites. To rise from the ashes, to carry man through the sky, to burn villages to the ground, to heal wounds with a single tear. The Phoenix was extraordinary.

I kept myself high in the air as I scanned the asphalt and pavement below. Innocent mind-controlled people in clothes of previous centuries moved about the busy streets. The city reminding me of what New York was described as.

The City was an actual city. A mind space for humans to live where every possible thing was taken care of. It was incredible, but unnatural. The ability to change forms in this mind space by coding made more sense then The City which provided the mind a downloading space.

I dared to circle closer, noticing that there was little sounds. No one really talked to anyone, just walked about moving with determination and a goal in mind.

When I finished mapping the city, I found myself flying close to the capital building, one I could sense was where Alie hid. My body streaking across the windows to spot the AI as she talked with several of her followers. Jaha and my father,  two of the twenty.

I circled once more and saw the two disconnect, Alie's attention turned elsewhere as she dismissed her other eighteen minions. My head cocking as I flew slower, her hand coming to her face and she gave her nose a small pinch. The action shocked me, causing me to loose my rhythm and momentarily fall down. A soft screech left my beak and I quickly disconnected from the City just as brown eyes snapped up and into mine.

My eyes flew open, heart racing as I sat in the dark hiding spot. Slightly out of breath as I had pushed myself. She had to have seen me, there was no way she missed a giant fire-bird staring at her through the window. Something that definitely didn't belong in the City.

Between my quick disconnection and the pain I had experienced only minutes earlier, Alie was able to creep into my brain. Her voice monotone as she tried to persuade me to listen.

"Persphyni." I ignored the whisper as she tried to coax my walls down. "Persphyni, you're so strong. Brave, fearless. You do so much for them, yet they give nothing in return." Her voice slipped through the minuscule  cracks along the walls as I quietly listened to what she had to say. Buying myself a few more moments of rest. "I've taken your pain, that's more than any of them have done. In fact, they've caused you this pain. They're the creators of your pain. And you still help them. This is how they repay you?" I watched her play the memory of Bellamy hitting me with the seatbelt. "The scars, the wounds, the heartbreak. All because you care too much. All because you feel this sense of duty to save them. But you can't save them." Her slimy words and Bellamy's face shook me back to reality.

"You're wrong. I'm the one who takes their pain so they don't have to feel it." I hissed into the dark. "That pain is mine and theirs, it's my punishment. My burden. And it's exactly how I'll save them. So go float yourself." I growled out just as I pushed the AI Bitch away and out of my brain. The cracks vanished as I pushed the intruding force outside. My breath catching in my throat as I stopped breathing, struggling due to the effort expended on getting Alie away from my thoughts.

Her voice faded as I opened my eyes once again in the dark. Her presence almost completely gone as I could still feel her there in the back of my mind. My face steeled with determination as I opened the hatch and rose. I had weakened Alie when I fought against her forcing her back into the City, giving me time to move locations before I'd have to fight her off again.

I could feel the blood rushing through my body but I had stopped feeling pain. I was numb, exactly what Alie had promised. Exactly what I didn't want but knew I needed, at least until she was gone.