[IMPORTANT NOTICE]
this chapter is Long and Rough Drafty but I'm posting it anyway bc I am limping towards the goal line š I've averaged 3.5k words per DAY since I started writing Wretched 43 days ago (the length of this chapter) and I'm so fuckin burnt out rn š I wanna work on other projects but I GOTTA FINISH WRETCHED!!! I promise it'll still be wrapped up well and with care, but just note that I'm struggling rn š
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[CHAPTER START]
This is it. We're about to face Aurora for the second time.
In the deepest reaches of the Hells where deathly cold silence grips the air and the cold causes my skin to prickle up, Umbra brings me to a small chamber that's locked away behind two dozen layers of rose vine protections. The vegetation parts for us as we approach, revealing the opening to a small cavernous chamber not unlike the cell I was first placed in. A small pool of water trickling is the only sound for leagues in all directions.
In the center of the chamber is an oddly out of place white marble pedestal, upon which rests a simple wrought iron and glass lantern. A lone lick of white fire hovers within it, burning without any fuel, perfectly still as though it's expectantly watching us come closer.
I reach out a claw to touch it.
Umbra tugs on my leash. "Don't."
"Oh. WhāWhy not? Would she hurt me?"
"No, but there are two things I must tell you."
I step away from the lantern. "I'm listening."
"First, she will appear here with us in what your kind refers to as humanoid form. However, this will be a mere projection of her, not Aurora herself. Any threats she attempts to make are hollow. They cannot be followed through on. She has no power. Think of what you're about to see as more of a moving, speaking painting. That's how we'll be communicating with her. Have no fear. She cannot touch you."
"I understand. Good to know, thank you. And the other thing?"
Umbra hesitates, picking at her claws. "Well, you seeā¦ We're not sisters in the sense of familial bloodā"
"No fucking way." I crack a grin. "You have history?"
"YāYes. We do. For eons, as far as we knew, we were the only two beings in existenceā"
"You don't have to explain. I don't judge you."
"But I didn't tell you beforehand. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm not upset. Well, go on then!"
"But the details may be relevant to what's about to be said."
"Tell me about it after. I want to try and piece things together on my own while you're talking. Wouldn't want to spoil any surprises. Let's begin! Go on! Talk to her! I'm right here with you. However close you want me."
She lifts me in her arms and tucks me under one of them, holding me to her side. With another momentary hesitation, she taps the lantern's glass with her tailblade. The white flame flashes and burns hotter, brighter, bigger, then it seeps from the lantern itself and pools on the floor. From it, a huge humanoid form rises as tall as Umbra.
Aurora is her sister's complete opposite. With shoulder length white hair braided back and adorned with gold and silver, rich golden brown skin, scales as white as mine, a tail as thick as an oak trunk, a bulky, powerful, and strong body, and those six eye-covered white feathery wings, Aurora glares down her nose at the both of us, standing a head taller than Umbra. Her piercing blue eyes stab right through me, and the hundreds of others pin me down like a specimen.
I've never seen her before. I'm almost inclined to avert my eyes. Old habits, I suppose. Still, her gaze is making me afraid.
Umbra speaks first. "Shall we pick up where we left off, dear sister?"
Aurora crosses her arms and lifts her chin. "You brought your pet. The crossblood."
"Her raptblood is just as divine as ours."
"Apotheosis. You can't be serious."
"Oh, but I am. My Crimsy is now a deity."
"So that's how it managed to get close to the Solaris." Aurora squints down at me, expression hardening. I didn't even know that part myself. As if I'm a passing trifle that lost her attention, she coldly says to Umbra, "State your demands."
"You misunderstand. This isn't a conditional capture, this is an all-encompassing defeat. I've no demands to state. There is nothing I expect you to give me, because I've already taken everything that you had."
"Drakeshit."
It stuns me that even the heavenly Goddess uses our slang.
"You may have taken my resources, dear sister. But you'll never take my information."
"Xikarius was loyal to me all along."
"That's not what I mean, you damnable fool."
"Then, pray tell, what information am I missing?"
"Why I did it." Aurora sneers, tailblade raking across the floor. "All of it. You don't know. And you cannot ever know. Not unless I decide to tell you."
A chill falls over Umbra. "Then I demand you tell me."
"Or what? You can't hurt me. Can't kill me. Can't do anything to me, aside from this. So what? I'll enjoy my vacation here in this lantern for a thousand years, and compared to the infinite, it will feel like nothing more than a day. Always with the solace of knowing that one day you will come back for me. How could you not? You hate me too much to leave me here forgotten. You will never forget me. And when that day comes, Dusk, when you start to second guess whether it's right or wrong to keep me trapped here, I will be ready. You mark my fucking words."
