World of Io

7. A New Quest

“Io.”

The word was soft, like a whisper, almost so silent that it didn’t exist; but he heard it, and that was enough. The name chimed in his mind, echoing back and forth. His heart began to throb in his chest. It couldn’t be true, he knew who he was. He was Milo: the heartless. Yet, the name struck something inside of him that he couldn’t disregard, leaving a shard of painful doubt. Panic overwhelmed him and he fled, fled from his thoughts.

-----

“You've got to be kidding!” Vigilante cried, staring in disbelief at the N'aian in front of her. She had heard him too, faintly, but Milo's reaction was enough confirmation.

The others around her wore surprised expressions, as if they didn't understand. Perhaps they hadn't heard what Qumo said. 

The old N'aian turned towards her. He wore a pained expression, and she didn't know if she was supposed to feel sorry for him or not. She thought it quite funny in a way, but she guessed that would be inappropriate to say.

He didn’t answer her, and as the seconds passed, she changed her mind. She had seen hope in those deep brown pools when they arrived, something that was precious and rare. When you lived with the threat of the World’s end hovering over your head, like a constant, only the innocent could muster that remarkable feeling. Now, there were almost no innocents left, no children. Of course he had the right to be disappointed as the one who could possibly save them chose to run away. But it couldn't be true, Milo couldn't be Io, the thought was ridiculous.

“Where did he go?” Annie asked. The nonsensical question had her roll her eyes. This insufferable girl they had brought along was nothing but a nuisance. This was not a time for silly questions!

“How would we know? The question you’re after is: why did he go?”

The girl looked up at her and she immediately felt a little guilty for being so openly rude. She saw Annie swallow the whole thing and just nod in agreement.

“You’re right, why did he go?” Annie amended. Now the girl looked at each and every one of them. Requesting an answer that none of them had.

“Yes, that is a very good question, but I think I will start with another, perhaps more easily answered one, and that is why you, Vigilante, would want my word to be untrue?” Qumo asked, looking inquisitively at her, making her regret ever voicing her opinion. However, they might as well know the truth...

“You called him Io, him: an assassin who was here to kill you. I think that should be allowed some kind of comment?”

There was a collective gasp from Vito and Annie. None of them seemed to be able to gather their thoughts, much less utter any words. However, Qumo beamed...

“Ah, but he didn’t kill me, which poses another interesting question.”

She couldn’t help but stare at him, or gawking was perhaps a better word for it.

“You seem to know some of this Nyx, would you care to share it with us?”

With those words Qumo managed to get her outside of her comfort-zone. Information was not to be shared: it was to be protected, at all costs.

He must have seen her reluctance. “Child, if you have something that would make us understand this Nyx a little better it might give us a clue as to where he has gone, and why. The world has waited for this man to return for five centuries and I’m afraid that we will have use of him sooner than we would like. The forces are tearing this world apart. It will not be long before the earthquakes start.”

“They've already started,” Annie added, her voice certain and calm.

“We have not heard of such incidents? Are you sure child?” Qumo asked with a worried expression written across his face, which told her far more than she wanted to know. She had thought that she at least had some years left, but if the earthquakes had started, the end was closer than she thought.