Chương 64: Chapter Fifty Nine: A Date With Destiny

She guffawed and waved a hand at me. All of a sudden, my shirt was trying to leave my body. I grabbed at it and tried to push it down.

"That's not fair!"

"Tough." She flicked a finger, and the shirt was ripped away. I wasn't completely naked due to the tiny undershirt I was wearing, but I was feeling exposed. Candles lit themselves on the table, and the dark room was bathed in warm light. Is it just me, or does this feel like a date with my crazy ex? I inched towards the doorway, and the wooden door slammed shut on its own. The door frame rattled from the aftershock.

"..."

"Lie on your stomach." She paid me no mind and sat down next to the pillows cozily. I looked towards the closed door and debated it in my head. Should I just make a run for it?

"Come here." My entire body was raised off the ground by a mysterious force and lowered onto a stiff pillow covered in white fur. She opened my undershirt and pushed its sides out so it was resting on the pillow. She traced the burn scar from my birthday with her fingers, leaving goosebumps in her wake. I tensed and tried to squirm away. It's still kind of sensitive.

"Do you understand what this mark means?" Her voice had become hushed all of a sudden. I gulped.

"That I'm owned by the Goddess of Night?" It's not too far off.

"Owned? Hmm. Yes, owned. Do you know what else it says?" Else? What else is it supposed to say? Choosing to stay silent, I shook my head no. She ghosted over them, and it was like I was being burned all over again. Tears welled up, and I gritted my teeth.

"Walls. A fortress. You're very guarded." She moved on and ghosted her fingers near my neck.

"Open hand over fist. You're cautious but nurturing." She explains softly what each of the scrawls beneath the vengeful goddess burned on my back meant.

"Charismatic."

"Covetous." I snorted. Did Niathe pay you to say that?

"Angry. Lonely. Nostalgic."

"Indesicion. Hurried growth. Fear." I curl my toes.

"You have a long life ahead of you. This trail has many intersections. Some lead to dead ends…" She trails off and her finger ghosts over my side. The burning had simmered down, and now all that was left were goosebumps. Small fires that she started and snuffed out over and over again had my head lolling to the side.

"And?"

"I see…nothing. Blank. Empty. Undecided." Her hands leave my back and grab a bowl. Its crystal walls make a low frequency in response to her hitting it with one of her wooden sticks. She sets the bowl next to my head, and it continues to hum while she hits the other bowls.

"What do you think a witch is?" I'm assuming it's not the same as what it means back home—on earth, as it does here. Erichean and the others showed too much respect for that.

"Someone who can do weird things. Like the floating with your mind thing." She raises a bowl up in the sky, and it stays in the air when she removes her hand. I crane my head back so I can see it. One by one, she sets already lit candles in the center of every bowl. The fire dances in tune with the low humming. The ethereal tones lured me closer to the dangerous idea to…just…fall asleep.

"That's a surface-level and inaccurate description of who we are." She brings out a jar and a brush from behind her. With care, she dips the brush in the cherry substance, brushes away any excess, and begins to draw on my sensitive skin. I shift, and she waits for me to calm down again before beginning once more. Her brush lands on the empty spaces between my scars and fills them in. The bristles have me closing my eyes and trying to breathe through the sensory experience.

"We are the closest things to Gods to ever exist after…The fall." My eyes open, and I listen with rapt attention. Is she talking about the heretics?

"A very long time ago. There was a group of very special people. Who became infected with a terrible affliction." She paints my spine with the cherry wax and trails downwards.

"They were influenced by an unholy force. So they became scared…depressed, self-destructive, and resentful of their creators." I tensed up. Oh, she's definitely talking about them.

"They uncovered a discovery like none other. A true method…" The brush circles the space around the orb near the base of my neck.

"To become a God." My eyes widened. Can you do that? Wait a minute, I thought they just killed them?

"Instead of using this discovery to benefit the people of the world…They instead decided to chase after the Gods and strike them down in their anger. Both the Lower Realm and the Heavens shook with the aftermath of the slaughter." Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Using a candle that was suspended in the air, she sets my entire back on fire, and I cried out. Her magic forces me to stay still as my back is engulfed in black fire.

