The Wretched

Chapter 4

"Mom, if you keep stalling, Theodore and I will carry on with the paperwork we have to do" Octavia threatened, having lost her patience as her mother was struggling for words for the past fifteen minutes.

Hepta looked unsure. But who could blame her? This was an important moment for them both, according to the family tradition.

"Look, kiddo! This is an important moment in my life, as well as yours, so just let me pick the right words to say it"

Octavia rolled her eyes and picked up her pen. Theodore's eyes were traveling between the two women, unsure of what he was supposed to do. Hepta, seeing that her daughter is losing interest in what she has to say, decided to just spill it all out.

"Octavia, you have to save the world" the older woman breathed out.

The two youngsters' eyes grew wide with amazement. Was this woman going crazy, or was she serious?

"Mom, you must be kidding me!" Octavia finally said. "I have been around dead people for most of my adult life. How can I possibly save the world?"

"You are the first born of the family's main branch, Octavia. You see, every two hundred years an interesting thing happens. During five months, when the full moon reaches its peak, five random people die an inexplicable death" Hepta said, her voice laced with mystery, captivating Theodore. It was to be an interesting story; he felt it in the pit of his stomach. "Do you know why the Western Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century AD?" her question broke the mysterious aura that surrounded the tale.

"Gothic invasion?" Theodore asked, remembering the middle school History lesson about this historic event.

"Close, but no" Hepta said. "That was the year this happened for the first time. It just so happened that at the first peak of the full moon the last Roman emperor died. It was a quiet night, the emperor was young and healthy, but he simply dropped dead. He had no heirs, so his death marked the beginning of the Middle Ages. His doctor was Igneel, our ancestor. Over the next two months, he and his closest friend Crimson studied the cause of the emperor's death, discovering a strange substance that affected internal organs. Crimson was a known Alchemist. He was the holder of the Book of Secrets, a very old book that contained a prophecy. This prophecy spoke of the Curse of the Pentagram. Whoever stood on the active point of the pentagram at the peak of the full moon shall drop dead, without a visible reason. Fortunately, the duo succeeded in preventing the fifth death to occur, stopping the pentagram from reaching its regular form. A few years later, Crimson and Igneel were still close friends. Crimson still held the Book of Secrets and studying it carefully he discovered that the Curse will repeat itself every two hundred years until the pentagram gains its regular form. They assumed that if the pentagram completes its task Hell will literally break loose.

Unlike Igneel, Crimson didn't establish a family tradition; he just vowed that every time the pentagram will start to show, he will be there to help Igneel save the world. And he kept his promise every time" the older woman told the tale with a tint of mystery in her voice, in the same manner an old man would tell a ghost story around the campfire.

"May I ask what family tradition was established back then?" Theodore asked, his voice being no more than a faint whisper.

"We give the main branch's first born children names that came from the Greek and Latin numeral prefixes. For example, 'Octavia' means 'the eighth'. 'Hepta' means 'the seventh'. My father's name is Hexa, meaning 'the sixth', and so on and so forth, all the way to Primus Igneel, the son of the man who stopped the end of the world in the 19th century, two hundred years and eight generations ago. The cycle repeats itself every time the eighth Igneel stops the pentagram from completing. At first, we did this just to be a fancy noble family with a fancy and pointless tradition, but it turned out to be quite handy to count eight generations" Hepta explained with a small chuckle at the end.

"But what does it have to do with me?" Theodore's voice gained intensity, but it was laced with concern.

A sorrowful smile spread across Hepta's features. "You are the reincarnation of Crimson"

Theodore's brain started to take in everything that he was just told. Meanwhile, Octavia remained expressionless, as she was deep in thought. She was putting two and two together in the very depths of her mind. She knew her mother was right. There was a voice in the back of her mind that told her that. The enzyme, the inexplicable deaths, everything made sense now.

"How...how do you know that Theodore is the reincarnation of Crimson?" the younger woman asked, as her coworker still remained silent.

"I can feel his aura" Hepta replied. "You see, it is the seventh's duty to find the ones able to save the world. So I was granted this gift since I was born. I am here to give you guidance, like my ancestors did before me to the saviors prior"

Back to Theodore, his mind was still processing things. It amazed him how easily he was able to do it, like he knew most of the stuff already, although he felt like there were more questions he needed an answer to.

"But if this thing happened in Europe back then, how come now it's happening here, on the American continent?" the question left his lips, breaking the silence that settled between the two women.

"It has been changing locations. First it was in Europe, next in Asia, then in Africa, then in Australia. It is actually the second time it's happening in Americat" Hepta responded.

"Does the Book of Secrets still exist?" this time, Octavia was asking the question.

"Yes" the reply was quiet. "It's still out there, somewhere"

"Do we need it to stop the gates of Hell from opening?" Theodore asked.

"Yes, you do" the older woman said quietly.

"Where can we find it?" both younger persons asked at once.

"I'm afraid I don't know where it is" Hepta replied, sorrowfully. "It should be with the Crimsons, but Theodore should be able to either track it down, either to see the words written in it scrambling through Crimson's memories"

"Can I do that?" the young man chuckled slightly.

"Yes, you can"