Isabella was walking down a dark tunnel, hundreds of feet under the ground. Her flashlight swiveled, banishing the darkness that dared encroach on her. This place was ancient, nearly as old as civilization itself. And within it, was something even older. The records of the Erduks. Finally, the first vaults came into sight. Helen an Erduk the very first read. Her mother. She stopped in shock. Her mother knew about this place? It had taken some serious digging to discover it. Curiously, she leaned forward and reached for the handle. A small needle pricked her palm
“Oww!” she exclaimed.
The door retracted seamlessly, revealing a small pile of hard drives and data storage devices. Isabella hesitated, considering removing them, but then looked further down the seemingly endless hall.
She sighed. For millennia the Erduks had stored their records here. Who was she to change that? She continued down the path, uncovering more and more vaults.
She shivered at the weight in the air, the echoes of past glory and power. To her senses, every collection was heavy, a reflection of their paths, their ethos. Some were heavier than others. Isabella nearly fell to her knees passing Jausn’s vault, and Adam’s wasn't much better. Jorhan’s vault seemed to cut her with invisible blades and she examined her now bleeding hand with shock. Such a thing shouldnt be possible, especially by a mere remnant. But these were Erduks, unconcerned with matters of possibility. They did as they wished, merely what was allowed. Further and further the dynasty went, every vault hinting at the greatness its master once wielded. Eventually, the record began to transform, becoming papyrus, then animal skin, then clay tablets. Finally, she reached the end of the hallway. A simple door stood in front of her, worn but maintained. Old but strong, just like the Erduks.
No vaults dared encroach on the door’s territory. Isabella took a deep breath. She knew what waited behind these doors. The remnants of Angelica an Erduk.
She sensed that the pressure would be unlike anything before, but she prepared herself nonetheless. Truth awaited behind that door.
She pushed it open with a grunt, and stepped into the chamber. The pressure hit her like nothing ever before, but she was an Erduk. She grunted, stumbling but successfully resisting it. The chamber was circular, but bare, with torches somehow still burning despite the millenia that had passed. Isabella instinctively switched her flashlight off, relying solely on the flickering torches for light. The chamber was empty except for a single raised dais in the middle. And on top of that dias was… Isabella fell to her knees. It felt like a planet had fallen on her, suppressing her with absolute weight. Snippets of a life long extinguished came to her. Of divine love and heartbreaking betrayal. Of a god-slaying blade and an unbreakable will. She screamed as she felt the brush of death upon her mind. This was not something a mere mortal could understand. The purity, the sheer power, of the vision was not meant for mortals, even Erduks. They belonged to the divine.
Still, mortal or not, Erduks were a different breed. Gathering every shred of her growing ethos isabella pushed back, shoving back vision of her own purpose. An illuminating knowledge, a growing horror, and an endless field of corpses joined the blade and heartbreak in an incomprehensible dance. The pressure abruptly lessened and Isabella was able to push herself to her feet, wiping blood off her nose.
And on top of the dias was a corpse.
I looked away. I couldn't bear to see her like this.
I knew what Isabella saw. Hair like spun gold. Sapphire eyes like stars. Even in death she was beautiful, and perfectly preserved. The ethos of establishing a dynasty such as the Erduks was not to be underestimated. Honestly, if she was still alive it likely would have counted as a creation worthy of ascension.
I felt Isabella flinch away from the blade clenched in her hand, the blade Adam had hidden there so long ago.
It became overwhelming, the memories surging within me. The emotions running wild. I couldn't take it. I fled. I looked away.
I cried, and the void within laughed.
—---------------------------------------
Isabella left Angelica’s tomb. She looked terrified.
I wondered if that flame would be the one to burn her.
—--------------------------------------------
It was the dead of night, the stars shining overhead in a maddening kaleidoscope of divinity and madness. Isabella’s fist struck the door with a resounding thud.
Then again, and again, and again.
Finally, after several minutes of knocking, the door opened.
“What the hell's your problem?” he grumbled out, still half asleep.
“Fury, we need to talk.”
He squinted at her, as if trying to place her face. Then he popped awake as if given a shot of adrenaline.
“Isabella, what are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.”
He took in her exhaustion and nervous fidgeting. “Come in.”
The room was the same as before, which is to say an absolute mess.
“Ughh… I need a beer.” Fury mumbled, going for the fridge stuffed in the back.
He walked back and plopped back into his chair, beer in hand. Before he could drink it, Isabella grabbed it, and chugged the whole thing. Fury watches in undisguised shock.
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“Lass, are you ok?”
Isabella just continued to drink.
He sighed, “ I suppose you saw the graveyard. I warned you, girl. I warned you.”
He sighed again, looking deeply ashamed, “Now, you’re just like me. What have I done?”
Isabella finished the beer, and grimacing at the taste, leaned across the small table to slap Fury in the face.
“An oversized graveyard isn't enough to burn me.”
I almost laughed at the expression on Fury's face. The absolute confusion was a sight to behold.
“What…What was that for?”
Isabella, tilted her head up, looking down on him condescendingly, “For thinking anything you could do could burn me.”
Fury couldn't take it anymore, he burst out laughing uncontrollably, wheezing and choking. Isabella soon joined in, a tinge of madness staining both their laughs.
