Two Sides of The Moon - Chapter 46: Chapter 46

-Oliver-
No... Jack... He couldn't be dead. He... They... They shot him. No... No! He couldn't be dead! There was no way he'd survived the abuse and the shadow infestation just to get shot here! Jack was the Son of Fenrir! A champion! He couldn't be... No... He couldn't be dead.
He couldn't...
I tried so hard to fight back against everyone and everything. I was too weak. I was too small against these people, even though they weren't much bigger than me. There were just too many, and they had chained me up. What drove me into a bigger panic was the fact that I was stuck in my human form. I couldn't turn into a spirit or a shadow! No matter how hard I tried, nothing happened!
In my panic, I tried to scream for Cedric and Cameron, but I couldn't feel them in my soul. I couldn't feel them at all, anywhere, like they were... like they weren't in this world anymore. Where were they? When did they disappear? How did they disappear?
The enemy must've done something to me when he brought us here. There was no other explanation, but knowing that only made my panic even worse. How could he do something like that to me? To me?! The carrier of Hades' Echo!
And then I got separated from everyone else.
I thought I could die from fear. I lost the last of my courage and sanity with Jaden. I still tried to fight, I tried to kick and shout and scream, but the chains wouldn't budge, and all I managed to do was injure myself against the sharp shackles.
"Let me go!" I shouted for the hundredth time, but none of these people were listening.
I counted five of them dragging me through the hallways of the castle, taking me somewhere underground, but I spotted more enemies everywhere we went. People with guns. Supernaturals in their true forms. There were so many... The castle itself was way larger than it had looked from the outside. There were hallways after hallways after hallways... All dark and cold and grim. I would never find my way back to my...
Jaden! I couldn't even feel his presence! That didn't mean he was...? No, he couldn't be dead, right?! The enemy wanted Cerberus, so they wouldn't kill him. He said... He said... He wanted to tame them? By possessing them? Or something more horrible?
The fear was strangling me. I couldn't even think. Hundreds of thoughts and emotions were crashing through me, and I couldn't get a hold on any of it. I had to calm down so I could... Could what? I was completely at their mercy! I could maybe take down one of them, maybe two, with the power of my panic, but all five of them? And in shackles?
The ground under my feet shook a few times, and a moment later, I heard a distant sound of a wolf howling. I could only hope that meant good for me, because the people leading me glanced over their shoulders and hurried forward. They seemed worried. That gave me a little bit of my courage back. These people could feel fear, and for some reason, that calmed me.
They stopped me at the end of yet another long hallway. There was a big door in front of us, and it required two people to open it. There was a massive, dark chamber behind it, and it took me a moment to understand what I was looking at, even though it was quite empty.
We were right under the ceiling, and the floor was somewhere twenty feet below us. A long staircase was right in front of us, leading down to some kind of a small... pyramid? On top of it was a big glass tube, big enough to fit a human or two inside, and it was held up by four thick stone pillars. The black walls of the chamber were lined with big green boulders, and there was an opening in the ceiling right above the pyramid, letting light in.
"Keep moving!" I was told when I was busy staring at the view and failed to notice the others were heading toward the staircase.
I had no choice but to follow them. I glanced over my shoulder several times, hoping to see Jaden and the others coming to my aid. No one came. I could only hope they were all right. I didn't want to know what our fate now was.
"Welcome to my home, Harbinger of Hades!"
My entire body nearly froze in fear when I heard the voice below us. The man had appeared again, and was now standing on top of the pyramid, looking down at us all.
"What did you do to me?!" I shouted, surprised by how steady my voice was.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said with a smug expression on his face.
"I can't use my abilities! You did something!"
"Ah, that," he said with a smirk. "You simply have no power here, little rat."
"Could you just once give me a straight answer?! What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"You are in my world now, little Harbinger. Here, we play by my rules," he said in a sinister voice.
I still had no idea what he meant by that, but I assumed something in this castle prevented me from using my abilities. I didn't ask again. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction because he clearly enjoyed seeing me confused, which pissed me off. I hated that self-conceited expression on his face, and I wanted to rip it right off.
"What do you want from me?!" I shouted.
"The Echo," he said shortly.
"I thought you wanted to corrupt me," I said angrily. "Weren't you supposed to let it turn me evil so you can use me?"
"I changed my mind," he said with a shrug. "You are annoying me."
"Because the corruption couldn't take me," I guessed.
"Oh, don't worry, the Echo would've swallowed you whole if given enough time," he said, walking down the smaller steps.
We met up at the bottom of the two staircases, and he stopped to take a good look at me.
