Darkness & Light: Book 1: Shatter Our Fates [COMPLETED]

12 - Tiber

His eyes flutter open, and he takes a shuddering breath in. His lungs are burning. His chest, it's constricted. Tiber Moon lays broken on the ground, under some rubble and debris. But then, he sees it. Senses it.

"Tiber Moon, son of Hykait. Son of Death."

"What?" Tiber wheezes out, his body screaming in pain. He rolls over, lifting his head, despite the agony in it. He feels as though his head is splitting apart, that he will have to pick up its pieces.

"Tiber Moon, you are the son of the God of Death, and Goddess of Darkness and Magick. You are brother to Hayley Moon, and to Aldrea Moon."

"Aldrea .... Moon? What?"

Voices fill his mind, his screaming body shakes hard as he tries to stand. He tries to look for Hayley, but he can't see through smoke and dust, ash and blood and ruin.  Tiber raises his head to see an entity hovering above the surface of a destroyed wall. He stares at them, the mysterious being that floats above him.

"What .... happened? Where's Hayley? Dax? Atlas?"

"Oh do not worry about them, child of Hykait. Child of Death. War. Ruination. Fear.  Pain."

"Who are you? Where are my friends, my sister?"

"They are here, and yet, they are not. And they are not alone. You are one of many beings in all of Espynn who are blessed or cursed with Magick like that of a God or Goddess. You are a failure of an experiment. But do not worry, because the Goddess who birthed you will find you. But not before the forgotten daughter.... Before your false mother returns to your side. Before she kills your sister once more. Before she kills Hayley, like she killed Aldrea."

Tiber shakes his head and cries out in pain. "What are you saying? What happened to Hayley, to Aldrea?"

"They are fading, but you can save them, child. You can save her, both of your sisters. Save them, by accepting your fate. You are not just an alchemist, but a powerful mage with power beyond that of anything others like you could ever hope to have. You, Tiber Moon, are the son of Death and Hykait. So, accept your powers. Accept it. And save your sisters, Hayley and Aldrea."

"What must I do to save them?" Tiber asks, his feet finally beneath him as he pulls himself to stand before the mysterious being.

The entity steps forward and raises a glowing, pale hand to touch his shoulder. Tiber watches as their hand touches where he was shot. The wound heals, as if by Magick. Tiber looks at the being, and they smile.

"You know what to do, Tiber."

And then....

Then, the being vanishes. Leaving Tiber alone, among rubble, to search for his family and friends.