《Forever Alive》


 Chapter 1: The awakening

    I awoke to the gentle hum of the machine beside me, a soft beeping rhythmically monitoring every heartbeat and the activity around it. Gradually, I opened my eyes, glancing at the room¡¯s ceiling. The pale walls mirrored the glow of the fluorescent lights suspended above, creating an ethereal ambiance. The large window overlooking the city revealed it was sunset; the sky was a lively orange, and the sun barely shone through the tall buildings. The white curtains were hauled around by the wind coming from the air conditioning just below the window, spreading the scent of hand sanitizer and latex around the room.


    A wave of panic crept through my body ¡ªmy knowledge of the surroundings and the events leading up to my presence here was painfully limited. As I grappled with uncertainty, a warm hand gently touched my arm. The comforting heat radiating from it enveloped me, and when I turned my head, I discovered a woman looking at me with a soft smile as if acknowledging the moment I became aware of her presence.


    Her eyes were tired and sad with a glimpse of what the woman once was shining through them. Her black hair, clearly matted, looked like it hadn¡¯t been brushed in weeks. By the look of the belongings next to the door, it appeared as if she had been spending her time in the chair from across the bed and rarely leaving it. She had a small pile of personal items, including a notebook with meticulous notes and cryptic symbols, some old food wrappers, and a medium bag with clothing shuffled around it.


    ¡°Welcome back to the world of the living, It has been a while¡±


    I looked deeper into her face, attempting to remember who the woman across from me was. My head pounded as I analyzed her skin, which was filled with deep wrinkles, making her look older than she probably was. She was wearing a red string shirt showing her skin. Her long, bare arms had some muscle in them, but they were not necessarily the type you would see on the body of a person who goes to the gym daily. Still, they were clearly defined, as if she spent much time doing heavy-duty activities. My eyes traveled through her and settled on a small white crescent moon on her right shoulder.


    A man began pacing around her, and he paused to observe me as I shifted my weight in the bed, my body gradually awakening from what felt like the longest slumber. His face was gentle and rounded, a white beard framing his lips as though they were mere whispers beneath its cover. His large green eyes sparked with light upon noticing my movement, and his nose seemed to flare in anticipation as if he held his breath for that fleeting moment.


    Time hung suspended for what felt like an eternity. Finally, the man turned his attention to the woman across from me and spoke. His voice was deep and rough.


    ¡°Ren¡± ¨C His eyes blazed, probably remembering a time when I didn¡¯t look how I felt; there wasn¡¯t a mirror around, so I couldn¡¯t see the shape I was really in, but I could feel it, my arms weakened, like glass that already had a crack going through, waiting to break, my legs numbed possibly from being on the same position for too long; My chest filling me with air and pain on every breath.


    ¡°Ren¡­¡± the man proceeded, he repeated my name, I was sure of it. Slower this time, he started taking steps towards me, walking at a sluggish pace, probably not to scare me off; he was gentle in his approach, his voice a couple of octaves down, as if he was talking to a deer that just got hit by a car, attempting to show it some empathy and calmness. The man sat on the bed and approached my hand but didn¡¯t touch it.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you awake. I wasn¡¯t sure if you would make it back of this one,¡± the man said, his voice sounding like it was about to break.


    I looked up at him, confused. My memory of the events that took me to this moment is not there anymore; the longer I tried to remember, the longer it hurt, making my brain feel like a ticking time bomb. I only had what little information the man was offering. The woman across from me moved her chair closer than before and exchanged a quick, worried look with the man.


    ¡°Ren ¨C do you know where you are?¡± said the woman. That was an easy question to answer; the clues all around me pointed me to the most obvious answer¡ªa hospital.


    I nodded.


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    The woman took the nod in and exhaled in relief, but it led to another question that I couldn¡¯t quite answer for her.


    ¡°Ren,¡± Her voice lowered. ¡°Do you remember how you ended up here?¡±


    The man seemed surprised by the question. He looked between her and me; his eyes widened, and his eyebrows raised and curved, the wrinkles across his forehead more noticeable than before. I looked at them, and a deep sense of familiarity filled my mind, the same way that you would experience a deja vu.


    ¡°No.¡± I finally answered.


    Although I could feel the words trying to get out of me, that simple ¡®no¡¯ took much more of me than I expected. As soon as I finished saying the word, they both looked at each other; the man¡¯s face, previously surprised, was now terrified. The woman took the chair back, making a horrible screeching sound. The woman, pensive about the situation in front of her, adjusted her posture around the chair. Bringing her arm to a resting place and her fingers tapping in her mouth, she was probably thinking the best way to phrase the next question or address what I had just said to her. She looked like she was about to say another word when the doctor came in.


    A strikingly handsome doctor entered the room. His face was adorned with a broad smile that exuded confidence and purpose. His bright blue eyes sparkled, complemented by the hue of his light blue shirt. Despite the seasoned assurance in his gaze, he appeared remarkably young, almost defying the possibility of completing medical school in his mid-twenties. His slicked-back blonde hair accentuated a sharp chin and well-defined cheekbones, adding to his overall air of professionalism and allure. He was deep in thought when he walked in. I could only notice this due to his delayed realization of my awakened state. When he finally noticed, his smile grew more prominent than before.


    He had in his hands what appeared to be my chart and looked at me.


    ¡°Ah! ¨C Rennee Daxon, what a lovely surprise. We didn¡¯t expect you to be up yet; this is all new to us, but¡­¡±


    My expression changed after he finished that sentence. He must have noticed it because he abruptly stopped what he was about to say. His face changed along mine, his eyes darkened, and his smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.


    ¡°They haven¡¯t told you yet?¡± the doctor asked.


    The woman and the man looked at him with very distinguishable worried looks on their faces, their eyebrows put together, and both holding their breath for the next possible sentence. The woman stood up and addressed the doctor.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t yet; we think something is wrong; she doesn¡¯t seem to remember.¡±


    The white-bearded man nodded, looking at the woman, agreeing with the recap of the events just moments before the handsome doctor showed up.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    He approached me and brought up a small light to my eyes; then, he proceeded to listen to my heart.


    ¡°Nothing out of the ordinary here ¨C You are remarkably healthy for everything you have endured.¡± He then took a step back and positioned himself in between the couple. ¡°Tell me, Rennee, what is the last thing you remember? Anything would do.¡±


    I held a blank stare after he asked me this question. It got me thinking: This wasn¡¯t just about what had happened to me, but how could I articulate the unsettling reality that my memory was a fragmented puzzle with significant pieces missing? How could I explain to the people standing in front of me who so clearly had been by my side for who knows how long that, as far as I was concerned, they didn¡¯t exist because I didn¡¯t know them?


    I made one last attempt to put myself together and remember what my life was like before today. No luck. It just brought up a headache that made me put my hands just underneath my forehead, giving it a slight massage to relieve the pain.


    ¡°My name, I remember my name,¡± I asserted, seeking solace in the only fragment of certainty within my grasp.


    All three of them glanced at each other; it was evident that my answer fell short of their expectations. The doctor took another step forward before asking.


    ¡°And what else do you remember?¡± He inquired gently, acknowledging the delicate nature of my situation.


    ¡°That¡¯s it, I can¡¯t remember anything past that,¡± I said low enough for him to hear but not loud enough for me to feel like it was real.


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, Rennee. I¡¯m Dr. Orion, your primary caretaker, and this is Mr. and Mrs. Daxon. I will give you some space to get acquainted,¡±and so he did.


    He left the room with my chart and mentioned a couple more things about some other tests that needed to be performed and how he would schedule them as soon as he could, but he also gave me some time to get my feelings back together.


    The woman and the man exchanged one more meaningful glance. They looked like they were having a silent conversation with each other. I didn¡¯t dare to say the first word partially because I didn¡¯t even know where to begin. Especially because to me, I was born today.

 Chapter 2: The hospital

    After the doctor withdrew himself from my room, I was left with disorganized thoughts and a lot of information I wasn¡¯t sure how to process; the silence in the room was palpable. Neither of us knew what to say to each other; finally, Mr. Daxon rose from his seat and embraced me, a gesture that caught me off guard.


    I could see the tears coming down his cheeks and warming up the shoulders of my hospital gown as he hugged me tighter with every dripping tear. He took a deep breath in, a failed attempt at calming himself. He then said to me,


    ¡°We will solve this together.¡±


    By this point, I had started to want some answers. The initial frustration and fears of waking up disoriented had started to wear off, and they had been replaced with anger and a drive to find answers. I willed up the courage and asked the first question that came to mind.


    ¡°What happened to me?¡±


    The woman was the first one to look at me; she had a guilty look on her face, the kind of look that a kid would give their parents when they knew they had done something terrible but were afraid of admitting it. She took a deep, long breath and clenched her fists against her legs. She nodded at Mr Daxon and then proceeded to address me.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know; we have been trying to figure it out, but there wasn¡¯t much to go off from,¡± she said with a solemn tone in her voice.


    ¡°What do you mean you DON¡¯T KNOW?¡± I asked angrily, ¡°Where did you find me? How did I end up here?¡±


    The man put a comforting hand on the woman¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°We found you covered in blood, unresponsive ¨C We didn¡¯t know how much it was yours or if there was someone else¡¯s blood involved; we thought we lost you.¡± the man said firmly as if he was trying his best to maintain a controlled environment.


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    ¡°No, We didn¡¯t think it Will, WE DID lose you.¡±


    At this point, I was in shock. There were more questions than answers than I had expected, and it left me thinking about how much of me I wanted to know about and if there was a small part of me that perhaps felt relieved to have forgotten what had gotten me here.


    ¡°How long?¡± I asked


    ¡°How long what?¡±


    ¡°How long have I been out?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we want to put that kind of pressure on you ¡ª The woman said as she dug herself deeper into the chair ¡ª After all you just woke up¡±


    ¡°No, I need to know.¡±


    ¡°a century ago¡±


    ¡°A century ago? how is that even possible?¡± This didn¡¯t make any sense, how can I be in a comma for this long?


    ¡°You have been out for a century. This is a lot to explain, but we can show you and explain it better once you are released. This is more of a show and tell.¡±


    and that was that any further questions about the subject fell on deaf ears.


    The days passed as my family and I got more comfortable. There wasn¡¯t much to do in the hospital while I recovered besides talking to each other and re-discovering our relationship. My father, William, told me about how his work as a historian kept him busy. His job as a preservationist gave him a flexible schedule to come and go to the hospital and travel around the world and see some of the most valuable and magnificent pieces of history. According to him, I was following his path in a similar way; I hunted down ancient artifacts believed to have belonged to the gods themselves. My mother, Nisha, is an expert linguist. She was in charge of translating much of my father¡¯s and I¡¯s work while starting the preservation stages.


