RATTLE
The sound of a chain echoed across the empty tower.
The seven chains holding the Daemon were now untethered. The presence of a divine was unbound as passion and emotion descended upon the kingdom.
The child of the unknown, Hope, was released.
---
On the grassy plain, five figures stood tall and strong. Even in their battered forms, they did not kneel or waver. Instead they looked onwards at the smouldering remains that was once their ally and friend. Not even ashes remained as the flame began to die into embers. Like a swarm of fireflies, the embers scattered into the wind until there was nothing left.
The great-grandchild of the Beast God, the Child of the Moon, the Beast of Twilight had fallen. Just like Icarus, the transcendent's ambitions flew too close to the domain of the gods. Immolated and burned for his transgressions, the last chain of Hope died.
An array of emotions filled the group. Kai and Effie were filled with a mix of acceptance and sadness at the situation. While Cassie's expression gave not a glimpse into her mind, Aldric had compartmentalised the incident as soon as it flooded his mind. Ever since the impact of Alana's death, Aldric was tired. He was tired of this nightmare and such; the death of Noctis was only one more body in the pile. But the rageful part of him only used this to fuel his goal even more. Selfishly using the death of a close person to fuel the burning ambition within him.
But it was Sunny that was fraying. His mind was a storm of emotions, a constant clash between his cold, rational mind and his heartfelt feelings. Losing somebody had never been this visceral. In his mind, the loss of both his parents had occurred so early in his life that their death was cemented in his mind. That his memories of them had been scrambled and twisted over the past decade in each attempt of recalling them. The only thing that could compare was the emptiness he felt the moment he saw Rain and her new family enjoying their lives. A life that he had no part in at all.
But they all knew that the nightmare had come to its end. With the final chain broken and Hope released, it was only a matter of time until the nightmare spell concluded the story of the Kingdom of Hope.
On the edge of the island, they could see it all happen.
The end of the Kingdom of Hope.
With the Ivory Island rising into the sky and the seven chains untethered, the crushing descended upon it all. From the sky to the ground, from the islands in every cardinal direction. A force so heavy descended upon them. The sanctuary of Noctis, the northern territory and the Night Temple. Everything that they had seen or known was obliterated in a second.
'These gods are a bunch of sick fucks. They didn't only enlist the eternal servitude of their closest followers, but they tied their failure to the death of the entire kingdom.'
Thousands of people were dead in an instant. Painless death blanketed the entire kingdom.
Aldric stared at the ever-shrinking view of the kingdom with a look of resignation.
'Just what was the point of all this? Why did we try so hard to save so many lives? Why do I care so much if they were all going to die anyways?'
And Aldric knew this. He knew how this was all going to end. That this exact thing would have happened.
'Maybe... I just wanted to make a change... I just wanted to try...'
But he knew that he was kidding himself. That from the moment he chose to conquer this nightmare, this outcome was something he accepted. Perhaps his previous mindset of saving lives was all to make this moment smaller in his heart.
But to anyone watching, his hypocrisy was on full display. For if he cared so much, Aldric should have endeavoured to complete this nightmare differently. He should have tried to end it without freeing Hope and unleashing the crushing. But it was obvious that Aldric simply did not care as much as he thought.
Interrupting his thoughts, a pulse of madness spread throughout the island.
They felt it before they saw it.
A metaphorical bomb of desire exploded in each of their souls. A feeling so heavy and thick that it trumped anything that they had experienced before. Yet, the insidious part was that it did not create desires, but it amplified them. Desires that they each held so dear to their hearts, desires that nobody else knew.
Kai collapsed within six seconds of exposure; his condition and mind could not withstand the onslaught from within. But on a deeper level, perhaps it was because he could not imagine himself acting upon and achieving that which he desired. For self-doubt was the sea that doused the flames of desire.
Effie twisted and turned on the ground as her nails dug into the soil beneath her. In her mind, she battled herself, and it was taking all that she had.
The waves of desire washed over Aldric as it seeded in his soul. His composition as a Child of Nether seemed to alleviate the majority of the pressure. Saving him from ending up like his friends, yet the flames of desire only grew. Like a wildfire, they grew as the feeling began to spread within him. Perhaps Aldric was the worst person to be afflicted with Hope's presence because his ambitions were simply too big.
From a third person's perspective, who would ever endure so much suffering in their life? Despite knowing where the dangers of the future rested, who in their right mind would charge right towards it for the sake of strength? for the sake of their ambitions? The death, the carnage, the suffering, the pain. Every single ambition and goal that Aldric had ever used to rationalise the suffering he endured was now amplified to a horrific degree.
Ambitions of grandeur, divine-level powers, control and freedom. All were laid out bare. But strangely, it did not overwhelm his mind completely. Because his goals and ambitions were all that he had not so long ago. When all he had was his name, when he was only a teenage orphan in a world ruled by demigods who saw his life as a subject to control or a threat to cull. He felt strangely content at feeling his desires so strongly. The desires that took him this far. But he knew that his limit was near.
Turning towards the tower, he could see a large figure walk towards them. For each step that they took, the feeling of madness magnified.
'She's here.'
