Chapter 110 - Turning Point
I was left alone in that place as the rain drummed outside. The words I heard left me paralyzed.
"Cylla!" I whispered, looking at the hands that, just moments ago, had been holding Sisika.
"No... I... I lost someone... again," I murmured, feeling the warmth of the little girl's body fade from my hands.
I stayed seated there, the pieces slowly coming together in my mind. All the signs had always been there, but I hadn't noticed them. Sisika's mannerisms were identical to Cylla's. I couldn't speak, couldn't cry; I just curled up, burying my face in my knees.
"Cylla... Cylla... no... I lost you... I lost you."
I wiped away a tear that had slipped down my face and tried to stand, but my legs trembled under the weight of reality. I had lost someone from my family. With effort, I got up and walked to the bed in that place.
As I sat down, a bitter laugh escaped me, followed by sobs. "Why? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I asked myself. "You were with me every night... but now, I've lost you."
Now it's me who's left alone in this place...
I'm alone again...
"Sisika..."
I looked around the cabin and noticed some of the furniture had disappeared. The little table near the door was gone, and slowly, the place was emptying out.
"There's no one left to hold onto these memories..." I murmured, wiping away more tears. "Did you abandon me, Cylla? Did you leave me? Why?"
I stood up in the darkness and approached the fire. "Why didn't you tell me it was you? Why? I... I lost... my best friend."
The cabin began to tremble, and the ground beneath me was slowly disappearing, leaving me in a dark space. I didn't care what would happen next.
"I lost... I lost... I lost someone I love..."
I lay down on the cold ground as the rain began to fall on my face. The roof of the cabin had vanished. That rainy night reminded me of the night I met her. I had befriended her during a storm, and now, in another storm, I had lost her.
"You... left me..." I whispered.
"Who said I left you?" a voice echoed.
I sat up, searching for the source of that voice in the darkness.
"Sisika? Cylla?" I called.
The cabin had vanished, leaving me on a dirt floor, under the rain, next to a campfire.
"I'm here, silly," the voice said. "I told you to stay by my side until my last ember went out, and you kept that promise."
I moved closer to the fire. "Cylla! Sisika? Are you alive? I want to help you."
"Unfortunately, I'm no longer alive. This is the last remnant of what's left of me."
I touched the fire, and it didn't burn me.
"I told you, Nathan. People are their memories and soul; the body is just a vessel for them. That's all I am now, something without a body. But now, I don't have much time. I need to get you out of this place, my beloved."
"I don't want to leave you."
The flame rose from the fire, floating and forming a small sphere of light. "You won't be leaving me. Because I've always been with you, and I always will be."
"I don't understand," I murmured, touching the small sphere of fire.
"I am Cylla, and at the same time, I'm not."
"I don't care, I want you to come with me."
The small sphere of fire let out a soft laugh.
"You still don't understand. Your Cylla is alive and waiting for you in your room. We are both part of the same essence. I am the end, and she is the beginning. I am the creature, and she is the egg."
"How is that possible?"
"You know how this works; you have the friendship of a Moon Panther, remember?"
I paused, thinking for a moment. The memory of when I was five years old, with my aunt explaining the longevity of a Moon Panther, came back to me.
"The Inheritance ability? Like Carnellian's?"
"Exactly! I told you, I am a reincarnator. However, my reincarnation is different from what happened with you. I'm in my final moments as Sisika, but your phoenix friend is my offspring... my heir. Cylla and I have always been connected. I saw everything she saw and felt everything she felt... Now, I'm transferring all my power to her. Unfortunately, I will cease to exist, at least in this form as Sisika. One day, when she's ready, she will be able to access my true power, my true form, and my memories. But until then, she will remain in her egg stage."
My mind calmed a bit, but the fear of losing her still lingered. "Was it you that day at the noble's mansion, leaving that feather? If both of you existed at the same time... then it was you who came to see me?"
"Yes, I was the one watching over you. In fact, I've been looking after you for a long time. I've always been nearby to protect you."
Thunder began to echo in the sky. "We don't have much time, we need to move quickly." The small sphere of fire began to float away, and I ran to follow it. The entire place started to shake as we neared the corridor of trees.
"Nathan, the Phoenix is my juvenile form, my cocoon. My true beast form... It's up to you to discover that with her, but be careful. If something happens to you and she cannot save you, I hope, for the sake of everyone, that never happens... Because, if it does, this world will know the wrath of a legendary being... And I won't be there to be the voice of reason and stop her."
