Chapter 559: Conditions (1/2)
Piece by piece, like water down the drain, the picturesque landscape faded into nothingness. White smoke marked the end of multiple scattered pieces. An undone puzzle, a world of confusion and fear. Origin stood strong beside Igna, both held hands, the bodies closer than before. A blinding light carried on into reality; the crushing sensation stopped.
Dark and vile, as multiple nights had been, the harbinger of the worst deeds humanly performed. Dagger to her neck, ”-Hey, don't squirm so much, I'm not as gentle as you'd think.”
”Let me go,” the nauseating sound subconsciously forced her to sneak glances at Igna. 'Wake up…' thought she – what had been a body was naught but a pile of sludge. Not bone from blood, not organs from the skin, nothing… a blob and that was it.
”You see now,” said he, ”-it's not worth resisting. Besides,” throwing a glance at Totrya, ”-they told me to test the inheritor. Might have taken it a bit far. If the man couldn't handle my powers, then it's done for. I'll take my prize and leave.”
”WHAT ARE YOU THINKING,” backed to embrace the tree trunk, the visage slumped, the bravado of rushing adrenaline channeled into fear, plain and simple.
”There's nowhere to run,” said he drawing a magical circle, ”-I'll lay claim to thee and thy soul, be my servant for the rest of eternity.”
'Igna…someone, save me.'
From the genesis to the eventual restart; else referred to as the end, the never-ending cycle of creation and destruction; merging with Origin shattered the already cracked Death Element. The consciousness, memories, soul, and his very existence, the memories living in other people, all were subject to tension, a slight miscalculation could rupture everything. Still, ambling down the tunnel, Igna found himself holding hands with another entity. No thoughts crossed the mind, not the ulterior motive – subconscious left alone and unsupervised. The vortex assaulted the defenseless consciousness to a multitude of attacks, emotions, possible futures, and many more. Origin kept on walking, hand in hand, guiding the self-proclaimed idiot down the path of ultimate trial.
”Welcome to the kiosk of all.”
”Kiosk?” asked he in a drunken stupor.
”Wake up,” cried Origin.
”My head,” a yelp forced him onto the ground, '-where am I?' looking back, nothing was visible, there was something there, then again, there was not. The eyes didn't see yet it was present. Suddenly, when the eyes could see, he couldn't sense. ”What is this place?” the head boomed at a regular interval – a feeling closely associated with standing in the middle of a giant bell and having it be hit.
”Difficult to explain,” said he looking down an upward shaft, ”-look here.”
”I'm looking, what is it?”
”Origin,” smiled he.
”That's you?”
”Yes, it's taken the form I wished it to take. Normally, there's just nothing. You've experienced it – looking back to see something than not, tis the same amplified. We're at the start and end of all. Many deities have tried to reach this level of power, the true ascension, I'm sure Zeus wants to do the same.”
”Interesting,” he sat with legs dangling off the edge, ”-I mean, why show me this. I'm going to vanish anyway,” glancing backward, ”-see, my body is at the start; figments of myself are stuck in the tunnel – reminds me of a filter.”
”Yes, that's right,” said he giving in to the natural charm, ”-it's a filter. We came here for a purpose, I accepted the offer, though, my conditions haven't been met yet.”
He nodded and expressed the will to listen closely. This feeling of being wanted had him startled a little, ”-excuse me,” he coughed. ”-To put it simply, you're now the purest form of yourself, the soul, and your very existence. Here is where we merge.” The other Igna's were the manifestation of the Death-Element, dormant powers, Blood-Arts, and countless hidden traits all separated and held in cages. Some volatile and some docile, everything made sense, or so he thought.
”I know, I know. Shall we get this started; I've already bid my farewells.”
”Wrong,” said Origin sprawling on his feet, ”-my conditions are as follows. We're to become one, and to that end, I want you as my ally, my friend, my everything. Do you hear, heir to death, no, never mind, right at this moment, you're nothing but Staxius Haggard. A soul in the sea of eternity, a nonconsequential plant in a forest.”
”Listen,” interjected he, ”-what good will it do, hearing all of this?”
”Don't you realize, I'm offering another deal for us to become the same.”
”Wasn't it the same as the first time?”
”No,” the head shook, ”-not at all, what you offered was for me to take over YOUR body and mind. What I propose is that we both become one.”
”An alter-ego?” asked he perplexed at the preposterous offer, then again, the whole thing was absurd as is.
”More than an alter-ego, something better,” paused at a heightened pitch, ”-sorry, got carried away. Staxius, thou said to trust in thee. I ask the same, trust in me.”
”Honestly,” he paused, ”-I had made amends in leaving everything up to Origin. Looks like there's more to come. Go on then, do as thee wishes.”
”Good,” he jumped in to hold hands, ”-thou accepted me and my burdens. Igna, let me tell you, the weight I carry is more than one could ever hope to imagine. Things might not be the same when we return, I've said it before, I can't increase your strength, that is something you'll have to do on your own. My goal is simple, to experience everything, to stop the boredom, and to see what is there for me to see.”
”What will I lose in the process?” asked he.
”My consciousness will take up a lot of space. You need not worry, tis been settled. We're to join as one,” both figures merged, the tunnel seemed to move in reverse. Soul pulled to join with the other figments, one after another, the vision blurred, the vortex spiraled to engrave onto the side of his right hand.
'The pain, the suffering, fleeting moments of bliss, what a troublesome life he's led. He survived bonding to me, we're now the same – sharing memories, I don't have any personality so it shouldn't affect much. It's true, that soul of his is close to a miracle, haven't seen anything like it before. Being able to hold an unlimited number of symbols of power – he's handling my symbol for what it's worth. There's no name to describe such a being. The death elements healed, we're back to reality. Time to wake up, Igna.'
”Time to collect my payment,” smirked the Butler.
Over the wall rose smoke and ambers of a rising flame. Sounds and cries barely made it to where they stood. 'It's happened,' the body rose in from the sludge, healing itself at a faster rate, '-I'm back. The memories of Origin, I know, I see,' the skin grew pale, the crimson eye turned vibrant like a crystal inside which one could see the whole of eternity. The disrupted vampiric transformation returned to the norm, black hair, the skin darkened in color, he stood the same as before with exception to the eye color.
”Quite a troubled past,” said a voice.