Adrestia crashed through her temple’s roof and slammed against the marble floor, her wings bloodied and broken. Her breath was sparse and heavy, she suddenly turned her sight at me, like I was there. As if she knew I was watching the whole time.
“Come home…”
Her words snapped me back to reality, I panicked and quickly glanced around me. I looked beside me and found Aki. She smiled as she sat right next to me, stroking my hair and caressing my cheek. Was it a dream? No, it’s a vision, I was made to see it, she’s calling me back, but why should I go home? After everything that happened, I should just leave it all behind and live here for the rest of my life, maybe with her. I looked at Aki, and her smile still managed to soothe my heart.
“I kinda like the horns thing, look cute on you.” Aki boop one of my horns.
I laughed a little before my smile formed into a small frown, I looked away and lifted myself. Aki was surprised by my sudden change of emotions. She took hold of my hand before I could fully stand up.
“What’s the matter?”
I turned and closed in for a kiss, but she stopped me with a single finger against my lips. My eyes widened in embarrassment. Her lips suck in and her eyes widened just like mine. I backed away after awkwardness flooded into me.
“Did I read that wrong?” My cheeks blushed.
“No! Not at all. You did read that right, I have feelings for you.” She played with a lock of her hair.
“Then why did you stop me?” I said with a half-smile.
“I just thought that we could start it slow? Get to know each other first, because you know...we barely knew each other, well you barely know me.” She looked into my eyes and my heart melted.
“Start slow?”
“Yeah, Like a...Date!” A bright smile accompanied that idea.
“A date?”
“You don't like it?”
“No, I love it...but, I...have to go. She’s calling me.” Once again, my smile turned into a frown as I turned around and walked away.
“Wait! Calling you?” Aki’s grip tightened, stopping me from taking any step.
“Someone I hope to never meet again. I can't even explain it to you, I can’t even make you understand how dire it is, how serious it is.” I gritted my teeth and pulled my hand away.
To think for a second that I could leave all of it behind, but she kept pulling me back in. When I looked forward, there she is, Daisie with a smirk on her face. Like a piercing cold, despair began to set in once more. I could feel everything turning somber and colorless.
“You don't need to explain it to me!” Something soft and warm leaned against my back, Aki had embraced me so suddenly and the color returned, more brightly than ever before.
“You don't need to explain anything to me, just… just make sure you come back for our date”
“Date?” I turned around, tears in my eyes, and a happy smile on my face. “But we haven't agreed on an actual date yet.”
“It doesn't matter, It could be tomorrow, It could be the day after that, or the day after that, or a month after that, or a year after that. Just make sure you come back. I know you will.” She wipes the tears under my eyes, and I stroked her soft cheek.
“I’ll try..”
“Then it good enough me, now go! Go, do your thing, hotshot.” She pushed me away.
I reached into my pocket and took out a teleportation rune pebble that I stole from one of Daisie’s sister. I gripped onto the pebble tightly until it glowed glaringly. Without a single moment to lose, I saw Aki’s face evaporated as a bright light temporarily blinded me. I lost the feeling of solid grounds underneath my feet before my entire body was torn apart by the immense energy.
Once more I gained my vision and the feeling of solid ground under my feet, but the moment of safe indulgence was interrupted as a white column on its way falling on top of me. I immediately rolled away to avoid the crushing collum and was shocked to see the whole world deteriorating before my own eyes.
“What’s going on?” my voice shuddered in fear.
The edge of the world broke apart into space, the sea was pulled up as if the gravity was lost while the smallest floating island crashed back down into the sea and swept away by a giant tidal wave. The skies darkened while thunders roared and lightings scattered across the horizon. I stood up and took a step back as the ground beneath me, fractured and trembled.
I looked at the temple and dashed toward it, jumping over cracks and dodging falling trees. On my way there, I slipped on a piece of rock and fell against the small steps leading up to the temple. My eyes widened before I rolled away and quickly avoided the large piece of the ceiling that crashed into the short stairs. I glanced around me, my hand trembled as I stood up and rushed inside the temple.