Aldric did not know what he was expecting from the Daemon after being freed. It was in his hopes that she would go about her own actions and leave them alone. He was not willing to risk an uncertain interaction with a divine being, especially after what he just witnessed. But it looked as though he would not have the grace to avoid them.
And so he looked forward; Aldric watched as both Effie and Kai reacted to the strange feeling so adversely. With nothing that he could do for them, he could only watch on as the feeling got stronger and stronger. Seeing Sunny struggle too with the shadows around him shifting and turning, yet it seemed that he was managing and adapting. Whether it was his identity as a shadow spawn or perhaps something else, Aldric was glad that someone else was cognisant. He looked to the last member.
Cassie.
And Aldric wished he did not look.
The blind girl's eyes were wide and alert. Darting around as if she were witnessing something brand new every time she looked elsewhere. Her desires were twisting her in multiple directions; Aldric could tell that much. Desires for Nephis along with a few other things. All until she turned to him.
And he saw it all.
A desire so debased and mindless. She stared and stared with those pointed eyes. Eyes that saw him not as a friend, a peer, or even an object of affection. No, those eyes stared at him as though he was a possession.
Something that was hers that she could hold near. Something that would give her the answers she wanted. Making no move to him, all she did was stare at him.
With those cold blue eyes.
Flashes of clarity came to her mind as she saw Aldric watch her, but they left as quickly as they arrived.
And in that moment, Aldric came to a decision that would change many things but keep even more things the same.
He would have thought that her capabilities as a seer who peered into the unknown would give her an ounce of protection, but it seemed that she had long used that up. Or it made her even more sensitive.
With the figure of Hope being no more than fifty meters away, Cassie had withstood a lot. And so, just like Kai and Effie did, she collapsed.
And it seemed that Aldric was reaching his limit. With only Sunny beside him.
"No hostile movements, Aldric! This is a divine being!"
Sunny struggled to shout out.
"I know. Don't say something stupid!"
Aldric responded. He knew just how talkative the young man was.
In one instance the white figure was fifty metres away, and in the next, she was here. Hope, in all her glory, stood right in front of them.
With a figure of a small giant, she towered over them. He felt as if her visage was almost human-like but also inexplicably alien. The shapes and textures were both correct and wrong... both familiar and strange… both pleasing and revolting. It was a disturbing sight to witness and something that the mind of Aldric could never conjure.
And she was staring right at him, after a brief glance at Sunny. Taking a singular step, she crossed the gap between them and looked down at him. Her body twisted above him as though she were many times larger than she was.
FLASH
An image of a monstrous castle shrouded in darkness opened in his mind.
'A citadel of massive proportions.'
A massive crowd numbering in the millions hanging on his every word.
'A domain of millions.'
A final image spawned in his mind. One that he had fantasised about since the moment he came to this horrid world.
An expansive universe with millions of stars littering space in every direction. And in the centre, a lone--------
FLASH
Using all his strength, he pushed the desires into the back of his mind and looked at the ground. His instincts told him to not meet the Daemon in her eyes. For the eyes are one of the vehicles of intent and will.
Peering right through him, he heard a sound echo across the field. It was soothing yet grating, harsh but melodic. Aldric did not know how the opposing feelings and sounds could coexist, but he did not have the capacity to question it.
"Just what are you..."
Hope whispered yet shouted. And now her gaze began to pierce his very soul.
"Ahhhh... So... So 'you' succeeded. How... How utterly grating."
Hope spoke as she witnessed the spark of divinity hidden within him and the feelings it evoked. There was no sense of familial bond or relations. It was as though she was mentioning him casually, just as how a human would mention the sun. With no care or emotion.
Seemingly satisfied, Hope was about to leave, but a single question from Sunny changed her plans.
"Wait! Why did the gods do this?! Why did they lock you away?"
Sunny asked her with zeal and desire in his voice. In the vicinity of Hope, one of his greatest desires that was on his mind had broken free. His desire for knowledge and to learn the answer to the biggest question that plagued this kingdom.
The silence of the expansive sky met his question until Hope responded. Slightly turning her paradoxical figure, she responded to the enquiry.
"Because we are their flaw..."
With those words, the end of the nightmare was upon them. Reality began fraying at the seams as the world began to collapse. Clouds blurred into darkness; white lines took over where the floating islands resided.
It reminded Aldric of the boundary of the nightmare he witnessed in the Aether. That strange place that helped him escape the Ebony Tower.
Hope's figure tore through the fabric of space and was at the edge of the island. It was strange, as her steps were just as slow as before, yet her speed was nonsensical.
But Aldric was reaching his breaking point. Desires so subconscious and hidden were suddenly at the forefront of his mind.And with those desires so strong, a power so raw and instinctual responded in turn.
Sparks of red darted around his Mantle of Darkness, coating his body in the primal energy of chaos.
And that was the biggest mistake that Aldric had made. For the figure of Hope moved.
In one moment, she was at the boundary of the collapsing nightmare that was closing in on them.
And in the next, her transient white arm plunged into the chest of Aldric.
***
Thanks for reading.
Apologies for the missed chapter, school started again.
What is Cassie feeling and is it what it really seems?
Hope is free and already causing issues. What is she doing?
Till the next one.