Lilith's Blessing 16

Akor opened his eyes, a familiar place surrounded him. It’s light, warm, filled with the smell of cannabis. He’d been there before. Like an adult revisiting a long-lost relative he had not seen since childhood. His eyes widened when he saw her. The owner of the golden eyes that haunted him. They belonged to an angry face. Her mouth didn’t move, but she spoke. Her words bypassed his ears.

“Why? I gave you my blessing. I gave you my only surviving daughter. Why were you lying with another woman?”

He thought back to the cafe, just before the cataclysm. They found themselves alone in the cafe. Their conversation started about food. She talked about a steak she made over the weekend. His eyes lit up. “Impressive.”

“Yup, I’m trying to get my ring.” She held up her ring finger.

“I mean, we can make that happen.”

“Oh. I have a boyfriend.”

“Just playing. Haha.”

Embarrassed, he excused to go to the back. Before Simone City. That was the last time he saw her. If only he knew then, He would have stayed by her side, destroying Simone City, preventing everything. Kira.

“Where is she?”

Lilith sighed, pointing upward. The ceiling, full of flickering lights, imitated the heavens. A three star system, brighter than the sea of stars surrounding it, stood out.

“Ok. What am I looking at? It’s a star system.”

Lilith shook her head. She wanted to smack the back of his head. His mother said she shaped it just for the occasion. “Your mother was my disciple. I know she taught you our creator’s origins.”

Akor nodded, changing into a no. He didn’t remember any of it.

“The gates of Inkanyezi. They gather human souls.”

“The fuck?! Why?”

“To weigh them and pass judgement. Do we need to teach you all this again? I swear after I punish you and Xia, the two of you will…” Lilith trailed off. She closed her eyes, inhaling from her hookah. The cloud she released filled half the room.

“Akor, we do not have time for this. Xia needs you.”

“I’m dead. Olivia chopped off my head. By the way, HOW AM I TALKING TO YOU?”

“You die a lot. You should be used to it by now.”

“Excuse me? Still fucking hurts!”

“AKOR! Be quiet for a second. Your body is still there. I can return your soul.”

“My what?”

The glare Lilith gave Akor froze him in place. She emitted gravity that forced him to flatten to the floor. “I-I d-d-don’t w-wa…” Lilith increased the pressure, ensuring Akor remained quiet.

“Akor. I know how it feels to lose. You’re tired and you just want to sleep. But Xia made her choice. Your job is to defend her. We need you to fight. Fight for your mother. For Ahkana. For Muu. For all those that lost to Etema.”

Lilith changed the background. A bird's-eye view of the city below. Olivia’s army organized the survivors of the initial attack, lining them up for processing. A single ship descended, landing far away from Olivia.

Akor felt Xia’s presence on that ship, somehow he felt she was close by.

“Xia decide to fight. What will you do?”

On the surface, Xia exited the vessel, surprising Kaylia. “Alexia, why are you here?”

Xia shook her head as dense black fog descended upon the area. It infiltrated the ranks of the clone escort following Kaylia. The mist, tuned to disrupt their nervous system, causing the clones immeasurable pain. They ignored Kaylia’s orders as they flailed and clawed at their heads. Some rip their ears and flesh to stop the torture, descending into fighting amongst themselves.

The clones attacked each other, throwing each other through buildings like rag dolls. Tore their officers apart, using their bodies as weapons against each other. Stalls crumbled, pillars fell, the city turned to chaos once again.

Kaylia did her best to control her guards, but their eyes glossed over her words never reached them. The clone holding Trevor’s body vanished, Kaylia looked around for her, but lost among the crowd of look-alike’s. One approached, murder in her eyes, locked onto Kaylia. She was hesitant, but defended herself, slicing the attacking clones with her sharpened wind before they got close.

Another flanked Kaylia, raising her massive axe above her head. “Stop.” Kaylia raised her palm to the clone. But the clone’s eyes were distant, glossy, the order when unheard. She had no time to gather mana. The reason they needed the clones. For close quarter combat. Kaylia closed her eyes. She felt like she jumped into a pool of hot liquid. She opened her eyes, her whole body covered in blood. Prince Mene descended from his dropship with a long hammer in hand, splattered every clone in sight.

“What is that?” Mene’s eyes fell to the box on the ground beside her. It had black mist pouring from it, expanding out into the area.

“It’s Trevor’s head. It’s a gift for Father.”

“Are you stupid? You should’ve burned it to ash.”

“Olivia wanted the body. She said Father wanted the head.”

Prince Mene stashed his long hammer away, kicking a clone before he looked up toward the Amun-Airen. “That’s why father sent you and Alexia to Simone City. Both of you, just stupid beyond belief.”

Prince Mene glared at Kaylia. Her heart sank. He always looked at her like a failure. Nothing changed. What would Alex do? She wondered as her eyes found the box carrying Trevor’s head. Mana oozed from it; moving across the ground like a morning haze. The mist crept toward her, making every hair stand on end. She tried to run, but a hand grasped her wrist, stopping her. When she looked to see who grabbed her, an uncontrollable scream left her mouth.