    The more I heard about our lives, although we lived separately, the more I wanted to remember them, remember them, remember our adventures. Our jobs somehow intertwined together even if grew apart. We grew together through our professions.


    Dr. Orion kept taps on me and visited consistently. It had been at least seven days since the day that I had woken up. After relentless exams and scans, I could finally leave with my family. The relief on everyone¡¯s faces when he came in to let us know that he thought I had recuperated my strength, was able to get my belongings, and was slowly returning to what my life was, had me both excited and worried. I was divided for one part: I would finally be able to look outside the hospital walls; for the other part, I was deeply worried about the question of how much of my old life I would be able to return to without a memory of it and how my work would be affected by it.

 Chapter 3: The Driver

    Taking my first steps out of the building was the easy part, but the overwhelming sound of the city was making me feel as if I perhaps should have stayed another day and continued my recovery in the hospital.


    The city was full of life. Tall apartments, as far as the eye could see; if I paid attention to the lighted-up windows, I could almost see what was happening in them. The afternoon traffic was at an all-time high, the beeping of the cars trying to get home, and the families walking across the streets, keeping their children at a close distance, gave me a sense of comfort; this was indeed my city; I felt it deep in my bones. The sounds and the views might be overwhelming, but they were beautiful and alive.


    The cool fall air reached my lungs, my chest still sore from whatever had happened to me, but it didn¡¯t bother me as much as before. I let the wind mess up my long ebony hair. My big red jacket and the white sweater Mrs. Daxon had given me hugged my body and kept me warm despite the low temperatures.


    I looked at my parents, dedicating special attention to my mother, whose hair was tangled and matted a couple of days back and was now lustrous and clean. Her face had a certain calm to it. Her sharp eyebrows and hazel eyes seem to have returned to a much happier expression, a slight smile showing like the Monalisa in her thick pink lips. My father, although calmer, still carried the burdens of the hospital on his shoulders. His small eyes faded away within his eyebrows. He didn¡¯t seem to want to talk much, but his presence was enough to make me feel comfortable around the streets of New Seattle.


    Mr Daxon pointed at a nearby taxi and said, ¡°This is it. This is us. We better take it before he gets upset we are late again.¡±


    The taxi, although ordinary, had a blue color instead of the usual yellow; it had the common taxi sign written across the car and a small light showing it was empty and ready for the next passenger. The driver, an older man who looked close to having a foot on the grave, walked out of the car. His short and fine white hair was carefully slicked back. His agility to open the doors was impressive, considering he could have been close to a hundred. He was professionally dressed, and an ironed suit showed how skinny he truly was.


    ¡°Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Daxon, I have been awaiting thou,¡± the gentleman exclaimed. My father was the first one to approach the driver.


    ¡°Frederick, it is a pleasure to see you on this side of town; please take us to the hotel down the main road. The one named the golden serpent,¡± said Mr Daxon.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Frederick Exclaimed upon looking at me ¡°Mistress Daxon, ¡®tis a joy to behold thee hale and hearty. The years, in truth, hath not cast their shadow upon thee.¡±


    ¡°It was a long nap, Frederick, one could almost say it was mostly beauty sleep¡±


    ¡°Mayhap thou shouldst indulge in such pleasantries more oft, forsooth, it hath wrought its charms with evident success.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember that next time I want to go in a Comma¡± I laughed as I entered the car


    Frederick embarked on the journey behind the wheel, deftly navigating a succession of turns that ultimately led us onto the highway. I was nodding away until I heard the sound of sirens pulling closer to us. Surprised by the police in our tail, I glazed at the driver. He seemed unbothered, as if it was a daily occurrence for him, and pulled to the side of the road.


    Two officers stepped out of the police car, the first one taller than the other one, with a big bright white smile and dark skin. His short, buzzed hair made his ears pop out of his face. The other officer, barely five feet tall, followed right behind him, his red curly hair bouncing around short enough to look professional but long enough to start looking like a small Afro forming around his face.


    Frederick must have sensed my discomfort by being pulled over right after coming out of the hospital because he adjusted his mirror to look at me before he addressed me, ¡°Trouble thee not; I know how to manage the swine if the need doth arise.¡± I nodded.


    The first officer approached the window and slowly examined the vehicle¡¯s surroundings; his gaze stopped at my family and me. His eyes darkened, and his smile widened in an unnatural way. It must have alarmed Mr. and Mrs. Daxon because my parents immediately exited the vehicle and signaled to the driver to drive away. If I didn¡¯t feel like bells were going off before, I certainly did now. Frederick hit the gas pedal so hard my body hit the back of the car, hitting me in the head; if I hadn¡¯t already had memory issues, I probably would have had them after that.


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    ¡°DON¡¯T STOP AND DON¡¯T LOOK BACK!!!¡± was all I could hear Mrs Daxon say as we sped away


    I looked back with immediate regret, the faces of what before had seemed to be completely normal police officers had slowly transformed into my worst nightmare. Their features morphed into what resembled spider fangs and black eyes. Their arms extended further than what a normal person should be able to do. I looked at Frederick terrified.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± I exclaimed with panic, ¡°What are those things?¡±


    The driver looked at me through the mirror and said, ¡°A quandary. We shalt seek out George; he shall explain.¡± he proceeded to mumble something and hit me in the head with his index finger. I was out before I even knew what else happened.


    I woke up still inside the car; it was no longer afternoon but nighttime. I didn¡¯t know how long I was out or how Frederick managed to put me down with a simple touch on my forehead. I looked out the window, and he was just standing outside. ¡°Thou has awoken,¡± said Frederick as he opened the door to let me out of the passenger seat.


    We had parked in front of what seemed to be an old library. One broken light flickering marked the point of entrance. The clock on the side of the building marked midnight. As I examined my surroundings, I noticed no tall apartments or skyscrapers around me; it was just the library a big majestic tree, and miles of nothing.


    Frederick¡¯s bony hands offered me help to get out of the car. I rejected it and did my best to follow him as we entered the building. I didn¡¯t want to follow him in, but I did it anyway because, let¡¯s be honest, where else could I even go? The family I had gained in the past few days was left behind mere hours ago to fight what it looked like to be a not-very-heroic version of Spider-Man.


    I dragged my feet across the floor as we passed the entryway; the building was much larger on the inside than what it appeared to be from the outside; on the right side of the entrance, a desk with no clerk was adorned with what seemed to be a plant lover¡¯s heaven. To the left, several smaller tables were pulled together to form a bigger table with some activity books left behind, probably by a younger crowd of children passing the time in the library earlier in the day.


    He guided me towards the back section of the library; as we passed different sections of the building, we remained in silence. I had to pay attention to my surroundings in case things went awry.


    At the very back of the library, there was a medium copper door that said ¡®employees only.¡¯ He pushed it open, and the entirety of the room changed.


    Golden ceilings as high as twenty feet tall greeted me at the entrance. The marble floor impeccably shined, reflecting the lights from the columns to the side. The pillars were adorned by golden snakes wrapping themselves around them, and in the middle of the room, a fire with blue flames dancing around the fire pit warmed me up as soon as I crossed the threshold. It was similar to a central terminal. Doors at every side, and dozens of people coming in and out of rooms.


    all from ages ranging from the early twenties to what appeared to be the late nineties, all dressed as if they came from all corners of the world to conglomerate here. Paintings adorned the walls with different important time events and a small inscription on the side of each of them. Some looked old but well-maintained.


    As we walked down the room and into the hallway, we saw a small shadow box with a piece of rock cut inside, with some brownish-red paint that looked like it came from a cave painting. The figures in it looked to be celebrating, and there was a small fire in front of them. Next to the box, there was a small plaque with the inscription ¡°Prometheus¡¯s betrayal.¡±


    I must have been mesmerized by the piece of history in front of me because I didn¡¯t notice that a man had been standing next to me. His eyes were big and blue like the ocean. He had small, thin lips and long blond hair covering his ears but just slightly at the top¡ªdressed in a casually blue buttoned shirt with the last two buttons left undone and brown pants adorned with suspenders. He couldn¡¯t have been older than me, he looked to be still in his early twenties. His skin was pale looking like he had seen a ghost. His big round glasses slightly slid onto his nose as he let out a small gasp.


    ¡°Frederick?¡± the young man exclaimed. ¡°Oh! Frederick, we haven¡¯t seen you around here for a while¡± He stopped to examine my face and His expression changed from surprise to concern.


    ¡°Frederick, what are you doing? How are you even here?¡±


    ¡°We must converse with George. Where doth he reside?¡±


    Milo let out a small sigh and pointed towards a door closer to the end of the hallway.


    ¡°He is in his office ¡ªYou know how he is, always trying to find the next best thing to keep them appeased.¡±


    Frederick seemed satisfied with that answer; he nodded and then addressed me, ¡°Abide here, for Milo shall attend thee. I shall return with all speed possible.¡± And that was the last I saw of him. I watched him as he walked away.


    ¡°I¡¯m Milo keeper of the library¡± He extended his hand forward ¡°And you are?¡±


    ¡°Rennee Daxon¡± I shook it firmly


    ¡°Well, Rennee Welcome to the Grand Central¡±

 Chapter 4: Milo

    Milo and I took some time to get acquainted. He wanted to know every detail of why I was accompanying Frederick to the Grand Central, and his company made me feel comfortable enough to share with him what had happened to me and the little information I knew from before that. At the end of it all, he gave me a huge smile.


    ¡°Well Rennee, Frederick doesn¡¯t just bring people around here you know? the Daxon¡¯s are legends around here, Mr. Daxon himself is well-known throughout the inner circle. and even then to be able to pass the threshold of the employee door you need to be marked¡± I was marked, I saw it when I was able to take my first bath, a small crescent moon on my shoulder, just like the one my mother had. At first, I thought it was a birthmark, but it was too perfect, too bright.


    ¡°Marked? Like cattle?¡±


    He left out a burst of raucous laughter that echoed through the air, a robust symphony of joy that seemed to ripple through the surroundings.


    ¡°I never heard it described that way, but yes. All the children of Phanes have one, you should have one on your shoulder if you were born by his will. Me on the other hand¡± He pulled his sleeve and a white sun appeared and disappeared blending into his skin ¡°I¡¯m just a keeper I have access but none of the perks you got¡± he winked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know I had any perks¡±


    ¡°Well, you have lived a life and a half in the past few days ¨C But what if I could show you some of those perks while we wait for good old Fred, Perhaps some of your old memories too,¡± he said as his smile grew larger and larger.


