Chapter 26: "The Last Return"

 “Allow me to escort you, humans. Although we have different goals, I also desire the Feather.” Said Jix.

“But you desire it for purposes different from ours. What guarantees us that once we find it, you won’t steal it?” I asked, suspicious.

“We should accept his help. After all, we won’t be able to face Aurethys alone. Besides, if he tries anything, I’ll use the Intermediaries to restrain him.” Zera reconciled.

The floating islands revealed their pristine faces in the distance, resting patiently in their eternal slumber.

“I won’t be able to accompany you beyond the border.” Said the Eternal Whisper. “If I enter the territory of a God, I will attract its attention.”

So, we said our goodbyes to him, and the three of us descended down the precipice. On the horizon rose Aurethys, a beautiful city bordered by rivers and lakes. The landscape was pristine, and the houses blended perfectly with nature.

“Darek! Look at your forehead! The burn you had before… it’s grown!” exclaimed Zera, worried.

“It’s the Wound of Consummated Penance. Zenith cursed me with it when we were in Eryndor. Can you remove it using an Intermediary?”

Zera looked at me, confused, not knowing how to respond.

“I mean, during our fight against Jix, you understood how to use your gift, right? You managed to control its power at will.”

She possesses abilities that surpass…

“Humans are inferior. That’s why they survive: their fragility forces them to cling to any powerful creature, feeding off it like parasites.” Replied Jix, hovering over Zera’s shoulder.

“To be honest, it was just as the Primordial Eclipse told me. When I drowned in Jix’s body, my despair caught the Intermediaries’ attention.”

Even so, I still don’t understand why she didn’t suffer horrible consequences as Kui’s mother did.

Slowly, we approached the entrance to Aurethys: the houses nestled timidly into small mountains overflowing with forest.

“Why were they so lenient with the cost of the pact?” I asked. “Even during the battle, when you distanced yourself from the corruption, you fully recovered. Why did you come out unscathed?”

“I don’t know. Even though it happened recently, I don’t remember: my memories are blocked. It’s strange. It gives me the same feeling I get when I try to remember my parents.” She said in a sorrowful tone.

So she has made Pacts with Intermediaries before?

After a while, we found ourselves before the gates of Aurethys. It was a monument rising dozens of meters above the ground, supported by white, corroded columns.

I loathe being here: this city plunges my mind into a prison.

“What are those buildings? They look abandoned.” Zera asked, pointing at colossal marble rings.

“Ha! Listen here, brat. Aurethys boasts of greatness, but it’s nothing more than a trifle built over a forgotten city. Typical of humans, living on the ruins of others.” Replied Jix exuberantly.

In the distance, low-ranking Knights could be seen, tasked with checking who was trying to escape.

“You are now a vestige of what you once were thanks to humans.” I declared. “Shouldn’t you respect us more for that?”

Jix looked displeased, furiously twisting the branches that made up his form. The outline of his mask turned reddish.

“Darek, stop bothering the little one. Don’t you see you’re making him angry?” She began to stroke him. “Calm down, Jix. Who’s a good boy? Who’s my good miniature World God?”

She treats him like a pet...

Her words had the opposite effect: they made Jix explode. He lunged at her multiple times. However, he only managed to leave her a few scratches.

Zera enjoys his company, he is her innovative plaything. On the other hand…

“Shut up, cursed human! Who do you think you are talking to! And I am Jix, Sovereign of Vastness, loyal servant of The Genesis. And you? You are nobody to speak to me like that! Show me your respect!”

She ignored him and continued petting him. He struggled violently.

“And what are the rings used for?” Zera asked once she got tired of irritating him.

“Legends say that in those places, secretly, the Knights strengthen their bond with Zenith through Punishment and Penitence. The greater your faith toward your God, the greater the power they will grant you.”

It is a sick relationship. The Immutable Matriarch convinces them to immolate themselves for a greater good so they can achieve what they desire.

“I have always found the way the Orders worship their gods macabre. In Lusthal, they worshiped Tharvok, the Last Vestige, through Loss. They had to destroy their family ties and dedicate themselves entirely to their being.”

The path turned into a worn stone road. We entered a busy area filled with people trading on the outskirts of the city.

