„This started when the world went completely crazy and it was absolutely necessary to make time work on its normal rhythm again,” Gaea started her story, deeply looking into Hestia’s eyes as if she had tried to connect with her sister’s soul while the others from her group suddenly kept silent, eager to find out the story hidden into the flames’dance, for… not for nothing Mother Earth and Hestia chose namely that place to weave their thoughts and tell others the story hidden deep into the fire of their eyes. Thus… it meant that something magic was hiding behind all those secrets that only the heart of a Titanide could hide.
And that dance, completely hidden into the glance of a Virgin, was deceitful, so saint, and so recreant at the same time, for a Virgin, that never knew what love means, couldn’t be all the time pure, for it was a nature’s law: everybody should find a soulmate, continue Life, live together, and if someone betrayed these laws, being stubborn to live „differently,” was punished forever.
The same happened to Hestia, and the emptiness of her eyes was only a testimony of the curse thrown over her by Fate, by people, and by those who she didn’t accept their love. That’s why even her heart cursed her.
„Let’s go there!” Hestia’s lips suddenly murmured while she looked into Gaea’s eyes. But no trace of shinning was seen in her soul as if it was completely dead inside.
„Are you sure?” Gaea asked her in a whisper, and that murmur made the whispers around her intensify, even if the lips of people and Titans didn’t move at all, just as the Virgins Tineimu didn’t make any sound, who suddenly stopped the melody of their soul and were also listening in silence to the story of the times.
„I’ve always been sure of this, sister and I’ll always be,” Hestia confidently said and closed her eyes for a few moments. „But… I think that’s enough for how long we lied to ourselves that’s everything ok, just as it’s enough to lie to others too. It’s time to tell the others too the story of the Virgin that sacrificed her soul for Life, to reveal her biggest secret and pain, to talk about the Second Death of the Virgin.”
***
YEAR 9400. 600 YEARS BEFORE SAMAYA’S TIME.
It was total silence in the kingdom of terrestrial nature. It was especially silent on the course of the Hicoyada River, the one named by the gnomes, in their ancient language, „the Fairy-Like Dance.”
Only the crystalline water, that was slowly flowing in the valley, and its sweet melody were disturbing the silence of nature and its beauty from time to time, whispering about the forgotten times of those places, in the ancestors’whispers, and filling thus with dreams and wistfulness the beauty of those realms.
A massive explosion of light was suddenly seen up the riverbed, something that pierced the horizon for a second, stopping the breathing of time and making nature all around „freeze.” And later, on that surface that was magnificently blinking in the light of the sun rays, a small bamboos boat appeared.
Then, when the show of that fairy-like light dispersed in the natural light of the place, in that bamboo boat, Gaea’s body outlined, who was sitting on the back edge of the boat, staring in front.
Her body was completely covered by a Veppam cloak. Yet, this one didn’t have the color of the icicles but was totally grey as if she had tried to „hide” from unexpected attacks this way. But those weren’t the living places of monsters, but of the total silence, something that betrayed the fact that those places didn’t belong to vandals. Even so, Mother Earth seemed to prefer to be cautious than reckless.
And when the boat turned to the right, taking the natural course of the river, she passed through a kind of gate built in rock, a gate so similar to the one seen at the entrance in Purgatorium, that one on which Kaerlleikans and Upprisin saw the simulation of the Balance, in Obregon’s time when they had the talk with the small-girl named Bodhi.
Then Gaea dared to uncover her head and look to the right, at the Kuṭṭi Mantiram mountain’s body, hunched by time and history, whose name, in the ancient language of the gnomes, meant „The Spell of the Little Men,” or the Spell of the Mountain Gnomes.
But, after about 300 meters of „floating” on the crystalline water of the river, everything around has been surrounded by a milky and thick fog, and, up the mountain, the deafening howl of a wolf has been heard. Yet, that howl wasn’t something to tell others about pain, loneliness, or calling to fight or hunt. It was the howl that was telling the gnomes that they had visitors in their Realms, in the famous Kingdom of Adamant Sheen.
