Chapter 27: Icy Fangs

“Grandpa!” Sirius awoke from his slumber with a start, but Eric grabbed him before he could do something reckless.

“Calm down, you’re back at the temple!”

Sirius was crazed, blinded by adrenaline. It took the efforts of both Eric and the Grandmaster to restrain him and force him back onto his bed. He soon calmed down and looked around what he realized to be his bedroom. Along with Eric and the Grandmaster, Shahti and Eva were gathered around, everyone with looks of mourning.

“What happened?” he asked.

“That’s what we need you to tell us,” said Shahti. “There was a massive explosion where you encountered the spawn. We found you alone at the center. You were on death’s door. What happened in that fight?”

Sirius thought back and the memories washed over him like a wave. He would have started crying, but he was too deep into a state of shock. “Grandpa ... he’s dead.”

Eric took a deep breath and looked away for a moment. “We know. If you almost died in that explosion, there’s no way he could have survived. We didn’t even find any remains.”

Eva sat down on the bed and put her arm around Sirius. “Sirius, I’m so sorry.”

“No, he was dead before the explosion. The monster I faced, the strong one, it was Cho.” Everyone in the room was shocked, from Eric and Shahti, who had met her personally, to Eva, who had heard of her only in stories.

The Grandmaster had a stern look on his face. “Cho was Hijiri’s twin sister, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“But how is this possible?” Eric asked.

“She was no longer human. Dominion had turned her into some kind of abomination. Both her body and mind were completely corrupted. She recognized Grandpa and killed him without any hint of remorse.”

Eric sat with his head in his hands. For Misato to be killed by his own daughter, the daughter he had been forced to leave behind and was then turned into an unholy minion ... what possible word could describe what he must have felt? Eric himself wanted to throw up just from the thought of it.

“To turn her into such a powerful entity, as expected of Dominion,” said Shahti.

“We will all have time to grieve, but right now, we have bigger issues to concern ourselves with,” the Grandmaster announced. “Sirius, you caused that explosion, didn’t you?”

“I ... I think so. I can’t quite remember. It’s kind of hazy.”

“Look at your hand.”

Sirius examined it. His whole body was still recovering from burns and other injuries, but his hand looked pristine. “Nothing’s wrong with it.”

“That’s because it’s been completely regrown. When we found you, you were missing your arm from the elbow down. It’s because your body couldn’t handle releasing that much power and partially disintegrated. That explosion, Dominion will surely have sensed it, and will send more, even stronger minions, if he doesn’t come here himself. That means we have to make you ready to fight him.”

His words made everyone nearly jump in disbelief. “He’s not even close to ready to face Dominion!” Eric argued.

“While it’s true that I’d prefer to wait until you left puberty, I have no doubt that you have the potential to defeat your father. Sirius, you are ready to become a master.” Of everyone in the room, Eric and Shahti had the hardest time swallowing his words.

“Do you really think simply becoming a master will make him strong enough?” Shahti asked. “True, he is powerful, and the initiation would make him several times stronger, but Dominion is a being that can destroy entire planets.”

“If he were any other person, I would say of course not. However, your thoughts are clouded by preconceptions. You’re basing your beliefs simply on what you’ve seen Sirius do. The truth is that his power is beyond description. Sirius, have you ever wondered why you can’t generate aura?

It’s because your power is so great, that when you release it, like you did with that explosion, it escapes with so much pressure that it destroys you in the process. When normal humans release their spirit energy, it’s like water pouring out of the opening of a bottle. But for you, it’s like a tear opening up in a balloon that’s ready to burst. The only way your body could keep from ripping itself apart was to stabilize your energy in the form of a closed circuit, infinitely rotating within you and never allowed to break free. It’s why your body has always been so much stronger than anyone else’s. Your spirit energy has been constantly improving your cells to make you strong enough to eventually be able to release it in the form of an aura.

If you become a master, the runes will act as a safe release point, allowing to achieve your full potential.”

“But will that really be enough?” Sirius asked.

“It will, because unlike all of your predecessors, your runes will cover your entire body.”

