Wayward Son

Darkness, nothing but a complete and empty feeling surrounding you as you wonder to yourself if your eyes are open at all. He blinked, thinking it would make a difference only to be proven otherwise. Somehow, his heart did not find itself racing under the fear of his new environment, somehow he felt like this was his tomb, a punishment he deserved for the sins he partook in. He groaned aloud, feeling the surge of indescribable pain run its coarse through him at the mere twitch of his hand. Falling to his knees, he yelped and resorted to bite his able hand to conceal his pain, the feeling of knives stabbing at every nerve in his arm from fingertips toward his bicep. Crushed, like squeezing a dry cookie in the palm of your hand and parting your fingers to see the crumbs left behind. That would be how best he would imagine his bones to be.

A gentle hand reached out, its fingertips raising his chin so that their eyes could meet. He found himself in the presence of a nurturing woman of average height, with beautiful rose hair and a matching red dress. While on her knee, her caramel eyes studied his wounds as she seemed perplexed regarding his state. Her eyes seemed both concerned and curious, analying him as if somehow she could see right into his soul.

Well, they do say the eyes are the window into the soul after all.

"Your arm, it's completely shattered." She spoke in the softest voice which seemed to somehow bring comfort to his pain.

He shook his head, unable to stand for her. "I know."

"Do you realize the chances of recovering your limb through the appropriate rest and care? Even with advanced medication which you would only find available in countries billions of paces away, there is a chance you may still be losing this arm."

"I know," He closed his eyes, grinding his teeth and hanging his head in an attempt to hide it from her. He could feel her hand combing through his hair, causing him to shiver as a new form of pain emerged through his heart. He shook away from her, making her pull back.

"Your body cannot handle such stress, you'll die if you don't-"

"I know!" He yelled out, frustrated and collapsing on his side. Everything in his left side pulsed, his body begged for quick relief as he **** himself to stay conscious. She gently helped him roll on his back, lifting his head so that he may rest on her lap as she stroked his dark hair. Somehow, this woman produced a faint glow from her body as she lit up the place where they stood, and now there was life around them. But this wasn't a beautiful field filled with gardens and trees, it was beside a tent near a campfire where the stars littered the dark blue skies. The setting seemed near a dirt path, under the cover of a large pine tree. There was no grass, only a white layer of snow across the ground with frost covering the branches of the tree above.

The woman who held him looked around before looking back to him. "This place is meant to reflect comfort of your mind."

Placing her hand on his chest, she sent a pulse of warmth shooting through his system like a jolt of life. The young man gasped and felt his arm go numb for a moment. He turned to witness his arm slowly begin to recover its original medium tone as the ruptured veins began to clot and restructure back into a healthy working form. It was something of a miracle to see, he knew that he could manipulate blood in order to possibly reverse a bleeding wound and perhaps **** it to block the area, sealing it the way he performed it with Syri. But in that moment he required absolute focus and both of his arms, he was certain his power would be of no use with just one hand. Heck, he wasn't too sure if he would survive this encounter at all with his borrowed time. He flexed his arm and fingers to test it, it was as if no harm had fallen to it at all.

"Who are you?" He at last asked this woman while in her arms.

"Some followers believe me to be the embodiment of anger, rage, the fury that burns deep in our hearts in our darkest days. They call me a wrathful woman, but I prefer the name given to me by my father." He began to realize that the more she spoke, the more he noticed how devoid of emotion her speech was. It wasn't as if she spoke out of boredom, the best way he could describe it was like there was no joy or life in her words left. No camaraderie in her, not even a smile on her face. Just a stare, perhaps curious, or perhaps analytical, but mostly lifeless. It fit with her speech as straightforward, natural, unsophisticated and blunt. She continued, her eyes remaining fixated onto his own. "He named me Ira, and so you may call me Ira. It is a pleasure to meet you in person, Raz."

Raz nodded back, still a bit baffled from the recovery of his arm. He blinked momentarily as he gathered his thoughts and courage before he felt ready to continue. "There should be seven, where are the other six?"

"Just me and my sister."

