Chapter 29: My Last Chance.
It was finally over. In the end I couldn't even tell how long it took. Years, decades, centuries. For what was probably an instant to them was so long for me. And now finally I was released.
"Wake up," the voice sounded pained. "You're not done yet."
My eyes opened. A completely white room, or to be more precise, world. I was lying on the ground. Slowly the sensations of life began to ebb into me. It really did feel like I hadn't felt this way in years.
"Why can't I just die?" I said out loud. Despite my complaints the feeling of life quickly spread through my body spurred by the Goddess standing above me.
"Because in the bottom of your being you don't want to," the voice said in pity.
"I'm pretty sure I did," I rose to a sitting posture.
"Don't lie."
"I'm not lying," I struggled to my feet.
"Then why stand back up?"
I sighed, "I don't like you looking down on me."
The Goddess stood before me, a strange shifting figure, her voice ever changing as usual, "I'm sorry it took so long. I could only bring you here when your soul was broken."
"So I'm dead?"
"Not yet."
"Last time I checked, broken soul was dead."
"No, a broken soul is worse than death."
"Oh that makes it so much better," I glared at her. "What did you want with me anyway? Do you want to make another bargain?"
"Is that what you're hoping for?" she smiled.
I turned to silence. Is that what I wanted? Another chance on top of all the others I had already taken? What was the point? For a moment my mind was silent but then like a soft breeze it resounded. I really do love you. Taylor's word rang in my head. The image of Lara came soon after, not her as the Hero but her as I knew as Jane. The bright girl with red hair. She didn't deserve what happened to her. Neither did Ronalt, Earnest or Taylor who died. Worse still I knew the fate of the world if no one stopped her. A dystopia ruled by a single killing machine.
"Fine, I admit it, let's bargain," I faced the Goddess.
"This is the third time," she laughed. "I wonder what I'll take."
"What can you give me?"
She paused, "Not as much as before. Crossing worlds twice has already made you unstable. The most I can do is send you back."
"How far?"
"Hmm," she stepped closer and placed her hands on my cheeks. The warmth spread through me fully revitalising my crushed spirit. "I'm not sure. You'll have to find out when I do."
"What's the cost?" I was prepared to lose everything.
She tapped my chest, "Your curse, your gift, however you call it, I will take it."
I laughed, "You might be doing me a favour there."
"Perhaps but know this. When you die, you will be gone forever. This is your last chance."
"Do it," I smirked. "No matter what happens, I'll make sure to fix that world."
The figure of the Goddess shifted revealing her true self. A being beyond what I could understand, a beauty unparalleled that I couldn't fathom. She smiled and for a moment I though my mind world disappear in her embrace. Then as quickly as I had seen it, the sensation vanished.
"It is done," the figure stepped back.
"Thank you," I kneeled before her.
"Showing reverence now?"
"This is the third time after all," I smiled.
"Good luck and good bye… Caius."
"I prefer Rain." With that the world collapsed sending me to my final life.
*
My vision returned suddenly. A pleasant sensation on my shoulder and side. I was sitting on the ground, Taylor cuddled beside me. In front of my eyes Earnest was playing with the children of Axel.
"Sorry to disturb the moment but Rain, I did come here for a reason," Lane's voice finished my wakening.
I blinked, "What's up?"
"Mattias has mail for you. It's from the Capital."
"Right…," so this is where I was sent back to. Before we had left for the Empire. It wasn't as much time as I would have liked. I stood up together with Taylor. "I'll go see what it is now."
As we walked my steps were uneven and I continued to look at Taylor beside me. She was alive again. The memory of her dying was painfully clear. I couldn't let that happen again.
"Is something wrong?" Taylor faced towards me. "Why do you keep looking at me?"
I postured myself in front of her and kissed her deeply on the lips. As we separated I smiled, "I really do love you."
"Eh?" her face reddened and a severe blush took over as she flustered. "Really? Ah, I mean, of course you do haha… but really?" her eyes flicked to mine seeking acceptance, a small fear lingering as if I'd take back those words.
"Yep," I rested my forehead on hers. "So much so that I don't want to let you go."
I could feel her heart hammering through her chest. She gulped, "Well you already know how I feel. Umm, if you want we can- we can head to your room."
"Let's talk to Mattias first."
"R-really? Like seriously?" She looked at me with a vivid desire and I nodded. Her flush intensified, "You talk to Mattias. I-I'm going to get ready." Before I could stop her she dashed away. I wondered if it was that part of her I fell in love with. No, it was all of her.
I talked to Mattias and went through the same conversation. However I adjusted my reply to the Queen. Things needed to be done differently and this is where it would start. It was too late to stop Lara from being controlled no matter how much I wanted to. She was too far away. Which meant I had to face her and to face her I needed all the help I could get. As I organized my thoughts I went to my room. For now, I had someone else to take care of.
*
"Umm Taylor aren't you a little too happy?" I looked at the girl cuddling into my side. We were riding the front of the carriage and had just left Axel, Earnest sleeping inside. It was the early evening of the same day we received the Empire's invitation.
"Haha am I?" she smiled, or really had been since this morning.
"Yeah you are…." So much so that my family in Axel could easily guess what had transpired.
She kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear, "You really do always go above my expectations." Well that was because, while my lives as Rain and Jane didn't have much experience, my previous one had been less pious.
I gently pushed her away, "It's going to get busy from now on, so don't expect too much."
"Hmmm," she looked at me displeased. "By the way, where are we going? Shouldn't we be heading south to Waltersea Port?"
"Not yet," I replied and sighed. "There's someone else we need to pick up first."
"Who?" she asked curiously. "A friend?"
"You could say that…."
"One of these days you're really going to have to tell me all your secrets." She poked my arm, "As much as I like a mystery, I'd prefer to know you better."
"Soon I promise," I rubbed her head and faced forwards. We were heading North, not to Greytree but a place in between, a place that had been long forgotten by the world or at least most of it.
We travelled until late into the night and slept in the carriage. Usually it would have been dangerous due to the denizens and both Earnest and Taylor said their concerns, however the denizens were no longer a problem. It didn't even matter where we camped anymore. As I was now they'd leave us alone. In the morning we departed early and not long after drifted away from the road and towards the border forest.
Earnest and Taylor were on their guard as we passed through the thick trees that blocked out the sun. The path was barely more than a space between the trees as the carriage bumped over roots and foliage. Pina herself however was quite content to move through the rough surface. When we last came through here despite the eerie atmosphere I had felt at ease, now I knew why, and it was exactly for that reason I guided Pina through the forest.
After several more hours of travelling, barely fitting through the gaps in the trees we arrived. The forest opened revealing a more open space where the trees were taller and further apart. In between the flora, old housing broken and covered in moss spread across the clearing. The remains of a well, a paddock long since destroyed, a burnt out barn, a field now overgrown and rampant. What was once a thriving village now no more than a shelter for animals.
"Where are we?" Taylor asked as I stopped the carriage.
"My birth place," I spoke wistfully and disembarked.