A conversation long overdue

Helia stood in the middle of the clearing with her eyes closed. Inhale, exhale, she focused on her own breathing to try and calm her nerves. Next to her was her Spirit, Ceres. The soft feeling his feathers on her fingers grounded her further.

Sitting a bit further away was Arthem, who looked at her with bright eyes. She smiled back at him, feeling reassured, and yet, the weight of his expectations was equally crushing.

When the Moon reached its apex, she exhaled one last time, and started singing.

Her songs for the Moon were usually mellow, with gentle melodies that reflected how much gratitude she held for her benefactor. They were safe, catchy, and enjoyable, yet they conveyed her feelings clearly.

This time, her song was full of rage. She wore her heart on her voice, raw and powerful, as she sung about Aruka. The Great Spirit, Aruka. The village, Aruka. How brave she was, how she loved and protected everyone. And yet, it wasn’t enough. She had suffered. The village had people suffered.

It was a song about Aruka, but also, it was not a song about Aruka. 

She looked up at the Moon, and dared Him to come down. No, she demanded it. He had many things to explain.

Just like last time, Helia didn’t see Him materialize, but she heard Arthem’s gasp as he stood up in a hurry, and she followed his gaze.

There He was, a man made of pure moonlight. Pale white skin, silver hair glowing in the breeze, watching her with an enigmatic expression. Sill, she finished her song. She felt like she owed it to Aruka.

After she was done, she bowed, and the Moon clapped. “Delightful as always”, a gentle voice resonated inside everyone’s head. “A bit different than usual, but that is not a criticism.”

Helia was dumbstruck. This was the plan, and it had worked, but still, once she was actually face to face with a God, let alone the one she believed in and prayed to, her words escaped her.

“My Liege”, intervened Ceres with a respectful bow, which Helia promptly joined him in doing. “We are honored that You have graced us with Your presence. Your one and only Priestess, the one You tasked me with protecting, would like to have a word, if You would allow it.”

He looked at them with a perplexing smile. “Of course, Ceres. You called, and I came. What is it, my dear Priestess?”

Helia rose her head and locked eyes with Him, her whole body burning with a mix of nerves and rage. “Well, uhm, my Lord, I have many questions. I am also very honored, and grateful, that you enjoyed my performance, of course”, she bowed once more, unsure how to begin such a difficult talk.

“Just ask, my child”, He encouraged her gently.

She took a deep breath. “Why?”, just a single word that encompassed most of what she wanted to say. But, of course, this wasn’t enough to convey it to someone else, so she continued. “Why did you choose me? Why did the Shadows appear at the same time? Why is worshiping you, or the Sun, forbidden? Why do the Solarists believe I will cause the end of the world?”

All the things she wondered about poured out of her like a waterfall. The Moon looked at her with a thoughtful face and let her finish and catch her breath.

“Oh, is that it?”, He laughed. “Let’s see. I chose you because I enjoyed your singing, but most of all, because of the unnatural size of your Soul, of course. I haven’t seen anything like it for many millennia, probably even many worlds. Not only you could form a Pact with Ceres with ease, but also with me. Oh, but you are not aware of that, are you?”, He cocked His head, still smiling.

“That basically also answers the rest of your questions, actually, how convenient”, He closed His eyes and held His hands together, delighted. “With your prayer, I have been gaining power through our Pact, which has created the imbalance in the Mana that turns Spirits into what you humans call Shadows. That is why our worship is forbidden, you know? Giving us this much power usually ends badly for you down here.”

The atmosphere shifted all of a sudden. Helia felt an oppressive force squeezing her chest, frozen with fear. Only now did she notice that the Moon’s smile didn’t reach His eyes.

“I do not know who are those that you call Solarists, but they are right, I guess?”, He continued, tapping His cheek with one finger. “With your current power, I can call forth an Eclipse anytime, and finally see my beloved once more.”

“What?”, was all Helia managed to reply. A single drop of cold sweat rolled down her forehead.

“I would have preferred to wait a bit longer”, He sighed, completely ignoring her words. “I hate that all humans have to die, and I really do love your singing, you know. But with your heart is full of doubts, that affects your prayers. Plus, I do not hold the only place there anymore. I am not fond of sharing, you know?”

So many words, and yet, none of it fully made sense to Helia. What she did understand sent a shiver down her spine, but her mind refused to accept it was what He had really meant.

“This is not what you told me!”, complained Ceres loudly. “The next Eclipse will not happen for many more years, my Lord”, Ceres immediately went back to his polite talk and mellow tone. “She has not yet learned how to bring them over. It is much too soon.”

“Silence, Spirit”, snapped back the God, which made Ceres recoil in fear. “I tire of waiting. I will miss humans, but that too, will pass.”

He extended His hand towards Helia, and Ceres yelped. “I beg you”, said the Spirit.

His hand moved upwards, as if He had been touched by the phoenix's feelings, but it wasn’t a sign of mercy. Instead, the Moon blocked a shining blade that had materialized behind his neck. It was Arthem, armed with his trusty polearm, a bit slower than usual because of his injury. Not that it would have mattered, probably, when facing a God.

With a single wave of His hand, both Arthem and his weapon flew through the clearing, colliding with a tree. With a loud crack, the tree snapped in half and fell as Arthem rolled to the ground painfully.

“ARTHEM!”, howled Helia.

Before she could do anything, the Moon turned His attention towards her once more, and her body stopped responding to her commands. “Where was I”, He said, eliciting another sad whimper from Ceres.

But, once again, something behind Him forced Him to react. This time, it was a bright ball of fire cutting through the night, which would have hit Him directly, if He hadn’t turned around and blown it off like a birthday candle.

“Oh?”, said the Moon, looking back. “Now that, that is interesting.”

