Chapter 19
The Result of Rage
Once I called you brother, once I thought the chance to make you laugh was all I ever wanted.
And even now I wish there another, serving as your foe on their behalf is the last thing that I wanted...
This was my home...
"All this pain and devastation, how you torture me inside. All the innocents who suffer from your stubbornness and pride.
You who I called brother, why must you call down another blow?
The one who I called brother, how could you have come to hate me so? Is this what you wanted?
Then let my heart be hardened, and never mind the price that I must pay, death is now the only way.
He who I called brother...if only this hadn't been so..."
-supposedly a letter written by the First himself shortly before the Purging of Mt. Incendia. Claims have been disputed however and the manuscript is now considered false.
"Well that was unnerving,"
"Mmmm,"
Lukas pulled off his shirt, pulling on a lighter sleep shirt that Alex had gotten for him. "You know Jesse, the more I hear them talk about the Immortal's the more real it seems. Then that whole incident with Petra and the magic book...its getting kind hard to deny."
"Yeah..." Jesse said.
Alex had been right about her amulet glowing thing. Steve had wanted to talk to her and well, him too. He hadn't been exactly happy to hear that Petra nearly killed herself in a magical overdose. But she was doing exceptionally better when they arrived, only a minor headache - something about head butting Steve.
"Steve wants to tell us something?" Lukas had said.
"And that would be what?" Jesse asked.
Steve was whispering a message into Alex's ear, clearing filling her in on the details. He piped up, "We're telling you about the Dark One."
Jesse recognized the name, "Ok~ay...?"
Steve sighed, "How to explain this...um...He's real."
Steve and Alex then proceeded to give a very lengthy history lesson on how the Dark One was the secret Lost Immortal, someone who had come before the Healer.
"It wasn't till after the First struck down the Lost One, that the Healer was made." Alex explained, "The people of the First World erased him from history, and the Dark one took his place. All the writings about the Dark One destroying the world aren't about Notch's Brother, but his second son."
"So that's what I saw then," Petra asked, "I saw this Lost One, this forgotten immortal?"
Steve slowly nodded, "Yeah, you probably did."
"If the First killed him though, why is everyone afraid to mention his name, why do they let the false stories keep going?" Lukas asked.
"They're still afraid." Alex said quietly, "As long as people don't know the truth they're fine with it. As long as no one speaks his name."
"Why?"
"Names are power here," Steve stated simply, "They're afraid it will bring him back."
Jesse found himself unnaturally bothered by this sudden new information he wondered if Ivor would have anything on it. Steve told him later the only reason he and Alex shared anything at all was because Jesse and the others didn't know the Immortal's true name. But he still wanted to be prepared in case they suffered any more unwanted visions.
"Jesse are you alright?"
He looked over his shoulder to see Lukas looking hard his way, "Yeah why?"
"You seem, I dunno, kinda out of it."
"I'm just tired."
"Did something happen in the hallway?"
Lukas was prodding, trying to get him to open up a little. Jesse knew that much, he caught on to Lukas's need to be supportive long ago. He thought about the dead world and the pig. He wanted to tell him, he really did...but there was no point. "No, nothing really interesting."
"Jesse-"
"I got turned into half a fish," Jesse said, "And there was a lot of swimming and that's what happened, so I'm tired. Kay?" He turned away, tearing off his shirt and pulling on his own nightwear.
He heard Lukas sigh, and could feel his gaze on the back of his neck, but Lukas relented, letting his question drop, "Half a fish huh?"
"Yep, gills and everything."
"Interesting..."
"Yep!"
Petra entered the guest room, having changed in the bathroom; she was brushing her hair out, "Hey guys! What are you talking about?"
"Jesse got turned into half a fish," Lukas said evenly.
"Woah? Really? That's intense."
Jesse yanked back the covers of his bed, "Not as intense as you time traveling via your mind."
"It was pretty crazy," Petra said down on her bed, "Can you believe there was another Immortal that none of us knew about? That nobody knew about."
"Yeah, it kinda gives me the creeps." Lukas admitted.
Jesse didn't say anything on the subject, "Listen, I'm gonna go to sleep guys."
