Chapter 144 - Scuffle

Chapter 144 - Scuffle


As we leave my chamber, I can hear the sounds of battle growing louder outside. I can sense humans against humans. But there are also vampires and werewolves fighting against humans. There is the sound of swords clashing against swords or armor. Worse, I see the destruction that the fighting is doing to Orttenburg. Even in the early moments of the war, there are already casualties that can be seen around.

I clench my jaws. We must end this war soon. All I need is to get General Brandon and purify the Moon Goddess. After that, we can persuade these kingdoms that there’s no need for war.

As we hurry through the chaos, I feel a pang of guilt. I can’t help but feel responsible for the destruction and loss of life in Orttenburg. It was my selfishness that led to this war. I have to make this right.

Finally, we reach the hall where Inanna and Ruth are waiting for us. Inanna looks at us with a stern expression. “Good, you’re here. Time is of the essence.”

I nod as Gezer puts me down. Inanna leads us toward the center where the ritual will take place. I take a deep breath and prepare myself for what’s coming.

“Listen, Kaiya,” she starts. “This will be painful but you have to persist. You are physically weak now. However, General Brandon will be unconscious. That means it will be easier to take out the Moon Goddess.”

I nod. “The problem is when the Moon Goddess is out of his body.”

Inanna clenches her jaw. “Yes,” she admits. She knows this is dangerous. “Just know that I will be nearby to support you.”

“And General Brandon?”

“Not long now. You don’t have to worry about it. Ninus can petrify any humans.” Then she points at something and continues, “There. That will trap and make General Brandon immobile the instant Ninus relinquishes his hold on him.”

I study the area. The air is thick with magic around it.

“King Seth defines to me the ancient ritual that you are talking about. It is a ritual that mimics the Realm–where the Moon Goddess and the Blood God came from. It will render humans immobile, but beings like us can still function inside it, especially the Vessels and Apostles. It is limited to that area, though. It will not purify the goddess, but if you take hold of the minds of the werewolves and bombard her with it. Maybe, just maybe, you can somehow remind her of her people—motivate her enough to purify herself.”

I nod. Thankfully, Seth knows exactly what I am referring to before I lost consciousness. Else, Inanna won’t be able to prepare an area as potent as this in just a few minutes, or even hours.

Then Gezer appears, carrying the petrified General Brandon with him.

“Should I place the general inside the circle?” he asks.

Inanna nods at Gezer. After dropping General Brandon on the floor inside the mimicked Realm, Gezer hurriedly goes out of the circle. “Ruth and I will watch nearby,” he informs.

Inanna turns to me. “Are you ready?”

I take a deep breath and nod. I step forward, feeling the power of the surrounding magic. I look at the sprawled form of General Brandon. I move closer to him. Inanna is right. I am physically weak. I would prefer to do it when I am fit and healthy, but there is no time.

And so I touch his forehead. I close my eyes and focus on the memories of the Realm, where the Moon Goddess and Blood God came from, letting the images come to me.

As the magic begins to peak, I reach out with my mind. Then I jump into General Brandon’s mind. And the instant I open my eyes, I am assaulted with darkness, that for a while, I doubt if my eyes are open or not. Worse, the dark entity here feels malignant, as if I will be corrupted if I stay too long.

“I can’t believe you will come here on your own, Kaiya.” It is the same screeching sound that I’ve been hearing before. “After everything that Blood woman has done for you to keep me away.”

“Agia,” I whisper.

“Agia? It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that name. I assume you remembered your memories from way back then?”

“Not really. I just watched it like a series of events in front of me.”

“Figures. A human brain cannot handle that much information. It’s been such a long time.”

And then a figure clad in black appears and moves closer to me. “Are you here to relinquish your life to me?”

“No, I’ve come to free this man from your grasp.”

Agia laughs. “Free this man? I thought you watched your memories before? This man freely gave his body to me–for the promise of power. He just didn’t expect that it will overwhelm him.”

