There were hands on me. I couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe right, and someone was touching me, recent history had me lashing out with my fists instead of magic. I scrambled like a wild, trapped animal until several hands pressed me down, and the covering was pulled off of my face. Six people stared down at me, concern and astonishment on their faces. One man was holding a hand to his face, reddened where I had hit him.
“Hold still before you hurt yourself.” His voice was surprisingly deep. “You’re among friends, relax.”
“Seriously? If you woke up to a shroud over the face and people you didn’t know touching you, would you calmly lie down to wait?” I countered even as I stopped fussing.
Amusement lit the dark eyes. “Actually no, I’d fight and piss and raise a fuss. But as I’ve been on the receiving end of those gnarly fists of yours, I would greatly appreciate the chance to never get slugged by you again.” He admitted without shame. With a gesture from him, the others all backed away from me, giving me the chance to properly sit up. “Welcome back Callahan Orenda, to the House of the Goddess and the location of your birth. You’ve been granted Sanctuary for the night, so I suggest you rest and recover, as dawn brings about a new day. You’re free to explore but I recommend you don’t step back outside, as then you’ll be outside our sphere of protection. Now as High Priest, I must be off, but feel free to ask anyone anything you want. I hope you find some balance while you’re here.” He dismissed briskly.
I spotted a flash of surprise in the eyes of one of the Priests, but she covered it quickly. “I am Alycia, Priest to the Maiden. I’m going to presume you’ll want a bath, some food and then bed. If you’ll follow me, I’ll lead you to a bathhouse where dinner will be served to you.” She guided me as the others dispersed.
Her pace was easy to follow and even though I tried to focus, I ended up just following along in a bemused state one step shy of zombie shuffle. I’ve been having a run of bad luck with bathrooms lately, and the sight of the bathtub left me uncomfortable, but thankfully this one was mundanely simple. Tub, toilet, sink, and shower, all were a pristinely bland white and yet I couldn’t bring myself to leisurely soak in a tub. Instead I took full advantage of the innocuous shower, which felt rejuvenating. The clothes I had discarded were stiff with dried blood and looked torn apart so I donned one of the green robes left handing in the bathroom, less of a housecoat and more of an acolytes garb. No one seemed to expect me to be ready yet, so I left the bathroom and wandered, following a nonsensical path that had less to do with instinct and more to do with the whispering voice in my head.
You should not have been able to escape my grasp. The Archive grumbled inside my skull and I staggered over to a minor altar and collapsed. We know that you are not ours, but we would keep you. You were fairly warned that to open yourself to us was to touch the Chaos. We are the bridge that opened between Order and the Place Beyond; we hold all of Order and Chaos inside us as we never should have. I had a megalomaniac, semi sentient nonentity rhapsodizing in my head.
If you are the breach, how do I seal it off? How do I keep the Realms safe? It was worth a shot asking.
Little Power, alone you are a gnat to all that I am. I am the undefinable layer between realities, the start and the end of all existence. When your Realm first existed without the breach, you were One. But then the sundering occurred and your many kinds were torn apart, kept separate to keep you weak. The Source shattered to keep Order safe, but without the Source now, all life is at stake. I felt like I was missing the vast majority of the things being left unsaid. Much more of this and I wondered if my brain would start to drool out of my ears. The Chaos is sending it’s Banished King through the breach, following the signal someone from your side of Order is giving him. Find the traitor, find the breach, find a way to seal off the oncoming army. Or all Order dies.
When the buzzing in my mind died down, I found myself sitting next to the bathhouse where I’d started my wanderings, and I looked to simply be praying at an altar. Alycia was waiting for me and it seemed that no time had really passed; my patience for this metaphysical marionette crap was wearing thin.
“I’ve placed a tray of food in a room for you so that you may eat what you wish and sleep without further toil.” Alycia spoke as soon as my eyes opened.
“That’s some good thinking.” I mumbled with a tired smile. I could not handle any more revelations, no more surprised, and definitely no more information. My body demanded food and sleep, and I was gratefully going to give it both.
When dawn came I was escorted to the kitchen for food and left in peace for a while, which was a truly novel experience for me in my entire time in Hell. No collar to control my behavior, no violent object lessons to warp my spirit, and no voices in my head driving me insane; it was a rare day indeed. However the Head Priest descended on my patch of peace like a herald of doom.
“The Sanctuary has ended and the King of Hell requests your attendance.” He said without preamble. The food I had eaten sat in my belly like a lead weight and I had no excuse to delay me, so I silently followed the Head Priest. “I tried to persuade the King that you needed more time in Sanctuary to recover but he informed me that you were required for a Truce Summit.” He gave me a disapproving frown. “It is a foolhardy venture to believe you are ever sage amongst his kind.” He warned.
