Chapter 181 - A Purpose to Fulfill

Char Char supported Reid over her shoulder as she stepped through the portal, leaving the chaotic environment of the forest behind her. Finn followed, with the portal closing quickly after.

All the noise and light and violence cut off in an instant, leaving a ringing echo in Char Char’s ears as she looked around at her new surroundings.

Her first impression was that they were in a small castle courtyard of sorts. The roof was open to the grey afternoon sky, which was slowly regaining its bluish colour like watercolours seeping into parchment. The slate grey walls were smooth and decorated with silver and brass framing. The floor was made of large, polyhedral stone tiles.

In the center of the courtyard was a dried up circular fountain without any embellishments.

There were no windows or doors, and for a moment Char Char wondered how people were supposed to enter the courtyard, before she realized the silliness of the question.

“Did you do that?” Char Char asked, referring to the portal that they had just passed through.

“No, that would be my teammate.” Finn replied, “She should be along shortly with the others.”

“Where are we?” Char Char asked.

“Tye-Ann Cathedral.” Finn said, glancing at Reid, “Do we need to get him some medical attention?”

“I’m fine.” Reid grimaced as he forced himself to stand without Char Char’s help, “The effects are wearing off…”

“What happened?” Char Char frowned.

“Something in the air.” Reid said, shaking his head, “It was like I was in a dream. I don’t remember what I was doing.”

“Show me your hands.” Finn said, pulling out a petal from his pocket. He touched the pearl-coloured petal to Reid and Char Char’s bare skin, noting that the petal didn’t change in colour.

At least he wasn’t mind controlled by Gantt… Finn thought. Satisfied, he returned the petal to his pocket. He closed his eyes and placed his palm against his heart, muttering a quiet prayer.

Moments later, two rifts opened up in the courtyard and four officers stepped through. Char Char noticed that the scenes through the portals were not of the forest, but from similar stone-walled rooms.

“Report.” Finn said.

“The ritual appears to have failed. The demonic energies at the site were quickly dispersing.” One officer reported.

“There was one gravely wounded person near the tree, she didn’t look like she would last the hour.” Another said, “We wanted to take her but the situation felt too dangerous.”

“Friend or enemy?” Finn asked.

“That was Lyssa.” Char Char piped up, “She was… with the God of Life.”

“There’s no problem then.” Finn said. He nodded toward Reid while addressing the officers, “The operation was a success. Kim and Tian, report to the Chief. You two, take this man to a priest. He appears to have been influenced by the ritual.”

The four officers left through portals, taking Reid with them.

Finn’s eyes landed on Char Char as he watched her with a contemplative expression. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, not saying anything. The silence left Char Char feeling a little awkward.

At present she couldn’t take the silence anymore. She placed her hands on her hips, “What?”

The impetulant attitude caused Finn to break his cool demeanor as he couldn’t help but smirk. The tension that he had been subconsciously holding in his body relaxed.

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“You know it’s rude to stare?” Char Char glared as she realized that she was still trembling. She felt like her mental state was still on high alert. Even in these quiet, still surroundings she couldn’t relax. “If you have something to say, spit it out.”

“I apologize.” Finn said, averting his eyes as he chuckled, “I’m having trouble gathering my thoughts. It’s been a bit of a stressful day.”

“Oh, your day was stressful? So sorry to hear that!” Char Char retorted. She turned away, walking up to the fountain with a huff.

Finn didn’t reply, his eyes darkened as his thoughts once again drifted away from him.

His body still felt stretched out and brittle, and his extremities still tingled with sharp, almost painful energies.

It was expected. After all, he’d taken the Astromancer catalyst less than an hour ago. Just an hour prior to that, he was still incarcerated under the authority of Chief Vox.

“I’m glad to see that you’re in good health, Miss Zhao.” Finn said, his tone lightening, “And I have to say, I was surprised to find you up there, at the center of that storm.”

“What did you expect to find?” Char Char snorted, still facing away from Finn.