"The Gods descended from their thrones and made a home on earth. There, they began to plan their counterattack. They realized that they could not do so alone and that they needed more than just their minuscule numbers. They needed to create more." More?

"They cut pieces of themselves and gifted them to the mortals…ones they found worthy. They proved themselves by trial, wit, love, combat, and more."

"These people were deemed the hands and mouths of the Gods themselves. The Gods were wise in their decision. Together with this force, they beat back the Godkillers and hunted them to extinction." No. Does she mean? Ew. Is this like the Eucharist, or did they actually eat …blegh!

"Yes. We are that mighty force. The Children of those blessed enough to fight on behalf of the Gods." My back suddenly felt a gust of cold air, and I shivered. Goosebumps pebbled my skin, and I bit my lip.

"Our former mission ended, and a new one began. Cleansing the world and ridding it of any traces of those responsible for the deaths of our Gods." Ok. What does that have to do with me?

"Have you wondered what that has to do with you?" I pressed my lips together, guilty of the assumption.

"Yes?"

"As someone chosen by THEM. You now also share the burden of ridding our world of The Contagion and all of its possessors." I gulped.

"Al.. Alright? But what are you doing to me?" She whispers." Getting you ready." Thats not creepy at all. The humming rises to a fever pitch, and I wince. Blinding white light flashes behind my eyes and I suck a breath in. Stop. Her dark green pupils explode outwards, and she says in a disembodied voice, "Close your eyes and fall." The room spun in a merry-go-around, and my vision swam. The smell of candles and cherry ink filled my head. Deep down below the surface… Hypatia closed and opened her eyes again.

Strange. Black water roared and rolled over everything in sight. She stood upon a single piece of black rock floating just above the surface. Her gown's ends were soaked in the black water.

"Miseria?"She turned around and called out for her. The wind whistled, but otherwise there was not a soul in sight. This is a very strange mind for a babe. Hypatia frowned but decided to take the plunge instead of waiting around. Literally. She stepped off the rock and sank like one into the waters. She breathed normally and reminded herself that this was just a dream. She swam towards what seemed to be the bottom and broke through the water.

"Mother, help me." She resurfaced on the sky of a hidden world. A world made up of only three colors. Black, white, and red. The water dripped down, and she hung upside down while staring at the piece of work that was this child's mind. She pursed her lips and leapt off the ceiling. Her hands stretched out as she free-fell towards the world beneath her. Once she started getting close to the trees, she curled up and hit a particularly hard branch covered in snow.

She tumbled down all the way down onto the forest floor. Groaning, she opened her eyes and felt a drop of water fall on her face. She rolled over onto her hands and knees and got up from the ground. Covered in snow and devoid of any life. Exasperated, she called out for the child.

"Miseria!"

"..." The trees not only did not answer but instead swayed with the chilly winter wind that blew through their bare branches. Hypatia covered her hair with her hood and sighed before journeying into the forest. A trail emerged after a long while, and she sighed with relief upon spotting a particular set of tracks. A child's footprints.

"Miseria?" She looked around and continued on the path. At an intersection, she spotted a bit of something… red. Cautiously, she made her way down the path and verified what it was. Or rather, who?

"Miseria?" A child turned around clad in a bright red cloak and a wite dress. Her white hair and red eyes regarded Hypatia with curiosity. Her blood-red lips moved, and the wind stopped blowing.

"Who are you?" Her tiny hands held her basket close to her chest, and she stepped back fearfully. Hypatia sighed and introduced herself.

"Hello, my dear. My name is Hypatia. I'm here to take you home."

"..." Miseria tilted her head and responded in a small voice.

"Home? I don't have a home."

"..." Hypatia knit her eyebrows and started to catch on to the strangeness of the situation.

"No? I thought you did. Why are you here all alone?" Miseria smiled.

"I'm not alone. You're here." Hypatia smiled weakly.