Dusk?
"Are you done?" Umbra sighs. "Or what? I'll tell you what. Tell me why you betrayed me, or I'll ensure you never have a moment's peace within this lantern. Out of tune violins, claws scraping slate, temperatures below freezing, people shaking you around or tossing you here and there, the worst stenches you can possibly imagine, the constant drone of flies, more and more and more. I don't need to hurt you to torment you, Aurora. I know everything that you hate most. And I will subject you to the worst of it."
"A gauntlet of annoyance?" she chuckles. "Fine then. Hardly a challenge."
"I haven't yet said the worst one."
"Oh? And what might that be?"
"I'll put you on our nightstand and make you watch me fuck Crimson day after day after day. Not only that, but you'll be forced to watch as we live happily together. Sleeping in each other's arms. Nuzzling under the blankets. Whispering our love for one anotherā"
"You wouldn't fucking dare."
"I've already decided on it."
Well, this sure took a turn.
Aurora's stare is warped with vexed disbelief. "Dusk, that'sā¦ cruelty beyond measure."
"You have made me so cruel, Dawn," Umbra snarls, black plates bristling. "And yet I'm extending you the grace of having this conversation. You could tell me, and we could avoid all of this. I might even be more lenient on you. But if I must hurt you, then so be it. I will fucking hurt you."
I add, "I'm more than okay with being a part of that, Umbsy."
"Thank you, Crimsy."
Aurora returns her attention to me, fangs bared with a growl in her throat. "Fucking snakeā"
"You're speaking with me," Umbra cuts her off. "Not her. Don't even fucking look at her. You know my demand. You know what happens if you do not concede to it. Make your choice, Dawn. Or else I will make it for you."
"Fuck you."
"Then that answers that."
"You want to know why? Fuck you, I'll tell you why! You said you were leaving!" Suddenly, Aurora sounds indignant, and she's almost pouting with her arms crossed. "Leaving me! To go off into the dark void, somewhere out there in the black, looking for others like us!"
Well, this sure took another turn.
Umbra mutters, "Iā¦ did?"
"Yes! Hells if I know why! You refused to tell me! Why would you go looking for other divines, when you had me? There's only one possible reason you could have ever wanted to do something like that. Obviously, you were just fucking sick of me! Weren't you?"
Umbra is speechless. "WhāWaitā"
"That's why you were leaving. And I knew that if you left, you would never come back for me. You were going to leave me behind for good. That's why I couldn't let you. Because I love you, Dusk. So much it fucking burns. I love you more than anything else in existence. I love you more than life itself. I love you so much that I would rather kill you before I ever allow you to leave me. So, you wanted to look for divines other than me? Well, I made it so that you can't look for anything at all! And so that I'd be the last thing you ever see in all your fucking life!"
"Aurora, itā"
"And everything that I did to you worked. Hurting you is what kept you here. With me. Even if we've been at war for thousands of years because of it, even if it permanently disfigured your perfect face, even if you hated me for it, you stayed. You stayed to fight me. To get back at me. To hate me with all your heart. To give me your undivided attention. And because you changed your mind, because you stayed to kill me, because you were thinking of me all this timeā¦"
A glistening tear falls from the white dragon's blue eye.
She cracks a weak and feeble half smile.
"It may as well be love. And that makes meā¦ so happy. You stayed. For me. I will not lose you, Umbra. And you cannot get rid of me. We're one together. You and I. We're tethered. Our fates are tied. And there is no changing that. I won't let you. Ever. Ever. So, keep fighting me. Keep hating me. Keep hunting your revenge. I want you to. How desperately I've craved your touch, for all this time. Even if it's your claws at my throat, I'll take pleasure in it. And I'll relish in how furiously you take your hatred out on me. I deserve it. I caused all of this. I did it to you. For you. So torture me, Dusk. Torment me. Hurt me. I'll forever take solace in knowing it's you doing it."
Umbra doesn't move. She doesn't say anything either.
"I put up a good fight, didn't I? It was satisfying, right? AndāAnd I killed so many of your little soldiers, so you must be furious with me. Ohh, I shudder to imagine the force of your wrath beating down upon me. And I know you've tried to replace me with that little thing in your arms, but it's hardly any comparison to my love, is it? I very sincerely doubt it can satisfy you like I can. And I wonder how much more you'd hate me if I were to toss it into the void."
