Chapter Three: Sudden Attack
"So, what now?" He hated to admit it, but Enenra was worried about Tomas after the whole incident with Irena and Eduard. The silver-haired man had become silent since then and now he was walking the streets with no destination in mind. Enenra could hear the thoughts racing through his host's mind, and he could feel how confused and even panicked Tomas felt with each one. The demon was slightly annoyed by this, but he was mostly concerned. "Come on, boy, Talk to me."
Tomas ignored the demon and continued walking. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that Enenra's voice was nothing but distant mumbling in the back of his mind. Not that he would talk to the demon either way right now. Tomas just needed some time to process all the information he had gained since he arrived in Vesnice Rudá. Irena and Eduard were not lying when they said that his mother and father did not have kids. At least that is what they truly believed.
But something was definitely wrong. Like their answers were...scripted? Tomas was not sure how to describe it, but he knew deep in his heart that what he had been told were lies, even if the ones telling those lies believed them to be truth. Or could they have simply been mistaken due to a lack of memory?
"Memory." The word left Tomas' lips in a whisper, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks. It was then that he finally acknowledged Enenra's existence, and he communicated with the demon telepathically. "Enenra, I don't believe I've ever asked you about the other kids that you possessed in the past."
Enenra was caught off guard by the sudden interest Tomas had in his previous hosts. He had to take a moment to collect himself before responding. "N-No, I do not believe you have. And I honestly preferred it that way."
"And I'm sorry for bringing it up. I know how you feel, but I need to know something."
"Oh?"
"I need to know if the other kids experienced amnesia after you possessed them." Tomas looked down at his hands and clenched them into fists. "Like me."
Enenra was not sure what his host was getting at, but he answered Tomas's question anyway. "...No. They did not. Or at least some of them did not live long enough to—" Enenra immediately shut up when he sensed Tomas' discomfort. He did not realize how cruel his words sounded until it was too late. "Right...sorry."
"It's...it's fine." Tomas could feel Enenra's guilt, so he decided not to scold the demon for what he said. "But if what you said is true, then why was I the only one to lose my memories?"
Enenra sighed. "That I don't know. As I have clarified before, I was not responsible for your memory loss. I had assumed at one point that my possession of you did cause your amnesia. Maybe it was a result of the strain my power had on your body with you being only a child at the time. But now that you mentioned it, I don't recall my previous hosts having such a problem."
"I thought so." Feeling eyes upon him, Tomas glanced over his shoulder, and he could see a young couple had stopped a few feet behind him and they were whispering to one another. They must have realized that they had been caught because they soon walked away, quickly so as to not make eye contact with Tomas. The silver-haired man decided he too should move on before he drew someone's attention onto himself. Turning another corner, Tomas was surprised to find that he had reached the entrance of the giant clock tower. Its very presence had triggered a memory that Tomas felt was important, but it had faded before he could understand what was happening.
"You know what?" Tomas shrugged as he started walking to the front door of the tower and grabbed the doorknob. "What the hell." Opening the door, the sight that greeted Tomas was that of a large, winding staircase. For a brief moment, the silver-haired man thought back to his time in the Netherrealm when he was kidnapped the by the sorcerer Quan Chi. He had come across a library during his escape and there too had been a winding staircase that led to a higher level of the area. The time he spent in that hellish realm would forever be embedded in Tomas' memory, even though the incident was something the silver-haired man would rather forget.
Pushing the memory to the back of his mind, Tomas ascended the stairs two at a time. It felt like forever before he reached the top, but the view the clock tower provided of Vesnice Rudá was worth the trip. Tomas stepped around the bell that was hovering above the center of the room and walked over to the railing. The citizens of the village looked much like ants from this height and Tomas could even see Hugo and Katerina as well. They were leaving a small shop that the silver-haired man assumed was the flower shop Hugo was talking about and the father/daughter duo looked so happy as they exited the building.
Tomas smiled as he watched Hugo and Katerina walk away and he saw Katerina carrying a bouquet of flowers in her hands. They must have found what they were looking for.
"Liking the view?"
Tomas chuckled and turned to his left, his normally silver eyes now darker in color and red surrounding his slit pupils. "I'm just glad Hugo and Katerina are happy. After the chaos they went through today, they deserve for one thing to go right."
Standing beside the silver-haired man, Enenra played with a strand of his crimson hair with a smirk. "At least someone's day is going right." Ever since the Outworld Invasion, the bond between Tomas and Enenra has grown stronger and now the demon was able to hold a physical form outside of his host's body for up to an hour. However, the seal that was keeping Enenra trapped within Tomas' body is also preventing him from leaving his prison for much longer than that.