“I’ll keep that in mind. No offence, but I’m a little too busy with not letting the universe to end for this to have the impact it should. We’ll deal with this particular revelation later.” The sarcasm was dripping off my words and I could see the Priest’s lips twitch as he tried not to smile. He escorted me right to the door and watched as I stepped out of the Temple.
All the physical training I do comes with its own sort of Zen mentality; a fighter cannot worry about the past or fret about the future, they have to give themselves over to the present. I tried to wrap that mentality around me so I could keep moving forward, feeling like I was racing against the clock. The King of Hell was impatiently awaiting me. “Just tell me what I need to do to get out of here and go home.” I missed no time in demanding, not waiting for him to speak. He gestured for me to follow him and I did so reluctantly, keeping a fair bit of distance between us and never letting him get between me and the doorway out of whatever room we ended up in. I could feel anxiety winging more tightly around me as the feeling of a clock striking its final seconds hit me.
“Are you alright?” Brenin finally realized that I had not heard a single thing he’d said and came towards me. “My pet, tell me what’s wrong.” This time it was a demand. There was actually nothing wrong with me for a change, a realization that made me freak out even more than it being my own impending doom. So I ignored the Demon King and started walking briskly away, foolish because I knew he could out run me unless I had a jet. Brenin grabbed me and held me tight, stopping my escape easily. “Do not ignore me my pet, I don’t take kindly to it.” He warned as he started to once again sink his Power into my mind. Sadly for him it was an awfully crowded place anymore, and if my allies were close enough for me to feel Cassie’s contractions then he was in for a real surprise. Instead of fighting against his magic, I simply let him feel the alien presence of the Archive blocking his access and reached out for my friends. For the first time in far too long I felt the brush of phantom fur under my fingers and knew that Alex was coming, filled with wrath; and with him came an equally furious Nikka.
The King of Hell was more than a match for me, even bolstered by Alex and Nikka, but he was nothing against the Archive. Brenin staggered back from me, eyes wide with shock. “I am not alone anymore. This is the one chance to save all the Realms and that means dealing with my reinforcements. I warned you repeatedly to let me go, now you can taste the consequences.” I left him standing in the hallway looking stunned into a statue. I didn’t know why my friends were here now, or how they had made it so close without being stopped, but I didn’t care. Cassie was having her babies and I knew exactly where she’d be having them too, so I let nothing stand in my way as I bolted back towards the Temple I had found Sanctuary in myself.
As I stumbled back into the Temple, I found multiple sets of very surprised eyes to see me but I couldn’t speak as another contraction hit Cassie. Her fear and excitement coursed through me as I offered her what little strength I had. The Head Priest helped usher me inside as if he understood without being told, and I could feel the Archive cataloguing the entire experience as the tiger and angel connected to me echoed with Cassie’s labor. It didn’t make any sense whatsoever but I simply tried to remember to breathe through the pain so that Cassie would too. I blinked rapidly to clear my eyesight when I was brought into a delivery room all set up and ready to go, and had a growing suspicion that I wasn’t the only one who’d been feeling the countdown to some big moment.
Is this the Time? I poked at the still silent voice in my head, wondering if my strange mentor existed any longer.
Almost. Whispered back.
The Time and Place are ready. Am I? I had to ask but was met with silence.
The Temple doors were thrown open and suddenly my family was there. Alex led the way in as Zeke and Nikka supported Cassie. Sebastien came in with Barry, with Aerona trailing along as an honor guard. She’d done this then; the Demon Prince had gone to get my family to me to ensure that I would do whatever it was I could to help her people. I gave her a brief nod so that she knew I understood and accepted. Brenin had tried to force my will and shape me into a tool, but Aerona had forged a proper alliance with me and I would honor our deal.
When I turned back to the delivery room, even more unexpected visitors had found their way inside. Two strange women stood in attendance, and they both seemed to have a certain gravitas to them that felt intimidating. I was used to seeing the Remnant of the Dancer, or Reaper, but it wasn’t often that one came literally face to face with Death and I did not understand why she was here now, for this occasion. The other Remnant was the Mother Aspect of the Goddess, sent because Cassie gave devotions to her. Apparently both of them were invested in this delivery.
“Alright, if you’re not hands on necessary, get the fuck out of the way.” Cassie ordered as she grunted with another contraction.
“Classy Cass, very classy.” I helped her settle onto the table and ignored Death as much as possible. Zeke stayed because even if I couldn’t forgive him for betraying me, he was the father, and the High Priest stayed because this was not his first delivery here. The Remnants of the Mother and Death watched in perfectly creepy silence, and although I wasn’t actually necessary I stayed as well. Cassie’s grip on my hand demanded it if nothing else.
