THIRTEEN

Two months later...

The bell of the coffee shop rang as a few customers came in to order coffee.

"Americano, please," a black-haired guy said, as Destiny began to prepare it.

The city was still recovering from the damage caused by the fight between I and Zhedra.

"I wish everything would go back to the way they were," Rick said, coming by with an empty tray in his hands.

"Yeah, by now Tesla would walk in and Zack would be crazy about her," Destiny added sadly. "The good old days."

"What happened to Zack anyway?" Rick asked, taking a filled tray from the counter before the door opened, ringing the bell, and a woman entered. She was fairly beautiful, with short lemon hair and blue eyes.

Surprised by her captivating entrance, Destiny asked,

"Who are you? What can I get for you?"

"A work apron, please," the woman replied. "I'm Reta, your new workmate."

"Hi, Reta. What's popping?" Rick came by, lost in her beauty.

"Nothing much," she replied.

Destiny showed her the locker room where she could change, and a few minutes later, she joined Rick in serving the customers.

...

The death of Clovet has left a deep wound in her family, they haven't recovered from it even after two months have passed.

Bia hasn't left her room ever since, and Jerry was drowned in a pool of guilt.

Her two sisters, Lolly and Ferda, were still trying to get back up, but the death of a loved one isn't something you can forget in a hurry.

They both sat side by side on the couch in the small living room, watching the local news, before Ferda sighed and said,

"I still can't believe she's gone... For good."

All she hoped for was that Clovet would just barge in and say it was a prank. For two months, she has waited but still isn't giving up hope.

Lolly, with a cold gaze at the television, said with no traces of emotion in her voice,

"They took her."

Shocked by her choice of words, Ferda stared at her little sister, who was devoid of emotions. Clovet's death really made a change in this little girl's life.

"What do you mean?" Ferda asked, not knowing how to react.

"They took her, right under our noses," Lolly replied, with tears already streaming from her eyes.

Trying to understand what she meant, Ferda drew her sister close into an embrace.

"She had to go, Lolly. She couldn't stay in the morgue forever, she has to rest."

Lolly freed herself from Ferda's embrace and shook her head.

"No, that's not what I meant."

"Then what is it?" Ferda asked.

"I mean Luva. She took Clovet away. I saw them coming out of the medical ward, Clovet was so sad."

Ferda looked at her sister, who was already in tears.

"Luva?" she whispered to herself. It was the same person Lolly said she had seen at the hospital. But why? How?

Unsure of what to think, Ferda asked, thinking Clovet's death has somehow affected Lolly's mind.

"Are you okay, Lolly?"

But Lolly didn't reply. Instead, she stared at her sister and said, almost believing her own words, "Something isn't right about Clovet's death. There's something fishy about it, and I'm guessing Dad has something to do with it."

"Okay, Lolly, stop. We are all devastated about our loss. How can you blame Dad for killing his own daughter? I mean, you heard the nurse's explanation..." But before she could complete her sentence, Lolly chimed in.

"Wake up, Ferda. Dad was already at the hospital that night, and what the heck would he be doing there?"

Ferda was unable to answer. Lolly had a point. Why was Jerry at the hospital? Seeing how confused she was, Lolly said,

"This got me thinking. Where the hell is Zack?"

...

For the past two months, I've been trying to heal my wounds. Two months ago, I lost two people most precious to me, Clovet and Thail.

The wounds were so deep that I doubt they will ever heal.

I visited Clovet's grave regularly. I had this feeling that something was missing and that our journey together wasn't supposed to end this way.

It was still a shock to me how she died. She was well and healthy when she left for home, so what could have killed her?

I just recovered Thail's body from Zhebel's fortress and laid her to rest back in the realms of shadow before returning to the mortal realm.

With Zhebel gone, the fight is over once again, and I am free.

I stood near Clovet's grave, armed with my sword and flowers in hand, as I remembered the good times we had.

"I'll miss you a lot," I said, dropping a flower on her grave, trying to hold back my tears.

After a while, I started to leave when I heard someone call my name in an angry tone.

"Zack!"

I turned back slowly to see who it was, and to my surprise, it was Lila, Thail's elder sister, coming at me with full force, wanting to tear me apart.

"Oh no," I gasped.

.

.

.

Lila, one of the strongest warriors in the shadow realms and a brave fighter, never enters a battle and emerges defeated. She was taken from her parents at a very young age to live among elders and was trained into a killing machine, she is highly skilled with the blade.

Despite being separated from her family at such a young age, she and Thail secretly grew up together. Every night, she would sneak out to be with her sister, and they shared everything until Thail finally enrolled in the academy and they were reunited once more.

My relationship with Thail was no secret to Lila, as the sisters shared everything, and I'm sure it must have been hard for her to hear about her sister's death.

She charged at me with full force as I drew my sword to block her double-edged sword from cleaving me in two.

"Zack! I'll kill you!" she shrieked.

"Nice to meet you too, Lila," I said with a weary smile as we clashed swords.

"You left my sister to die!" she yelled angrily as she sliced through the skin of my arm, and blood rushed out.

"Erm... This isn't a good place for a get-together," I said, already panting from tiredness, but she kept coming at me.

