14 Days Ago.
I fell into the darkness; everything felt so deafening. There was no wind, no light, only the whispers of the thousands of serpents that were climbing upwards over and over again.
It felt like forever, or maybe it was a few minutes or just a fraction of a second. I didn’t know, I couldn’t have known. I only had my thoughts, and I wanted to push them out; I wanted to burn them out.
When that thought hit , so did the floor, yet I was cushioned by so invisible force. I groaned for a bit in the darkness, looking up as I found that the light here was sohow completely dimd out.
I scratched my head in confusion before I heard the voice in my head, now outside of my head.
“Welco, Jane Marcellus.” Suddenly, there was light from so inexplicable and unknown source, completely and utterly illuminating the area.
I looked around, finding that I was around so… Roots? They looked like roots, knotted and wooden growths that were half-subrged by themselves as they completely took up the ground. I couldn’t even see a single speck of dirt in the area at all.
“You stand in a realm that connects the Nawia to the Jawia. A realm where the dead return to life.” I looked around for the voice, and found it right behind .
I sighed in relief as… She seed quite normal. The voice was a woman, an old crone, as they called back ho. She looked like she could be my grandma wearing a witch’s robes. Her body, though, was littered with scales, and on her head, with her white hair, were horns jutting out.
That’s when I realized. “Baba Kira… You’ve taken over her body.”
“No, not yet, but soon she shall be a worthy vessel for . Now, you, perhaps, could take her place, but I would rather have you with . You’re special, and you know that.”
I snapped my fingers as fires blazed in my palm. “Yeah, I know. So why don’t I show you why I’m special?”
“Ahaha…” She? Cackled.
“Ms Marcellus, I told you before… You would need soone like to help, soone who can get the others under control, to help you reform.”
She raised her hands as the roots all around us began to unfurl, showcasing the bodies of serpents hidden within, squirming as if they were trying to dig their way out.
“You bring the fla, and I can co in afterwards, putting them all to the test, to see if they can support the change in managent.”
“Change in managent? I… I know I call myself queen, but I don’t need to rule; I shouldn’t rule. I’m here to help reform, not to destroy and dominate.”
“Then how many tis shall you need to reform?” She snapped her fingers as the roots turned back to normal before the scenery changed to appear as a massive city that we were floating above.
“History has a funny way of showing that again and again, people will inevitably fall into two types. The shepherd…”
Out of the tallest building of the city ca a man, at first, he wore regal clothes and a crown. A cloak draped along his neck that flowed to the ground. Then, I blinked, and he was now a businessman wearing a two-piece suit and sunglasses as he held a cigar. Both images were so stereotypical that I nearly rolled my eyes.
“And… the sheep.”
From the streets, a crowd of people ford, they waved their flags and banners, cheering on the king… Before they switched their flags to caras and their banners to badges.
“One cannot exist without the other. The sheep need the shepherd to herd them, to protect them. While the shepherd needs the sheep to even call themselves as such, they need soone to rule over, to save, to govern. There’s nothing wrong with being either. I love sheep, and I love being the shepherd, but the world requires both to work in unison, lest the sheep trample the shepherd or the shepherd culls the herd.”
She pointed a crooked finger at , grinning ear to ear. “You, on the other hand, are a wolf that devours the sheep and cripples the shepherd. However, if you wish to truly get rid of the crooked shepherd, you must find a way to replace them, to beco them. If you don’t do that well…”
Hundreds of mories flash in the background, over and over, I saw the fall and rise of kingdoms, empires, businesses, and so much more. Each ti a regi fell, sothing else had to take its place. Soone else was at the mantle, whether for good or bad, whether a god, a king, or any sort of ruler. The crown had to be worn.
I saw cities burn, literally and taphorically. So stayed in their desolation for what seed like forever, and others were simply rebuilt by the next decade. It happened by the whims of the king, and by the hand of the people. Yes, that was right, they were needed, always needed.
“I can help with that. Even if you burn others, their essences simply fall back into the Smorodina. I can ensure those who fall can never rise, and keep others in check. To keep the people from falling in with them.”
I narrowed my eyes. Everything would be convenient, way, way too convenient. There was a catch; there was always a catch.
“And what do you gain? Why are you so uppity about wanting this, huh? What’s your ga… Skiper?”
She grinned, cackling like a witch. “My ga? It’s simple: tear it all down, start from the very top. I wish to bring about an age where there is no separation between those who live and those who have died. There shall be no distinction, no separation. Only that everyone is alive. There was no need for such duality; that is my goal, and you are the spark to help set that goal in the light.”
