I followed mum to my own volition. The cave opened up to a grassland. As far as eyes could see, it expanded to bondless grassy plains. The sky had soft notes of azure with stark white clouds.

And in the mid of the plain was a sore, a big red circle, made with gibberish symbols. It reeked of blood, fresh blood!

It called me, promising something intangible, vague, yet desirable! For some reason, each and every part of me screamed to get near it, but I wanted to reason, “Uh... what’s ...”

Mum hushed me, “It’s an awakening array. And...” She seemed lost for words; her deep brown eyes wavered turbulently. An undecipherable emotion pained her. She cleared her throat.

But before she could say anything, I interjected, “Doesn’t explain a thing. And I don’t like it.”

“I know, you do,” she paused, “I’d love it if you just stand in the circle.”

“With no questions asked?” I retorted.

“With no questions asked,” she sounded cold. Her eyes wavered, and it looked familiar. I knew that look.

I tried to protest, knowing it wouldn’t do a thing. In the end, I was standing amid the circle.

‘Asking permission for scanning the array,’ my heart almost popped out at a sudden loud whisper.

Fuck! I almost forgot that there was a… uh! ‘Sandy’ inside my head. I conveyed my message, ‘Do what you want.’

I oozed with power. A swirl of dust slowly gained speed from where I stood. It carried the scent of past and present.

‘The array has been recorded. Analyze will be completed upon getting enough knowledge in the respective subject,’ Sandy spoke casually, destroying the moment.

‘That wasn’t helpful at all; you don’t...’

Sandy interjected, ‘New mana signature is powering the array.’

‘Speak in Layman,’ I hissed, ‘And you can stop reporting useless stuff, thanks.’

‘Then I’ll take my leave, master.’ Sandy maintained a casual tone.

I sighed inwardly, still not noticing what mum was doing. I was awed at the scene unfolding before me. Mum was sitting at the corner of the array, with her wrist slit open, and the left hand had a ceremonial dagger. The dagger's hilt was most probably made of pure gold-like substance and was ornamented with fluorescent gemstones I’d never seen. That’s the least concern!

Mum looked pale, blood was pouring out, and the array greedily gulped down all her blood. I tried to rush to her, but I couldn’t move.

Mum noticed me, giving me a sad smile. She shook her head, “Don’t!”

“But...” I couldn’t watch it; my guilt sensors would kill me later. She steadily walked to me; I could sense an influx of myriad emotions in her deep brown eyes.

She caressed my forehead, affectionately combing my hair. I knew what was going to happen, but the question was why.

I asked, voice quivering, “Why are you doing this?”

“This is,” she held her tone, “For your future.”

“I don’t...uh” I didn’t know what to say. A warm rill rolled down my cheek, “Definitely, to all children, nothing...” My voice was already frail, “ nthng cn... can …rplcw.. twr.... pwnts.”

And I started weeping; my body trembled like I had dengue fever. She embraced me softly, “I...”

She was silent for a while, “I... am...sorry.”

Her grip tightened around me. I was now screaming, “Twoo is always better than oneee. Pleaseeee!”

Her voice groggy, “For you to survive, I must die.”

For moments, only cries echoed in the endless plains. Mum was still hugging me, she spoke disoriented, “F..om tw……s da…,” she cleared her throat, this time, her voice was clear, like a breeze flowing over reeds submerged in rainwater, it was cold yet warm, it was filled with love, and pain, “Today a new legend will be born. A ruler, a monarch, and an heir. For you’re my only blood, my flesh, my gift, my greed, my pride, my sin, my everything, and my world. You’re my dearest, my one and only son, ‘Garm’. Let the land, the sky, and the depth echo your name, ‘WEICZNY GARM’.

Nothing made sense, and to made it worse, Sandy chimed in too. But my senses were already fleeting from the pain. Each and every tiniest part of me was burning. An intangible force invaded every pore of my body endlessly. It felt like someone was skewering me with tiny needles, each assaulting every cell continuously.

My consciousness was at a stalemate. I felt like passing out, but I didn’t, nor I had any control over my convulsing body. Amidst all, I heard mum say, “You’re the sole descendant of Sesyll Velnas. You made me nothing but happy, and I’m sorry, but please survive, as you see fit.”

The last of it was a whisper, “I’m sorry, and I’ll always love you!”

That was the last thing I heard before everything turned black.

I discovered myself lying back against cold night sands, and I was making weird groaning noise and rubbing my temples as I had a splitting headache. Worst hangover!

I tried to recall how I ended up here. For moments, my brain was a blank slate. I looked around to see a vast endless dessert, with really tall yet bushy xerophytes. It can probably swallow three of me. The sand glittered silver, and the moon...uh, moons! Wow, there are actually three moons here.