“But that’ll kill him!” Eva exclaimed.

“She’s right. No one has ever survived having more than 10% of their body covered. That much exposure will completely erase his mind!” said Eric.

“Do you doubt me, even after all this time?”

“N-no, Grandmaster! I just—”

“For the last nineteen years, I’ve watched Sirius grow and planned out his initiation. Every moment of every day, I’m calculating the arrangement of the glyphs, the precise equations needed to truly unleash his power. I’ve come to the conclusion that anything short of a fully-body inscription would only hamper him. Believe me when I say that Sirius was born for this. Like I said, I would have liked to wait until he had left puberty, when his body would be at its physical peak, but right now, fate is telling us that the time is now.”

Eva got to her feet. “Then we should evacuate the temple! Go somewhere else where we can wait until he’s old enough!”

“Eva, it’s not that simple! We can’t just leave this place!” said Shahti.

“We’re talking about something that could kill him!”

“I’ll do it.” The room became silent and all eyes fell Sirius. “You don’t even need to ask. If this is what it takes to kill Dominion, I’ll do it. Just tell me what you need me to do.”

“Normally an initiation takes weeks to prepare for, but if I put all my strength into it, I can perform the procedure this time tomorrow.”

“This time tomorrow? Fine. That gives me plenty of time to get some last-minute training in.”

He tried to stand up but Eric forced him back down to the bed. “No way, you still haven’t fully recovered from your fight. You’re grounded for the rest of the day. Stay here, get as much rest as you can. I’ll bring you your meals.”

Eva grabbed his shoulders. “Sirius, don’t do this. You have a choice!”

“No, I don’t. I only have a job to do.”

Sirius did as he was told, staying in bed and leaving his room only to use the lavatory. Despite his fatigue and injuries, simply remaining sedentary like this didn’t sit well with him. He wanted to do something to improve the situation, make himself stronger. Plus, without being able to occupy his mind with training, the pain of loss filled his thoughts, and he was forced to mourn his grandfather’s death. He’d try to distract himself, watching his wounds heal. All his life, any injury he sustained would simply close right up in a matter of seconds, but the wounds Cho had inflicted, as well as those he had suffered from that explosion, were taking their time. Despite all of his training, his body wasn’t prepared for that level of life-or-death combat. Performing silver yoga seemed to help, but Eric would often burst in, give him a smack in the back of the head, and tell him to go back to sleep.

Outside, Sirius could hear activity throughout the temple. An attack from Dominion’s forces was anticipated any time in the next few days, so preparations had to be made. Those who could fight were drilled on formation and protocol, while those who couldn’t were shown the safe areas they could flee to. This would not be the first time someone stumbled upon the Sect of Silver’s temple, but every time before it had been handled with any means necessary to keep its existence secret. This would be a fight like no other.

Day turned to night, and Eric arrived at his room with dinner. “How are you feeling?” he asked for the umpteenth time.

“Better,” Sirius replied, also for the umpteenth time. In a way, it had become a game. Who would acknowledge this pattern first and break it? They were both silently daring each other to give in.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?”

“A little bit. What it like? The initiation?”

“I’m not allowed to give you any details, but I suppose I could say ... it’s not painful, but it is ... intense.”

“How are the other disciples?”

“They’re being pissants as always, either blaming you or afraid of you, but that’s just because they’re scared of what’s going to happen. One more question, then it’s lights out.”

Sirius pondered for a moment. “What do you suppose the chances are, of me actually defeating Dominion?”

Eric took a deep breath. “I suppose we won’t know that until you walk out those doors as a master. All right, goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Eric departed and Sirius ate his dinner, then with night falling, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

A gentle tap on his door woke him from a fitful sleep. As usual, he swung at invisible enemies before realizing he was no longer dreaming. It was dark in the room, but his eyes had adjusted to it thanks to the moonlight passing through his window. There was another tap.

“Who is it?” he asked as he sat up.

“Eva.”