    ¡°What do you mean? Like an album?¡± I asked with skepticism.


    He chuckled at the question. He seemed excited to show me who I was. Who I am. ¡°No, silly, something better,¡± he responded. ¡°If you have been here before you should be able to come in¡±


    I followed him to one of the doors located on the left side of the hallway. Next to the door, there was a hand pad. He asked me to put my hand on it, and so I did. The system gave me a gentle beep and a door opened. The small screen then said, ¡°Rennee Daxon, Welcome.¡±


    The room was a small studio apartment. A rectangle divided by a vast bookcase that you could see through, the bed on one side and the living room on the other. There wasn¡¯t a Kitchen on site, but I could see a bathroom door in between the bedroom and the living space. It was tastefully decorated with small trinkets, probably passed down from generations ago. The walls had newspaper articles and mostly black and white pictures all over them.


    ¡°So¡­ What do you think? Do you like it?¡± Milo said as he entered the room.


    In all truth, I didn¡¯t know if I did. According to the machine outside, this was the entrance to my old life. The space was limited; across the surfaces, I could see a thin layer of dust, hinting that I hadn¡¯t been here for a while. I didn¡¯t know what to say, I just wanted to take it all in, walk around the room, and read every article and picture I could.


    ¡°Yeah, it is a bit small, but most have smaller spaces, it¡¯s necessary since you guys find so many items some wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the temptation of bringing home more trinkets and artifacts. But we can go see some of the ones you have brought back in the museum if you have any over there. later today while Frederick and George sort you out.¡± He was waiting for me to answer, but I was baffled.


    ¡°So this is all mine?¡± I asked as I gestured around the room. Still, I did not quite believe what was happening was real. I stepped out of the room, opened the door back into the main hallway, and took another step inside. ¡°Do all these people live here too? Where are their rooms?¡±


    His face lighted up at my question with the same excitement of a kid left alone at a candy store; he was dancing around the room, looking at all the pictures. ¡°Yes! You all get one, but you can choose to use it as a passing room. Not everyone stays here long-term,¡± he said as he signaled me to come closer to the other side of the room.


    ¡°Where are the other ones? There aren¡¯t many doors out there. I can¡¯t see how it can fit all these people in rooms like these.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°Is because of the pad. It just opens directly to your place. See, Phanes reverse-engineered the Yggdrasil, the tree of worlds, and made it into a miniature version of the actual thing; these are all pocket dimensions connected to a physical representation of the tree.¡±


    He continued to explain as he gestured around, moving his arms to pretend he was a tree too, and miming a door opening


    ¡°And this is how we are here! You guys are lucky. Pocket dimensions are not very common to come by, but I mean, I guess when you work for the God of Creation himself, the sky is the limit.¡± He shrugged


    ¡°You don¡¯t get one?¡± I asked, stepping closer to him; he stopped dancing as his face dropped with disappointment. His shoulders dropped down when he finally said.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not like you guys. I¡¯m just simply human. I do get my own space, but it isn¡¯t here. I have lived in the area most of my life, and many librarian kids do. I train under George to upkeep the library and keep all your guys¡¯ discoveries and history well-kept. Someone has to do the admin work. ¨C You know?¡±


    Then he shifted his weight on his feet and pointed towards an old picture on the wall. ¡°This is you!? Seems to be from back in the day.¡± it was clear he wanted to change the subject at hand.


    I looked at the picture, inspecting it closer. It was just hanging with a thumbtack on the wood in the bookcase. The picture was black and white with what appeared to be an older version of me in front of an archaeological site and a thumb. I took it off the wall to examine it better. Behind the picture, there was a small scripture, ¡°1922, Tutankhamun.¡± It took me a second to connect the thoughts together, but Milo just said this was me, and if the date was accurate, this was well over a hundred years ago.


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    ¡°What do you mean this is me? I look similar, of course, but there is no way that this is me.¡±


    Milo¡¯s Blue eyes shimmered. He loved the disbelief in my voice. And he was clearly loving being the one explaining it to me.


    ¡°Oh, but it is,¡± he purred. ¡°Clearly, you are in need of a history lesson because I don¡¯t know what Frederick has been telling you, but clearly, he has been keeping out the good stuff.¡±


    As quickly as he walked into the room, he left it and me with it, and then he yelled from the outside, ¡°Are you coming or what? There is no time to waste. I have so much I want to show you.¡±


    I finally snapped out of the initial shock and ran beside him.


    ¡°You seem to excited to give me the grand tour¡± I chuckled


    ¡°Well this place is mostly a secret, and most people can¡¯t even come in through those doors¡± He pointed at the employee entrance ¡°And the people around here have been here as long as time, getting to show someone all of these has a certain something to it you know?¡±


    ¡°You finally get to spill the beans¡±


    ¡°EXACTLY!¡±


    He stopped standing by the fire pit and looked up towards the big wall reflecting the blue lights from the fire, the crackling of the flames behind us.


    In the wall, windows going all the way to the ceiling with stained, all together it was shaped like an arch glass window and at the top, a smaller arch framed the moon as it shone brightly through it; bellow the moon¡¯s arch the windows were divided into sections three sections. In the first picture, there was a man and a woman with what appeared to be a small mud sculpture. In the second picture, the man had the sculpture in one hand and a small fire in the other. In the third picture, the fire was gone, but the figure had come to life. I looked back at Milo, puzzled by the story before us, his blonde hair gleaming under the moonlight.


    He winked at me as he said, ¡°This is you and, well, most of the people around here.¡±


    I was more confused than before. ¡°I think you need to elaborate. "


    He moved around the fire, creating shadows for me to admire as he told the story. My story.


    ¡°Well, where to start? From the beginning, I guess?¡± he laughed at his own joke.


    ¡°As you know, I study under George to help maintain the library, but that¡¯s not all I do. I also help you guys spread the word about your ¡®findings.¡¯ You see, thousands of years ago, Phanes and Gaia loved humanity very dearly, and they loved how they continued to evolve and create. One day, Phanes decided he wanted to make a creation of his own, to, in a way, record everything that was happening so it would never be forgotten.¡±


    He pulled a notebook from his back pocket and pointed at it, showing me a list of tasks he was given and some drawings here and there. Then he went to the first page of the notebook and pointed at it. It read, ¡°Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.¡± I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Then, he proceeded.


    ¡°Gaia then proceeded to grab a part of her. Then, she and Phanes started making these figures; they were human-like but not quite human. Phanes used the Primordial Fire to bring the first of their race to life. He then gave you guys meaning to your lives, to live among the humans and to record the history of what was happening for the generations to come so the knowledge will never be lost. He named it the golden race.¡±


    He smiled as he pointed up. ¡°He also gave you guys something else. He wanted you to live as long as humanity lived, so he pulled a little extra god-like magic to make you guys immortal, but he didn¡¯t want to freak humans out with people not aging around them, so he gave you guys ecdysis, like a snake you shed your old human skin out and return to young adulthood to continue living among humans without raising too many eyebrows.¡±


    Milo continued prancing around the fire. Some others stopped to stare at him as he told the story of our creation. ¡°Soon, the humans began to grow in bigger groups and scatter around the earth; too many for the small group created by Phanes, so he gave you guys a new power of sorts. He allowed you guys to create more like you, except that not everyone can just grab a piece of mud and make another one like you. ¡ª Oh, if it was only so easy,¡± He said, primarily to himself.


    I could imagine a younger Milo playing around with mud and clay, making smaller versions of us and waiting for them to come up alive.


    ¡°If not everyone can, and let¡¯s say I wanted to make a friend for long travels, could I?¡¯ He stared deep into my eyes and came closer until he was next to my ear and whispered, ¡°No.¡± He stepped away ¡ª ¡°Only the small few in the inner circle can make more; they have the north star on their shoulder if you want to identify one. However, If you want a friend, I suppose you could take me with you.¡± He smiled. ¡°I long for adventure, plus I¡¯m great company¡­ If I say so myself.¡±


    Milo¡¯s story about our creation made little sense to me. Although it seems like he does have a great love for what he does for us here, I wasn¡¯t sure if he was made for adventure. If I¡¯m immortal and will continue to live as he ages, wouldn¡¯t it be best for me to ensure that he has as long a life as he could have? Adventuring out could be a dangerous task. I have been proof of that. I didn¡¯t end up in the hospital for having too much fun.


    I was deliberating with myself when the fire started crackling a little louder than before, and before I could react, a small piece of paper flew out of it right into my face. ¡°Oh¡± was my only reaction. It didn¡¯t hurt. After all, it was just paper, but it did startle me. Not every day, a piece of paper flies out of a fire.


    Milo was the first one to approach me to pick it up. He undid the folding in the note and read it out loud for me.


    ¡°Meet me at the library -P.¡± His face paled, and his shoulders dropped. He let out a loud sigh, ¡°The boss wants to see you.¡±


    ¡°The boss?¡± I asked


    ¡°Yeah, Phanes himself has decided to honor us with his presence. Whatever you did to gain his attention,¡± He grabbed me by my arms and said, ¡°Undo it, IMMEDIATELY.¡± He pronounced that last word like my life depended on it.


    Milo¡¯s whole attitude changed after the note. I did not want to risk getting him any more perturbed than he already was, so I just said ¡°understood¡± and started walking towards the library. He pulled my arm back in his direction and pointed toward the other side of the building.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the library the Boss wants you to go to. There is another one. At the end of the hallway, go through the big gold doors. The gates look like wings; cannot miss it.¡±


    I thanked him for his help and left, he was right the big golden wings in the back of the hallway couldn¡¯t be missed. As I walked by all the old paintings and artifacts showcasing the history of the world, people stopped to stare at me. I could feel their whispers and their looks. I couldn¡¯t make what they were saying, mostly because I was more concentrated on calming myself down; it had already been a lengthy enough day. Milo¡¯s words got into my head, and I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about them.


    He seemed legitimately worried about the presence of Phanes in the building; my hands felt clammier and colder as I opened the doors to enter the library, which was funny because the room irradiated warm and light. My heart felt like it would beat out of my chest any minute now. This may be a good moment to turn away. I thought to myself. But, like a cat filled with curiosity, I walked right into the library.

 Chapter 5: The God

    I was overwhelmed by the room in front of me. The library was massive; the ceiling was barely visible from where I was, and it almost looked like it was growing taller by the minute. Rich gold-and-mahogany spiral pillars adorned the room as far as the eye could see.


    There was intricate art depicting pictures of important historical figures, like Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and Da Vinci; behind the portrait of every person, there was a more petite figure behind them that looked like they were writing in a book. The shelves reached the ceiling and were filled with books that seemed to come from every language, old and new. As I approached them, the words rearranged into a language I could understand.


