Chapter Thirty Three : 

Betrayal / 

My breathing was slow and delayed; I was underwater, sucking gallons and gallons of water into my lungs. "Lavender," Came my mother's gentle voice, comforting like a pillow. "Lavender," Was my father's voice, strong and reassuring like an oak tree. 

"Lavender." Orpheus's soft voice, waking me up. I opened my eyes, everything was blurry for a few seconds. I wasn't underwater, but laying sideways on the concrete in the town. Ropes bound my hands and feet. Orpheus was chained to the ground beside me, twitching nervously. I couldn't stand looking into his sorrowful gleaming blue eyes anymore, so I turned my face skywards. 

The enormous carmine moon shone down upon everything, casting a bloody glow on it all. Most of the dark clouds had cleared by now, and countless planets and stars of every hue were visible in the sky. 

Glancing around, the city seemed dead. The strange, gorgeous plants withered, grass and trees faded almost entirely. I hated that the television screens in everyone's houses still flashed, emitting the drone-like humming din that I knew all too well. 

I had seen this in the vision, how could I be so stupid? And after all the warnings? My heart hurt, I knew I had messed this up. Me. I led to the downfall of everyone? My parents, the random and fairly familiar people that lived in this town - they'd all perish? How could I have gotten this all wrong?

Footsteps broke my inner vase of self torment. I shivered in its presence; in the unknowing. But I felt more betrayed than afraid, and the tears streamed freely down my face and onto the pavement. 

"Don't cry, sweetheart." Dolion comforted me. 

"Why... Why did you lie to me, this entire time?" I choked.

"My reasons are beyond you." It replied in a saccharine tone. 

"The prophecy never said anything about this happening specifically... It only said that the world would either awaken or fall asleep forever." I stated.

"I was never one to follow the books. Besides, what I'll do to the universe is better than what's scrawled on that paper." It took the prophecy book from a pocket in its gown and tossed it on the ground before me. A few of the ashes raining from the sky landed on the cover, and soon the whole book had gone up in flames.

I fell silent, without any more to say. Memories of my life before any of this ever happened ran through my mind like a river. I hit rocks and floating branches along the way, and at the end I fell off the waterfall - spilling me out into reality, the reality that everything was over. 

And all the creatures I had met? Desiderio, Agni, the cows, Taika, Kiera, the jackrabbit family, the deer from the beginning of this, Mirai, who was already gone, and Orpheus... Who sat helplessly beside me, on his knees, as the cuffs attached to the chains cut into his wrists. "I'm sorry," I whispered, the weight of all the worlds crushing down on my chest. I had failed everyone.

He said nothing, he just nodded slightly. 

"Why did you wait this long - to bring about the destruction of everything?" I asked Dolion.

"I wouldn't have waited, but... I don't have any control over the planets' alignments." It put its hand under my chin and tilted my face up towards the sky.

"And, I wouldn't have gotten to know you so well. I wouldn't undo that for any of these worlds." 

I didn't glance over at Dolion, because I already knew it wore that small smile I had became so used to. Why did betrayal have to come from someone I trusted so deeply? How could I have built dependence on something that wasn't even real? Hurt swept across my conscience; dust in the breeze. It was all going to be over and there was nothing I could do. Nothing.

The seconds felt like hours, and I didn't really want to know what we were waiting for. Peering up at the sky, I watched all the planets and stars swirling around each other. Then the biggest planet moved in front of all the rest in some sort of eclipse, covering the gentle colors of the other celestial bodies. The word "red" wasn't enough to describe the hue that was deepening and radiating over the town. Before us, a large split in the concrete widened. 

My skin burned under the crimson glow and my heartbeat quickened. I wasn't able to run due to the fact that I was bound, but even without the ropes I wouldn't have been able to move. I lay there; terrified; my body limp. 

Dolion grabbed the chains that restrained Orpheus and drug him over to the crater. "don't hurt him," I begged. Dolion pulled out its silver blade and sliced Orpheus's wrists, letting the red blood drip into the cavity in the ground. 

It wasn't long after that and everything stopped. The sky and planets revolving, the distorted humming and the wind through the trees. A knife of silence cut through the city. 

The hollow in the pavement opened to become an enormous Abyss, shooting cracks through the surrounding concrete as pieces of ground fell in. Undescribeable creatures crawled out of the pit, snarling and glaring with glimmering amber eyes. Dirty smoke poured out, filling the air with the scent of torment, death, and fire.

Seeing the six black goat horns made my heart slow. I wondered if just the sight of the monster from the Abyss would kill me. Sadly, I was wrong.