“No, General Brandon gives his body because he feels bad for you.”

Agia laughs again. “So trusting of humans... You never learn, don’t you?”

“Agia, you need to return to your realm. I will help you. In exchange, please revoke your blessing. Besides, you no longer need an apostle or a Vessel.”

“Okay,” she says. “If you will allow me to inhabit your body!”

And suddenly, the figure rushes towards me—all black and empty. I am whisked away from General Brandon’s mind and into my own consciousness.

However, during the transfer, I notice the battle that’s happening in the very room where the ritual is happening.

“Kaiya?!”

It’s Theo’s voice. He is pounding against the ritual circle. Somehow, Inanna has made it impenetrable when the battle arrives to this room. She also makes it a point to enter. So, it will only be me, Inanna, the unconscious General Brandon, and the Moon Goddess, until she returns to her realm, OR if I die.

Back inside my mind, I spiral on the ground, The Moon Goddess gets off me. “At last! The body that I have always wanted! You really made a show of running from me, Kaiya! But now, I am here!”

Now is the critical time! And so, I send waves of energy toward the Moon Goddess. She didn’t even flinch and just laugh at my attempts to fight her.

“You are mine, Kaiya,” she says. “I’ve blessed you. But if you break your promise and run away from me–inevitably dooming me to such a fate–then punishments are meant to be dealt with.”

“That is why I am doing this, Agia. It is my form of repentance for my selfishness before.”

And so, I concentrate. I can feel the werewolves in Orttenburg being drawn to the ritual. They howl in unison, their minds joining with mine. I can feel their emotions and thoughts, their fear and rage at the destruction wrought upon their homes and loved ones before, back when the Moon Goddess disappeared and never heeded they cry for help.

Pushing aside my guilt, I use their shared emotions to create a mental assault on the Moon Goddess. She steps away from me, obviously being affected by the emotions of her people.

“You have to remember, Agia, where you truly belong. You need to return to your realm.”

“No!” she says. “If I do that, I won’t be able to deal you the punishment that should be yours! You betrayed your deity! No one can escape that!”

“Then you need to choose. Dealing punishment to me, or the suffering of your people. Even now, your people, without your protection, are still suffering. Here, you can do nothing for them.”

The Moon Goddess fights back and, as expected, she wrestles against my hold on the werewolf’s minds. I know I am winning. All those days of practicing with Seth are worth it. And besides, the Moon Goddess is wavering in her resolve to punish me.

Yet, I feel like something else is happening. As I wrestle against the hold of the werewolf’s minds, I feel the dilemma of all the living werewolves. Even now, as a corrupted deity, some are still loyal to her. However, there are some who support me–these are the werewolves who no longer love their deity because she has been gone for too long from their life.

Then, there is a shift. I can feel it so clearly in my veins. It’s like the very essence of me is changing, morphing into something similar, but different. My eyes blaze with a new fire and I feel a surge of energy that stems from within.

And so, I channel all of my energy into one final push. I use the werewolves’ shared emotions to create a powerful mental assault on the Moon Goddess. She screams in pain as she is forced to step away from me.

“Using my own power against me, you have become arrogant!”

“You need to return, Agia. To your Realm, where you can be healed.”

“I don’t want that!” she screeches, even if her energy is telling me that she is already planning to return to her Realm, for her people.

In the midst of that, my energy is only getting stronger. I push more emotions into her. There is a crack and then she glares at me.

“You need me to purify myself. However, I will not do the things you want me to do anymore, Kaiya.”

There is another shift and before the Moon Goddess decides to start her own purification and return to her Realm, she bombards me with all the memories I’ve lost throughout the millennia.

“As a parting gift, I will be returning all your memories, Kaiya,” she retorts, as if she knows exactly what will happen to me if she did.

This time, this is not a simple watching of events unfold in front of me. Everything is being pushed inside my brain. I scream as the memories continue, and soon, I’ve lost count of how many generations I’ve lived before.