Chapter 29
Day 115
"Where is Searcher Red, Kharkov?" Maya asked.
"Somewhere, not here apparently." Kharkov came to the table with two cups of coffee. "He told me that someone might be waiting on the outside, a threat maybe. But he could be slacking so who knows."
It was morning and as usual, breakfast at The Courtyard but this time, Searcher Red was absent for about a few days. Maya didn't care much about his absence at first but as the days counted, she started to miss Red's strict attitude.
"You're not worried?" Maya accepted the cup of coffee and welcomed Kharkov to sit down. "I mean he might be in danger and we don't even realize it."
"Not to worry Maya, Red is a tough man." Kharkov sat down opposite her. "If it was a big threat, he would tell me earlier or we might not be alive even. So let the man be."
"So how about me? No classes on Nomine' from now on, am I going to learn more about Naraane and Nonua from now on?"
"It's up to you, like we said Maya, we are flexible on you. You can take the day off when its Red session or if you are so inclined, go to the temple or my place." Kharkov sipped his coffee, it was bitter than usual. He sighed as usually Red was the one that prepared for it. "Cyka blyat… I really need to learn how to cook properly."
Maya drank her coffee and was fine with it. Not to Red's standard of coffee but still a good one nevertheless. She also missed on Red's food, to whom Red will marry; she was surely a lucky woman. She gave some thought on what she would do next, preferably learn and immerse herself on learning. She decided to go to the temple and be with Akari, honing her skill on perfecting her Nonua. She nodded and decided but suddenly a thought came, Maya had never visited Kharkov's place at The Waterfalls. She put down her coffee and approached the blonde man.
"I never visited your place Kharkov, is at the waterfalls right?" Maya remarked.
"It is my friend. Sure, no problem for you to come and visit. Have some plans to come already?" Kharkov sipped his coffee again and was getting used to the less perfect bitter antioxidants.
"Can we hang out? Like chat and just relax at your place?" Maya suggested. "I've known Red place but he rarely stays in his room. Akari is meditating like always. Do you have some free time?"
"Yeah sure, I am often alone at my shack, but whenever I need some privacy, mind to understand Maya." Kharkov informed. "You may be a Siren but my place is my place if you understand what I'm saying."
"Got it." Maya nodded. "I hope you're okay if I spend long hours at your shack."
"You are more than welcome Maya, just make sure you finish your classes and all is good." Kharkov said with a smile.
The two Siren meditate in front of the statue of Hewina The Mother. They're Siren Marks glow in tandem, vibrating in the same energy and emitting the same aura. Maya had improved her Nonua, her heart, bit by bit. A slow and steady journey of improvement and now she could see the benefits of meditation. Eyes closed entirely. Her heart was beating slowly. Her breaths were deep and stable. She sat straight like a three with her Siren mentor beside her doing the same thing. Before, Maya couldn't even stand meditating for a few minutes. Now, an hour of meditation could pass by without her realizing it.
Akari opened her eyes sneakily, glancing at Maya with a sweet smile. She had prophesied that Maya was The One. A rank that encompasses something big in Siren culture, even Kharkov and especially Red has a hard time to understand the meaning of The One. Akari closed her eyes again, meditating at the same frequency as Maya. It was time for The Host to tell Maya what her purpose of training was. Their mouths closed but they started to communicate.
"Doing well Little One?" Akari asked. "It seems that you are in a good mood today."
Maya was surprised with the sudden communication but communicated in a calm way. "I am. I'm getting better by the day Host Akari. Is there something wrong?"
"No Little One." Akari said with a sweet tone. "Today I want to tell you about the reason that you are here."
"Really?" Maya was amazed. "Is there other things than learning about my race Host?"
"Yes, there are. Today, Maya, I want to share some good news about you."
"Really?!?! What is it?" Maya's heart suddenly in flames of curiosity.
"Let's go into deeper meditation and I will share the good news."
Maya nodded and emptied her mind from all the thoughts. As the mind was empty, so did the heart. She started to chant Siren Language of Old, the meaning behind the chants was unknown but the more she chanted, the deeper the focus. Soon enough, all her senses became numbed. Maya panicked for a moment and quickly opened her eyes. She was in the dark realm and Akari was right in front of her.
"Whoa that is awesome!" Maya shouted.
Akari smiled, she loved her enthusiasm. "Congratulations, you're Nonua has been improved. Sure, you might be slow but what's important is that you grow."
Maya curled her lips knowing that she was not performing as well as they expected but quickly spirited as she wanted to know her purpose. She walked closer to Akari and held her hands. "So tell me Host, what is my purpose?!?"
"Your purpose Little One…" Akari said with a suspenseful tone. "is to calm down."
Maya sighed long. "Alright, I'll calm down." Maya moved away a few steps and took a deep breath. "All right." Maya's tone became slightly serious. "What is my purpose Host Akari?"
"Your purpose…" Akari's Siren channels started to glow and she snapped her fingers. "To rekindle our once great race."
Maya's heart suddenly beat faster. She felt a breeze of air suddenly move outward from Akari. In the dark realm, that Maya assumed to be The Null, she could feel something different. The whole place was shaking. For some reason, Maya glanced back, only to realize there was a planet behind her. A planet with the colour green pastel and thick clouds. Maya could feel the gravity slowly pulling her toward it but for some reason, she felt safe. Akari stood beside her, putting her hand on her shoulder and marvelled at the planet. Maya glanced at Akari and saw her face to be in blissful happiness, as if seeing a long lost lover.
"Do you see that Little One, that planet is called Terra Hewina." Akari said. "Beautiful isn't it."