"Which one?" He looked around when out of the shadows stared a pair of violet eyes glaring back. From the darkness emerged another woman, pale in complexion which brought attention to her slender legs. He tried to get up but Ira's hand held him from the back of his head despite his efforts. He looked to her in shock as Ira stared back with a look that he would describe as deeply unsettling as her touch began to feel as cold as the snow. Her eyes grew narrow and she unclasped her hand, releasing him as he rolled to his feet and retreated in a panic.

Pryde found this rather amusing, stepping into the light of the campfire as its yellow glow lit up her violet dress. Spreading her arms wide, she approached him as with the flick of her hand a bottle of wine appeared. Raz began stumble backwards in a retreat, but his feet felt like weights were gluing him into the ground with each step.

"Aww, having trouble? Relax, have a seat."

She pushed him by the chest as Raz slipped through the folds of the tent and passed under the covers of his bed. It was as if the blankets were placed to hide the empty hole underneath, Raz felt his view of the two woman shrink at an alarming rate as he fell down, down, down, the most frightening thing being the lack of wind and momentum which would signal his body of his fall. In time he could see nothing, he could grab nothing, he was left to sink deeper into the world of nothingness before finding himself sat down as if there was no drop.

"Lone child, why do you come to us to fight for that woman's life? Perhaps it is because you have no life of your own to protect?"

Looking around, Raz noticed a faint small shadow under a lucid warm light painting a short radius around the figure. He froze once he recognized the child slapping his hands into the puddle he was drenched with, giggling to himself with an innocent smile. Raz fell silent once a pair of voices could be heard not too far from where the boy sat, even the child stood still and leaned to his side to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Ira stepped forth, manifesting from nothing as she stood to his side with a cold hand on his shoulder. "You know where we are?"

"Yes." Raz felt his voice quiver.

The light surrounding the child expanded as his parents entered the place, both too occupied in their quarrel to notice his presence. They looked to be a couple, a father and mother from the looks of it. The mother looked dressed in a lovely shade of dark green hugging her waist and chest with a golden head brace fit around her and bishop sleeves hugging her delicate wrists. The father was adorned with a beautiful silk white robe with a black color at the bottom, with glistening crystals decorating the collar and wrists and a black zucchetto atop his red hair. He looked to be seeking to leave as his wife attempted to reason with him.

"Perdilius please, we can figure something out if you would just talk to me and-"

"And do what!? What is you want from me, you've already taken so much away from my heart that I struggle to glance at your presence!"

She whimpered and held herself back. "That's not fair."

"Oh really, and does sleeping with a monster girl seem fair to you Lucina? Sleeping outside the marital bed is fair?"

She did not respond, leaning back against the wall as Perdilius approached her until he stood maybe inches from her. She hung her head and looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Five years Lucy, I have been a faithful, honest man for five years. I fought for you, our parents rejected your empathy for these creatures and yet I played the foolish husband deciding to support his soon-to-be unfaithful wife and in doing so, allowed you into the arms of another. And it was not just her, which makes the pain much worse."

Lucina began to sob quietly under clasped hands, her legs giving out as she slid down to her knees. Raz and the child stared without making a sound as if they were a fly on the wall. His father shook his head, fist tightened into a grip before he turned back and struck the opposite wall. The **** was enough to shake on impact, Lucina yelped and Perdilius was left panting and pulling his hand back from the hole he had caved in with little bruising on it. His free hand patted his chest as if checking on the chestplate underneath his clothing for reassurance. Looking to face his wife, he followed her glance and was met with the view of his son watching them. By now, the light on top of them grew so that Raz could see more of the childs physical attributes, taking notice that he was in fact naked as he was playing in a small tin tub with soapy water. He was playing that is, slapping his hands along the surface until he had heard the cries of his parents from the next room.

"Is he mine, pray tell me that at least."

Lucina gasped, staring at Perdilius in shock as her skin turned pale. "Perdilius, of course he is yours!"

"Do not humiliate me with this false sense of compassion. You told me there was more than just her."