Petra paused, "Really? Okay, um, sleep well?"
"Yeah, hope you get some rest." Lukas added.
"Mm, thanks," he fell onto his pillows, sleep quickly grabbing hold. He felt bad pushing Lukas away, but he didn't need people looking after him, he didn't want anyone to. People got hurt when they had his back...
Like Rueben.
He slipped off to sleep, his mind crammed full of turmoil.
Jesse wouldn't risk it again.
Petra waited till Jesse's breathing changed so she knew he was out, which didn't take long. She looked to Lukas, "Did you ask him?"
"Yeah," Lukas frowned.
"And?"
"What do you think he told me?"
"Nothing," Petra sighed. She had noticed immediately something was off about Jesse the moment he had returned to the house. She knew something besides fish tales had happened in the Hallway. "Lukas, I'm worried," she whispered.
Lukas glanced over at the sleeping brunet, "I am too," he said solemnly. "I'm grateful for Steve and Alex's help, but ever since we've come here I've noticed things..."
"Yeah?"
"He's pushing us away,"
"Do you think Steve and Alex have anything to do with it?"
He shook his head, "No. I think they really mean to help, I just think..." he sighed.
"What?" Petra asked.
"I think he's giving up Petra."
Jesse knew he was dreaming the moment mother nature cried out.
Literally.
Thunder roared so loud and hard that the very bed on which he lay shook. His eyes shot open and he quickly sat up. He was in his own body, he confirmed and not looking through the eyes of someone else. A swift sweep of his surroundings revealed a dim one roomed house.
It partially reminded him of the cabin by the river. There was the one bed in which he was in, a chair, a table, a furnace and a crafting table. There were books, not nearly as many as the ones in the actual cabin, but there were still books.
It was quaint.
But the air was tense, and Jesse could detect the faint whiff of fire and smoke. He couldn't see much outside, it was nighttime. Only the occasional flash of lightning illuminated the forest, and a distant faint glow added his vision. Something was very wrong.
The front door slammed open suddenly and Jesse flinched in surprise as a young man entered the house.
"Father!" the male yelled.
Jesse stared wide eyed at the stranger. He was littered with so many injuries it was a wonder how he still stood, much less breathed. He bled profusely from multiple lacerations all over his body. The burns on his arms seemed beyond repair. Jesse couldn't even make out a face. The upper right part was covered in bandages stained nearly black with blood. The only part that remained unscathed was the male's brilliant blue left eye, currently filled to the brim with fury.
"Father!"
Jesse recognized the voice immediately however, he was positive it was the warrior he had seen through the eyes of in his last dream. And now with the new information provided by Steve and Alex, and Petra's vision he wondered...
Was this the First?
"I know you can hear me!" The possible immortal demanded, "Father!"
Outside lighting flashed and thunder boomed, then the rain began.
There was a single deafening crack, and a blinding flash that lit up the single room house in a white flare. When the darkness reclaimed it's domain and Jesse could once again see, the room had not changed. Save for the single cloaked figure sitting in the chair.
Jesse let out a weak exhale.
Father, as in...
Jesse couldn't see much detail, but by the grey streaks in the long black beard, he assumed the new comer was fairly older. It bothered him that he couldn't see the upper part of the old man's face, no matter where he adjusted himself in the bed, the upper half remained concealed in shadow, evening when the lighting flashed.
"What is it my son," He asked. The man's voice sounded painfully familiar to Jesse, but he couldn't place where.
The youth, seemingly unfazed by the other's sudden and noisy arrival went into a rage, "How could you not know?! Your son H-"
"I know very well," The elder cut off, "But do not speak his name. You know what our names do."
"He killed them!" the man's voice cracked, "He killed your people!"
"Yes...I know."
"I- I tried to stop him, but-" the male looked at the sword in his hands, stained in blood. Jesse noted the diamond blade was cracked, "But I could not dissuade him. You have to remove his immortality!" The warrior demanded eyes full of tears. "I wounded him, but like my own marks they will soon heal! You must make him mortal!"
"I cannot."
"Cannot or will not?!"
"Cannot, you and your brother are your own beings." The old man explained, "I cannot strip you of what you are."