"But I came up with this machine of mine," he continued, gesturing toward the tube. "If I built it correctly, it should be able to rip the Echo out of your soul."
"If you built it correctly?" I repeated, and he smiled.
"I haven't tested it yet," he explained. "If it does what it's designed to do, it will make my life easier."
"So does that mean you're the one who created the device that can steal artifacts from others?" I asked, bluffing a little since we never actually figured out if there really was a device, but this man proved me right.
"Indeed," he said, turning his back on me. "I am one hell of a designer. And a builder. You could call me... an inventor."
"Yeah, because you still haven't given us your name!"
"Why is my name so important to you?" he asked.
"We need to know what we'll write on your headstone," I hissed at him.
He laughed hard at my words. It took him a moment to calm down, but when he spoke, he was still chuckling lightly. "I do like your attitude. It is a shame that I can't wait much longer for the corruption. I have a feeling you'd be a fun ally to have around."
"That is never going to happen," I said calmly.
"Indeed," he said, gesturing for his men to take me up to the tube. "I have other plans for the Echo. I'm very curious to see if you'll survive my machine. Your body should be just fine, but your spirit... Well, we are about to see what happens."
"You will never have it!" I shouted as I fought against the chains, again in vain. The people were too strong.
"I will have it," the enemy said.
I knew he was right. No one was coming to help me, and I had no strength to help myself. If we weren't even on Earth... Whatever the hell that meant.
"Stop right now!"
I sprung around when I heard the first familiar voice right behind me. I nearly broke down in tears at the sight of Fenrir standing at the bottom of the stairs, facing the enemy.
The enemy let out a deep sigh of annoyance. "The bitch of Valhalla. How are you here? I cast away all the spirits after we arrived."
That was why I couldn't feel Cedric or Cameron!
"You are not the only one with hidden abilities," Fenrir said.
The enemy squinted his eyes. "Your only ability is your size."
"You speak like you know me," Fenrir said. "But I do not know you. Who are you?"
"I may have changed a little after the last time you and I have spoken," the enemy said.
"I'd like a name," Fenrir said.
"You and everyone else. So obsessed," the enemy said and snorted. "How did you get here?"
"Give me your name and I'll tell you my secret," Fenrir said in a taunting manner.
The enemy squinted his eyes even harder. "What is this...?"
"What is what?"
"I killed your champion. Why are you...?"
Fenrir laughed lightly but didn't say anything. The enemy turned to look back, his entire posture turning angry. For a moment, it was dead-silent in the chamber.
Then I heard a howl.
"You really thought you could kill my champion?" Fenrir asked so quietly he was nearly whispering.
"You...!" was all the enemy had time to say when suddenly the whole castle rumbled loudly, like something was tearing down the walls somewhere close by.
"Master! What are we–"
"The machine! Now!"
The men hurried up the last steps, dragging me with them. I fought back harder than ever, trying to win seconds. I only needed seconds! I could hear something big coming toward us. I only needed a couple of more seconds...
But I couldn't do much. I was stuffed into the tube, and the men slammed the door shut. The enemy appeared next to them and did something that turned the machine to life. I heard quiet humming all around me. The enemies backed away when the pillars started moving, and the whole machine started rising.
"Oliver!" Fenrir shouted as his last words right before the enemy cast him out.
The sound of the machine grew louder by the second, and it stopped rising after two feet. I tried to hit and kick the glass walls, but I couldn't make a single crack. The rocks outside on the walls started glowing, but I had no idea what it meant. Bad things, that was for sure. I stopped to look around, trying to find a way out or break the machine, but I was completely surrounded by the thick glass. Only the floor I was standing on was metal, but that was even worse.
Then I felt it. Pain in my spirit, like something was pulling on it, trying to rip it apart. The machine... It was pulling the Echo from me! The pain grew worse, and it did so fast. The Echo was fighting back. It wasn't leaving willingly, but it was also tearing me apart, and I fell to my knees when the pain grew too much to bear.
The stones outside turned brighter, and I saw sparks flying out of them. Those sparks quickly turned into electric currents, like small lightning, and the machine drew them in. Even in my pain, I understood the stones were powering up this machine.
I looked up and saw the enemy glaring down at me. I could only hope he'd made a mistake with this machine. I'd rather die than let him have the Echo. But if I died, he would still get what he wanted.
There was still hope. My friends were coming. Jack was coming. That was why Fenrir was here, right? To stall the enemy so my friends could get to me, right? I had to... I had to hold on just a little while longer.
Just a moment longer...
Just a...
The enemy gave me an evil smile.
