Chapter 15: The Selections Part 5

(Eve Solaris)

THAT’S NOT HOW IT’S SUPPOSED TO GO, EVE.

The sound of a voice resounded within my ears as I watched as the events that had transpired, rewind in front of my very eyes. From the lake house to the road over here and finally to the chair I started in; I watched as it was all reset.

LET’S TRY THAT AGAIN, SHALL WE?

“Wai-!”

Before I could say anything, however, a blinding light enveloped me once more before forcing me to close my eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Happy birthday, Eve!”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean, “huh”?” I heard Gabi say from beside me.

“We were just at the lake house… We were sitting around and….”

“Lake house? Eve, are you ok? Did you hit your head or something?”

‘Did I not pass? But, wait, if that was the case, then I still would’ve been pulled out of the artifact regardless…’

Without another thought, I clapped my hands on my cheeks, attempting to clear my mind a bit.

“Eve?”

“I’m sorry, I was just a bit surprised, that’s all.”

“See, now you’ve gone and scared her. Good one, Cenric.”

“I did not! It was probably you, Phelix.”

“Oh, whatever buddy, come here you-”

“Guys, I promise, I’m fine.”

“Well, if you say so, Eve.” My mom said, still slightly eyeing me for any sign of doubt.

“Well, c’mon Eve, you gotta blow out the candles!” Gabi said, practically eyeing her slice of cake.

‘I will not let your guys’ deaths be in vain,’ I thought as I finally blew out the candles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night had been pretty eventful, albeit instead of partying as much as I remember we did, it was cut a couple hours short upon my request.

I had spent most of the time trying to find ways for me to fully take advantage of the chance I had been given.

Whether I was seeing this event again because of the artifact or because of something else, one thing was certain; this is probably one of my only chances at getting some clues as to who or what killed my parents and destroyed my home.

To do this, however, I’d need to actually be here when it all would happen. That brings me to why I am here.

“Hey, mom?”

“Oh, yes my dear?”

“I was wondering if we could postpone my trial, just for a couple days? I’m not feeling the best and I really don’t want to take it when I’m not at my best.”

“Well… I don’t see why not.” She said, putting her hand to my head.

“Hmmm, you do seem to be burning up a bit… Ok, I’ll let your father know, but we can only delay it for two days.”

“That’s perfect, thank you!”

“Now go head to bed. It’s already pretty late and you should get as much rest as possible.”

“I know, mom, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Eve, sleep well!”

I turned around and began to head to my room.

I had about three hours before I was supposed to leave for my trial which meant that at some point after then, I’d have to be in a position to see what happens.

That was something that was easier said than done.

Without any info as to what happened, I didn't really know what to expect or what I was looking for.

‘What if whoever or whatever did it was already inside our walls?’, ‘What if something happens to me before then?’, these were questions I had to keep in mind while I developed a plan.

Ultimately, I decided that trying to think about every possible scenario and a way to account for them all was meaningless. There were just too many unknowns to take into account to truly prepare for everything. All I could really do was wait and hope for the best.

With that being said, I opened my window and began climbing out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun had yet to fully rise, still barely peaking at the edges of the horizon, illuminating bits and pieces of the village at a time.

I was sitting on the roof of a guard tower overlooking the main road into our village. I had memorized the shift changes of the guards to get away sometimes… never did I think I’d be using it for something like this.

The sun had long since taken over the sky. It was about two hours after I was supposed to depart, and yet nothing had happened. In fact, everything was oddly usual. Another ordinary day is what it seemed like, but I knew otherwise… I had to be right.

Then, I felt it.

A strong, violent gust of hot wind coming from behind me.

A feeling of dread and despair filled my lungs and then my heart. My body protested, however I eventually found the courage to turn around. What I saw could only be described as hell. It was a red, raging storm of fire inside the dark clouds of death, or what was to be my eventual death.

‘Inevitability’ was the only word I could think of to describe the fate of every single person within this village.

IT’S TIME TO GO, EVE.

“What? Who’s there?!” I shouted in confusion, putting up a thin barrier of wind around me.

I looked around for any sign of whoever had just spoken. For some reason, the voice sounded… familiar. Almost as if I had heard it before, but where?

Then, I saw it. A dark, black figure emerged from within the raging storm approaching the village. Before I could see more, however, a darkness surrounded me and began to swallow me whole.

