Tabula Rasa (Unlike Loki: Book Two)

Chapter 79

(Anna)

How poetic indeed. 

For, is this not the exact way I had murdered Loki? By plunging a knife into his heart? Is this not how I had figuratively killed By, by stabbing him in the heart with my refusal? 

And now it was my turn. 

At first, I didn't feel any pain. 

But, when I did feel it, it hurt worse than I could have ever imagined. 

Everytime I tried to take a breath, the knife cut me. I could feel it inside my chest, slicing me open. 

And then there was a burst of light.

Coming from me. 

Leolin let go of me, rushing back. Thanos simply stepped back, watching me with victory on his face. 

The light continued to burst from my chest, from my eyes and mouth, from my finger tips, from every pore on my body. 

Light of intense oranges and yellows and whites. 

The stone in its most pure form. 

My arms were spread out, like Christ on the cross, and I had been lifted off of the ground, floating, because of the power of the stone. 

I saw time flash before my eyes. 

No, not mine, but the entire universes'. People laughing and smiling. Wars and celebrations. Lovers and enemies. I saw the dinosaurs on Earth and the cavemen that came soon after. I saw the entire Asgardian bloodline up until the moment Thor was born. I saw all nine planets in our realm get created and evolve. I saw all of time and all of space. 

Then, the light suddenly pulsed, shooting out a huge wave of fiery light. 

Thanos backed away this time, and when the light hit him, it knocked him off of his feet and singed his skin. 

I saw, out the corner of my eye, Loki and By drop from their bonds, freed. 

Loki immediately headed in my direction. 

No. 

I wanted to scream at him to stay away. I wanted to plead with him just to leave me behind, to save himself. 

The light slowly came back to me, and then began to trickle behind me. 

Shit. 

How could I be so stupid?

I thought I had figured out his entire plan, but I was wrong. 

Of course he wouldn't choose Loki to be the vessel. If he couldn't harm me, then he couldn't harm Loki. 

He wouldn't choose By, because By had no powers, he would simply burst into flame and the stone would move on. Though that might prove humorous to Thanos, it would be a waste of time. 

He wouldn't choose Talia, because she was already doomed to die a poetic death. She believed she had been left alone to die, that she would forever be alone, and now, locked away in the dungeons, she really would die alone. 

Of course he would choose Leolin. 

Because that would hurt me the most. My little boy, suddenly all grown up. Then, dead. Gone. Out of my grasp forever. He may have mine and Loki's blood, but that meant he had mixed blood. He would die. For sure. Entirely and horribly. 

If that wasn't torture, I don't know what is. 

And then the light was gone. 

It had been passed on. 

From mother to son. 

Loki caught me in his arms and fell to the ground, rocking me back and forth, staring at the knife protruding out of my chest. 

I had completely forgotten I had been stabbed. 

I painfully leaned my head back and stared at Leolin. His eyes were glowing orange as the stone was now inside of him. 

But he was not a full grown man anymore. 

No, because that would be too easy, too nice. 

No, the Leolin that now had the stone inside of him was five years old. 

My Leolin. 

Thanos rushed passed us and a look of terror came over my innocent little boy's face. 

I screamed out for him, reaching my hand back towards him, even though I knew it wouldn't reach. 

The last thing I saw was Leolin reaching back for me before oblivion took me in its dark embrace.