I screamed. I couldn't stand it any longer. I'd never felt such pain. I could feel the Echo tearing off my soul. It felt like the skin on my entire body was being torn, but from the inside. I couldn't understand why I was still conscious. I should've died already.
I barely even noticed it when something big crashed into the machine, shattering the glass and tearing the whole thing off its pedestal. I couldn't feel the pain of my body being tossed around as the tube flew down the stairs and crashed into a wall because the pain in my soul was a hundred times worse.
I didn't understand anything. I couldn't remember there was a world outside my body. There was only the pain, but it was... It was becoming less intense now. But my body trembled uncontrollably. I couldn't move. I couldn't open my eyes. I didn't even dare to breathe. I feared the pain would return if I did.
"Oliver!"
"Ollie!"
"Oliver!!"
I heard the voices, but my mind didn't register them. I was pulled up from the ground, but I didn't notice it. I was held gently, but all I could think of was the pain.
And the void inside me.
"Oliver? Oliver!"
I opened my eyes and saw green eyes looking down at me in fear and worry. Jaden... Jaden...? Jaden!
I gasped loudly when my mind suddenly started working. The pain was fading fast now, but not completely.
"Oliver? Talk to me," Jaden said.
"We need to leave," someone spoke... Arch! It was Arch.
"How do we get out? We have to leave before he returns!"
Tilly...
"J-Jaden..." I whispered.
"I'm here, I'm here," he said soothingly, looking like he was about to cry. "Are you all right?"
"N-no... I... He took..."
They all hurried to me. Arch, Tilly, and Jack.
"Jack," I whispered his name, feeling relieved to see his face. "You..."
"I'm fine," he told me. "We need to get out of here. Now."
"Where... is he...?" I asked, trying to see the enemies, but there was no one. "What happened?"
"They fled when we attacked, but they will be back soon," Jaden told me hurriedly. "Let's find our way out of here."
But we had no time.
"Interesting."
We all turned to see the enemy standing right behind us.
"You broke my machine," he continued.
My friends prepared to fight, but the enemy was staring at me, ignoring them completely.
"Of course we fucking did!" Jaden shouted, holding me tightly against his chest while the rest stood between us and him. "If you come any closer, we will tear you apart!"
"Good luck with that," he told Jaden, his eyes still on me. "Fascinating..."
"What is?" I asked.
I already knew something was terribly wrong with me. My soul... It felt so... Broken. And he could clearly see that. But he didn't explain anything to me. Instead, he smiled at me, then looked up. We all did.
There was a big shadow above us. Its form was twisting and turning, like it was in agony or angry. I'd not noticed it before, and by the looks of it, neither had my friends.
I had a bad feeling about it.
"Come to me," the enemy spoke to the shadow, and it obeyed. "Yes... Not exactly what I wanted, but I'll take it."
"W-what is it...?" I asked, my voice shivering.
Something was terribly wrong with that shadow.
"You don't recognize him?" the enemy asked when the shadow stopped in front of him. "Hold on..."
He... He pushed his hand into his chest. He put his fucking hand inside his own chest! The noises made me want to vomit, and I looked away so I wouldn't have to see what he was doing to himself.
I nearly did throw up when I heard a blood-chilling crack.
"Squeamish, are you?" the enemy asked and laughed.
I peered at him too soon and saw him pulling his own fucking rib out of his own fucking chest. He lifted it above his face, said something quietly, then let go of it. And the shadow... It disappeared inside the rib.
A rib...
I wanted to run and hide.
The rib changed its form and started growing. I couldn't take my eyes off it. In seconds, it formed the outlines of a human body, and as it grew, the details became clearer. The rib was turning into a human.
Not just any human.
"My goddess..." Tilly whispered, placing her hand over her mouth.
We all stared at him as the body drew near completion.
Him.
Me.
"What did you do?" I whispered.
"I didn't do anything," the enemy said when the second Oliver opened his black eyes. "This is your own fault for breaking my machine. Spirits are such fragile things... Easily broken."
The other Oliver looked at me, tilting his head. Then he smiled. I had never seen such an evil smile on my own face. I could feel his hate, anger, and need to destroy.
"No... No! You stole part of my soul!" I shouted when I realized why I felt so... Incomplete. "Give it back!"
"No," the enemy said and turned his back on us. "I don't need you anymore."
"Give my soul back!" I shouted after him.
"Goodbye, Harbinger," the enemy said, turning his attention to my double. "Kill them, Oliver."
The other Oliver let out a blood-chilling screech and turned into a shadow, his black eyes on me.
"Kill them all."