We entered the corridor of trees, and I followed her into the darkness. The trees around us trembled, and behind me, everything was closing in, plunging into darkness.
"Faster!" she called out, and I quickened my pace.
"Nathan, be careful with the creature in your eyes. It's something ancient and dangerous. Its job is to guard the power that is hidden. You must learn to coexist with it if you wish to wield that power. It has accepted you as its bearer, which surprised me. But that doesn't mean your journey will be easy," she said, and I kept running.
The entire place was falling apart, and I could hear the sound of the ground splitting around us.
"What is this that you've given me?"
"I told you, they are the Celestial Eyes. But these eyes are different from all others. They hold the soul of the creature that was their original owner. I can't tell you anything more than that," said the sphere of fire as we ran through the dark corridor.
We stopped in front of a massive tree with a hollow in its trunk. "This is where we say goodbye."
"What!? You're not coming with me?"
The sphere of fire floated closer to my face. "I will cease to exist and fall asleep within your Cylla. She will carry my memories, locked inside her. Some of my kind can reincarnate once through the Inheritance, and I'm doing that through her, slowly transferring my power. However, it will remain sealed for her own good."
I reached out to touch the small sphere of fire, and it moved close to my nose as if giving me a kiss.
"Nathan, you need to master the Six Celestial Aspects. I'm giving you a difficult mission, and I'm sorry for that. Once you master the Six Aspects, you will be able to evolve these eyes into something unique. Be careful with the power of the guardian; even I don't know what it does or what it can grant you. The only thing I know about are the Aspects. The Celestial Aspects are: Body, Soul, Time, Space, Life, and Death. The enemy doesn't have the power to reach this part of the world yet, but you must master and understand this power to protect yourself for the day when they do. I'm giving you these eyes so no ill-intentioned person can have them and so that you can defend yourself."
"Protect myself from what? Who are you, really?"
"To protect you from the darkness that is coming. They are corrupted beings, the enemies of my people and your people, enemies of those humans from the other continent. All of you are in grave danger. They will come to consume everything until nothing remains. I am a phoenix, Nathan. But the little you know about phoenixes is only a fraction of our secret. All you need to know is that I was once a warrior, but I can't tell you anything more than that… I need you to stay safe. Cylla will be watching over you, and I want you to take care of her as well."
The sphere of fire moved closer to my eyes, as if it were staring at me.
"You are the guardian of the bearer, remember that!" she said, but I knew those words weren't meant for me.
In the darkness of my mind, I glimpsed something immense and formless; my brain couldn't comprehend what it was. A massive white creature appeared, then retreated back into the darkness.
"He is an ancient being, Nathan. His soul survived within the Celestial Eyes, sealing a pact to continue existing. He would be the guardian of the bearer, but only of those he deems worthy."
As I opened my mouth to ask more, the small sphere of fire kissed my forehead, spreading a gentle warmth through my body.
"My kind live for a very long time and rarely fall in love, but when we do, we never abandon it. We love someone for what's inside. I... I ended up falling in love with your soul. When I first saw you, you were a lonely young boy, holding someone dead in your arms, feeling like the world made no sense. I saw a boy isolated in a desolate place, crying as nature cried with him. That boy carried an endless loneliness, a coldness in his soul that froze all his emotions. When I saw that boy... I knew I couldn't leave him like that... and that's how I fell in love. Since I found you here, I've spent my days by your side, never leaving you, so that you would never feel the chill of that loneliness again. Even if I have to hold onto you and embrace you by force... know that I do it to bring warmth and try to melt the sadness that still lingers within you."
As she finished speaking, the sphere of fire weakened, and a strong wind blew.
"Wait! I want to stay with you!" I shouted, as something pulled me deeper.
"I will always be with you, my beloved. Make beautiful memories with me," the sphere of fire said as it faded.
I tried to run toward her, desperate to keep her flame alive in my hands. But something yanked me back, and I felt a strange heat snort behind me.
"Foolish bearer!" a voice shouted. "If you stay here, you'll die!"
Something dragged me, throwing me into the darkness of the tree's hollow. As I fell into the darkness, I saw a gigantic, monstrous white face. It was larger than anything I had ever seen. An immense beast, waiting for me in that shadowy place. It moved back into the darkness, hiding itself once again. The little I saw of its body was indescribable; its vastness defied any interpretation.
"I am the living Ouroboros... remember that well, fool. I will sleep for a long time, so don't try to get yourself killed again... bearer."