"What about your parents?"

"..." Miseria blinked, confused at the line of questioning.

"I don't have them anymore."

"You don't?" Miseria shook her head no, and Hypatia kneeled to meet her at eye level.

"Where did they go?"

"They left."

"..." Hypatia repeated the question."Where did they go?"

"They're gone. Everyone is…" Miseria shifted from foot to foot, and Hypatia noticed her bare feet.

"Aren't you cold?" Miseria ignored her concern and asked with a bored expression."Can we play a game?" Hypatia bit her lip and nodded with a frustrated expression.

"Yes. We can, but we have to have rules."

"Rules?"

"Mhmm."

"What kind of rules?" Hypatia grinned.

"Well, obviously no cheating. Help me think of some more." Miseria twirled her basket around.

"Um…No lying. Uh…It can't be for nothing. We have to have some kind of prize!" Her cheeks flamed with blood, and her red eyes glowed with excitement. Hypatia nodded.

"That settles it. Now, what game are we playing?" Miseria thought to herself with a finger to her lips. All of a sudden, they parted, and she looked at Hypatia with an angelic smile.

"How about hide and go seek?" Hypatia tilted her head and agreed.

"Ok, now we have to choose the prizes." Miseria bounced up and down.

"Oh! Well…Can I have that?" She pointed at the necklace hanging from Hypatia's neck. A black string with a golden triangle-shaped charm on it. Hypatia looked down at her necklace and agreed again.

"Of course. Now what do I want?" She pretended to think hard about it while Miseria got antsy. Hypatia's eyes glinted, and she proposed.

"How about your basket?" Miseria looked shocked. At first, she immediately thought to refuse, but then she thought. Well…I only have to give it to her if she wins, right? So I just can't lose. She puffed out her little chest and accepted the challenge.

"Fine. But I'm the seeker!" Hypatia laughed and agreed with her again.

"Alright, but you have to give me a head start and a time limit. Let's say an hour, ok? If you can't catch me within an hour…the basket is mine." Miseria nodded and went to hide behind a tree.

"Ok, I'm gonna start counting now. One!" Hypatia kept running down the road with her frail legs. Her breaths came out in hot clouds, and the rain started to pour onto her head with a vengeance. The sky darkened, and clouds moved over the forest blanketed in snow. Snow and hail fell upon Hypatia's head, causing her to duck for cover in the trees. She hid behind a tree and caught a break. When all of a sudden, she heard a tuneless humming from a couple of feet away. Her eyes widened, and she looked down the road.

A certain toddler was swinging her basket and avoiding the hail with ease. She sang in a mischievous tone.

"I can smell you…" What kind of devil are you raising, Niathe?! Alarms went off inside Hypatia's head, and she darted off the path into the trees. Miseria tilted her head and smiled secretly to herself.

"Ok. I enjoy a good chase." She flickered into afterimages of herself and hopped onto a tree. Her bright smile revealed her sharp canines that had descended at the prospect of getting just a taste. Hypatia pumped her legs faster and ran with all her might. Wait. What is that horrible smell? She sniffed the air and turned westwards. In the distance, she could see a plume of smoke leaving what she hoped was a house. She ran towards it while never taking her eyes off the direction from which she came.

She broke through a bushel of bushes and sighed with relief. A strangely built large house stood not far from her, and she rushed over to it. She stepped onto the porch and studied it carefully. Welcome home was written on a rug underneath her feet. She tried to discern what the strange glyphs meant but came up with nothing. She knocked on the door, and it swung back. Odd. Everything about this girl seems to follow that theme, though. She stepped inside and closed the door softly behind her.

Inside was much warmer than outside. A modern living room was presented to her, and she didn't quite know what to make of it. Curious, she explored the premises and noted that a lot of the walls had missing pictures on them. Broken frames with pictures seemingly ripped out of them and replaced with a snowy background. She shivered and continued looking. The kitchen was full of high-tech appliances she had never seen in her life. Metal was everywhere, and she touched it with vigilance. Where am I?