The Cleric of Chaos

In the vast wasteland of the Chaos Realm was an elaborate hut guarded by a wall and gate. A few robed individuals stood outside of the wall, patrolling the gates. Eris walked past the men without a word as she placed her dark black hood over her head. The gates open for her, and beyond them stood a robed individual with a distinct facial feature as the lower half was void of flesh. She stared at the girl as she approached him. Other individuals kneeled to the ground as they prayed to the two individuals as well as providing offerings for them both. Eris took one of the offers, a dagger, and used it to strike the other hooded figure. As the blade came into contact with the man, a loud snap distracted the girl. The man completely bends his back to dodge the girls attempted strike. As he snaps his spine back into place, she slams his palm into the girl's shoulder blade, immediately disarming her. She grits her teeth, struggling to prevent herself from screaming. The blade falls from her hand. She looks around in embarrassment, though the hooded figures kept their heads down.

"Not even so much as a greeting?" the man said. "I'm surprised. This must be serious."

"Its never serious enough," she grunted.

"Is today the day?" he asked. "Are you finally prepared for the final phase of your training?"

"You can never be prepared, lord Havik," she responded. Though the lack of flesh made it impossible to truly know see the expression on his face, she could feel the joy in his heart.

"Walk with me, Eris." Havik walks pass the girl, signaling her to follow. The girl snaps her arm back into place, still forcing herself to not make a sound as she felt the harsh pain, before following behind him. As they made their way outside the gates, Havik could be heard chuckling. Eris watched the man curiously.

"What's so funny?" she wondered.

"I'm curious," he said. "What led you to want this now?"

"My sister is no longer with us," she muttered somberly.

"Someone else has taken her life," he commented. "I see."

"It was suppose to be me," she complained. "Why did she have to return? Elder Lords, curse her."

"Who?" Havik asked. "I've gotten many reports of men and women returning from the dead across the realms."

"It's her projection magic," Eris said. "Aisa has returned. "I don't know how, but she's found a way to project everyone who's died in the past—including herself—into our reality."

"She is a true anomaly," Havik responded. "Someone capable of such uncertainty is definitely a threat to your life. She's going to come for the Chaos Realm Kamidogu."

"Not just her," Eris said. "There are two Earthrealmers here."

"We will worry about them at another time," he suggested. "Your final phase is more important right now. You will embrace Chaos, one way or another."

After hours of walking, Cassie stops. She stomps her foot on the ground and yells in frustration as the two of them were now lost. Chan reached out to the girl. She swats his hand away, however, and decides to continue forward.

"Cassie," he called, "we can take a break."

"No!" she snapped. "You wanted us to follow her. We'll continue to follow her." Chan gave up his attempts to get through to her and continued their trek. Nearly an hour passed, and Cassie's stubbornness finally gave in. She stops once more and sits on a nearby bench. Chan sits beside her and takes a deep breath.

"I never asked before, but how did you get here?" Chan asked. Cassie seemed to perk up a bit.

"I followed the two of you here," she said. "Besides, I can open portals too."

"What? Since when?"

"Jacqui and I...stole the Special forces prototype Realm Travel technology," she confirmed.

"Such a thing exists?" Chan questioned.

"Its how we arrived to Outworld last year," she further clarified. "Jacqui worked on the other technical aspects of the devices using textbooks left behind by Li Mei's mother for extra references. We didn't just train in secret all that time."

"You could've returned home."

"We could have," Cassie agreed. "Its just...I couldn't."

"Why not?" Chan wondered as he moved in closer. She paused. Shaking her head, she rests her forearms on her lap.

"What were my mother and father like before you...you know," she asked softly.

"Johnny was arrogant—like you at times," Chan remarked.

"Screw you," she quiped. Chan clasped his hands together.

"Even with his arrogance, I could see the fear in his eyes after his loss. He did his best to deny what was going on. That is, until Raiden died—or had become decommissioned. Whichever is easier to digest."

"If that's true, why did he continue to encourage Jacqui and I to join the Special Forces?" she asked.

