Children of Elisium
Chapter 19: Choices

The boy behind Silas Fidi growled and screamed as the gusts kicked up and exerted more pressure on his small body. At first, the Great Apothecary was careful not to touch a single hair on the child’s body. But with the spell’s newly amplified force, multiple gashes were opening up on the young male’s skin leaving trails of red in their wake. The boy with the Talent of Salamander howled and growled. Each shriek sounded more pained than the last.

The man’s gaze was as sharp as knives as they continued to bore into the young girl that stood in front of him. “Make your choice.”

Black orbs remained transfixed on the golden-maned boy that was trapped within the whirlpool of air that was under the control of the tall imposing man with blood red hair. Without making a single sound, the girl took small steps towards the Great Apothecary, her eyes brimming with reluctance.

The blood curdling smile reappeared once more on Silas Fidi’s face. “Good girl. If you want to keep both your lives, I suggest you obediently make your way here.”

As 373 moved closer, the violently swirling wind tousled her long brown hair making her look disheveled. A few seconds later, she stopped. Her black eyes were glaring at him with a ferocity that matched the raging flames that surrounded them.

“Put him down.”

The girl’s small voice sounded familiar in the Magno Deorum’s ears. He didn’t delve too deeply on this fact and instead, slowly decreased the power of his spell yet maintained the young boy within his grasp.

“See? This way, everything becomes simple,” Silas Fidi stated. He beckoned her to come closer with and single finger. “Come here quickly.”

She wordlessly took steps towards Silas Fidi, her gaze inscrutable. Step by step, she inched her way closer to him. Their shadows touched. When he looked down to study her face, Silas Fidi noticed that the fire in her eyes was replaced with a steely glint. The cold in her bottomless orbs seemed to suck him in. The man held his breath for a split second. His pupils dilated as a frigid iciness bit at his skin.

The Great Apothecary exhaled quickly and tried to put distance between himself and the girl in front of him. However, he found himself unable to take a step backward. Black shadows shot out from beneath his feet and latched on to his body. He summoned all the energy in his body yet no matter how much power he summoned, the energy dissipated into thin air.

Sweat drenched his back. His heart hammered against his rib cage. Silas Fidi glared at the small girl who returned his glare with just as much fervor. Black blotches were peeking out from her collar and were spreading to the porcelain-like skin of her neck. Beside her, a figure clad in dark robes materialized. Black wings unfurled behind a perfectly shaped body that was adorned in gold.

Orange orbs widened as he continued to stare at the face of the Adonis that appeared before him. It was a face he would never forget. Silas Fidi grit his teeth. “Astaroth… you-!”

“Consider this as my thanks… for the past few years you have taken care of me.” The demon stood proudly behind the small female with his hands crossed in front of his chest. The Duke of Hell’s cool velvety voice made the temperature of Silas Fidi’s body plunge.

Silas Fidi roared. Bright red energy enveloped his body as he thrashed against the black strands. His bloodshot eyes were as piercing as daggers as the man glowered at the demon opposite of him.

A melodic laugh echoed in the hall. “Do not fret. I cannot kill you. Because her body is still young, the most I can do is put you to sleep and bestow upon you a wonderful dream.”

“You-!” The Great Apothecary continued to flail against the wisps of darkness that besieged him. Without warning, the ground beneath him turned into a viscous substance. The shadows dragged him into the black liquid. The more he resisted, the faster he sunk into the unknown depths Astaroth had conjured.

The demon watched him slowly being swallowed up by the shadows with golden orbs that held not a shred of emotion. The lips on his alluring face perked up into a smile.

“Sweet dreams and good night.”

As Silas Fidi finally disappeared into the shadows, a fuzzy sensation shrouded his mind. His thoughts became clear. The haze that had shrouded a part of his memories faded as scenes he had forgotten rushed through his head.

He finally remembered why the little girl’s obsidian orbs filled him with a sense of déjà vu.

Those black unreadable eyes belonged to the girl who had mysteriously vanished into thin air. And she was the same girl who had twisted his memories and made him forget about her very existence.

Astaroth stared at the little girl who had, with a flick of a hand, erected a barrier around herself and the unconscious Silas Fidi that was lying at her feet. Multiple black marks were on her body and were spreading up to the skin on her neck. A faint glow covered her entire body and as the seconds ticked by, the blemishes on her skin slowly faded revealing porcelain-like skin.