I scratched in between my brows, ‘Did I get abducted by aliens?’

I was rather calm, despite being a temporary dementia patient. Now I know how people with Alzheimer’s get lost!

I stood up slowly, shook off the sands stuck in my bare minimum garments? ‘Okay, did I actually get robbed and was tossed in some desert?’

My mind was overtaxed with all sorts of bullshits! I walked aimlessly.

I heard deserts can get dangerously cold at night, but I felt cozy, weirdly. And I could even hear the slithering of a rattle-snake in the cold desert. Maybe, it’s looking for some rat.

Now that I think of it, I’m hearing much more than I ever did. The world was much crispier and more vibrant. And the night air had a faint scent of an earthen stove and jasmine!

I was walking in a daze. For how long I didn’t remember!

A cute sand cat eyed me cautiously. Of course, they rarely see humans!

‘Human? Was I a human?’ I stopped; I was going through an existential crisis. And then, all hells broke loose, and my head was on the verge of splitting in two from pain; I could no longer stand!

Grabbing my head and screaming at the top of my lungs! It was coming back, all the memories, all at once at a rush, flooding my brain with otherworldly pain!

The world shook violently, or it's just me. The shaking stopped, so did the pain. I realized the surrounding had changed. I was still in the desert, but now there was a ruin at my right. It was a ruin of once a great city. From the architectural point of view, it looked like a medieval-themed city, with stone towers, two stored undercrofts, and many stone castles still stood, broken, and in heaps and debris.

There were great a many semicircular arched gates, still standing, huge pillars, and more than anything, the cobbled road was in far better shape, with occasional small crates.

And the wall was in the worst shape, or maybe there wasn’t one, to begin with. But what stood out was the two dark figures at the outskirts. Both of them were over two meters tall least.

It was a perfect moonlit night, with one moon being full, one half, and another an eclipse. But saw perfectly, and the shorter one looked like mum. By now, I was sprinting towards them, but I came to a halt when they became intimate.

Their lips locked passionately! Man, it sucked, to be honest. So, I waited till they... uh, had enough of them. Luckily, it ended after few passionate kissing sessions!

I inwardly sighed. When I was about a hundred meters apart, I called for mum but got no response. I called for her louder, still no response. And soon, I was standing next to two of them, yet nobody reacted to my presence!

I reached out for mum, but my hand passed through her cloaked figure. She had hair tied in a single pony, which flowed like silver, enchanted in the moonlight!

I took a step back, astonished! It took a minute of experimenting to realize; I was just watching a 3d movie. The scenes played out as they should’ve, and I could not interact with any of its elements.

The guy, my father, I supposed, had a well-built, almost chiseled body with a tan-brown tone. He had piercing emerald eyes, thin pale lips, a high nose, and flowing silver hairs. And he had a... um, tail?

A long, bushy, silver tail? The fuckkkkk!!!???

It looked very wolf-like. And once again, I was suffering from existential crisis!

My mum shouted, “It’s always about your clan! You know they are plotting behind your back. Those assholes don’t give aFUCK ABOUT YOU! NOR WILL THEY GIVE A FUCKK TO YOUR SON!”

“Calm down, vel!” Dad's voice, soft enough to melt any girl's heart.

“FUCK YOU! NECHTAN!!!” mum's voice thundered. I promise, a burning shockwave followed her shout.

Dad gently held her by the shoulder, “I can talk...”

“No, you can’t. Look where we’re standing now. It’s all because of you!” mum's voice was shaking in anger. The sands around them were floating. Her tone sent shivers down my spine, “It’s either your clan or your son!”

Dad tried his best to settle down the situation but made it worse, “Last time,” he glanced at mum before continuing. Mum kept a cold, piercing stare. Dad pleaded, “Last time, I promise!”

Mum shrugged dad’s hand off her shoulder. If only stares could kill! Her voice was now more stable, but it felt like a smoldering volcano, “I’m sorry! It’s my fault to begin with, and I should’ve known. Thanks for reminding me; trust is scarce!

This is goodbye then!”

That said, mum turned around; dad was about to hold her hand when she warned her, “Don’t. you. DARE!”

Dad stammered, “Vel...!”

Mum was already walking away at a languid pace, the sands melted, wherever she took a step, turning it to glass.

Tears were rolling down dads’ cheek; he was on his knees, “Please...!”

I didn’t see what just happened. There was a deep slash, almost forming a canyon, only inches away from dad. And then came the shockwave, blasting sands in every direction, forming a sand storm. My jaw was wide open; that was just dope!

The sand settled in seconds miraculously. Mums’ eyes were burning; the sky crackled ominously, “Don’t make me kill you! And you know I WILL!”

