I opened my eyes and a thin light from afar struck my eyes.
"Where am I?" I whispered.
I remained standing at the dark and empty side of this unknown place, staring at the only light I'm seeing.
"Tabitha!"
I looked back when I heard that familiar voice again. I just don't know if it's a voice of a child or a lady! It just sound so soft and calm.
"Who are you?!" I groaned, clenching my fists. "Show yourself!"
"Don't you really know me, Tabitha, or remember my voice?"
"How am I supposed to know?! You won't even show yourself to me!"
"Perhaps this isn't the right time for you to meet me."
That voice said and before I knew it, I'm already standing at the same meadow.
"I ain't your enemy, Tabitha."
Those were the last words the voice uttered. I sighed in frustration.
"What the hell is happening?" I hissed. "What is this place?!"
I looked around and saw the same old cabin I saw the last time I was here. That's where the sorcerer's book was!
I immediately ran towards the place and opened the door. I gasped when I saw a boy sitting in front of a table, reading the book I was looking for.
I batted my eyes. I couldn't make his face out. It's kinda staticky!
"Who are you?" He asked in an oddly calm voice.
I blinked and slowly stood up properly.
"Ah––I was looking for something," I lied and he nodded.
"I'm sorry but I think that something isn't here," he said and looked back at the book he's reading. "You can leave now."
I grimaced and pooched my lips. "Can't I stay here for a while?" I said, sheepishly.
He glanced at me and shook his head. "My friend is gonna be here any minute from now. She won't like it when she sees any girl hanging around me."
I grimaced for the nth time around. I'm so not hanging out with you, brother!
"And you won't like it when she gets mad," he added and averted his gaze back to the book.
For heaven's sake! How am I supposed to lay an eye on that one? If this kid is holding the sorcerer's book, stealing it from him won't come out handy. I supposed he's a god, a demi-god or a sorcerer. Geez!
I rolled my eyes and closed the door after stepping out in defeat. I'm not leaving without that book but I guess that's what's gonna to happen today!
I was about to walk away when I saw a girl, just around that boy's age, staring at me. I squinted my eyes again.
Why can't I see at this kid's face clearly either?
"Tabitha!" I was taken aback when she said my name. "Wake up! You have to wake up! You have to stay alive. You have to save your mother. You have to save him."
She continued speaking as if she was chanting every word.
"Tabitha!"
"Tabitha!"
"Tabitha!"
I heaved a lungful of air when I felt my chest pounding. I immediately opened my eyes and found myself lying inside a cell. I immediately sat down and traced my vision from here to there.
And yet again, it was all a dream.
"Why the heck am I here?!" I groaned and stood up.
I walked towards the railings but then immediately stopped. A seal might have been casted around this place. I might get struck by lightning or worse.
"AIDEN!" I shouted up to the core of my lungs. "SHOW YOURSELF YOU OLD GEEZER!"
"He's not here."
I felt like my throat dried when I heard that voice. I stepped back when a dark smoke appeared outside the cell and slowly turned into a human form––no––a devil!
"It's been ages... little sister," he grinned.
My forehead creased. "What are you doing here, Anthony?" I intoned.
"Really now?" He smirked. "You haven't visited me here for decades and that's how you approach me?"
"After you killed father... you expect me to be nice to you?" I said through gritted teeth.
"Woah! Chill. I'm only doing my job," he jeered. "I'm a god of war, the general to be exact, and father? He's a human knight, that's when we fought, I had to finish him before he could finish me and my minions. You know how strong our father is for a human."
I winced and was about to grab the railings when he talked.
"I won't touch them if I were you. Aiden casted a deadly seal on each of them which will totally kill you if you tried breaking free," he sighed.
I bit my lip when I realized things.
"I am already in the pits of Sheol, aren't I?"
Anthony nodded. "After you killed Genesis and one of her descendants, Lisa, back in the Demon Realm in just one blow, they really had to seal you right away. Jennie and Tyler were just so lucky when Aiden and Adonis arrived and stopped you."
"IS TYLER DOING FINE?!" I gasped.
"He's a descendant, Tabitha... your tamed descendant. It'll be easy for him to regenerate tho you really almost killed him back there! What were you thinking?!"
I sighed. "I don't know what's happening, Anthony. This mark..." I pointed my neck and showed him the curse mark on my wrists. "It seems like the last descendant is controlling me. Whenever I see blood, smell blood, I hear his voice, telling me to kill and it's driving me nuts!"
Anthony was only looking at me with no emotions plastered on his face.
"You still don't remember what kind of a demigod are you, do you?" He asked which made my brows raise.
