The Prince of Darkness

Watch out sir Highreaver!”

Priestess Viyah warned, raising her staff and bracing for impact. She peered through her defenses, watching sir Highreaver barrel roll out of the way of the surprise attack. The young hero reinforced his sword stance, gripping the hilt with both hands. His eyes narrowed and his breathing eased. Having complete faith in Viyah’s protective aura. Sir Highreaver witnessed the arrival of none other than Lord Nerco himself. He stood there, looking down on what he deemed to be lesser beings.

“Your attempts are futile Highreaver, even with the priestess by your side you cannot conquer the darkness within you.”

The young hero gritted his teeth; He was not buying what the dark lord was selling. Neither was his companion; the two heroes united in their front against the overwhelming evil before them.

“So long as that piece of darkness exists within you, I’ll exist.”

The dark lord laughed, scraping away at the imperfections on his nails.

“Submit and fall victim to my darkness like the rest, why resist Highreaver?”

Lord Necro stood on his perch, looking down on the young heroes. The village was under his control now; there was nothing they could do. Yet they stood defiant before him, full of false hope. What could they accomplish against his might?

Obsidian stood atop the monkey bars, arms crossed looking down on Kezonto and Viyah. His makeshift cape fluttered in the wind, adding to his menacing appearance.

“OBSIDIAN GET YOUR ASS DOWN FROM THERE!!”

Avilla shouted from the park bench, looking up from her book, doing her job, and keeping rule over the young children. He wasted no time heeding the words of Kezonto’s older sister, listening to Kezonto and Viyah’s laughter the whole way down.

***

His eyes were bloodshot, dry and heavy, but never once did he divert his attention from the monitor. Pause, rewind, zoom in, look for a different angle and repeat. For hours, for days since Onyx’s funeral Obsidian had been pouring over footage. For days he neglected his hygiene, his work stationed cluttered with empty coffee cups and stacks of CDs. His eyes shifted between the footage of Onyx’s fight with Keyon to the bounties of Keyon and Autumn. Finally, his eyes started to accumulate tears as he came to the realization his friends were alive. Realizing that his best friend, the friend he mourned for was the one responsible for this hole in his chest. She was no different, she was aiding him, she had to be. He seen the footage from the capital ship, the footage from the park in Busaya. Viyah was actively fighting against New Aurora, her home, the place that took her in. That is, it, it had to be the reason, it was all making sense to Obsidian now. The reason the elder Kezonto brought Viyah back from his journey around the world, why he brought back the knowledge and the application of essence. It was all for the destruction of everything thing he loved and knew. They were not his friends, they were his enemies, the ones that took his brother from him. The good times he and Kezonto had, their rivalry to be great swordsmen, he couldn’t stomach the revelation.

His phone started to ring, and he pushed aside the trash that was covering it. Looking at the caller Id and gauging the importance of the call. It was Command, he had to answer, so he did so. Placing the phone to his ear Obsidian answered with a raspy voice and listened to the voice on the other side.

“What!? You can’t be serious, when are we shipping out.”

He listened to the answer at the other end of the line. His eyebrows scrunched together and his eyes never once left his monitor as he continued to watch Onyx’s last moments repeatedly. Obsidian placed the phone on his desk, standing up he felt the blood rush to his head. He ignored it knowing he had no time to dwell on it. He was being shipped out on the next deployment to the outer continent. The Avalon coast specifically, the little piece of the outer continent that New Aurora had claimed as their own. Ever since the events of Busaya, the higher-ups have been sending more units across the sea hoping to press the rebellion. What happened that night wouldn’t go unanswered, everyone carrying stripes knew that. Officers, political representatives, and countless boots lost to the rebel ambush. They barely gave him time to breathe, let alone mourn and now they were calling him back. Obsidian slid open a glass door and walked out onto his balcony. Taking in lungs full of fresh air, he gazed out at the modern splendor that was New Aurora.

