亚洲综合中美

“Cousin,” side-glanced Igna, “-you’re very much quiet.”

“Someone very politely asked me to shut up, I figured I’d remain quiet...”

“Haha,” he gave a straight-faced laugh and held the palms relatively close and left space for a strangely shaped orb of purple, black, white, pink, and in-between hues. Similarly, an exact barrier extended over the manor – time stopped, select few individuals walked.

“Cousin?”

“Fret not,” he shuffled to the broken bar, reached over the tipped counter and pulled a bottle of bronze-colored whiskey, “-shall I pour you a drink?” he casually tapped and restored two shattered whiskey tumblers, “-join me,” the hands swayed and rebuilt the bar with ease. Julius watched, “-should we not?” the body turned towards Raphael.

“Leave the man alone,” he said, “-an angel takes a few tries to get started.”

.....

“Please,” he added, “-I’m only slow because of the sudden increase of power. Going full throttle’s very hard on the body.”

“Right,” he lifted the cup, “-to a good recovery.” The archangel gave a muted clap and summoned various entities, cloud-shaped mists fluttered from patient to patient. By the time Julius arrived, Igna downed three glasses.

“You’re slow,” he said and pushed a drink.

“And you’re an alcoholic,” returned Julius, “-I’m confused, what’s happening?”

“Extension of the Shadow Realm into the overworld. Honestly speaking, I prefer not to interfere with realms besides my own. Here, imagine the overworld is this glass,” he filled his about 75%, “-an this,” he held a handful of ice-cube, “-is the power from my realm,” the grip eased, dropping the cubes until it overflowed, “-the ice’s bothered and rests kindly on the drink. What’s lost,” referring to the spill, “-can’t be returned, no matter what. Now, take away the ice, and the level falls to below 75. Not to bother and add many details, here’s long-story-short, I hate using my true power for the reason of the overworld’s protection and stability. Affecting reality and changing the laws seems divine, and it is, in a way, divine for the god in charge of the domain, not me. By altering the realm’s rules, I’m erasing the governing deity’s authority. Creating objects from the use of my realm’s energy is fine and all – matters aren’t the same when souls are involved.”

“-Should I be scared?”

“Not really – instead of the backlash turning to the overworld, I’ve ensured something else gets the punishment instead.”

“Will Malley be alright?”

“Julius,” the tone lowered, “-let’s parle as Creation and Death. You’ve grown attached to the mortal realm – there are emotions and woe on thy visage. Tell me, do you regret setting foot here?”

“As heir to Creation, I haven’t used my powers for much. Frankly, part of me forgot I was heir to the strongest being. Still, I can’t but feel weak, this world, I’ve been a part of it for many decades – my face and skin say otherwise. The family we have is the best thing I’ve ever experienced, the adventures we went to build the great wall of Arda, to ensure the safety of the people whomst we owe service to. There were times when I wanted to run and hide, never to look back. I reached that breaking point when Malley decided to leave, I failed her plenty of times, and still, she came back, and I wanted her back. If not for our adventure, I would have never met the love of my life. I, one hundred percent say, I love her.”

“I’m glad,” he rocked the glass and sipped, “-I’m at a cross myself. Should I focus on nurturing my emotions or walk down the path of destruction? Countless foes stand in my way, our way. The world will only grow to be most troublesome. Granted, a simple request to my followers and I’d have an immortal army readied to attack and take over the world if push comes to shove. Here’s my moronic thought, I don’t care if I’m strong or not anymore. Times have changed – and I should change too, the problem is, I don’t know where to start. Should I save, should I care for my people only, or should I extend a helping hand to the needy?”

“Are you having an identity crisis?”

“Not really, the words spoken earlier truly rocked me. I was content on not using my power and letting Malley die – to watch our humble servants die in vain. I’m selfish,” he gulped, “-guess there’s not much difference between me and who I was before. Alfred,” he smirked, “-long are the days gone where I’d horn in on my enemy and make them suffer. I just shrug them off,” the bicolored pupils washed in greater scarlet, “-one thing’s for sure. Relaxed as I seem, my innards are on fire. Retribution will befall those ruined Laura’s ceremony, that, Julius, is my promise as the Cursed King,” in that small instant, Julius saw what many couldn’t; an unhampered fury – murderous couldn’t begin to describe the sheer violence. The glance gave goosebumps, “-Master,” a sudden call had Julius jump.

‘What’s wrong with you?’ said Igna through a crinkle of the forehead, “-Raphael, what’s the problem?” the duo shuffled into the common area.

“I’ve healed everyone,” he said, “-the dead have been revived, no one will die.”

“But?”

“Malley,” he pointed, “-her body’s alive as a vessel to the little one. If we bring her back, it’ll be at the expense of the little one, and if we perform surgery, there’s a chance the infant will die after birth.”