“Wait! No, please! I need to know!!!”

SPOILERS ONLY RUIN THE FUN, EVE.

“No!!!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Eve? Eve! Eve, can you hear us, Eve?!?”

I stirred awake, slowly opening my eyes, only to immediately shut them from the blinding lights.

“I think she’s waking up.”

“Oh, thank god.”

“Hmmmm…” I opened my eyes once more, some reason staring at the faces of all my family and friends and… the ceiling?

“W-what happened?” I asked, still trying to piece together my situation.

“That’s what we wanna know. One minute you were in the chair and the next you began to… pull in wind around you and- wait, Eve, you can use mana?!?” Gabi said practically jumping up from her seat.

“A-ah… I guess so?”

“You guess so? Shouldn’t you be ecstatic or something?”

“Oh, c’mon Gabi, she must be as shocked as we are. She did just get blasted out of her chair and knocked unconscious. We’d have been caught in the blast too if Eve’s mother didn’t put up a wind barrier of her own.” Cenric said, still a bit surprised.

“I was just doing what I could. I’m surprised my barrier held.”

While they were talking, I began to sit up, taking in my surroundings.

It was obvious what had happened. I was sent back… again.

‘I guess my will to channel mana within my body continued even after I was sent back unconsciously, causing all… this to happen.’

The table and area in front of where I had been sitting was more or less seemingly untouched, but my chair… let’s just say that chair has seen better days, not to mention the wall I had crashed into.

I could feel the impact in the back of my head, still a bit disoriented from it.

“Eve, how do you feel?”

“I feel fine, mother, although I can still clearly feel where I hit my head… and I’m a bit dizzy.” I said, trying to suppress the rising vertigo from turning into matter on the floor.

“You’re lucky that’s all you feel. We’re gonna postpone your trial and in the morning we’re going to take you to see the doctor. In the meantime, you should go lay down.”

“B-but-”

“No “buts” missy, to bed.”

“You’re mother is right, Eve, we don’t know what damage you sustained and I’d rather be more safe than sorry if something did happen to my daughter.”

“Mmmmmm….”

It didn’t take long for me to cave, still not able to go against my parents wishes, not that I really wanted to, however there were things I needed to do.

“Fine…” I said, struggling to stand up.

I grabbed the edge of the table to support myself as I tried to stand up.

“Here, Eve, take my hand.” Cenric said, walking over towards me.

“Thanks.”

I took his hand and began to stand up.

“You think you could help me up the stairs?”

“Of course.”

Cenric lent me his shoulder as we slowly went step by step up the stairs to my room.

“Thanks…”

“You really scared us out there, you know?”

“Yeah, I know… I’m a bit surprised myself. I don’t think it’s fully set in yet, having mana and all. It was all so sudden; it doesn’t feel real.”

“Well, your wish came true at least. You’ll have to make another one when you blow out the candles tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I guess so, haha…”

I turned towards the door and reached for the handle, resting my hand on it.

I was lost in my thoughts, conflicted about whether or not to spoil myself one last time or just move on.

‘Fuck it’

“E-Eve-”

I spun around and, before Cenric could react, kissed him.

I slowly pulled away, staring at his bewildered expression.

“Haha… hahaha… hahahahahaa.”

For some reason, I couldn’t control my own emotions, letting out the most girly laugh I could possibly ever dream of.

“H-hey! What are you laughing at?!?”

“I-I’m sorry, haha, it’s just, your face, it’s hilarious-.”

I barely managed to finish the sentence before continuing to laugh, struggling to hold back the emotions flooding me.

“Eveeeee, cut it out already. What’s so funny about my face anyways?”

“Nothing, hah, ok ok, I’m sorry I’m done, I promise.”

I turned back around and opened the door before walking in.

“I hope you remember me, even after you're gone…” I whispered under my breath.

“Did you say something, Eve?”

“Nothing, I was just saying goodnight, Cenric.”

“Goodnight, Eve.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Stay here, buddy, I’ll be back as soon as I can, I promise.” I said as I outstretched my hand with an apple towards my horse.

After I had “gone to bed,” I eventually snuck out of my room and stole a horse from the stable. I rode it all the way to the treeline of the forest I was supposed to have gone to for my trial.