The Duke of Hell nodded appreciatively. “Good. Continue to circulate your energy in that manner in order to repress the effects of the miasma.”

“You didn’t say that there was a way… to slow down miasma decay when you suggested it.” 373 glowered at him. Her eyes were narrowed and her fine eyebrows were furrowed. She was staring at him like she was looking at something utterly deplorable. She had sported the look ever since he had suggested that she present herself to Silas Fidi and use his power to subdue the Magno Deorum.

The demon’s lips quirked up and his golden eyes shined with a hint of mischievousness. “Something like this is a well-guarded secret between us demons. If all of mankind knew about this, demons would have to experience lengthy periods of suffering under harsh masters that do not die soon enough.”

The girl’s face turned slightly red as she puffed out her cheeks and looked away. Astaroth found his eyes glued to the little female’s face. He found her inflated cheeks and furrowed brows very endearing and adorable. Once they were in a safer place, he was going to take his time teasing her. And he was going to tease her as much as he wanted.

As soon as the blemishes disappeared from her body, the small child knelt beside the man with blood red hair that was unconscious on the floor. Her gaze fell on his chest that was rising and falling. Her delicate eyelashes fluttered as she blinked and continued to scrutinize Silas Fidi’s breathing before turning to Astaroth with a blank face.

“He’s still breathing.”

Astaroth chuckled. “Would you rather he was dead, then?”

The girl visibly froze before she slowly shook her head from side to side.

“Do not fret. He still lives. I simply made him watch an interesting illusion as well as reminded him something he forgot,” the demon explained. He had done Silas Fidi a favor by undoing the locks that had repressed the Magno Deorum’s memories. The Great Apothecary was probably spewing blood uncontrollably in the land of dreams.

...Or should Astaroth call it the land of nightmares instead?

He watched 373’s expression change from guilt to understanding. He hummed and squatted right beside her. “For now, take his memories and replace the ones that will lead you to Elisium’s exits. Sort through the memories later once we have fled this place.”

“Mm.” The girl nodded and focused her attention on Silas Fidi’s figure. She placed a small hand on top of his closed eyes and began using her Talent to absorb the Great Apothecary’s memories.

Astaroth studied 373 silently. Her thin eyebrows seemed permanently creased as she concentrated on her task. She worked in silence with a calmness that remained amid the loud blaring sirens, the uncontrollable shaking of the floor. A silver halo decorated her black pupils as she used the Talent over memories. Although it made an eerie picture, to the demon who had seen too many things in his life, it painted a mysteriously beautiful sight. Somehow, it reminded him of a solar eclipse – of the bright morning sun being covered by the quiet moon who lives in the darkness

Ancient civilizations used to believe of supernatural figures that would eat or hide the sun because of various reasons that raged from enmity to something as silly as hunger. The superstitious believed that solar eclipses were signs of death and impending doom. Astaroth never really cared about what humans thought about the naturally occurring phenomenon. Yet now, the Duke of Hell felt that there was something special about those pair of black orbs that were outlined by a celestial kind of light.

His honey-colored gaze shifted from the small female to the barrier she had set up. A boy with a mop of blonde hair was currently clawing against the boundary made of energy as he growled and set the surroundings on fire. The child’s azure eyes were glassy – unfocused. He was like a wild and fearless animal that saw everyone as its enemy.

“You saved him from death and yet he repays you with animosity. If I were you, I would not be merciful and simply kill him.” Astaroth stood up. “Nevertheless, if he continues to use his Talent recklessly like this, he will soon run out of life force and die. You can choose to grant him a swift death or to let him die slowly. Which would it be?”

The girl lifted her hand from Silas Fidi’s face and stared at the boy at the other side of her barrier. The silver glow that decorated her pupils faded as creases between her eyebrows grew deeper. “Is there a spell… that can temporarily seal a Talent?”

The demon regarded her with interest. “There is. But at your current level, it is not something you can cast.”

Her clear gaze turned slightly tumultuous and Astaroth could clearly see the conflict that was lying behind her gaze. Her crestfallen expression made him release a heavy breath. He thought back to all the spells he had seen in his lifetime and recalled a specific method. No one had succeeded in using the spell. But with 373’s unique constitution, she would probably manage, though it would be with a good amount of difficulty.

