Zoalords
Chapter 18
The Eye
The whispers came from the darkness
An Eye is upon you.
An Evil Eye
An All-Seeing Eye.
An All-Consuming Eye.
Cyaegha.
The Eye of Ouranos.
The Eye was the sun, and the sun was the Eye. The Eye opened, spilling blood red light upon the world. A terrible, angry Eye burning away all that fell beneath its gaze.
Mikhail Czyvek sat up in bed. Outside the cold winds howled against Cloud Gate, driven by the mind of the troubled Zoalord. He had transformed in his sleep, shredding his sheets and bedclothes. His heart seemed to strike against his carapace.
Had he been in human form, he would have been drenched in sweat.
He pulled himself out of bed and walked to the bathroom, his hard chitinous feet sending echoes through the room . He looked into the mirror. A shiny black beetle with fierce mandibles stared back through red, multifaceted eyes.
Judgement Day. He thought gloomily, Are we the Angels, or are we the Demons? Shall we be found wanting?
He was afraid to answer that question.
An Eye is Upon You, the first piece in Powerman 5000's Tonight the Stars Revolt! He had heard Ishi play it many times. He actually enjoyed listening to the band's work.
But what was Cyaegha?
He ran a quick computer search. Cyaegha was a Great Old One from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, created by a writer named Eddy C. Bertin. A nihilistic force of utter destruction that appeared as a great, tentacled eye. He had no idea where he'd heard the name before.
It didn't matter. They both represented the same thing to him.
The Ouranos. The Creators. The Destroyers.
Czyvek had heard of the so-called 'God gene' that impelled humans to seek out the Divine. He wondered if there was some sort of racial memory, a survival instinct that impelled some humans to fear and distrust the Ouranos. Much as many humans naturally cringed at the growls of a tiger or the roar of the lion.
Hungry Eyes . . .
The winds began to calm, but Czyvek's nerves were still on edge.
"Sir, are you alright?" Ishi's voice came through Czyvek's door.
"Yes . . . Just a bad dream. Thank you, Ishi." He paused, then walked to the door and opened it, "Did you have a strange dream tonight?"
Ishi ran a hand through his wild, orange hair, "No. I felt kind of anxious, but I don't think I had any dreams. I could have forgotten . . ."
"That's alright. I'm fine, really. Go back to bed."
"Yes, sir." He closed the door and heard Ishi's footsteps recede into the distance.
Did I scream? He wondered, Did my telepathy project my fear into the Zoanoids?
Sho lay wide-awake in bed, listening to the wind howl. Suddenly it stopped, and the air became relatively calm. It must be hard on the Aerial Zoanoids, coping with the wild weather Czyvek's powers create. He stood and walked over to the window, opening the shades to stare out into the night. He could see for miles, the lights of skyscrapers twinkled below him. No building needed to be this tall.
He thought of Mizuki, of the child she carried, his child.
Was this the right choice?
He didn't know. But it was the only one he could make, now.
To be continued . . .