“I don’t really know the ramifications of that, cause it sounds like it would lead to uh, finite resource depletion- oh.” And then I rembered, everything has a soul, even stuff like food.
“…Holy shit, huh, I can’t really see a fault in that, huh… Well, none I can’t really comprehend, but so what? You just want everyone to be alive, and then what’s next?”
“That is all I desire, that I want, that I was born into this world for.”
I blinked, confused as could be. “That’s what you were born for? What does that an? Like that’s how you were crafted for? Did soone make you?”
A smile ca across the face of Skiper. “Who knows, really. I rember no father or mother, but I do know myself, and that is what drives .” She looked up at the sky.
“Do you wonder what drives you? What gives you passion, gives you your purpose? Do you know what that is? Or perhaps you’re like , perhaps everyone is like .” She gave a Cheshire smile and laughed again.
“What I want? My purpose and passion? Hah… That’s easy, I just want to see people happy. I want to see people finally free from those who bind them. I want to save other people, whether from themselves or from others. I just want them to be… Free, and that’s really all I need.”
“And who gave you such a purpose?”
“Myself.” I pointed to my head with a small grin on my face. “I gave it to , myself, and I. There’s no one really who could have given it to . The Harbinger saw that, and it’s why she entrusted with this power, this responsibility.”
“You’re quite idealistic, aren’t you? How quaint.” She narrowed her eyes and took a step closer.
“Everything begins with a dream.”
An eerie laughter escaped her throat as I took a step back. “You are more right than you could possibly imagine… So what shall it be then? What do you choose? I offer you everything that you would need. All you need to do is accept and together… We shall do unimaginable things.”
“Then why are the others attacking you? Why do they go to such lengths for your demise? And why do you need Granny over here to help you out?”
“Because they wish to perpetuate the cycle. They wish to ensure that it continues as they witness as soone who is a threat to their world, rightfully so, as you are a threat to Ephitet. And as for the Baba? She’s here as my vessel, a useful way for to incarnate. She, too, wishes to perpetuate the cycle, so a bit of force was needed… But sacrifices need to be made for the cause, don’t you think? Without sacrifice, there can be no victory.”
Yeah, that’s right, without sacrifice there can’t be any victory… He was right, so people would fight back, those in power up above in their ivory towers would go down to push back the people. And for the people to rise up, sacrifices had to be made, had to be sacrificed to the altar of progress.
But were they proper sacrifices? I don’t know at all. I haven’t seen these people before in my life, and the only person I know to take my word from is the one right in front of . Even if I do reject him, for what? This power… It was unbelievable, he or uh she, I guess, had the strength to back up their claim. If not them, then who?
And then, I rembered the only other person who could have the power to help: Peter. That little stunt in the Nawia showed that he could do it well, maybe even better than anyone else could.
But, what do I choose… What could I do?
Everything in my body scread that this guy was evil, that this wasn’t a good look at all. I was literally in a serpent’s den. All it would take is for this guy’s Na to be ‘Sir Evil’ or sothing dumb like that, and I really wouldn’t trust him.
But it felt wrong that deep inside, I almost wanted to say that he felt right in so way, shape, or form. I had to do sothing about the people, and well, soone so willing to do so…
But those cultists, and these serpents, it only seed as willing as dogs going to a master for treats. There was sothing off about it that I couldn’t shake. That soone like couldn’t let go.
I don’t want a crazed world like that, with people who run around with such cult-like vigor.
But this guy is insanely powerful. If I just refuse, then that’s it, I’m done. I can’t say no to that… Can I? I was already trapped, no one was coming to save , and if the above scene was anything to go by, this guy would wreck even in a vessel.
I stared at the roots, hearing their whispers as they danced into my ears and mind. It felt like I was back in the Nawia… That was more than a week ago, huh, but it was still fresh in my head.
I felt like I could still feel the Smorodina, still hear…
‘Save… Us.’
‘Help… Us.’
I could still hear it. I could still feel it. There was no mistake about it. There was no two ways about it. That’s what was fueling this whole structure, where they’re getting their souls from…
I rembered when the Smorodina flared, when the storm turned into a frenzy. Everything ca crashing down with it. It was chaos, pure and unadulterated, archaic… Chaos.
A smile grew across my face as the plan beca clear. I opened my mouth to deliver my verdict.
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