Finally, they calmed down, and Fury turned back to Isabella,
“So, why did you want to see me?”
Isabella’s eyes took on a far out quality. “I saw the graveyard.”
Fury just nodded.
“It was horrible,” she whispered, “but that's not what I want to talk about.”
She took a deep breath and continued.
“I left that place with a question. ‘What did this?’ and last month, I found my answer.
Fury froze. “You did?” he whispered.
“I did.” Isabella whispered back, as if it could stop me from hearing. The next moment, she put up one of the most intricate anti-scurrying setups I've ever seen. I’d watched her create it, forging it personally with the most advanced technology in the cosmos. I think she was hoping to restrict even my view. Futile. Nothing less than a divine creation can restrict my view.
Fury looked around in wonder, perhaps sensing how advanced the setup was.
“Is this–”
“Focus , Fury.”
He took a deep breath, “ok, but first, why are you telling me?”
Isabella hesitated, “I…I don't really know. This has been burning away at me for a month. I suppose you were right. Ignorance truly is bliss. But I couldn't just live in ignorance. So I seized the flame of knowledge. And it burns.”
She wrapped her arms around her chest and shivered.
“Remember when I first came here, how mad I got at you?”
Fury snorted, “I'm still finding shards of that glass bottle.”
Isabella ignored him, “it was fear. You’re what I fear. The fear that I will one day be unable to carry the weight of my knowledge. That I will hide from it. That thought terrifies me.”
Her voice dropped to a low whisper, “And I can feel it happening.”
Then, with a sudden jolt, she sat straight up, as if fighting waves of drowsiness.
“I just need to let it out. To tell someone, to spread the flame, make it a little less unbearable.” her sapphire eyes met his crimson orbs, “Will you help me?” she pleaded.
Fury reeled back, for a second seeming to retreat. He had borne enough for a lifetime, he was already broken. Why did the world ask for more of him?
Then he looked at the shivering Isabella, on the verge of breaking as he once had. Could he let somebody else descend into his madness? He already knew the answer. He resisted it, but the man he once was could not be denied.
“I,” he licked his lips nervously, squeezing his eyes shut, then he abruptly folded, “Yes” he sighed, slumping over, “I will help you.”
It's funny how humans can reach out of their brokenness to help other broken people. Strange, and yet glorious all the same.
She looked at him in undisguised gratefulness, and without further ado launched into her story.
“The Erduks are ancient, as old as civilization itself and we have a comprehensive set of records spanning all the way to the founder of our dynasty. When I saw the graveyard, it reminded me of certain stories of the founder.”
“What stories?” Fury questioned.
“Well…stories of a love affair between the founder and…somebody. Somebody powerful. And of the end of the affair. Something about genocide on a incomprehensible scale and a…fight. One that the founder lost.”
“Who is somebody?”
Isabella hesitated, then whispered, “God.”
Fury stared. “You can’t be serious.”
“Unfortunately, I am. And the records confirmed it. I ventured into them. It was terrifying. Echoes of past glory and purpose press down like a mountain. Honestly, I doubt anyone not a true Erduk could walk that tunnel. At the end, there was a door.” Isabella swallowed.
“I opened the door, and walked into the room. There was a raised dais at the center. The pressure forced me to my knees. The only thing that saved me was the memory of the graveyard. I managed to get back up. Then I saw her. She was beautiful, Fury. More beautiful than anything I can imagine. And looking at her hurt. Like staring straight at the sun.”
Indeed she was. My heart aches to smile one more time.
Isabella stopped to take a swig of the beer Fury supplied.
“She was holding a sword.” Isabella shivered, “Just looking at the blade nearly killed me.”
She took another swig. “I found her records, and within I found the answer.”
This time she chugged the remaining bottle.
“It was God.”
“What?”
“It was God. God is lonely, so after the creation of the universe he set upon a journey to create life. He created countless species and whenever they failed him, he wiped them from existence. My ancestor fell in love with him, and he with her. When she discovered what he had done, realized what he could do, she tried to kill him.”
“Kill God?! How?!”
“That blade I saw. It was meant to kill him. She failed of course, but she passed the mission on.”
Isabella chuckled, “That’s the purpose of my line. To kill God and protect humanity.”
That's silly of course. No mortal could harm me, even with that blade, and even so I meant humanity no harm. They were my prized creations!
The void within laughed.
“That's…insane. Are you sure it's real?”
Isabella nodded, “yeah. It wasn't mere writing. You could somehow… feel it. Like you were there. In fact…”
Her face scrunched up in concentration and she reached out to tap Fury’s forehead. He instantly collapsed, overwhelmed by ancient glory.
Isabella walked over and helped him back onto his stool.
“He’s watching.” Fury half-whispered, half-gasped.
“Yes, he is.”
That sat in silence for a while, struggling to grasp the sheer scale of that revelation.
Isabella was the one to break it, “And there’s something else too.”
“Oh no.”
Isabella licked her lips, glancing nervously at the ceiling as if she could right through it.
“...nevermind.”
She was hiding something from me, but I didn't mind. She could have her secrets.
Fury spoke, “So, what do we do?”
Isabella buried her head in her hands,
“I don’t know.”