CHAPTER 22: IT’S OKAY! P3
~22.3~
*****
Alethea was the first to say something, “You replied to something she was thinking, not saying.”
“That’s right. Is something the matter?”
Kye looked annoyed. Michelle sighed and said, “We never know what degree of your power you are using. Right now, you don’t seem to know what everyone is thinking, but you replied to Kye. Like... it’s confusing sometimes with you. You rarely show up in a world to begin with, and when you do, you rarely meet with whoever is there. Yet, here you are...”
“As for the first part,” she said calmly, “I can choose to hear what all of you are thinking, or I can choose to filter it out. At the moment, I am only hearing Elysia’s thoughts, and she is quite annoyed with me for it. As for the latter part, that’s right. I don’t become interested in many worlds, and I dislike interfering with a mission on the rare occasion I do. The more I come around, the better the chance I will be here when something happens. If I’m here when something happens, I might have to choose between keeping this life or not.”
Most of the group were staring intently at her as she explained. To them, hearing Eve speak more than a few sentences was rare. To them, she was very reclusive and rarely interacted with anyone. “So just stop listening to Kye’s thoughts. That’s one problem solved. And what’s so wrong with being around when something happens? Isn’t that an emergency teleport ring?” She eyed Eve’s left ring finger. “I can tell it’s more than just a wedding band.”
She raised her hand and displayed the ring on her finger openly. “Yes, it is, and you’re right! I could simply poof out of danger whenever danger happened, without the ring.” Her eyes glowed rainbow. “But would I? I’ve only ever watched any of you from my observatory. Even I don’t know how I’d react if I’m there in person.”
“So then-”
“One hundred and three.” Eve cut her off. “That’s the number of souls I care for. Ninety-nine are of my own blessing, but the other four receive my love, regardless. Tell me, Adara. If your darling Ariel is put in danger, how would you react? What about Adriel or Anna? What about Rei, Joey, and Kaede?”
“Your analogy is more than obvious. You’re saying that there’s a good chance if any of us are in a situation and you are there, you will interfere? What’s so wrong with that? It’s not as though there is someone higher than you making the rules. You are the one at the top. You can do whatever you damn well please.”
Kye noticed for a moment that Eve hesitated, a moment so short that only she and Alethea caught it.
What was that? Wait, four? That doesn’t add up. Ninety-nine excludes most of us here. There should be five. Alfia, Zane, Azriel, Ezra, and Rei. It can’t be my siblings... but it also doesn’t make sense for her to not care about Rei.
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Kye’s expression hardened.
“Or what’s so wrong if you don’t help us? Most of us here have lived and died enough times to be numb to it. What’s one more death? Whether you deem to save us, if you were present, or to leave us to die, it makes no difference in the end. These are mortal bodies and we’ll die eventually, anyway. We’ll just end up in the Nexus of Athas when we’re done here anyway, and everything accomplished here will have no more meaning to our immortal selves.”
Evelyn put down her silverware and looked Michelle directly in the eyes, her tone different. “I don’t want you to speak of death as if you are okay with it.” There was no mistaking the anger in her voice.
“But I am okay with it. I’ve experienced it... enough. Of all things, why is that what you are concerned about?”
Evelyn stood up, and her eyes and hair turned from silver and white to rainbow. The world around them changed, and they found themselves sitting at the table not in the dining room, but in the middle of a white marble platform surrounded by a sea of stars. Evelyn had changed to Eve the Primordial. Not a single person at the table that looked into Eve’s eyes was left unshaken. The anger in her voice was also on full display in her eyes.
“Uhh... wh-what’s the-” Michelle began, but Eve cut her off with a snap of her finger.
Eve closed her eyes and spoke, “To speak of death so casually...” Her eyes shot open, staring daggers at a certain redhead. “This is why I never wanted to let any of you experience mortal life. Adara has simply accepted death as if there is no consequence whatsoever.”
“Aside from losing a particular body, and a handful of loved ones - which, yeah, that part ain’t easy - there’s not really a lasting consequence. We just move on to the next life.” Michelle shrugged. “What’s the big deal?”
Eve remained quiet for a short time. She was so taken aback by Michelle’s question that she didn’t want to finish the conversation. It was Kye who broke the silence. “Why does this bother you so much? I can’t recall a time you’ve ever been bothered by anything, yet you’re so bothered by this... it’s as if... is there something we should know?”
Eve grimaced. “Yes, it bothers me. It bothers me a lot that my children go through these miserable mortal lives only to lose everything when they die. The look in your eyes each time you’ve returned to me... I don’t like it. Death leaves a certain degree of darkness behind in one’s soul. Even the lot of you, who possess immortal souls that can never be extinguished, can be affected. Trillions of years and billions of lives of suffering cannot have no consequences. Two of you have lived a hundred billion lives.” She eyed Kye and Alethea in particular. “There is a point where it will become too much.” After a brief pause, she eyed Kye alone. “You almost breached that point when your child was kidnapped.” She grimaced. “You’re not the only one that cares for her children.”
Eve formed a rainbow magic circle in her hand and began to cast a spell. Of all of them, Joey stopped her. She grabbed Eve’s hands and pleaded for her not to do it. “If you revert time, it won’t erase the darkness!”
“It’ll give me a chance to say no and stop them from gaining more.” Eve continued the spell, but the next person to stop her wasn’t anyone that was already there. It was a white-haired girl that looked almost identical to Kye. She grabbed Eve’s wrist and stopped her from casting the spell.
“This is not the way.”
Her voice was the same, too.
“““Elysia!”””
*****
Revision: 2024-8-7