“Come in.” She opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you.” She walked over and sat down next to him. She was silent for a few moments, trying to pick her words. She had spent all day figuring out what she would say, she had rehearsed it a thousand times, but now, it was like her throat had closed up. Regardless, she forced herself to speak. “Please, don’t go through with the initiation tomorrow.”

“You know I have to.”

“No, you don’t! You don’t owe these people anything! You don’t owe the world anything! Killing Dominion is not your responsibility!”

“It is. I was born for this purpose. I’m the only one strong enough to do it. The Grandmaster himself said so.”

“Forget the Grandmaster! Forget all of this nonsense! All that matters is what you want, what makes you happy! We aren’t born with purpose. We aren’t born to fulfill a task. You want to kill Dominion only because they raised you to want it, but you have a choice. You can be a free man.”

Sirius turned away, staring at the floor. “I can’t be free as long as Dominion lives.”

She placed her hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her. “Run away with me. Let’s leave this cursed mountain. We’ll find a place all to ourselves, an island where we can live out our lives in peace, where no one will find us.”

“You can’t ask me to run from this. This is my life, my purpose.”

“Sirius, I love you. All I want is for you to be happy. Let me prove to you that I can make you happy.”

“How?”

She leaned in and joined her lips with his, an embrace that he would occasionally see among the married couples. It was called ... a kiss? Was that right? It was an alien sensation, simply the act of contact with another human being. Throughout his life, the vast majority of the times when he touched someone, it was during sparing. Wait, was that really true? He searched his memories, trying to find the last time he had experienced anything like this.

At that moment, it was like a giant pit had opened up in his chest, carved out by the realization that almost all the contact he had with other people was when he was hurting them or they were hurting him. Inflicting or receiving pain, that was the summary of his history with people. Even as a child, the closest he had ever come to being hugged was when he was taught how to escape holds and grapples.

Only Eva was the exception. When she’d put her hand his cheek, lean her head on his shoulder, hold him or pat his shoulder, even this kiss, they were the only times when touching someone actually felt good. He wanted to experience even more. This pit in his chest, it was a hunger for contact, to actually feel the benefits of being with others, when all he had ever known was their fear and hatred.

Eva pulled her lips away and looked at him. “How did that feel?”

“That felt ... good. Can we ... can we do it again?”

The smile on her face, the twinkle in her eyes, it was like she was about to shed tears of joy. She didn’t even answer, she simply continued kissing him. It was a bit clumsy at first, the two of them having lived their lives in an environment where romance was kept private, but they both got into a rhythm, the movements of their lips complimenting with each other. When one leaned forward, the other would lean back, and when one turned their head to one side, the other turned their head to the opposite. Sirius wrapped his arms around Eva and pulled her close, the two of them feeling the tremors of excitement through each other’s bodies.

Once more, Eva pulled away. She got to her feet, her back to Sirius. Had he done something wrong? Was she going to leave? Then his eyes widened as she removed her training uniform, and his gaze swept across her exposed back, now fully understanding the beauty of a woman. There were countless old scars from her life as a slave, whip marks that not even time could erase, but Sirius didn’t even see them. A spur of desire, he leaned forward and kissed her back, making Eva shiver in bliss.

From the moment she had taken off her uniform, she had regretted it, regretted letting Sirius see her back. She had feared his revulsion, feared he’d see her as damaged and ugly, like a piece of art that had been vandalized. But even though it was the middle of the night, to feel Sirius’s lips on the scars she always dreaded, feel his acceptance, it was like she was basking in the warmth of the sun.

With a blushing smile, she turned around, letting him see her as everything she was. Her life spent training had given her a fit, athletic figure, but also womanly, with tantalizing curves. It was the first time Sirius had ever seen a naked woman. His lust, his desires, they had been repressed his whole life, deprived of the chance to develop, to manifest into specific desire. He’d never had any fantasies, never imagined what he would do with a woman.

To see Eva now, he felt like if he tried to reach out to her, he’d stopped, feeling the leash that is his ignorance around his throat. His adolescent cravings were going wild within him. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, his breathing changing its pace every moment, and his mind drowning in a sea of hormones. He wanted her.

