The Book of Gemma VOL. 2

10: THE EONS OF ROUNDS

I sit on the small tip of a rock in the middle of the ocean, clawed hands scraping at the sides and I begin to laugh. It has been eons since my first nightmare, I assume eons. I lost count of the years it has been after the first couple billion. I kept track of the days in my mind but now that has even cracked. Every time a new round is announced, I still stand and raise my middle finger to my surroundings. Wishing it all the best for the new surroundings that will appear soon.

"Round 949862379386248592."

I chuckle as I stand on top of the rock, claws digging into my feet. The nightmares have made me numb, the amount I have seen of my loved ones dying in front of me.. I just listen to their screams now. The amount of times my brain would get scrambled, my bones broken, my flesh peeled cell by cell.. I just lay there silent, waiting for the next round to enjoy a dream... but even that wore me down. I had everything.

Deecon, Aries, Edna, Albi, Akira and even my parents would be there basically having a tea party. I've gotten bound to Deecon thousands of times, made love to him in every position or scenario imaginable. It got to the point where I would walk away from the beautiful parties and explore the setting. I would climb trees, go for a swim, enjoy this mortal body I have been given from the very first round. My hands no longer gave or took, my hair matted and dreaded, every nightmare I was given left scars all over my body. My face is almost unrecognizable from the amount of eye gouges, cuts to the face and my poor throat slit over and over. My fragile bones make me have to be careful but.. I no longer had the pressure of being a Leader.. A God. I was just a child in a divorce while my stars fought for custody.

I still believe I was dead though, I had to be. This was my afterlife, the judgment of my sins and the celebration of my good deeds. I assume that Sky Valley and Darus have been wiped from the galaxy with how many eons have passed. I assume Aries has trained and showed Deecon the ways of the God's and they set out on their adventures. Edna, Albi and Akira most likely died of old age, Aries has become the Leader of some of the Zodiacs if he ever went to war with Vyx. Maybe Vyx just set everyone a blaze.

Deecon, though I love him dearly, has probably found a new lover, someone he can hold at night for the eons he must live thanks to me... I hope an eon passes before he moves on from me as horrible as that sounds.

I have Dream Deecon though, Dream Aries and so forth. They always say the same things, my past memories are the only dialogue my light side has given them. They've run through the same sentences with me so many times that I just began replying for them. Anything new, anything out of routine just to keep little sanity I have left still alive. My darkness knew crying out of sadness and happiness would give me light, so no one cried, they would just send blood curdling screams throughout my ears. My light had given me a dream where Deecon cried at our first bounding ceremony and I cursed it for it. The tears weren't real, they were so artificial and lifeless that I begged it to never show a single tear ever again... and it agreed. Anything to help keep that little sanity left.

"Gem?" I hear Dream Deecon call for me from the bottom of the stairs in our house on Sky, it's just how I left it. I don't follow, I sit on the top of the stairs and rest my head against the banister.

"Yeah.. Yeah I'll come down soon." I replied weakly.

"Okay, but hurry your-"

"Your father has a story about Veedu I bet you'd love to hear." I finished his sentence for him. The same sentence he says every time this dream gets put back into the rotation.

He chuckles, "He said you'd say that!." He wags his finger at me.

I roll my eyes, "I didn't. You heard 'Is it the one about the lynil lizard?' but what I really said is fuck off Dream Deecon." I groan as I try to rest my eyes, my mortal body only finding time to sleep in the rounds of dreams.