"It was one night and I told you, she-she-"

"Tempted you, is that right?"

Lucina hurried back to her feet, brushing her long hair back to expose her sobbing face. "She was a succubus, I told you she seduced me! I-I can't describe it but if you were there-"

"And why was I not there?" He asked menacingly, his eyes glaring back at her like daggers directed to her heart.

She shriveled up and hung her head. "Because I told you not to, I was angry with you. I'm so very sorry husband. I was a-a foolish woman, caught by her words and seduced by her empathy and manipulation in my weakest moment. But I told you this, I-I confessed."

"You told me that your friend was a succubus with an intent of eavesdropping for secrets, you conveniently forgot to include the intimacy you two shared that night where others were involved. By the gods, he doesn't share much in common with me. It is of no wonder why I felt uneasy when I set eyes on him and called him son." Perdilius felt his voice begin to shake, being sure to look away as to hide the tears forming in his eyes. Lucina sunk back to the ground, hugging herself and feeling a bottomless pit of shame surround her body at that moment.

"I can only say he is yours for so long, I'm sorry I did this to you."

Perdilius returned her look with a glare that could pierce through souls.

"No. No you're not. Not yet."

Those words hung in the air for an uncomfortable length of time, neither soul choosing to make a noise or take action at either time. All had fallen under despair during this dark moment of revelation. Raz hung his head just like his mother, wishing not to watch any further.

"What is this moment to you Raz, tell us." Ira asked him.

"This is the night my father discovered my mother's infidelity." Raz answered coldly.

"And what came of it?"

Raz shook his head, the image of his broken family disappeared like a forgotten memory sinking further into darkness. "It tore us apart, our family and kingdoms. It made us outcasts. We were left without a home or a people to care for or be taken care of. It was the worst day of my life."

Pryde appeared and sat beside him with her legs crossed, taking a sip of her wine. "How dramatic. What came of Lucina?"

"I never saw her after that night, father told me that she had passed away. I was left to follow father and fulfill his goal."

"Ending all Monster Girls, why the high stakes?" Pryde asked with her hands on her waist.

"We were exiled, father wanted to prove that the Gods were looking over us with a plan of redemption in mind. He believed salvation would never happen unless someone took it upon themselves to take action."

"So he wanted to take action, is that it?"

Raz nodded, feeling her presence as she stood on her feet away from his sight. "And why didn't you help me, son?" Those words frightened him as he fell back and gasped. Standing beside him now was his father Perdilius, seeming to be in a healthy condition with his robes worn and the mystical chestplate underneath containing him in a human body size.

Perdilius stared back at him with a look of pity and disgust. "Why didn't we succeed when we were so close?"

"You're not real, stop this please."

Perdilius grabbed his son by the collar, lifting him until his feet hung above the ground as his face leaned forward with a snare. "Does this feel false to you? I ask again, why did we fail?"

Raz found himself without a voice to argue, staring into the eyes of his dad in complete shock. Perdilius seemed to expect this, clicking his tongue and dropping Raz to his feet. "All those years training you to be stronger led to waste and ruin. Because of you, we failed to bring forth glorious salvation to us all. My blood, my life's work is on your hands."

"No." Raz squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to speak albeit in a low voice. "You were wrong."

"Pray tell?"

"You were wrong to want to end them, and you know it. You knew I would hesitate if you told me the goal was to kill all Monster Girls, so you changed the truth. You lied."

"I lied because I was left with a coward who lacks spine! I lied to protect your feeble heart and keep you focused on the task. That you decided against saving my life only proves that truth."

"It's not what mother would want." Raz spoke back with a snarl. "And it's not what I would have wanted either."

"Is it now, you dare question me child?"

"I do." Raz found himself the strength to get on his feet to face him. "My father was once a proud man with a happy wife, but you've always arrogant and crude. You helped the less fortunate, gave them advice and seeds for the seasons, and mother would aid in forming the public trust to monster girls. You weren't a man hell bent on committing genocide to such a degree, not at first. But you've always believed to have all the answers, thought yourself to be above the rest with your charitable acts. You were never the pure soul you pretend to be."

