The Shadow of Eudaimonia

Chapter 27: Tale of Two Veross

Cal held Lazzi's wrist and closed his eyes. He doesn't know why but he was feeling nervous. Maybe because he was about to open a Pandora's box that he doesn't know how to close.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Lazzi whispered to him. Just hearing his voice soothed Calvin.

"Yeah, because you're with me."

Calvin focused his thoughts and switched on his Obelisk. The last time he did this it was just for a few seconds. But now he's going to attempt to Bridge with Lazzi for minutes, even hours. In his mind, he saw once again the infinite branches of light growing and scattering all around the darkness. But then, it started to retract, as if it is being pulled away by an invisible force. The light it provided was slowly dimming down. Calvin tried to remain calm as the darkness began to crawl on his body until he could see nothing anymore. When he opened his eyes, he didn't see Lazzi, but instead a face of a familiar man.

"Hey," the man smiled. "I was expecting you."

"Veross?" Cal looked around. They were not on the island. They were in a sort of a stage. The audience was running away but they seemed to move very slowly, almost frozen. He looked up in the sky and saw two moons, just like what Lazzi told him before. Cal stepped back when he realized that the man was holding Lazzi's wrist. Somehow, he looked younger. His hair was perfectly styled and glimmering. He was wearing a sort of robe festooned with gold threads. His handsome face was untainted but frozen in a moment of grief. It was ethereal. Calvin, seeing this, realized that the dirt of his planet had humbled his Lazzi back on the island into someone more mundane.

"That's you now, Veross. I'm Erik by the way."

"Lazzi!" Cal called out.

"Oh, he couldn't hear. Only we two are stuck here. Sorry about that. What's your name again, new Veross?"

"Calvin. Are we in—"

"We are currently on planet Kepler, specifically we are in the latest Transference Ceremony. It is where the old Obelisks transfer their abilities to their Inheritors."

"So..."

"Yeah, this is where Lazzi and Ophelia first got their Obelisk."

"You said you were expecting me. Is this why you have chosen me as your Inheritor?"

Erik smiled. "Look behind you."

Calvin did and saw a dead woman. She was shot in the head. Ophelia was there too, horrified with the corpse lying in front of her. "Is that Ortus?"

"Very perceptive of you. She is. Her name is Wren by the way."

"Wren, huh?" Calvin doesn't know what to do with that information. Giving Ortus a name will only make her human, he thought. And he doesn't want a monster like Ortus to have that kind of privilege. "I have a question Erik."

"Why did I lie to both of Shijian and Vide?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad you asked. You see, Obelisk or not, I'm still a human. And humans can be selfish."

Calvin scoffed. "Humans are, and will always be selfish. They always think of themselves."

"You're probably right. But selfishness is not always a bad thing. Sometimes, selfishness is wanting someone to live because they're precious to them."

Calvin's stomach churned. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I lied, Calvin. Because I love Wren."

"Shit!" Calvin covered his face with his hand. "How can you fall in love with that monster!"

"She's a monster. But also, she's not. And I love her still."