Realm of Monsters - Chapter 721: I Remember

Chapter 721: I Remember

  Bellum looked down from the sky at the rivers feeding into the lake surrounding Murkton. The water was churning and growing into a massive swell that threatened to crash into the Water Market and flood the entire city.

  “Lunae, if you do this, you’ll kill tens of thousands,” Bellum said.

  “And I’ll save countless more. Every generation of Sylvan people that will not have to grow up in Vulture Woods. They will get the chance to live their lives, instead of struggling to survive. For the first time in three centuries, they will grow old.”

  “You don’t have to genocide an entire city to save your people,” Bellum said.

  “There is no other way,” Lunae said, her face adamant.

  A silver comet of light shot into the sky and crashed into Lunae. Regalis reacted without hesitation, its silver threads forming a shield in front of her. The blue figure slammed into the orichalcum shield right before reaching her.

  “Stryg?” Lunae muttered, surprised. Her power faltered and the Regalis’ shield softened into threads.

  Stryg snatched her wrists and looked up at her, eyes hard with determination. “You have to stop this.”

  “I have to do this,” Lunae said.

  Bellum flew above him and swung her sword down at the two of them.

  “No!” Lunae spun Stryg around and used her back as a shield. Regalis tried to form a defense, but it was too late. The sword sliced through her shoulder, its black flames scorching her flesh.

  “Stop!” Stryg yelled. His silver wings flared and he shot higher into the sky, dragging Lunae with him. The wind roared in their ears and as they broke through the clouds.

  Lunae grimaced as blood trickled down her back and her arm. “You need to go. So long as you’re here, she’ll use you as a way to reach me.”

  “Then stop this war, you can stop it,” Stryg said.

  She shook her head. “I’m doing this for you.”

  “Lunae!” Bellum followed after them, her flaming sword poised to strike.

  “For Lunis.” The Goddess of the Moon raised her arm towards the heavens and swung it down like a hammer.

  The invisible barrier holding back the churning lake disappeared and the colossal swell rushed down into the Water Market.

  “No!” Bellum spun around and kicked off the air, shooting down into the city. She crashed into the Water Market and rushed to its broken gates. Chaos surged through her body as she plunged her sword into the water.

  Golden flames erupted from the blade and her body, evaporating the water underneath her feet. The flames roared to life, swirling around her until she resembled the sun, blaring with light and heat. The incoming waves crashed into the wall of fire, exploding into a storm of water and flames, the sea-green of the lake clashing against the golden light of the sun.

  The incoming waves only grew as one by one they hit the Water Market’s gates. Bellum roared in defiance even as she fell to one knee. Lunae watched from above, her expression resigned. The full moon filled her with power while Bellum’s power continued to be depleted.

  “She will not be able to hold on for long,” Lunae noted.

  “You have to stop,” Stryg said.

  “I can’t. You’ll understand one day, Stryg.”

  He looked her in the eyes. “I do understand. Luma.”

  She stiffened, eyes wide. “What did you say?”

  “That’s your name, isn’t it? Luma.”

  “It’s Lunae.” Her voice grew tight, “Goddess of your people. Watcher of the Realm. I-It… It’s the one…” she swallowed hard, “It’s the one name you should learn properly.”

  Stryg smiled and held up his palm, the Sigte scar in plain sight. “I found you, Luma.”

  “You found me,” she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. “How?”

  “The book of memories my foremothers left me. I saw Stryga Veres’ past. I saw the burning of Lunis. I saw my father. I saw you.” He grabbed her dark grey hand, his fingers small within her palm. “And I found my own memories, as well.”

  “All of them?” she whispered, her voice trembling.

  “All of them. There are so many. I haven’t been able to make sense of them all, not yet, but I know who you are. And I finally know who I am.”

  “Do you know what I’ve done…?”

  Stryg glanced at the Sigte scars on his palm and hers. “I do.”

  Lunae couldn’t meet his eyes and stared at her feet, instead. Tears flowed freely down her face. “I… I’m so sor—”

  “You fed me. You played with me. Taught me about the world. How to write and read in the arcana language. How to hunt. You told me stories. You kept me warm on cold nights. Sang me songs until I fell asleep. You loved me.”

  Her expression broke and she shook her head, “No, I— I destroyed the bond.”

  “You protected me as best you could.”

  “I fractured your mind,” she whimpered.

  “I told you, I won’t forget you, no matter what.”

  “I’m sorry, Little One. I’m so sorry. I—” she broke into tears.

  “It’s okay,” he flew up and wrapped his arms around her neck, and embraced her. “It’s okay.”

  “No. No,” she cried and tried to pull away. “You should hate me for what I did. I was supposed to protect you and instead I hurt you.”

  Stryg held on to her tightly.  “I don’t hate you. I hated that you died. I hated that I could never see Sigte again. But you’re alive. And this time, I’m not leaving you, Mom.”

  “Forgive me,” she sobbed into his shoulder.