“Where are you!?”
“Andre, is that you? We’re over here!” Helen's voice was a relief to hear through the loud noises of falling debris, like a light at the end of the cave, I make my way through and toward her.
“Helen!” I saw her.
One of Adrestia’s wings had sheltered Helen from the plunging rubbles, my heart heavied with pain as I saw her laying on those marble floor. A pool of blood had decorated the pristine floor. My eyes went to her other wing that somehow had been clipped, and the dark veins that slowly coursed throughout her body. Helen looked at me with teary eyes as she held her mother's hand.
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“Andre… come closer,” Adrestia called out to me while she extended her other hand to me.
“The vision… that was all real… more than half of the Twelve is dead.”
I took some steps closer and looked at her open hand. I was reluctant because how could I not? She has been the cause of my pain for a long time, she took me away from my family, no, she took everything from me. But why is heart in so much pain when I looked at her, hurt and in agony. I gritted my teeth and with heavy feet, I brought myself closer to her and rested my knees against the floor.
“Andre… I did what I can, I did because I had too. Understand?”
“No, I don't,” I said coldly, I was expecting an outburst of anger, but she only smiled at me.
“Perhaps, that’s a more appropriate response than others. I know you won't forgive me no matter what I tell you,” She took hold of my hand with force and she laughed when I tried to pull away. It’s the first time I saw her so out of character from her usual cold and serious self.
“None of us are pure as the driven snow, we all have done something unforgiving in the past in the name of good. I won't ask for your forgiveness, but--” She tried to raise herself, but painfully fail as she coughed out some kind of a black thick liquid. However, she still tried to raise herself, Helen quickly helped her, and I reluctantly helped her leaned against a wall, “I do want to ask you a favor.”
“A favor?”
Adrestia took off her blindfold and revealed two murky eyes. She looked at the darkened sky through the hole she had crashed into, the dark veins had spread onto her cheeks. The serene expression her face somehow managed to elevate the anger I had on her.
“Do what you must, follow your own judgment. All of the twelve world’s fate is on...aah, the sky looks beautiful.”
“Do what?” I looked up and saw only the dark cloud, it’s far from beautiful.
“Andre!” Helen grabbed my attention.
“You need to go, the world is collapsing, Adrestia doesn't have the power to keep it from falling apart.”
“Helen, my beautiful daughter. Is that you?” Adrestia released my hand and waved it slightly, in front of herself, trying to find someone.
“I’m here, Mitéra,” Helen took hold of her mother’s other hand.
“So big. Since when did you get older?” Adrestia smiled.
“How about you? I can't leave you here,” I looked at Helen, she gritted her teeth then let out a smile.
“After my body destroyed… My soul will go back to the underworld, and I’ll meet you there. Quickly, go.”
“Damn it! Look, I can heal her, I could, I have this new power.”
“Andre!” She screamed out my name in anger.
“I can…”
“No, you can’t. Look at her. It’s too late.”
Adrestia body was slowly turning into stone.
“Go, Andre!” I looked at Helen with teary eyes.
She turned her sight at me and smiled.
“Please.”
My hand clenched tightly as I turned my body around and quickly took off into a run. Through falling debris, I took off at great speed, but as I was about to teleport out of there, the ground beneath me gave out. I began to fall through the fractured earth, and hit a couple of protruding rocks along the way and smacked the teleportation rune out of my hand.
The teleportation rune was out of my sight before I could gain my focus from being daze. I gritted my teeth and tried to call upon my newfound power so I could conjure up a pair of wings to fly, but no matter how much I wanted it, it failed miserably and I was about to plunge into the violent sea.
However, before I could crash into the ferocious sea, I landed on a tough yet soft animalistic body. I hugged its neck and when my sight went to its head, I recognized who it is. Falcor, the majestic griffin, and around me is his pack, all six of them. They flapped their beautiful wings and roared sadly at the sky.
“The island…” The place I called home was no more as the island cracked and split apart before descending into the spiraling sea.
