Pet: Torment - Chapter FortyTwo (Patreon)

Iris

I don’t know what to do as I watch Remus and the being who appeared out of nowhere disappear back into the tattered venue that once held a celebration. My chest is tight as I try to pull in as much breath as I can to remain conscious. But it feels impossible—moving feels impossible after what I just witnessed.

I flinch as pain ripples over me from the injuries I received with this being’s sudden arrival. One second, we were standing behind Ezra, our fear directed at Remus for his decision to confront his siblings in such a vicious way, and the next, a blast so powerful that it threw everyone within a few feet of Ezra from the tent blew us back.

My body is covered in injuries, and my head throbs like crazy. The impact of he blast knocked me unconscious for a few seconds, and Sky is still unconscious. And that was only from the recoil of his attack, not a direct one. The deep crater that stretches a few hundred feet from Remus’s impact was the result of that. I’ve never seen Remus let a drop of rain touch him, let alone an attack. Seeing him get thrown so hard that this is the result makes my stomach knot in terror.

Whoever is attacking is no ordinary assailant. He is a Celestivine. He has to be. He not only has similar power to Remus, but also similar physical features. And none of the Divine Three seems to be capable of stopping him. I can’t even begin to wonder what his purpose here is. And as I look up at the darkening sky, I note the rings are missing a section, the edges rippling like water from the damage this alien’s entrance caused. I don’t know how I could possibly be helpful in this current situation.

I tense as a sudden pulse vibrates the ground, and when I shift my attention back to the remains of the venue, I see a bright blue beam of light rippling toward the sky. I grip the hem of my dress, sprinting over the plain to where I last saw Sky, Noah, and Xion. Remus flung his sister from the battle to protect her, his worry for his sibling outweighing his anger at their betrayal. At the end of the day, he is still their protector.

Xion is still holding Sky’s unconscious body in her arms when I arrive. Her expression is filled with worry as she looks at the venue, her body trembling. She’s scared as well.

“How is she?” I ask, kneeling next to her, my attention focused on Sky. Her breathing is shallow. She was closer to Ezra than I was. They were touching before that beam of light struck him.

Xion shakes her head.

“She isn’t good… I can barely keep her alive,” she murmurs.

The breath feels like it’s been knocked out of me, and I am glad that I am already kneeling. I tense as another rumble comes from inside the venue. When I look at it, what once was a beautiful backdrop and scenery to a celebration now looks like a ruin. The once majestic sheets billow frighteningly, briefly opening to reveal Remus and this Celestivine fighting to the death.

I feel helpless as I watch gods battle among themselves, knowing that if they come too close to me, I am dead as well.

I let out a scream as another powerful blast rips from the venue, a large piece of the drapes being torn away. My eyes widen as Remus and the Celestivine move at a barely decipherable speed, but I immediately notice Ezra’s body is on the ground, the beam of light that held him in place gone.

I turn to Noah.

“We have to get him!” I say, standing.

I’m moving before he can respond when I feel a tug on my arm. Xion is holding me, a look of panic on her face.

“Are you crazy? They’ll kill you before you can reach him!” she says.

I yank my arm out of her grip.

“They’re too busy with each other to notice us. And he’ll know the second you set foot near Ezra’s body. Stay here, conserve your energy. Ezra is going to need it,” I say before turning to face the battle. They’ve moved away from Ezra’s body, and I can’t help but wonder if Remus did it on purpose.

I turn to Noah, and he has a look of determination on his features, understanding that in the chaos of this battle, this is the most we can do. The ground trembles, and I look up just in time to see a cloud of rock and debris flying away from the venue. 

It must be Remus.

“It’s now or never,” I say.

I don’t wait for him to respond as I take off toward the venue. The sound of the battle thundering in the distance is accompanied by the ground continuously shaking beneath my feet. It feels like a much further distance than it truly is as I push down my fears, letting the adrenaline fuel me.

We cross into the venue, and I ignore the nausea washing over me as I take in the damage.

“Iris!” I’m pulled from my temporary ogling to see Noah kneeling over Ezra. I quickly join him on the ground, shifting my arms under Ezra’s to pull one arm around my shoulder while Noah does the same. He’s dead weight, and I clench my teeth, grunting from how heavy he is as we try to drag him from the tent.

“Ah!” I scream as a blast of wind rushes past us.

I look over in time to see Remus standing from another hole in the ground, his attention flitting to us briefly before the Celestivine comes back in full force, shouting at Remus in a language I can’t understand. His hands wrap around Remus’s face, crashing him into the dirt, but Remus uses their momentum, rolling back to throw him off with a kick.

I immediately notice the thick blood dripping from the corner of Remus’s shirt, where the fabric has been ripped away. There’s also blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He’s injured.

“Get him out!” he shouts to us, seconds before he launches himself at the Celestivine, obviously giving us time to get Ezra clear.

We quickly drag Ezra from the tent, and by the time we reach Xion, I’m dripping sweat and huffing in exhaustion. She quickly goes to work on him as we lay him down, the tears in her eyes making me nervous as she mumbles something to herself in a panic.

She lifts his shirt, and I bite back my gasp at the damage done. His veins have turned black beneath his skin, stretching out from the hole that the beam of light created. I can’t bring myself to ask, so I keep my mouth shut, letting Xion work on him. As long as she’s working, he isn’t gone.