Dads’ right side was marred in scratches. He stood up slowly, taking one step forward, instantly a gust punched a clean hole in his torso. He staggered forward, falling on his knees.

Mum was looking at dad; I saw flames of hatred and anger in mums’ eyes. She spoke calmly, but it was paralyzing, “Don’t test my patience, Nechtan! Our meeting was brief, but I believe you understand me enough!”

Dad punched the sand. He cried silently. He didn’t say anything. And moments later, dad was totally healed. I noted, ‘Fukkk! That’s some crazy regeneration!’

Dad turned around and disappeared. Mum stood at the same place, softly caressed her belly, “It’s okay! And mum is sorry about dad and everything!”

Mum slowly walked to the heart of the ruins. And soon she was standing Infront of an archway. It was intact, despite the destruction around it.

There was nothing behind the gate. Mom came to a halt in front of it. She chanted something; soon, another copy of mom came into existence from her own shadow. They spoke something I couldn’t hear.

The original mum stepped in the archway, vanishing instantly! The other one also disappeared.

I suddenly felt a tug, and my surroundings wrapped, and the next moment I was in a forest. Dense foliage was everywhere, and the trees were absolute giants, their top vanishing over clouds.

This looked very magical! I really wanted to climb one of the trees, to enjoy the view from atop! But my focus changed to a hopping figure. Without any doubt, it was mum! Or mum's clone, to be exact!

She kept a constant distance of few meters from me as if I was moving at the same pace as her.

Suddenly, mum came to a halt, and so did I. She vanished to reappear few meters aside.

The place she was standing was now littered with daggers, kunai, needles, and other flying weapons.

Clap* Clap*

A voice spoke with oozing sarcasm, “As sharp as always, Your Highness!”

Mum spoke, “I was starting to wonder if you gave up on your ambition!”

“I’m very delighted. Thanks for your compliment, Your Highness, Queen!” a figure, with an almost lavender-toned overcoat, made a slight bow.

He too was tall, and way too thin. He had a cloak draped over his shoulders. And he wore a white mask, with crescents for both eyes and mouth. But if one looked closely, they could’ve easily spotted two glowing red eyes.

Mum held her ground, tensed, “You sure?

This will result in a war, a great war. We can sit down, have a chat, and fix it.”

The masked guy chirped, “Peacefully!”

He held his stomach with one hand and started laughing like a crazed maniac. He soon fell over from the branch he was standing on. His cheerful voice echoed, “DId the fetus get in your brain. Forgive me, Your Highness! It’s supposed to be in your womb!”

THAT WAS RUDE!! His non-coherent laughter was pissing me off!

He struggled to control his laughter, hardly making a sentence,” Devils…… pfffttt…ahem! Huff! PEacefullY!”

‘Devils! Hmm!’ and once again, I was suffering from existential crisis!

From his pained laughter that echoed, I guessed, he was most probably writhing. I wondered why mum didn’t kill that bastard already!

The echo was starting to fade when I heard a clang and saw sparks. The masked guy wielded a mace, but it was more like a baton. Whatever, mom had a scimitar. It had a pattern designed in the blade, which gave of a faint rainbow glow. How come I didn’t see that before, it looked coooool!

After exchanging few more blows, of which I only saw sparks and heard sounds, the masked assailant sneered, “It’s been over millennia, you know! Since I had such a peal of hearty laughter. It’s all thanks to Your Highness!”

Mum spat the ground; a few rainbow-colored orbs flew towards the masked assailant. The orbed seemed to suck in the surrounding, and it totally wiped anything it touched. But the target danced through them with practiced ease.

The masked guy snapped his fingers, soon millions of glowing red dots surrounded mum. Mum disappeared from the field; the dots, though soon collided and caused an explosion of a mini-nuke, leaving behind burnt trees, cinders, and a crater!

I felt like watching some CGI movie! DAamn!

I really wished mum to win, but I knew what was gonna happen. But I Didn’t know how it was going to unfold.

They exchanged blows for what seemed like forever; soon, the masked guy hit the ground like a meteor! Mum was about to deal the finishing blow, but he merged with the shadow like a vestige, and poof!

Soon, few silhouettes attacked mum, but only to get cleaved in half instantly. The latter two were far worse; one turned into snowy cinders, as in snow! Another burst into blood and entrails!

Gosh! I shouldn’t have seen the look on mums’ face! She looked scary!

A solo silhouette faced off. He used ice, it seemed, as sharp icicles made their way to mum at an insane pace. Mum stood in place. When the ice spikes came in contact with her, they stopped and formed a frozen plant. By the time the stream of icicles ended, mum was standing in a garden made of ice. With a wave of mum’s hand, he froze mid-air, crumbling into pieces.

That too was cooolll! I so wanted to try that out.