Tomas sighed and nodded his head at Enenra's statement. "Yeah." Taking his backpack off, Tomas grabbed the canteen he had filled earlier and took a sip of water. He then held it out to Enenra. "Want some?"
Enenra shook his head. "Thank you, but no. Actually, don't you think you should get something to eat? You haven't eaten anything since breakfast."
"Huh. You know, you're right." Tomas frowned and looked down at his water bottle. He had not even realized how hungry he was until Enenra said something about it. "I wonder what I should get for dinner. It is getting kind of late."
Enenra put a hand under his chin. "I don't know. How about some goulash?"
"Oh!" That put a big smile on Tomas' face. "I haven't had that since I was a kid. Mom would always make some whenever...I was..." The silver-haired man suddenly trailed off.
Enenra arched a brow and looked concernedly at his host. "What is it?"
"I'm sorry." Tomas put a hand on his forehead. "It's like every little thing has been triggering my memories. Looks like coming here was a good idea, but I can't say that I'm not a bit overwhelmed by these memories resurfacing."
"I understand." Reaching out for his host, Enenra wanted to pat Tomas on his back to comfort him, but he immediately withdrew his hand before he could. The demon was still not one to openly show affection, even if it was just a simple pat on the back. Fortunately, Tomas was so distracted by his sudden headache that he did not see Enenra's poor attempt at comforting him. "...Will you be alright?"
Tomas let go of his forehead and then reached for the collar of his coat. "I'll be okay. I just need a second to catch my breath." From within his coat, Tomas pulled out a necklace that he had hidden inside the collar. It was a gift from Jade that had been bestowed upon her by her father before his death. Tomas looked down at the pendant that hung from the necklace, a yellow and white yin yang, and smiled. It was like having a piece of Jade with him always and that was a comfort. Tomas promised to do something special for the Edenian when he returned home.
"Tomas." Hearing the demon address him again, Tomas looked from his pendant back to Enenra. But the silver-haired man frowned when he saw the worried expression on Enenra's face. But he stayed quiet and allowed the demon to continue. "...Why did you ask me about the children?"
Tomas should have known that Enenra would not drop the subject so easily. He sighed. "I, uh...I'm not a hundred percent sure, but...I don't know—"
"Boy, what is it? Say what is on your mind."
"I...wait, you can read my mind, you know."
"I could, but I was trying to be considerate by not "invading your privacy", as you would say."
"...Oh." Tomas chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I did say that didn't I?"
Enenra pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Never mind that. Just answer my question."
"Okay, okay. Look...I don't think me losing my memory was accidental. Or those folks claiming that they have no memory of my parents even having a child. This...all this was planned! I can't explain it, but I just know, okay?" Tomas ran a hand through his hair and grunted in frustration. "I know I probably sound insane or paranoid or whatever, but—!"
"No. Not at all." Crossing his arms over his chest, Enenra looked down at the streets below and scowled. "And I have a feeling I know who is responsible for all this."
Tomas followed the demon's gaze and spoke in a quiet tone. "You mean...Kronika?"
The silver-haired man could practically feel Enenra's blood boiling at the mention of Kronika's name. The Titan was the very reason why the demon's kind had drastically decreased in numbers, with Enenra himself said to be the last of his race. Kronika feared the Enenras' power and they almost overthrew her son, Lord Shinnok. But of course, the Titan did not allow that to happen and Enenra was forced to flee to Earthrealm in order to save himself.
Enenra took a deep breath to calm himself before responding to his host through gritted teeth. "Yes. Kronika. That bitch." Enenra turned back to Tomas with a deep scowl on his face. "As powerful as she is, I would not doubt that she has somehow manipulated people such as Eduard and his mother into believing that you never existed. After all, the Elder Gods were not even aware of your existence until Raiden told them about you. But why?"
"Hey." Tomas' eyes widened as he came to a realization. "What about Delia?"
"Delia?" Enenra was genuinely confused about why his host would bring up the sorceress, Delia. Delia was the wife of Edenia's former protector Argus and it was assumed that she was killed during Shao Kahn's invasion of Edenia along with her husband. So, Enenra did not know what a dead Edenian sorceress had to do with Kronika's twisted plans.
Tomas could see that the demon was clearly befuddled by his statement, so he decided to explain. "I remember Delia visiting me when I was a child and she even tried to take me away from my parents. She looked terrified like...like she knew something was going to happen. To me."
"You mean you think she knew about how you would be kidnapped sometime in the future by that cult?"
"Well, yes that. But I think she knew something else. Something bigger than your possession of me. If Kronika is responsible for messing with everyone's memories, including my own, what if she did it because Delia knew something that she doesn't want us to know?"
"Hmm." Enenra placed a hand under his chin in thought. "That is quite the assumption you made, Vrbada."