“Come on, now it’s your turn.”

She shook him from his trance and he got to his feet. Like her, he removed his training uniform, letting her see him for all that he was. The muscles that he had painstakingly forged throughout his life, that she had always adored, that had always ignited such heat within her, she couldn’t stop herself from running her fingers across them.

From the day she arrived at the temple, she had trained to be like him. She wanted to catch up to him, to stand at his side and know the pinnacle of strength that he had reached. Despite her efforts, it proved never to be, and now she could see the vast chasm between them. He was in a league all his own. Most feared his strength because it came from his father, but that never mattered to Eva. In fact, despite being born into slavery, it was the one thing she praised Dominion for. Regardless of every horrific thing he had done, she could not deny him credit for creating something as incredible as the man she loved.

“Now what?” Sirius asked.

She looked down at his member, rather afraid of it, to be honest. It really did befit someone of such immense physical prowess. But this was a connection she had dreamed of for years and she had prepared herself

“I have a bit of an idea of what we’re supposed to do. At least, I’ve heard stories.” She wrapped her fingers around his manhood, amazed by the strength of his pulse. Sirius tensed up from her touch, for obvious reasons. “You put this...” with her other hand, she framed her womanhood, “in here.” She climbed onto the bed and laid back. “Now, get on top of me, sort of like you’re doing a pushup.”

He obeyed, moving on top of her. The fact that he actually took a pushup position made her giggle. He adjusted his posture and embraced her.

“And now I ... put it in?” he asked nervously while staring into her eyes.

“That’s right. Sirius, I want you to know that there is no one else on Earth that I would ever do this with. It’s called making love for a reason. I love you with all of my heart, and I want to be bound to you for the rest of eternity. I want us to grow old together, living on a beach away from all this violence.”

“Eva, no matter what you say or do, I’m still going through with the initiation tomorrow. I have to kill Dominion, for the sake of this world, for your sake.”

“Try saying that after we’re done. And if you still haven’t changed your mind, then consider this me wishing you luck.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Now, make me your woman.”

He guided himself towards her entrance, her feminine gates parting to accept him. She was wet like a ripe peach and accepted him. She began to pant as he penetrated her and kept her eyes shut. His cock felt even bigger than she thought it would, but he pushed it in all the way, drawing a loud cry of pain from her as he tore her hymen. Then he stopped and she felt something splashing her face. She opened her eyes to see tears falling from his.

“I can’t do this,” he whispered.

He pulled away from her, sitting at the edge of the bed with his face in his hands.

“Sirius, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t do this. I don’t want to hurt you!”

“You’re not hurting me!”

“I am! That face you made! I see it in my nightmares. It’s the same face I know my mother made when Dominion tormented her.” Eva looked over to the bureau, the photo of Hijiri that Sirius kept. He only knew what she looked like from the album that Misato brought with him, but he had memorized her face. Misato and Eric never allowed him to forget how she had been tortured. “All the things he did to her, to Cho, to all those other women! I don’t want to hurt you the way he hurt all of them! I don’t want to be like him!”

She crawled over and tried to put her hand on his shoulder, but he shied away, as if afraid he’d be burned by her touch. “Sirius, you’re nothing like him. You’re not hurting me! You’re a good man, the man I love!” Yet her words couldn’t get through to him. He was sobbing and digging his nails into his scalp.

“I can’t get that expression out of my head! She killed herself after I was born, but I can still hear her screams! I don’t want to do that to you! I don’t want to hurt women like he does!”

“I’m not Hijiri and you’re not Dominion. What he did to her is nothing like that bond I want to share with you. I love you! If I need to shout it from the top of the mountain so you’ll understand, I’ll do it! I want to be with you! I want this from you!”

“Please, just go. Just leave me alone! It’s not safe for you to be around me! I’m just the son of a monster!”

“Sirius!”

“GO!” he roared at the top of his lungs.

But instead, she threw her arms around him and held him tight, and he realized that she too was crying. “I hate them. I hate them and I’ll never forgive them for what they did to you!”