I began taking the same path I had the first time in search of the cave, finding it no longer than ten minutes later.

“Welp, here goes nothing I guess.”

I grabbed a decently sized branch and lit it on fire like I had once done previously before venturing into the cave once more.

Not long after, I had found it. There it was, the fruit that changed my life, just sitting there, radiating with such immense power.

It was… daunting to say the least. The first time I had laid eyes on this fruit, I couldn’t take them off of it, however this time, it’s almost the exact opposite. It’s as if the fruit doesn’t want me to eat it- to even get close to it.

That didn’t stop me, I’d be damned if it did.

I swiftly grabbed it and held it in my hands. I took one look then two before eating it. Bite after bite, I felt it seemingly melt in my mouth.

But, after a minute or two, nothing had happened. The previous power surge I had felt when I first ate the fruit was completely absent the second time.

‘But why?!?’ I thought, my confusion turning to anger.

“Why won’t you just let me save them!!!” I yelled, slamming my fist into a nearby wall.

I felt my knuckles shatter under the pressure, but I didn’t care. I kept on hitting and hitting and hitting until blood scorched my hands and painted the stone surface. I fell to my knees, tears staining the sides of my cheeks.

“W-why…? What do you want? Do you just want me to repeat the same exact actions? Do you want me to watch as they all just burn and die?!? Do you want me to go back and turn them all to ashes?!? Is that what you want?!? Is it?!?”

I yelled into the darkness that surrounded me as if I was expecting a response.

“I don’t get it… what’s the point of this test if not to save them?”

I stood up with whatever strength I could muster and slowly made my way out of the cave.

With each step I took, I felt something inside of me crack. Thrust into this hell, the protective mask I had worn, that I had been forced to wear around my heart, to survive these last weeks without everyone I held dear, had no chance of survival.

Here I had no distraction, I had no others I felt pressured to be “okay” in front of. Here, I just had my hollow, broken self.

I’d lost count of the number of times I begged for one last chance to be with them, oh how foolish I was to think it would be a blessing. One last chance just meant another unwelcome goodbye that always came too soon.

I stopped walking.

Why is being okay, so exhausting?

The rocky cave floor dug into my knees when my legs gave out.

I kneeled in the lonely embrace of the pitch black cave until a violent change in the winds pulled me out of my stupor.

I eventually reached the opening, light shining on me from above. My fists were dripping in blood; shattered, just like me.

I continued on back to the treeline before finding my horse. I climbed on top of it haphazardly and beckoned him to take me back to where I knew no one remained.

I rode back, depressed and defeated, using the pain in my hands to retain what little sanity I had left.

The smell of singed flesh and wood greeted me before I was able to see the edge of my village. I knew I was incapable of doing anything to change the fate of all the people that resided within those walls.

Yet, before I got to the gates, time seemed to suddenly halt.

Then I felt it.

It wasn’t the storm or the ominous gaze of that shrouded man, it was something inside of me.

‘N-no…’ I thought.

‘Why now… WHY NOW!?’

It began to swell with an unmistakable ferocity and strength. Time seemed to begin to move once more, the power within me rapidly growing and growing, much more than it ever did and I couldn’t stop it. In fact, I couldn’t even stop myself or the horse from moving closer and closer to the village.

‘PLEASE!! I AM BEGGING, SOMEONE, ANYONE, JUST STOP IT, KILL ME IF YOU HAVE TO!’

But no one answered, the words refusing to crest the edges of my lips.

‘No… Please, no. Anything but this- ANYTHING BUT THIS!’

I pleaded and pleaded but nothing could stop what was about to happen.

‘Mother, father, everyone… I am so sorry…’ was my last thought before I felt the power within explode, causing me to blackout.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Now, that isn’t the kind of expression I’d expect on someone who just turned eighteen, what’s the matter, kiddo?” I heard a voice call from beyond me.

I raised my gaze slowly to be met by my father's smiling face.

‘I used to think you looked so goofy with that smile, but now I’d give anything to be able to see it again everyday.’

“Dad, can I ask you something?”

“Of course you can.” He answered, his voice turning more serious. “What’s on your mind?”

“Have you ever tried to change something, but no matter what you did, it always seems to go back to how it was before?” I asked, holding his gaze.