    A check-in desk appeared next to me, and with it, multiple small women appeared before me; they couldn¡¯t be taller than a foot. All wore the same face: an older woman with gold eyes and thick, long white hair carefully pinned back in a bun¡ª they were beautifully dressed, wearing a long, solid beige silk buttoned dress with long sleeves.


    The women began rapidly organizing themselves around the ivory ¡®U¡¯ shaped desk. One by one, they took position. A small light turned on when one of them stepped on a button. Over them, a sign reading ¡®Ready To Help¡¯ lighted up. There were about 4 of them: one next to a huge phone, one next to the desk¡¯s computer mouse, one next to a megaphone, and the last one by the keyboard. The one by the megaphone was the only one that addressed me.


    ¡°Welcome to the Library of Alexandria. Please state the reason for your visit and the books desired.¡± Her voice sounded like a woman who smoked her whole life. Her hoarse voice was not what I expected to hear.


    ¡°Phanes summoned me. I don¡¯t need books today.¡±


    A loud gasp from all four of them came out after I said I didn¡¯t want any books. One of them looked deeply offended by the comment.


    ¡°No Books?¡± the megaphone woman scoffed.


    ¡°Not today,¡± I reassured.


    Her small nostrils flared up, and her jaw clenched. ¡°Fine,¡± She replied dryly. ¡°Pull the book if you change your mind ¨C Second Floor to the right, follow the cashmere scent.¡±


    The desk then shrunk and folded into itself; the women became book pages with beautifully made watercolor portraits just as they were a minute ago. Then, the pages joined the desk, turning into a book that flew past me to the nearest shelf. The cover was red, and on the side, it read ¡°Eliza.¡±


    I followed the instructions and made my way to the second floor; she was right. The smell of cashmere was intense in this area, but it wasn¡¯t just cashmere; it was mixed in with vanilla undertones and some other scents I couldn¡¯t quite identify. I took a deep breath; taking it all in, the scent was strong but calming. I heard a humming coming from behind one of the bookshelves; as I followed the sound, I encountered a man sitting in front of me, his legs crossed, resting on a small black ottoman. He was leaning back on the chair, reading the world-famous Macbeth.


    The man was indistinguishably Phanes. He was astonishing. His skin had a light glow to it. His hazel eyes were carefully glancing over each word in the pages. His dark hair was well-kept and long enough to be styled back. He was wearing a buttoned-up white shirt that did a terrible job of hiding his powerful figure; the sleeves of his shirt were pulled back just enough to see an arm tattoo of a snake twirling on itself with a crescent moon in the middle and another crescent moon pointed in the opposite direction on the top, with small beams of light popping off it.


    He finally noticed me admiring him from a close distance and invited me to sit down, his eyes full of childlike wonder. He pointed at a chair beside his, separated only by a small side table. He closed his book and put it down on the table as he adjusted himself for conversation, removing his feet from the ottoman and changing into a more formal stance.


    ¡°Heracles, Castor and Melicertes. Does any of these names ring a bell?¡± he asked, genuinely intrigued by my answer. There was no greeting, just the random pull of names that appeared to be called upon just to give me some kind of reaction.


    ¡°No sir, it does not.¡± I had made it this far. Sitting before him, I could feel him studying every movement I made.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    He snapped his fingers, and three books flew from different floors towards us. I braced myself for impact, given the speed at which they were flying. They swung by and slowed down towards the descent, softly landing on the table beside us. With the names of the people he had mentioned written on each cover.


    ¡°You should learn your history more. It might help a little with your situation,¡± he said as he pointed towards my shoulder. ¡°Do you have it?¡± his eyes opened wide, and his arms showed how tense he truly was after asking that question.


    ¡°Have what?¡± At that moment, I wasn¡¯t sure what he was asking of me, but judging by his expression, it was serious and important to him.


    ¡°My mark.¡± he then pointed at a group of people on the other side of the room. A few wearing more revealing clothing had a small white mark on their shoulders, some had a small sun, and others had different types of smaller constellations. I remembered that Milo said the inner circle wore the symbol of the North Star. but I didn¡¯t see anyone with a visible one around the area.


    I removed my jacket and lowered my sweater around my right shoulder. There it was, clear as day, a small white crescent moon. In front of Phanes Presence, it seemed to be iridescent, it didn¡¯t burn, but it was distracting


    He pulled his chair forward and looked at it momentarily, stupefied.


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting.¡± He opened his hand, and a notebook appeared on it. He pulled his other hand, and a pen was on the other side. He took a couple of notes on it and made it disappear again. I took this opportunity to get my sweater back in place, hiding away my mark, and the light on it.


    Two snakes, a white and a black snake, appeared around my chair; they slithered around me and made their way to my hand. I reached out towards the table, where I found the final resting place for them to slither through. Their scales itched my skin as they passed by.


    Phanes took the opportunity to grab my hand and pull it to the table; before I knew it, he had stabbed my hand down to the table¡¯s surface. I attempted to yell, but no sound came out of me; the pain spread through my body from my hand. A small black-reddish dagger kept me in place.


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    My blood started coming down warm and slowly. Phanes ran his finger across my blood and took what felt like an eternity to look at it. He then took the dagger out of my hand and cleaned it with a piece of cloth that he took out of his pocket. I could start to see why Milo wanted me to steer clear of him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for all the experiments. Word travels fast around here. When I heard you were back, I couldn¡¯t believe it. George and Frederick caught me up on what happened to you.¡± as he was saying that, the pain slowly went away, and the whole from the dagger started closing in my hand. So this is what immortality is like?


    ¡°Okay, you all mighty; no more games,¡± I said as I was holding my hand in fear that he would try it again. He let out a loud laugh, bringing the attention of some passers-by. I think he was enjoying himself a little too much for my liking.


    ¡°What happened to me? Where are my Parents?¡± I asked firmly; at this moment in time, I had an opportunity to gain some clarity and to find the only people I had gotten to know in this new life I was living. However, if Milo is right, I¡¯m unsure if they would be classified as my parents.


    ¡°Rennee Daxon, that is you. That is who you are, or at least who you were. ¡ª Your Parents as you call them are safe¡± he played with the dagger as he addressed me, making me feel irritated he even had that thing still out.


    ¡°As what happened to you is a mystery to us all. You are right; I¡¯m all mighty,¡± his smile grew, ¡°But not all-knowing,¡± he stopped to look at me, to examine me.


    From under his chair, he dragged a large file with pictures and paperwork sticking out of it. He then stabbed the folder and gave me all of it.


    ¡°According to these files, you were found deceased in the 1920s after you sent an emergency signal. The team meant to help you, found you with this very dagger. ¨C This, Rennee, is the dagger that ended your life.¡± he pointed towards it with his chin.


    ¡°I thought we were immortal.¡± that came out involuntarily. All this information was coming at me too quickly, but I couldn¡¯t avoid the facts. This was indeed happening.


    ¡°To an extent, yes. But nature always finds a way. This dagger is not the only one of its kind. It is made out of the blood of your brothers and sisters.¡± his eyes darkened, and his prior playful expression disappeared off his face.


    ¡°We believe they were in the process of extracting your blood to make more when you were found. They, however, didn¡¯t finish the process all the way; we don¡¯t know what stopped them and why.¡± His hands dropped below his knees in a signal of defeat.


    His own creation was used against each other. What was meant to be good and last forever has been slowly exterminated like a pest. Who knows how many died at the hand of a dagger like this, and to top it off, who knows how they discovered that our blood could be used against us in such a way?


    He grabbed the blade again and looked at me, giving me the most awful feeling going down my spine. ¡°You aren¡¯t what you used to be; your mark is still there. So that means that you technically still belong to me, but your blood ¨C is human.¡±


    He signaled a nearby woman to approach him; the girl seemed nervous but was happy to comply; after all, he was a God walking between his subjects. The girl was younger than the others; her red hair made her cheeks look even more flush than they were


    ¡°Your hand, Maribel.¡± He extended his hand out, and she placed hers on his. ¡°Brace yourself,¡± She closed her eyes as her muscles began to tense.


    He slowly ran the blade through her hand. Blood, or rather something similar to it, was running down her hand; it wasn¡¯t the regular crimson-red color that people usually have. It was blue and gooey. As the blade finished the cut, her hand had already begun healing. He then made a gesture for her to leave. She nodded and continued her path along the library.


    ¡°Okay then, I¡¯m not part of your golden children, and I¡¯m not human, so what am I?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he gave me a gentle smile; if it weren¡¯t because the man had stabbed me mere minutes ago with such aggression and speed, I would have found him attractive. ¡°A mix somehow?¡±


    ¡°Why would they do this to me?¡±


    ¡°You were a target, the way you were killed was rather violent to be described¡± He placed his hand in the folder and brought out some pictures, I let out a loud gasp, these pictures were too disturbing for me to admire for long periods of time. ¡°They wanted to make sure you were dead, you must have crossed someone¡¯s path, but somehow you are back ¡ª Alive¡± he was making small circles around the folder with his index finger, not daring to look me in the eyes.


    ¡°How is this possible, I have been dead for over a century¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know, there was a signal that came from you, I sent the Daxon¡¯s to investigate it, they more than anyone want to see the guilty parties brought to justice, they found you and when they noticed your human blood took you to the best doctor we know, he is one of mine¡± he finally looked up to me with a rather serious expression on his face ¡°I want to try something. I don¡¯t do it very often, mainly because I don¡¯t have the need for it. But I would like to access your mind.¡±


    ¡°Access my mind? Are you going to cut me open again?¡± I scoffed; God or no God, I would not let him do anything to hurt me again, fool me once.


    He let out a chuckle. And in his eyes, I could see some relief ¡°No, Ren, We aren¡¯t into that kind of lobotomy over here. Plus, it would be kinda messy, and I don¡¯t know if you noticed, but I¡¯m wearing white.¡±


    ¡°So you won¡¯t lobotomize me because you do not want to stain your shirt?¡± I asked stupefied


    ¡°Yes.¡± he smiled. ¡°The process is quite simple, really; I just need your permission to access your mind¡­ Well, I don¡¯t need it, but I prefer it; going into someone¡¯s subconscious is a lot easier when they are not fighting back. I¡¯ll see if I can access some of the lost memories. What do you say?¡±


    I was starting to wonder if I was better off dead. There may still be time to undo my awakening and return to my eternal slumber. I certainly do hope that all of this will be worth it in the end.


