The Fall of the Society

Chapter 55: Ancient Agreement

"Ethatoleas was one of the few good Ascended. He did not care for the ways his people used humanity. In fact, he fell in love with a human woman. He was also the only one to seek me out in peace, hoping to end the conflict between myself and the Ascended," Sid told her. "He was a kind and generous person, who wanted to give more than he wanted for himself. His words did not fall on deaf ears when he came to me, but I knew what must be done. In the end he agreed that if the Ascended were free to their own devices, humans would suffer. We made an agreement. When his wife would eventually pass, he wished for me to come and send him with her. First, he made me agree to a term of his. He wished that once I finished the Ascended that I would remove myself from the world as well. Ethatoleas was afraid that once I had gained that amount of power that I could end up as terrible as the ones I had spent so much time hunting. I must say I agree, the amount of blood I have shed is tantamount to the atrocities the Ascended enacted."

Rose moved closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, "Your motivations were different than theirs, they wished to create a better world for themselves. You drive forward in the hopes of creating a better world for others."

The two stood for a short while in silence before Sid finally broke it. "The ends do not justify the means. I know that I am a monster." A slight smile crossed his face. "Maldion used to try to convince me otherwise. He would say that a monster would not take in a small child and raise them, give them every opportunity imaginable, help them to survive in a world that would have crushed them long ago. He never wanted to hear that he had helped me to be better, he would insist that it was who I was all along."

"You help people, you are a hero," Rose told him seriously.

"No, I am not a hero," Sid said flatly. "Tripp was a hero. He wanted none of the fame, none of the glory. He simply wanted to help those that needed it, then he found you. Then his desires changed slightly, they shifted to wanting nothing more than to ensure your safety and growth."

Rose turned away as tears filled her eyes. Wanting to change the topic she quickly latched back to what they had been talking about before. "You said that Ethatoleas impacted my life, in what way?"

"I thought you would have figured that out by now. He was the Ascended that gave Tripp's bloodline their powers. His genes were the dominant traits that led their way down to him. It is difficult to say how many times the bloodlines were crossed over the centuries, but Ethatoleas genes were the ones to stay dominant."

She spun back around and stared at him, tears still flowing from her beautiful blue eyes. "So, you mean that he is descended from love rather than having been created through hate?"

"Essentially. Many Ascended did not get permission to have children with the people they targeted. It was one of the many reasons they needed to be exterminated," Sid went on. "I believe Tripp held a much greater purpose, having been descended from Ethatoleas. What his true purpose was is no longer relevant, as he switched what he wanted to be protecting you. Had you two been left alone, him and I would have never crossed paths. Whereas if he continued protecting people as he was prone to doing, he would have eventually seen what I am doing as detrimental to humans and come after me. I would not have blamed him, though I doubt he was strong enough to stop me."

"Would you have killed him?" Rose asked carefully.

He knew she was going to ask this question, but he did not want to answer it. However, he had already dodged one of her main questions so he felt he should be honest. "That really would have depended on him. He was not stupid, so there is a chance I could have talked him into helping me destroy the Society. I know he was already on the outs with them, so this would have been my goal. If he refused to listen and just continued to attack me, I would have likely had to kill him. He was a very driven individual; he would continue fighting until the very end. Granted, that was not what I wanted, and though I am saddened by his death, I must admit I am happy that it did not have to be at my hands."

Once more the two fell into silence, rocking back and forth as the boat plowed through the waves, mist spraying across the deck of the ship. Noticing how damp her outfit had become from the constant spray of water, she blazed red for a moment and steam swirled from her body. His words were bouncing around her head, and she began to head for below deck when a thought occurred to her. "How do you intend to keep your end of the bargain to Ethatoleas? Do you plan to honor it?"

"As a matter of fact, I do plan to keep my promise. How I am going to do so I am not sure," Sid told her. "It is nearly impossible to stay anywhere in this world without someday coming in to contact with humans. I also have the issue of stepping in when people are suffering on a large scale to try and help them. It is a query I will have to put some more thought into, once we put an end to Scion anyways."

"I do not think you should honor it; you have a lot to offer this world," Rose said quietly. "Besides, if you are gone, I will be alone again."

Without another word she turned and headed below the deck. They had a lot of traveling to do before they reached their destination and she wanted to get some rest. Sid however, stared solemnly into the approaching horizon, thinking on her final words. What if he refused to honor the deal? There would be no repercussions as the one he had made the deal with had been dead for centuries. A new threat to humanity would likely show itself eventually, should he remain and continue to defend them? He was feeling less and less guilt every time he spilled blood. Was it possible that he was becoming more and more like the Ascended as he aged? He had taken a break from the brutal ways he had once lived in when he had met Maldion, could he continue to live that way without him as an anchor? Maybe he would try and find a new anchor, perhaps Rose. There was every possibility that he would fail to honor the agreement anyways. There was nowhere for him to go, and he was unaware of anyone that would be able to defeat him.

What if Scion managed to kill him in battle, would Rose be able to finish the mission on her own? He could not let that responsibility fall to her, it was not her war, it was his. Scion had created the Society as a shield from him, so all the death that they had caused was on his hands to an extent. Would he use the violence the world was capable of as a reason to remain involved in its affairs? What if his only goal was ensuring that humanity continued along its own path? Would that truly break his agreement or was this a loophole. All these thoughts and more whirled around the inside of his head, but a final thought burst into being. If his plan worked, none of this would matter. The solution he was hoping for would see all the issues he was currently thinking about null and void. That is what he had hoped from the very beginning, he would do everything he could in order to fulfill this mission the way he wanted too, he just hoped that Rose would feel the same way. She would have to once she found out what the final reward would be, he just knew she would. Nothing would stand in their way. They would persevere until the very end, fight until the very end, because what they were fighting for was worth everything and more. On this occasion there would be no doubt that the ends would justify the means, anyone that stood in their way in service of the Society was not worth saving now. Everything in his life since he found out about his heritage had led up to this confrontation, what he might be able to consider his destiny.