“There is a way,” the demon began. “However, a complicated spell that deals with Talents is one that is not free from risks.”

Astaroth’s carefree gaze turned serious. “With Silas Fidi’s memories and your Talent, you can flee this place easily. Must you risk your life to save the useless boy, pueri?”

She shifted her gaze from him to the boy before seeking out his golden orbs. “I promised to save him from Elisium so I will.”

Astaroth held her gaze and tried to look for any signs of conflict. Her black eyes didn’t contain a shred of hesitation as she spoke. A mesmerizing smile appeared on his face. Even his usually cold orbs were shining in admiration.

“You cannot seal his Talent,” he reiterated. “But you have the power to take his Talent away and absorb it in your own body.”

373’s eyes widened but didn’t mutter a single sound. Astaroth reveled in her silence for a little while before he continued.

“I am warning you, child. A Talent is more than just a power – it is a spirit that chooses its own master. Those that tried to take away a Talent that was never destined to be theirs have all met painful deaths.” His gaze fell on the Great Apothecary’s figure that was still lying on the floor. “This fool and his disciple never succeeded in their futile research because of this single fact. Among all the attempts of Talent Implantation…”

His gaze softened. “You are the only one who lived.”

His golden orbs sought the little female’s black ones and asked, “Knowing this, are you still adamant on taking away his Talent just to save his life?”

373 looked at him expectantly. “What do I do?”

“It is rather simple, pueri.” The demon dissolved into a thousand wisps of black smoke before reappearing in front of the small girl who looked up to him with her chin tilted up. He knelt and placed a finger on her forehead. For a brief moment, the tip of his finger glowed a faint blue before the light dispersed and enveloped the female before him just as his thoughts flowed into the little girl whose fine eyebrows crinkled and creased all over again.

“All I have to do… is form a connection with his Talent and call it to me?” The girl asked.

Astaroth nodded. “Hm. Weaken him. Subdue him and keep him in your grasp. Control the flow of your energy so that it seeps into his body. Use your energy to peer into his soul, sever his connection with his Talent and transfer his Talent to your body.”

“But I must remind you that forcefully merging a Talent with a different host could very well cost you your life,” the demon reiterated. “And right after the successful Talent Implantation, your body will become weakened while it grows accustomed to the foreign Talent you have adopted. You might be able to escape Elisium successfully, yet the dangers that are waiting for you outside of Elisium will not wait for you to recover your strength and will strike while you are at your weakest.”

“You must be careful, child. Do not do anything unnecessary.” Astaroth turned into an obsidian tendril that seeped into her shadow. He kept silent and probed out the girl’s feelings only to replace that the small female wasn’t changing her choices anytime soon.

373 had made up her mind. And since his master wished to save the damn boy, Astaroth was willing to act the part of a faithful servant who did everything to ensure his master’s every whim was going to be delivered to her on a silver platter.

Mangled bodies with multiple bite marks lied strewn on the floor. There were heads that were severed from their necks. It seemed as if a wild animal had ripped them off. 373 stared at the gruesome scene that was vomit inducing and was partially thankful that her feelings were currently being overwritten by Astatroth’s.

She ignored the overpowering stench of burnt flesh and blood and stared at the boy with a golden mane. Her dark orbs fell on the boy’s figure which was in a sorry state. His already disheveled robes where cut in multiple places. She stood up, took a step towards her barrier and pressed her hand on the wall of energy. “Leon?”

The boy growled and clawed against her barrier. Around the safety net she had created, red bright flames began to burn. 373 could already feel the scorching heat from inside her barrier. Gone was the boy she had learned to trust with all her secrets. The friend he had found in Leon was nowhere in sight. The male in growling in front of her resembled a beast. His azure orbs were hazy and unfocused. It was too unlike the vibrant and electrifying orbs she had gotten used to.

‘His Talent has taken control of his consciousness so this behavior is only expected, pueri.’ Astaroth’s voice echoed in her head.

373 didn’t reply to the demon’s remark. Her small hand fell to her side and turned into a fist. If she wanted to save the blonde male, she needed to replace a way to reach him. In order for her to reach him, her barrier needed to go down.

She took a step back, but the flames showed no signs of dispersing. 373 took a deep breath.

