Chapter 465: The Emerald Flames
Laz was still on his knees, staring up into the sky that seemed too small suddenly.
"What do we do now?" Ivana asked Maia, not knowing what else to say.
Maia didn’t respond right away, herself now knowing what had just happened. It seemed as though the man was going to speak, but then his body was consumed by the emerald flames. While it seemed to spark something in her, at the same time it was distant as the memory didn’t prick her as much as it seemed Laz.
No matter what though, this matter was more serious than she had imagined, god or not. The fact that the man couldn’t even speak was a sign that there was some sort of seal upon him and a powerful one at that. Despite being alive for ten thousand years, she was still at a loss as to what to do with this.
She wasn’t the one who had participated in the war that had almost doomed her people so although she had some memories of those times, they were acquired and not her own. Imagine the difference between watching a war and actually fighting in one. Now matter how good the film was, how actuate or emotional it was, it was still something you saw and not something you experienced. The difference between the two was almost too immense to describe.
Maia looked over at Laz, wondering just what was going on in this young man’s head. She knew that he was no stranger to death, but this kind of death shocked even her, so for a many who would barely be considered an infant by her people’s standards, she had no clue how he would fair.
The guards had run back over due to the initial screams of the prisoners torture by Laz. Seeing the men’s still flaming corpses on the ground, even the captain was confused, not knowing what to do. He turned to look at Ivana who in turn shook her head.
’It wasn’t him,’ was what she conveyed with it, but that didn’t make the captain feel any better. He was struck by the urge to arrest Laz anyway until he got to the bottom of the issue, even if he would anger a priest of the mother tree just to cover his own ass, but hesitated.
Waves of energy were coming off Laz’s body when he suddenly closed his eyes.
-Anger
-Rage
-Frustration
Brothers and sister’s falling as their lives were reaped.
Legions of allied world’s armies burning.
Planets engulfed in war.
Moons broken apart and used as ammunition.
Stars captured and used to fuel massive warships.
Those dark figures in the distance, their bodies engulfed poisons, ice, lightning, wind...
And the ones leading them, the ones who stood at the head of the army.
Their bodies engulfed in flames of different colors.
The Infernals.
And to the right of the head of the army stood a man who’s body was engulfed in emerald green flames.
...
The waves coming off of Laz’s body were enough to put the guards down on the ground. Even Ivana found it hard to stand, the energy causing her to fight for her footing so she wasn’t swept away.
Only Maia was unaffected as she walked forward, her body lighting up with a soft green glow, like the aura of nature itself. In fact, all over the city within the enclosed dimension, the great mother tree lit up, it’s glow a gentle caress to her children.
As Maia laid a hand on Laz’s shoulder, Laz’s golden eyes looked at her in confusion for a moment before a smile graced his face.
"I’m glad the Fae survived," Laz said in a deep voice that wasn’t his own, startling Maia.
"Who are you?" Maia asked.
"We are the will within. Our child searched for answers and we responded. Even now, he stands against them. We are proud of him. Let us show you what he has seen," Laz’s deep voice said as he reached his hand up to Maia and set it down on her hand.
The visions Laz had seen then assaulted Maia’s head, but with the mental strength of a god, it only hurt for moment before she understood.
"Thank you for the warning," Maia said, stepping back and bowing low to Laz.
"We were allies once, it’s the least we can do. Perhaps only this child remains, however we shall never abandon even one of our children who still carries on the fight. He will not be able to avoid it as they will come for him one day..."
"We shall be allies again," Maia said, with confidence.
"Perhaps, but we know you cannot speak for your entire species. At least for now, keep him safe."
"I shall. I promise."
With that, the golden light in Laz’s eyes faded as his normal blue eye color returned.
"I..."
Just as his eyes met Maia’s, his vision darkened and his body went limp, crashing into the ground.
...
In the darkness, Laz curled up into a ball. His head felt dizzy, his body weak. He saw images flash within his mind, things he felt but couldn’t see.
A’ruya staring at him worried, concerned.