“Honestly? Death.” Finn said, slowly walking up to the fountain next to Char Char, “My team and I were trying to get up to the ritual site from the moment the eclipse appeared in the sky. When the portals finally opened, we went in on the slim chance that we’d be able to stop the reincarnation from happening. Even if we succeeded, we were sure it was a suicide mission.

“To my surprise, you’d not only already done our job, but you even survived.”

Finn stepped up next to Char Char, looking her way to offer a smile. She turned away sharply, walking around the fountain.

“You’re welcome.” Char Char said, “Can I go home now?”

“Not yet.” Finn said, taking the hint as he let her make some space between them, “I need to know what happened up there.”

“Once I tell you, you’ll let me go?” Char Char asked.

“Yes.” Finn said.

Char Char tensed up as she turned around and glared at Finn, “Don’t lie to me.”

Finn blinked in surprised, then shrugged, “You got me. There is one more thing I need from you before I can let you go.”

“What’s that?”

“I need you to come with me to visit the White Maiden.”

~

The sun shone brightly over the forest with a strained, faded light. The air was still, the sky had regained its blue hue, the giant glowing orange flowers that had spread their demonic pollen across the landscape had grown dull and shriveled.

The canopy of mutated, black leaved trees remained even in the aftermath. Even though the God of Life had failed in his resurrection, the seed of his Divine Kingdom had taken root in the land. Chenmai Forest would never be the same again.

The giant, twisted black hand that was the site of Deka’s failed reincarnation towered above the forest. It emitted a demonic aura, and was visible for kilometres around.

A flock of black vultures flew in lazy circles around the fingers, circling around the lone figure that lay dying in the red mulch in the palm of the giant hand. Her skin was pale and her lips blue. Her blood gushed out of the stump of her severed arm and the giant gash across her chest that revealed her organs.

Medusa looked up at the crumbling, burnt branches of the hand tree with half-closed eyes. She trembled, not in fear or sadness, but in rage. In her dying moments she could only curse at her enemies for what they’d done.

Betrayed!

They’d been betrayed!

The White Maiden had promised to help Prince Deka. Under this promise Medusa had helped Her, had made Her shrine safe and risked her own life to satisfy the Maiden’s requests. The White Maiden had saved Medusa multiple times and had presented the perfect vessel for Deka’s rebirth.

Everything had felt like it was perfectly arranged by Divinity.

But in the end it was the Maiden’s blessed that slew Deka in his most vulnerable moment!

“Kkcchh..!” Medusa gritted her blood stained teeth, trembling in rage even as she lacked the energy to scream or curse in anger.

A vulture landed a distance away from her, then another and another. They crowded close to her, watching her with black, beady eyes as they waited for her to draw her last, hatred filled breath.

They hopped closer and closer as Medusa’s trembling ceased and her eyes glazed over. They were directly on top of her when suddenly they sensed something and took off into the air.

“It seems I’m not too late.”

A deep voice broke the silence as a man in a deep hooded blood red robe rose out of the mulch.

He raised his hands, and the blood pooled around Medusa began to flow backwards into Medusa’s gaping wounds. The flesh of the stump Medusa’s right arm squirmed and puckered together. The gash on Medusa’s torso closed up with bright pink scar tissue.

“Why…” Medusa groaned, stirring from the pain that shot through her body, “Why wouldn’t you let me die?”

“You still have a purpose to fulfill.” The monk said solemnly.

Medusa began shaking with a renewed vigor as the monk’s powers brought her back from the edge of death.

“Let me die, Abbott!” She screamed, spitting blood from her mouth as red tears bled down her cheeks, “My sisters are dead! Prince Deka is DEAD! I have nothing left!”

“Prince Deka was dealt a fatal blow, indeed.” Abbott Glass folded his arms together in a sagely posture and chuckled, “But He is not dead. Not quite.”

“Wh-what?” Medusa sat up using her left hand, eyes wide.

“Just as you were dying now, so is Prince Deka. Without my help you would have perished. And likewise, without our help, Prince Deka will perish.”

“Come, Medusa.” The Abbott reached out his hand to her, “We still have much to do.”