Zoombieverse - Memory 2: The Knife

Part 4: The Princess and the Key - Chapter 8

The young god woke up in his old room with everything repaired and back in place. He tried to get up but the movement sent waves of pain radiating from his chest. He gasped, squeezed his eyes shut and dropped back down his bed. Peering down at his chest, he saw that it was bandaged again with dried blood above where his wound should be. Unable to do anything and hungry again from his past exertion, he called for someone to bring him food.

A servant came in with a serving cart accompanied by a worried ancient Lord. The young god almost laughed at how familiar the scene was and contemplated on whether he should play up on being addled or not while the servant made preparations.

"How are you feeling?" the ancient Lord asked after the servant had gone out.

The young god gestured at his chest. "It's painful. I can't move. I'm hungry. Help me up."

The ancient Lord moved to the young god's side and supported him as he pushed himself up. The young god gritted his teeth and clutched the ancient Lord tightly until he managed to get to a sitting position. Panting from the exertion, the young god asked, "How long was I out?"

The ancient Lord passed some food to the young god, who immediately gobbled them up. "Only a couple of hours."

The young god glanced down at his bandaged chest. "Ah. So that's why." He turned back to the ancient Lord. "What happened afterwards?"

"I caught you when you fainted. You didn't let go of the Key so I had to pry it off your hand. Then I had someone patch you up as quickly as possible because you were already too weak and losing blood."

"Where is it?"

The ancient Lord hesitated before pulling out a strange feather-shaped knife from his pocket and presenting it to the young god. "It changed when the crystal went into it. I've never seen this happen before."

The young god smiled as he recognized the knife. "It's her." He took it and felt a steady flow of power coursing through him. It was comforting and it almost filled the void she left, but it wasn't the same. His smile slowly vanished as he realized that he could never truly be with her anymore.

"What is it? Is there something wrong with it?"

"No. It's fine. Everything's fine now. She's keeping me stable." The young god choked back his tears. "But I won't see her again."

"I see. I don't really understand what happened but I trust you."

"I know." The young god fixed a hard stare on the ancient Lord. "I can't trust you back after what you've done but she told me that you didn't have a choice either. None of us did. I can't forgive you for this. Not right away."

"I understand." The ancient Lord nodded gravely. "I'm not going to ask more from you. I just want you to know that you can always come to me if you need help."

The young god nodded stiffly before turning to another matter. "I told you earlier that I will try to explain but I don't really know if I can." He set down the food he had been eating. "It would be better if you just look inside me again."

The ancient Lord frowned at the reckless suggestion. "You're in a terrible state right now. The strain might kill you."

The young god grunted as he shifted into a better position. "I really have nothing better to do right now. I just want to get everything over with and get some rest. Besides, dying would be better than tolerating this pain here. I can barely move and I don't want to stay here for too long."

"I see," the ancient Lord said reluctantly. "If that's what you really want." He paused before adding a suggestion. "I can put a seal on your memories and on specific pieces of information to prevent anyone from accessing them. Including you, if you want."

The young god nodded at the ancient Lord's suggestion. "I want to keep access to them but a seal would be good. I know too many things that would be dangerous if they get out and I won't be able to stop anyone from tampering with my mind on my own."

"Very well then. Finish up your food first and then we'll get to it."