Listening to that howl, Gaea covered her head again and closed her eyes, and her lips whispered barely heard: „Adamant! Are you still here?”
But she heard no answer. Only her mind saw, up, on the top of the mount, how the red-like fire wolf, that had a black line on its face, a scar got after an old war, closed its eyes, bowed a little its snout toward the three white stones, built one on the top of the other: from small to big, as if trying to connect with the Titanide’s mind this way.
„I’m here, my lady!” The wolf said, and its inner voice has been quickly taken toward the bamboos boat by the mountain’s currents, by the water’s currents, and by the wind’s blowing, which was barely felt wandering that white-milky fog, spurring its intensity thus.
„I’m glad you’re fine, Adamant! I thought that that long time ago war only cut the thread of your life!” Gaea said loudly this time and she suddenly opened her eyes, seeing that instead of being in that bamboo boat she was already in front of the wolf.
Opening its eyes, Adamant stared into the Titanide’s eyes, and she finally uncovered her head and smiled. But the wolf’s eyes remained cold, somehow empty inside, as if that wolf was only a carcass, stolen by the humans from the time’s bag.
„Life has been more than bountiful with me,” said Adamant. „I survived. But many of my people, I can even say all the rest, died in that big war from the depths of the Forest of Kristallar, and their death dried my body and emptied my soul, leaving it fly toward nothingness like a wingless bird. But… even so, even though I seem to be now the last one from my people, I must protect these lands, for I’ve been the one designated by Yggdrasil and Life like the Guardian of these Realms, and I must keep my vow given at the beginning of the times.”
„And you do well, Adamant! This is your destiny! But… it’ll come the time when you’ll be released of this big burden, let free, to join the others in that Kingdom of Souls that exists in the Underworld!”
Adamant bowed his head in front of Gaea again as a sign of respect. Then it said: „follow me, my lady! I’ll show you the path to the Gates of the Kingdom of Gnomes. But I can accompany you only till that Gate, for I have my path forbidden toward the Gates of Purgatorium, by Fate, after that big and cursed war!”
Then the wolf turned its back on the Titanide, with one jerk, and, in a big run, he started to descend the mount.
Alone, Gaea stared for seconds in a row behind him, seeing him moving away in a rush from those places, like a ghost, sneaking between the trees’trunks or crushing through bushes or other herbs grown there at will. After that, the Titanide hooded again and turned back into her bamboo boat.
At the moment the Titanide’s right hand touched the edge of the wooden boat, the river tormented its water, moving that light boat on its surface like the wind.
Actually, even if it seemed that the river started to madly flow, looking to take revenge on everything and everybody, it was only an appearance, to move that boat further in the distance, taking it to the final destination, following the run of the wolf from close while Gaea’s keen glance kept looking in the distance. Thus, she could see the wolf appearing and disappearing from her sight, turning left or right on a far path, and if he couldn’t be easily seen in the distance, the Titanide looked at his reflection on the leaves which were sparkling like polished crystals, bathed by that blessing light, as if the time itself was mirroring its face on that green mirror.
***
„Even if I crossed these places so many times, I still can’t used to their beauty,” murmured Gaea while she and Adamant were walking side by side, sinking more and more in the thick and green depths of the woods, a bright green, abundantly washed by the sun rays, whose light was taken later from off the leaves’reflection, something that made nature all around seem as if made from sun rays.
„This is because you’re used to the pure green of Life, Mother Earth. We instead, those exiled in these places, are already used to the magic, with the sun rays, and with longing, the wolf answered, sadly blinking from its red eyelids, at whose edge extremely long, but rare and white eyelashes were seen, and namely the white of those eyelashes made the black line on Adamant’s face be so visible.
„Yet, Adamant, I don’t think that someone can use to so much beauty.”
„Yes, I agree that we won’t ever be tired of this, but it seems to me too that you didn’t come here only to admire these fairy-like places.”