Zain Amina risked her life for something she wanted. 373 never understood why the dark-skinned girl had to gamble with her life for the sake of someone else. Now, she understood it perfectly well. Be it Michael Caelum or the boy she had named Leon, she would fight for them while risking her life regardless of the result.

It wasn’t logical. It wasn’t something that followed a person’s normal line of thought. Nevertheless, it was something she needed to do.

It was something she wanted to do.

The girl deactivated her barrier.

The moment she did, a primal ground tore through the air. Leon leapt towards her like a panther going for the kill. The flames accompanied him as he attacked and red fiery streaks shot out towards the little girl with brown hair who had no choice but to dodge the incoming flurry of attacks.

Sparks danced around 373’s body as she cast a spell. “Fulcio!”

The girl’s figure nimbly evaded ribbons of fire. She dashed to put a safe distance between the two of them and automatically wove an intricate web of energy beneath Leon’s feet. The debris on the floor clattered as the ground shook. With a flick of her hand, the floor beneath them changed. “Mutatio.”

The metal plates and concrete slabs that made up the floor rose up and wrapped themselves around Leon to limit his movements. The girl took a deep breath and tried to approach the boy. She had only taken a step when the area around the male burst in flames. Leon’s body glowed in a brilliant yellow light.

‘Dodge, pueri,’ Astaroth whispered. As soon as she heard the demon’s words, 373 retracted her foot and instantly jumped backward.

The glow that surrounded Leon’s body exploded and broke the restraints 373 had painstakingly set up. The power behind the attack was much weaker compared to when Leon had first summoned his flames. However, the destructive power wasn’t something she could turn a blind eye to.

’You need a stronger spell, child. Wound him and weaken him if you must. A spell that lacks resolve will simply turn into ashes when faced with his flames. Can you do it?’ Astaroth revealed himself in front of her with his arms crossed. The Duke of Hell watched her unblinkingly. ‘If not, retreat and leave him alone.’

There was no rhyme nor reason in the way Leon fought. It was wild and unpredictable, yet it was worlds away from Zain Amina’s level. But the fights between her and Leon were always fought with words. The little skirmishes the had were nothing but playful exchanges sandwiched between moments of companionable silence. She never had to fight him for real.

He was her confidant. He was the first person her age to have spoken to her – the first person to treat her as an equal. He knew her secrets, had seen her quirks and foolishness. Hesitation flashed in her black orbs. Did she really have to raise her hand against him?

‘The amount of backlash he will receive from forcibly using his Talent will only worsen the longer he remains in his berserk state,’ The Duke of Hell muttered. ‘Not even a Magno Deorum can reverse the effects of a Talent’s backlash. As I said before, if you let him continue with his rampage, he will die.’

‘Do whatever you can to capture him. Use my shadows if you need to. Can you do it, pueri? If not, let him exhaust his energy by himself and let him die.’ The demon’s voice was coated with sugar. Yet the meaning of his words was as clear as day.

If she can’t replace a way to suppress Leon, then she might as well just wait for him die.

Astaroth’s languid countenance flashed in her head. ’Contentus es vere iustus est, pueri?’

Another barrage of attacks flew towards 373. Leon ran towards her, his eyes tinted with bloodlust. The small girl’s figure flickered through the onslaught as she evaded the pillars of light that were materializing and falling from the sky.

373 would never forget that phrase. It was the first thing Astaroth had said to her the night she heard the demon’s voice in Elisium. Even though her mouth was completely dry, 373 swallowed. She gulped down the lump in her throat and tried to push the apprehension rising in her chest. “I’ll do it.”

Astaroth’s voice chimed in her ear. ‘Good girl.’

She let the boundary between her emotions and Astaroth’s blur. The unwillingness she had slowly faded as she gather her energy on her fingertips. As soon as the last shaft of flame crashed into the floor, 373 launched herself towards Leon, sparks of electricity dancing at her hands. The boy growled at her and met her head on. Lightning collided with flames and the collision set off a gigantic blast that chipped away the layers of metal and concrete on the floor. Smoke and dust created a fog that concealed everything inside the operating theater.