The air was crisp and it felt good on his skin as it brushed past. He looked at his mechanical hand, his mechanical leg, constant reminders of that faithful event. His phantom pains burned with an intensity he hadn’t felt in a long time. It was as if he was reliving the pain over again. For fifteen years he believed Kezonto, Viyah were dead. Victims of the Elder Kezonto’s betrayal, no that was no longer the case. The three of them perpetuated the war against New Aurora, taking up his mantle. What happened to the Elder Kezonto on his journey around the world? What did he find, what corrupted him and turned him against his own people. His mind was racing and he knew he needed to get it under control. Obsidian couldn’t show any signs of breaking in front of Major Kalus. He wouldn’t give the Major that satisfaction, he was a soldier and he would do what was asked of him.

Obsidian focused, in his mind he got his checklist ready. Numbering off the tasks he had in front of him. Getting presentable was number one, he had been dwelling in self-filth for so long it was started to bother even him. Walking back inside his apartment the young soldier started checking off the tasks on his list.

***

“Allfather Superior.”

The two men knelt before the Founder’s advisor, who in return folded his arms behind his back. Looking down at his subordinates through his glasses, he never uttered a word. Turning his back to them he took a seat at his desk.

“Can you explain to me why I have a whole mega city full of citizens with no memories? Our programing gone, Madre’s coding gone.”

“Sir, our systems were hacked by an unknown source during the events in Busaya. Whoever managed that feat implanted a virus that wiped out Busaya’s central memory storage and corrupted the script generation server. As a result, Madre deleted all the citizen’s memory slates. We have rebooted the system and have the script writers putting together a scenario to feed the script generator.”

“How many registered humans escaped from Busaya?”

“Not a lot, excluding the various rebel factions with exit strategies we estimate sixty registered humans escaped the dome. Their whereabouts currently are unknown, but it is only a matter of time before our face recognition software picks them up.”

The head of the tech division and citizen of Eden explained to Allfather. Who wasn’t pleased to hear this news, it was going to take a lot of time and effort to reestablish the narrative for the processed humans of Busaya and beyond. But that wasn’t Allfather’s biggest concern, no the survival of Kezonto and Sebastian’s predecessors were a lose end that couldn’t go untied. Allfather took off his glasses placing them on his desk and rubbed at the corners of his eyes. He looked at the other man who knelt alongside the head of the tech division.

“What do you have to say, Knox.”

“Permission to speak freely, Allfather Superior.”

Knox didn’t raise his head and kept his hand across his heart, waiting for Allfather’s approval or denial.”

Allfather smirked, entertained by the protégé tech engineer from Eden.

“I’ll allow it, but I suggest you choose your words wisely.”

“I believe this could have been prevented. we have gotten too comfortable relying on applications and coding that isn’t our own.”

The head of the tech division turned his head to Knox. Gritting his teeth he knew what was coming next.

“What do you think you’re doing; we already discussed this.”

He snarled in a low voice at Knox as he prepared himself to get thrown under the bus.

“We’ve wasted resources and funding expanding on Solomon’s infrastructure for years. Never adapting to the rebels at large it was only a matter of time before they figured out how to manipulate the system. Now we know that Sebastian Solomon is indeed alive and if he has or obtains any type of high-level access to our infrastructure we’re in trouble. Now the tech we pulled off the dead rebels is made of standard issue components. But the programing and engineering are far ahead of anything New Aurora is capable of. This is where WE as the tech division have failed you Allfather Superior. I believe the Tech Division needs to pivot and go in a different direction with the return of both Sebastian and Kezonto’s predecessors.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Allfather put his glasses back on and waved his hand slightly, signaling for his bodyguard. The bodyguard stepped away from his position near the door, reaching into his suit jacket. Brandishing a pistol the bodyguard executed the head of the Tech Division. Knox never stopped looking at the floor, even when blood started to pool in his direction.

“He will be replaced; you I want you on the next airship to the Avalon coast. I want you on the ground to learn what you can about Sebastian’s programing and how to counter it. I’m putting you in charge of rebuilding our infrastructure from the ground up so the Rebels can have access to it. Time, resources, manpower, whatever you need once you land speak to General Taurus and he will accommodate you.”