I shift my attention to Sky, who is still unconscious, then look back at the damage being created by Remus and the Celestivine. I don’t know what the endgame is to this. I don’t even know how Remus is still standing with the injuries I just saw. But at this point, it feels like everything needs to be taken one step at a time.

Noah's loud gasp pulls me from my thoughts, and I whip around at the chilling presence I suddenly feel behind me. I barely have time to take in the sudden appearance as searing pain rips through my stomach. I can’t scream as the weapon paralyzes every part of me almost instantly, until all I can do is gasp with wide eyes as I look into another Celestivine's eyes. But I recognize this one. It's their mother.

Rage mars her features as she glares at me, ripping her weapon from my flesh.

“Ngh!” I groan as my legs are no longer able to hold me up.

“No!” I hear Xion scream.

I collapse, causing dirt to fly around me as I groan, unable to even hold the wound as blood soaks the dress I wore. I feel her stepping over me, and the warbled scream of Xion, but I can’t hear what she’s saying as I try to focus on something. I can’t speak, I can barely breathe, but my eyes remain wide as I stare at the battle in the distance, hoping that Remus somehow makes it out alive.

~

Remus

I can’t recall the last time I felt pain. Or exhausted, for that matter. But as I try to keep my father at bay, I can feel it creeping up on me. It radiates from each injury placed on me, and I’ve lost the ability to heal it. Each time I touch him, or he touches me, he syphons more of my power. He is powerful, and at this point, he is content in wearing me down. Once that happens, he can do whatever he likes.

“Why are you fighting me? Can’t you see I am here to help you?” he says in irritation as he approaches. There’s barely a scratch on him.

I grimace as I stand.

“I’m not going to let you do more damage than she’s already done,” I say.

He raises a brow, laughing after a moment.

“I would never do something so heinous, Remus. What she’s done is against our laws as Celestivine, and tampering with her own children’s minds? Beyond that,” he says.

His eyes light up, and his amusement vanishes as he senses something. It takes me a few seconds after, but I sense it as well. I must be weakened significantly since it takes so long. But for the first time in weeks, I sense my mother. And it comes from the direction I left Iris.

I ignore the being who claims he is my father, using what little bit of energy I have left to go to them, but he catches me, his hand wrapping around my throat as he crushes me into the ground. I cry out from the pain as he lifts me, doing it again, and again, and again. Until I am gasping for air, and my bones feel numb.

My breath is shallow by the time he is finished, and as he holds me in the air, he finally decides to speak.

"We shall go see her together." The world suddenly shifts around us and once we are in the new location does he release me. I am too weak to hold myself up, so I collapse at his feet.

I suddenly hear Xion’s voice.

“Remus!” she screams. But she sounds far away. I don’t have the strength to lift my head, but I feel my father’s fingers in my hair, ripping me up to my knees as he forces me to look at the scene in front of us.

I was right. My mother has returned. She’s kneeling over Ezra, her expression shifting into a murderous rage when she sees us. But she is only temporary as my attention is directed at the wounded human I saw only seconds ago, dragging my brother from the rubble.

She’s lying on her back, her head facing me, but her eyes are empty as she focuses on nothing. Xion’s companion kneels over her, his hands covered in blood that stains her dress as he presses her wound. Xion, however, is bound by a bright blue beam--the same beam our mother used on me that day.

I grunt in pain as more memories of that day try to bristle over my mind.

“Me’Rite.” The patience in my father’s voice is all but gone as he addresses my mother. She slowly stands, her power radiating on top of her skin. Usually, I would be able to sense it. But right now, I can only watch with weak breath.

She steps over Ezra, her expression proud as she glares at us.

“Kuron,” she says.

“So this is what you’ve done with your freedom?” he asks. “Betray everything we stand for?”

She doesn’t respond for a second, but I feel a light tremble beneath us, and I know immediately it's her.

“You can have your children. Leave my son out of this,” she says, referring to Ezra.

Kuron chuckles humorlessly behind me.

“You’ve forgotten yourself in your reckless state. I will be taking my children. But leave all of this alone? Never?” he hisses.

Xion tenses, looking at her in shock as the ground trembles, cracking apart.

“What are you doing?” she shouts, terror covering her features as she shouts at her companion. "Get them out of here!"

The ground gives way and the entire cliffside begins to crumble. Our mother is going to take everyone with her to their graves to get back at my father for not letting Ezra live. She's going to take the child he wants —Xion, to her death. The others around her are just collateral. And I am too weak to sense if she's bluffing or not.

My father releases me, moving with a speed I can no longer keep up with as he launches at my mother. He grabs her as swiftly as possible, his hand around her throat as he brings his lips to her ears, telling her something that makes her scream.

But her screams are drowned out as the cliffside crumbles. I expect to feel the ground beneath me crumble as well, but I feel the familiar boundary of a forcefield. Kuron is protecting us from my mother's attempt and making her watch as Ezra crumbles with it.

Noah is dragging Sky and Iris's unconscious bodies, desperation on his face. But he can't outrun the ground cracking beneath his feet. I can barely hear Xion's screams as she desperately pleads to be released, to save him, but her pleas fall on deaf ears.

Kuron is now holding my mother, making her watch the only child that she loves disappear, while both Xion and I are forced to watch the humans we love disappear under the rubble.

And I watch in horror as Ezra, Sky, Noah, and Iris tumble into the abyss of the sea below.