I didn’t know what to expect in this situation, an absolute amateur for the first time in a long time, and I just waited in supportive fascination as I Watched the fluctuations in Cassie’s energy signature, shifting and altering as the babies squeezed out and displayed their own. It was a little gross and disturbing but oddly beautiful. The little girl was born first, screaming like a banshee and nearly ten minutes later the boy came out, silent but still vigorously alive. The heavy work done, Cass released my mangled hand and held her children with instinctive care. I watched the Remnants, seeming to know that there was still more to this spectacle yet.
The Reaper Remnant stepped forward and I almost stepped to block her from the newly born infants. This was the Goddess that I worshipped and yet I did not like that an Aspect associated with Death was here. She simply smiled at me as she leaned over to kiss each infant on the feet. “May your journey through life be long and full of love, and may you be aware and appreciate all life has to offer you.” She stepped back when I expected her to simply vanish, which did nothing to appease my nerves.
The Mother Remnant stepped close now and offered a finger for each infant to grab onto while Cassie watched in wide eyed astonishment. “May you give as much goodness as you deserve to take, and may you find the balance as you embrace your destinies.” Freeing her fingers from the infants, the Mother Aspect then kissed Cassie on the forehead. “May you find the inner strength you need for what is to come.” The Remnant stepped back and even as we all watched merged with the waiting Aspect of Death. The Mother and Reaper combined into one, smiling as I gaped at the spectacle before she spoke. “May you find it within you to forgive yourself.” The words were spoken at large but I knew they were meant for me as the Aspects disappeared.
“What exactly was that all about?” Zeke demanded and I had to squash the violent urge that churned when all my hatred for his betrayal hit me at once. Cassie and those babies needed him so I would just have to deal with him as best I could.
“They were born in the Temple and the energies released with new life called to the Goddess. It is a blessing.” The High Priest soothed. It wasn’t a lie, but I had been able to See the energy that the Aspects gifted those children, which meant that those words were actual Blessings.
“Have you already figured out names? Or are we just going to call them Insomnia and Grey Hairs?” I tried to lighten the mood, just flat out ignoring Zeke’s presence to preserve the peace.
Cassie smiled at me in exhausted elation. “Jasmine and Brandon, actually.”
“Cool, your own little jazz band.” I teased a little and tentatively reached out a finger to stroke the cheek of each. My hand shook but for once it wasn’t the withdrawal, but emotions I was poorly keeping at bay. My twin seemed to be perfectly fine at the concept of being a mother, but I felt overwhelmed at the mere idea of being an aunt. To be fair the last few months or so have done nothing to train me in that direction at all. “I’ll let you two have a moment.” I finally offered and fled the room before I could start to cry in front of them.
Tears blurred my vision for a moment and I let my guard down for a split second to allow myself to truly feel everything. That of course was the precise moment everything went absolutely downhill. I blinked back tears to see Alex face down on the floor with blood on him, and then I was jabbed in the arm with that beautiful, toxic drug again. It was near the full dose and when it hit me, my entire body jerked with elation before my muscles gave out. Boots stepped into view and I knew without having to see that it was the King of Hell that hauled me off of the floor, but my eyes were doing that rolling thing into the back of my skull as the Phoenix Tears took all my cares away.
It wasn’t pain for fear that shook me out of the drug’s embrace, but an all-consuming rage. Brenin had constantly commented on how he wanted to drag that rage out of me and bend it to his use. He had finally succeeded at one part but now I had to keep him from succeeding at the other. I was chained to a black obsidian obelisk, upper body stripped entirely bare, and contorted into a rather obscene position. It would be humiliating except for the fact that I was too angry to care. My friends and family were also chained but at least they weren’t stripped and posed like I was. Most horrific of all was the sight of my brand new niece and nephew laid out on a literal sacrificial altar. Aerona was chained up and bloodied as well, screaming murder at Brenin as he laid the Archive out on the altar next to the babies.
He means to Summon the breach, offer it sacrifice and seal it closed with the blood of those children. Or at least lure it here with that intent, and then release your Wild Magic onto it. The Archive calmly informed me as Brenin started to lay out a range of tools that I had witnessed Aerona used with awful efficiency.
Is this the Time? I demanded of the voice in my head again.
Yes. Her voice was faint.
Is this the Place? My anger was fading, being replaced with a dreadful calm certainty.
Yes. The voice was fading away almost entirely now.
Am I ready? I knew the answer even though the voice never responded. I wasn’t ready, and the truth was that nothing in the universe could ever make me ready for what was about to happen.
The Archive had no emotional qualms with informing me that to draw the Breach required a vast amount of energy released in a very small period of time. The kind of energy best built with pain and humiliation, desecration of flesh with emotional dissection. He was going to use those tools on my body and the reaction of my allies to be a beacon to the Breach, pull it into this time and place with the babies as the bait, and then let me do my very worst to it; hoping that my success against the other monsters meant I could handle this one as well. And there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening. The voice in my head that had kept me from fleeing so long ago was gone now, but this was the whole point of my life for the last while, apparently this had to happen.