Chapter Seventeen: The real stakes

Bang, I fired at her, but some unknown force moved my gun away from her, causing me to fire right past her head. A loud whizzing noise was heard as the bullet ricocheted off the concrete ground, sending it somewhere down the hallway. Her face was still frozen in fear, indicating she hadn't done that. Then who did?

"That's enough, Lenka!" I looked over to my side to see that so-called devil standing there. She was wearing those same skimpy, god-like clothes. "Oh, you like what you..." To hell with this! I pointed my gun at her and... The gun disappeared from my hands. "A little angry, aren't we?"

I didn't hesitate and charged at her, but the concrete ground under me liquefied, causing me to sink down into it. The liquid concrete came up to my waist and then hardened. The hell kind of power is this? "Look, I just want.." I reached for a grenade and then pulled its pin, but right before it armed, it disappeared. "Would you listen to me!"

"Why the hell should I!? You're the damn devil who summoned me here against my will! You have all this power and influence, yet you only use it for stupid, useless things! If you had the power to..."

The concrete liquefied again, making me sink all the way to my neck. When it hardened, it made it hard to breathe, let alone talk. "This is your own fault. If you had accepted my help from the start, then you wouldn't be in this mess. But no, you had to sever our bond by denying me and shooting yourself. You think that you can fight the wars to come on your own. Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're not as good as you think you are. You couldn't even manage to save two people who were right next to you."

She let out a laugh. My anger was boiling over. I tried with all my strength to move, but couldn't. "It's pointless to struggle, but it's amusing that no matter what, you still try to cling to life. You're a hypocrite. You hate me for bringing you back to life, yet here you are desperately fighting for life." She had an annoyingly proud grin on her face. My anger finally pushed me over the limit.

I moved with all my strength and pushed beyond my limits, achieving a dream-like strength. She started laughing again. I will kill this bi... All of a sudden, the concrete around me began to crack. Her smile quickly turned to shock. "Wow, your chosen one is quite the handful."

Another voice echoed around us. I looked to my right to see a person with white hair, slightly luminous silver eyes, and... wings? Who is she? Wait, white hair, wings, is she a siren? "What are you doing here?" That devil questioned. "Cleaning up the mess your chosen made. After all, she did quite the number on my minion of there." She pointed to the collapsed fake version of me.

"Lenka, was it?" The siren looked right at me. "Why don't we have some fun?" "But..." The devil tried to interject, but the siren quickly cut her off. "You already owe me one for lending you my powers and my minion, so let me have my fun and we'll call it even." "Wait!..." The siren snapped her fingers, then everything became white.

The concrete was gone, and there was nothing around me but white. There was still a floor under me, though. I stood up and looked around, but there was nothing in sight. Then, in the blink of an eye, I found myself in the middle of a city. I was at a crossroad and surrounded by large skyscrapers. All of the skyscrapers had large TVs on them. This is not Dustka or anywhere even remotely close.

This is not my dream. I've never seen a place like this. Whose dream am I in? All of a sudden, I heard a bunch of static as all of the TVs turned on. The TVs on the skyscrapers started playing different memories of mine. "This is Dustka. Everyone here has scars, even if you can't see them." Sounds from my memories started playing and echoing throughout the city.

"How many innocent lives must this war take?" "What are you trying to accomplish?" "Isn't this what you are trying to build? A city built for war." "Do you really see me becoming a monster like that?" "My name is Kate." "You simply don't care about their lives?" "...if there is one person in this world who can change it, then that person would be you." "I won't be able to stop them, but at the very least I can buy you time." "What the hell have I been doing all of this time?" "It always amuses me how such petty words makes people willing to die for you."

Enough! I summoned a rifle and started shooting at the TVs. Large chunks of glass and smoke started coming from them as I shot them. With everyone I shot, the voices slowly stopped, but there were so many of them. "You know, those TVs are very expensive." A new voice came from behind me, so I turned to shoot at it, but when I turned around, my entire body completely froze.

"Now, now, there's no need for violence." It was that siren. I tried my hardest to pull the trigger, but my body wouldn't move; it's almost like I can no longer control it. Is this the power of a siren? "Yes, it's because of my siren powers that you can't move." Wait, she's reading my mind too? "No, I'm not reading your mind. I'm a siren, so I would be able to read it even without being a goddess. That and reading people's minds is boring; it lacks the entertainment of trying to guess what they're thinking."