  Stryg kissed her cheek and hugged her tighter, tears slipping down his face. “I forgave you a long time ago.”

  They embraced each other for a long moment above the clouds, silent save for their muffled cries. The pain she had been holding onto for the last six years dissipated like chains slipping off her body.

  “You have to stop this war, Mom,” Stryg broke the silence.

  She opened her eyes and looked down at the city, though she did not let go of her son. “I’m trying to create a future for you and the Sylvan people.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m avenging all the people we lost.”

  “I know. I saw my great-grandmother’s memories. I saw what her armies and the orcs’ armies did to this place. But not everyone in this city is like them. There are good people here, too. I’ve seen them. I’ve met them.”

  “…Even so, if we let some of them live, they’ll flee and one day come back with an army to avenge their ancestors. I have to stop the cycle here and protect our people.”

  “Then stop them from fleeing in the first place.”

  “What?”

  “Let them stay in the city. Lunis once invited the stranded orcs of the realm to stay in this city and live with them. Why not let it be so again?”

  “The orcs betrayed us.”

  “As did the Ebon Lords. But you aren’t killing my mother for what others did in the past.”

  “She’s different.”

  “And the people down there can be different, too. If you give them the chance. People can change. Stryga changed.”

  “…And if they don’t? If they rebel?”

  “You are the Goddess of the Moon. If anyone can stop them, it’s you.”

  “I couldn’t stop them last time. Thousands died.”

  “Last time you were weakened after your battle with Solis. And you were betrayed by Hollow Shade, Katag, and Morrigan. This time things will be different.”

  “…If I am to prevent rebellion, then there are many who still need to die in this city before Lunis can ever truly be reborn.”

  “Then we’ll kill them and spare the rest.”

  “Even if we do, there will always be a risk.”

  “I know,” Stryg admitted.

  Lunae leaned back and looked at her son with a half-smile. “You’ve grown, Little One, but you’re still so small,” she brushed his cheek with her thumb. 

  “You’re just really big,” he said, somewhat annoyed.

  She chuckled. “…Very well. We will do it your way.”

~~~

  The roiling waves in the lake below began to subside. Yet much damage had already been done. Though Bellum had stopped the waves from crashing into the Water Market, several smaller canals had been flooded by the lake on other sides of the walled city, leaving various neighborhoods flooded.

  Bellum shot into the air and flew above the city, surveying the damage. For reasons she still did not understand, Lunae had spared the city.

  A pair of silver wings and a woman flying on moonlight caught her attention. Bellum followed after them as they landed down on one of the roofs of Morrigan Castle. To her surprise, they weren’t the only ones there.

  Belle sat on the rooftop with a few of her mortal friends. Lord Morrigan sat on his knees, head hung, arms tied behind his back with rope. His usual scarlet skin was pale and his dark hair had begun to fall in clumps. Blood stained his shirt from where Stryg had impaled him with his claws.

  “Grand aunty! Cousin! Hi!~” Belle waved excitedly at Stryg and Lunae, as if she wasn’t covered in wounds from head to toe. “Cool wings, how did you get them?”

  Stryg glanced at his own wings that were already starting to fall apart in silvery motes of light. “I’m not exactly sure?”

  “Belle, what happened to you? What is the meaning of all of this?” Bellum landed on the roof, arms crossed.

  “Ah! Mom, I, uh, it’s a long story?” Belle winced.

  Bellum glanced at Lunae, the two shared a long, tense moment before nodding to one another. “Explain,” Bellum demanded.

  “Um, well,” Belle scratched her cheek. “This asshole,” she kicked Corvus with her foot, “Tried to kidnap Stryg, so we got into this big fight. Bunch of people fought. It was pretty fun. I got stabbed a couple of times. I killed some people. Stryg stabbed this asshole and left him to bleed out. After I got my hands on him, Freya suggested we use him as a hostage. I wanted to keep fighting, but Callum and Kithina begged me to stop, so I did. 

  “The castle’s soldiers stopped attacking us because we had their lord, so that was that. We were just going to hold out underground until this all was over, but then water started flooding the tunnels, so we climbed up to the roof. I thought it was the best place to wait out the storm or something,” Belle finished explaining.

  Bellum pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “And you didn’t think at any point in time to inform any of my hundreds of agents in this city to help you?”

  “Pfft. How was I supposed to find them? I was a little busy if you didn’t notice,” Belle gestured at herself.

  “I gave you that bracelet on your wrist. It’s enchanted so that when you twist the gem, it will send out an alarm to every agent in the Ebon Order within two leagues. Which, in this case, is quite literally hundreds of agents and me,” Bellum pointed at her own bracelet.

  Belle glanced at her wrist and then back at her mother. “Ah. I forgot.”

  Bellum’s eye twitched. “I should drown you in the lake.”

  “My lady,” Corvus coughed up blood. “I can explain.”

  “Oh?” Bellum cocked an eyebrow.

  Lunae stepped forward. “You will explain to me.”