CHAPTER 19

Goodbye, Eidan

            Eidan never knew it would turn out like this.

            Such hatred, fear, grief and love… so much love, for this was what the story was all about.

            One month ago, he’d realized that ever since he was a child, he’d set out on a quest to find love, searching for his place in the world, the meaning to life, something that made him want to wake up in the morning and smile when nobody was looking. He wanted the freedom to express himself to someone who genuinely cared, but most importantly, he didn’t ever want to be alone.

            Because of his status as one of them, Eidan was always destined to live a life of solitude. He was different, an outcast, a gray freak in a world of black and white. Those who knew his secret said he’d always be alone, but he was stubborn and wanted to prove them wrong no matter what the price.

            It was a selfish desire, a naïve joke, and now he regretted ever doing it.

            Love is not always patient, nor is it always kind… it’s a roaring tsunami—beautiful when seen crashing into a deserted island but hideous when swept up within it. After spending months mesmerized by this deceptive romance, he learned that love is no innocent hello.

            “You can’t do this,” Eidan said, his voice strained from fatigue. His fingers were numb and his legs felt heavy. Tears streamed down his cheeks. “I love her. Please, I love her!”

            He was in the eastern ruin just beyond the city of Zeon, and it’d taken him all night and half the next day to run there at full speed. He’d exhausted so much energy that plants died whenever he walked past them, and as he stepped across the graveyard of shions, he could hear their cries as their corpses rotted—death, no hope for resurrection.

            But Eidan didn’t care. He was human now. He’d surrendered his Kinetic disposition for her, for Farrah, for the woman that he loved. The animals no longer spoke to him, Yaga hissed and the trees whispered of the horrors of the wild human. He’d given up everything for her, and now she was being taken away.  

            Eidan’s knees wanted to buckle beneath him. He staggered towards her, inhaling air that screamed before being sucked inside. And as he exhaled, white mist blew out like a deadly poison.

            “Why?” he breathed. “Why would you do this?”

            Before him stood a man that was as elegant as he was hideous. His name was Lemuel—Master Lemuel—and he was like Eidan, tall and slender with black hair and blue eyes, and even the madness that lingered there could surely be found in Eidan’s eyes, as well. They were the same, different creatures but similar at heart. While this man was a Kinetic and Eidan a halfblood, both of them were capable of becoming monsters. It all depended on which side of the scale leaned further towards the ground.

            Eidan’s voice shook, and he took another step closer. “Master,” he sobbed. “Please, Master. I’ll do whatever you ask. Just please, do not hurt her.”

            Master Lemuel held Farrah by the throat, his arm bent around her neck as she kicked and struggled to make him let go. It was terrifying. His own master, the man that’d abandoned him after teaching him how to be a human Kinetic, had come to them in the night and stolen Farrah from their bed. Eidan had always promised that he’d wake, but it’d been at least an hour before the poison from the flower Retsu Uster wore off.

            Farrah’s black eyes glistened with tears, her fear screaming louder than the cry of the deceased shions.

            Eidan didn’t know what to do. It was as if his master had truly gone mad, and knowing him, knowing what he could do—this knowledge alone was enough to make even the bravest Elite run back to their base with his tail between his legs. Yes, Master Lemuel may have been a Kinetic, and perhaps he understood emotions just as well as Eidan did, but it was for these reasons he was great. Understanding emotions was the key to great power. As long as you could comprehend them, you could communicate easier to the Universe and learn secrets that should never be told.

            The man’s deep blue eyes were dark and lackluster, hollow, like the cold stare of a lifeless beast. Where had he been all this time? Why did he abandon Eidan? Oh, it didn’t matter. What was done was history, and it was well known that the people of Ecual didn’t care much for history.

            Eidan curled his hands into fists. “Why aren’t you saying anything? At least explain yourself!”

            The monster narrowed his depthless eyes.

            Farrah scowled and took a breath large enough to allow her to speak. “Eidan, you idiot! Open your mind and listen!”