„That’s right, Adamant! The necessity brought me to these places!” said Gaea suddenly, staring at the ground.
The wolf stopped and stared at her with his black eyes, shaded by white eyelashes. „The necessity? What necessity, Mother Earth? Ah, don’t tell me that our beloved Earth is in danger again.”
„It seems so, Adamant, for evil never stood in place and won’t ever stay. It will always look to bring war on earth. This time is Maranam’s turn to make our hearts bleed till death.”
Adamant made a wry face and squeezed its eyelids. „Maranam! Ah, I always hated this name and I’ll always look for its perdition, to see it thrown to the ground, like a dried tree, eaten by worm-eaten. But it seems that Fate isn’t by my side if it closed me in this fairy-like place as if I’m cursed.”
„But there are others that can fight against it. That’s why I came here: to ask for Shalamar’s and the gnomes’help. I need to get to the Gate of the Underworld.”
The severe tone of the Titanide’s voice made the wolf’s fur shudder, from the top of his ears to the one of his tail while he was still with his eyes closed, fighting with the hatred from his soul: a hatred born after his fellows'death, a hatred grown in the limited space of a lonely wolf’s heart, and hatred meant to die along with him, impossible to be taken out by fire or sword.
„I won’t ask you why you need to get at that Gate, Mother Earth, for I'll long even more after freedom thus. Yet, I’ll always pray that the sky be always by your side and that this world be free and safe forever.”
After that, Adamant hit the road again, walking at a slow, but sure step through that forest made from green crystals, what in the world of the mortals were called leaves, closely followed by Gaea, who, for an unknown reason, hooded her head again with the hood of her Veppam cloak, as if she tried to pass by there in silence, unnoticed by Fate or maybe by Maranam.
***
„Here’s the Kingdom of the Adamant Sheen heroes,” was written above the huge stone gates, which had fragments carved on them, fragments taken from a fierce fight between the gnomes, the unencountered fire dragons, devilish and scary, and the wolves Sheen, those whose name meant in the heroic past - the Glow of the Glories.
„I could follow you only till here, Mother Earth,” Adamant sadly murmured, and turned his back to the Gates, intending to go away.
Suddenly, he stopped and looked at Gaea, who kept standing in front of the Gates.
She instead kindly looked behind him, as if blessing him and giving him some comfort at the same time.
But Adamant didn’t look back only to see the Titanide once again, but somewhere past her, at a huge she-wolf, carved on stone, right in the center of the Left Gate, and the she-wolf’s fangs were stubbed in the throat of a big dragon. Her back instead was also hurt, caught like in a pliers by the dragon’s claws. That she-wolf was Sheen, Adamant’s wife, the one who he lost long ago and for who he longed so much at that moment.
Then, Adamant jerked from his place and continued his eternal run through the forest, to get on the top of the mount again and tell the gnomes that they had visitors.
Suddenly instead, when Gaea’s hand stretched toward the gates, intending to knock and tell others that she was there, the night took quickly the place of the sunny day, and, from the top of the mount, three howls have been heard: Adamant’s howls. This made Gaea smile and then she knocked three times at the Gates and waited.
Good minutes after this, about a quarter of an hour later, was heard how someone was unlocking the Gates and the Titanide had to wait for another quarter of an hour till the gnomes managed to half-open the Gates eventually, for they had a lot of locks on the other side to protect them, and those locks have been put there because they were afraid, for not only once they had been attacked and almost destroyed by skillful enemies, by warriors that wanted their kingdom, rich and vast, and also because of the geographical settlement, for, inside of those catacombs, dug by gnomes, deep in the heart of the Mount Kuṭṭi Mantiram, could be found the short path towards the Gates of Purgatorium, and the one who had control over those places could be considered the Master of Two Worlds: the one of the Giants, as the gnomes called Humans and Titans, and the World of Maranam.