“What?”

“I don’t care about Dominion! I don’t care about the world! But what those people did to you—Eric, your grandfather, everyone in this goddamn temple, I’ll never forgive them! They treated you like you were a monster, they brainwashed you with horror stories and guilt, they tortured you your whole life, and they have the nerve to think you have to save them! They took everything from you, they didn’t even treat you like a person! Look at you! Look at what they turned you into! You’re afraid of happiness, of love, of being anything other than their weapon! If this is what it takes for Dominion to be stopped, if you have to suffer through all this to save the world, then fuck the world! The human race doesn’t deserve you! These people don’t deserve you! They can all die! I just want you to be happy! That’s all I’ve ever wanted!”

Time passed, Eva holding onto Sirius for dear life as the two of them wept. But in time, she realized there was nothing more she could do to help him. She got dressed and departed, leaving Sirius wallow in his pain.

Dominion sat in his throne room, facing an army of his servants. They included all the high-level spawn, like Ishtar and Adam, and various mid-level entities that were tasked with hunting down free humans. They kneeled on the floor before him, awaiting his commands. If he so requested it, they’d retain that pose until sun expanded and swallowed the earth.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve gathered you all here, though most of you probably have a clue. Yesterday, a spirit energy surge was detected. Though I do not know the location, the level of power was within striking range of a Guardian. Unlike the other Guardians, it disappeared almost immediately, meaning that whatever caused it wants to remain hidden. I’ve spent all day searching for clues on this event, speaking with all of you, trying to find what might be amiss. I have recently realized that in the event, Cho was slain.”

Everyone in the throne room tensed up. Death was failure, and failure was an unforgivable sin. Not only that; a being capable of killing a mid-level spawn like Cho could easily throw a wrench into Dominion’s operations, which was something they could not allow. But Dominion had not told them everything. He knew Cho was dead because he couldn’t contact her or sense her presence, but he should have known it when her souls returned to him. They didn’t, and that alarmed him.

“Ishtar, where was Cho’s last recorded location before the event?”

“Central Brazil, I believe, in the Amazon Rainforest. She had reported to Bile, the manager of the nearby prison, Manaus, that two men had been sighted in the ruins of a village. The area had recently experienced unusual seismic activity and a patrolling vulture claimed to have detected a small burst of spirit energy in the mountains.”

Dominion reached into his pocket and pulled out his silver coin. Years ago, he traveled the globe, searching for information on demons, spirits, and the Old Gods. He found this coin in some Incan ruins in Bolivia, the Incans worshipping silver and aware of its spiritual properties. Brazil was right on their border.

He flipped it over and examined the Dead Runes on the back. Aside from this coin, there was only one other time he had seen manmade runes. After he turned Cho into a homunculus, he scanned her memories, and while she had been unaware of their significance, she had subconsciously recorded the runes on the gilded hand of the woman who took Hijiri, Jean’s “angel”. Brazil, the Incans, the woman, the Dead Runes, the event, and Cho, they were all coming together, and that thought made Dominion laugh.

“Fenrir, approach.”

A male spawn stepped forward. He had a humanoid appearance, but with leathery wings, a barbed tail, talons on his fingers and toes, shark-like teeth, and horns like a gazelle. His legs and forearms were covered in blue reptilian scales, but his torso was human, as well as his face, and he was quite handsome.

“Orders, My Lord?”

“Fenrir, do you know the one force that trounces even the Old Gods?”

“No, My Lord.”

“It’s fate, comedic irony, and it says that this play is approaching its final act. That’s why I’m sending you. Pick up Cho’s trail, find out what killed her. Report everything you find, and should you encounter the final Guardian, retreat. I will deal with it just as I did its brethren. Kill everything else.”

“It will be done as you command. Whatever stands in my way, they will feel the chill of death.”