            Eidan frowned. “Listen? But I…”

            And then a voice entered his head, soft and comforting. It was the voice of his master from twelve years ago, back when he was sane enough to be called a man. “I’m not alive,” the voice said. “I was murdered long ago. I’m not alive, this isn’t me. Please, are you listening?”

            Eidan gasped. “M-Master!”

            He rushed forward, eager to help his undead mentor, but the beast growled and tightened his grip around Farrah’s throat.

            Eidan stopped, terrified, and quickly looked around him. Who was doing this? What sorcery could raise a soul from the grave and manipulate it? But most importantly, why would they target Eidan and Farrah?

            Eidan gritted his teeth.

            It’d nearly been three months since they began their journey. During this time, they discovered many things about each other that they never thought they’d have the pleasure of knowing. Their hopes, their fears, the affection they shared towards each other and their hope to never be separated. Farrah didn’t even care about returning to Earth anymore. She liked the jungle, she liked Eidan, and as long as they were together, she was happy.

            That’s all they ever wanted, to be happy, and they lived for two months in peace without any kind of disturbance. They weren’t cruel to Nature, they weren’t merciless or immoral, and in no way did they interact with humans. So who would do this to them? Who would use sorcery to destroy everything they ever wanted?

            A Kinetic, Eidan thought. It has to be a Kinetic.

            Though he didn’t know how a Kinetic could learn sorcery, it wasn’t entirely strange. After all, Master Lemuel was a Kinetic, and technically, so was Eidan. They had the ability to learn great things, so perhaps a Kinetic had something similar and set out to end their lives.

            But no, none of that matters. Master is a dangerous spirit and a Kinetic sorcerer is controlling him. How could I possibly stand a chance against them?

            Eidan took a deep breath and tried to control his emotions. He needed to calm down and stop crying like a fool. He was human, he was painfully human, but he was still capable of doing great things.

            He began drawing even more energy towards him, sacrificing the life of the trees nearby, and at once his undead master decided to act. As he stared, a cruel, twisted smile spread across his face. Farrah’s eyes widened. She was going to scream, but the undead master cupped his hand over her mouth to muffle out the sound.

            Eidan’s first instinct was to assume that the spirit was doing something to her. He was about to retaliate, to send some form of attack towards him, when the energy that he was struggling to collect began flowing in reverse. A moment later, he felt a cold hand on his shoulder and gasped. It was the other Kinetic, the sorcerer and sole culprit.

            Slowly, Eidan looked to his left.

            His heart skipped a beat. Something like a scream escaped from his mouth and he took three quick steps away from it before his knees gave in and he fell to the ground.

            If Eidan wasn’t trembling before, he was now, and his heart seemed to beat in time to each quiver.

            It was a Kinetic, an actual Kinetic—marble white skin, a walking skeleton, sunken eyes of pale blue and thin wisps of crimped black hair. He wasn’t dressed, and his motions seemed slow and painful. His skin broke off and crumbled when his fingers twitched, and the erebus that he wore was black and embedded directly into his chest.

            It was a monster, a true, inhuman beast. In no way did it resemble Eidan or his master, and yet… yet it gave truth to the tales that were told amongst the humans.

            Eidan narrowed his eyes.

            This monster can’t be real, he thought. I know the Kinetics, I know what Master taught me. Kinetics aren’t like this, and this… I don’t know what this is.

            Even still, the beast that stood before him seemed to follow every detail that’d ever been used to describe it. The Kinetic was weak and horrifying, surely unable to eat, while its skills at manipulating energy were exceptional. It could stand ten paces away and still suck the life from Eidan’s being. As he stared into its emotionless eyes, it reaped his energy until he could barely keep his eyes ajar.

            Eidan forced himself to look away and returned to Farrah. That was when something bizarre happened. As soon as he saw her horrified eyes, the image of reality twisted and bent, his vision misbehaving, until his master disappeared and there were two Farrahs instead of one. They were equally scared and confused, standing to Eidan’s right with wide eyes and a bloody lip. They looked at each other, then they looked at the monster before settling on Eidan. 

