Answers - Defiance

“Dom… Is that you?”

Sitting high above us all, on a throne of pure white, sits an exact replica of Dom. His gaze pierces through us with an intensity so unlike his usual self. He rests on one arm, while holding a grey scepter straight and proud in the other. His unkempt beard is nowhere to be seen. It’s perfectly smooth and drags on the floor. The moment we witness his countenance, Charlie falls to one knee in solidarity. His demeanor is one of astute majesty. His voice and tone is no different.

“I see The Three have betrayed me by letting outsiders in.” His voice booms past us despite being so far away. The Valkyries, too, fall to their knees immediately, with Fennis looking like he’s barely resisting. Even my knees quake and tremble.

“Dom, how are you alive? What is this? We came to see the One King! And here you are!”

“And here I am.”

I step towards the stairway to heaven, intent on standing beside the King of Kings. The moment I do, it’s as if the very fabric of reality rejects me.

“Trek farther, child, and you won’t be around to see the end of this all.”

“Dom, what is this? What is wrong with you? Come down and talk to us.”

“Silence!” He taps his scepter on the ground, and the very air rumbles. The air pressure forces Fennis and I down to our knees, joining the others.

“To see you bow to a mortal. You are not my Lord.” His piercing gaze passes over me.

“You called me that before… what are you talking about? I’m not the Zeroth Knight. He is.” I point at Fennis, to which he puffs with pride.

“Damn straight I am! And I will not-” He forces himself upright, through great efforts. His bones break, and tendons snap, yet they heal almost instantaneously. “I will not bow to you, or any other mortal.”

“You are no one, Child of Haslothun. You are no more than an extra in this place.”

“How dare you!” Fennis touches the first step. I try to call out to him to stop, but it’s too late. His very being is struck back. He rights himself, never letting his foot leave the step. Methodically, he moves to the next, then the next. “I am the Zeroth Knight. I always, always have been.”

Forty stairs up, Dom raises an eyebrow.

“I don’t care about you. I don’t care about that whore-woman. I don’t give a fuck about what any of you have to say. I have lived every single day of my life training to be the Zeroth Knight. Every moment of my existence has been for this cause. And there isn’t a single one of you that will take that from me.”

Eighty stairs up and Dom drags his head off his fist in a bored manner. His eyes following every moment of Fennis, whose entire being seemingly ends and is renewed with every step. Blood oozes out of every orifice and his bones break as he stumbles. At no point have I ever seen a more proud man.

Fennis never takes his eyes off of Dom. He challenges him every step of the way. Beside me, the Valkyrie’s eyes half-glaze over and even Charlie seems to barely be holding it together. The very will of this man before us, seems to be altering space itself. Be he Fennis, or be he Zero?

“I will save this world. I exist for that reason and that reason alone. I will not be dismissed by some king on high!”

Fennis crosses that insurmountable barrier, setting foot down on step one hundred and becoming level with Dom. His breath ragged, he reaches out to the King but stops. For some reason he lets his arm drop to his side. “I see…” He mutters. I’m confused by his following actions. Despite climbing so high with such fierce determination, he turns and marches down with the face of a man about to see his own execution. He’s pale and forlorn with his eyes downcast.

Dom speaks as Fennis marches on heavy step by heavy step.

“It would seem Domnis was important to you all. The boy’s fate tells of it all. But know this, I am not that naive child. I am the beacon of this world that has held up the torch for light, for my Lord, since time immemorial.”

He taps his scepter once again and a wave of tension flows through me, threatening to suck my very soul from my body.

“I am Loyalty, and that which has held back the Beta, creating a near-utopia- for as long as one such as I have been able.”

“But Dom…”

“Silence I say! You will not label a mortal’s name upon me. I am your king!”

“My One King, sir, if I may.” Charlie’s voice seems strained as it leaves her.

“You may.”

“Who was Domnis Lux, when compared to you, Loyalty, sir?”

“The stake of our very plan is on the line, and you wish to know of a man of no consequence?”

“We wish to know of a man who was dear to us.” Mimi tells Dom… Loyalty, as she cranes her neck up to lay eyes upon him.

For the second time, an eyebrow raises. He sighs and responds, “Domnis Lux is… was… the side of me that existed before I met Her…” His eyes trail over me for but a moment. “My soul was divided in two. We both existed as one, yet we lived separate lives. He took the one that could have been, while I chose the one that was. His experiences were mine, and my solitude was his. He lived as a human, masquerading as human. I stayed here, holding back the dark. I could feel his experiences. He could feel mine. Two sides of the same coin, our ultimate fates always intertwined. ”

“And he died for us,” I croak.

“He died for you.”

I swallow the lump in my throat.

“Who am I Dom? Loyalty?”

“The plan is so far astray, and still your memories do not return to you. You have left out the variability of your own pieces. You never would have imagined Queen would turn against you. Never, ever, would my Lord ever possess such thoughts, for she is pure, and righteous.”

“My… memories?” The words fumble out of my mouth as if they tasted foul.

He doesn’t respond.

“Loyalty. Domnis was you. You were he. Then you understand, let us go and explain yourself, for him.”

The fires of hell themselves descended upon Kay. Flames lick at her skin, but she does not cry out. The murder in Loyalty's eyes speaks volumes of what he thinks of being compared to Dom.

“That isn’t right.”

Everyone looks at me.

“That isn’t right at all! You’re getting so mad over being compared to Dom… how very human of you.”

The flames shoot towards me but I don’t feel their heat.

“You’re just a human, Loyalty. You aren’t even half the man Dom was. You’re a fanatical coward.”

“I will kill you myself, girl.”

“You will do nothing besides let us go. Now!” My voice thunders. The flame goes out, and the oppressive weight upon us all but disappears at once. Loyalty’s scepter snaps in half. His once-bored eyes travel over it and then search to find me.

“Perhaps… you are correct. If Domnis was truly a part of me… then maybe you truly are a part of my Lord.”

“It’s time to explain everything, Loyalty, and I mean, everything.”