The boy’s figure shot out of explosion and slammed against the wall creating dents on the metallic surface. 373 remained standing in the cloud of smoke, energy pulsating around her feet. Without waiting for the fog to subside, she jumped out and closed the distance between her and the blonde-haired boy as the wind around her picked up and a bright blue glow erupted from her body.

“Aer Gurges. Tempestas.”

High velocity gusts of wind appeared around the operating theater. Metallic tables flipped and crashed against the walls, scattering the tools that were placed on top of them. The red sea of fire danced with the cyclones of wind. 373 dispelled them with a quick wave of her hand.

Blue eyes widened. Leon stood from the ground and extended his hands. Flames shot out from his open palms and went up to greet her. But before the fire could touch her skin, the gusts of wind formed a protective shell around the girl’s body. 373 continued to advance towards the boy and ignored the fire that nipped at her heels. Leon summoned a single lance of flame that was aimed at her chest. 373 nimbly rolled to the side and quickly got to her feet. A spell was on her lips.

“Mutatio.”

The ground shot up from Leon’s feet and turned into a cage made up of ground and metal. The boy growled and clawed his way out of 373’s barricade, flames lapping at the material until it disintegrated and fell apart. The girl stood idly and looked like she wasn’t moving anytime soon. But the throes of magic were gathering on her body, like she was preparing for one last attack.

The boy noticed nothing and sprinted away from the girl with dark irises. With a yell, pillars of flame erupted from the floor like geysers. The fire twisted and melded together until they became one body, forming a serpentine body that stretched out. The embers on its figure flared as the serpentine body opened its mouth and bared its fangs and letting out a howl that reverberated throughout Elisium.

The chimera soared towards 373. The girl released the energy she had been stockpiling and stretched out her left hand. The gusts of wind that she had previously summoned shot towards the serpent of flame. Air and fire collided. One element refused to give way to the other.

373 skidded backward from the wave of energy that pulsated from the two colliding forces. She could feel the soles of her feet being peeled off little by little. The girl increased the power behind her attack, sweat pouring from her forehead as she used every bit concentration that she had.

She brought her right hand above her head. Sparks gathered on her vacant palm. While wind and flame clashed, she flicked her hand up and sent the sparks danced in the air. The yellow orbs glowed before they brilliantly blazed and turned into bolts of lightning that aimed themselves towards serpent-like body that stretched before the little girl.

“Fulgur.”

The attacks pierced into the body of flame and left a chain of explosions in their wake. Without another power to oppose it, 373’s whirlpool of air went straight for Leon. The gusts of wind howled as lightning boomed. In the middle of it all, the girl with black orbs steadily moved forward even before the dust could settle down on the ground.

Her hands found Leon’s arms. With a growl, the boy slammed his forehead against the girl’s temples. He wrenched himself free from her grasp. Flames began licking the floor. 373 stomped the floor, curled her fingers into a fist, and punched Leon on the face.

Two pairs of hands grabbed and grappled. They two children rolled on the ground, their limbs becoming a tangled mess. Leon seemed to have forgotten his Talent. Instead of summoning the flames he had been flaunting till earlier, he decided to bite down hard on the pale white appendage that was propped beside his head.

373 hissed. She winced but endured the pain on her left arm. She held the boy’s head with her free hand as her eyes glowed a faint silver. A blue glow flowed from her hands and into Leon’s body the same way Astaroth had showed her. She used the energy to probe inside him, to sense the various changes happening inside Leon’s body while his energy was slowly being depleted by his Talent.

The girl found something – it was a shapeless like water, but it was intricately woven with Leon’s body. The liquid-like existence reacted with the energy that she had implanted. The formless entity slowly untangled itself from the fibers it was attached to and seeped into the wisps of energy 373 sent. She called the energy back to her and steeled herself for the pain.

The pain never came. Instead, a flood of memories seeped into her veins. 373 found herself staring at a scene that had once occurred in one of Elisium’s classrooms. A boy with short yet wild blond hair was standing at the corner of the room. Tears flowed freely from his bright azure eyes. Yet the steady flow of water did nothing to extinguish the flames on his hands nor did it bring the dead child in his hands back to life.

The girl blinked. The peaceful classroom from Leon’s memories turned into an ash-filled hall that showed nothing but destruction. Fire continued to rage as they lapped against chemicals and highly flammable materials. If they stayed, they were bound to get caught in a bigger explosion.

It was time for them to go.