39 City of Ravens End (1/2)
Opening my eyes, I saw a white ceiling I never saw before. My body aching all over, I tried to move, but my hands and legs were restrained. The room looked like a hotel room, with a hospital bed put in. ”Hello!” I shouted trying to get someone's attention.
The door opened and a tall man, with a neat hair cut with a little of greyish hair on the sides. Wearing a white shirt and thick glasses with a smile he approached my bed. ”How are you doing Domonique? Any pain?”
”Who are you? Where am I? Why I'm bound to the bed?”
”So you feel fine. That's good. But I need you to slow down a bit. One question at the time.”
”What's with the restraints?”
”They were necessary, you were not very cooperative while I was sealing the symbols on your arm. I have to say, it was a pain in the ass to do. Since becoming a Seal Grandmaster, this was the first challenge I had to face.”
”The symbols? Wait. Who are you and how did I get there?”
”Again, one at the time. Your master brought you and Emily here after rescuing you. You probably don't remember, but you went berserk, to be more exact the symbols on your arm, controlled you…”
”Controlled me? How?”
”Ok. I should explain everything from the start then. The symbols on your arm are a kind of seal. A very complex one. They changed your body and mind so that you will become a vessel for a being that wanted to come back to life. Eghhh… right she called herself the Raven Queen. Most likely by you using it extensively to make these feathers and fuelling the seal more the process was hastened. Thus, the seal activated and took over your body and made you go to the place where the Raven Queen would've taken your body over. Are you following so far?”
”Yup.”
”Good. So then when you were mindlessly digging to the temple, Devin and Emily arrived, and your Master subdued you. Unfortunately, they entered the temple in the hopes of finding something that can help you. The Raven Queen took over Emily's body, but because her body wasn't adjusted to being a vessel like yours was, Raven Queen's mind shattered.”
”Is Emily fine?”
”She is, I checked twice and cleared her body of any residual elemental essence. But in the process… she 'Inherited' some of her power. Most importantly her mind is fine, and she is herself again.”
”That's good. I can't believe something like this… right I remember now. Wait! Monsters! Under the temple, there is a city and thousands of Monsters! We need to warn everyone!” Memories of what happened appeared in my head like a tidal wave. I remembered, everything. I couldn't control my body, but I remember being in a dream like a state while watching a movie of what my body was doing.
Master, Emily, the Raven Queen.
”Everyone knows already.” The smile disappeared from his face, replaced by eyes of grief. With his words it hit me.
Something happened. ”What happened?” I asked.
”The Raven Queen, before her mind shattered, she brought the city to the surface and released the monsters. All of them. Many died, but thanks to you many more survived. You warred the people on the checkpoint, only because of that they reacted faster and evacuated most people from the surroundings.”
”… how many?... how many died?”
”… it's hard to say. The estimates are in tens of thousands. If not for the fast reaction, it would've been in hundreds of thousands.”
”Where is my Master right now?”
”On the Fort-Coulonge front line. He is helping out stop the advancement of the monsters.”
”I have to go as well. Let me go now.”
”… you want to fight with your soul essence sealed?”
”What?” I closed my eyes and checked, my soul floating inside of me was surrounded by chains, I tried moving soul essence, but nothing happened. ”… unseal my soul essence now!”
”Calm down Dominique, you won't be of much help there either way. You are too weak. People that are much stronger are dying right now fighting, if you go there, nothing but death awaits you. And I can't allow that, your Master asked me to make sure you are alive when he comes back, and I owe him much more than that.”
”Sigh… its all my fault. If I wasn't greedy and childish this whole thing could've been avoided.”
”Don't blame yourself for not stopping a boulder while you are still a child. I heard what happened, and I know it was not your fault, in the end, you rushed with all you had to warn everyone. Like I said, thanks to you a lot of people survived.”
”And a lot have died.”
”Agh… I hate situations like this. Look, it's true that a lot of people died, you will probably remember that and blame yourself for it for the rest of your life. Just don't let it cripple you, get stronger to carry those lives, and make sure you can stop it next time.”
This guy really spews no bullshit. Everything he said was entirely true, but it was hard. I could feel them on my chest, pushing on it like a mountain. It was my actions, my decisions that led to this, everyone that died and will die is my fault.
But what else can I do other than push on? He said it. Get stronger and stop it from happening next time… assuming there will be a next time. Even though I'm still too weak, I will get stronger.
”If you need a moment we can talk later.”
”No… it's fine. Tell me, how is the situation.”
”Are you sure?”
”Yes.”
”As you wish. East form the Algonquin Hunting Ground, the Fort-Coulonge front line was formed. With the help from Ottawa and Montreal forces, the monsters were stopped before reaching the capital. But that sent the monsters north and south. Most of the south was empty, so the defensive line was pushed quite far, but with little casualties. To the west it was similar. It was the north that was hit the most. Monsters enclosed the entirety of Lake Huron. We lost two cities major cities, Toronto, Mississauga, but monsters kept going and went through the border and taken over Detroit. Now the US is helping us as well as many other countries which sent troops to stop the monsters.”
”It's a disaster.”
The biggest disaster in recent history. I knew it would happen when I saw the monsters in the city, that if they ever get out, it will be a catastrophe, but the scale… It was worse than I could've ever imagined.
With so many monsters that are almost unkillable, it will be hard to push back the frontline.
”So what is this place?” I asked.
”The MCA regional headquarters.”
”And you are?”
”Jasper Hill, the MCA regional director.”
”… and my Master asked you to help me?”
”Yes.”
”How the hell does he know someone like you?! I can't believe that hobo knows someone that important.”
”… well, stuff happens in life, don't think about that too much.”
”Either way. What about Emily? Where is she?”
”The room next to yours. She was awake for a few days now. She even visited you a few times.”
”A few days? How long was I out for?”
”A week. Your body was pretty messed up, but still… I thought that it will take at least a month for you to wake up, and yet, here you are.”
”Damn. What about the symbols? Will they make any more problems?”