26. Unknown

Unknown

I t’s been about a month since the man with twisted wings, my new master as he calls himself, tasked me with destroying the world. When I refused because I bow to no one, he initiated an old ritual meant to trap celestial beings. I tried to fight him, but my powers were stolen from me long ago. I was no match for him. He tried to erase my memory before binding my soul to his, forcing me to do his will.

In the first days after the ritual, I thought he failed to make me forget who I was and returned to my daily life. Slowly, memories started to fade away until I forgot even my name.

It took me time to adapt to a life where I wasn’t a powerful being, where I was human. My first year as a human was challenging as I had to learn that not everything revolved around me. While I hid in plain sight, I had to get a job and find a place to live, and I started planning my revenge. I can live without a name, but the idea of forgetting my enemy is unacceptable.

Unless I find a way to free myself from him, I will soon forget everything, and he will succeed in making me his puppet. We might have the same goal, but I don’t want to destroy the world out of spite, but out of love. Everything I do is for the one I dedicated my entire existence to.

While searching for a way to undo the ritual, I was contacted by a secret cult. I have yet to discover how they came across my email. They call themselves the Bringers of Doom. The name didn’t ring a bell, but I decided to find out more about them.

Only those born within the cult know of its existence—or so they say. If there’s something I’ve learned during my long existence, it’s that nothing is truly hidden—except my existence. My love rarely lets anyone know of me. I was a well-guarded secret. For millennia, I wondered if I was even worthy of love.

After days of emailing back and forth, I decided to meet with the cult leader. I had to travel all the way to Dvigrad, Croatia. It’s an eerie place with superstitions believed to have bad luck. The Bringers of Doom made their home there.

“We have been waiting for you for a long time,” the leader, Matej, tells me as he ushers me to a temple the cult built under the ruins of Dvigrad.

How could he know of my existence? I’ve been trapped for a long time in a very dark and cold place. “You have many things to explain.”

“All your questions will be answered soon. But first, someone here wants to talk to you.”

Matej and I stop in front of a very tall man. He emanates the same kind of power I once had. The moment he sees me, he bows before me, his right knee pressed on the floor, his left arm on top of his left knee. “My liege. You are finally free. I had lost hope I would see you again.”

Although the man is a stranger, I feel he is important to me. “Who are you?”

He looks up at me. “You don’t remember?”

“My memories are a bit…confused.”

“Asa, your third in command.”

I nod, pretending to remember him.

“My liege, before the meeting starts, I’m afraid I must tell you something about Samael.”

Samael. I remember him. My right hand. His loyalty was legendary.

“What about him?”

“He has betrayed us. He has allied with the enemy.”