The earth is careening straight down the tracks to hell and the humans are at fault.
Trapped in the dungeons of an ancient burial grounds and tortured to the brink of insanity, the God and Goddess of balance have been separated, unleashing a terrib...
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I don't know when Daniel began guiding me back to the house or when the clouds overhead turned to night. There were a lot of streets that passed by in a blur, people who only nodded at us with kind, warm eyes and blessings.
None of these people had their own personalities, their own thoughts and feelings.
Lights threaten my eyes through the windows of small buildings. Dan looks at the lamps and overhead lanterns with a jaded reverence. The kind of appreciation you see with someone whose peered up many times ages ago and can't find the beauty anymore, yet the meaning remains the same.
An older tavern makes Daniel freeze in his tracks, gripping my forearm tightly and yanking me almost against his chest.
"What can you sense about this place?" he asks quietly.
I continue to space out, thinking about the nightmare that surrounds me. This city, the people, the eyes on my back and head. Lindon's gone. Though I cannot die there are many other frightening things, horrific things that could be done.
A small, old bar doesn't even begin to compare.
"Ira, what do you feel?"
My mouth is dry. Atoms bounce on my skin an electric waves, pinches that ripple down my spine and make my hair stand on end. The feeling evolves into an awful tearing at my skin and I snap out of the stupor I've floated around in.
Energy. Mana.
A fortress built of it in the heart of the city, but not divine energy.
"Iridian..."
"It's not divine, so what is it...?" I murmur to myself, blinking into reality.
He doesn't say anything, looking around for other people.
I roll my shoulders a little and pull my back up straight. The presence of a true being isn't just energy, it's confidence. Power. A lack of fear that's woven into the very core.
Taking a few steps further, the grasp on my arm isn't softening. "Daniel, I need you to let go of me."
"What are you doing?"
I roll my eyes, slipping out of his hold and crossing my arms. "I'm going to figure out the answers to your questions, alright?"
"Don't go inside."
I feel my jaw click with irritation but I ignore it.
"Do you not know who I am?"
He pauses for a moment, considering this. It's not about the information, but a fight over the concern and fear he has. The constant panic that something is going to threaten my wellbeing. Perhaps admirable or even cute in some lights, the interfering had become more than a nuisance.
Dan doesn't say anything else, his eyes hardening slightly as he pivots away and gestures at me to go.
