CHAPTER 18
The Congress of Unanswered Questions
Earth: the Present Present
“No, brother, you don’t understand.” Eidan looked horrified. “That’s my name. I was called Mona before my master sent me to the city as Eidan, and the god I saw in the afterlife was…” Eidan’s voice shook. “That god was you.”
Pete didn’t understand what he was saying. Allen was Eidan, Eidan was Monaxia, and Pete was the god who visited his dead brother in the afterlife? It made no sense. Pete couldn’t remember doing anything like that, and anyways, he wasn’t a god. He didn’t know the Secrets of the Universe, and he was pathetic in comparison to everybody else. Pete was nothing, let alone a god.
At least now I can confirm that he’s Monaxia, Pete thought. Though he doesn’t seem like a god of terror and destruction. Our facts aren’t straight. Something isn’t right here.
Pete shook his head. “No, you’re just imagining things. I’m Pete. I’m your brother, remember?”
Eidan scowled, though he still looked afraid. “No, you are not my brother! This is all a hoax, an enigma that you designed! You ripped me from the Heavens and sent me here to Earth, then you plagued my mind with lies and blasphemy!”
Pete stepped closer. “Please, Al—” He was about to beg for his brother to be rational, but then he stopped, watching as Eidan frantically removed a crystal from his pocket and held it out before him.
Pete glowered. “Look, you damn idiot. You can read minds, you have incredible god-like powers, and hell! You could even kill me right now if you wanted to. But you know what I think? I think you don’t believe this bullshit you’re spewing. You’ve already dissected my mind for answers, but you didn’t find anything except the fact that we look nearly identical and there can only be one explanation why.”
“It’s because you’re trying to trick me!”
“No, dammit, we’re siblings! In this world, in this messed up reality, you’re Allen and I’m Pete. We’re halfblood Kinetics and nothing more, and then we have those lunatic gods that, that…” He searched for the right explanation. When he couldn’t find it, he shook his head and ran his fingers through his too short hair. “I don’t know, Al. I don’t even know if we’re real people or just illusions that those god-Atlasian things made up. All I know is that they’re manipulating us for some reason. They want both of us dead, they want Monaxia to wake up, and… and… hell, I don’t even know what any of that means. But we’re trapped here, Al. There’s nothing we can do.”
Tears leaked from the creases of Eidan’s eyes. His lower lip trembled and he dropped the crystal onto the floor. Eidan looked pathetic, but his expression resembled the hopelessness that seemed to swallow Pete whole.
He wiped the tears from his eyes and sniffed. “I understand. I know that this makes no sense, but…” He choked back a sob. “All I want is to see her again. My Farrah, the girl that I love! I was going to reunite with her after death, but death never came, and now I’m here and I don’t understand any of this. My head hurts, and I… I just want to be with her! Why can’t my life be simple, brother? Why must I be plagued with these tragedies, as if I was built to carry them!”
Pete didn’t know how to respond. Was his brother’s life truly so horrible? But of course it was. Eidan’s life was hell compared to Pete’s. It was one tragedy after the other, and every day was like waking up in a horror movie. In fact, the only time Eidan was actually happy was when he was with Farrah. She showed him how to have fun and be himself, and… and how did Pete know any of this?
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Perfect World
Science FictionA story of star-crossed lovers couldn’t be more cryptic. When two gods Monaxia and Ari’el are captured by mad scientists bent on discovering the Secrets of the Universe, the lovers have no choice but to immerse themselves in an alternate reality whe...