“We must proceed with caution. Remember that I am a fugitive.”

Even though several years have passed since I escaped from Aurethys, I must not let my guard down.

“Why is your head at stake, human?”

“Zenith distorted the facts and spread a false version of the story behind my escape. After that, the inhabitants believe I tried to kill her.” I replied.

How furious Zenith makes me. She abuses her power to manipulate both the townsfolk and the Knights at will. There is no one more despicable.

We skirted the main entrance and threaded our way into the heart of the City along the shore of a lake. The crowd grew: we made our way forward, pushing past others.

Life here is relentless. I was raised here and I was never allowed to see this side of Aurethys.

“What’s that over there? It looks very luxurious. Do the aristocrats live there?” Zera asked, pointing toward the horizon.

A river split a distant area of the city in two. It ran wild and carved intricate fjords. Connected by marble bridges, a colossal tower stood firm in the middle of the river.

“It is the seat of the Order of the Undefeated Sun. Hidden within it is the Cathedral of the Perpetual Order.” I answered in a hollow voice.

They kept me imprisoned there from my birth until I was freed to find the Feather of the Late Beginning. Who would have thought I would end up coming back here to look for it. How my life has changed... How ironic.

We passed a hunched Knight with severe wounds on his face and a gaunt suit of armor. He looked like he could collapse at any moment. Fortunately, he did not recognize me.

That is the result of faith in Zenith. She consumes your soul until it is spent with the promise of granting you power.

Jix paused for a moment in front of him and stared, emphasizing his ‘superiority.’

“Ha! This is Aurethys’ glorious army? Pathetic! No wonder you managed to escape, Darek. These soldiers are a joke!” He exclaimed in his shrill voice, bursting into laughter.

What did you just say, idiot?

I let out a growl that cut through the air, a breath charged with rage.

For spouting your nonsense about being superior and all that, you revealed my identity, you idiot!

The crowd stopped their activities and murmurs began. People surrounded us, staring at us in astonishment.

“That’s Darek, the one who tried to kill Zenith?” “He looked younger in the ‘wanted’ posters.” “I can’t believe it.” “Is it really him?” “It is him! It is him! He deserves to die!” The voices around us shouted as their volume rose, deafening us.

The murmurs turned into whispers, then into raised voices, the voices into screams, until they exploded into a thunderous uproar.

“Run!” I ordered desperately.

The people began to chase us. The racket they made drew attention, causing Knights to appear at every corner.

“How could you have revealed my identity, you fool!” I shouted at Jix, furious. “We had one job: infiltrate the Cathedral and recover the Feather, and you sold us out as soon as we entered the city!”

“Don’t talk to little Jix like that. It wasn’t his fault, it just slipped out.” Zera defended him.

We jumped from tree to tree, from rooftop to rooftop. Yet it wasn’t enough to evade them.

After a while, we were cornered. On one side was the precipice of a fjord, with the river’s fierce current. On the other side, a tide of angry people insulted us and threatened us with death.

“The Knights are approaching. Fighting them would be suicide. Damn it! Who told you to be so incompetent, Jix?”

“Don’t think we can’t handle them. Didn’t I tell you I’m very strong?” Zera boasted.

This girl is disconnected from reality. I still don’t understand her way of being.

“With a touch of my power I could help you, humans, but I don’t feel like it. Deal with it yourselves.”

And he says it so calmly! It drives me mad. What a useless World God!

The Knights used their will. The Sacred element fluttered through the air, imitating a free spirit. Then it struck the ground, splitting it. The piece of earth where we stood broke off from the fjord, plunging toward the river.

We crashed into the water, but the current didn’t drag us. We sank into its depths until we touched the bottom. There, we submerged into a crevice and the water vanished.

“What… is this? Aren’t we in the river?” Zera asked, uneasy.

When we got up, we understood the miracle: the river flowed above our heads, floating, defying logic—we had passed through it.

Around us, the crevice connected with other crevices, each more titanic than the last one, forming intricate, labyrinthine paths.

Why are there ruins everywhere? They are strange buildings, their design unlike anything in Aurethys. They seem to have been created in another era…

“We are in what was once Kaleron, the Sunken City. It now forms the catacombs of Aurethys,” announced Jix, Sovereing of Vastness.