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That’s why the fierce war, that extermined the wolves Adamant Sheen, took place about 2000 years ago. And also in that war, the gnomes have been kneeled and killed, mercilessly, like the fire dragons: it was due to Maranam’s huge desire to control that Gate, intending to easily control the Universe. But the one who protects his country won’t have ever mercy on the enemy, and the same happened to the gnomes and wolves, that defeated their enemy, even if they paid a too big price for their victory.
After that war instead, the world’s order changed, for, being the only one exemplar left from its breed, Adamant couldn’t protect the Gates of Purgatorium anymore. That’s why Shalamar has been named king by Chaos and Yggdrasil, and that Gate has been given to the gnomes to protect it, even with their lives if necessary while Adamant has been named their councillor and he had to take care of the entire Forest Kristallar.
„Come in, my lady!” A little gnom told Gaea, showing up in front of her from nowhere after he sneaked through the half-opened door, and the little boy’s appearance made the Titanide wince and come back to her senses, after her mind turned back in time, seeing those long time ago lived events, only for a few instants.
Gaea said nothing to the boy: she only smiled and her hand caressed for a few moments the harsh red hair that was grabbed in a thick braided tail that was falling on his back. Then, the Titanide also passed through that gate, following the boy from close.
„My name is Gagah (the Brave one),” the boy told Gaea while the two of them were advancing through the sinuous tunnels of the Kingdom of Adamant Sheen, named this way in honor of the heroic wolves that died in that war, protecting their home. „And these lands are called Corkkam or the Paradise of the Hidden Minds.”
„The Paradise of the Hidden Minds?” Gaea asked in amazement. „Why did they name them this way? And… it seems to me that this place is new. I’ve never seen it before when I visited this kingdom.”
„That’s right. This place has been built after the wolves Adamant Sheen have been defeated in that fight. It’s a Paradise built for them,” and the boy’s hand showed the Titanide to look up.
Only then did Gaea and Gagah stop and she looked where the boy showed her to look. Thus, she saw the beauty of that place: all along the tunnels, at regular intervals, were seen pylons carved right in the former walls of the mountain, that have been left empty after the gnomes mined the mountain’s richness, and not to upset the Titans of the Underground, those who were protecting the mount, as the Titan Tetapas (or the Titan hidden in the heart of the earth,) who was also considered the Guardian of the Kingdom of Adamant Sheen and of the mount Kuṭṭi Mantiram, the gnomes chose to give life to those powerless lands and turn them into pylons with impressive sculptures on them.
Actually, those sculptures weren’t randomly carved on clay and stone. Their place has been carefully chosen, after the long-lasting councils of the elder gnomes, who, being slow at mind and character, weren’t taking quick decisions. On the contrary: they were taking a long time to think, meditate, and only after that they told others what they had decided. That’s why the pylons have been built and carved in centuries and not in dozen of years as they should have been created.
Even so, with all the length of the gnomes’boarders, the pylons have been built on six levels: the bottom of it, which also served as the base, was reserved for the Underworld and for the Kingdom of Samargo, with representations of the Bridge Yeomna, of the Gates of Hell Narakattiṉ Vācal where the souls of those, who were waiting for their turn to expiate their sins after being calculated by Fate, were seen, and even the image of the castle Piṟaku was carved at the base of each pylon. Then there were seen pictures taken from the world of humans, from nature’s lap, which was the second level, to be followed by the sky with its blue, vast vault and with the splendor of the draws created by clouds. The fourth level was given to the Cosmos and Infinity, to the Paradise, followed by the fifth one which was the representation of the moment when Yggdrasil has been left dormant by Genea and her cunningness. The sixth level and the last one was left for the Beautiful Fields of Aeon, as they have been imagined by the gnomes, even if they never saw what it really looked like inside of that huge star made from light, where all the souls born and where they all turn back after death.
„Is the Paradise of the Lost Minds Aeon itself?” Gaea asked, thunderstruck.
„That’s right,” Shalamar answered instead of the boy, passing between the pylons. „This is the Aeon of the World of Gnomes and the place where we honor our heroes.”
