Despair gnawed at Rezak as he slumped onto a rock. He'd scoured every inch of the area where the red-haired man had sent him flying, searching for any sign of Sera, but the ground remained stubbornly silent. He stared down at the blade in his hand, its metal glinting mockingly in the fading sunlight.
"We still have time," Delena's small voice broke the silence, her hand landing gently on his shoulder. "The plan is to weaken The Creator with this knife."
Rezak had witnessed the power firsthand. The blade had blistered the red-haired man's skin, a feat impossible for any ordinary weapon. He'd seen the man skin hares, even murder a woman and her husband in a fit of rage, yet nothing had left such a mark. The red-haired man was filled with Destruction, and the blade had harmed it.
What could possibly hold such power, defy Destruction itself? He resented Sera and the chief for withholding the truth, for making him follow blindly. He hated himself more for questioning nothing, simply accepting her words. A fool, he was.
Turning the blade, his gaze fell on the mark on his wrist. The ancient symbol of cosmic balance, Creation and Destruction intertwined.
A spark ignited in his mind. "It's a weapon of Creation!" he exclaimed; his voice hoarse with sudden understanding.
Delena stared at him from the shadows, her face unreadable.
"The Creator forged this blade from his own lingering power," Rezak reasoned, piecing together the puzzle in his head. "Creation to counter Destruction." It felt right, the missing piece clicking into place.
"I don't understand," Delena whispered.
Rezak looked down at the girl, her innocence a stark contrast to the harsh reality he now faced. He couldn't blame her for her confusion. Moments ago, he himself would have dismissed it as the ramblings of a vengeful god. But now, it all made sense. The Creator, mistakenly or intentionally, had infused her with Destruction, turning her into a threat.
"Have you heard the tale of the king and his monkey?" he asked, hoping to find a way to explain.
Delena rolled her eyes. "Of course. The king trusted his pet monkey with his sword while he slept, only to wake up with the monkey brandishing it at him."
"Something like that, Delena," Rezak said, his voice soft. "I know it's a terrible comparison, but the Creator is the king, and your mother… she's the monkey."
"But the king let the monkey go once he got his sword back," Delena protested, a flicker of hope in her eyes.
Rezak wished he could offer that same hope, but the truth gnawed at him. The Creator was gone, taking Sera with him. He held the only weapon capable of weakening their enemy, but hope felt like a distant dream.
"I can still feel her," Delena declared, her voice firm despite the fear in her eyes. "I know where she is."
Rezak frowned. "What did you say?"
"It doesn't make sense," she admitted, her brow furrowed. "There's a… connection. I feel it from you, from my mother, and even the red-haired man."
He offered her the blade, watching as her small hand grasped the hilt. His eyes widened in surprise.
"It's different," she whispered, her voice filled with wonder. "Wait, I can… reach its core."
Rezak's heart pounded in his chest. "Listen, girl," he began, his voice grave. "Things are worse than you can imagine. Your mother…" He hesitated, unable to bear the weight of the words. "I don't think she's… I think she's gone."
"No!" Delena cried, her eyes blazing with defiance. "Give me time, I can feel her. There!"
Before Rezak could react, a blinding light erupted from the blade, engulfing them both in its radiance.
**********************
"Please," Sera rasped, her voice cracking with desperation. "Stop it."
The flames within her roared, a tempest threatening to erupt and engulf everything in its path. Hatred, a venomous serpent, coiled tight within her, fueled the inferno. The wall she'd built, fractured by years of pain, teetered on the brink of collapse. With every ounce of will, she fought to contain the destructive power, the heat rising within her like a consuming fever.
"That's the spirit, Sera," the Creator's voice echoed, laced with sinister amusement. "The struggle makes it all the sweeter. But your defiance is futile. Surrender to the power, let it consume you."
Sera trembled; her body wracked by tremors. The heat intensified, turning her skin into a furnace. And then, another memory surfaced, vivid and horrifying – the town reduced to ashes, the screams of her victims echoing in her ears. Her husband, Meroz, his lifeless form cradled in her arms…
The wall shattered. Destruction surged through her veins, an unstoppable torrent.
Her body became a beacon of fiery rage, the power radiating outwards, scorching the very air itself.
"Yes!" The Creator exulted, his voice a twisted hymn to her despair. "Embrace it! Let it define you!"
She saw Meroz again, his eyes glazing over, his hand slipping from hers. And then, Delena, her precious child, standing amidst the inferno, untouched.
An invisible force ripped through her, tearing the Destruction from her grasp. She collapsed, her head hitting the cold earth with a thud.
"No!" The Creator roared, his voice a thunderous tremor that shook the very foundations of the world.
Sera gasped, sweat soaking her clothes, leaving her weak and drained. The fight had sapped her strength, leaving her with no will to resist. "End me," she whispered, her voice barely a breath.
"You were never my true adversary, Sera," the Creator's voice, now devoid of amusement, echoed in the silence. "You were but a pawn, a tool that dared to rebel. A thorn easily removed. But your daughter, Delena… she is the true threat."