Star Crossed Myth: A Lost Child

Chapter 29

By sunrise, we are walking into the fields. A bit worn out from the fight, so we took a rest at a nearby lake. The lake was similar to the one back in my dream. Open land, a clear lake. All just without the galaxy sky.

Bear jump into the lake, paddling through the water. Phoenix remains on the grass, distancing from the splashing water.

I lay on the grass, taking off my hoodie and lying in my t-shirt. I take a nap.

"The water of the lake..." a strange voice says. "...unfolds your entire life before your eyes. Do you dare take a look at your past, present, and near future?"

The darkness forms into the lake. It shimmers bright blue and pink. It calls out to me.

I wake up. It was dark. But the lake shimmers just like my dream. Bear and Phoenix were asleep. Possessed by my curiously, I take off my t-shirt and pants then jump into the lake.

I slowly sink below the surface, foot by foot. Memories fill the water.

"You mistake!"

"Ungrateful child!"

"You bitch!"

"NOT EVEN YOU REAL PARENTS LOVED YOU!!!"

My past.

My salty tears mix with the water. I sob, tiny air bubbles leave my mouth, remembering all of the horrible things the people I thought I loved did to me. Something I'd never be able to get over and run away from.

"What's the matter, sweetie?"

The king appears before me, crouching down to my level like he always do when I cry. His gentle hands wipe away my tears then offering his hand like before.

Will he stay or will he abandon me like before? I was tired of taking chances. Every one of them was a failure and ended up being my destruction. I couldn't really give anyone my life anymore.

I turn him down.

"Don't you love me, Princess?", he whispers.

"No! Go away! You aren't my dad!" I turn away from him. "You never will be! Not even the zodiac gods see you as a father, so why should I?!"

"I can heal you from your pain. All I want you to do is give yourself to me. You were my happy little girl, but you have departed from me and forgotten our bond. Though you are not my flesh and blood, you are precious to me. Not even the Dark King can take that away."

"I don't care! I am better off by myself! It's always been that way! You can't fix anything!"

"Dear, no it hasn't. I have never left your side. I will forever be with you, from dusk until dawn. Sunrise until sunset. Beginning until the end."

"Well, the end has come. Get away from me! Your kingdom needs you."

He disappears, respawning further away from me. Another figure forms on my other side. Eerily similar to the king, another one of him appears, but in all black. He had a strange tattoo of his face.

Each of them stood silently, facing me.

"You can only pick one."

"Don't waste your time with that bastard!", Black says. "Kill him, become powerful alongside the darkness! Those you have wronged you shall bow to us, begging for mercy to not take away their worthless souls!"

"Princess, I care too much to let you suffer in regret. Only I can help you live in peace. You've enjoyed the heavens. Being with the zodiac gods...You have enjoyed being with me."

They both spoke, pushing me to make a decision. I didn't know what to do. The last of my air bubbles leave my lips. I couldn't breathe anymore. I kick, violently swimming up to the surface. The shadows wither away.

I take a strong breathe as I poke my head above the surface, refilling my lungs with air. I huffed, crawling onto dry land. The light of the lake fades away as dawn peeks above the horizon.

"What did...all of that mean?", I whisper.

That had to be...my future? Did I really have to choose between him and someone else? Why?

  I have no reason to try and kill him. So why? Why is all of this happening?

  At sunrise, we venture to the dark forest. The mossy trunks of the trees eerily curled unnaturally. The twisted branches blocked out the sunlight. The ground was muddy and dead with very little blades of grass, but mostly mushrooms and peculiar herbs here and there.

  Phoenix dims her light, careful not to draw any attention to us. We make it to the cave.

  Deathly groans echo through the mouth of the cave. Spirits. I form an invisible bubble around us to keep us safe. Spirits tend to kill you and use you as a source to get their lives back.

  I take a deep breath and hesitantly step into the dark cave. Phoenix brightens her flames, leading our ways through the cave. The groans and whispers louden. The unhappy spirit roaming the walls of this terrible place are very displeased.

  I swear a shadow appears before us but it disappears just as it enters.

  "Turn back," a wild whisper says.

  "Retreat the cave of death," but I couldn't go back now. Not unless I am willing to not go back home.

  One foot after the other, we creep deeper.

 
  "Turn back," the shadows continue. But I ignore them.

  A strange red light glistens on a pathway. I follow it, leading me to the diamond. The large, shimmering diamond was the source of the groans. There were trapped souls within it, groaning, trying to escape their prison. Both evil and innocent souls were enslaved.

  Remembering the universe's words, I didn't touch it.

  "You like it, darling?", a crackly, old voice says. I jolt. Behind us was none other than an old woman, skin and hair as pale as paper, wrinkled like a raisin, and eyes as red as blood.

  "Free these souls!", I demanded the witch. All she did was laugh. "Foolish child, I cannot. They are paying their debts to me."

  "You ripped them all off!"

  She smirks, "Business is business."

  I put on my gloves, ready to shatter the crystal. But snaps her fingers, teleporting the diamond into her old hands. A scary look spreads on her face.

  "I have never seen such fear from people. It's intriguing for a demon like myself from the Under Realm."

  "Y-Y..." I pause. "Y-You're from the real world..."

  "I suppose you are, also. But it's such a blessing! Just waking up from a dumb nap, then having my own world to rule! No Dark King! Just me and all of the pathetic peasant of this world! This is a blessing from the stars!"

  "No, this is where you are supposed to die!"

  The witch clenches her teeth, pointing a ragged finger. "You will not take away my blessing! I'll kill you!"

  She surrounds herself in dark magic, summoning two evil spirits before disappearing outside the cave. Exerting our powers, we fought.