She managed to disarm me and pushed me to the ground, holding her sword above my neck.

"Are you sure you want to kill me?" I asked humorously as she slapped me and stepped back.

I stood up, holding my cheek as I approached her slowly.

"Hey... Lila."

"I swear, if you take one step forward, I'll kill you," she said, and I paused where I stood.

"Seriously, is this how you greet an old friend?"

"Where were you when my sister was held prisoner in Zhebel's fortress?" she asked angrily, and I trembled at her voice. "Now she's dead... After, you'll claim to love her when she suffered for..."

"Look, I'm sorry about that. I accept whatever form of punishment you give," I said, "but I never lied when I said I loved her."

Devoid of emotions, Lila asked,

"Why didn't you go back for her?"

"Honestly, I thought she was dead," I replied, and she laughed out loud.

"Seriously, that's the best excuse you can come up with?"

"I'm sorry, but... Why didn't you go after her?" I asked, curious, and her gaze dropped sadly.

"I tried, but the walls of the fortress were impenetrable," she replied as silence swept through us.

After a while, I broke the silence.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was sent to protect you," she answered, a bit upset by her own words.

"Protect me? From what?" I asked, surprised. "I mean, Zhebel is gone, for good this time."

"Yeah, about that. Turns out Zhebel was just a pawn in a game. The real person who wants your power is none other than the leader of the dark forces. She calls herself Mayhem," Lila explained. "And she is more deadly than Zhebel ever was. Since we're dealing with her, the court sent me to babysit you for the time being. So, you should count yourself lucky because you were about to die by my blade," she said, putting her sword back in its belt.

"Really? You've got to be kidding me," I sighed. I really thought I was free.

"So where to, pretty boy?" she asked.

I was numb, unable to think of where else to go, and I didn't want to return to my apartment that was swarmed with memories.

"I don't know... Yet," I replied, and she smirked.

"You and I both know I'm not going to sleep on the streets," she said, and with that, she departed.

That night, when everyone was asleep, Ferda crawled her way to her dad's room. She found him sitting on a small stool near the window and entered gently, closing the door behind her.

"Dad," she called, grabbing his attention. He turned, his eyes weary from crying.

"Thank God you're not asleep yet." She moved to sit on another stool beside him.

Jerry stared at his daughter with wide eyes and began to gently pat her hair. Then he asked,

"What is it, dear?"

"Well, Mom won't come out of her room, and Lolly has been acting strangely recently. I just needed someone to talk to," she replied, looking out through the window.

"Talk to me. What is it?" Jerry said calmly.

"Well, have you ever heard of someone called Luva?" Ferda asked, and Jerry was left in shock.

"Where did you hear that from?" He asked, unable to settle within.

"Lolly kept saying her name. She said she saw her take Clovet back at the hospital," Ferda explained.

Jerry was stunned. How is that possible? Then he gasped, realizing why Lolly had been so cold when he touched her back then.

"What is happening?" He asked himself, unable to provide a valid explanation for what was going on.

"Dad, are you okay?" Ferda asked, noticing his sudden change of mood.

"Yeah, why?" Jerry said immediately, trying to hide his shock.

Looking suspiciously at her dad, Ferda asked,

"You froze when I said the name Luva. Do you know her?"

"No," he replied quickly. "We are all sad about our loss, so I think it's Lolly's way of processing her grief."

"Well, it is strange anyway." Then she got up, said goodnight to Jerry, and left for her room.

...

"I heard you have an apartment somewhere in the city. Let's go stay there for the night," Lila suggested, but I immediately refused.

"No, I seriously don't want to go back there."

"Well, I seriously don't want to sleep on the street!" She yelled and sighed. "I wonder why they have to put me up to this task. Why not James or Neon?"

"Okay, fine. I know where we could spend the night," I said.

...

*Ding dong...*

The doorbell rang.

"Coming," Rick's voice was heard as he opened the door. He was so surprised to see me that he didn't even realize when he ran to hug me.

"Zack!"

This caught the attention of Steve, Destiny, and Reta, who were at his place having an introduction party for Reta.

"Oh my God, Zack!" Destiny jumped off the couch to meet me, followed by Steve. "You're here? And alive?"

"Yeah, long story," I said, and Lila smirked.

"Friends of yours?" she asked as she made her way inside and collapsed on the couch.

"Um, guys, that's Lila, an old friend," I said, then turned to Rick. "Is it okay if we stay for the night?"

"No problem, buddy. You're always welcome here," Rick said, leading us inside.

I was introduced to Reta, and the rest of the night was fun. Yeah, I remembered my introduction party. That was one heck of a party.

...

Shem, finally out of the desert, went to Eva's old shrine after hearing about the impending action of the dark forces.

He took an old staff used by the elder witches and an old spellbook.

"Mother Mayhem has declared war upon this realm. I won't let her take your son away. I won't let them take him again," he said, as if talking to Eva. "I made a promise to you, old friend, and I will protect Zack even if it costs me my life." And he left the shrine.

...

At the top of a small mountain near the bank of the Black Ocean, Mother Mayhem stood.

It is called the Black Ocean because its water is black in color.

"Cursed be those who dare to stand in my way, for I am bringing great suffering upon mankind until I get what I came for..."