“...” naught save desolation, “-Cousin,” Julius reached with a lowered gaze and hung against Igna’s shoulder, “-save Malley. I saw it, you’ll take the backlash after the Realm is retracted, the penalty of altering fate is one we mustn’t poke. Plenty have been saved, I don’t-”

“Julius,” he side-glanced, “-shut your mouth, stupid. I didn’t go through all the trouble of expanding a grand barrier for nothing. I mean it when I say the Shadow Realm is almighty,” he looked to the right at the veranda and clapped, a fissure opened, hooves neighed, an undead armored horse leaped and landed. Atop the steed laid an armored figure clad in black armor. A short vault and seemingly tall entity landed shoulder-level against Igna. Heavy march, a silent stare, and the mark of death in a mist.

“Screw you,” the helmet lifted to a waterfall of blond hair, “-Igna, you’re an asshole.”

“Undrar, I’m sorry, I can explain.”

“No, no,” she launched forth and had a spear inch from the neck, “-there I was, chilling in the Hall of Rebirth, watching the angels of death transferring souls from humans to flies. Suddenly, the phone rings -a disturbances reported in the mortal dimension. I figured it was a cultist playing with some ancient artifact, I shrugged it off and continued to watch my soap, once more, the phone rings, this time, an apostle of the gods screamed and prayed for someone to help them in their time of need. I checked the globe and saw a massive dark area; my spine ran cold – titans and demons were reported to be in cahoots. Before I could say anything, the angels locked me in the armor and pushed me into the mortal realm. Don’t you realize the severity of thy realm, Igna? Outside looking in, it’s a fucking HORROR SHOW. The sky’s pitch-black, the weather’s deadly, winds are literally cracking windows, taking animals and trees, it’s a disaster. The ride was supposed to be simple; the mist and backlash have killed so many people, it’s insane. Floods through the streets, cars washed from their stand... all that would be forgotten,” her eyes narrowed, “-if you have kept Raphael’s greasy fingers from the deceased souls. Revival of the dead is prohibited – if it was done by the heir to death, then whatever, who cares. It pisses me off that he,” she pointed, “-he did it!”

“Undr-”

“Shut up, I’m not finished. After all that, all the pain of guiding lost souls on my fruitless journey into a dense barrier – turns out, I was left out. Left to wander, the same as those foolish enough to enter a deadly mess caused by my dear master’s dumbass heir.”

“Done?” he held the spear’s tip.

“Yeah, I’m done,” the pent-up frustration eased in a simple sigh, “-what happened?”

Julius and Raphael gawked, “-why are you two surprised?”

“Cousin, what’s the unnerving composure before the harbinger of death?”

“This here is Undrar, the current God of Death. Her other soul lives and teaches at the Azure wall, part of the legendary Kniq, rings a bell?”

“-S-sure?”

“Undrar, I need to ask, what’s the vocabulary about. Should it not be like, I don’t know, ladylike?”

“Oh screw that,” she slapped his head, “-no more tact for you. Tell me, what’s going on here?”

“We were ambushed, many died and the manor’s ruined. I had to extend the Shadow Realm and minimalize the damage,” he inched to her ears, “-good news, Formle’s back.”

“Fuck off,” her eyes widened, “-sorry,” quick to cover her lips, “-why is he alive, no, better question, why bring up his name?”

“Funny story, one of the bad guys used an ancient channeling spell and conjured a god’s soul into his. You’re surprised, imagine mine. He’s currently with my friends, you know how it goes. On other news, Athena was excommunicated from Heaven and I sort of stole Lucifer’s wings and hold the place of god...?”

“Formle, how long will he be?”

“Oh, he’s there until further notice,” a ring manifested above Igna’s palm, “-here, a free access pass to his chambers. Make good use of it and please, don’t ruin Intherna’s hobby of cooking, she’s trying hard to not make the meat roast...”

“Not my fault,” she shrugged, “-thank you for the ring,” Malley’s condition jumped at her, “-saving her won’t be simple. She bears not one, but two fellows. Can’t believe the supposed technology didn’t catch the twins. Her body’s alive with the flow of time stopped and all.” Undrar, the current god of Death, went through much change over the years. The Hall of Rebirth evolved and stole many devices from the mortal world, the convenience was too much not to have. Strange as it sounded, the gods, yes, those residing in heaven, have created spells for television to be made accessible. The relation between Igna and Undrar evolved greatly during the painful years – she’d come by on him killing souls, they’d chat, have meals, and dinner. Both Undrar once had a pleasant meeting at the Tower of Aria where Igna, the King of monsters, took them to the top floor and showed off a chest. Inside laid, “-the true treasures are the relations and bonds made along the way,” which in of itself spelled disaster(as most often, the friends and companions are dead). Reaching said floor was a task only a demi-god or a chosen one could undertake.

“So,” she looked at her pocket watch, “-what are you going to do, Igna?”