Nocte and Solem

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 

“I’m sorry, Tenebris...” I said, rising to my feet, “Please, forgive me. I wanted to tell you-”

“But you didn’t tell me!” Mom chuckled.

“Oh, that’s not the only thing he’s kept hidden from you.” Tenebris began to tremble, but I didn’t know if it was in fear or in anger.

“What is she talking about, Lux?” Mom smirked.

“Were you really foolish enough to think Lux just randomly decided to visit your lair out of pure curiosity?” Mom laughed in a strange way I had never heard before. It was almost...menacing...”No,” she said, “Lux was sent by me to destroy you.” Tenebris’s left eye twitched and I could feel the ground shaking.

“No!” said Tenebris shaking his head, “No! You’re a liar!”

“Why do you think he brought you out in the daylight? You’re too weak to defend yourself.” Tenebris began to pant fast and the tremors became much worse.

“NO!” Shouted Tenebris. “Lux brought me down here to show everyone that I’m not evil!”

“You are evil.” Mom’s voice was frighteningly calm. Tenebris growled and his eyes glew bright yellow.

“No I’m NOT!” Tenebris stamped his foot against the cobblestone ground, which cracked all the way down to where the crowd of villagers were standing. They all gasped and parents pulled their children behind them as they backed away in fear. Tenebris gasped and looked towards the crowd. “Dear villagers, please don’t back away! There’s nothing to fear! Please!” Mom approached Tenebris, she had a scary smirk upon her face.

“You see?” She said. “They all despise you because they know the truth. You can’t mask it behind anything, it’s in your blood. You will never fit in because you are a monster. No one will ever truly love you or care about you.” Tenebris looked down at the ground, black tears dripping down his cheeks. Suddenly, I heard thunder coming from just outside the village. I looked up and saw the sun was setting. I remembered what Elder Caelum had told me about Tenebris’s power during the Autumnal Equinox.

“Without his parents being around, Tenebris most likely would not know how to contain all that power inside him. It will wrap around whatever emotional energy is most apparent and manipulate it in a way where it can be unleashed in a catastrophic way...He will be dangerous to himself as well...”

“Oh no,” I ran to Mom’s side and grabbed her arm. “Mom please!” I said. “Stop! You don’t realize what you’re doing!” Mom shoved me away from her.

“I will deal with you later! Besides, what can he do? He doesn’t have any strength in the daylight!” Tenebris looked up at Mom and I, staring us down with his eyes glowing bright yellow. He was snarling and he clenched his fists. As the sun went down, thunderous storm clouds began to block out the sunlight and the entire sky. The villagers held on tightly to their children as vicious winds blew.

“I have,” said Tenebris, as he slowly stepped closer to Mom and I, “so much strength inside of me that you don’t even know what I could do!” Tenebris’s voice became distorted and demonically deep. “If the world isn’t going to love me, then I’ll teach it to fear me instead!” Lighting crashed to the ground in front of Mom and I, the blast knocking us to the ground. The townsfolk shrieked with fright and panically ran to find cover. I recovered from the shock from the blast and looked up at Tenebris, who was now levitating off the ground. Thunder boomed as lightning crashed to the ground, destroying the festival booths and cottage lanterns. Tenebris raised the moon high into the sky, and as he did so, shadows began to shroud the village in darkness. I froze in both fear and shock. I felt so guilty, so ashamed, but mostly, I felt fear for Tenebris. I had never seen him so angry. When the moon reached it’s peak, and the village was pitch black, the moonlight shined down only on Tenebris and the stars and shadows overtook him. This was the moment Elder Caelum warned me about. His power was being intensified, but he didn’t know how to properly control it. In a flash, Tenebris was no longer wearing the clothes I had let him borrow, but they had instead been drained of their color, becoming all black. His eyes were glowing entirely yellow and black mist was leaking from them. He laughed as he used his new strengthened powers to shoot blasts of shadows at Mom and I. Mom tried to run, but Tenebris kept firing at her.

“THAT’S IT!” He laughed maniacally as he shot at her. “RUN YOU SELFISH SOLEM! SAVE YOURSELF BEFORE YOU SAVE YOUR FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS!” Tenebris looked at the crowd of panicking villagers and growled. “ALL WE WANTED WAS TO BEFRIEND YOU,” He cried, his voice still deep and frightening, “AND YET YOU STILL RAN IN TERROR! IF IT’S A NIGHTMARE YOU WANT, A NIGHTMARE YOU’LL GET!” Tenebris waved his hands and a dark violet mist veiled over the villagers. They coughed at first, but once the mist faded away, they began shrieked at nothing and cowered in fear at the sight of inanimate objects.

“He’s making them see their fears...” I too inhaled the gas, but it was ineffective for me...I was already watching my worst nightmare come true right before my eyes.

“Clara, what have you done?!” I turned and saw Elder Caelum yelling at my mom.

“I told that the beast the truth!” Elder Caelum shook his head and ran next to me.

“We have to stop him!”

“No!” I shouted. “I won’t hurt him!” Elder Caelum turned me towards the villagers.

“Look at these people! They’re suffering! We can’t just do nothing!” I winced. Elder Caelum was right.

“Let me try and speak to him! I think I can get through to him!”

“Are you insane?!”

“Maybe! But I have to try! Help the villagers, I’ll talk to him!” Elder Caelum sighed and shook his head as he ran towards the crowd of frightened villagers. I pushed myself through the harsh winds pulling me back and shot beams of light at the shadows that tried to prevent me from reaching Tenebris. When I got close enough, I stood tall and shouted, “Tenebris! You need to stop!” Tenebris looked at me with those frightening and soulless glowing yellow eyes.

“Lux,” he growled.

“Tenebris! Don’t be the monster they think you are! You’re better than this, I know you are!”

“YOU’RE A LIAR!” Shrieked Tenebris. “A SOLEM! YOU WANT TO KILL US LIKE THE REST OF THEM! NOTHING YOU SAY IS TRUE!” Tenebris whipped a ball of shadows at me, but I dodged it just in time.

“Listen! It’s true I was sent to kill you, but I was never going to do it! I wouldn’t kill anyone or anything! I never believed anything anyone said about you!” Tenebris grabbed my throat and lifted me up.

“LIES!” I gasped for air.

“N-No, Tenebris,” I said, losing air, “I wanted to tell you I was a Solem, but I thought you wouldn’t like me anymore because of what they tried to do to you...I’m sorry Tenebris, please, please forgive me...you’re my best friend, my only friend.” Tenebris snarled at me, but for a moment, I saw his eyes return to normal and the dark mist became tears. Tenebris was crying. In that one moment, I saw what was underneath. Not a vicious monster, angry at the world, but instead, a young boy, heartbroken and scared of being alone again. I tried to speak, but in a flash, Tenebris’s eyes returned to being entirely yellow and he threw me against the cobblestone ground. The last thing I remember before I blacked out was seeing Elder Caelum standing in front of Tenebris and firing a white blast of light at him, and hearing Tenebris’s loud and piercing shriek.