"On the other side, Jax would be the one to discourage the act, and for good reason. I think Johnny knows how important it is to make sure you all can protect yourselves for times like today." Cassie pressed her palms together and raised them to her face.

"And mom?" she asked. Chan frowned.

"I could never read her as well as I did Johnny. Whatever the Black Dragon did to her had a major impact on her. We noticed by how she took him out. She wasn't like this on the other side. Kano was a priority, but he hasn't been alive in our reality for quite some time. You would know her more than I would?"

"That's the thing," she said as she rests her arms. "I don't seem to know her at all. Not anymore."

"What happened?"

"About the time Jacqui and I became teenagers, I noticed a change in her. She pushed us into joining the Special Forces. I mean really pushed us." Cassie pulls out her pistol. "This was what I got for my thirteenth birthday. It wasn't long after before I discovered my powers. That's when…" Cassie stopped.

"When…" Chan awaited her answer as a sense of doubt was apparent on his face.

"I...killed someone," she responded, her body shuttering. "It was my first time. I always expected it to be heroic. Life saving even. I didn't think it would…" Cassie choked. Chan reached for the girl's hand.

"It's ok," Chan said. Cassie did her best to keep a stern face.

"Jacqui and I trained in hand-to-hand. Being the Daughter of Jackson Briggs, of course she'd be much stronger than I am. That wasn't a good enough excuse for my mother. She pushed us to keep fighting. I could see that Jacqui didn't want to keep going. Every time she'd knock me down, every bruise she'd make, she fought against her tears just like I'm doing now." Cassie scrubbed her palm along her forehead. "Jacqui missed a punched. It was obvious she did it on purpose. It gave me an opening, and I pinned her on the ground. I sat atop of her, and she just...gave up. That's when mom tells me 'you're not done Cass. Finish the fight.' I froze. She yelled at me, 'finish her!' I struck her once in the face. Before I knew it, my other fist struck her. It happened over and over. I still remember those sounds. My hands were wet. Also like...I don't know. Once I came to, Jacqui stopped breathing. I couldn't even recognize her anymore. It was a miracle that Fujin showed up and brought her to the Jinsei chamber in time. If he hadn't, she'd—" Cassie huffed and wiped the dreary eyes. "I don't know what made Jacqui forgive me. Its like…I know it has to be affecting her on the inside. Yet, she still worries about my own well-being."

"Cass," Chan whispered.

"Eris has a point—about love. No one truly understands it." Chan's mind wondered back to his first vision. Kira dying to protect him.

"I've been there too," Chan said. Cassie looked at him.

"You killed a friend?" she asked.

"She almost killed me," he corrected. "She fell into the wrong crowd. Reverted to her old ways. When I left the tournament to deal with the Brotherhood of Shadow, she was there as a new member. They were engaging in this…ritual. She would gain immortality. All she needed to do was eat my heart. I though it was no way she'd harm her friends. I was wrong. I don't know what it was that brought a change of heart. She just...stopped. I still haven't gotten that answer yet. But maybe…" Cassie stared at the ground, dumbfounded.

"If this was at the Russian Incident and she was a survivor," Cassie continued to ponder before looking back at the boy. "Your friend. Was she—"

Find the woman. A voice commanded. Chan leapt from the bench.

"Did you hear that voice?" he asked.

"What voice," Cassie asked in a disappointing tone.

"It's him again," Chan said. "The One Being is speaking to me. In my mind."

You are the last hope. Find Eris and she will bring you to me. Free me, and I shall grant whatever it is you seek, Chan Kang of Earthrealm.

(End of Chapter 22)

Alright, so last chapter, I claimed the title of this chapter would be "Cleric of Chaos." However, as I finished editing this chapter, I realized how little this chapter has to do with Havik compared to the NEXT chapter. The current title was originally for the next chapter due to some story elements I've planned for it. However, I realized that title would work best here and therefore the titles have been official swapped. You didn't miss a chapter. My apologies.

(Upcoming—Cleric of Chaos) Foreal this time.