Part IX

Solias

My eyes are so heavy. I strain to keep them open just enough as to not fall asleep. The noises around me are so faint and slowly fade from my attention. Uriu ties my wrists and ankles to a cross without regard to my wound. Some fuune pull on a pair of ropes attached to my cross and yank me upright for the rest of the crowd of fuune to see. My wound makes it difficult to stand and breathe. I feel myself slip deeper into the abyss named death. I will not die here!

Many Fuune gather around my cross with their chants and waving bloody human pieces in the air. They pound the dead villagers, dance like crazy men, and howl to the heavens as the sky darkens with Araius slowly becoming obscured by an unknown force. Fear overcomes me as I watch them celebrate this dark moment in the history of Talius.

Shuute

The fuune do not disturb me as I pull myself forward through the tunnels by leaning on the walls. They are absent, actually, and my fear grows to the wonder of what could be happening to Solias. As I begin to approach an opening to the outside, I hear vile exclamations of joy and festivity. My body drags itself closer to see the darkened sky and I see fuune all around cheering out their energy. I search around the direction where they gaze to look for the reason of their rejoicing. I try to crawl underneath them.

"Now is the time to anoint the man of the hour!" Uriu's voice echoes over the corwd and causes the fuune to cease their loud calls.

The mob looks down at me and step back to make a circle around me.

I cringe at the possibility that they are preparing to jump on me as I lay here in the snow with my belly down.

Uriu exclaims another statement, "Sadly, our man is wounded and requires an escort."

One of them comes closer from behind my vision and picks me up. The individual fuune perches me on his shoulder and begins to walk as the others make a clear path to Uriu and a cross.

I stare down all of the fuune with anger and confusion as they look up at me. Their expressions are so calm, contempt, and respectful-towards me. Are they planning a sacrifice? I finally make it to the center where Uriu is and the fuune gently places me on my feet in front of him.

He steps closer stoically with the cross and Solias behind him. What takes me back in surprise is when he kneels before me with his head low. "Forgive me for harming you, my prince. It was your orders to do whatever it took to prepare this moment."

His prince? "What are you talking about?" The pain in my side does not cease and so my grip on it tightens.

He looks up at me with his yellow eyes. "I understand that your memory has been cleared completely in order to pose as a yugri, but we don't have much time for me to explain." Uriu then unveils a dagger from his cloak. "You must hurry my Lord, before you remember and Solai realizes what our plan is."

I gaze up to examine Solias further and then exclaim my command to him, "I don't know what you mean, but you will allow Solias and I to leave at once!"

He maintains a straight face. "I cannot do that, my prince, you told me that this event must take place."

"I did no such thing!"

"Do you remember Noegi?" Uriu's glare takes on a whole new serious meaning.

For a reason unknown to me, I pause before quickly replying, "He was the previous chosen one and cousins with Solias, she saw him as an older brother." I squint my eyes at him accusingly. "But then these monsters murdered him!"

Uriu's demeanor remains dour. "But you murdered him, Sire, and ate his flesh."

"Enough!" My sword leaves my sheath by my hand and clashes with the dagger that Uriu wields. I force my body to lean in close to him. "Cease your lies and I may spare your life, betrayer!"

Uriu shouts back at me, "Stop believing in the lies that these people live by, in the lies that Solai has led them astray with!" He begins to overpower me in the struggle. "Try to remember the incident with Noegi, with his yugri Algor. You can at least do that!"

My anger begins to overcome him slightly. "I recall the fuune tearing him to bits!"

"Do you!?"

His affirmation causes me to stumble a bit at my own knowledge. Eventually, the force of our swords together causes us to separate and leave a distance between us.

He goes on about it, "Can you recall the details? What were you and Algor doing? Why didn't you help him? How come Solias can't tell you? How come you haven't talked to her about that night, that very moment it happened?"

I think over it myself to slowly find logic with his words. The harder I try to remember that night, the more convoluted it becomes. I can see myself devouring Noegi's flesh like a wild animal, but I've also witnessed Algor doing the same instead of me. Who did it then? Who killed Noegi?

"See, my liege," Uriu whispers to me, "You're beginning to know the truth again."

My thoughts dig deeper into my memories. I begin to realize something important. I look to him gravely. "Are the yugri-supposed to rememberSolai's presence, I mean, the intimacy that they had with her while in the heavens?"

The dagger in his hands lowers and he nods with the same demeanor as me. "I remember those days."His face becomes saddened as his eyes stare up at the sky above us. "I remember being up in the heavens with her, believing her slander like you do now." His voice then intensifies with frustration. "Then I came to the surface of Talious and learned of her malign intentions!"

I sense that something is off. There's still one question that haunts me. "If Solai is lying to us all, what is her untruth exactly?"

Taking his gaze away from Solai's dwelling place and back to me, he lifts the blade again for me to examine. "My apologies, my prince, but I cannot tell you that until after you perform the sacrifice."

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In the village

The great village of Haluen lays dormant as a town for ghosts to wander in anguish. The snowed pathways that flow between tents are stained in a red-pink shade from the lifeless bodies. The villagers lie flat in the snow with terror frozen on their faces. The triumphant Fuune stand over them and shout in victory, eagerly waiting for the final moment of Solai's reign.