Soon, silhouettes rained over mum. She diced some of them, but there seemed no end to them. Then the space shattered, I saw black lightings with white outlines. Everything turned white. The forest was now but a plain covered in thick snow, the sky rained magma, and it crackled with the whitest lightning. The winds diced everything it touched. Mum was standing in what looked like a bubble of molten magma!

The silhouettes were gone. I guessed they no longer lived.

“How long are you planning to drag this!” Few burning lances of ice whooshed through the air.

“Spectacular performance, Your Majesty!” the masked guy stepped out of a cracked space. He made clapping gestures, “It’s for youngsters like you; I, Izafel, one of the old ones, have stooped this low!”

Mum spat and spoke with utter disgust, “Still blaming others!”

“Blaming!” Izafel sneered, “It’s your fault. Nobody asked you to be so talented. Look at you, only a few hundred years old, already one of the powerful monarchs of our race, and you already stepped in half-step godhood!”

Izafel blinked before mum, only to get sliced in halves, but Izafel’s body became a black slurry. He appeared behind mum, and he struck a dagger, the space tearing along. Mum vanished. She was now afloat. But the land became soft, and Izafel was slowly getting sucked in the ground, which was getting solid by each passing second.

Mum’s right hand blurred in a slashing motion making a hot air blade sizzle the air at an insane speed and cleaving Izafel once again. I meant burning hot... hot!

But he was very much alive, to mum’s annoyance, “tsk… you won’t just die, won’t you?”

“I suggest you stop holding back,” Izafel vanished, only his voice hummed in the still dusk air. He appeared far, very far from mum, “Okay, I shouldn’t tempt fate any longer!”

All of a sudden, the dynamics changed. Izafel snapped fingers, and mum dropped her scimitar. Her expression changed, distressed at the sudden realization. She shouted, “Unleash...”

Before mum could finish, a dagger pierced her windpipe, making her cough blood. Izafel jibed, ”Not so fast. If you unleash your domain, my fate is sealed.”

There were two Izafel now. One was behind mum, and another was floating in front of the cracked space. The one that stabbed mum already burnt to crisp as she slowly took the dagger out.

Izafel bowed, “My utmost respect for preparing the stage!”

Soon, runic symbols started appearing all over the plain, along with a huge invisible sphere, keeping mum and Izafel inside. Mum's expression darkened seeing the rune. She stammered, “God... slaying… array?”

Mum was starting to get pale as seconds passed. “You... you sacrificed over a thousand grade-1 ascenders just to kill me?” mum muttered in disbelief.

“Oh, It’s bearable! Don’t feel bad. If needed, I would've sacrificed half of my kingdom just to KILL YOU!”

Mum was now on her knees; the runic symbols formed a more detailed intricate pattern, forming a full sphere, the runic symbols glowing ominous black.

Izafel appeared in front of mum. Mum hurled a black, sparkling orb. He took it square on his mask. It caused a mini-explosion, but he was unscathed. He snickered, “Soooo weeeeaaaakkkkk!!!”

"PATHETIC!" Izafel gobbed nearby.

He soon broke into a hysteria, “You should resent your cousin! If not for that retard, I would’ve missed my chance forever! As a gift, I’ll kill him after I’m done with you. Don’t be too sad now!”

Mum tried something, but Izafel didn’t let her. He strangled her single-handedly. Mum’s body flailed helplessly, few inches above the ground. His free hand was over her womb, and a blare later, there was a hole.

Mum coughed blood. Her breathing started to weaken.

Izafel lamented, “To think I’ll only get to harvest 20% of your power saddens me! I was expecting more, but what a greedy fuck! It devoured so much, unfortunately; it won’t even see the lights of this world!”

I felt blood boiling in me. I wanted to shred that asshole to pieces!

Mum was seconds away from death. Izafel let go of mum. She slumped on the ground. He tossed a chopped head beside mum, and giggled, “Hope he keeps you company!”

That’s dad!

A spear appeared in Izafel’s hand, which pierced mum’s heart.

Wait, do devils have hearts?

Izafel slowly twisted the spear; mum writhed in pain before her body became still. My eyes were burning, blood boiling.

The space didn’t wrap, leaving me alone with Izafel. Izafel, a name I’ll keep in heart!

Runic symbols appeared on mum’s corpse. It glowed red. A strange azure mist swirled atop her, and soon it coalesced into an apple shape.

Izafel eyed it greedily! He picked it up gently, took a bite, and shook in joy!

“Ahh~” he took small bites, enjoying it slowly. After he was done, he hugged himself, shivering in true bliss, “Such delicacy!”

Enjoying the moment thoroughly, Izafel snapped his finger, setting them on red flame.

The man pulled a ubiquitous device out of his pocket, but before I could ensure what it was, I felt a similar tug.