The Empire's Descent (First Draft)

Chapter 19: Zoses

"Did you heal Luca and Marco's- what did you call it?".

"The Lylymic Inducement... no, I could only take the comapod's sleeper fluid. They were hit with a bit of Lylymic Inducement when I fought that badass Vampyr bitch... but I know someone who can. My abilities have increased significantly since your knowledge of the supernatural, and I dunno if that has something to do with anything, but I seem to be able to connect to the Newsbug now," Lia shared excitedly.

Ada supposed, "I assume it's some kind of bug that delivers... news"?.

"Yes! The Jamaicans have a sort of folklore that states this bug comes around you and it indicates that you will be getting news, good or bad, soon, and like all superstition and folklore, there's truth within the myth," Lia eyes lit up and Ada unconsciously smiled.

"You seem to really like them"?

"Yes! They are an amazing asset to have. Unlike the Listeners, this race of people have access to all knowledge. They don't have any conditions under which they don't know anything. They have the most channels and all the information from time immemorial. Imagine, Ada, being able to know exactly what happened in all of history. I mean I'm only 3002 years old; there's so much I don't know!"

"Excuse me, you're what? Did you just say three thousand and two years old?"

Lia showed a sheepish look, "I know, I'm pretty young to be the heir to the throne, but I really didn't have a choice! Mom killed like twelve thousand of my siblings when Dad casted her into the Ironshore and the other seven thousand are noobs," her blasé rambling nearly detonated Ada's head.

"I'm sorry, what the actual fuck are you saying to me"?

Lia's head snapped up from her trauma dump, "huh?".

"How many siblings died? Your mother killed them? What!?"

"Oh, yeah, it's okay," Lia smiled seemingly unaware of how morbid her statements were.

Ada remained silent and horrified.

"Have you figured out the spells to safely enter our reality yet?" Ada couldn't believe that this was a sentence she could say truly.

"Prutact tha mends thet Y heva tuochad. Kaap tha lybarti end fraa tha hoshad?" Lia casted. (Protect the minds that I have touched. Keep the liberty and free the hushed).

"Bryng mi beck tu whet unca wes, wyll ba end navar wes," Lia chanted. (Bring me back to what once was, will be and never was).

Ada felt a weight she had never felt before on her back and she groaned.

"Yeah, sorry, that's the feeling of returning to gravity," Lia grimaced at Ada.

"Gee, thanks for the warning," Ada sniped.

Lia smiled in apology and waved an energy-covered hand that alieved Ada.

"So, yes, okay, we need to call a Newsbug and get them to call Zoses, they are a wonderful healer and even better, like the Nawsbog people, they are a neutral party. But they chose to go into hiding some four thousand years ago and I dunno why..." Lia held her chin pondering. She shook her head to get back on task.

'Nawsbog, haer mi haert's cri and bryng ontu mi the haelar thet Y dasyra,' Lia made a request in her heart, and a brown beetle with glowing black markings appeared before them. Ada recoiled in shock, the tight ball of anxiety in her throat was the only thing blocking her scream.

The bug shifted and became a gaseous entity and through it a white, veiny hand stretched, followed by the rest of the man. He stood five feet tall, just below Ada's height, clothed in an earth-toned shroud and he held a staff twice his height.