Something Immortal

58: The Pool of Recollection Part Five

The alteration of scenery was abrupt and Som was not prepared as the ground that he was stepping on vanished in an instant and his body dropped a thousand feet. While falling, he flapped both of his arms like a flightless bird, his hands trying to find something to grab but it was too dark and the fall was too deep, and when he thought that he would break his bones once he met the end of the pit, there was a flash of light---and before he knew it, he was sitting on the ground.

Som roamed his sight to another unfamiliar place and immediately discovered that he was inside a cage. The enclosure was huge and the inside was filled with different types of perches if not for the massive size of their logs, Som guessed that it was placed to keep the birds happy. However, given how massive the enclosure was, the size of the bird was rather questionable...

Slowly, he stood up, save by the sound of winds passing through the surrounding trees and plants, within the cage felt rather suffocating and eerily silent. Som walked casually, approaching the bars of the cage when suddenly, something pulled him right back and he could no longer move forward. He looked down and only then did he discover that he was bound, shackled by the wrists and ankles in iron chains.

Amidst the dimness, Som was able to make out a tall figure emerging from the void, leaning closer to the cage. Handsome, with his dark hair brushed up properly, his brows were thick yet perfectly shaped, and every shape and corner of his face was molded like the statue of Adonis.

This man was no stranger to Som.

And Som was no stranger to him.

"Well, hello there, Firebird..."

✧༺♥༻∞

Turning on his heel, Lord Phaibun approached the bird in the cage, whistling in tune with a song so familiar to Som yet he couldn't recall where he must've heard it. At this moment, he could be anywhere else inside a memory that he sealed himself, and this encounter may have happened a long time ago, during one of the resets.

"You think this is still a memory, don't you?"

Som froze. "What are you talking about?"

From the very beginning, he had always thought of Lord Phaibun's existence as some kind of conundrum that had no resolution. When Ilarion was Darren Pike on the other world, he introduced the character as the main antagonist yet he did not appear until a later time when the author had to end the novel with Som's death and his entrance served as the continuation for Book 2.

"Ah, you're interested now," Phaibun smiled as he studied Som's expression as well as the confusion forming in his mind. "Such potential in you, dreams of inspiration. I have nurtured extraordinary skills into fruition, and just when you stand to acclaim what I have created you for, you wasted it by falling in love with the rival."

Som opened his mouth to refute the claim but found out that he couldn't. He was stunned as he slowly tried to piece the information together. And although the truth was screaming right in front of him, he couldn't find it in his heart to believe this treacherous lord.

Pull me out!

The water goddess remained petrified on the other side, as though something or perhaps someone was holding her back. Phaibun leered. "Whoever it is you're trying to call outside will not respond to you at the moment. This time, it's just me and you."

"How did you enter my mind?"

"I did not, for this is not my physical form. But you and I...well, we have a connection. Just like you have a connection with Kali and Aster..."

"I'm not going to play your mind games."

For a moment, Phaibun looked slightly stunned. "I never played any mind games; it was YOU who started it all. Do you think you can save this world and the man you love by not making a choice? From the moment you let Aster Fay live, you already made a mistake, and you know that that's why you did a reset. What I don't understand is...When I gave birth to you, I didn't create you with a heart. Disappointingly, you started feeling compassion with Aster Fay, with that Oracle Ilarion, that stupid brother of yours, Sri, and this world, and every little critter that lives and breathes with it."