            “Eidan, you have to—”

            They spoke in unison, then they stopped at the same time and shot each other identical glares. They took two steps towards each other and raised a hand to strike, but it was the same hand, and if they both followed through, they’d both be stuck.

            Eidan was terrified enough as it was. He didn’t understand what was happening or why the Kinetic chose to kill them like this. It shouldn’t have mattered if Eidan was mentally scarred. Kinetics were always direct and efficient, and they’d never go out of their way to learn sorcery merely to terrorize the only humans they’d seen in over three millennia.

            Don’t worry, Farrah, I’ll find a way to save you. Eidan returned to the ghastly Kinetic. What do you want? Why haven’t you killed us yet?

            The Farrahs were circling each other, glaring and making brief gestures in an attempt to see if the other would lag behind. Suddenly, they darted for a large rock, lifted it and hurled it towards the Kinetic. It seemed to hit an invisible wall, and before it could crash onto the ground, the two Farrahs were thrown off their feet and sent flying towards the entrance to the tunnel ruin.

            Eidan’s heart skipped a beat. In a brief instant, he summoned all the energy he could gather around him and used it to climb to his feet and bolt towards them.

            “Farrah!” he cried. “Farrah, which one are you?”

            Frantic, he stopped and looked between them, trying to decide which Farrah was the original. His legs trembled. As the girls struggled to sit up, he started for the one on the left, then he stopped and looked at the Farrah on his right.

            “Which one, which one?” a voice whispered into his mind. Eidan looked behind him, but the Kinetic had vanished. He spun back around and the beast stood between the two girls, its arms limp at its sides as it stared. “You have to choose,” the voice said. “Which one is Farrah? Which one is the illusion?”

            Eidan scowled. “I shouldn’t have to choose. Why are you doing this? Why play these games when you could simply kill us? Kinetics can’t even make illusions. You’re not real. This makes no sense!”

            At this, the Kinetic’s papery lips curled at each end, his thin lips parted and his jaw creaked ajar. Air that seemed to scream was inhaled through his mouth, and then a strange white mist was exhaled. Slowly, incredibly slowly, he spoke, and his voice was like tree limbs creaking in the wind. “I can take life with a single thought. Choose now or I will kill for you.”

            Eidan’s eyes widened.

            What type of deranged monster was this? He was worse than a human, forcing Eidan to choose which Farrah was the real one. But how could he decide when they were perfectly in sync? This was cruel and unjust, but at least Eidan was given a grain of hope. Farrah was going to die if he didn’t decide, and if Eidan chose right, maybe both of them would live.

            He looked from one Farrah to the next, and each of them were equally horrified. How was he to choose? It was impossible, and this game of death was senseless.

            Tears streamed down both of their cheeks. “Remember,” they whispered. “Open your mind and listen. He could help.”

            But Eidan’s mind was open, he’d been waiting for some form of voice to guide him for several minutes now, but either his master’s spirit had vanished entirely or somebody was blocking his thoughts. Regardless, Eidan had no clue who to choose. There was nothing in the world that could help him.

            We’re going to die, he thought. I’m going to stand here and let Farrah die because I’m too weak and too much of a coward to fight. If I was only my Kinetic self, if it would only listen to me…

            “This isn’t right,” he said. “Why are you doing this?”

            The Kinetic’s mouth still hung open. Slowly, he replied, “Because your master’s spirit interfered with my plan.”

            Eidan frowned. “I don’t understand.”

            “You are correct. Kinetics can’t possibly look so ghastly. What you see is not my true form. It’s merely a tool used to frighten you. I see it’s working.”

            Eidan’s frown deepened. He shook his head, confused, then he used his meagerly small pool of energy and stepped around the strange beast to get a better look.

            Of course this monster couldn’t have been real, of course it was controlling his master’s spirit, but then did that mean they were illusions all along? Where was the true culprit, what was he, and why wouldn’t he answer Eidan’s question?