Seeing their king, Gagah happily smiled and approached Shalamar right away, who hugged the boy, playing with his harsh hair, just as Gaea did.
Then, Gaea and Shalamar bowed one in front of the other and kept mentally talking, for what they had to say to each other were secret things, details about which the ears of a boy like Gagah shouldn’t have heard. But they also couldn’t send him from there because, for an unknown reason, the Gates of the Purgatorium could be found only by children, and Life shaped the world thus after that big war, to defend the world and itself at the same time.
„I see that you know why I’m here if you ask nothing,” Gaea told Shalamar when the two of them were silently following Gagah, who was only a few steps in front of them, showing them the path toward the Gates. „I thought that, coming here, I must first convince you.”
„To convince me?!” Shalamar smiled. „There’s no need to try to convince the soul of a warrior of the necessity of war, just as it’s impossible not to feel pain in the soul of those who lost so many dear people because of a war. But, even if I’m against wars, I must accept that sometimes we can’t live without them if we look for evolution.”
„Evolution?” Gaea asked, confused.
„Yes. I’m talking about the world’s evolution, about the soul’s evolution, just as I mean here the evolution of humans and Titans, for only through loss and sacrifice we can be better, appreciate what we have, and feel sorrow for what we’ve lost. Thus we can make the impossible to avoid another war happening in the future, a battle that can kill us till the last one.”
„But I didn’t come here to start a war, Shalamar. I’m here to avoid one.”
Shalamar smiled again. „But what you’ve planned will bring more fights and losses.”
„I know, but… those losses are absolutely necessary if we want to survive, great king of gnomes.”
„Yet, it’ll bring a huge loss for this world, especially for that innocent Virgin. But, even so, I won’t do anything to avoid this thing happening. Who’ll decide this will be that girl eventually, and if she wants to join you, then this means she was meant to do that. But keep in mind, Gaea: the gnomes won’t enter this war, even if the world burns in the end.”
„But… why, Shalamar? If we join our forces, we can make sure to absolutely succeed in front of Maranam!”
„You forget, however, what is waiting for the gnomes in the future, and we must face not only one war against Eris, for, as long as Themis is lost, somewhere in this world or in Cosmos, we, you, and the rest of the world are lead by the ears by fate and Moirae, just as we are the captives of hatred, resentfulness, disunion, and if the gnomes enter this battle, then we’ll be knocked down till the end and we won’t have the chance to fight even a battle to defend our glory.”
„And… your glory is much more important than the existence of this world, isn’t it?” Gaea asked him, furious.
„Just as important as this world is for you, Gaea, for… let’s not forget that even if we all showed up in this world thanks to you, you instead prefer the external world while you often forget about us, the hidden children from the heart of the underworld.”
„Do I forget? Don’t talk about something you don’t know, Shalamar!” Gaea said, this time outraged. „I love all my children alike. Yet, I can’t understand them all, and those who I can’t understand are you too, for your greed for money and for a better life in luxury spurred you to dry this mount from its depths, but without being able to offer it something in exchange. That’s why its soul is wandering now the outside world and not this one.”
„Yet, Mother Earth…”
Gaea instead was too furious to listen to what he said. „Since when didn’t you wander the green fields of the earth and the blue-like crystal surface of the water, Shalamar? Since when your soul didn’t see anything else than the beauty and the shining of the uncut crystals and feeling the wet scent of the earth recently dug? Since when your ears didn’t hear the melodious song of the forest’s birds and only enjoyed the music of the pick that carves the stones, looking for diamonds, Shalamar?”
„Is this answer that important for you?” asked Shalamar, extremely calm, for the king-gnom was famous for his soul balance and for the fact that even during an argument with someone, which he was always trying to avoid, he managed to have a clear mind and calculate each spoken word, being the opposite of Gaea, who was often allowing herself fell pray to emotions, more in contradictory arguments with someone. „What’s important for us are our safety and our good life. That’s why we’ll do everything to protect it, Gaea. So, it’s useless to ask us to join the war of humans and of Titans and, even if we should fight alone in future battles to defend our kingdom, then we’ll accept it as a reward for denying entering this war. Yet, I consider our decision wise and balanced, a decision we all chose to respect, till the end of our existence.”
