LIGHTNOVELONLINE Epilogue to Arc 1. The Man Who wasn’t Dad
Looking in the room, we saw Maddison’s arms and legs connected to cables. Her body was resonating. But that wasn’t what was really surprising. What was surprising was who was in the room with her. It was my dad. It looked like he was controlling whatever she was connected to.
“Ah, well, this is unfortunate. I wasn’t expecting you to come. This does complicate things,” Dad said as he turned around to look at us. There was a smug grin on his face.
“Dad, what are you doing here? Are you helping the Doc?” I asked, still confused. His grin widened.
“Well, see, the thing is, I’m not your dad. When that storm hit, I came to this backward world searching for the goddess, but I needed a host. It was so easy to read your father’s mind and assume his life,” the man said. If he wasn’t my dad, then why didn’t he just say so.
“If you are not my dad, then, where is he?” I asked. The man’s grin widened more than anyone’s ever should.
“Oh, he’s not here. He is stuck somewhere where he won’t be in trouble for me. You see, his position made it easier to assimilate. However, I could never have foreseen that this man would be the father of my sisters’ vessel!” he said as he walked towards us. I was curious as to what he meant by the vessel of his sister.
“You look confused. Come now, you can’t tell me that my sister didn’t tell you about me? After all, you are wearing her skin,” the man said. Then it hit me. He was talking about the goddess that was living inside me.
“Why are you doing this? What could you possibly need Maddison for, and why did the two of you decide to ruin my life?” I asked as anger started to grow inside me.
“Stupid girl, you think that this was about ruining your life. I did not choose to be reduced to living inside a human, nor did I choose to be on this backward, ignorant planet. You can thank your goddess for that,” he said, no longer smiling. You could practically feel the anger coming from him. So, this was the dark god that she told me about.
“What about the Doc? I thought he had Maddison and Arron? How did you end up with them?” I asked as I didn’t see the Doc anywhere around.
He walked closer until he was standing face to face with me. Maddison screamed as something happened to her, causing the temperature to rise again. “That fool thought that he was saving humanity. It was easy to get him to do my work for me. Just spread a little lie that those who were changed were demons and that I could help him bring them back. All he needed to do was conduct tests to find the conduit. And low and behold, all I had to do was wait for some teenage brat to have her feelings hurt,” he said, pointing to Maddison.
“Conduit? What do you mean by that?” I asked, both angry and confused. He looked dumbfounded at my question. Then he shook his head.
“Do your teachers not teach you anything. A conduit is someone who creates a connection. In this case, your friend here creates a connection between worlds. You see, there are two keys that I need to complete my mission,” the man said matter-of-factly. The anger inside me was built. The pain of losing my mom, the changed that I went through. Everything that has ruined my life was their fault—a sibling rivalry.
Pulling a feather from my wing, I pointed it at the man’s throat. He just looked at me and laughed. Who laughs when you have a sharp object pointed at them? “My dear, I’m sorry, but at this moment, you don’t have the power to defeat me,” he said as he brushed my blade away. I quickly pointed it back at him.
“You do not know what I can do,” I said, the anger still building. The man didn’t move. Then, something happened. An aura surrounded him. It was dark and powerful. I could feel it pushing against me, threatening to collapse me.
“You may possess my sisters’ power, but you are not strong enough to take me on. I suggest that you leave now, while you are still able to,” the man said. His aura increased, but I could not leave. I needed to save Maddison. It was the reason I came here. Taylor was pressed against the ground, screaming in pain. She wasn’t strong enough to handle the immense pressure.
As I stood there, the pressure increasing, something hit me. Something that I had already known, but with everything happening, brushed past me. It was the man who sent that monster to Kansas City, the monster who killed my mother. As the thoughts swirled in my head, my wings opened unconsciously. I could feel the energy that Maddison produced being absorbed into me, the same feeling I had the night of the battle. I felt my body begin to change.
In a swift moment, I felt a sharp pain. Looking down, I saw a sword stabbed through my stomach. “Now, look what you made me do. I told you, you are no match for me in your current state. I tried to pull away, but the more I moved, the deeper the blade sunk in. I couldn’t even move my arm. “Be glad that I didn’t kill you. After all, I need you alive. How else am I going to fight my sister?” As he talked, another scream came out of Maddison, then a flash of light momentarily blinded me.
“Ah, it’s open. This is where we part ways. I will be taking the girl with me, as I will need her to come back for you,” the man said as he pulled the blade from me. I fell to the ground, blood beginning to pour out of me. I could feel Taylor there, catching me. I could hear her say something, but it was all muffled. All I could think of was getting revenge, even as I was bleeding out.
Before us, there was a portal. It swirled like a whirlpool. After detaching the now unconscious Maddison from the machine, he looked back and smiled before jumping through the portal. Slowly it started to close. With everything I had in me, I lifted myself up and ran towards the portal, Taylor still holding onto me tightly. With what little strength I had left, I leaped into the portal, and Taylor and I were floating through an endless tunnel. I wondered where the others had gone, but I didn’t see them. Then I saw something in front of us. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. In seconds, we went through the light.
As I landed on the ground, Taylor landed on top of me. The pain of her weight caused me to cry out as my vision started to blur. I could feel my blood still pouring out. I had used up what little energy I had left to try and follow that man. Suddenly, I couldn’t fight it anymore. Slowly, the world began to fade. I could hear Taylor crying, but I could not summon enough strength to touch her. This was it. I was dying. In my final moments, I swore I could see mom. Then everything faded to black.