    I struggled to believe that this was what my life had just become; a couple of days ago, I was lying in the hospital bed feeling lost and frustrated; today, I¡¯m sitting across from The God of Creation himself. But this was not the time to fear or be selfish. I belonged here, and perhaps there is a reason why I was brought back.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± I tried to make my voice sound as confident as I could; I didn¡¯t want him to think that I was scared of what he would find in my mind.


    ¡°Atta girl!¡± he exclaimed in excitement. ¡°I¡¯m a little out of practice, but don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s like riding a bike.¡± he winked and extended his hands for me to grab onto.


    His long arms exuded warmth, and the smell of cashmere became far more prominent than before. I could feel his body coming closer to me until we were inches away. His eyes went from hazel to gold, reflecting light all around us. It was subtle but noticeable. I surrendered to the gentle embrace of the light, allowing its warmth to envelop me completely.


    I must have closed my eyes at some point after he grabbed me because when I opened them, the room was white. There was nothing around it. It was infinite whiteness; Phanes was standing in front of me, looking around ¨C He was definitely confused by his surroundings. He decided to start moving forward, and I kept a close distance from him. The only thing keeping us company was the sound of our footsteps.


    ¡°This is not what it normally looks like¡± his voice echoed through the infinite nothingness.


    ¡°What are we looking for?¡±


    ¡°We will know when we find it¡± he shrugged


    After an eternity had passed, or so it seemed, we reached a door. He attempted to open it, and when the door wouldn¡¯t budge, he went with the more aggressive approach of attempting to kick it down. It didn¡¯t move. He gazed in my direction, stepping aside to beckon me closer to the door. The moment I touched it, it turned red. The world around us started shaking. I fell onto Phanes, who held me tightly as if nothing and everything were moving simultaneously. After it was done, we turned to the door. It was Ajar.


    The door led to what appeared to be an old warehouse; I could see my old self walking around the place in a surreal and out-of-body experience.

 Chapter 6: The Murder

    The expansive warehouse sprawled out before me, a labyrinth of towering shelves laden with crates and stacked shipping containers. The air hung heavy with the scent of aged wood, rust, and the distant memories of cargo long departed. Dust particles danced in the muted sunlight filtering through the high windows, creating an otherworldly ambiance. Phanes and I stood in silence as we watched the only scene that appeared in my memory lane.


    I was, in all appearances, alone. This version of me looked so alive. She exuded an unmistakable air of self-assurance. Her posture was a testament to confidence. Her hair was styled and waved, and she wore a wide-legged, high-waisted pair of trousers and a loose-fitting blouse adorned with intricate Art Deco embroidery. A sleek, longline blazer completed her ensemble. Although we looked similar, this felt like a completely different person to who I am today.


    Every step echoed in the warehouse; She was carrying around a long and thick crowbar, leaving behind a trail of barely opened and destroyed crates. She was looking for something, and her face lit up a little every time she got a crate opened. Unfortunately, her actions weren¡¯t very quiet as they had attracted what I thought was an unwanted visitor. A man started to approach her; he was rushing her. I couldn¡¯t distinguish his face, and my memory was blurry. It was like looking through water deep in the ocean.


    All we could hear before the man left was, ¡°Hurry, they are coming.¡± He vanished through the warehouse door. Closing the door behind him. Whatever she or, rather, I was looking for must not have been worth the risk because not too long after the man left, she followed. Except that, unlike the man, I wouldn¡¯t make it out of this warehouse.


    The doors were locked. She pushed and pulled, but the door wouldn¡¯t move.


    ¡°You must have been looking for the artifact,¡± said Phanes not taking his eyes off the past version of me, as if he was taking it all in.


    ¡°What artifact?¡±


    ¡°It was your last mission, it was the-¡± The loud sound of a Crash interrupted him, and two men and a woman showed up, one going right through me as I was standing admiring the scene before me. I felt it, it gave me chills down my spine. We looked for their point of entry, they came through the windows; they looked like regular people except that their eyes were bloodshot, and their teeth seemed sharper, more like animal fangs than humans.


    They Cornered her. I seemed to have put up a fight. Exchanging swift blows and dodging with deft agility. As the confrontation intensified, one of them grabbed a piece of wood breaking it off from one of the half-destroyed crates, and used it to take her off her feet. A nearby attacker took the opportunity to use his blade while I was down stabbing the dagger into my heart over and over again. I felt the pain all over again, and so did Phanes; he wasn¡¯t only seeing my memories with me. He was living them. He bit down on his lip to stifle the groan escaping from his throat. As the pain spread through our bodies, the memory ended.


    We woke up back at the library. Phanes groaned in disbelief. What we saw affected him more than me. His fist clutched as he stood up. ¡°IT WAS NYX. That BITCH¡± he growled. ¡°I suspected it in the past. I just never had tangible evidence that SHE did it.¡± ¨C He was pacing rapidly around the room, enveloped in a conversation with himself.


    While he was busy debating with himself, I was deep in thought; I couldn¡¯t believe what I had just seen. Not everyone gets to say that they have seen themselves getting killed by supernatural beings in an out-of-body experience with a god. I was petrified. They didn¡¯t even seem to attempt to speak to me; they knew what they were doing, and they were going for the kill. The man who was hurrying me to leave was the only one left who could tell me why they were chasing me and what I was looking for. If he was still alive, that is.


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    He wasn¡¯t wearing anything revealing. Whether he was part of the Golden Race was the best alternative; if he were human, he would be a very elderly one. Milo did mention that I left journals, but with Phanes summoning me, I hadn¡¯t had the chance to explore them or even find them yet. It is hard to tell how much information they will contain about that night. And that still left my parents; I hadn¡¯t had the chance to address where they would be or if they were okay.


    Phanes wouldn¡¯t stop pacing back and forth. I could hear him grinding his teeth with every step; the lights around us began flickering, cueing the people nearby that perhaps it was time to leave. In the distance, I could hear Eliza yelling to return the books to the library before they left. His majesty stood before me. His anger burned like a relentless wildfire, consuming everything in its path. The warmth that his body emanated became too hot to handle, the room candles melting at his presence.


    ¡°Find HER,¡± He said sharply. ¡°Find the Artifact. Return to me then.¡± he let out a loud roar, and he disappeared into the air.


    The room temperature slowly returned to a more bearable one. My hands were shaking, and my throat was dry. I couldn¡¯t concentrate as the sounds of my heartbeat filled my brain; it felt like it would pop out of my chest any second now. I took a deep breath, determined to pacify the fear in me. With a new objective in mind - find George; he will surely know what to do from here. And how would I find Nyx or the Artifact?


    I left the library, took the left stairwell back to the main lobby, and looked back again to admire the damage that The Lord of Creation had done. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was clear something happened here. Eliza would be happy her precious books were safe from the destruction. I went through the big golden doors just to find Milo waiting for me at the entrance.


    ¡°So, how did it go?¡± he inquired with genuine curiosity. His hands full of what appeared to be Red Vines. He must have seen me staring at them because he added, ¡°Phanes¡¯s favorite snack. We keep it around in case he is in a mood.¡±


    I raised my eyebrows. ¡°Well, we could have used those in there; the room is practically scorched.¡±


    ¡°Scorched? That¡¯s new ¡ª Did he say anything you might find useful?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we went through my memories. well, memory, I only had a single one on the day of my death. He seems to think Nyx is behind it all. We need George; he might know what to do from here.¡± I said firmly, looking into Milo¡¯s Blue ocean eyes, he didn¡¯t dare to look away, he then nodded.


    ¡°If Nyx is behind all this, we all might be in trouble.¡± he took a deep breath. ¡°This place might be in trouble too.¡±


    Who was this Nyx woman, and why is she of such importance to put an end to what has been millennia in the making? Milo threw the Red Vines into a nearby trash can and started taking giant strides towards a wooden door nearby; he grabbed me by my arm and pulled me towards it.


    A big sign above the door engraved with ¡°The Office¡± made it clear we were in the right place. Before I could even open the door, Milo stopped me, placing his hand over my arm in a pushing motion. He turned his gaze toward me, adopting a stance as unyielding as a sentinel.


    ¡°Wherever you go, I¡¯m going with you,¡± he declared with a resolve that echoed through his words.


    ¡°Milo, I just don¡¯t think this is a good idea. You are mortal and so young. I want you to live many lives and get to tell those stories.¡± I could hear how worried I was about him.


    I barely knew him, yet I knew how smart and strong he was. I could see it in his eyes, in the way that he talked. He belonged here, safe at the library, not out there fighting these monsters that were trying to end us. At least I had a chance out there. I had seen what my healing abilities could do for me earlier.


    Milo then looked deeper into my eyes. And what had been a mere touch became a strong grip around my arm.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you, and that is the end of that. You cannot stop me. You need me; you need someone who understands this world,¡± the determination in his voice made me feel unsettled. But he wasn¡¯t wrong; I do need him, or at least someone like him, someone who could guide me through the history of this place and understand better what I was fighting.


    ¡°Fine,¡± I said reluctantly. ¡°But at the first sign of trouble, you must be out of the way.¡± He nodded and opened the door to the office

 Chapter 7: The Office

    The office was a smaller version of the library, except that his office did have a visible ceiling to stop the books from piling on too high. The walls were decorated by inspirational quotes all over, Pictures like ¡®You got this¡¯ and ¡®Failure is just a step stone¡¯ ornamented the walls.


    Frederick was seated in front of who I could only assume was George.


    The man¡¯s silver hair was thin and delicate; he could have been the same age as Frederick, with his wrinkles pilling up on top of each other and a thin, neatly trimmed mustache adorning his upper lip. His frame, robust and formidable, seemed to carry the weight of years with a seasoned grace. Although much older, his face carried a certain resemblance to Milo¡¯s. Cloaked in a well-worn suit, he moved with deliberate steps, every gesture reflecting the measured confidence of a man who had navigated the complexities of life.


    I knocked at the open door as a sign of respect for George before I entered the room; Frederick and he had been in a lively conversation until then. George stood closer to me and offered me a hand.


    ¡°Welcome back, Miss Maxon,¡± He signaled to a nearby chair and asked me to sit down. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time. Frederick caught me up on what had been happening, and Mrs. Daxon, you shall not worry; your family is safe. We retrieved them just in time; they were in their room resting. We¡­ we kind of had to patch them up a little. Arachne¡¯s spiders were draining them of their life force ¨C their blood. They are fine; they will make it, but now we have a bigger issue at hand.¡±


    A wave of relief left my body. My family had survived the attack sure they were mangled but alive.


    ¡°Milo and I found your latest journals; unfortunately, it looks like you were too smart for us and had a combination of languages and text as the main form of writing in your journals. We, however, have higher technology with us.¡± he patted his laptop, and a soft beep went on every couple of minutes.