Maya turned back to the planet and observed back at the planet. "Magnificent."
"This planet was the birth of our race Little One, the planet where Hewina met Sirenos, the place where every Siren in the galaxy could call home." Akari spoke. "We came to existence for a reason, to spread our race and create peace to neighbouring planets. And we did spread our peace to our neighbouring planets, we conquered our whole star system, calling it Sirenos Segmentum.
Akari put her hand out and started to morph the planet to a smaller size. She then created a star with planets orbiting around it. Sirenos Segmentum had a total of six planets, Terra Hewina was the second closest to the small red star.
"Our society, The Siren Society, was a sprawling government. Peace was the only thing that we wanted and the neighbouring planets were there to disrupt our peace." Akari snapped her fingers again, the scene changed into a temple where Sirens gathered around and debated. The Sirens stood still like statues. "Sirenos and Hewina had created us for a reason Maya, we are not here just to survive, we are here to live. We, Sirens, are better than the other humans. Our abilities are proof."
Maya looked around the hall and saw the Sirens debate each other. Maya could see the culture and customs of old Siren ways. She was amazed with the amount of diversity in the looks of Siren. All range of skin colour, countless patterns of Siren marks that were never before seen or thought by Maya. She could see the difference between a Learned Siren, Scholari and Aldari just based on their clothes and posture. It was female dominated with a few men there as guards. Then she saw a woman that sat on an elevated chair, golden colour with golden wings spanning outward. Maya knew all too well who the woman was. Without a doubt, it was the matriarch of The Siren Society, Nia Hewina.
Maya approached to the Nia Hewina. Amongst bustle debate of the temple, the Nia was calm and observant. Maya could feel an obvious difference on the aura of that particular Siren. Wearing a white robe similar to Akari yet grand and more subtle on the trinkets such as the necklace and earrings. Maya stood in front of The Nia and awe her appearance, as if seeing a goddess in real life. She was beautiful and elegant, yet a strong presence could not be ignored, The Nia was the most powerful Siren in the room. Maya stood still in front of The Nia. Maya held her mid-arm and looked at The Nia's Mark, it was similar to hers, exotic blue. Akari stood beside her.
"We wage war to those who threat us." Akari continued. "We had no choice but to comply with violence to the outsiders."
"Did we win?" Maya looked at Akari.
"We did." She nodded. "Five wars later, we conquered Sirenos Segmentum. But all of this glory soon gone."
The whole temple suddenly darkens. The Sirens in the hall slowly faded away one by one. Maya looked as the people started to fade away. Later, the whole temple was empty, dusty with the structure slowly decaying. The atmosphere turned eerie. Death claimed things and so did the people in the hall.
"The Siren Society is no more Maya. Our race… is nothing but myth by now. Now, our kind is scattered around the world without even knowing their great lineage. We are rarer than black holes." Akari said sombrely; her face turned gloomy just like the empty dusty hall. Akari looked down to the ground. "All of our rich heritage, gone in an instance. Suddenly in silence."
"The Stoppage…" Maya mumbled.
"True." Akari nodded. "I was there when that day happened. Our home planet was destroyed entirely. All of our legacy, identity, all gone in one swift attack."
The surrounding started to change. It returned dark again with a planet right in front of them. Maya and Akari looked at Terra Hewina. The next moment, the planet exploded into pieces of planetary rocks. Maya could feel the immense pressure created by the explosion. The light of the explosion was blinding too, Maya was so desperate to shield herself that she quickly hugged Akari and buried her face on her neck. Akari hugged the younger Siren yet her eyes never averted away from the scene. The explosion of Terra Hewina was a reality that Akari won't forget.
Akari patted Maya's back. "All of it is caused by traitorous fools in our society. Never again it would happen, mark my words."
Maya moved away from Akari and looked back, the planet was no longer there, only an asteroid scattered around empty dark space. "Oh my…"
"Despite that Little One, you're still here." Akari put her hand on Maya's shoulder. "Sirenos and Hewina are still with us in spirit, in you Maya. I had a dream and that dream was you. You are The One that will revive our Siren race."
"I… don't think I can do it, Host Akari…" Maya said. "What do you expect me to do?"
"To make the first step, you've already committed your life to The Siren cause, you should be privileged." Akari turned her around to face her. "Are you not the one who wants to be accepted in the first place."
"I do!" Maya exclaimed then lowered her head. "But reviving our race Akari? I'm not even sure that I could master Searcher Red's test from time to time. I can't even lead myself to do the right thing…"
"You can." Akari affirmed Maya. "With knowledge comes experience, with experience comes wisdom. We will be here giving you the knowledge but you need to take the next leaps of life. To gather all the wisdom you can get from life and give it to our Siren race."
"Maybe I was lucky Host Akari, had I not made a mistake to almost killing Red, I won't be here to begin with." Maya shook her head and looked at Akari with droopy eyes, anxious. "To be The One? I can't even think about being a Scholari."
"Oh Little One." Akari hugged her and petted her head. "Do not worry. You have only scratched the surface in your Siren journey. Know this, after you learn all the things, I shall always be with you in spirit; to guide you every step of the way."
Maya sighed heavily, she wanted to hug Akari but her hands still at her sides; unable to wrap around Akari. She wanted to express her feelings to Akari but there was something off. That even Maya could not understand. It was uplifting to hear such destiny lies ahead but can she weather through the storm? Fighting Handsome Jack and Chairwoman Alesia were already enormous even with the aid of her friends. To rekindle her Siren race? This was no longer a journey of discovery. This was a prophetic exodus.
Maya's face turned bitter and as she closed her eyes, she wanted to end the day.