"Then you sentence your creations to death!"
"I did not say that."
"But you will do nothing," The First spat.
"You do not realize what you ask of me. He is your brother-"
"I am asking you to end him! Simple as that!"
Jesse jumped slightly as the old man frowned, the heavens themselves roaring with thunder, "You ask me to murder my child!"
The warrior glared, "He cares not for you nor I anymore. You stand by and do nothing while blood spills from his hands!" he cried.
"Are your hands not bloody?" The elder demanded.
The other flinched, "Those men were evil."
"And who are you to judge good and evil?"
"Someone must since you show no love for your children-"
Thunder roared and the house shook, to the point where Jesse actually fell out of the bed and onto his knees as the elder stood sharply up.
"Do not lecture me on my love of you or the mortals!" The elder said, "I weep for those lost! I weep for your brother! I weep for you! You ask me to kill one of my own. Has your heart harden so since this began that you would kill your own brother? The same one our people prayed would come to you so that you many no suffer a lonely immortal life?"
"Who gave me that life?!" The Immortal yelled throwing his sword into the floor, embedding it into the wood, "How choose that for me?!"
The storm died out, if only for a second. And the old man sat down. "I see."
The tension in the air was suffocating and thick.
The younger man let out a heavy sigh," I am sorry. But He has to go Father..." The First said softly, "He stopped being my brother the moment he turned his blade in hate." He kneeled at the old man's feet, grasping his father's hand, "I am begging you to help me. I will not ask you to kill him, but I do ask you give me the means of which to defeat him."
The elder was silent.
"Father?"
Finally after a moment, "If you go to the witches of the Adamans they have enchantments..."
"Magic isn't going to -"
"You will find there what you seek. I hope you find the strength to go through with it. For you do not realize what you truly wish. "
There was a flash of light, and the elder was gone, leaving only Jesse and the Immortal.
The Immortal sighed, dropping his hands onto his thighs, "I will do what must be done Father." he said softly. He stood, yanking the sword from the ground and exited the home, "He means nothing to me."
The door closed and Jesse was left alone in the dark, with nothing but the receding storm. He leaned back against the bed frame, taking slow deep breaths. Why was his heart pounding so?
This had to be a dream right? Something he had forged in his own mind...
This couldn't be a vision.
But why wasn't he awake now?
Shakily standing, Jesse inspected to room, moving slowly around. He couldn't touch anything, couldn't open a book, or even move the blankets on the bed.
He was stuck.
"Jesse..."
Jesse whipped around, to find the front door was cracked open. Hadn't the Immortal closed it? There was a soft orange glow coming from beyond the wood work, and a faint rumble that didn't sound like thunder.
Jesse slowly advanced on the door, finding he could open it. He pushed it open and stepped through. Immediately the door and the one roomed house vanished behind him.
Present before him was a vast and lavish dining hall. With a large stone table over fifty feet long and lined with hundreds of chairs. There were ornate and massive tapestries hanging from the high ceiling. All the designs were unique and seemed insanely complicated; all the art down to even the animals was intricate and full of twists and knots.
But everything looked abandoned, the rug was turned up in some places, there was broken dishes on the floor, food on the table. Like everyone had left in a hurry
Where in the world?
Then he was moving fast paced, hard, driven. He exited the dining room, making his way down a long narrow hallway, torches guiding him. He had to go this way; he needed to go this way.
Jesse opened a large black door, surprised by how warm the handle was-
It was city. He stepped out onto a massive flat surface, thousands of feet wide. High above was a brilliant moon. He knew now he was in the mouth of a colossal volcano.
Mt. Incendia.
The city was built all along the walls, layer upon layer. Grand houses, exquisite shops, an amphitheater, you name it. Jesse walked to a large bridge cutting across a canyon. The hundred foot drop led to the inferno below. Lava, lots of it, a whole river in fact.
Behind him from where he had come was a castle, tall, and imposing. Lava running through tubes built into the wall.
Across the bridge in the middle of a large court was a stone table surround by a dozen chairs, and two high back thrones.
There was a person in one of them.
" Secundus!"