    ¡°We are using Artificial intelligence to translate your scriptures, going through the most recent notes from the night of your¡­ Disappearance.¡± He caught himself before saying something unsensible to me.


    Milo shrugged; it wasn¡¯t the first time he was dealing with George¡¯s straight-to-the-point personality. Milo gave me a soft smile as if he reassured me that he was here with me if something didn¡¯t go well. I nodded at him in acknowledgment.


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. How does Arachne have something to do with this? Phanes seems to be under the impression that Nyx is behind it all?¡±


    George¡¯s face paled.


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± He said with uncertainty,


    ¡°The visions.¡± And so I explained everything to them: the white room, the red door, the man who was there the night of my murder, the three creatures that attacked me, and how I was ambushed in the search for something but gave up before the search was over.


    George began sweating; he took off his blazer, revealing significant sweat marks all around him. Frederick sat in silence, not wanting to interrupt. Milo waited his turn to speak and probably tell the man that he wouldn¡¯t be here much longer if I had to go out on an adventure. George then began hyperventilating.


    ¡°It-it can¡¯t b-be,¡± He said shakily. ¡°Would it be possible for them to be working together?¡±


    ¡°The creatures that attacked you! They must have been Nyx¡¯s night spawns! It makes perfect sense, the bloodshot eyes and the fangs, Of course, all the clues were there, the blood blades! This is how she makes them. She uses her Vampires to extract the blood, How did we not see this before?¡± Milo exclaimed. ¡°Arachne being part of the mix is a surprise; she hasn¡¯t been very keen on the Gods since Athena turned her into a hybrid of a spider and a woman.¡±


    ¡°So basically, I was killed by angry vampires and a spider woman commanded by Nyx?¡± That didn¡¯t sound promising, and it seemed like both of my newly discovered enemies had something in common: the ability to take one¡¯s life force and turn it into life-ending weapons. The irony struck me. ¡°What are the odds that one of those Vampires from that night is still around? We could capture one and make them tell us what else happened. Perhaps even guide us to the artifact.¡±


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    ¡°Yes, Indeed,¡± Said George, ¡°It won¡¯t be easy; they are fast, most mythologies got them painted wrong, and they can walk in the daytime, like regular humans; they blend in quite well except for the hunger and their unnatural speed and strength. They hunt at night, the easiest time to hide and lure people for their taking.¡±


    ¡°Then is settled. I¡¯ll pack up some garlic and some other anti-vampire tools like holy water,¡± I said


    ¡°Those don¡¯t work as well as you would imagine. We have some tools you might find useful.¡± George started shuffling things around his desk and my eyes deceived me; he had just pulled the sword out of the drawer of his desk, and I could hear clanking around in there some more. Who knows how many other weapons George had just sitting around on his desk? I made a mental note to go back and look for hidden pocket dimensions in my apartment.


    The sword itself was long and to my surprise incredibly light, it emanated some kind of darkness, the blade was made of onyx and inside the blade, a copper design ran from top to bottom, with runes and words I couldn¡¯t quite decipher. the sword had black leather covering the handle, making it easier to grip to.


    ¡°We have perfected pocket dimensions. All you have to do is Imagine Xiphos on your hand, and Xiphos will respond to your calling,¡± Said George. Then he closed his eyes and made a pushing motion with the sword; slowly, it disappeared into thin air. Although if I squinted my eyes just right, I could almost discern a subtle distortion in the air, reminiscent of the way a scorching day creates gentle ripples on the pavement.


    ¡°Set thine gaze upon the head, fair Mrs. Daxon and thine strike, it shall not e¡¯er come back to vex thee.¡± Said Frederick making what appeared to be a karate chop motion with his hand


    ¡°He is right, the only way to end them is to separate the head from the body¡± Milo added


    That seemed unnecessarily gruesome, but if I were to come back a whole century later I could see why they would take the extra precaution of keeping the head as far as they could from the body.


    He then stood up and pushed a large whiteboard behind him closer to us in the room. He started scribbling with notes from the conversation as the computer in the background gave soft beeps. Until they became louder, begging for someone to acknowledge what was happening on the computer, George finally gave his attention to the screen before him, his eyes widening and narrowing as he read my old journals for us.


    July 20th, 1924:


    The artifact is here; I can feel it. It calls my name, It knows I¡¯m looking for it, and It wants to be found. P wants it for some reason, but I think she does too. It is going to a museum nearby. I think they are on my tail. I can¡¯t let them have it. O. will meet me at the bay, and we will make our way together to the warehouse.


    I was intrigued; I wanted to continue to read the rest of my entries, not just the last one, but it gave a good clue of where to start. I hope that whoever this O is, They are still around to help me one last time. As of right now, I didn¡¯t have time to attempt to decipher my old journals; I would have to wait for a better time.


    George grabbed the handkerchief from his jacket and frantically patted his face with it. He inserted his hand under the desk and brought out an entire folder of papers; I recognized them from before. Phanes must have sent them through the fire as he did with the note to me. This was my file. George quickly scanned through the pages and brought out three different ones, each containing a different artifact.


    ¡°If they are working together, it means that they are looking for the artifact you were looking for in the past. The problem is that every mission is kept very hush-hush, and only the librarian in charge knows who is looking for what. Phanes is very clear about not discussing any probable artifacts in case they are listening.¡± He then placed all three papers in front of me. ¡°It has to be one of these.¡±


    The pictures before me made the decision of which one to follow much harder than it should. I wish Phanes wouldn¡¯t have gotten distracted by the fight, I would have had an easier chance to know which one is it. the pictures before me were very different from each other, but even as images I could feel their power The first picture was an old box with gold engraved around it and two small locks; it was simple but powerful, better known as the Pandora Box. The second picture, The Rod of Asclepius, is an elegant staff crafted from wood, adorned with a serpent gracefully winding around its length. The serpent¡¯s head, poised at the summit, gazes into the distance with an air of wisdom. Delicate laurel leaves form a wreath at the base, symbolizing the staff¡¯s medicinal properties. And finally, the last item, The Kibisis of Perseus, was a simple drawstring bag, nothing unusual about it. It was brown and a bit worn and ugly. It could be overlooked by some, but to me, this bag was it; my heart began to race as I took the picture to inspect it for a closer look. it wasn¡¯t about the item itself but what it contained. Whatever is inside this bag would bring peace of mind to Phanes or destruction to my entire race if it fell into the wrong hands.


    ¡°This is it.¡± Everyone came closer to take a look; even Frederick, who was in the furthest corner of the room, approached me.


    ¡°This is the item we are looking for. The artifact must be inside of it ¨C I can feel it.¡± And that wasn¡¯t a lie. My body was reacting to this picture, my heart racing, my hands shaking, my temperature dropping just at the mere sight of this bag. This had to be it. I couldn¡¯t be wrong now.

 Chapter 8: The Fates

    We left that very next morning, and I ended up making a home of the library for the night. Eliza wasn¡¯t pleasant company at the beginning; she insisted I go to sleep in my room, but I couldn¡¯t. The room was full of pictures and newspaper cut-outs of a life that I didn¡¯t have anymore, and I couldn¡¯t bear to be next to all these lost memories at such a crucial time, I felt like they were hunting me.


    A restful night eluded me entirely; while the library¡¯s couches and chairs provided physical comfort, they lacked the enchantment needed to ward off nightmares. Regrettably, the specter of the warehouse events revisited me that night, serving as a poignant reminder that, despite my perceived ¡°immortality,¡± my vulnerability remained undeniable. I dreamt about the man who was desperately trying to get me to leave the warehouse. I dreamt about the creatures of the night that took my very last breath away. I woke up drenched in sweat and shaking; the ghosts of my past were very present in my mind.


    Milo was ready and waiting for me. A big smile adorned his face, a black coffee in one hand and the keys to an old Honda Odyssey in the other. He ran to my side of the door and let me in. ¡°M¡¯lady,¡± he said, giving me a small head nod to encourage me to go inside. And so I did.


    ¡°Where to first?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I was talking to George last night after you turned in. We think that the best place for you to start your search is with the Fates. They should have your thread of life. We could use it to return your memories, potentially.¡± He started the car and drove away from the library, the radio muttering in the background.


    ¡°The Fates? And where are they located?¡± three angry ladies with too much power for their own good. Didn¡¯t feel like the most ideal place to start, but if this was the quickest way to find what had happened to the artifact then so be it.


    ¡°Well, the thing about the Fates is that they are ¡ª in Germany.¡± his knuckles became lighter and lighter as the Honda sped up, he was grabbing onto it tightly. I turned to look at the road when all I could see was us speeding up towards the tree by the library, he must have gone out of his way to get speed and come back around.


    ¡°Tree! TREE!!!!¡± is all I could manage to say until we hit the tree, except that we didn¡¯t suffer any damage or bodily injuries. We went right through it, and what was a long and abandoned desert turned into lustrous green pastures and grand, colorful structures all around us.


    I thought that was going to be it, the end of our journey before we even began. I pushed Milo from the passenger seat.


    ¡°Don¡¯t DO that EVER again without giving me the proper warning¡± My voice was firm, although I was shaken by the act.


    ¡°The Tree of Yggdrasil, Or at least the physical representation of it, You will get used to this¡± A gentle laugh escaped him.


    ¡°So this is it? We are here? Because that was remarkably fast¡± I was impressed Phanes technology or magic was remarkably powerful


    ¡°Yes but no, We are in Germany, just not in the part we need to be. Phanes set posts all over the world, but unfortunately, the closest post is here ¡ª in Berlin, the fates are still a few hours away¡± he then took what appeared to be a piece of gum from his pocket, split it in half, and gave me one ¡°This is Koine, it¡¯s a fancy translator, eat it up, you should be able to understand the language after¡±


    He then gave it a test run, going around shops and talking to some of the workers, it worked fine, I could understand him, and them, it was just different, like it was still your mother tongue, but not quite it.


    ¡°OH!¡± Milo Exclaimed ¡°I almost forgot¡± he pulled out two onyx necklaces, gold chains adorned it, the rock was shaped like a circle.


    ¡°what is this for?¡±


    ¡°Protection, Onyx was basically created by the fates, ours are bathed with Nyx¡¯s blood herself, the magic surrounding this will help us be aware of any ¡ª Unwanted attention¡± He put his on and helped me get mine in place. my long hair pulled up in a ponytail, graced his face, making him twirl his nose around.


