Chronicles of Myth Volume Two: Into the Nightmare

Scene 6

The world hasn't felt this cold in a while since I was a kid rolling around in the snow, now maybe it's because I'd lost a fourth of original body weight or was my skin just that sensitive to begin; my bare hands touched a snowflake, I shrunk back my finger as I felt the shock on my paling skin; I leaned back in the park bench and Nolan sat next to me taking a breath of crisp air, "Was it worth it"? "The disease affects us all in a different way, but three things always remain in common across all the infected; firstly the cannibalistic or carnivorous urges, the term cannibal here doesn't apply to the eating of a same species but instead applies to those who have elemental powers like you and I or like our friends and enemies, as for all other flesh and blood creatures, they no more important than livestock; keep in mind the more you eat, the more you hunger for more. Secondly, the control of your magical ability and physical prowess are exponentially increased from before you eat someone, while at the same time your mental and psychological states degrade with each consecutive meal. Lastly, your ability to reason, your humanity are slowly shutting off, the person you were dies and it's as if they never existed". Another thing dependent on the host you received your virus from, you obtain some of their ability with few of their more unique symptoms". "That does that explain why normal food tastes like shit now, or why I feel like I'm freezing or burning up when I step outside"? "No, you're just a picky eater, as for your sensitive skin it only applies to temperature; you've become like a lizard when exposed to extreme heat or cold, on the plus side..." Nolan punched me in the shoulder and I didn't feel a thing; some pieces of dead skin flaked off as he brushed off his knuckles, "You're tough as a rock". "Anything less than a fifty caliber rifle cartridge won't even dent your shell, the protection is dense enough to hold back anything thrown at it; but with each hit a layer comes off, no matter how hard something hits you, its replaced fast enough for no one to know it ever went away". "What would happen if the host consumed some portion of an infected"? "Either nothing, or the host would obtain about 1/10 control ability for the element of said infected, trust me I tried and it went both ways; the effects don't last long enough to be a viable strategy in the long run". "But in the short term, it'll be an unbeatable edge". Nolan shook his head, "The amount of control you need to stabilize two elements in your body is not physically possible, you need to regulate both abilities to form an equilibrium between them, and on the chance you ate an element the opposite of your main branch, you're guaranteed to die from the meltdown of your bodily systems". "What are the branches"? "The four base elements: air, earth, water, and fire is the source of all magic: both organic meaning it came from the foundations of creation, or inorganic: magic developed by mankind through years of study and experimentation. All magic is linked to a branch of the main elements, though you have noticed that some magic falls outside the boundaries of sense, excluding Ashton, you, Elaine and Galahad; the rest of us in our dysfunctional family have made our own elements if you would". "That's incredible, that also explains half the crazy shit you guys can do". "It's a vast world out there, full of possibility and untapped potential; if you can imagine it, it can be done". I sat back and thought about the elements that could be out there, I gazed into empty space as my mind expanded from considering anything and everything that could be used; learned, or thought up of on the spot. "Astoria, magic doesn't have any rules that can applied to the physical world we live in; case in point Faith controls the impossible, and very well believe her, because she stopped that vortex of yours without lifting a finger to harm you, Damon controls time as his method of attack and defense; imagine and make it reality, also did you know that you can control other elements in your branch". Nolan stood up and formed a ball of darkness in one hand and a ball of light in the other; he spun the balls in their orbits with his palms still and elbows tucked into his body, he stretched his arms forward looking at the wide clearing; the orbs hovered outward, slowly morphing into their opposites before changing back again as they spun around each other. Nolan rested the force his arms and let them hang loose at his sides, the strobes of energy stood still occasionally letting out opposite colored flashes from their cores; Nolan slowly pressed his hands together and the orbs; hovered together before mixing seamlessly into one, a sphere of twilight hovered in place and Nolan drew it back to him, splitting it two the mixed energy wrapped itself around his hands, he spun his hands together stepping in motion with his feet; he spread his