Divine Ascension (Wattys 2024)

Chapter 3 - Dark Bindings

In the haunted forest, many wicked things could be done that no one would know about. It was for that very reason that people with underground plots tended to gather there, their souls hardened enough to withstand all its horrors. In that misty, secluded place, all sorts of dark and unknown spells were cast, and all sorts of words that shouldn't be said were. It was the best spot for dark bindings.

Many a trial lay ahead of Melinda. There was a temptation buried deep inside her heart that she could tell no one about, not even Lord Achten himself. It was very secret. She had a feeling that he knew, but that didn't necessarily have to be the truth. After all, she hid that secret so well that even a supposedly all-knowing deity would have a hard time discovering it, not to diminish Lord Achten's influence, of course. Still, it was very secret and very deep.

The temptation to become God has felled many, and, as such, Melinda had been careful to avoid it the best she could all these years. Still, in her superhuman hubris, she could not ignore it entirely. By combining the powers of light and dark and using the utmost deception and treachery while still not betraying her good cause, there was an opportunity for her to become God even if she wasn't immortal, but, with immortality, there was more than enough time for her to do so.

After all, why accept immortality if she wasn't going to make use of it? It wasn't merely the eternal youth and the invulnerability that had compelled her to take that gift. It was the faint promise of being the most glorious ruler in the history of the universe, which very few people had the ambition and drive to fulfil, but she was certainly one of them.

Still, there were people who wished to usurp her glory, and as such, she had to watch out for them at every turn. Hearing the footsteps of some schemers, she hid behind a thick pine tree, more than ready to listen to their conversation.

"I can't believe this!" Lydia shouted in her recognisably angry voice, waving her hands in the air. "I can't believe how much of an idiot our son proved himself to be! What did I raise and send him to law school for? So that he can do nothing and miss the opportunity to take the power that's right in front of him? He was weak of heart! He had it coming!"

"Lydia..." Richard said with a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "Please don't talk so rudely about our son."

"Why not?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Because he did the right thing! Haven't you heard of the prophecy? It was really terrifying. It foretold that Melinda would freeze Obscuria forever and turn into a monster. A monster! She needs to be dethroned. He tried his best to kill her, but he simply didn't know what kind of supernatural creature he was dealing with."

"Corruption already lay rampant in her debauched heart," Lydia said bluntly. "How could it worsen? And why are you such a coward? Weren't you the one who said that, in the game of thrones, there's no right or wrong, only power? Well, she was willing to give him her power, and he killed those hopes by getting killed! What a waste."

"He couldn't keep betraying the country so openly," Richard continued, further provoking Lydia's ire.

"Why?" she sneered. "Because it's the end of the world if a Queen and her royal advisor make love to each other?"

"The Council is afraid of spitting on the dead King's grave. They think that his ghost may awaken and damn us all. That's part of why the law exists in the first place."

Lydia snorted. "It's just a metaphor. There's no way they believe in ghosts. Who believes in ghosts? That's stupid."

You're stupid, Melinda thought, remembering what she saw at the haunted house very well, but Lydia was defending her the best she could, so she didn't want to be too mad at her.

"Whatever," Richard said, shrugging limply. "We would have had to deal with Susanne either way, and she can be quite the nuisance."

"I'm right here!" she shouted indignantly, reminding them that she was there.

Of course, she, too, is plotting against me. There can be no other explanation, Melinda thought, irritated beyond belief by her presence. I still don't believe that she can pose a threat to me, but she's so annoying.

"And why are you here now?" Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Susanne shrugged. "You know. The usual. We just happened to meet now."

"And what are you doing?" Lydia asked, demanding an explanation, but Susanne simply smirked at her.

"And what are you doing?" she mocked, causing Lydia to glare at her.

"We will see each other again," Lydia said darkly, grabbing her husband's arm. "When the tides of darkness rise. On that fateful day, the world will upturn, and nothing will ever be the same again. The forces of evil seek to dominate us all, and we must take advantage of them. Farewell now, you worm."

"Okay, eagle," Susanne said, rolling her eyes, going into another corner of the forest to plot her plots.

"She's so annoying," Lydia grumbled, but her husband didn't pay that any attention.

"Wait, you can prophesy?" he asked, looking quite stunned. "I didn't think that was how it worked at all."

"I didn't think so either," she said solemnly, "but the ability of prophecy is quite unpredictable, as it turns out. It can't really be studied unless you're on Melinda's level or something, and I don't think she can really handle the whims of Fate either. They're like branches in the wind, if the branches were unending and had various types and if the wind's path was furious but made no sense.

One person, no matter how open-minded, can only really hold a couple of them at a time. I know Melinda wants to become a God, even if she's too arrogant to think that anyone knows that, let alone me. She thinks I'm some haughty, untalented, and irrelevant person, even if she's too nice to say it out loud. She doesn't know the things I've seen. She doesn't even know that I know that she's eavesdropping on us right now. I'm not afraid of her. What's she going to do? Tell on me? She has no evidence. Still, she can't hear too much. We must go. Goodbye, Melinda!"

Lydia was smirking smugly as she waved at Melinda, and it made Melinda want to punch her in the face for a brief moment, but she didn't hate her that much, and besides, she and her husband left a few seconds later anyway. Now she was left to her own devices. With a heavy sigh, she ventured deeper into the forest that was as dark as the deepest crevices of her mind, hoping to discover something that would help her with her plans.

Little did she know that Alexander was there, and that he had heard everything.