Jesse whipped around just as the First burst from a side door in the castle. His wounds seemed healed, but Jesse couldn't make out a face again because the demigod was now clad in diamond armor.
The figure from the chair stood, arms outstretched, "Brother!"
The Immortal marched across the clearing stopping at the bridges end, "I am no brother of yours, you murderous traitor!"
The other scoffed taking his own stop at the other end, "Traitor you call me, bah! I am a God among men, I do what I see fit to them. I am no traitor." he pointed, "If anyone is a traitor, it is you to me."
The other male was younger than the First, but more thickly built and his skin a shade darker. His eyes were a dark chocolate brown, and hair so dark and rich if it wasn't for the lava light it would look black. He was armed, but he didn't have armor. He reminded Jesse vaguely of Steve. But using Steve as a comparison felt like an insult to him. The other again, was thicker, younger, and by far meaner looking than the kind man.
The First snarled, spitting on the ground, "You attacked the people."
The Lost one sneered, "And you chose them over me. And here you are now, so afraid of me you come in full armor. Is it truly to be like this?"
Silently, the First drew his blade.
The second Immortal went silent, looking down for only a moment, "So be it..." he said quietly, almost impossible to hear over the rumble of lava. He stuck out his hand, summoning a blade from the volcanic fumes itself. The sword was diamond, but it was a black as obsidian, absorbing all light cast upon it, "You have decided your fate."
They lunged at each other.
The moment the swords connected sparks flew and air currents hot and fast tore away from the point of impact and the ground cracked directly beneath them.
The Lost pivoted around his brother, trying to catch him in the back, but he rolled forward, leaping high in the air and coming down at one end of the bridge. Then fast as lightning, almost too quick for any normal human to react, the First lunged back, his sword pointed like a javelin.
The younger blocked. "Irony that it is here I face you. I search for days only for you to draw me here, where it all began."
"We built our legacy here!" The older yelled, "And here I will tear it down!" he slammed his sword on top of the other, who managed to block at the cost of his knees giving out.
"You can't defeat me!" the Lost cried, "I cannot defeat you!" he shoved the other off, attempting to stab, "With our immortal blessing, what are we doomed to fight till judgment day and trumpets sound?"
" I wouldn't be so sure!" the First barked, he yanked a dagger from his boot - curved at one point, blue, and sharp - stabbing at his brother. The other lunged to the side, the secondary weapon only managing to scrap the outer layer of his arm drawing blood immediately.
Screaming in rage he spun a kicked, sending the dagger skittering away. He tore the sleeve off his tunic, "You insult my with a dragon's toothpick!"
The First took a step back glaring.
The Lost looked at his arm, and Jesse did to, the wound was still there, not healing. The Lost hissed, "What did you do!"
"Enchantments," The First snarled, "From the Adaman's witches. It took a large portion of my strength, but I was able to make the runes. I have placed them deep within our city, as long as we're here. ...We will not heal."
"You dare spout lies?!"
The First tapped his helmet with his sword, "Why do you think I came armored?"
The Lost took a step back, and Jesse swore there was surprise maybe even fear in his eyes before turning into pure unbridled rage. "Bastard!" he dashed towards a tunnel, presumably an exit.
The First yanked a large chunk out of the ground, about twenty feet in diameter and hurled it past his fleeing opponent. It crashed into the tunnel caving it in, the gust of air sending the younger falling back. He hacked and coughed from the ground, spitting away a mouthful of blood where some debris had hit his mouth.
"One of us will die here brother," The First stated firmly, " One stab of the heart and you can be sure of that."
The Lost snarled, slamming his hilt against the ground, "So be it!" he sprang up swinging hard and fast.
The older immortal responded by yanking clear another chunk of rock, this time a pillar from one of the supports. It sent about fifteen arches collapsing and part of the floor above. He hurled it at his brother; attempt to force the other to dodge.
Instead of going up and over, the Lost cut through the stone with his blade, roaring, and slicing up.