„All of you?”
„Yes, we, the gnomes! And we chose this after long councils where each of us had a right to an opinion and free choice.”
„I don’t know why, but I question the reasonableness of your free choice,” said Gaea, making a wry face. „I’ll rather name that decision „necessary,” only to avoid your eternal councils, that only make someone mad. But… be as you wish, Shalamar! I won’t force anyone to join my battle. Just as I won’t be forced to hear your requests later when I hear them while wandering the earth.”
Saying this, the Titanide turned her back to Shalamar, following Gagah alone, for the king-gnome, refusing to enter that war, lost the right to find out some details about what Gaea intended to do and more: to be part of the extraordinary council of the Souls in the Underworld.
***
„It’s pure madness what you propose, Gaea,” Bodhi said, furious, finding out about the Titanide’s request and the reason why did she decide to enter the underworld, which she was actually so afraid of.
„Madness or not, you know very well that’s our unique chance,” Gaea said, confidently.
„Even if this means the death of a soul?” Bodhi hissed through her teeth. „I won’t ever allow that a soul I have to guard vanish this way.”
„Then… you should have taken care that the Virgins Yātrīkar hadn’t ever left this place,” shouted Gaea, and her transformation, only for a few seconds into a scary being - shock-headed, with eyes of fire, and her garments blown by an unseen wind, appeared there also thanks to the Titanide.
Namely that anger, born in Gaea’s heart, made everything around threateningly roar, and the petals of the lotus flower, above which Bodhi was floating, slouched, and this was due to the negative energy of the Titans, for, being created only from Life, Karuvil was drying when evil souls were around it, and this was also taking power from Bodhi, who suddenly started to fall, being unable to move her little wings.
Yet, Bodhi fell on Gaea’s palm, who, seeing her falling and Karuvil’s petals drowsy, quickly came back to her senses and regretted that she brought the destruction close to life.
„I’m sorry,” Gaea’s lips murmured, sadly looking at Bodhi, who was sitting on her palm, with her head bowed and her wings flattened while her eyes suddenly got one single color: pure white.
She came back to life instead when Gaea blew some magic air over her. Thus she brought back the color of Bodhi’s eyes and of her wings. Then, Bodhi sighed and, forcing herself to stand up in the Titanide’s palm, she murmured: „do it as you wish, Mother Earth! Yet, I still consider this as being madness!”
Eventually, Bodhi raised in the air, fluttering from her colored and at the same time transparent wings and, taking a small horn from her girdle, something similar to Imagus, called by the Titans of Life like Mūccu (the Blowing of Life), the little girl blew it for a while and, soon, have been seen heading toward them, coming from the line of many carved pylons, a dozen of Cerberus, on whose backs were the Virgins of Siar, those chased by Yātrīkar out of their bodies, and, in front of there, was Karina, walking by the side of one of the Cerberus, on her own feet.
Many instead thought that that system was weird and incomprehensible, for the souls of the mortals could get to the Gates of the Purgatorium only on the back of the Cerberus if they came there taking the short path and crossing the Kingdom of the gnomes. Karina instead has been the only one who had the use of walking and not staying on the back of a Cerberus, and this was something that both she and Bodhi didn’t know why it was so.
She only remembered that crossing the Bridge Yeomna, she and the other Virgins didn’t get to the Gates of the Purgatorium as they should have done, to wait for an eternity for the return of the Yātrīkar, but they realized soon that they passed the Gates of the Kingdom of Adamant Sheen, behind which the Cerberus was waiting for them.