“Hmm,” he pondered, taking a seat next to me. “I can’t say I’ve had a situation like that, however I do think I can offer some advice on what to do.”

He rubbed his chin for a few moments before continuing.

“If you’re trying to change something, but it always seems to go back to how it was, then maybe it’s not meant to be changed.” He answered

‘That’s not the answer I want, I don’t want to relive that event.’

“Sometimes, that’s just how it is.” He continued, almost as if reading my thoughts. “Whether it be moments of great joy or ones of great tragedy, some things in life are just fated to happen.”

“Everything that happens, happens for a reason. Nothing is done without consequence and no one can outrun that, at least not forever. It’s these types of things that challenge us, the only thing we have control over is how we turn out, how we grow.”

‘But did you all have to die…?’ I thought, feeling the pain and sorrow well up inside of me.

Then, without a second's notice, he took me in his arms. His warm embrace was something I hadn’t felt in so long.

“No matter what happens, you will always be my little Huntress, and I will always love you. Never forget that, Eve.”

I couldn’t hold back the tears and buried my head into his chest.

“I love you dad.” I barely managed to choke out in between sobs.

I miss you dad

Out of nowhere he flicked my forehead and smiled, “If this is your attempt to postpone your trial because of nerves, I won’t have it. You are ready for anything this world has to throw at you!”

“Yeah, you’re right...” I said, trying to quell the emotions running loose within me.

“Now, you should get going, your mother and I will be waiting for your return.”

I slowly backed away from my father, wiping away whatever tears were still refusing to comply.

“I’ll become the best hunter to ever exist, I promise, dad.”

“I know you will, my little Huntress. You’re destined for great things and nothing will ever be able to stop you.”

I made my way towards my horse, trying to prepare myself to relive this night all over again.

“Good luck, Eve! Goodbye for now!” I heard my parents call out to me from the house.

Tears fell unabated as I turned around to give them the biggest smile I could.

“I promise, I’ll be back soon!”

‘I’m sorry, and thank you all for loving me. Goodbye, everyone…’

It felt like a nightmare as I relived all the moments from that night. Trying out the bow for the first time, hunting the deer, the cave, the fruit, until finally the part I dreaded the most: reliving the destruction of the village.

All the built up emotion - the anger, the pain, the sadness - everything flooded out at once, and for the first time since arriving at the capital, I truly, fully, broke down.

I cried harder than I’d ever cried as I walked through the destroyed village seeing all those dead bodies once again.

I cried and cried until I ran out of tears to cry. I screamed until I no longer had a voice to scream with. I cursed the power I’d been given until I ran out of curses to use before finally passing out as I did that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded with nothing but a bright void.

‘W-where am I?’ I thought as I tried to move.

Your body is still located in the third examination hall, of course.

‘Huh? You’re that voice I was hearing… but you kept suppressing my memories of you. Who are you? What are you?’

Who I am is not important.

‘How can you read my thoughts?’

That is your next question, in this situation? Interesting…

‘... Are you the reason for everything I just experienced?’

…

‘Well?’

Yes, I am.

‘Why? This wasn’t what I was supposed to experience- this wasn’t my exam. What was the purpose of this?’

To help you move on.

‘How was this supposed to help me move on?!?’

That is for you to understand.

‘Then what can you tell me?!’

…

Some time passed before the voice continued

Calamity. Your life, your path, your future; calamity awaits you. I hope you can grow to face your fate. The lives of the people you love and surround yourself with will be determined by your decisions. Understand that you must not let the past bind you and that you must face your fears or they will swallow you whole.

‘Wait, what do you mean?!’

But, without warning, darkness began to envelop me as it had done multiple times before. I tried as hard as I could to move, to stretch my arm out, to open my eyes, but it was all for naught.

I was finally able to open my eyes, only to be greeted with the sight of the relic within my hands, glowing in a bright green light.

I had completed the selection, but this time I had no joy, no happiness, nothing but sadness as I felt a steady stream of tears flowing down my cheeks.

‘Even in a fake world, I still couldn’t save you all… I’m so so sorry’ I thought to myself as I started to walk away, feeling my legs weak, yet solid underneath me.

“Eve, are you okay?” I heard Amelia ask from behind me, concern lacing her words.

I faced her with a solemn smile.

“It’s like I told you, Mayla, you’re not alone…”