"I know. I'm the goddess of mayhem, chaos, confusion, trouble and such, and so what? I'm only a tamer now. I don't even have powers of my own not like you or any other demigod!"
Anthony's expression didn't change.
"You're Discordia, Tabitha. You're the goddess of hatred and strife," he raised his hand and an image of a monster appeared. "You? You were the only descendant of the late god, Chaos."
"T-The god of darkness?" I muttered, trying to sink what he just said. "But how? You and I have the same father and Carter and I have the same mother... so how come I'm the only descendant he had and why me!?"
"Aiden knew this would happen," he clenched his hand and the image dematerialized into thin, dark smoke. "The reason why Lelith chose to revive Carter using your power is to save the both of you. You became a tamer, the Spirit Realm was saved, your brother lives."
"Everyone expects the goddess of discord to be born in Adonis' descendants. That will, at least, lessen the possibility of the feared goddess to bear much hatred and can be controlled. But then the blood moon came together with Chaos, altering the prophecy by cursing Lelith to bear the hatred instead of Adonis' wife... and you were born," he continued.
"You grew so powerful in your younger years and even Adonis himself has no match on you so the council decided to kill you by offering your powers to the late demon king, but Lelith went against it and hid you in the Southern skies in a constellation south of Pegasus."
"T'was night of your 13th birthday when Chaos came to take you with him to fulfill his plans and so the Spirit Realm drowned in untamed aspect of war since he wasn't able to find you there but eventually, he did."
"Chaos was killed along the war, so as your brother, Carter. He tried to save you out of Chaos' curse by transferring the curse to himself. He's a god of love and having darkness lurking inside him ended his life in an instant, but what he did wasn't enough, the curse was still there."
I remained staring at him, listening to the things I don't even know that happened.
"W-what curse is that?" I finally spoke.
"Death to both gods and humans and you are his tool to make that happen," he uttered. "Chaos is a god which sprung from nothingness and now, he's the hatred inside your heart. He's never gone!"
"That voice you hear, whispering? That wasn't the last descendant but Chaos himself! He's been with you all this time, waiting for the perfect time to hunt you down and now that Zeke has been released, he's finally free to creep inside your heart and devour you with hatred."
"Yes! Lelith sealed him in purpose. He's the one who controls your hatred, the reason why you stayed as a tamer and without him, your power as a demigod will soon return to your reach, also the reason why Aiden sealed you here. You've become a threat to both humans and gods. They don't see you as Tabitha anymore but the goddess of unending strife."
"Demigods are way more powerful than gods, Tabitha. And if you won't learn to control your hatred, you will become the monster, Chaos wants you to be."
I was left alone inside this dark, empty cell, contemplating. Everything Anthony said just don't make any sense! Is he saying that all this time, Lelith was just protecting me and the Spirit Realm?
I don't know! I don't even remember anything about me being the only descendant of Chaos and about Lelith hiding me in Southern skies and even the part when the Spirit Realm drowned into war because of me!
Did Lelith also altered my memories? As far as I can remember, she was the one who took Carter's life because he chose his wife over her. And when she gained back her composure, she regretted what she has done, so she took my powers to bring my brother back to life.
So what? My whole goddamn life was a lie?!
I have to talk to Lelith! I need her explanations. I need to know everything!
I stood up and walked in the center.
I don't know if this will work. Anthony mentioned about Aiden negating all my goddess powers inside this cell but he didn't say anything about tamer's abilities, did he?
I just have to try!
I bit my lip and shred the blood on my palm. I, then, clasped my hands together. Calling Lelith is against my will but at this point of time... I had choices to make.
"Realms of the goddess of love, hear its daughter's plea," I chanted. "Remove thine hatred and conquer thy sore... forget the past, open the door."
And by that... a blinding light struck me from below and before I knew it, Lelith was already standing in front of me.
Her hair is glowing in shades of gold with sparkling golden eyes. Her long, white dress, which reaches the ground, is as bright as her appearance—a look of a goddess, indeed.
"I need you to tell me everything, Lelith!" I marked before she could speak. "Am I really Discordia? Am I Chaos' descendant? Answer me!"
She only looked at me and closed her eyes.
"The story isn't mine to tell, my child," she answered with her soft, echoing voice. "The quest can only be completed by the fated guest."
She opened her eyes and looked at me.
"I am of no help for you now, Tabitha, but remember this," she walked near me and placed a hand on my chest. "The mind will forget; the heart will remember. Conceive thy memory, walk light as a feather," my brows met when she slowly faded into thin air.
"Walk in a path clear as the night sky. Walk to remember the things that ran by."
And for a moment, I went blank. Completely blank since I didn't understand a word she said.
Why does she have to be so poetic?!