They watch as her celestial body dims and stirs in the sky.

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Shuute

Uriu grabs the blade of the dagger and points the pommel towards me, his personality grave as one would have from after a battle. "Please, your majesty, this must be done now."

Uriu's words have stirred my thoughts and force me to see this situation in a new light. He has given me little to no enlightenment, and yet something inside of me says to believe him. My sight gazes to the dying body of Solias. Do I truly love her? If I am truly one of Kranos, would that mean I forced my obsession of her to complete the task? What is so special of her anyway? am I truly a yugri as I have told myself all these years? I look back to Uriu with uncertainty as he stares back patiently. "Who am I? You now refer to me as 'Prince' and yet I do not know what you mean."

"It shall be revealed to you once the deed is done."

I take the weapon into my hand and turn to Solias. I try not to hesitate and promptly thrust the blade into her wound. Her exhausted scream carries across the field. With my heart now broken, I force the blade down her gut and allow her blood to flow out. Her innards begin to trail out as I pull the dagger from her flesh, letting her last breath come to pass. Why was that so easy to do? Did I truly love her at all? Broken inwardly, I look to Uriu who smiles back humbly.

A sudden quake shakes the surface tremendously and causes all of us to fall to our knees. With it comes a loud bang that steals away my hearing and leaves me with an unnerving rinning in my ears.

Uriu and I look to the heavens in fear and wonder to see a crack full of blackness in the sky. I can hear him murmur words but my hearing has yet to come back.

The wrath within me returns and comes to an uncontrollable boil. I involuntarily pounce on him and get him on his back while pinning him to the ground. "What is happening!? What did you make me do!?" The rinning in my ears finally cease and I'm able to hear him speak.

He looks at me with the fear still in his eyes. "I don't know what this is. All I wanted was to free Kranos from his prison."

The lack of light from Solai fails to cool the heated rage within me. "Why would you want that? Kranos is the whole reason we yugri exist, to protect humans from the scum bags known as fuune. He's the reason why this planet is in an eternal tundra!"

"That's a lie and you know it! Solai wanted to rule Talious all by herself and has kept both her love and her offspring in a celestial prison!" His gaze then goes back to me. "This sacrifice was supposed to free them so that they could inflict justice onto Solai for her misdeeds and greed for power." Uriu looks back to the sky with an absent mind.

I look to the sky as well and see the hole of darkness spreading across the stars.

Uriu speaks some more, "However, I am not sure what this is."

A rumbling comes from beneath the planet's crust and rebounds across the land. Its vigor intensifies and starts thrashing everything out of place.

I watch the cross of Solias waver and quickly snap with her body crashing into the hard snow. My dear Solias... I rush over and detach her from the instrument of torture. Her body rests peacefully in my arms. I wish I said my farewell to her, or stabbed Uriu instead! Why, why did I murder the woman who made my heart!?

The face of Talious breaks apart around me with the roar of the quake, but my sole attention still lies on her tranquil body.

Uriu is quick to be by my side like the loyal servant he was supposed to be all those years ago. He lays a had on my shoulder and shouts over the demolishing rocks. "My prince!"

I slowly turn my head to him with curiosity replacing my skeptisicm. "Why do you call me that?"

He speaks louder, "Son of Kranos, let me protect you!"

Son of Kranos? Is that true?

I then feel his arm cover my back and spread outward as a dark shield from the crumbling surroundings.

The swaying platform that the three of us stay on no longer has its movements.

What have I done?

I can feel my body grow numb, there is no coldness or warmth to it. I no longer know who I am. Am I truly the son of Kranos, or a yugri as I've always believed? Why was I so quick to sacrifice the love of my life? Why do I suddenly remember killing Noegi and eating the flesh of Algor? Was I ever up in the heavens with Solai?

"Shuute." Uriu's voice echoes with the dark shield around me. "Do you remember what Solai did, all those years ago?" He allows his question and the silence to mix around in my mind. All of the questions, memories, and evidence stirs inside of me as I ponder.

"I..." The words slowly form in my head with hesitation. "I remember-speaking to someone-someone with great power."

"Yes, your father, Kranos. It must have been before you left him and joined the mortals here. That's when you met me and we found Algor."

The memory slowly lucifies in my mind. It's becoming more real to me as I think about it. "Yes." I remember now. "I am the son of Kranos, rightful heir to rule Talius!" I stand from my kneeling as Uriu's shield opens up to more darkness and stands beside me.

A blimp of a light catches our attention and grows until the space itself turns white around us. We now stand in a bright room.

A woman sits on her throne in front of us, looking much like Solais. She sits proudly with a devious smirk curled up on her lips. "You remember now?"

I step forward boldly. "Yes, I remember you locking up my father and grandfather, just so you could have Talius all to yourself. You greedy wretch!"

She sits back with her legs and arms crossed, insulted.

I continue with my claim, "It may have cost us Talius, but now Araius and Kranos are free, and you have no one to rule over. The five of us can sit in this realm and rot together for the rest of eternity!"

END