“WHAT DO YOU WANT, DAUGHTER OF MOON?”
Aris tried not to make a face at the disturbing way the girl spoke. Judging by the haughty tone, she could only assume it was Mind she was speaking to.
“I don’t know, you’re the one who wanted me here,” Aris said, collecting herself and crossing her arms across her chest.
“I WANT YOU DEAD,” Mind strummed.
“Yet here I stand, alive,” Aris said. “ Are you admitting you can’t do anything to me right now?”
“I CAN DO MANY THINGS TO YOU,” Mind snorted. “BUT NO, I CAN’T KILL YOU. THERE ARE MANY FATES WORSE THAN DEATH.”
“You didn’t foresee Heel would give me this ability,” Aris said. She had no proof of this, but hoped the Part would give up some information. Camaz would be proud of her trying to bait a god.
“HEEL WAS THE ONE WITH FORESIGHT. HE COULDN’T SEE INTO THE FUTURE FAR ENOUGH TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW,” Mind said. “A WASTE OF TIME. NOW HE DIED FOR NOTHING.”
“You just said you can’t kill me.”
“NO BUT WHAT DOES IT MATTER? THE SON OF SUNS WILL NOT LAST FOREVER OUT THERE. YOU WILL NOT LAST FOREVER IN HERE. THE END IS INEVITABLE.”
The words stabbed at her. Aris didn’t show it, only raised her head slightly, thinking of the next thing to say. She couldn’t worry about her brother or everyone else right now, she had to fulfill her part in this. Doran, or Heel, had wanted her to get to this point. As much as she hated it, this was the best chance for them to win.
“Tell me why you’re doing all this,” Aris finally said.
The split open face of the child smiled in its separated halves. “I DON’T HAVE TO TELL YOU ANYTHING.”
“But we have time. I’m stuck in here until I die, apparently.” Aris sat down on the grass right in front of the horrifying, split open Part.
“YOU THINK YOU DESERVE ANSWERS.”
“I do.”
“YOU’RE NOT WORTHY. NO ONE DOWN THERE IS WORTHY.” Aris could hear the bitterness in the strummed out voice.
“Heel thought I was worthy.”
“HEEL WAS A POMPOUS ASS,” Mind said. “WHO THOUGHT HIS SIGHT WAS BETTER THAN ALL THE OTHER SENSES. HE THOUGHT HE HAD THE ANSWERS TO EVERYTHING AND WAS ABLE TO SOLVE ALL PROBLEMS.”
“Well, you’re not wrong,” Aris muttered.
“YOU DIDN’T LIKE HIM MUCH EITHER, I CAN TELL. I DON’T THINK ANY OF US LIKE HIM MUCH.”
“Do any of them like you?” Aris asked. “Heel told me that they all want to stop you from doing this. You’re not listening to any of them.”
Stolen story; please report.
“WE HAVE IRREPARABLE DIFFERENCES,” Mind sniffed. “HEEL WAS THE ONLY ONE AUDACIOUS ENOUGH TO GO SO FAR. THE OTHERS KNOW THEY CAN’T STOP ME.”
“But Heel got the furthest,” Aris shrugged.
“WHEN I HEARD OUT WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO DO, I DID MY BEST TO CIRCUMVENT IT,” Mind said, her hands moving agitatedly to ‘sound’ out the words. “ALL I KNEW WAS HE WAS TRYING TO GET THE HALF BREEDS OF THIS WORLD TO COME AFTER ME.”
“Caelisians?” Aris asked.
“WHATEVER YOU CALL YOURSELVES. SO STRANGE. JUST A DROP OF BLOOD FROM SOMEONE NATIVE TO THIS WORLD IS ENOUGH TO SHIELD FROM THE CORRUPTION. BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER IF THEY ARE EATEN BY MONSTERS IN THE END.”
Mind was referring to how Caelisians and Yscians weren’t affected by the Gate’s effects. Aris narrowed her eyes. “Is that why Caelis was overwhelmed with Gates over the course of a decade?”
