The sounds of snapping bones and ripping flesh filled the air as pale moonlight shined down and illuminated the horrific transformation. If felt both mine and Bone-lasher's stomachs twist into knots as we watched the poor creature's body tear itself apart.
It let put one last excruciating cry before it's body exploded into a shower of blood and gore that decorated the walls of the cavern and Tarrika and Raziri. Neither looked at all bothered by the evo's death, especially Tarrika who wiped a bit of the sonic vipers skull off his sleeve.
"Hold on father…" Raziri said. The spell sigil glowed brighter and the sigils in the tunnel behind us started to glow. I heard a rushing sound coming from the tunnel to look back at it in time to see a wave of blood and gore flying towards us. The wave turned into mist as it neared Bone-lasher and I but rematerialized behind us. I watched as the wave collected into a sphere above the spell sigil and the remains of the sonic viper were drawn into the sphere.
Bone and sinew started to materialize in the shape of a sonic viper but much larger. As the skin started to grow back over the skeleton I realized what the ritual was.
"This was a ritual to create a ascended…" I breathed as the last of the Ascended sonic vipers skin covered its skull. The evo opened its eyes and let out a even louder screech that shattered the ceiling sent shockwaves rushing through the cave and knocked Raziri and Tarrika back.
The ascended landed in the center of the deactivated spell sigil and started thrashing around wildly. It was not in control of it's action.
"It's confused…and angry…" I muttered.
Tarrika stood up and his farm crystal started to glow. The ascended screeched and coiled in a almost unnatural way. It's eyes became hazy as it slowly settled down. Tarrika smirked cockily then turned to look at his daughter.
"And now the real preparations begin!" He cackled.
The scene shattered and once again Bone-lasher and I were in a dark endless expanse. Only this time we weren't alone. The ascended was here with us, only it looked much smaller than it actually should have. It was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.
I climbed off of Bone-lasher and floated over to the ascended. It saw me and hissed, coiling defensively and threatening to strike. I held my hand out to pet it and of course it bit me roght between my thumb and index finger, the pain of that intensified the already near mind numbing pain I was feeling thanks to Tarrika trying to force me out and made me almost black out. I gritted my teeth and looked down at the ascended trying my best to not portray ant anger or aggression on my face.
It looked up at me with expecting eyes like it was waiting for me to hit it. I just stared back at it, and then with my other hand I stroked his head with the tip of my index finger. The ascended froze, uncertainty clouding its eyes. It let go of my hand and flew away. Bone-lasher growled and tried to swim after it but I stopped him.
"No Bone." I said softly then petted the liger shark on his head. "He's just like you…he's been hurt and misused all his life…all if his lives."
A feeling of distrust and anger washed over me from Bone-lasher. It floated menacingly its snout pointed directly at the ascended. Bone-lasher was obviously still upset for it attacking me in the village a few days ago. I floated a few feet in front of Bone-lasher and looked at the ascended.
"I'm not going to hurt you." I said to ascended then felt silly afterwards. "But you've probably heard that before. I get it, you're being so aggressive because you're scared to let anyone in…you've been hurt to many times by the one man that you thought you could trust."
The ascended hissed at me and charged at me. I held one hand up to Bone-lasher to still it and the other hand up to the ascended. Both stopped mere inches from my hand. I looked at each of then then placed my hands on their heads.
My farm crystal turned from bright red to a tranquil green. I gasped as I saw the entirely of their lives, flashing before my eyes like a movie. After Lulu'nala left Tarrika became more unstable and violent. He started taking his anger for being looked down on in the village out on the ascended, beating him, cutting him, whipping him, making it feel smaller and smaller. Then Raziri was born and the abuse was heightened. The jealousy of his daughters gifts drive him further into the darkness until the ascended could no longer recognize Tarrika as the young boy who wanted to defend him.
The ascended suffered so much at the hands of Tarrika and Raziri. When her father beat her for being too brilliant she be him for being the only thing she could hurt. The reel sped through the events after its transformation into a ascended somewhat in a haze, under the constant and iron clad control of Tarrika until the fight in the village when I tried to take control and it saw me.
The reel ended and both Bone-lasher and the ascended recoiled from my touch and shared a look before staring at me. I looked at both Bone-lasher and the ascended and sighed.
[GET OUT STAR KEEPER!] Tarrika's voice boomed and the bright red color returned to my farm crystal.