"And you were always a submissive and cowardly child, eager to fold over in two if it meant pleasing others."

"All I ever did, I did to make you proud!"

"You failed!" His voice bellowed throughout the void, shaking the ground as Raz composed himself.

Raz never wavered, his glare matching his fathers as he stood his ground. "I lost my mother, but at least I had a father who no matter how cruel his words stung, or how hard his hand would strike, that still he took me under him. That's what it means to be cared for, that is what I believed before. But then I witnessed the monster girl looking after her siblings, the way she kept them warm and safe, and I realized I never once had that experience. Not once. All I've ever done, I did to make you proud. But witnessing them risk their lives for each, fight for each other, protect each other. It just... I couldn't accept this anymore. How did this happen, how did this become us?"

Perdilius snarled, leaning forward as Raz inadvertently winced. "And so you left me to die."

"I asked you to reconsider, to think again as to why we were alone and they were united. I did not want this, what I wanted was a father but you never wanted a son!" Raz shouted back to his father with a rage he hadn't felt in so long.

This brought amusement to his dad's face. "So why now do you stand here to save one of them? Why not give your father a second chance by asking for my life rather than a monster?"

Raz stared back into his eyes, not in a look of shock but one of confrontation. What was it he wanted from him, was this the same man he saw die moments ago or was this a trick at play? His words did remind Raz of why he was there, not to be reminded of his past but to make his plea as to why someone should be spared. It was an unfortunate thing, finding doubt in your father's words. He struck a pain in his heart as he turned his back to him.

"If I ask for your life, I would be asking for the return of a monster. Our time has passed father, it's time to move forward."

"Raz." Perdilius frowned. "You play pretend, you don't have it in you to abandon your own family."

Raz began to shake, his hands squeezing into fists as tears rolled down his face. "You told me once that the strongest hearts are needed to make the hardest choices, even if it means hurting the ones closest. You do not know the cruelty you are capable of, the acts that you have done, the massacres you have executed."

"Raz!" His voice now began to rise as Raz started to walk away into the darkness. "You do not know what you speak, come back here. We can still fulfill our goal, we can make this place better!"

Raz continued moving on much to his father's grief. "Raz, if you would just stop for a moment and have faith in your father!"

He stood still, refusing to face his father as he raised his head.

"Remember the tale of Abraham when he was given the choice between faith and flesh? From an outside point of view, I couldn't understand how he had the strength in him to do what he did then. But I can now."

"Raz, stop!"

"Goodbye, Perdilius." Raz held his breath and continued marching forward, hoping the darkness would mask his grief as he heard the cries of his father begin to fade away.

"Raz! If you abandon me, you will abandon the only man who ever cared for you! You can't leave me behind, come back! Raz! RAZ!"

Just keep moving, don't look back. Don't give him the pleasure of seeing you cry, he told himself as he walked forward.

I'm sorry mother, I really tried.

In a moment or two, the cries had gone away and Raz felt pressure in his chest and around his throat, squeezing the air from his body. Clearing his throat, he briefly wiped his face with the back of his hand to keep a strong face. Only now did he begin to question where his location was, he had focused on walking away with disregard to where. Looking down, he noticed there was no ground to walk on at all.

"I didn't think you had it in you, standing up to your father like so."

Pryde walked in to greet him with a raise of her glass of wine. Raz glanced down to find a glass in his hand as well before being startled by a voice behind him.

"You must feel so special, being in charge for once." Ira muttered, walking past him with indifference.

Raz frowned. "You look disappointed."

"Do I?" Ira turned back with a blank look. "Your father had the intent of killing all the monster girls out there, a part of me was hopeful in his success."

She raised her own glass of wine, her finger delicately tracing around the top before placing it on her pink lips. Tilting her head back, she quickly gulped down the fine red liquid before wiping her lips with a sigh. "Tastes like ash."

"Tastes like the sweetest grapes to me." Pryde licked her lips before pouring another glass with a bottle on hand.