Confused, Helia followed His gaze. On the spot where he had fallen stood Arthem, one hand extended towards them. He yelled, and another flaming projectile surged from his hands.

“Arthem?!”, this time when Helia called his name, it was more of a question.

Was that Handling?

But, how was he Handling, without a Spirit?

An unsettling sensation washed over Helia, much like when she was confronted to Shadows, only not as deeply. Her entire being rejected what she witnessed. It was not possible, it was wrong. Someone should stop Arthem. She would, if she could move.

“DIE!”, was Arthem's only response. His eyes only saw one thing, and that was the Moon.

Endless balls of flame appeared all around his body and proceeded to fly towards them. Ceres protected Helia, who still couldn’t move under the Moon’s influence, with his body.

In the blink of an eye, the Moon appeared near Arthem. His fist moved as in slow motion, glowing, a hit that would evaporate anything and anyone if it connected. Arthem jumped, using a fiery explosion beneath his feet to gain altitude. Flames rained down on the God, who was just smiling, as if this was the most fun activity they could be doing together.

Somehow, utilizing the Fire that should not be, Arthem dodged the Moon’s attacks for a few seconds. Torrents of flames surging from his limbs enabled him to twist and turn his body unnaturally in the air, ignoring gravity. All the while continuing to hurl fire back, and also using it to power up his hits. He punched, he kicked, and many times, his attacks connected, but the Moon was completely unfazed.

After a short while, the God yawned. “That is enough, I suppose”, He declared.

“That’s not for You to deci- “, Arthem had started to say, until suddenly, he wasn’t there anymore. With a single flick of his finger, the God sent him flying through the forest. Only a loud whoosh and the moving leaves that followed his trajectory proved he had not been disintegrated on the spot. 

“ARTHEM!”, screamed Helia once again.

“Whew, that was fun!”, said the Moon, smiling. This time, Helia remarked, His entire face was lit up. “Who was that? You should have told me that you had such an interesting friend, honestly! Handling without a Spirit! I have not seen that in ages!”, He continued, laughing.

"Unless...", the God touched His chin, lost in thought. "Maybe. Huh. Oh, well! It does not matter, now."

Helia did not have time to ask Him what He meant.

“Goodbye”, the Moon stated, extending His hand towards her as Ceres still stood between them, in a futile effort to protect here.

Pain. Everywhere. All at once. Helia coughed, struggling to breathe. Near her mouth, crimson droplets of blood dyed Ceres' feathers. 

“Helia!”, she heard him say through the pain. “Hold on! Helia!”

She looked at Ceres, suddenly confused, on top of everything else. “I can’t… Feel…”, she held her hand out at him.

A strand of her hair entered her field of vision, and she realized. It was black. Their Pact had been broken, and with it, she had returned to how she was when he had found her, alone in that forest. The connection they had once shared was no more.

Her reaching hand became a gentle stroke of the Spirit’s cheek. “Thank you.”

Ceres cawed in despair, a single tear falling down from his eye and landing on Helia’s face.

“Let’s go”, said the Moon, not giving her another glance. “Ceres.”

The Spirit cowered in fear at his Master’s orders. He hesitated, looking at her, then at the God, then back at her once more. “I’m so sorry, Helia”, he left her with those words as he took off, flying towards the Moon in the sky.

Now alone in the night, Helia tried to ramp towards her bag. The pain was unbearable, but she had to at least try. A stabbing sensation pierced her entire body like lightning, forcing her to stop her meager advance. 

“Ah, I’m going to die, aren’t I”, she thought, feeling tears join the blood that had spilled from her lips.

The leaves of a nearby bush rustled, and from them emerged Arthem, limping and covered in bruises.

“Helia? Ceres?”, he looked for them in the clearing.

“Here”, she would have liked to answer. Instead, she spat out more blood, nearly choking. Nonetheless, he noticed it, and ran towards her.

“Helia?”, he inquired, confused. “Your hair…”

“The Moon…”, she struggled to talk. “He broke the Pact, and took my power… Ceres also left…”

“My bag, please”, she pleaded before he could reply, pointing towards it. She didn’t have much hope, since she only carried some basic medicine and supplies, but it would be better than doing nothing.

Arthem looked at her bag, then back and her. All of a sudden, he started laughing. Loudly.

“Ar… Them…?”, Helia asked, feebly.

“I can’t believe this!”, he hollered through the laughter. “All this time! All this time I’ve been following you, trying to kill you, and you go and get yourself killed by the Moon all on your own!”

His words felt like an even worse wound than the ones on her body. As if it was agreeing, a painful spasm took hold of her. 

“Really! Do you have any idea how hard I have been working, huh? With that damn Great Spirit that never stops watching you! Do you even know how insufferable you are? Boohoo, my parents, my village, I can’t do anything, I’m so ashamed, do you hear yourself?”

With every mockery, Helia sank even deeper into despair. He kept going on, clearly talking more to himself than to her.

"You don't even know anything! All I had to do to get you to talk to me, and none of it was remotely helpful! The mighty Moon Priest of the prophecy, and she is just a girl who cries all the time!"

He cried out in rage, looking up at the sky. Clenching his molars, with an expression that sent additional shivers down Helia's spine, he didn't stop.

“At least! At least, you ended up being useful! Summoning the Moon God! I almost had Him! I would have been a hero, and then, I would have dealt with them, too! The Matriarch, the Council, the Solarists, all of them!”

Arthem crouched next to her and pushed her chin upwards, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Now, you’re not even good for that, are you?”, Helia simply sobbed as she held his gaze, trying to cling to her conscience.

Suddenly seeming troubled, he let her go. “Stop looking at me like that”, he stood up and turned his back to her.

“Please, die out of my sight.”

And with that, he, too left her.