The Power Of N

Chapter 13: The Bifurcation.

Chapter 13: The Bifurcation.

"Earthquake?!" Butler yelled as they felt a sudden move of the island.

"No!" Holly and he are shouting at each other because the rumblings everywhere of the trees together with the waters are loud... "This is the after-effect of opening the Orb."

"It's like the island is sinking!"

"Well, I think I must go now." She runs, following Artemis' and Nina's path.

"Wait! Holly!"

Holly found the venue but all the people there are making their way outside of it, running and scared. Some of them are injured by cuts. A mirror cut, she thought.

Artemis and Nina, please be fine. She prayed as she goes against the current of the people to make her way in. No one is looking at her right now; no one is minding her actually.

Then she saw some black shadow floating in the air...the entities. They are free. And most of them are hurting the civilians. Holly was now nervous if something happened to the two of them. It was either they're safe but did not succeed or they did not succeed and...Not safe.

She hurriedly came down using the elevator, surprised that even there's a chaos it's still functioning perfectly.

When the elevator stops, she felt a tremendous force of wind going opposite in her direction, instead of avoiding it, she follows it. Curiosity strikes.

Curiosity killed the cat. Or maybe will kill the cat.

As she went to the left corridor and take right turn, she saw a room with the door on the floor. And beside it was Artemis, sitting on the floor to avoid the pulling force of the air.

"Artemis!" Holly shouted. He heard her and turned to face her. He was also had bruises. "What happened?!"

"The Orb opened!"

"I can see that!" Holly stops at the edge of the wall and back up a bit then jump and made it barely to where Artemis is.

"Holly! You could have been pulled in there!"

"But I did not! And how will I suppose to heal you if you're too far!" Holly then takes his hand and commanded heal to her elfin powers. Thank God she replenished it before the mission.

"Where's Nina?" She asked.

"There. Inside. She's trying to close it."

"Alone?!"

"She says I can't come and I also know that I will be a nuisance to her if I persuaded her!"

"So now what?"

"Now we wait."

"And hope she was okay."

Nina was on her way to the center when she saw what she didn't expected to see, spirits, well not the entities flying around but the humans itself. Walking, some of them are crawling out from the orb. It may seem an unusual but it was also hideous, like a scene from a horror movie.

She tried not to be distracted. The people who are killed on the venue are also walking now around there. Maybe finding if they're loved ones is also coming out. Some of them are reuniting already.

Nina didn't waste further more of her time. She walks until she gets in the center of the Orb. Now, how will she destroy it?

She has no idea.

"Hold it." A voice from her back said.

"Hold it and use your powers. I'll help to." She looked and saw her face. No...It's a man that's exactly looked like her. "Aizen?"

"Yes. Now. Do it."

She touches the Orb but it felt so hot...

"I can't, its way too hot!"

"Concentrate!"

She tried again and it doesn't feel hot anymore. Just lukewarm.

Nina concentrated and found herself drifting away...

"Let it drift you away..." The voice was soothing. She didn't think that Aizen could do such a smooth voice... "Let it-"

She does awaken by a blinding light. The first thing she saw is the sky. It was so blue. A good weather... The clouds are forming shapes and she finds it funny. She sits up carefully and notices that she's lying down in vast grassland. There's no Orb. There are no entities. No dark places. No Artemis... Just where am I? She thinks. But she didn't find this new place threatening.

"Can you stand up?" A woman's voice said from her back.

"Ah, yeah. I think so." Nina said as she carefully stand up and succeed and face the woman.

It was her mother. She's in a wheelchair, being pushed by Aizen.

"Mom..."

"My daughter... I'm so sorry for all the commotion I caused between the two of you."

"No. Mom, it's all right don't worry about us." She said as she rushed to her mother and kneeled in front of her, holding her hand. "I missed you."

"I miss you two... I didn't even give you a name... Aizen names himself. You got adopted and just given a real name."

"How did you know that?"

"He told me." Her mom pointing at Aizen.

"Are you alright here? Where is...here?"

"This is what lies beyond the Orb... You can call this heaven or simply beyond. Maybe the spirits call these the safe place... I don't know. But here is what peace lies."

"I don't understand. You are simply locked in the Orb."

"The Orb only serves as a bridge. To wherever here is exactly is, we don't know."

"I have to destroy the bridge. The dead and the living cannot go and live a life together."

"I know... Some of the spirits here are just wicked. They still miss being in that troublesome place." Nina didn't answer back.

"Come with us and live here. We can be a complete family here."

Nina thinks... suddenly she can feel something at her back and see a dark place with a yellowish pale light. That is where Artemis is waiting for her. And Holly said come back in one piece, right?

"I can't..."

"But, why not?"

"I still have something to do. I still have to destroy this Orb."

"You wish to come back in that dark place?"

"Maybe I'm also wicked like those entities, Mom. But reality is really a dark place. And living a life is troublesome. But I can handle it..."

"Nina..."

"I have my new family to take care of me." Nina let go of her mother's hand and reached for Aiden's.

"My twin... You were with me since I'm a kid. And I hate you and loved you for that. You're the one that protects me and helps me with my powers. Now, take care of Mom..."

She run and jumps in the dark place. Leaving the good weather, the blue skies, and the clouds she felt fond of.

Yes, she thought, I choose to live.