"Carmen is permanently blind," the one-eyed sister clarified.
My mouth was hanging open, my eyes were wide. I heard what she was saying, but I didn't really know how to respond. It was a crazy experience. To know something that terrible had happened to the last one you love in the world, but at the same time know that it could have been much worse. Even still, you can't help but be upset.
Rust nodded to the two girls with an expression like, "give him a minute."
They all left me be so that I could process what I had just heard.
I thought about a bunch of stuff. How I could have kept this from happening, how I messed up, how she was going to be blind from this point on because of me.
I slapped myself. These kinds of thoughts were not going to help anybody.
I stood up and went over to Rust.
"Where is she?" I asked.
"We'll take you to her," Rust told me.
-
He warped us to a hospital where apparently Carmen was currently in a recovery room. I walked in and saw her parents and brother standing or sitting around the room somewhere. Worried looks on their faces. But they also looked like they were in shock a bit.
I took a step forward toward Carmen who was sitting up with a bandage around her eyes.
"Hey, Carmen," I said gently as I knelt beside her bed.
Her family looked up from the floor and saw me.
"Nierix," Carmen said with relief. "I was a little worried."
"You never have to worry about me," I told her. "I thought I told you that."
"That's not how it works."
I smiled, but it faded fast.
"Carmen," I said. "I'm so sorry."
"For what?"
"I couldn't protect you." I put my forehead on the edge of her bed. "I tried to live my life like you and everyone else told me I should, but it still resulted in someone close to me getting hurt."
"And what part of this was your fault?" She asked me gently, her hand finding my head and running her fingers through my hair. "Did you blind me? Did you force that man to attack me? All of this is a result of you making enemies, yes, but that is going to happen, Nierix, when you do good things. When you live a life that the Ancient of Days can look at you and smile for, you are going to make enemies. And those enemies are going to try and hurt you. So don't blame yourself, Nierix. None of this is your fault."
I had nothing to say in response to that. I just left my head where it was and kept my silence.
-
"I don't believe I caught your names," I said to the two sisters after we had left the hospital.
"Ah, that's our bad," the one-eyed sister said with a wide smile. "My name is Tatem Dei Luscus." She put her arm around my shoulders, getting uncomfortably close to me. She seemed like the type to be overly friendly in other ways too. "I think you and I will get along just fine."
I didn't like the way she was looking at me.
I stepped away and looked at the other one. She was very pretty as well. I wondered if that was one of the requirements to be in the King's Sisters. She was shorter than Tatem and myself by a few inches, but she had an athletic build. Like a gymnast. She had blonde hair tied back into a ponytail and green eyes.
She kind of glared at me, but I couldn't tell if she was angry or if it was just the way she looked.
"My name is Samantha," she said simply.
"Nice to meet you both," I said, somewhat awkwardly.
Samantha turned back to Rust, while Tatem smiled again.
Rust stopped, turned and looked at me. "The war really begins for you now, doesn't it?"
I was silent, then I nodded.
"I'm not just gonna let this slide."
He sighed and nodded to Samantha, who nodded in return.
"Okay then," he said as she warped away. "In that case, we can go all out now."
"Why couldn't you go all out before?" I asked.
"I don't know why, but Terminus told us that we weren't to use everything at our disposal until you were sure that that was what you wanted to do."
I was confused. Why would Terminus say that?
"He pulls the strings like no one I've ever seen, but I can't help but feel like he's got something to gain from all of this himself, like maybe he isn't as much of a 'King of Heroes' as he wants everyone to believe," I remembered Corbin saying.
Was it possible that Corbin was right?
I shook my head, I could worry about that later.
"No holds barred," I restated my point.
"Very well," Rust said, his face darkening. "We will show no more mercy. We will bring this war to a swift end."
-
To say that Rust was scary would be a understatement. He was terrifying.
He warped us to his manor. More specifically, his war-room. Around the table were Xorn, Bricin, Skie, Lily, the Entertainment Master, and others. Upon Rust's arrival, they all knelt.
"Lord Rust," Bricin addressed. "We await your orders."
"Indeed," he noted. "I order all of you, as King of Sonatum and Lord of the Thirteen Cities, to cease your half-hearted attacks, and withdraw from your mercy. I order you, with all of the power vested in me, to slay the enemy. Each and every one of them. I grant you permission to Stain the Rift Red."
All of them looked slightly surprised at this but said nothing of it. Instead, nodding and warping away.
Rust left as well.
I looked at Tatem. "What was so special about that phrase?"
"What? Staining the Rift Red?" She asked for clarification.
I nodded.
"Well, Staining the Rift was thought to be impossible until a man by the name of Caelis Ultima accomplished it in the First Age," she answered.
"How did he do it?"
"He slaughtered trillions, possibly hundreds of trillions, Lord Scribe," she said. "Single-handedly. He is easily the most powerful person to have walked the Rift to date. As well as the most evil. The Golden Tyrant of Red Rivers was not crossed by any. Lato himself feared him."
"So to stain the Rift, one would need to kill an exponential amount of people," I clarified.
She nodded. "At least, to stain it red. But it doesn't stay red. It fades to white again over time, most of the stains left by Caelis Ultima are gone now."
I nodded absently. "So, was the term just kind of coined after that by some of the Riftal leaders to signal when they wanted or were allowing a massacre of another's army?"
She bobbed her head from side to side. "Yeah."
I was about to ask what her head bob was about, but then she told me that we should join Rust.
We landed in the Forest of Almer, a world covered in one massive forest with rivers and ponds dotting its surface, supplying the trees with the necessary water.
As we wandered it, we passed by many corpses with rusted iron spikes run through their bodies at random angles. Actually, not quite run through their bodies, more like they had emerged from the victim's bodies.
It was a strange and quite grotesque sight. we finally came to Rust who was holding a man by the throat and interrogating him.
"I swear, I don't know why Latorakena wants Tritan," he said, seemingly begging for mercy. "He does not tell us his plans; we simply follow orders."
"Indeed," Rust replied scornfully. "And this blind obedience of yours will result in your death."
The man started to scream but was cut off by the same spikes we had seen from the other men emerging from his body.
Rust dropped the man to the ground.
Tatem walked up behind him and said nothing.
"Tritan Lockett," Rust began, without prompt or explanation. "Is a major player in the times to come, Terminus has told me this. He is a Chosen. Not one of extraordinary power, as I hear, but strong enough."
"What makes him so important then?" I asked.
"I do not know," I have not met him, nor have I had anything to do with his interactions with potential enemies of his until now."
"So, essentially, you are doing the same thing as these soldiers."
Tatem shot me a warning glance, but it was too late, Rust had whirled around and I saw the bloodlust in his eyes.
I returned the glare with an equal amount of bloodlust.
He was taken aback, recollected himself, and chuckled. "The stress of war has affected us."
"I would have to agree," I said with a nod, but still watching him.
"Perhaps you are right," Rust conceded. "But what more can one do?"
"Ask questions," I told him. "Terminus does not need to go unquestioned in his plans, tactics, or motives."
He humphed. "Perhaps."
"All of that being said, if you continue to fight like this, I cannot see this war lasting much longer."
"I would agree if I did not know Lato."
"Fair enough."
Rust crossed his arms.
I stroked my chin.
"Lato has a flare for the dramatic," Rust noted. "It is possible that he will save most of his strength for a surprise attack."
"I have to agree with you on that point," I said with a nod.
"I would have to disagree with both of you," Terminus said, appearing from behind a tree. "Lato will arrive here in these woods shortly if he acts as I have predicted."
"In response to what?" I asked.
He looked me straight in the eye with his dead eyes. "You."
And then all Hell broke loose.