“HAS IT BEEN THAT LONG? YES, I RECRUITED FOLLOWERS, I CONVINCED PEOPLE TO RELEASE MY WILL OVER ‘CAELIS’. I HOPED YOU AND YOUR BROTHER WOULD BE CAUGHT IN THE CHAOS AND DIE.”
“But we survived.”
“AND GATHERED HERE ON THE MOST SACRED OF GROUNDS,” Mind said. Aris now thought she sounded mournful. “I WANTED TO WIPE ALL THE HALF BREEDS OUT AND NEVER WORRY ABOUT IT AGAIN. BUT WHEN I FOUND OUT YOU BOTH ENDED UP HERE…”
“You started opening Gates here.”
“IT’S ONLY NATURAL THAT THE FINALE WILL TAKE PLACE HERE,” Mind said. “IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. HEEL ALWAYS THOUGHT HE WAS STRONG AND SMART ENOUGH TO DIRECT THE FLOW OF SOLVENT TO WHERE HE WANTED IT TO GO, BUT IT ISN’T TRUE. IF ONLY I CAN SHOW THAT CONDESCENDING SHIT THAT HE WAS HELPLESS ALL ALONG.”
“But you’re strong and smart enough to direct the flow of the Great Solvent?” Aris asked.
“I AM.”
“Right, all these Gates, all this disaster is completely under your control.”
“IT IS.”
“If I were to name the most surprising thing that I’ve learned about Parts is their capacity to lie,” Aris said. “Why should I believe you?”
“CONTRARY TO WHAT YOUR PEOPLE BELIEVE, WE ARE NOT YOUR GODS,” Mind said. “EVEN IF WE ARE GODS, WHY WOULD WE NOT LIE?”
“So if you are capable of lying, prove to me you can stop this crisis,” Aris challenged the Part. “Show me you’re in control.”
Mind shook with laughter. The endless strings of viscera vibrated sickeningly with the movement. “JUVENILE. YOU THINK THAT WOULD WORK ON ME? ONLY CHILDREN OF GAIA FEEL THE NEED TO STROKE EGO. I WILL BE RID OF ALL OF YOU. WHY WOULD I NEED TO PROVE ANYTHING?”
“Precisely because you hate us all so much,” Aris said. “You’re making a point. You’re massacring all of us and nothing, not even a god, would do such a thing on a whim. The Parts do things for a reason. You do things for a reason.” Aris paused. “Have you ever asked yourself if what you’re doing is the right thing?”
Mind laughed again, the sound uglier than the last. “I CAN SEE WHY HEEL CHOSE THIS PATH. I CAN SEE WHY YOU WERE LED TO ME BY HIM,” Mind said. “YOU’RE TOO MUCH LIKE HIM. JUST AS CONDESCENDING. YOU THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE.”
“You hardly even know me.” Aris crossed her arms again. “I mean you’ve been trying to kill me since I was born. But Heel did everything he could to try to stop you.”
“MISPLACED AFFECTIONS,” Mind spat out. “FOOLISHNESS. IGNORANCE. TAKE YOUR PICK AS TO WHY HE DID WHAT HE DID.”
Her frustration and fury felt unnaturally familiar to Aris. It made her stand up and approach the disturbingly split open form of a child and lean into one of the halves of her face. “Which one of us are you trying to convince?” she asked. She stared down at the single liquid black eye. “I think you know why Heel sacrificed everything to try and stop you. A piece of him is in me so you owe me at least that explanation.”
“YES THE POMPOUSNESS HAS CERTAINLY RUBBED OFF,” Mind strummed. “FINE, DAUGHTER OF MOON. IF YOU’RE SO EAGER TO KNOW, I’LL SHOW YOU. YOU WILL WATCH WITH THE EYES MY BROTHER HAS GIVEN YOU AND YOU WILL LEARN.”
“And you’ll stop trying to kill us at the end of it?” Aris asked. She was only half joking.
“NO, ARIS. IN THE END YOU’LL AGREE WITH ME.”