"MAKE ME TARRI!" I yelled in no direction in particular. The ascended flinched and coiled up defensively.
[DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT! ONLY LULU'NALA CAN CALL ME THAT!!!]
"Well Grandma Lulu would be so disappointed at you!" I exclaimed.
[Grandma…?]
"Lulu'nala was my grandmother. She is the strongest bravest, most courageous woman I know. It obvious from your evo's memories that you cared a lot about her but the woman I know wouldn't be able to look at you." I continued.
A figured formed in the emptiness and towered over Bone-lasher, the Ascended and I. Bone-lasher growled and moved between myself and the figure. I stared at the figure defiantly. Several stories above us I could just make our the face of the figure. It was stretched out and nearly transparent, twinkling nova's and stars glistened in its eyes.
I glanced back at the ascended and saw how It cowered in the figures presence and then it dawned on me.
'This is how the ascended sees Tarrika. As a massive and all powerful being. Despite the fact that the ascended towers over Tarrika, the years of abuse and manipulation had taken its hold on the evo.
[Ah. I see now…you have her eyes.] Tarrika said.
Normally I would feel a warm feeling come over for having someone compare me to my grandmother but I only felt bile rise up in my throat. The ascended's memories of Tarrika were still fresh in my mind, yes Tarrika had suffered a lot of abuse at the hands of the village but it didn't give him a right to abuse the ascended.
"And her sense of justice." I said then looked back at the ascended and placed my hand on his head. My crystal changed from red to green again as I shared my memories with the ascended.
It's eyes glossed over as I showed it my life in the states. All the pain, heart ache, and abandonment I felt at the hands of townspeople and my brother. I also showed it all the love I had received from my parents, my grandfather and my grandmother.
[What are you doing?] Tarrika asked. I ignored him and kept showing the ascended who I was. I felt the ascended try to access memories that I wasn't showing him but didn't stop it though tried to witness the memories myself. I felt the ascended halt its intrusion into the more private recesses of my mind. The light returned to the ascended's eyes then looked at Bone-lasher.
"You know me now, you know my pain and my joy. You know Bone-lasher too, the lives we've lived just as we've now know yours. Who would you rather be with us or Tarrika?" I asked.
[WHAAAAAAT!] Tarrika roared. [You honestly think you can steal my slave from me! I own it! I made it! I forged it in the blood of others! It can never leave me!]
"So you'd want him to think." I said then calmly looking up at Tarrika. "You've been attacking me and trying to force me out of his mind ever since you realized I was here instead of trying to take back control. That's because you can't control it while I'm here."
The sudden silence from Tarrika was all the confirmation I needed. The only reason he was able to cut my connection with the ascended was I was using my mana as anchors to try and control it now that I was making physical contact with its head he wouldn't be able to cut that connection without moving me. I smirked and looked down at the ascended.
"I'll make you a deal! The same deal I made with Bone-lasher. Work with me and you'll never have to listen to Tarrika again. I'll do my best to heal the damage you took thanks to my spell and we'll all bring Tarrika and Raziri to justice for what they've done!" I offered.
The ascended looked up at me almost hopefully but it's eyes fell to Tarrika's form and fear clouded their eyes. I moved into block the ascended's view of his tormentor.
[YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME! I CREATED YOU! I OWN YOU! I WON'T LOSE THE KEY TO MY REVENGE!] Tarrika roared.
"Revenge is overrated…" I said then held my hand out to the ascended. "…it doesn't fill the hole in your heart or bring back the ones you lost."
For the first time since I entered the ascended sonic vipers mind I felt a rush of emotions washing over me. Sadness, fear, pain, but most of all hope as it flew at me and coiled around my arm.
Suddenly I was no longer in that vast expanse of the ascended sonic vipers mind but back in the vast cavern as the my farm crystal shined with a vibrant light and the ascended sonic viper was encased in a crystalline structure and absorbed into my farm crystal. I just barely managed to land on my feet as the ascended sonic viper disappeared.
I closed my right hand and looked down at my crystal. I could feel the ascended inside somehow, floating along inside its own personal space.
"Chase?!" Astrid yelled from her perch on the cliff above.
"Hey! I tamed it!" I yelled back up at her shaking my farm crystal.
"Of course you did…" Astrid sighed wearily.