Chapter Thirty Four :

The End Of The World /

I remember following the deer through the forest behind my home. Its alien features; bear claws, fox tail, glowing eyes and radiating colors. I remembered it so vividly it was as if it was standing there right now, at the edge of the city. It was standing there...

It walked closer, surveying everything in the city. It met my gaze and smiled, a smile that made my stomach flip. "I see you've succeeded in your quest." It told me in its raspy voice.

I could hardly speak. "I succeeded? The worlds are going to end because of me."

"That's what I wanted to happen." It replied calmly. "And you've done it so well. It's been very interesting to watch you, running around like a child with her head cut off. You had no idea what you were doing, did you?"

My blood ran cold. "You... Did this?"

"Yes. You didn't think that an engel would turn against its kind for nothing, did you?" It scoffed, looking over at Dolion. "Or that, out of nowhere, the world you knew would be disrupted by some kind of otherworldy chaos? Your entire realm's stupid human minds pulverized by television screens? You're not dumb enough to become hypnotized by a flashing screen, but you were dumb enough to believe what someone said to you."

The monster's enormous skeletal hands reached up from the Abyss, pulling itself into the city. It towered over all of us, glaring with soulless glowing yellow eyes. 

"There's only one thing left to finish this all - you. I told you, in the beginning."

"Why do you think I chose you?" Its words echoed through my head. My heart thudded dully as I realized what it meant. 

"Kill her." It told Dolion, no emotion in its voice. 

They say life flashes before your eyes before you die - and I can vouch for that. I saw myself as a small child, laughing with my parents. The trips we went on, the sights we saw and the things we did, simple memories of us cozy at home. Everything soaring through my vision, my life about to end. I was a train speeding down the railroad, aware of the collapsed bridge not too far ahead.

I also remembered what happened after the world changed. I had become someone I didn't really know, but no one seemed to judge me for that. The creatures I felt close to, those I had helped and those who helped me in return. The countless sunsets and sunrises I had watched, the beautiful and the ugly. All swirling around in a whirlpool; the short film of my life. 

I couldn't cry, I couldn't scream or run. I was beyond terrified but I lay there silently, looking up at Dolion. I remembered this too, when it had taken me from the forest, and the hollow stare in its shimmering eyes.  

It reached for its knife but hesitated. For the first time, I saw some sort of emotion in its face, although I didn't know what. Orpheus's blood on the silver blade made my stomach churn.

"What are you waiting for?" Snarled the deer. "We need her as an offering for the Abyss to cross into all realms."

"What are you waiting for?" I echoed quietly. My mind burned even more than my skin. 

With the knife raised above me, its hands shook. And then I knew what I saw in its eyes - hurt. I didn't understand, but I knew the emotion because I felt it as well. I closed my eyes and braced myself.

"DO IT NOW!" Yelled the deer, enraged. 

The dagger fell but I felt nothing. When I opened my eyes, the ropes were cut. "Run." Dolion told me.