The Sun's Awakening

Chapter Twenty-Five

A piercing scream of rage shattered Ele's mournful state, alerting her to the dangers that still surrounded her. Anja lingered in the foreground, watching ever since the faenix landed in Sol Pago. And she stated her demands for all to hear, "Stand up, Eledorah! Stand and face me for the crimes you've committed against my people." 

"Anja, please... Let me explain." Ele raised her hands, fearful of what the dragonborn may do. 

Anja's eyes blazed with hatred. "You destroyed Ki'Heil! I trusted you with its location and you burnt it to the ground! The birthplace of my ancestors is gone." Her voice cracked on the last word, pain seeping into her vehemence.

Sesket stepped forward, her presence overshadowing Ele. 

"Enough." She flicked her wrist with an almost lazy grace, and the hindrance was lifted off her feet, flying across the landscape. Anja crashed into the beam of a partially collapsed house and the impact caused the fragile structure to fully come down on her, trapping her beneath the rubble.

"No!" Ele screamed, struggling to rise to her feet, fighting against the pain radiating through her body. She rushed towards the debris, but Sesket's voice stopped her cold. 

"Do not help her." She practically hissed by how much she seethed internally. "She burned down your sacred temple. Finish her so we may move on from this place."

Despite the warning in her tone, Ele did not abide. She lurched forward and used the momentum to hobble over to the debris that trapped Anja. When she reached it, she fell to her knees and began fumbling with the broken beams, getting countless splinters in the process. The pain hardly registered in her consciousness. Nor did the protests coming from behind her from the goddess.

"Don't anger me, little flame. You are mine now. Your powers, your very voice, is all thanks to me. Do not make me take them away." The threat lingered in the void filled only by Ele's ragged breaths as she dismantled the debris piece by piece until Anja lay uncovered. 

When her body was unveiled, Ele leaned back to assess the damage. Shallow pants made Anja's abdomen rise and fall, barely visible to the naked eye. Ele placed a tender hand on her ribs; a touch to which the dragonborn winced. Her eyes fluttered open, filled with anguish and a tinge of contempt.

"I'm so sorry," Ele said, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I will make it right. I promise."

Anja groaned and turned her head away.

"Hold on, Anja. Just hold on." She croaked, chest tightening from sheer guilt. After all, she had driven this admirable creature to these extremes.

Eledorah knew this unruly god must be contained. Devastation would surely overcome the realm if she were to leave Sol Pago. All her life, Ele craved to escape this place. Escape her burdens and the cruelty that came from being born different. There was no place to rest for the anomalies of the universe who craved only to belong. 

Now she knew... There was no escaping fate.

She rose and turned to face Sesket, her resolve hardening. The goddess stiffened, her radiant beauty a stark contrast to the malevolence she embodied. 

"I won't let you hurt anyone else." Ele declared, her voice steady despite the uneasiness within.

"Your resistance is admirable." Sesket crooned before her eyes narrowed.  "You unleashed me, and now you must witness the consequences."

With a flick of her wrist, Sesket cast a wave of dark energy upon Ele. It whipped through the distance between them like maddened tendrils of a solar flare, only lacking any light– A black void born of sinister depravities. Summoning her fire from the gods themselves, Ele countered the attack; their powers colliding in a blinding flash of light and shadow. The ground beneath them trembled as their energies warred, neither willing to give an inch.