    ¡°If Nyx has been behind it all this whole time, how come you guys haven¡¯t gone after her before¡± I asked as he was finished clasping the necklace around my neck.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t know it was her, ¡ª We had our suspicions and theories but nothing that could prove that she was the one behind it, she is too powerful to mess around with if you are not certain, after all, she reins the night. After your memory trip, it was confirmed only because you were there, all the attacks have been singles, and no one else was around when they happened. No one ever came back to tell the tale¡± his eyes, once bright with vitality, now flickered a muted glimmer ¡°We always found empty carcasses, no blood, nothing.¡±


    That must have been hard, he probably knew some of the people that Nyx took, how humbling must have been when our bodies started showing up one by one.


    ¡°We will make sure she stops for good¡± I tried to sound as comforting as I could. but I could tell even I wasn¡¯t fully convinced we were up to the task quite yet.


    ¡°Yeah, I hope so¡± he pulled a map and guided me back to the car ¡°We better get going, its going to take at least 7 hours to get to the Neuschwanstein castle¡±


    he placed the map on the hood of the car marking with a red X the end of our journey, X marks the treasure.


    ¡°A castle? The Fates are in a castle?¡± I was baffled of course they were in a castle, some of the most powerful beings living like Queens in Germany, it made perfect sense.


    ¡°When you are so powerful¡­¡± he didn¡¯t finish that sentence as i knew how it would end.


    I glanced at the sky, although back at home it was barely eight in the morning, here in Germany the sunset was coming down, we landed not far from a gas station so I picked up some extra maps of the area just in case, Milo was right we had a long journey ahead. I could only hope we got there in one piece.


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    Although I had just woken up mere hours ago, I could feel sleep calling me back to rest, my eyes felt heavy and every breath felt much slower than the one before, The next thing I knew I was back at the warehouse, except it seemed to be much earlier in the day than the first time I visited it. the man whose black hair could be comparable to the night itself, started to approach me, his grey eyes examining the room around us combined with his grey sweater making them resemble a thunderstorm., he could have been a God as his beauty was comparable to Phanes, except that he wasn¡¯t, Phanes¡¯s skin glowed with power, his was dull, and tanned. he wasn¡¯t necessarily built like a fighter but he had the stance for it, he was preparing himself for battle, his movements were swift and quiet, and the crowbar on his handheld was more like a weapon than a tool.


    As he stepped closer to me his image became more and more clear, his reflection gone from the windows leading to the outside. He was holding the crowbar in his right hand and a book with a brown leather cover in the other


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand Ren, this says it should be here¡± he looked puzzled, attempting to figure out the cryptic figures in the notebook.


    ¡°I told you, I got a tip saying it would be here¡± The words came out of my mouth, but I did not say anything, at least not consciously. Suddenly the world around us began shaking.


    ¡°We better hurry, I know they are tracking us,¡± he said, but it sounded like he was talking from very far away, even though he was right in front of me.


    the boxes began falling from the metal shelves around us, one by one making a horrible crashing sound, the man seemed like he was not noticing what was happening, he was still reading the notebook. Then all the glass from the warehouse shattered in an explosion. I Woke up.


    ¡°Hey welcome back, you were snoring pretty loudly there¡± he chuckled, as he took a big bite of jerky.


    My head was pounding, I was sweating, and I could feel it dripping down my skin, making me feel uncomfortable and dirty. My eyes felt heavy still.


    ¡°how long was I out?¡±


    ¡°not long, we got halfway there, but we got to stop for gas, good old Holga needs to be fed¡±


    ¡°Holga? you mean the Honda?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Holga and I have a history.¡± he gazed at me ¡°No need to be jealous it was mostly platonic¡± he winked.


    I let out a chuckle, I needed this. Some light-hearted jokes after a nightmare. a dream, or rather a memory? The man in the warehouse couldn¡¯t have come out of my imagination, he had to have been there. O. He must be O. Perhaps if I were to find him, he could help me.


    ¡°Where are we anyway?¡±


    ¡°According to the signs somewhere in Bindlach¡±


    ¡°that tells me nothing¡± I let out a sigh.


    ¡°Yeah, this is all new to me too¡±


    Bindlach was a much smaller town in comparison to New Seattle, we were passing by a residential area when I spotted a gas station not too far away, the building was old but well kept, we parked on one of the stations and Milo got off the vehicle leaving me and Holga alone. I couldn¡¯t believe it was technically so late already. I put down the window and looked up at the sky, the big North Star shinning brightly, made me think of my family and what they had endured to be able to get me back to the Grand Central, just for me to turn around and leave them while they were still recovering from the attack.


    Perhaps I could send them a letter later, Unsure if burning it up would be the way to get it fastest to them, but at least I could try to give them some peace of mind. I waited for Milo in the car, when I started feeling my neck burning, at first I didn¡¯t know where it was coming from, but then I felt it stronger than before, the stone was leaving a mark in my neck.


    I left the car and started walking around feeling the onyx in my hand, as it turned hotter and hotter with every step, I ended up behind the building, a couple was aggressively kissing each other, she leaning against the wall, and he maintaining a firm grasp on her waist.


    I was about to leave them alone when I saw from the corner of my eye, his bloodshot eyes. I did as George had instructed I called upon Xiphos, and charged toward the Man, and his blue eyes opened in surprise. He wasn¡¯t expecting company, the girl he had priorly so close to him, slowly descending to the floor, probably weak from the lack of oxygen and blood in her body.


    He wasn¡¯t armed like I was, but he moved incredibly fast, I aimed toward his stomach, after all, we needed one of them alive, He kept avoiding every swing, and luckily for me, Milo followed me, as he threw three daggers, one flew past me barely missing me, the other two landed on the vampire, one on his leg and the other one on his back. He groaned in pain. I took the opportunity to stab him with my sword. pinning him against the wall. I twisted it around his chest for good measure. He tried grabbing the blade out of his body, but I just pushed harder in, he only managed to injure himself more as he cut his hands with the sword.


    ¡°You will talk¡± I demanded.


    ¡°Easy there tiger, we need him alive,¡± Milo said as he put a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°Children of the light¡± he spat ¡°I have nothing for you and your golden people¡±


    ¡°Well you better have something for me, because my sword tells me it¡¯s hungry for a vampire, and I don¡¯t want it to not get what it wants,¡± I said as I continued to dig deeper into his chest.


    ¡°Some of your friends were sent out on a mission, looking for the Kibisis of Perseus ¡± His expression changed he was confused.


    ¡°That was over a century ago¡± His brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to make sense of her words. Blood filled his mouth drawing small rivers of crimson red going down his cheek ¡°No one ever came back from that my Brothers and Sister were never found¡±


    ¡°What did you just say?¡± frowning Milo stepped in


    ¡°They were gone, It was gone, there was nothing left behind¡± The Man insisted.


    I raised an eyebrow, a silent question mark in response to the confusing statement Milo¡¯s mouth was wide open, he sighed heavily as if the weight of the speaker¡¯s words bore down on him in a confusing manner.


    At least I wasn¡¯t the only one questioning the truthfulness of what he was saying, but If he had been honest, then who was there that night? Phanes seemed sure of himself. but then again he had also said that he was not all-knowing. I wanted to trust him, I wanted this to be It, I wanted to go home. Whatever home meant to me. The man started shaking violently, and suddenly he disappeared from right before me. leaving behind everything that he was wearing, in a small pile in front of us.


    The woman was still lying near us, she probably saw everything that happened, but I would be willing to bet she would think it was all a hallucination given how weak she was. Milo ran back to the gas station and requested an ambulance for the girl. after we had recovered all the items the vampire was wearing and placed them safely in the car to go through later.


    ¡°Well that was intense¡± was all Milo could say after I retrieved my sword still attached to the wall.


    ¡°Did I kill him?¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know.¡± He stuttered


    I performed the same motion George had done earlier, pulling it back to my pocket dimension. out of curiosity, I pulled in again, closed my eyes, and tried to imagine an empty room and a table in front of me, I placed my hand on it and tried to imagine anything, the first thing that came to mind was the book in my dream, I imagined the leather cover, and the pages inside of it, I opened my eyes again, and there it was. Sitting in front of me is the book from the warehouse

 Chapter 9: The Castle

    The book in my hand quite literally called my name. My heart felt as if it had skipped a beat the moment I grabbed it, and I looked outside. Milo was still with the paramedics, giving them some information as they were loading her into the back of the ambulance, ¡°Open me,¡± the book whispered softly. The leather cover felt cold to the touch, and the pages looked heavily worn out, a couple almost falling to the side, I could see sticking from the top a small newspaper clipping. ¡°Open me,¡± the book demanded again. Although the book was small, it felt heavy in my hands; I took one last glance at Milo, his sapphire eyes looking back at me as I was debating whether I should listen to the book and read its pages, the secrets they might hold.


    Milo saw the ambulance goodbye and started heading back to the Honda. I wanted more than anything to open this journal, but today wasn¡¯t the day. It just didn¡¯t feel right, I placed the book back in my Pocket dimension before Milo could see what was happening. This made me feel streamly uneasy. Whoever this was, it was something I wanted to look at on my own before I got him involved. When he finally returned, we took a moment to admire the pile of clothes in front of us. It wasn¡¯t much, an old pair of jeans, a grey T-shirt and a jacket.


    I grabbed the pants delicately, afraid that they might disappear just like the owner had. making an effort to dig into the pockets and see what kind of treasures I could find.


    The pants proved to be unsuccessful with any valuable information. The man only carried around a wallet in his pants. his ID showed that his name was Jeremy Hammerton, and according to it, he was in his late thirties, with some cash and a credit card. At least The ID gave us an idea of who he was before he disappeared. According to it, he was in his late thirties, or at least he appeared to be physically. Who knows how old he truly was?


    Milo was going through his jacket. It had a metallic smell; he had been feeding wearing this jacket often, old blood marks splattered all across the jacket, and a hole where I had stabbed him right in the center of it.


    ¡°Bingo!¡± Milo exclaimed


    He pulled Jeremy¡¯s Phone out of the jacket. It might not be the clue that we needed, but something was better than nothing. Luckily for us, Jeremy had an old flip phone, and without much security around it, we headed directly to the messages.


    For the most part, it was a lot of booty calls for late-night entertainment or, in his case, easy meals to go. One text drew my attention; it had come from some girl called Eleonor.


    Our Patron has work for us. Find me and that smug bastard at the old burned-down church in France, You know the one. See you there on Monday at feeding time I''ll bring the snacks, hope you like blondes. PS Don''t be late.


    Milo and I looked at each other. Perhaps this was a clue: Eleonor could have a strong connection to Nyx and be able to tell us more about where to find the artifact. But we had to hurry; this message was sent yesterday, and the meeting date was less than a week away.


