Chapter 7:

The "Devil"

Xorsis : Invasion\Lost


“Ah, you’re finally here.”

Mersoy didn’t answer. She slowly walked towards the giant tree and stopped at a distance she considered safe. She looked up at the tree, searching for the face who spoke to her from a place she couldn’t see, all the while keeping her guard up. The sea serpent - which was the water spirit, was killed. So now this was the only one left who could give her the information she needed.

Mers, isn’t it?”

The hidden bearer of the voice chuckled. It was a female voice, just like Mersoy had expected. The forest spirit.

“I don’t see the point of hiding it from you,” Mersoy said stoically, “Mers is just an alias. My name is Mersoy.”

“Mersoy - yes, yes - I’m so delighted that you didn’t run away, it’d be such a waste.”

Mersoy sneered. There was something about her attitude that Mersoy couldn’t stand at all.

Mersoy said, “It’s not like I have a choice. I don’t know what is going on anymore. The water spirit sent me here to retrieve that scroll. And the Nevidilandi prince said that…” pausing, she said, “Nevermind. It seems like you know everything already. But after all that, it was you who kept me captivated here for thirteen long years.”

She looked up at the tree, her blue eyes expressing anger she couldn’t conceal anymore. “And I want to know why.”

The other one didn’t answer her question. “You wear that amulet,” the forest spirit merely said.

Mersoy looked down at the necklace she was wearing. The blue amulet was glowing even in the dark. Mersoy clenched her fists. That same blue - like her eyes, which were Mersoy’s now. The memories were coming at her again, baring their fangs at her, trying to harm her again and again. Mersoy felt restless.

What was she thinking when she gave me these eyes?

Why did she save my life back then? Why?

And now, all the blue were unbearable to her, as they all reminded her of the clear blue shining eyes that girl had.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Not now. I can’t think of those things now. It won’t help. It won’t.

The forest spirit, however, didn’t stop talking. “The water spirit wouldn’t grant that amulet to just someone. So, I had to make sure such a person wouldn’t die for nothing.”

No, that’s a lie. Mersoy thought, fighting back her tears. I was just a regular worker at a tavern who somehow became an assassin in the army- but I was not the only one there. There was nothing different about me.

“The water spirit - he said it was all a lie,” Mersoy spoke coldly. “The prince of Nevidilandi told me the same back then. But I didn’t believe him. So after all these years, when I could finally move again, I rushed to the sea to find the water spirit. And he admitted - everything he said - it was all a lie.”

The forest spirit laughed. “You can’t go around being naive expecting others won’t take advantage of that.”

Mersoy was furious. “You can take that casually, but I can’t. All the talk about the freedom of the fiends, of the world being open to us if we could do it - if we could gain that scroll - that, the scroll would have given us everything. It was all made up.

“Do you even understand the cost I paid? Thrice. Thrice I sneaked into Pensylan, so that I could find that scroll. I failed my partners, and they all died. On the third time, I failed my seniors, I failed those who still looked for me - and I failed her. Do you know why I kept going on, even though it all felt so impossible? Because I dreamt of a future where we could look each other in the eye.

“Do you know? When Estoyca was no more, the water spirit said to me that some sacrifices were to be made. He said to me, the scroll had to be gained at all costs, just so that - the remaining pure fiends would be free. That, I had to go on for their sake, for I was the most capable - he said. He said I had seen enough cruelty, and I could endure even more.

“He called me by the name ‘Aura’. The same name that she had wanted to call me with. She wanted me to be worthy of the name. And so I did it. I went ahead and caused another war. I caused the deaths of innocents.

“Was it all my fault?” Mersoy asked desperately, “Yes, those were rash decisions, even still - it was the water spirit who had manipulated me. He lied to me. I’d have felt okay feeling it was all because of my kindred, for them - but that day, when I visited the sea again after thirteen years - just to make sure that the prince was bluffing to me - it all ended.

With a pause, she spoke, “And why did he do all that? Because he wanted to know if you were okay, because he felt that you were in danger, and he somehow knew that there was a scroll linked to all these? That’s ridiculous!”

“If you calmed down, we could talk this out,” the forest spirit said calmly.

“I don’t care!” Mersoy wanted to scream, “You ended our lives because of your goals! You never considered us at all. Why? The fiends truly cared about the water spirit - and you took advantage of our trust - and you-”

The forest spirit snapped. “Yes. When we were both separated, the water spirit promised that he’d save me from what I’ve become. You fiends - you were free after Aura sacrificed her life. But we weren’t.”

The forest spirit continued, “You have legs, you are a part-fiend, and no one can guess you aren’t a human unless they test you. You have enough freedom your kind could ever have. You aren’t caged abominations anymore. What more can you expect?

“But what about me?” the forest spirit’s voice was quivering, “I helped Aura to save the fiends from them - and I had to become this! Why? Why should I accept it?”

The forest spirit continued. “I’d have never, I’d have never done any of this-” her voice cracked. “Without realising, I slaughtered my people.”

The forest was close to the ruins of the ancient nation, Nevidilandi. A realisation dawned upon Mersoy.

“A country wiped out, though no one knows why. So,” she scowled, “It was you. You killed them all.” Mersoy sniggered, “I doubt you have sanity.”

“My primal instincts took control of me when I came to know I was being lied to,” the forest spirit whispered, “That’s why...”

“Ah, I can guess it all now,” Mersoy said, “Who knows what else you are capable of? But I’m sure now - what happened recently - it was you too. The world wanted to change. There were people who were waiting for a new dawn - and you - you brought an end to that.”

“Because I wanted revenge.”

“You’ve killed all these people of Nevidilandi already, aren’t you satisfied yet?”

The forest spirit didn’t reply, and merely said, “You seem to know everything already, Mersoy. But, do you know, the scroll I gave to them, to Nevidilandi, the one that made all the bloodbath in the second war, spanning six years, do you know who gave it to me?”

Mersoy was silent at first, and then she spoke slowly. “You mean to say - you didn’t create that scroll?”

“I don’t even know any of your languages,”said the forest spirit, “And I’m stuck here. I can’t move. How do you think that I’ll be able to write such a scroll with destructive powers? That’s absurd.

“It was given to me. They said, if there was enough bloodbath - it’d break the curse, and then I’d be free. Like the birds.”

“And you believed that?”

“I was desperate - just like you were.”

“And why are you bringing it up now?”

“Because, I can feel their presence - again - in this part of the world.”

Mersoy frowned.

“Look Mersoy,” the forest spirit said in a calm voice, “It’s true that the water spirit lied to you. But I can assure you, I’m not lying. I’d hate doing that - because I know what it’s like to be lied to.

“Mersoy, do you still think you should not take revenge?”

Hundreds of images passed in front of Mersoy’s eyes. The fire burning down Crovas, her hometown in Estoyca, the amulet given to her by the sea-serpent, saying that if she could retrieve the scroll from Nevidilandi - it could grant them freedom. The murder, the slaughters, the ambush - everything - it all passed in an instant.

I’ll never forgive who did those to them.

“Mersoy, they are hiding - disguised among people. And for once, I need to set things right. That’s why I’ve done this. And I’ll do this again and again until I can kill them all.”

Mersoy made the decision.

“I’ll join you.”

Yes, maybe she’d be the devil again.

But at this point, she didn’t mind anymore.

Cas_Cade
icon-reaction-1
Arrhythmia
icon-reaction-1
RexxDrink
icon-reaction-1
Glitch
icon-reaction-1
TSeal
icon-reaction-4