Raz exchanged looks from one woman to the next before setting his eyes on Ira. "You're not a very bright person are you?"

Ira rolled her eyes in response, calmly approaching the boy as she tossed her glass away. It shattered beside her, a shard of glass bouncing off her cheek without a scratch in sight. Raz felt the instincts in his body screeching for him to run away, turn back and hide from this eerie presence of danger coming to him.

"How do you feel right now? Fearful, regretful, wishing you had done something else? Do you feel like a failure? That's how Dimyri felt the moment she was given to us."

This was joined by another laugh, someone giggling to herself. Raz could tell it was Pryde who was enjoying the show, as if she read his mind she appeared out from the black abyss and stood before him with a smile. "We know the one you spoke of, is that who you have chosen to trade your life for?"

Raz struggled to speak, feeling her presence grip his throat tightly. He fought back and resisted as best as he could, but it felt futile as if trying to climb a sinking pit. The more he struggled, the further he sunk below. Panic began to rise, his heart now beating faster and faster as he found himself slipping lower and deeper.

"You are alone here. Never wanted, never loved. Why waste your time to save her when you know she would not hesitate to leave you for dead? For hunting her clutter down, for enslaving them by ****, for nearly bringing her kind to their extinction? Do you want that, or perhaps you want something else?"

"That is... ludicrous." He spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Is it?" Ira tilted her head, returning that glare of his with an empty look as a cloud of ash began to manifest around them. "I find you creatures interesting. Even though you are a greedy, worthless lot, consumed with selfishness and an instinct to kill disguised under morals. You take what you want, you claim someone as husband or wife and play the public persona to make for a good reputation. But you desire to be the best, because what you are now is inadequate to others. Your lust serves as a reminder that you are no different from the animals you domesticate, you feed from what Mother Nature grows and take her for granted. You kill not for food but for sport. All disguised under this facade of good intentions."

As she spoke, the dark fog surrounding them began to cry out in soft echoes of children's laughter, giggling, yelling and screaming for help. Raz attempted to look around, but the environment was so devoid of light that he could not tell his left from his right. He sat there helpless as the noises began to grow louder and higher as more voices began to beg and plead for help.

"How annoying that sound is." Ira spoke in a calm voice, not once hinting at mild annoyance in her facial expression. Raising her hand, she made a fist which in effect cleared the surrounding fog and suddenly millions of voices were silenced with a sudden whimper. "I can do no wrong, for I do not know what that is."

"You killed them?" Raz fell backward, landing on his rear as his eyes were fixated on her.

"Nevermind them, past presence of future fates. People have no value if they continue to make more. What difference does one life have when their are so many to compare? Why wager your own life to save someone else?"

Raz swallowed heavily and felt sweat on his forehead. "If you don't see a point in life then why live at all?"

A snap of her fingers brought a reminder to Raz of Pryde's existence as well as she danced from out of the darkness into view. "Now you are singing her song!"

Raz shook his head and stammered to his feet. "Life can't be meaningless, by your definition you are saying there is no point in living but it can't be so."

"Life is but a dream, a vision compiled of imagination." Ira exclaimed, the ground now beginning to tremble beneath them. "Nothing exists but you and emptiness. And you are but a thought."

"We ask you, Raz, why bother coming to us to convince us of this life? We are not bound or restricted deities, with just a whisper you would cease to exist." Pryde snickered, the ground crumbling and falling down as her feet hovered effortlessly. Raz stood frozen where he stood as the floor shattered and fell apart, leaving him stuck on this tiny island of space where only he and Ira stood.

Looking back to Ira, she never once offered any change in expression, forever stuck in a state of no emotion. She closed her eyes and bowed.

"Nobody sent you, no one supports you. Save her if you so desire, but do not wish for heartfelt hugs and love to be returned. You are but a submissive child, a moron who did as daddy pleases."

"Can you blame him?" Pryde argued, lifting her glass and bottle of wine as they disintegrated into thin air. She hopped off of her little seating position in mid air and brushed her dress down before approaching the two of them. "I mean it figures you wouldn't agree, you always were Daddy's little rebel."