Trevor’s headless body moved, raising its right hand up to her, clasping its finger around her throat. It lifted her off the ground as she kicked and prodded at weak points. Her eyes bulged as it squeezed tighter until his fingers pierced her skin, opening her neck, separating it from its body.

Prince Mene’s mouth stood agape, unsure of what he just witnessed, jumped into his dropship, vanishing into the sky. Xia appearing withing the mist with the mana spewing container. Once she removed the lid, it exploded with black mana.

Xia reached into it, removing Akor’s head, prayed as she cradled Akor’s head until his body collapsed at her feet. Akor’s head reacted, his mana poured into the vessel. His tortured body warmed, his skin sizzled as his head fused back onto his body. His pale skin darkened as blood flowed through his veins again. He opened his eyes, locking onto her. Akor reached up, pushing her hair back.

“Your hair is different.”

“You look different.”

Tears fell from her face as he raised up, embracing her for the first time in millennia. “Mother said she was going to punish us.”

“I mean, she’ll kill me a few times. She’ll get over it.”

“What happened? Who killed you?”

“Olivia.”

“I take it you met Mother then?”

Akor nodded; eyes darkened, his mana flowed from his body. He looked down at a fallen clone, placing his hand on her thigh, extracted the femur. He poured mana into it, shaping it into a new form; it flattened and elongated into a curved, sharp edge. More reminiscent of ancient weapons. Perfect for slicing through enemies. Satisfied, he looked at Xia. Akor aimed toward the northern gate, while Xia vanished toward the west.

Meanwhile, Olivia tried to control her army, ordering them to stop. They ignored her: rampaging throughout the city, killing friend and foe. Only the high-level officer fought back the relentless monsters of their creation.

The officers fell back to the spire, meeting back up with Olivia. They battled clones to reach her, only for Olivia to raise her hands. Enraged clones surrounded her. A bright blue glow formed in each hand. She extended her palms; bolts of lightning lashed out at her attackers, jumping from clone to clone in an instant, burning through their hearts.

“Alexia attacked the north gate.”

Olivia glared at the officer, death in her eyes; she put a finger to her lips. “What happened? Why did I have to kill my clones?”

Years ago, Alexia worked alone under a small lamp. In front of her were lines of code. Ones and zeros that defined the clones’ DNA. After hours of work, she looked up, stretching her arms. She fell asleep. The code in front of her is unrecognizable from what she started with. It took her days to recover, but she missed a small line deep within their coding. One allergic to Akor’s mana.

Back to the present. The stench of burning flesh filled the air, forcing the surviving officers of Olivia’s assault force to cover their noses. They murmured, comparing information, while Olivia agonized over their next move. She had the city within her grasp. But now, without her army, how could she salvage anything? She shook her head. What was there to salvage? The city is in ruin, everyone was dead. No people to extract DNA, nothing. She looked up at the battleship hovering above the spire, calling for a pickup.

The Amun-Airen opened its ports, extending its cannons. A bright flash blinded her, the sound exploded her eardrums, and the shockwave forced her to bite her tongue. She bolted for cover inside the spire.

Olivia looked out the massive door of the spire. The Amun-Airen shelled the west and northern gates. What could have happened? Why were they shelling there? Olivia looked around as she contemplated the chaos. “Anyone see Kaylia?” The officers looked at each other. None of them saw her. Was Kaylia helping Alexia all along? Alexia’s ship landed in that direction.

Olivia pushed her hair back. Alexia had an accomplice. But who could it be? John and Meredith are dead. Who else but Kaylia? Olivia shook her head, trying to make sense of the situation. “Anyone see Alexia?”

The lowest rank officer raised her hand. She ducked her head between her shoulders, afraid to speak up. “I-I saw her at the east gate. She had Trevor’s head.”

“What?”

Prince Mene’s dropship descended, opening its doors. He stepped out, head lowered. “Kaylia is dead.”

“What happened?”

“Alexia. She did some curse, animating Trevor’s body. He ripped her head off. That is why my ship fired.”

“Did you get them?”

The prince side eyed Olivia. She knew better than that. Olivia raised her hand to smack the look off Prince Mene’s face when she caught something like a shadow zooming past her. She looked into the distance. For a second, she swore she saw Alexia and Trevor. Holding hands?

Olivia’s remaining mana using guards surrounded her, forming a semicircle. Xia smiled, raising her arms she drew her left hand back as if she pulled on a bowstring. A slew of white arrows flew through the air, vaporizing each fighter before they could retaliate. Olivia looked at the prince, he was just as surprised as her. “What? When? Alex, you never used a bow before.”

“Prince Mene, I am going to need you to shut the fuck up right now.”

The ground below him vibrated as sharp points extended into the air piercing the prince from the bottom, through his throat. “Shhh. Stay there for a bit.”

Akor raised his left hand, pointing it toward the Amun-Airen. The ground rumbled, tortured as it broke apart, reforming together. “Bang Bang.” The two balls streaked toward the ship.