Pet: Torment - Chapter FortySeven (Patreon)

Remus

My home is quiet. It’s quiet, organized, and cold. It shows no signs of life, the way it did when Iris lived here. The snow that surrounds this place adds to the cold nature of it. When Iris lived here, there were signs of life, whether it was books or clothes strewn everywhere, or even warmth from the hearths. Iris brought warmth I didn’t realize was missing into my home—into my life.

And how did I repay her? By causing her to lose not only hers, but the one inside of her. This place, though filled with memories I will hold onto, holds so much pain now. It can’t be left to stand. This whole world can’t be left to stand. The pain that I feel doesn’t deserve to be mine alone. Everyone who benefited from it should face the consequences.

I hear Kuron moving behind me as he takes in the pristine home. I can see that he’s trying to ingratiate himself with me, but I have no interest in joining him, let alone returning to my true homeworld. He’s removed all blocks, allowing my power to slowly but surely return in an attempt to prove he is not my enemy. Once I fully recover, however, I will spend whatever is left of my life to kill him. I won’t let Ezra’s death go unnoticed. And if he kills me in the process, so be it. I have no purpose now that the light I found for myself has been taken from me.

I ignore Kuron’s presence behind me, making my way up the hall to the room that I created for Iris. It no longer exists, my mother made sure of that. Every little moment of our growth together has been stripped from this world. Every piece of her was taken from me. I slowly lift my hand, pressing it against the solid wall that now exists in its place. The plant I brought back was destroyed, the pendants, the gifts… every piece of Iris’s existence. I’m sure the pendant I gave her now joins her at the bottom of the sea, where her body will never be found.

I release a trembling breath, moving out of the hall. There is nowhere in this home that brings me comfort. I don’t know why I came here. Kuron was right. I could never continue a life here. But I don’t need to. 

I make my way out of the hall, and Kuron is waiting for me at the center of the living room.

“Remus—”

“Don’t. You do not speak here,” I say, walking past Kuron.

But he grabs my shoulder, forcing me to face him. I shove his touch away, my rage at being so weak fueling me.

“Why do you continue to follow me around? Why do you pretend that either of us means anything to you? Go back to your world, have more children who will take over for you. Xion and I will not,” I snap.

Kuron’s patient facade cracks slightly, his eyes glowing in a calculated rage.

“Remus. No matter what you say, I have no intention of replacing you. You are my one true heir,” he says.

I scoff, turning away, but he grabs me again.

“Where does all of this animosity come from? I have explained to you that I made a mistake—”

“A mistake you cannot take back! If you really think I won’t try to kill you when I can, then you are not as smart as I thought you were,” I growl.

Kuron glares at me, unfazed by my outburst. After a moment, he steps closer to me, angling his head as he takes me in. He steps back, his eyes roaming over my home, lingering in certain areas.

“Your mother was here. Her trace is all over the place. But from what I’ve gathered, she didn’t care for you enough to be a visitor,” he says, watching my reactions.

“She wiped someone’s presence,” he says.

“How do you—”

“When you are a Celesitivine. A fully matured Celestivine, you can sense the tampering of matter,” he says.

“This mourning isn’t just for the halfling. There’s someone else, isn’t there?” he asks. I almost laugh at the fact that he didn’t think anything of the humans who were near during our fight. He didn’t even acknowledge that they existed in the moment. He takes my silence, his expression shifting as he understands.

“The vessel I sensed your essence in,” he says.

I still don’t respond. He doesn’t deserve to know. He laughs, shaking his head.

“You must know, nothing good comes of falling for weaker beings, my son. Your mother is a prime example—Mmph!”

I wrench his arm, using my physical strength to punch him across the face. He stumbles, shock on his features from the power behind my attack. I am not close to being at my full power, but I’ve been allowed to heal long enough that I have enough access to make him hurt.

“Don’t ever fix your mouth to speak of them. You know nothing of our lives. You have no right to judge us based on what your wicked wife did,” I growl. Kuron continues to glare at me, when suddenly a smile forms as he stands to his full height.

“Us? Am I to believe the souls your mother dragged into the depths are important to you? Important to your sister?” he asks.

“If not for one of those souls, you never would have found us,” I say.

His smile disappears as I confirm it for him.

“The more I get to know you, the more I am surprised, Remus,” he says.

“Why did you want to come here if this place holds so much pain?” he asks.

I narrow my gaze. “That is none of your concern. Once I am finished here, this and this entire planet will be no more,” I say.

“You would make an entire planet pay for your mother’s sins?” he asks.

I laugh.

“I would. And I would make her watch the same way she made me watch. It’s only right that I return the favor,” I say, moving to the glass.

The landscape held such wonder in Iris’s eyes. Now, it is only a painful reminder.

“She was right to fear me,” I say.

I feel myself descending into a darkness that I’ve never experienced before. It’s suffocating. But the deeper it pulls me, the less I feel. The pain, the grief, the betrayal; all of it disappears as this darkness swallows me up.