Sirius woke up before dawn as he usually did, though he felt anything but rested. After last night, he was physically and emotionally drained. Regardless, he got dressed and did his morning routine. He collected water, this time with the other disciples keeping their distance. He was used to their hatred and fear, but now, they saw him as a walking bomb, just ready to go off. He went to the dining hall and ate breakfast, and for once, Eva didn’t join him. He finished what he realized could be his last meal and left, heading to the prayer hall where the initiation would take place. He wandered down the corridors he had spent his life in and arrived at the double doors, and awaiting him there was Eva.

“You’re not going to change my mind.”

“If you go through with this, you’re going to die,” she murmured. “Is that simply what you want?”

“I’m not doing this to die, I’m doing this to finally live. For as long as I can remember, I’ve hated my father. Every day and night, I’ve imagined killing him while my rage ate up my insides. This grudge is my identity. Now I can’t help but wonder what happens if I do succeed in ending his life. What’ll happen to me afterward? The Grandmaster said I will inherit the throne of the Kingdom of Man, but once I lose all this hatred inside me, will there be anything left? Will I just crumble away into ash?

I told you last night, I can never be free as long as Dominion lives, but can I live without him? I have to find out. Just as bad as I need to kill him, I need to know that I am more than just hatred. My whole life, I’ve always just been the son of Dominion. That’s all people see when they look at me. Only when he’s dead will I be Sirius.”

“You’ve always been Sirius to me.”

“Well I need proof, and I won’t have it until Dominion is dead by my hand. This is the only way I’ll have a chance.”

He moved past her and pushed open the doors to the prayer hall. Inside, Eric and the Grandmaster were waiting.

“Sirius, it is time, are you ready for your initiation?” the Grandmaster asked.

“I am.”

Eva entered behind him but didn’t say anything.

The Grandmaster opened the doors behind the altar of the Old Gods and Eric and Eva watched him lead Sirius into the darkness of the caves.

“Goddamn you, goddamn you for everything you put him through,” Eva hissed once the doors closed.

“What was that?”

“All the pain and suffering you made him endure. Dominion has harmed everyone on Earth except Sirius. All the scars on his heart, you people did that.”

She turned around to leave but Eric grabbed her arm and stopped her. “Now you listen to me! We all had to make sacrifices! We all suffered!”

Despite his roar, she glared at him with cold eyes. “Sirius never should have sacrificed anything, but you people just took everything from him anyway. You stripped away his humanity, turned him into a weapon, all because you couldn’t bear the weight of your failures. You raised a boy to kill his father because you’re too weak to do it yourself. You branded his soul with hatred and made him a slave.

I sure hope there is a Hell, because if there is, you’re all going to burn for what you did to him.”

Lit by a sphere of spirit energy, Sirius followed the Grandmaster down endless sets of stairs carved into the cavern floor, leading into the depths of the planet. He didn’t know how deep they had delved, it felt like they had been moving for a long time. It was actually starting to get a bit warm.

“So are you going to tell me the secrets of the masters now?” Sirius asked.

“Hold on, we’re almost there.”

At last, they reached the bottom of the stairs. The chamber had drastically expanded to the point where the light of the sphere could no longer penetrate the darkness. Set on the ground was a stone table, upon which the operation would be performed. The Grandmaster then expanded the sphere of energy and hurled it off into the darkness, where it lit up the cave like a flare, and the sight that Sirius found left him breathless.

The chamber was the size of an entire mountain, the area with the stone table just a ledge overlooking the chasm, with every surface made of pure silver and arquerite. And lying within the chamber was a gargantuan dragon, like something right of Medieval folklore. Its quadrupedal body and wings were that of the western style, but it had the head of an eastern dragon, with long antlers growing out from behind its ears. Its body was magnificent, beautiful, with scales that shined pearly white, despite being down in this dirty cave.

“The remains of the fourth Guardian...” Sirius gasped.

“Not exactly.”

Then, the dragon began to stir, and with a groan, it got up. Despite all of his training and everything he had experienced, Sirius was gripped with terror, as this creature, large enough to snap up a cruise ship in its jaws, brought its face up to the ledge and stared at him with gleaming eyes.

“You mean it’s been alive all this time?! It’s been sleeping down here under the temple?!”