The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 75: Cruelty of the Gods, Part One

"Salem! Wake up! Wake up!"

She could hear Yin's voice yelling at her. The Celestial groaned and lifted her head dazedly from the grass, blinking in the bright sunlight. She had fallen and landed on top of her head, knocking her out cold. The healer was crouched down next to her, the remainder of her travelling companions with her. And surrounding them were the armies that had marched on the Royal Capital from across the Timelines.

"We're... Still alive...?" She groaned. Vao blinked.

"Uh... I... I think so. Hey, Second me. Can you feel this?"

The Second Vao looked at his Third counterpart curiously. "Feel wot-"

Without warning Vao kicked the Second Vao in the crotch, the one-legged warrior dropping to the ground screaming in utter agony. Vao nodded. "Yeah, we're still alive."

"There's other ways to check," Cardin winced. "You can't just kick another man in the dick, man... It's violating the bro code..."

Salem staggered to her feet, the headache of colliding with the grass beginning to fade as she scanned their surroundings. They were in a vast green field. In the distance it looked like there was a city, with a vast swamp, and a massive castle just behind it all. "... Where... Are we?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," the Second Raven growled. "Thought we were goners..."

The Celestial dusted herself off, looking up when Mono stepped closer to Salem, a small glimmer of hope in her eye.

"Where... Where's Vao? Is he cured?"

The Heroes and the armies looked around. But there was no sign of the murderer. He was gone without a trace. His corpse wasn't visible either, leaving them to assume he survived too. Mono fell silent, Salem deciding to offer words of reassurance.

"He's cured," she confirmed. "He still had a bit of Blood left... I made sure there wasn't a scrap of it left."

"And Jack's dead," Yin added. "There's no one left to infect him. Sapphire's the only one with Blood now."

That caught everyone's attention with the exception of those who saw the horrors of Jack's Reality. "Wait... Isn't that bad?" The Second Sasha asked. "Like, really bad?"

Verde shook her head. "No, she doesn't have a body for it to spread through. Since she's just a Soul possessing a doll, it can't infect her," she said.

That didn't do much to reassure anyone. The Blood made everyone nervous. But at least Sapphire wasn't a danger to them. Rinys lowered her hood, the Cultist speaking.

"So... As for where we are...?"

Everyone looked to Salem for answers. With her memory unlocked, she would have a better idea than anyone. The Celestial was silent for a moment, looking at the castle in the far distance. "... That castle," she said quietly. "I've seen it somewhere."

"Where?" Winter asked. Salem gulped, realization sinking in. She gulped.

"... We're in the land of the Gods," she answered darkly. "The Third Timeline was destroyed... The void took us right to their doorstep."

There was a deafening silence for a long time before Jasper finally spoke. "We... We're going to fight the Gods...?"

Salem nodded, drawing her sword. "Yeah. There's no way for us to turn back now. That's the only option we have."

"Then let's mug 'em," Vao said. "Get the jump on them before they realized we're here."

But Salem shook her head. "Impossible. They already know we're here."