Sylvia feeding him, mouth to mouth.
Ivana rubbing strange substances on his body while uttering strange chants.
Jill, dressed as an attendant gripping on to his hand while tears filled her young face.
Genevieve washing his body as he lay in a massive bed.
And finally Maia, laying with him while watching him, as though he would wake up at any moment.
:You’ve slept long enough boy. You’re blood isn’t so weak that this would kill you. The mission of our people is now yours. It’s time for you to awaken and fulfill your duty,: A strong voice commanded as the darkness began to fade.
...
"We can’t get any closer to their palace. The walls are made of bricks that negate any energy we use against it. All of the mother tree’s branches within the compound have been burned to dust and they are completely separated from this world. It’s now like they are in a dimension of their own," Sylvia’s voice said as she informed Maia of the current situation.
Maia was currently laying on top of Laz with only a thin, transparent piece of cloth separating the two of them. While to someone else it might have seemed as though something naughty was going on, Ivana, Sylvia and Genevieve all knew different.
Maia had done this several times, trying her best to send energy directly into Laz’s body. In fact, it was so much so that her realm had started to become unstable, something that none of them could believe. After all, no matter how special Laz was, he was still a mortal man while Maia was a god. Her energy should have been more than enough to get him back on his feet in no time and yet for some reason, he was still asleep.
"What’s more, any attack we send is met with those green flames that burn the life out of our people without exception. In fact..."
"They are even using it to imprison their souls so that they can’t come back to me, effectively draining me of their energy," Maia finished, looking up at Sylvia.
"Yes..."
The first time Sylvia had seen it, it looked like her people’s souls were being ripped from their bodies. It was only after she had explained it to Maia that she understood that was exactly what was happening.
"What other choice do we have? Right now, we are trapped in a cage with a predator who is just growing stronger by the day. If we open the doors to the outside world, we might escape, but so will they. If we stay in here, it’s only a matter of time until they kill us all?" Ivana asked, looking at Sylvia.
She didn’t have an answer.
"He is our answer," Maia said, calming stroking Laz’s cheek while smiling. The images she had seen were from the final battle, one she hadn’t even been born to witness. And her predecessor had already died at that time so she had no memories of it.
But now, she had born witness to it, to the massive battles and destruction that had been wrought.
And at the center of all of it, the Asura and their allies had stood and fought, slaying Infernals left and right until their bodies broke and their blood ran rivers through the stars.
All of the Asura were slain in this battle or so it was lead to be believed.
But the Infernals were also beaten, forced to retreat back. It didn’t make sense considering what Maia had seen, but she knew it to be true because even as they died, she knew the Asura had felt that they had won somehow.
And now the last of their bloodline laid within this big bed, underneath her almost naked and small form, breathing steadily as though he was just one push from waking.
Despite the danger they were in, she couldn’t help but look on at wonder at this young man for she had finally witnessed the war for herself.
She had finally understood.
Laz, this young and still growing man beneath her, would rise to heights one day that she could never even dream of.
And she felt intoxicated by this.
An attendant then entered the room and whispered something to Sylvia before bowing and leaving quickly.
"Something is going on within their compound. We can’t see it clearly, but from what the priests are saying from their scrying, there seems to be a massive basin being set up while hundreds of people in shackles are being lined up around it," Sylvia reported, her face one of disgust.
There was no doubt something bad was going to happen to them and there was no way the result would be good for anyone else either.
Maia sighed and looked down again. Reaching her hand below her, she grabbed hold of Laz’s sleeping member and began stroking it while whispering in his ear.
"I need you to wake up now. I need your help. And if you do this for me... I’ll let you enjoy the greatest sins of the flesh with a young goddess herself..."
Ivana, Sylvia and Genevieve were all mortified at what she said. Their goddess, the mother tree of their people... was offering her virginity as though that would wake him up?
At once, Laz’s eyes snapped open just as his spear began standing erect.
"Oh for fuck’s sake..." the three woman thought not knowing how to feel right now.