Kuruṭar, the blind Cerberus, that was in front of the others, took a few steps toward the Virgins, after the Gates of the Kingdom of the Gnomes noisily closed behind the Virgins, locked in seconds by the gnomes, that were afraid of the outside world more than of the hell. Then when only one step was left from Karina, he looked into her eyes, even if the retina of his eyes was completely white, blinded by unknown sins made in life, and said: „since now a new path starts for you, Virgins of Siar People.”
„But… why?” Karina dared to ask. „As I recall from what Maranam told us when we crossed the bridge Yeomna, we should have stood and waited for an eternity for our bodies at the Gates of Purgatorium or at least till Yātrīkars decide to turn back there.”
„It’s because Life and Yggdrasil decided so,” the Cerberus told her. „And the one seen by you isn’t the real Maranam, but only one of his servants, named Gosmel, the one who still has the right to wander the outside world, having another face in front of humans.”
„I’ve heard about Yggdrasil. But… who's Life?” asked Karina.
„The Energy that gave birth to everything, even to Aeon, and even Yggdrasil took a shape from Her, and She’s at the same time the power that keeps us all floating and not letting us prey to Death and Destruction.”
„Yet, you didn’t tell us the reason why we came here.”
„You’ll find it out soon,” said Kuruṭar and turned its back to the Virgin. But it didn’t move further but said: „all the Virgins, except you, Karina should climb on a Cerberus’s back and follow me. You instead will stay by my side, to my right, being my guide, for as you see I’m blind and I see nothing.”
„But… you don’t seem like not to know these places, even if it’s only by smell,” said Karina, taking a step toward him and taking her place to its right while, behind her, the scary Cerberus suddenly became submissive, kneeled in front of the other Virgins, and allowed them to climb on their backs. Then, one by one, they followed Karina and Kuruṭar, who took a few steps in front y.
„Maybe I know it by smell, but… yet, feelings cannot replace the sight, just as one man cannot live someone else’s life.”
And it has been so, for… while they were heading toward the Gates of the Purgatorium, Kuruṭar suddenly vanished somewhere, but none of the Cerberus has been amazed by this. Only the Virgins of Siar wondered in a voice while Karina kept stepping further, with empty eyes, as if another soul was living inside her.
Arrived in front of Gaea and Bodhi, the Cerberus stopped and kneeled again on the front legs to let the Virgins descend off their backs. Yet, the girls didn’t approach Karina, the Titanide, and Bodhi, but stood next to their squire as if being tied by them with chains.
„Mother Earth, I didn’t expect to see you here!” Karina said, slowly bowing in front of the Titanide.
„Neither I to meet you here, Karina, but it seems that Fate had other plans for us,” Gaea gnashed her teeth with hatred. „Yet, I still think that we can change fate and trump its ace.”
„To change it? In which way?” asked Karina, confused.
„Taking back what was yours!” Gaea confidently said, stretching her hand in front and waiting for Karina to touch it. The girl hesitated to do this instead as if being afraid.
„I must be reborn for this. But… once I’m here, it’ll be very difficult if not impossible for this to happen,” the girl murmured after a big sadness took over her soul.
„Not if we can deceive those who deceived you, using the same trick as they did.”
Karina raised eventually her glance and deeply looked into the Titanide’s eyes. Suddenly, however, she shuddered: „death! A confidence trick tissued with death!” Her lips murmured.
„That’s so, for… we can’t make it without it, Karina! But… you are the one who can accept or deny this idea eventually, for… if you choose to walk onto the same path by my side, then your soul will vanish into nothingness without the possibility to be reborn. But your sacrifice won’t be in vain, for if our plan is successful then your people will be safe! So… you should decide: will you sacrifice for your people or your people should sacrifice for yourself?”
Then the Titanide kept silent, and Karina looked behind her as if she had looked for someone with her glance, someone she would have liked to ask for his opinion as she always did. But Geran wasn’t there to give her some good piece of advice or answer her questions, and, in that realm of shadows and hidden life, in the girl’s heart, doubt sprouted. That’s why she didn’t answer Gaea but kept silent for a long while, having her head bowed and looking to the ground.