"I know, but I just—"
"—Have this feeling in my gut. I know." Enenra chuckled and patted Tomas on his shoulder. "And your intuition is never wrong. Except for on the "rare" occasions that it is."
Tomas scoffed, but he was smiling as he did so. "What!? When have I ever been wrong about these things?"
"Do you want the instances in alphabetical or chronological order?"
"Oh, shut up." Tomas shoved the demon away in a playful manner and Enenra only laughed at his host's reaction. The two then stood in silence for some time just enjoying the view of Vesnice Rudá. But Enenra's expression soon grew serious again and he was the one to break the comfortable silence that had formed between the two men.
"But seriously, Tomas, Kronika is not someone you want to anger. If she is the one behind all this, then she will do everything in her power to keep you from getting what you want. But I do not think it is you that she is trying to stop. Well, not you directly anyway." Enenra's eyes immediately darted to the floor as he felt ashamed and could not look his host in the eye anymore. Tomas could feel the demon's guilt and he could not help but feel sorry for Enenra.
The silver-haired man reached out to the demon and grabbed his shoulder. "Enenra, don't—" Before Tomas could finish his sentence, he stopped when the sound of screaming drew his attention back to the village. Enenra heard it as well and the two warriors scanned the area for the source of the screaming.
"Tomas, look!" Enenra pointed to the entrance of Vesnice Rudá and the duo saw multiple lights quickly spreading into the town. Torches. Enenra let out a low growl. "You need to get down there, now!"
Tomas nodded his head and he was about to leave, but then he remembered the giant bell that resided in the clock tower. He took the rope that was connected to the bell and pulled it hard, the force causing the bell to ring loudly. After he rung it a few good times, Tomas turned back to the railing and leapt onto it. "That should be enough of a warning for the rest of the village." The silver-haired man then jumped from the railing and landed on the ground. The impact was even strong enough to cause the earth beneath Tomas to crack.
"Sure, the bell was good for the village." Enenra, who had returned to Tomas' body, spoke telepathically to his host. "But that also gave away our location to those intruders." Speaking of said intruders, Tomas could hear multiple sets of footsteps coming their way and he immediately dropped to a fighting stance. But the moment the enemy revealed themselves to Tomas, he froze.
"No, it can't be." Many thoughts raced throughout Tomas' mind, most of them repeating the same statement over and over again. The uniforms the intruders wore. The tattered, red cloaks with hoods covering their faces. There was no mistaking it. These hooded figures looked much like the cult members that sacrificed Tomas when he was a boy. Tomas was so shocked by this revelation that he almost failed to dodge an attack from one of the intruders, who swung an axe aimed at the silver-haired man's head.
Tomas ducked under the weapon and swept the cloaked man off his feet. Grabbing the collar of the man's cloak, Tomas turned around and tossed his captive to two of his other attackers, who were sent flying into a wall of a small building nearby. The silver-haired man then turned his attention to the three cloaked members who were left, and two of them, one with a spiked club and the other with a dagger, suddenly charged at Tomas. The attacker with the dagger slashed his weapon at Tomas a few times before the silver-haired man grabbed his wrist and twisted it, forcing his adversary to let go of his knife.
While the cloaked man was preoccupied with his broken wrist, his comrade with the club tried to strike at Tomas. But with him being the more skilled fighter of the two, Tomas easily avoided his opponent's attacks and he countered with a punch to his adversary's stomach. The cloaked man doubled over in pain and Tomas took the opportunity to knee the man in his face. The attacker was knocked back and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Now it was onto the last cult member, who was trembling as he watched Tomas take down his allies.
Tomas stepped towards the cloaked figure slowly, which only made his soon-to-be victim panic even more to the point where they started pleading with the silver-haired man to stop. "Wait, please! Please, don't hurt me!" The cult member started shouting in Czech and Tomas frowned as he listened to his pleas. Tomas quickened his pace until his was right in front of the cloaked man and he tore the man's hood away from his face.
"You're...You're just a kid." Indeed, the cult member that was shaking before him was much younger than Tomas had thought. The young man could be no older than eighteen and Tomas assumed that the cult must have forced the poor boy to join them, or they would have him killed. Tomas decided to give the young man the benefit of a doubt, but he also wanted to speak to the boy later to gain information about the rest of the cult.
"Listen." The silver-haired man spoke to the boy in his native tongue. "You see the clock tower? I want you to lie low in there until I come back for you, okay kid? Don't go anywhere unless absolutely necessary, because I'm going to need your help once I'm done helping the people of this village. Do you understand?"
The young man nodded furiously, and then he ran towards the clock tower just as Tomas commanded. Now that that was done, the silver-haired man sprinted towards the town square with inhuman speed. He had already wasted too much time on those other cult members.