Allfather stood up, buttoning the top button on his suit jacket.

“Now if you excuse me, I have a meeting to attend, I expect this to be cleaned up by the time I’m back. Also, Knox.”

Knox the protégé finally looked up at Allfather from his position on the ground.

“I expect great things from you.”

***

The Aerostation terminal was filled with emotions. Full of loved one imparting words of affirmation to soldiers preparing to make the journey across the ocean. Obsidian was no different as he looked into Sandra’s teary eyes. He may have been neglecting himself ever since Onyx died, but he never neglected her. She was giving him his space; his sudden deployment wasn’t part of the plan. Her tears were justified, this being the first time she had seen him since the funeral. There was barely time to have a conversation and get him to decompress. She knew he was holding it all in, knowing there was nothing she could do. Made her feel useless to him in his time of need. Sandra gripped his mechanical hand tight. As hard as she could knowing full well, he couldn’t feel a thing.

“Promise me you will text when you get settled in.”

She signed to him, finally letting go of his hand. Obsidian smiled and nodded his head in confirmation.

“I love you Sandra, we can talk more when I land. I must go now, But I’ll be thinking of you the whole flight.”

He told her what she wanted to hear. Not that his words were insincere. That was far from the truth, but even he knew he was in a dark place. A place he didn’t want to drag her along. Not his one piece of clarity that he had left.

“You better you blockhead.”

Sandra buried her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tight. He dropped his bag and reciprocated her love affirmation. She pulled back, stepping away from Obsidian. She removed her shawl from over her shoulders. The same shawl her students made for her, the shawl she cherished the most. Draping it around obsidian’s neck like a cape. Tying the knot snugly, she shifted the fabric, so it fit his shoulders evenly.

Sandra smiled placing her soft hands on his face. She looked up the man that towered over her, leaning forward on her tippy toes. Sandra placed her lips on Obsidian’s pulling away as she signed again.

“Now go be the hero New Aurora needs and come home safe.”

He couldn’t help himself and pulled Sandra in for another embrace. He held her tight, absorbing a moment neither may experience again. He picked up his bag, looking back at his love one last time before leaving to join the others. Most of the soldiers were preoccupied with their final goodbyes to notice him. A change from what he experienced when he first arrived back from Busaya. The combination of his heroics and his connection to Onyx had his name in every conversation. Obsidian checked in with his commanding officer, who giggled as his makeshift cape. Warning Obsidian not to let Major Kalus see him like that when they land.

Obsidian was fighting every fiber of his being to not shout out “FUCK KALUS”. But he refrained and instead promised his commander he would remove the shawl once they landed. The commander chuckled slapping Obsidian on his shoulder as he passed to enter the airship. The commander along with a handful of other soldiers followed behind. Storing their duffle bags and taking up a seat where they could, the once sentimental atmosphere sharply shifted. Loud chants for payback, distaste for Mechs and wanting to be in an all-human unit. The conversations were vast and unfiltered, and Obsidian found peace in that. Something, anything to take his mind off the recent revelations. They were contents under pressure, but for now discipline prevailed.

“Hey, I just want to thank you personally.”

A soldier sitting next to Obsidian announced, looking at him. He was young, probably a recruit. Obsidian scoffed at the compliment, paying the young man no attention.

“Stop acting so green, there is no need to thank me I was just dong my duty.”

“No believe me, I understand that Sargeant you saved my brother’s platoon from Mechs in Busaya, he told me all about it. You and that ragtag group of fighters that pushed North.”

Obsidian hadn’t even considered the good he did back in Busaya. So absorbed in everything he got wrong and what he could have done took priority.

“You always were always so quick to jump to conclusions Obsidian.”

He knew that voice, he heard it before and it deepened fresh wounds. He turned his head to face the origin of the voice. The same direction as the young soldier, but instead it was Onyx instead. A hallucination mostly, yet there he was, smiling at his little brother with his emerald, green eyes.

“Did you ever consider everything isn’t as it seems. Don’t be so quick contextualize your trauma.”