383 Red's fate
"You poor thing," the sun mocked. "It hurts me to gaze upon your pitiful plight. I will grant you a favour. Do you wish to see the family you will be placed into?"
Lucien's crisis and soul-deep loneliness engulfed him in its hungry maws. What was the point of being born just to suffer?
"Can you end my life? Erase my existence?" He asked. It was the closest he had come to begging the sun.
"Now why would I do that? We have chosen you for a purpose which you cannot avoid. We will not let you escape your fate, Lucien. Accept it and perhaps I will grant you what you seek."
Lucien had no reason to trust that the sun would keep its word, not that it had even made a promise. But what else was there in this universe that he could cling to?
"Show me," he told the sun. "My family."
When it projected an image in his mind, the redhead felt himself erupt with pure and undisguised hatred for the sun. He saw himself with the demon lord whose existence was the reason Traxdart had him sacrificed. Syryn Nigh'hart. Why did it have to be him?
"This is a joke, isn't it?" He snarled at the sun. "You said you'd give me a chance to start over! Does it please you to pluck me out of the wolf's den and throw me into the lion's jaw?"
"Syryn has delusions of being human. You should be grateful that I chose him out of the several other demons who know better. Don't you get it? No matter who you grow up with, you'll eventually give in to your true nature. Syryn, Traxdart, Yirna, Paevel - whoever you go to, it's all the same. You demons are a sickness," it told him with revulsion thick in its every word. "A wretched disease that nothing can cure. Every.single.demon.will.pay.oneday."
The sun crushed the demon with the weight of its hatred for him; for no other reason than being born the way he was.
"Why do you hate demons so much?"
"Because!" It roared. "Demons are the source of disease and uncleanliness!"
Lucien flinched at the force of its heat. He held his hand up to shield his eyes from the glow that burned him but it was for nought.
"Lucien, I will make it so that you will no longer exist. Your soul will be consumed by nothingness. But for this to pass, you will accept the responsibility that we have chosen you to carry out. What is your answer, Lucien Rivenspire?"
There was no hesitation. "I'll accept it."
"A wise answer. You have no say in your fate but I gave you a chance for favour and you have pleased me."
Lucien felt sick. Pleasing the tyrant was the last thing he wanted to do.
"Behold, your fate."
A bright red jewel appeared in front of Lucien's face. It was shaped like an elongated octahedron and the size of Lucien's closed fist. The jewel glowed with an unearthly light as it began to spin too quickly for his eyes to keep up with.
"What is this?" He asked, his red eyes fixed on the spinning jewel.
"This is the seed of the apocalypse."
The ominous name did not surprise Lucien since it was a foregone conclusion that he would never receive anything good from the sun.
"It will destroy Traxdart's army. That is the purpose for which this jewel was birthed. It is like you, Lucien. You share its destiny to be consumed in the destruction of a demonic army that would lay waste to the world if it isn't stopped."
"What must I do?"
"Nothing," it answered. "Do not concern yourself with the details. We will guide you to the demonic realm."
"And when will I recover my memories of today?"
"When we decide the time is right. If you fail this task Lucien, the seed will destroy the human world. And if that happens, you will never find rest from your burden."
Lucien was terribly reluctant to do the sun's dirty work. He wanted to rebel and destroy it. He wanted the sun to feel the hopelessness that gnawed at him without rest.
"Send me away... I don't want to be here anymore."
The spinning jewel spun faster and faster, then without warning, streaked a red path of light straight into Lucien's chest. He felt it like a piece of hot coal settling where his heart was supposed to beat. Placing a hand to his chest, Lucien felt it spin and spin like a top.
"Farewell Lucien. You will remember and know what you must do."
_______________
Luci awoke with a start. The redhead's eyes were wide and his breathing heavy. Feeling light-headed from the long dream he just had, he placed a hand against his chest.
And he felt the seed spin.
"Lulu? What's wrong?"
Stirring awake from his sleep, Magnus blinked up at the redhead. He was concerned by the way Lucien's eyes were looking into nothing while his hand tightly gripped the material of his shirt over his chest.
Lucien closed his eyes, pressed a hand to his face and felt the sting of tears. Red was Lucien, Red was him in a different time.
"Lulu," Magnus' bewildered called out as he sat up abruptly. When he placed a hand on the redhead's arm, Lucien shrunk away from him. It alarmed the fire mage because the redhead had never rejected him before. Something terrible was at play and he needed to find out what.
"Magnus," the redhead said in a choked voice. "I need time by myself."
"But-" Magnus faltered because he didn't want to leave Lucien alone when he was so distraught.
"Please dont come after me."
Saying so, Lucien removed himself from the bed and wore his slippers.
"Lucien, I can't just leave you in this condition," he said with frustration thick in his voice.
"If you care about me then you will respect my wishes, Magnus."
Lucien's tone was cold. His eyes were even colder. Turning away from the fire mage, the redhead
left the room. The door was then shut gently and Magnus found himself alone and confused.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