I beg to fucking differ. I satisfy Umbra plenty. Right?
I hope soā¦
"You won't fucking touch her," Umbra snarls, baring her fangs and bristling her black plating again. "Crimson is mine. She's so satisfying to toy with that I've forgotten all about you. Do anything to her and I'llā¦ I'll fly away with her into the cosmic abyss and you'll never see me again."
Aurora goes stone cold. "You wouldn't dare. You couldn't. You'd hate me too much to do anything else but come after me."
"But now I know how to hurt you the most."
Aurora hesitates. Her wings twitch. "Fine. I'll spare the speck. Now hurry up and hurt me. I'm tired of waiting. I want your hands around my throat. Now, please."
"Hells. I don't remember you being so deranged."
"That's what love does, isn't it? It's your fault, really. You're the one who made me love you so much. And made me deranged about you. And made me hurt you."
"I don't even know what to say to that."
"Guess it means I'm right, doesn't it?"
"Not in the slightest." Umbra turns and walks away with a heavy sigh, lowering her head to speak to me. "I tried to warn you."
"No, no, this is fascinating. I never could've guessed that was her reason. A batshit crazy little sister, yearning for her older sister's attention so badly that she'd blind her and spark a divine war? Here I thought she was secretly the evil twin or something drab like that!"
"You'reā¦ You're amused?"
"It's so absurd that I don't know how else to react!"
"Suppose it's better than being outraged. I always suspected there was some element of this to our quarrel, but I wouldn't have guessed it was the core reason either. It's obvious she isn't lying. That is how she felt. And how she justified all this that came as a result. Her betrayal, her tyranny, her violence, her cruelty, her scorn, her abuse of dracokindā¦ Hells. I don't know what to do."
"What's the dilemma, exactly? So I know it?"
"Hmā¦" Again, Umbra hesitates, now picking at my talons. "I do now recall that I wished to venture outward to find other divines, but I never intended to leave her behind for good. Perhaps it was my fault for not communicating that clearly enough."
"Umbsy, she blinded you. That's her fault. Not yours. Just like it isn't my fault those fucking snakes destroyed my skyland."
"Ah. Yes. That's rightā¦ If I'm being honest, I amā¦ flattered. Touched. She loves me so much that she did all of this to keep me closeābad things for a good reason."
"Um. I'm not so sure about that."
"You don't think they were bad things?"
"I don't think this was a good reason. If she wanted you to stay, she should have said so. Instead, she hurt you, then caused an entire fucking war, which has cost hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. More than that, I'm sure, across the scale of time."
"Mm. Yes. Such extensive devastationā¦ All for meā¦"
My mouth opens but nothing comes out. I shut it and try again. "WhāWhat? Umbsy? She's the reason our friends died. Vander, Plutoryl, Haunt, and so many others. Our people. Dead, because of her. Two to three hundred thousand, just in this last push alone. They fought and died for you and the future you are going to make. Not to be collateral damage for some hair-brained scheme your insane little sister made up to keep you around her finger."
Somewhat bitterly, she replies, "Yes, and that makes me angry with her, Crimsy. Do you think it doesn't? Am I that callous to you?"
I pause, scrambling in terror. I've said something terribly wrong. "Um. NāNo. Sorry. I wasā¦ Sorry. I didn't mean toā¦ Sorryā¦"
"As am I." She sighs, relaxing a touch and bumping my chin with the backside of a claw. "That was harsh of me. I apologize. You were only speaking your mind in regards to her. Not me. But I took it personally. That's my mistake, Crimsy. Not yours."
For just that brief moment, I'd forgotten. Umbra loves me. Truly loves me. "OāOh. Okayā¦ Thank you forā¦ apologizing. I'm sorry too. I don't think I've been listening to you the way I should. You're sayingā¦ It's touching that she did so much for your sake, but you dislike what she did. Right?"
"Yes. That's correct, my love." She kisses me and then hugs me to her breast. "She loves me. How can I hate her for that? And yet, the things she's done because of that loveā¦ Reconciling the two isn't easy. Not for me."
Timidly, I quip, "Because you're a little evil?"
"Precisely. She has caused millions of deaths out of love for me. That is luscious, Crimsy. Hells. If you did the same, I would be beyond flattered. The problem isā¦ So many of those deaths were our own people. Yes, our friends. That much is unforgivable. And I imagine if you did the sameā¦"
She trails off.Ā
I wait for more. "Umbsy, you'dā"
"I'd still be flattered. Hells. Am I truly so evil or do I love you that much? Hm."