    ¡°Well, Ren, I hope you like blondes because we have a party to crash.¡±


    I nodded. I felt closer to the truth than before. Eleonor is the key. I could feel it. Her name brought a feeling of fire inside of me. We had met before I knew it deep in my core. Now, it was my job to find her.


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    ¡°Let¡¯s find these fates once and for all,¡± I said with a newfound courage.


    Milo took back to the road only a short time after that. We had at least three more hours to go before we got to the castle, and unfortunately for me, our only company was the music coming from the radio.


    It was too late and too dark to admire the country we found ourselves in. I looked at Milo; he was a scrawny-looking man, but his aim today saved us and our mission.


    ¡°How did you learn to throw like that?¡±


    ¡°Your Father, actually, he used to come often with artifacts to restore by the Grand Central, and every time he was about to leave, we used to spend an afternoon or two throwing daggers and doing some archery. It was mostly for fun, you know ¨C boy stuff.¡± He savored each word, ¡°My father thought that as a keeper, none of those skills were essential since my only job was to live and die by the library.¡± His fingers absentmindedly traced the edge of the wheel.


    ¡°He must have not taken well that you were coming with me then.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± his skin paled as his eyes became wider. his breathing became shallow and uneven as guilt constricted his chest.


    ¡°YOU DIDN¡¯T TELL HIM?¡± I exclaimed in disbelief


    ¡°No ¨C He wouldn¡¯t have understood.¡±


    ¡°So basically, I kidnapped you.¡±


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m the driver, so I think, in theory, I kidnapped you.¡± A faint smile played on his lips.


    ¡°I bet George and Frederick will love that explanation.¡± I could feel the air around us clearing up and the tension from the situation going away. I was taking this moment in; it was a beautiful night.


    The night unfolded before us, a vast canvas painted with shades of deep blue adorned with the sparkling jewels of stars. The road stretched out like an endless ribbon, leading us to the castle where the Fates resided. As the car glided through the quiet darkness, Milo and I shared stories, laughter, and even a few moments of comfortable silence.


    The revelation about Milo''s clandestine departure from the Grand Central hung in the air like a delicate secret. I couldn''t help but empathize with his decision. The burden of destiny weighed differently on each of our shoulders, and sometimes, the choices we made were a dance with the unpredictable.


    As we approached the Neuschwanstein Castle, its towering spires emerged from the darkness, silhouetted against the moonlit sky. The grandeur of the castle invoked a sense of both awe and foreboding. We parked the car and made our way towards the entrance, the onyx necklaces around our necks pulsating with a reassuring warmth.


    The castle gates creaked open with an eerie sound as if they welcomed us into a realm of ancient power. We were greeted by a security guard, an older fellow with silver hair and a long nose that distracted from his face. He seemed surprised to see us, which it wasn¡¯t surprising we basically broke in the middle of the night. Then his eyes darted between Milo and me. As Milo took a step back placing his hand in one of the blades he kept attached in the back of his pants, ready to attack if needed.


    ¡°You are early,¡± his voice sounded eerie. ¡°They have been expecting you.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± was all I managed to say; the fellow then grabbed a pouch from his side and brought out some kind of white powder, blowing it towards us. Milo and I closed our eyes and pushed back, but it was too late. The powder was everywhere, our eyes burned, and our lungs kept doing their best to cough up as much out as they could. As we were doing our best to keep our composure, the guard was mumbling something in his teeth; I felt the powder all around my skin, itching and tingling at the same time. But as quickly as the feelings of burning came, they left.


    We opened our eyes again, and the man was gone. The castle felt the same, but it was different. The entrance was still as magnificent as earlier, but everything around us looked newer and smelled fresher; the tourist signs at the front had disappeared, and in their place, there were artisan tables with a big flower base and beautiful sunflowers popping out of them.

 Chapter 10: The King

    ¡°This isn¡¯t possible,¡± Said Milo with an overjoyed tone in his voice. He was extending his arms around, letting the light of the candelabra envelop his arms; he twisted around as his expression grew in excitement.


    ¡°I think you are a little too excited about what just happened; we got to find that guard and make him undo whatever he did to us,¡± I said very seriously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we will find him¡± Milo smirked


    ¡°And why is that?¡±


    ¡°He probably isn''t born yet.¡± His smile widened


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°We are in a time loop. I heard about them, I just never seen one.¡± He pointed at the walls and the flooring. ¡°This had more cracks when we came in, more wear and tear. Now they look fresh. ¨C New¡±


    ¡°In a time loop? Like Groundhog Day?¡±


    ¡°SPECIALLY LIKE GROUNDHOG DAY!¡± he exclaimed


    ¡°So when are we?¡±


    ¡°Well. judging by how new the building seemed, probably the late 1800s or early 1900s.¡±


    The early 1900s was all my mind could think about. If what Milo was saying was true, then I had a chance to go and stop my murder and return the artifact, sure, I¡¯m probably a couple of years early, but that is no big deal. I could wait around, as long as I needed to, stop what had happened to me, and most importantly, stop Nyx before she continued using her acolytes on the termination of my race as we know it.


    Milo must have read my mind because he came closer to me and grabbed my arms in a consolation gesture. His ocean-blue eyes looked worried.


    ¡°Ren, I know what you are thinking.¡± He looked at the door beside us, the night eating away anything far away in view. ¡°You can¡¯t stop it from happening; We are in a time loop. They are bound to places. Once you exit, you will be back to our time.¡± The melancholic tone in his voice made me snap back.


    I wanted this to work; I wanted to get my memories back and save the Grand Central. I wanted to ensure no one else would have to be taken by Her.


    ¡°I-I¡­ It just would it be so easy you know? I could be there before it happened, prevent it even.¡±


    ¡°I know, and I wish this is how it worked, but even magic has its limits.¡±


    What was the point of working for an all-powerful being when even he had his restrictions, Phanes abilities should exceed the transcendence of this world, not be limited by it. Frustration filled my body, Unable to change the past even at a time-traveling experience that wasn¡¯t what I would call ideal. Milo extended his arm, offering to guide me to the castle. I wanted to take it, but I denied it. I didn¡¯t want Milo to feel any of my anger or frustration right now. I just wanted to concentrate on the task at hand: the Fates.


    The castle¡¯s walls extended in a mix of architecture and fairy tail. We walked for a while, admiring the walls and the paintings. Whoever lived here loved to story tell stories, making masterful art everywhere one could see. We found a staircase towards the end and went to another floor.


    Before we knew it, we were on the third floor of the palace. Walking around what seemed to be a dining room, paintings of a young handsome man filled the walls, and next to them more tapestry of marvelous stories; the dinner table extended from end to end, and a smell of freshly cooked chicken filled the air. My stomach growled.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I didn¡¯t realize how much time had passed since the last time I ate. The past day and a half had been filled with so much information I forgot I hadn¡¯t eaten yet. My last meal probably was that morning before I left the hospital. But this was different; the food seemed fragrant and fresh, and nobody was around, just us and a banquet, apples, berries, and some wine. Looked like someone was preparing to receive a large party. The food called my name, and my stomach demanded to be fed especially when I saw the pastries across the room.


    A shame we couldn¡¯t eat any of it; this could be a trap or poison, and it was best not to disturb the beautifully prepared meal in front of us.


    ¡°We still have Jeremy¡¯s card; we might have to treat ourselves to some real food when we leave,¡± said Milo. I could see the hunger in his eyes. His hand in his stomach told me he was hungry, too.


    ¡°A banquet better than this one.¡±


    He nodded, and we walked around the room some more, attempting to ignore the fragrant smells and admiring the pictures as we looked around the castle for the fates. As we were walking out of the room, I crashed against someone, and we both fell to the floor.


    The man in the portraits was before me; he was wearing some type of hunting attire, and his dark hair was messier than in the pictures, but it was definitely him. I must have hit him pretty hard because he had a small bruise showing in his forehead. The man stood and cleaned his clothes as he offered me a hand to stand up.


    ¡°Ah, A visitor.¡± he helped me up. ¡°Welcome to my home. I¡¯m Sir Ludwig¡±


    Milo immediately bowed in his presence and signaled to me to do the same, so I did.


    ¡°He is THE king,¡± Milo whispered.


    ¡°Please, no need for formalities. It has been a while since someone came.¡±


    Milo looked confused, and honestly, so did I. The man for the portraits was live and roaming the castle. It was very late at night, and with us stuck in a time loop and no one else in sight, we simply assumed there was no one else here but the Fates.


    ¡°Your Majesty, what are you doing here?¡± Milo asked,


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I live here,¡±


    I stepped in immediately.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Majesty, we will make our way out.¡± I grabbed Milo and puled him in the opposite direction.


    ¡°Why? You are looking for them, No? ¨C They are waiting for you.¡± Milo and I stopped dead in our tracks. ¡°There is no rush,¡± the man said softly. ¡°They will quite literally be there tomorrow and the day after and the day after that,¡±


    Milo froze. ¡°You know about the Fates?¡±


    ¡°Know about them? They saved me!¡± the King exclaimed as he moved a chair and got comfortable with a piece of chicken in his hand.


    ¡°They saved you?¡± I asked reluctantly


    ¡°I will tell you the story, Fair Maidden if you have a meal with me.¡± He pointed at the chairs across his with the chicken dripping liquid around.


    Milo pulled my arm and did his best to whisper as the man waited patiently for us to join him.


    ¡°This is weird, and he died before the castle was built.¡±


    ¡°That''s the part that you find weird, Milo? The man is sitting on the other side of the room, and by the looks of it, he is very human and very alive,¡± I said sarcastically ¨C ¡°He also seems to know about the Fates.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s weird, too.¡± Milo nodded. ¡°We might need the information he has; look, he was known to be kind and benevolent, but he was also known for going Mad.¡±


    I closed the distance, whiting us.


    ¡°Define Mad¡±


    ¡°He believed he was in a fairy tail.¡± Milo looked around. ¡°He might not have been wrong¡±


    I could see how people thought King Ludwig was crazy; he had been living in this loop for centuries and, probably at some point, was able to leave and come as he pleased. He probably tried telling someone, anyone, about the marvelous discovery he made in his new home, maybe even about the fates. I would have thought he was crazy, too at least until yesterday when I was seated across a God himself.


    ¡°You might be right; he might not be as crazy as people thought ¡ª So what now?¡±


    ¡°We eat with him,¡± Milo said, and I could swear I heard his stomach growling back in approval. ¡°Nobody has ever come here before. The Fates don¡¯t like visitors if they have taken a liking to him,¡± he pointed at him with his chin. ¡°We better find out why and how.¡±