Obsidian (2022)

15. Winners and Traitors

Chapter 15

Winners and Traitors

"You can be a victim of horrible circumstances, but it does not define you as a victim all your life. You are no longer a victim when you accept it and move on from the thing that made you one."

Darya, Amethyst, and Kieran walked back into the village, by the intense watch of all the villagers. The sky was clear and some sun had shone over the island and onto the worried tired faces and wounded bodies of the villagers. They had withstood many things, but for the decisive moment of whether the phenomenon was gone or not, they gathered the strength and waited outside.

Amethyst ambled first and approached the villagers. His stoic face perked in a wide smile and he raised his hands in the air.

"We will live to see another day."

The crowd broke into cheers and claps. In the moment of her ecstatic joy, Agate yelled out a high-pitched noise pulled out her gun and fired in the air. People burst into tears of happiness, some fell on the ground unable to contain the overwhelming feeling in their chest. The thorn in their side for years was finally removed.

Gavril dug his cane into the ground to retain his balance and repeatedly hit his chest, his eyes overflowing with hot tears.

Rin and Jade approached Kieran and Darya who watched the villagers in contentment.

"Is it really gone?" Jade asked. "Did you completely destroy it?"

Darya nodded. "We walked around the whole island where there were markings of the phenomenon. It was completely eradicated."

Jade covered her mouth with her hands. "I can't believe that worked. I'm so happy."

Darya smiled at her, making Jade confused. "It was because you suggested it."

Jade stood speechless. Rin burst into laughter and patted her head. "It was your idea thief."

"I just..." Jade bit her lip.

Darya suddenly pulled Rin aside attracting a confused look from Jade and Kieran.

Once they were further from the noise, Darya cleared her throat. "I um..I'm sorry..."

"Don't dare apologize." Rin put out his hand and smiled. "You saved them. You saved my people."

"But I stole your chance to stop the phenomenon yourself. If you had more time to come up with a solution they would be celebrating you." She answered.

"Maybe." Rin still kept his hand out. "But seeing them this happy, to think like that, it would be conceited of me. And I still have the chance to be celebrated. I can't let you make a hole like that in Mirror city."

Darya put out her hand and shook his. "I misjudged you Royal."

"Though now I have to think about where to test the solution I came up with." He answered.

Darya's eyes sparked with excitement. "You came up with a solution?"

Rin smiled. "Yes. Well, once I read my father's notes I thought of the solution he probably came up with himself. I wanted to test it but then this happened. Though I have one more worry."

"For what?" Darya asked.

"Why the phenomenon shows up in Mirror City and Kieran's island. So I started thinking about what I can do with the phenomenon here if I wanted to contaminate other places. And I came up with an idea on how I could take a sample from the phenomenon's effect here, like a patch of land, and contaminate another patch. And after I came up with that formula... I figured out how to counterpart that."