She was wearing an all black, elegant dress that clashed with her white hair, wings, and skin. Just who is she, and what does she want from me? Why was her minion in my dreams? "Oh, where are my manners. I'm Aria, the goddess of the sirens. I know you have many questions, so why don't we have a little chat?" I tried to open my mouth, but I'm still frozen. "Hmm... I suppose it will be somewhat challenging for us to chat like this. Oh, I know, let's set the mood a little."

She snapped her fingers, and the crossroads turned into the blue rose garden from the manor. The surrounding area was still covered in skyscrapers, though. "Let's have a seat." She snapped her fingers again, and the gazebo appeared with a table and chairs. My body finally unfroze, while Aria walked over and took a seat. "Well, don't just stand there, have a seat." She pointed over to the empty seat across from her.

Something tells me I really don't have a choice in this matter, so I walked over, rested my rifle on the side of the table, and took a seat. "Care for some tea?" A tea set and some blue rose tea appeared on the table. "What are you trying to do?" I snapped. She let out a laugh. "I'm a siren, we live for this drama. In fact, I haven't had this much entertainment in ages. You see, we sirens get so bored gossiping with each other that sometimes we like to spice up the world, and fan some flames." It's good to know that my life is just someone's entertainment.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic. Don't forget my minion did help you out. What was it you said? Oh, right... You were right about one thing. I have gone soft..., and thank you for trying to make me realize that." She said in a mocking tone. So she was responsible for my vivid nightmares. Didn't she say that the idiot devil owes her one? "Look, I know you're angry and whatnot, but I do actually want to have a conversation with you."

"Why? What's your goal in all of this? Aren't you supposed to be that idiot devil's enemy?" She laughed loudly. "I don't know what's funnier, her being called an idiot devil, or you thinking that I would ever see her as an enemy. If anything, she's nothing more than an annoying pest. But, if you must know, my goal is simply entertainment." "Entertainment?" "Yup, I have never seen a chosen one as entertaining as you. I mean, don't get me wrong. Her last chosen one was such a failure that I couldn't help but laugh."

Last one? If I recall, that idiot did mention something like that one we first met. Wait, didn't Annabelle know something about chosen ones? Does that mean... "Oh, you're curious about her last chosen one? I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I can tell you that you will most likely cross paths with him soon." Cross paths soon? Then I will need to... "Always in that head of yours. You know the reason you're in this mess is because of that."

"What are you getting at?" I asked. She let out a sigh. "You're so dense. You really need to listen to yourself and your own heart. You always claim that you don't care, that you feel no emotions, that you are only doing this for survival. But I know that it's all BS. You're just using that as an excuse to distance yourself from people so that you don't feel the pain of losing them."

She took a sip of tea. "No, I..." "Would you stop denying it. Those people need you, and more importantly, you need them. The more you drag your feet and cower from your own feelings, the worse this is going to get. This isn't your Dustka. These people aren't some no-name soldiers willing to die for nothing. They are people who truly believe that you can change their corrupt and dying world. So, you need to get your head out of the sand and start doing something, or else you'll slowly watch them all die."

I can't deny what she's saying, but at the same time, I feel like she's trying to manipulate me, just like my mentor did. "Not going to speak. I guess it hit..." I quickly reached for my rifle and pointed it at her. I squeezed the trigger, firing a shot at her, but it was deflected off something. She was unfazed and just laughed it off.

"That's what I like to see. Action, not just sitting around and waiting for the end to come. Go on and fight to the bitter end. After all, isn't this the punishment you always wanted?" I couldn't move again; she is somehow stopping me from moving again. She flipped the table, sending the tea set flying. Then walked right up to me and grabbed me by the neck. Her grasp tightened slowly, choking me.

"I'll give you a little hint before you go, since I have so much fun watching you fail. The goddess of humanity is using her influence to punish you for denying her help. However, she's so weak that she can only influence a select few people, so you have some time left. Use that time wisely, after all, I would love to see the real Angel of Death."

Her grip tightened even more, making it impossible to breathe. "What was it she always said... Oh, right. Until us monsters meet again." The last thing I saw was her evil grin as my vision faded to black.

I woke up gasping for air. There is a great deal of pain coming from my neck. I walked up to the mirror and noticed my neck was bruised. Are those dreams somehow tied to reality? That idiot did say I somehow severed our bond by shooting myself? Did I... Always in that head of yours.

I hate to admit it, but she was right. I took a good look at the mirror. The person in it was not me, and I can't recall the last time that I remember being myself... my true self. She was right, the people here need me, and not just the person they know here. They need the Angel of Death to protect them from what's coming. I don't care what happens to me, but I'm in the position to help them, so I should help them in the only way I know how. It's time I take up that title again and show those damn gods what we humans... no, what we all are capable of together.