            “Why are you doing this?” Eidan asked again. “You can’t be a Kinetic. If you’re playing these games, you can’t be—”

            “Not games,” the voice whispered into his mind. “Reality.”

            And then Farrah’s head snapped abruptly to its left, both of them, gone in an instant. Eidan could feel the soul rush from her body and seep into the host of the Kinetic beast. It came from the left. The true Farrah had been on the left all along. She’d been there. She was right there, right there, and now… and now she was…

            Eidan’s entire body went rigid. He watched, petrified, as her corpse fell limply to the floor.

            “Farrah?”

            There was no response. Of course there was no response.

            Eidan’s lips trembled, his breathing sped up, and for some reason, the ground beneath him began to tremble. He looked to the black sea that stretched far above him, and it was at this moment that the Kinetic took his energy, as well. His knees gave out beneath him and he fell face forward onto the ground.

            Farrah, are you there?

            He turned his aching neck until he could clearly see Farrah’s corpse. Her eyes were left open, and the glistening light of life had disappeared. Even still, she looked beautiful. As the blood dripped from her mouth, nose and eyes, she was the most stunning beast Eidan had ever seen.

            He reached out his hand and brushed her twitching fingers. They were still warm, and as the seconds passed, they seemed to curl back into their natural position as if she was slowly falling sleep.

            Eidan took her hand and closed his eyes.

            I’m such a fool, he thought. I came here knowing that my life would end, and now that the end has come, I welcome it.

            Because what was life without the air that helped him breath, or the food that he ate or the precious time she gave him. For two whole months, Farrah had weaved herself into his life so intricately that Eidan couldn’t function without her. After he’d realized that she was kidnapped, his brain ceased to function. He ran off without first conserving the energy to keep himself alive, let alone to save the one he loved. She was his other half, the part of himself that he’d been searching for all the days of his life. She made him human, and even though he was also a Kinetic, he loved being human because of her. So what was life without his beloved? He’d gladly fall on his sword if she were to leave him.

            Something hard fell down against his head, pushing his cheeks into the rough corpse of shions. It was then that Eidan realized he was sobbing—not because he was about to die, but because he was responsible for Farrah’s death.

            I should’ve woken directly after she was kidnapped, he thought. I should’ve run faster, I should’ve reaped more energy, or in the very least, I could’ve killed the Kinetic while I still had the chance. Instead I stared dumbfounded like a spineless fool. Why did this have to happen? How could I have allowed myself to betray her?

            There was a faint vibration in the ground. Several feet quickly approached.

            “No!” It was Zuri. “No, you weren’t supposed to kill her!”

            Eidan opened his eyes and squeezed his beloved’s stiff, cold hand. Gradually, the pressure against his head increased.

            “I do as I please,” the voice above him replied. It was the Kinetic, the voice that’d invaded his mind only moments ago. “It was the only way to make this vermin bow. He’s typically far too defensive, but after I stole her, he ran and he ran, and when he arrived here, I had her held down by his old master as he trembled from exhaustion. Flawless, I’d say. A perfect plan, until that spirit gave it away.”

            “You looked like a devil.” It was Everest now. “Was that a true Kinetic?”

            “No. Human rubbish.”

            “Well get on with it, Leone,” a new voice said. Eidan wasn’t sure who it belonged to, but it seemed like they were all familiar with him. “This world isn’t ending any faster.”

            Everest shushed him. “Patience, Gal, my dear old friend. Let the boy grieve.”

            Gal… Gal, the god of empathy.

            “Grieve!” Zuri exclaimed. “No, he’s… he’s…. I can’t take this! Leone, please. Gal, Everest. I take it back. Just make this stop. I don’t want the world to end. We’re not ready, something isn’t right!”

            The pressure against Eidan’s head continued to increase, and he squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth.

            Farrah, my beloved, I’ll come to you. Once this is over, once I’m gone, I’ll find you and we’ll… we’ll…

            More pressure, and Eidan choked on his sobs. “Please!” he cried. It was difficult to move his jaw. “I beg you, just end this!