"Augh!" The First stumbled back, his helmet knocked clean off as the younger cut up the side of his face. His head dropped back down, angrily panting. His new injury was a jagged gash running up his face, starting underneath the left side of his jaw, cutting up his face and past his right eye and into his hair line. Azure blue eyes glare through shaggy brown hair. Some of the blood dripped down into his eye, but he blinked it away creating a tear line of blood. For a minute Jesse thought he looked actually like Steve.
"So you truly can't heal either," The Lost remarked. He licked the blood on his blade, "This should be fun."
Soon everything fell in the battle that followed, nothing was spared. Buildings, obsidian, diamond all of it. The bridge over the river was destroyed; the canyon itself had collapsed in several places and was now wider and very unstable.
The First screamed in pain as the Lost threw him through one of the throne chairs, he slid across the floor leaving a long smear of blood from his many wounds. He came to a stop just at the edge of the chasm next to his dagger, groaning in pain.
"This could have been our kingdom!" the Lost screamed. "We could have ruled together!" He leapt up, ready to stab down.
Crying out weather from grief or perhaps from pain, the First jabbed his arms up, summoning fire from the lava below.
The wave of inferno hit the Lost dead on, and he screamed in agony as the intense weapon of nature seared his skin, cracking the flesh like dried earth. He stumbled down just short of the older immortal. The First himself grabbed his dagger and slashed outward-
Right across his brother's eyes.
The Lost shouted a raw intense sound. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his ruined eyes with newly scorched blistering hands.
The First lunged up pinning the younger down and stopping his dagger at his throat, his hands shaking. "Y-yield...this-this is your last chance."
There was silence, save for the growing growl of an unstable volcanic city.
The second immortal slowly lowered his hands, milky white eyes staring at the sky, "You're still weak in the end..." he mumbled.
The First swallowed thickly, the sweat mixing with the blood on his face, creating a red river over his skin, "I will do what needs to be done."
"You can't."
"I will!"
The Lost laughed weakly, "I can still see you brother, even with my ruined eyes...You are trying to save everything," he laughed again and coughed up blood, "But you can't."
The First's hand shook violently, barely able to keep the dagger steady.
"You can't" he laughed. "But you might as well brother...my dear primus." he spat, "Because I know where your heart lies now, and you will never choose me over them."
"I-I-"
"Kill me now, because I will spend the rest of eternity making your life hell. I will never stop trying to take away everything from you. So do it!"
The First froze.
"DO IT!"
He stabbed.
The gleaming dagger went through the Lost Ones throat and he stiffened, before going lax. "I knew it..." he gurgled out. His eyes slipped close, and the Lost one went limp. His skin turned waxy fading to dust, muscle, bone, all of it turned to sand, swept away by the volcano's currents.
Gone.
The First sat there frozen and stiff, a single tear sliding down his ragged cheek.
Jesse felt his hear pulse, an overwhelming wave of grief. He remembered what the old man said:
I hope you find the strength to go through with it. For you do not realize what you truly wish.
Reality began it's painful attack. Another tear fell, then another, followed by river of emotion. Shaking and clutching his dagger close, the First let out a heartbroken wail. He screamed and fell deeper against the ground, grieving his shoulders jerking with each heaving sob, "BROTHER!"
Jesse woke up, covered in sweat, and with tears streaming down his face, forced to swallow this visions lesson. There was no possible way that had been a dream...
The First hadn't realized the true result of his rage till it was too late
Next Time On MCSM Immortal's Child:
"Wait hold up a second kiddo!" Steve cut in.
Jesse looked at him hesitant.
Steve swallowed stiffly then, "I know what you're going to say...and Jesse...you can't."
Disclaimer:
Sections of the Immortal's Poem at the beginning are based off of the Dreamworks film Prince of Egypt song called The Plagues. All rights for the lyrics belong to the writers and Dreamworks Animation Studio.
Author's Section:
I think...I broke my fingers typing that out. Holy crap I hope you guys enjoyed it! I know I did!
Response Section:
At the AmberShadow:
Very observant! Jesse will get something, here pretty soon in fact, so keep an eye out!
At KrazyKat
Awww, thank you! Don't worry, we're gonna go all the way and finish this baby!
As usual, I will see you all very soon!
Thank you for your continued support and kind words! I love you guys all so much!