I hate that I'm going to say it, but I want more than anything to help Umbra navigate this. "Maybeā¦ Maybe. That same question applies. To her."
After staring through me for a short while, Umbra asks over her shoulder, "Do you hold any remorse for what you've done to dracokind, Dawn? The millions of deaths you've caused?"
"Hm? Oh. You know, I really didn't do much to the little lizards. I made them worship me, sure, but what else is divinity for? Then I chose a handful to put in charge and off they went building churches and societies and laws and such. All I did was watch for any sign of you, smite a few troublemakers, and dispatch soldiers to clean up the mess your draconids made. On that note, Dusk, any remorse for the millions of mortals you killed in the process?"
Neither of us have a response ready for that question.
"Stones in glass houses."
I blurt out, "Even if you didn't control our society, you still allowed it to be so shitty! The elitism? The nepotism? The hatred for crossbloods? Hello?"
"Hells, Dusk, control your pet. This yapping is unbearable."
"Answer her, Dawn. You've satisfied my demand for answers, but not hers. Now, you face Crimson's questions. She and I decide your fate together."
"Damn. Fine. Like I said, I picked a few to run things and let them fly free with it. Not my fault they made things so shitty."
"But you could've stepped in! You're divine!"
"Exactly. I'm not a draconid. Who am I to tell your kind how to govern themselves?"
I don't have an answer for that either. "But youāYou allowed themā¦ All of them. To do such vile things. You allowed those three fucking serpents to destroy my home. And you did nothing about it afterwards."
She yawns. "Same answer. I didn't even know you existed until you started killing my Legends. If I didn't hear your prayers for intervention, it's because whoever you went to refused to pass them along. That was their choice. Not mine."
"You're just fucking deflecting!"
"By telling the truth?"
"By refusing to take accountability!"
"I don't know how much clearer I can make this, tiny lizard. The vast majority of what happened in the Heavens occurred without my knowledge. Or influence, for that matter. I gave a few lizards a little power and they sorted out the rest while I warred against my dear sister."
"But you set up a system of tyranny and control!"
"No, I didn't. Hells, you're not hearing a word, are you? Dusk, am I speaking Draco or Cosmic? Help me out here, damn it."
"Crimsy, it seemsā¦" She winces. "The Primarchs were responsible for the conditions under which you suffered. An argument could be made that Aurora enabled their systemic cruelties, but does that make her truly culpable? I'm not so certain."
I growl through my teeth. "Assuming she isn't lying."
Aurora scoffs. "I'm trapped in a fucking lantern. What would I have to gain from lying at this stage?"
"I don't fucking know! But neither do I trust a single damn word of what you're saying!"
"Dusk, are you certain your pet is impartial enough to judge my fate?"
"Crimsy, please. She's telling the truth."
"How in the Hells would you know that?"
"Because I know my sister."
Can't argue that either. "Damn it. I disagree, Umbsy. She is culpable. If she cared about her subjects, she would have protected us from the Primarchs she put into power. But she didn't."
"Negligence." Aurora shrugs. "There you have it. I'll accept that. I was negligent. And you two slaughtered everyone. Kind of cancels out, doesn't it? Actually, doesn't that make me the better person in this scenario?"
Hells hath no fury like I do in this moment.
To my utter dismay, Umbra shrugs too.
"You aren't actually accepting this, Umbsy, are you?"
"I am indeed finding less and less reason to be angry with her."
"She killed our friends. Vander, Plutoryl, Hauntā"
"I was fighting Dusk, actually. Not them."
"It was the Primarchs. Son of a fucking drake, it was the Primarchs. Serenity and Retribution. Son of a fuckingāNo. No, no, no. This is not happening. You do not get to slip away from this, you fucking overgrown goose. You are not permitted to evade responsibility. Umbsy, absolutely not. Absolutely fucking not."
"Of course not, Crimsy. She will face justice. You have my word of that, my love."
"That's a bit tyrannical," Aurora sighs, leaning against the pedestal. "Punishing someone just because you're angry. Despicable. Both of you should be ashamed. My crimes were committed as acts of passion."
"And it's by acts of passion you shall atone."
"Oh?" Aurora quirks a brow. "Is that so?"
Even I'm confused.
Umbra takes the lantern. "You're coming with us. You'll stand front and center of the memorial service. Where everyone who's lost someone can look upon the face of the woman who caused their friends', comrades', and families' deaths."
Oh. That works for me.
As a start.