The griffin went into an invisible portal and came out into another world. A world I’ve once visit, the underworld, its sky is as dark as I remember it to be, a cloud of ash had covered the blue sky. We flew down and landed near the cave entrance, but from far away, I could see an abundance of monsters people piled up at the entrance with belongings on their back. The griffins landed near the back, and I vaulted off Falcor after I gave the griffin’s head a nice rub as a thank you.
“Good boy.”
“Please remain calm!” I recognized that voice, I turned my attention at the front of the crowds.
That orange feathers, that spiky hair, that feather-like pointed ears, and that orange eyes. I wanted to call out his name, but the crowds were too loud and I couldn't get a clear sight at him. However, everyone fell into silence when the minotaur beside him, slammed his club against the ground and caused a thunderous roar to echo out.
But, that silence was immediately disturbed.
“Agnes!” Everyone quickly turned their sights at me.
“Andre…?” The monster folk parted ways and gave me a clear route toward Agnes. It wasn't just Agnes, beside him was Kraus the minotaur, and the prince of the underworld himself, Shin, timid and cute as ever.
I started walking toward them with a smile, but soon after, my smile disappeared when I saw the large scar on Agnes’s abdomen and chest. Then I remembered what happened and stop.
“Agnes-” I was about to continue my words when another Harpy stood between me and him. Uvoah, Agnes’ sister.
“Stay back!” She said to me.
“What?” I looked at Uvoah and back at Agnes, it seems both of them had resolved their previous issue and reunited once more. He did it like he once told me, and he did it without my help.
“It seems…” I was interrupted again when Shin suddenly appeared beside me as he always does, and caused me to back into Kraus’ family.
“Well, will you look at that, our soon to be daughter-in-law has returned.” I looked behind me and I am pleasantly surprised to see them, Kraus’ family, his daughter, and son-in-law, and granddaughter? She had grown rapidly since I left, I think she is my age now.
“If you are unsatisfied with my husband then my daughter is just the right age to take your hand in marriage.” Kraus’ daughter said to me.
“By the way, I dig the new look,” Kraus’ daughter’s daughter whispered to me.
“Uhm, I politely declined.” I slowly moved away from them, and when I turned my sight at Agnes, he was gone, nowhere to be seen.
Did he leave? My thought was dispelled when Shin examined my new features very closely.
“What happened to you?”
“I was...corrupted, but with some help from someone dear to me, I manage to gain control over my body once more.”
“Corrupted?! But you manage to fight it, that seems impossible, but knowing you, it could be possible.” He said after a thorough examination, but I was surprised again when he suddenly hugged me.
“I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” I rustled his hair and smiled.
“So where did you come from?”
My smile turned into a frown as I looked away from the young candidate.
“Adrestia is dead, I don't know why, but her world was also destroyed.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that...Yet, it is common knowledge that besides the twelve worlds, when a god dies, his or her world would be destroyed in the process. Since their world was held together by the gods themselves, and not the Life core.”
“Wait, where is Sister Helen?” Shin’s eyes widened under his thick front bangs as he backed away.
“She...wanted to stay by Adrestia’s side until the last moment, so her body was destroyed, but her soul will make its way back to the underworld.”
“Wait, that can't be right. The deal was different.”
“What deal?”
“The deal she made with Hades to stay at Adrestia’s island. You don't know?” There’s a look of fear in his eyes, and that same fear spread into me.
“Tell me what deal?!”
“The deal was if she wanted to stay there, her soul needs to be bound to her new body, and the only way to return to the Underworld is she needs to die in the underworld. If not, her soul…” Shin realized what happened now, and in some way, I knew what he was about to say, but I needed to hear from his mouth.
“Her soul?!”
“Her soul is gone, Andre…”
“No…” I backed away and fell onto my knees.
“She can't be gone.”
“Andre…” Shin tried to reach out to me.
“GOD DAMN IT!” I yelled as I smashed the ground beneath me and formed a crater while sending a shockwave around me. My only hand was bloodied by the act, but I didn't care as I dug my fingers into my palm. Everyone was frightened by the sheer strength I have shown, but the only ones that stay close are Shin and Kraus.