Kuron approaches, but keeps his hands to himself this time as he stands next to me.

“Then allow me to give you the tools to get there, my son.”

* * ** * *

Iris

“Agh!” My screams fill the night air as I fight against my instinct to swat the burn away.

“Almost done, just hang in there,” Sky says as she presses the burning wood against my flesh.

“Ahhh!” I continue to scream, gritting my teeth in pain as I try to think of anything other than the scorching of my flesh. My body seems to be deteriorating from the wound Remus’s mother gave me. It’s made me weaker than I’ve ever been, and it hasn’t done anything to heal itself. Sky decided it was time to burn it closed to stop the bleeding, seeing as waiting didn’t help.

Though at this point, I don’t know what we’re still trying to survive for. Noah is dead. Ezra is close to it. And Remus and Xion are missing. I pray the Celestivine who attacked them didn’t kill them. But in the aftermath, we both know no one will be coming for me and Sky. Lucky for us, we have both spent more time in the wilderness, surviving than we did at the side of the aliens who fell for us.

“Ugh!” I cry out, my body sagging against the dirt as Sky finally finishes her “patch” job. The sweat covering me feels like I just took a swim in the ocean. What’s left of my gown is hot and sticky, and covered in blood, and my hair clings to my skin. I sob in relief when I feel the cool press of water-soaked fabric against my forehead.

Silence passes over us, only filled with my soft sobs as Sky continues to wipe away my sweat. I fight the urge to go to sleep, as I remember Ezra is here as well.

“How is he?” I ask in a cracked voice.

“I don’t know if he’s getting worse or better. But he’s alive,” she says.

I nod, shifting my attention to the small fire we made. On the other side lies Ezra’s unconscious form. We were luckily able to move out of the cave once the high tide receded. There was a beach not too far away, but getting to it was difficult with my injury and an unconscious Ezra. We can't go any further until I get better. Even Sky has an injury from being too close to Ezra during that first attack. We’re hanging on by a thread.

Sky laughs, sitting back on her knees as she shakes her head, tossing the wood back into the fire.

“What the hell even was that?” she asks, tears spilling as she looks at Ezra. “Who was that? And why did he go for Ezra?”

I don’t have an answer for her. It doesn’t make sense for whoever attacked to go for Ezra. Among the three of them, Ezra is the weakest. If he were smart, he would have taken Remus out, not battle with him the way that he did. Did he want to kill them? Did he want to take over Xyrannis? Even if we somehow make it out of the woods, what would Xyrannis look like for us?

“At least he’s alive,” I say. I’m sure his mother had something to do with that. I don’t know what was done after she stabbed me. The memory is dark and blurry, then filled with cold water before it goes silent. But for her to arrive, and Ezra to still end up in a cave with us unconscious, I don’t think any of them won the battle.

Sky doesn’t respond to me as she gets up, moving to sit next to Ezra. It’s strange seeing him in this state. Even when the rebels “captured” him on Earth, his spirit was never broken. But seeing him so vulnerable and possibly on the brink of death is unnerving. I grunt as searing pain washes over me, rolling over to vomit. There’s barely anything left in my system, my vomit coming out with blood in it.

Just as I begin to close my eyes, a loud crack ripples over the sky. I jolt, ignoring the pain as I sit up. Lightning builds and stretches for miles. But there is no rain. I tense as the ground rumbles beneath me.

“What the hell is this?” I murmur, looking at Sky.

She mirrors my confusion, and I tense as the air suddenly feels very heavy. The hairs on my arms stand as tension settles over us, mingling with the lightning in the sky, and the thunder beneath our fingertips.

“It’s Remus.”

Both of us jump, screaming as Ezra’s voice carries over the fire. Sky looks down at him, her tears welling in her eyes before spilling over onto his cheeks. Her hands clasp his face, and she leans over him, trying not to hurt him while she embraces him. She murmurs something to him, and I vaguely catch that it’s in the Leviathan language before his hand gently grips her arm, squeezing tight.

She finally lifts her head, and Ezra speaks.

“I’ve felt this…before. Remus is…going to…destroy this planet,” he says.

“We have to stop him,” I say, causing Ezra to laugh.

“We’re… as good as dead…I’m too…weak to even—ngh!” he groans, his breathing hitching before he starts panting. Sky screams at him, begging him to be okay, but his eyes remain closed as he passes out.

I sit up, groaning in pain. Remus is going to rip this world apart with us on it? Why would he do something so evil? Why would he turn against the world he was desperate to protect?

“We have to stop him,” I say.

Sky laughs, her tears still falling as she gently strokes Ezra’s face.

“How are you going to do that? You don’t even know where he is. You can’t even stand up. Just face it. This is it for us,” she says.

My own tears form as her words cut through me. She’s right. There is no Hail Mary, there is no miracle, there’s nothing. I don’t even know what has happened after their battle to cause this as an outcome. We are once again caught in the crosshairs of gods. Except this time, we won’t survive it.