arms apart and turned on his heels before bringing his hands together; with a soft clap, multiple spheres of twilight appearing in the air around us illuminating the snow covered clearing, Nolan let out a deep breath and the glow from the orbs faded in intensity, they gently hummed; Nolan snapped his fingers, and each sphere exploded like a fire cracker, causing a display of fireworks around us, I felt a spark touch my white crow feather coat, the light dissipated into thin air leaving nothing behind. "These are my loyal companions, wisps; I have had the pleasure of letting them be my therapist for past few years". Nolan, let the fading puffballs of evening light absorb into his body: the smell of decay was there in the air around us, it was heavily masked by early frost, compost and fresh snow; I saw the pointed tips of grave markers sticking out mounds of snow across the barren field, the scent of rotten flesh grew stronger in my nose; the more I focused on it, the more my hunger grew. "Nolan, what's happening to me"? I doubled over conflicted, I am going to eat corpses to maintain my wellbeing or I am going to starve to death maintaining ever eroding humanity. I staggered to my feet pressing off my hands, the feeling of bitter cold deadened my senses, I shuffled forward; slowly my reluctance was replaced by a strong desire of ravenous hunger, why I drawn by the scents of corpses? Does the logic of the world not apply to me anymore? I kept moving forward as will was weakened with every heavy step, soon my mind and body were on the same page; I could no longer form a logical train of thought, my feet dragged through the growing buildup of snow: the sense of identity faded along with my ability to my reason, just once, I pleaded with myself, just once allow a lapse in judgment... let your morality rest from the decisions... just this once feed on what you desire. I stepped forward until I hit something, with my vision tunneling; I could only hear the muffled voice of someone calling out for me, the body was warm, the voice was familiar, I was stopped in my tracks; we were brought to our knees, I smelled blood and metal from his skin, his clothes wreaked of smoke and lead; the feeling of his hands grounded me to reality, I looked up and saw Ragnarok, but something was wrong... this wasn't the person I was secretly afraid of, I envied his strength and was scared of the monster inside of him... the longer I looked into those saddened eyes of his, I realized he was just me like me, living out his days an inch away death's reach; we were cursed by the world, I saw the longing in his eyes; he mouthed my name, I barely heard his voice calling my name... at one point or another he was in the same position, I felt the ground shake behind me under my legs, Ragnarok wrapped his arms around me, "Please come back"; he mouthed, my hearing was all but gone now; the vibrations from the footsteps stopped right behind me, Ragnarok let go his embrace as he helped to my feet; Nolan wrapped his arms waist my flat breasts. Of all things I could feel his tears touch my hair, he hugged me tighter: I felt the vibration in the air from his throat as he spoke, the emotion behind his words, as he pleaded with me to come back; the Astoria that I was, is now almost gone, I kept walking forward; breaking out his arms, Nolan gave up falling on his knees, I barely could make out the hoarse cries as he let me go. Step by step I grew closer to the nearest tombstone, crossing through the entrance gate of the gravesite, I heard two muffled yells calling my name, taking a few more steps soon it was like walking through tar, before I was stopped in my tracks by the cold feeling of metal both to my front and my back; I was penned in by a cage of metal, the walls surrounding me were torn down by a pair golden hands, sharp talons ripped through the steel; I saw the same hand pull back and fly toward my chest with a jet of blue fire propelling it forward, the smell of iron filled the air, as I was hit by a fist with the force of wrecking ball, I saw the flecks of my darkening blood dot the air as I landed on a heavy padding of a snow covered knoll belly first; the cut in my chest didn't seal up, I kept bleeding out; I saw a pool of dark crimson liquid stain the snow as I rolled over to my back, my chest was studded with frozen rocks from the impact. I couldn't feel anything, let alone sense the fading world around me, the fighting erupted around me as flashes of energy fueled by directed anger and a will to survive, I rested my head on the ground and placed one my chest, leaving the other lying on the snow; I gripped the soft powder and looked as it melted in my frail hand: my body was weakened from starvation, I was at my limit; even I don't know what the world around me had broken down to, I knew two things were evident right now, one: I was going to die here from bleeding out or hypothermia... two: the fire was lit, six days in advance and I was fuel to set everything ablaze.