"Perhaps if you had not been so arrogant yourself, Dad would not have had a reason to make the rest of us, myself included." Ira snapped back with a glance, a hint of malice in her tone.

Pryde snickered at her retort, rubbing her nose and dismissing her sister's words. "I like Dimyri, she is the firstborn in her family and gifted the position of overseeing her clutter, I can relate to that. It would be a crying shame to see such power go to waste."

As she walked past them, the fog disappeared leaving behind Dimyri encased in her spherical prison. Raz felt his eyes widen at the sight of her, she remained in a dream like state with her eyes closed and her body seeming peaceful as she floated around. Pryde placed a hand on the orb surrounding the catgirl, leaning in to admire her.

"Such a pretty face with such potential in her charming words. I admit, Lust does have a way with her daughters. Don't tell her I said that." Pryde turned her eyes to Raz. "Why do you want to save her?"

"She's the first born of her family, the next in line to take over for her clutter. Most importantly, she is the victim of my actions. She had **** in this, she doesn't deserve this fate."

"Is that so?" Pryde had stepped forward, arms crossed with a look of mischief on her face. "We don't like giving back gifts, what do we get in return?"

Raz glanced down to see the markings on his hands. "I can offer my gift in return."

"Pass. He gave you that gift, cherish it. Not every man can tame the beast within. To give life like the rivers of Eden, or to take life like the flood of Gilgamish. You have lots of potential in you Raz, it is a tragic shame you have yet to use it."

Raz shot her a look and was quick to answer her. "Then you can have me."

This brought forth joy in Pryde's face as she erupted in sudden laughter, placing a hand on her tummy to compose herself. Ira stared awkwardly at her older sister, raising a brow as Pryde wiped a tear from her eye.

"You would give your soul in favor of saving her?" Pryde asked as if she misheard. "Why?"

Raz paused and gave it some thought, concentration on choosing his words wisely as he stood up before the two. "All my life, I have just wanted to be loved and wanted. I had a family once... she has a family waiting for her back home. I cannot atone for all I have taken part in, but I can do this for her at least. She... she loves them dearly. They mean the world to her, I wish I knew what that felt like. Maybe I was destined for failure, if so then let this be the one reason behind my existence."

Ira and Pryde glanced at each other, one raising her shoulders while the other seemed unfazed, neither of them said a word. Raz suddenly realized that there indeed was light surrounding the space where he stood on, the source seemed to come from Dimyri.

"Your soul for her own, yes?"

Raz nodded. Ira shook her head in disbelief. "I don't understand, why waste your time with something like this? They only bring misery and pain especially to those they love."

"The only thing worth loving is yourself." Pryde added, combing her fingers through her hair. "The boy has a heart, that kind of selflessness is not easy to come by. I admire that in a man."

She turned to Ira who shook her head back in return. Both girls shrugged and walked opposite each other, pushing past him. Raz was silent as Dimyri remained trapped in her little globe prison, curled up in a fetal position.

"She's all yours, hero." Pryde snickered, running her fingers along his shoulder.

Raz looked at her in shock. "What of my soul?"

"Please, we know who you are. That kind of talent doesn't come to anyone, Raz. You remind me a lot of him, you know? Dad would have been proud to see my guardian give his life for someone else."

"Our guardian, and she means our dad, not yours." Ira added for clarification, waving her hand to him. "Now go, and take your stupid crush with you."

Raz frowned and didn't reply back, turning his focus toward Dimyri. With a delicate hand, he reached out to touch the surface of this orb she was stuck in. It looked liquid to the touch, he wondered if he could manipulate its state or form. Once his fingers made contact, it burned a hole into the orb which seemed to expand as it ate away its contents before leaving Dimyri to fall into his arms, her long hair draped over his shoulder. Raz adjusted his grip and lifted her up, holding tight as the room they were in began to glow brighter and brighter, too bright it seemed, forcing him to close his eyes until all he could see was white light.

"Farewell, Elemental." Pryde and Ira waved goodbye until the light flashed like lightning before leaving them in the dark.