Tarragon

Chapter Ten: The Scars of the Past

-Net

I dug my talons into the wall, frustrated. I had lost everything, now. Every place I had called home was lost. With my claw still in the wall, I looked at the deep cuts.

And suddenly, something clicked. I whispered, "Nature isn't perfect. It's our nature to fight against our oppressors, but the scars left behind may never leave. However, those scars are a part of who you are."

Voices flooded in, the floodgates opened in my mind, it was a jarring change. It was like a million muted murmurs had been given a voice. After the initial shock, the voices calmed down.

I saw a kind of iridescent spirit standing next to me. He looked like a king.

"Wow, you did it, who could have seen this coming?" he asked me, slow clapping, while smiling, "Jokes aside, I am impressed with you. You've come this far," he put a hand on my shoulder. His head was level with mine, "I didn't think you'd get here, especially not so fast."

"Thank you," I responded, kind of surprised at how nice my Parasite was, "I guess... what should I call you?"

He looked around for a minute, scratching his head, before looking back at me, "Ankhele."

After the species. Makes sense.

"How strong am I?" I asked him, "I know... I'm strong, I've heard so many people say that, but how strong am I?"

"Well, you're stronger than Thorn, and she can go head to head with Titans. But, I'm not sure how much of that is skill or power." he answered, smiling.

"Do you feel bad for crippling me for my entire life?" I asked him, "You know, restricting my capabilities and making me out to be a failure of a life to my family?"

He stopped, "I've thought about this a lot. If I didn't cripple your magic, you would be a ruthless murderer. You would be Thorn's right hand, an assassin, or a weapon of mass destruction," he explained, "You feel bad for just crippling people by selling them those drugs, you would hate yourself, if you had the power to kill."

"I... never thought about that. I guess I would. This feels weird to say, but I'm kind of happy I was a disappointment to my mom, now." I told him. He chuckled, and then smiled.

I heard a noise from Amnoia, and looked over at them. They were sitting up slowly, "Net... who are you talking to?"

I explained what had happened to them. They were surprised I had come to my revelation so fast, but were happy that I had.

The ground shook briefly, and stopped. It shook again, and Amnoia looked concerned, "Net...? You feel that too, right?" I nodded, and they put an ear up against the ground. They went pale in an instant, before whispering something to me, "Claws against stone."

A dragon was digging through the ground below us.

We searched for an exit to our room, and we found one, but the room it led to was just a dead end. Cracks formed in the floor, as something crawled upwards. Rocks flew, as someone I recognized crawled up.

Fenakele's monster. Of course it was Fenakele's monster. It spoke in a cracking, and breaking voice, "Corruption must be eliminated."

It leapt towards Amnoia, but all it slammed into was a wall, as Amnoia had stepped out of the way. They put a front claw on the thing's neck, and one on its back, and bit into the creature. I heard a horrible screech of fangs biting into metal, and Amnoia backed away, their face pale.

"That's not a dragon!" they shouted.

-The Will of the World, page 27

Around 0 AD, a war was fought between Titans, worldwide. Each Titan committed their own lineup of atrocities. For example, Nochrethyst, the Wraith of Vines, created Abhorrences- Automatons which appear like rotting dragons, with missing limbs and organs. They often cannibalize, and were responsible for mass graves in the Ancient War. Several were locked away in Spatial Defiance Zones, and have killed the SDZ's own monsters. Currently, the Western SDZ is starving due to its Abhorrence. Abhorrences are also known for their ability to track, and stalk victims, the ability to manipulate the paths in SDZs, and the ability to move through walls, like ants.