Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

A Million Lives

Did he feel apprehension?

Well, no.

Honestly he was beginning to wonder if he had some sort of identifiable medical condition that repressed his ability to feel fear. Then again, that wasn't exactly true, he had felt fear before at least twice that he could think of. Once when he had almost died in an ice storm on an alien planet, and another time when he had almost lost his throne and his life to an adrenaline addiction, a fact that he was still deeply embarrassed about to this day. Other than those instances, however, he couldn't think of any other examples.

Still the looks of pity being passed to him by his escort did not go unnoticed.

A billion years?

Would this really be so bad? Had he truly gotten himself into something he couldn't handle.

He hoped not.

Maybe one of these days his bravado would come back to bite him in the ass. Maybe today was that day. The guards walked him briskly forward stepping sharply onto an elevator that had no buttons or dials. Symbols appeared in the air at the center of the elevator car along with a cool female voice.

"Seventh Ring."

"You know, Ted Budy, Hitler, Mornix, and Geeanan are all on the seventh level too."

"Mornix, huh." Celex said as they began to move downward, "My great great great great great grandmother."

"So psychopathy runs in the family I see."

Celex shrugged, "I'm not a psychopath."

The guards exchanged a look, "Really?"

He shook his head, "No, I care about those people back on the Empyrean, they're my friends. I worry about them and I want them to succeed in battle."

One of the guards snorted, "Or you see them as your property. Are you even capable of remorse, fear, sadness?" The question was accusatory, and the guard had clearly already made up his mind, so Celex don't stoop to answering the question. Didn't stop him from thinking back to the incredible hurt he had felt when his primary wife betrayed him and set up her coup, the well of anger and sadness that had driven him, in a moment of rage, to destroy a planet just to get back at her.

No one should have that kind of paper, he was sure of that now.

And when that memory was gone he thought of the addiction and the fear that came with it.

Almost losing his life.

And finally, after his death, when he and Kelly had moldered together in darkness. He remembered the friendship they had established there held in each other's arms to stave off the horror of the blackness.

Had he shed a tear when they escaped?

Maybe

Only he and Kelly would ever know the answer to that question.

The door dinged open, and they stepped out into the hallway, cool and grey and lined with prison doors. Didn't look too intimidating, but it was really what was behind those doors that mattered.

The walk down the hall was a short one, turning towards the second or third door which opened with a soft hiss. The room inside was bright white, forcing him to raise his hands and squint. When they finally adjusted he found himself looking in on a small, sparse room, white padded walls, a small cot in one corner, a sink, but no mirror, and at the center of the room, a chair.

Looked sort of like those chairs you'd find in a human dentists office,, or an electric chair you would find in a prison.

And with that chair, stood a beautiful woman.