Death's Daughter

Chapter thirty three: beyond this world

If I'm honest, this war is starting to get to me. As much as I try to pull off my whole 'don't care' facade, inside my world is crumbling.
Ironic that isn't it? Usually words don't have any effect on me. What was that human saying? Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?

The harsh reality is words will always hurt you, you just don't show it. If you show it, things grow worse. The bully torments you if they find you upset or crying.
Logically, physically words can't hurt you. Mentally they can.
For me, I build a brick wall up to keep those outside to stay like that. I don't let anyone in or show them that they get to me.
However, things are changing....

For example, I couldn't care what that bloodsucker King could say! Yet ever since I've met that immortal, my world has been turned upside down. As if being raised by gods wasn't strange enough!
Luke's words always seem to affect me! He's made my emotions return which took me years to burrow at the back of my mind and lock up.

The chief telling me that I wouldn't receive the help I needed set me off first. For starters, since when has a God of war refused to take part in a war? It's their art! What they are most skilled at. Yet I was refused the help. Why? Because I am 'just a child?'
So let me get this right. If I'm considered a child, does that mean that normal every day children go about their lives reaping souls, completing tasks with demons and conversing with angels? No I didn't think so.

And according to the Chinese goddess of mercy, I should be the last person to take over my fathers domain! I've met a lot of wise gods in my time but I've never met someone so blind!
I want to scream my heart out but the truth is I can't. I have to bottle all these feelings up inside me. The key part of being a leader is never let the enemy find or see your weakness.
If I had shown that they had gotten to me, they would've won! And I, Raven Reaper will never let anyone win and leave me the loser. It's just not how it's done.
Even Leo knows I never back down from a fight, so cancelling this war is the last thing on my list!

All this thinking manages to distract my path to India. Instead, Leo and I end up in a place even I don't know the name of.
Looking around, we're surrounded by golden sand. But I'm positive we aren't in Egypt.
Looking out at the horizon, I notice a clear blue sea. However it appears to be miles away and sand is all that is visible.

At the coastal region, we ended up on the coast at a beach. However this is far from a beach. It was a sandy island in my eyes.
How could I let myself get so distracted that we would end up here?
Shaking the thought out of my head, I look to Leo and shrug.
Just when I was about to transport us back on course, a green mist shrouds the golden sand, surrounding us and blocking my usage of power.
Immediately, I spin myself around and meet a pair of two dark green orbs. Sneering at the woman in front of me that was supposed to be called my 'mother', I brace myself by brandishing my scythe in front of her.
Crowe lets out a devious laugh that causes Leo and I to look at each other with a confused look plastered on our faces.

The wind whips past me, pulling my hood down so that my face was fully revealed to everyone around. My mother could now clearly see my scowl.
Crowe clasps her hands together enthusiastically while her eyes peer at every inch of my face.

"You have grown up so beautiful my dear Ravenna" she says, taking a step towards us but not stepping past the green mist.
"Put your scythe down dear. I've been working on this little mist for a while and it blocks all your powers" she says, tilting her head as she smiles.
Grunting, I throw my scythe to the ground and glare into her clouded eyes.

"What do you want Crowe?" I ask, pinching the bridge of my nose in annoyance.

"I just want to show you what you're truly capable of my dear!" She exclaims, twirling her hands in the air.

A ball of water appears hovering over the palm of one of her outstretched hands. In the other was a pile of sand. Scrunching my eyebrows at her, I turn to Leo to see the exact same expression. Turning back, Crowe begins to 'show me' what I'm truly capable of.

"Your powers are beyond this world my dear Ravenna! Now here, this ball of crystal liquid represents the earth. And this sand represents the life on Earth" she says, plunging the sand into the crystal orb.
The sand swirls around, almost dancing in the water, representing the free souls bound to earth.
"You wield the power of an angel of death. While life down on earth continues on, you can end it at any time" she says, pulling out a handful of sand.

Once the sand is plunged out of the crystal waters, it grows dark and lifeless clinging to Crowe's hand, slowly making its way to the floor.
"And you see this?" Crowe says, pointing to the sliding sand heading for the sandy floor.
Rolling my eyes, I watch as she continues on her little demonstration.
"The ground is the underworld, my future domain. The beauty of being an angel of death is that you can trap these souls in the underworld without ever allowing them to move on" she says, a devious grin creeping onto her face.

Leo grows bright red in the face as he speaks up.
"Now you listen here Crowe, the circle of life revolves around reapers, Angels and Demons. Without us, the balance of life is thrown off! You can't just keep souls in one place!" Leo beams, the fire inside him feeding on his anger and hatred towards Crowe.

"The circle of life? What nonsense" Crowe breaks into a fit of laughter at Leo's statement, which just adds wood to the fire.
Leo's glare focuses on Crowe's dark green orbs.
Deciding to break up this little staring contest, I speak out in a dominant tone.

"Look I don't need you to tell me what I'm capable of, I know all too well what I can and can't do" I say, snarling at Crowe.

"Ah but my dear, your father hasn't told you your full capabilities."
Crowe thrusts the hand with the gloopy sand back into the water bubble, causing it to float and dance around the clear substance.
"You can bring back life as well"

"I know!" I beam, getting fed up of her pointless chat.

"You don't know this" Crowe says, propping her moss green nail into the bubble, bursting it immediately, causing the sand to come crashing down to the ground.
That's when I look at her strangely. That water ball represented the earth and the sand represented life. The floor especially represented the underworld. Now if I'm looking at this right, my mother is telling me I can destroy the world in an instant and bring all souls to the underworld.
When I finally decide to speak up, I realise my voice comes out as barely a whisper.

"What hasn't he told me?" I ask, wanting to know what my father has been keeping from me.

"My dear sweet child. Your father has been keeping a decade of knowledge from you. You see my dear, before you were born I was cursed with a dark magic by none other than my dear Rayne. He promised me a child born of dark magic would one day posses the power to destroy the world. Your father called it a curse but to me it was a blessing. You are powerful my dear Ravenna. You have the power of life and death. You have a free spirit and the powers of a god all wrapped in one. However, once you were born you took away the spell that was put on me, meaning dark magic runs through your veins. In fact, you don't even need to use your scythe to unleash your full power! You are the Demi God everyone fears, and the one everyone wants to be on your good side. But no one knows what you truly posses. You can practice the dark arts" my mother says, clasping her hands together in excitement.

I look at her deep in her eyes. She isn't even lying, all her eyes hold is the truth.
If a curse that powerful was put on my mother when she was with child, it would have taken most of Rayne's power away.
What was he expecting of me?
What does my mother expect of me?
And most importantly.
Why was this kept a secret from me for over a decade?
What is my father afraid of...
Is it possible that, I'm the source of his fears?