The Tragedy of Yinx - 20. The Last Straw

Laneer

The pillar of light slowly disappears around Yinx. As soon as it disappears, his legs collapse and he passes out on the ground.

“You idiot. I was fine!” Queen Natzalia swats at her husband next to her.

Both of them have a glowing mark on their stomachs. It is right where they were hit by the Archangel.

I try and push myself up and then I feel pressure on my back.

“Hold still.” A woman’s voice says over me, “You have a shard of stone sticking out of your back.”

Her hands touch something in my back and I growl at the pain.

“Sorry.” She says before pulling the stone out.

I cry out and dig my claws into the sand.

A cold, wet gel-like thing is pressed into the wound and then the pain becomes more bearable.

I turn to look at who this is and I find the Timeseeker standing here.

“We may need your wolf form to carry everyone back to the palace.” She says. Her face is crossed with worry.

I turn to Yinx and push myself up to get to him.

The King and Queen are arguing about the King’s actions. There is something very off about them. There is the glowing marks on their stomachs, but there is something else. Their skin looks paler and their eyes sunken in more.

Is it because of the mark?

Yinx is out cold. The paint on his arms and face are gone. I guess the magic was used up.

I shiver at the power that seems to radiate off of him. It looked terrifying.

That was Morgoren. He gave Yinx power to defeat the Archangel. I have a bad feeling about this. Surely Morgoren wouldn’t just give power that freely without a price.

What has Yinx done?

I reach down and gently brush my finger through his bangs. Mentally I frown.

He feels...different. When I touch his skin, he feels warmer than usual. I also feel a tingling sensation. I have never felt that before.

Did Morgoren do this?

“We need the wolf form, Prince Laneer.” The Timeseeker says. A few guards are waiting on me with the King and Queen being held up with their shoulders.

Right, I have to give everyone a ride who is not able to walk.

I quickly shift into my wolf form and the soldiers help put Yinx and his parents onto my back.

When everyone is ready, we all walk back to the palace.

~~~
~~~

Morgoren

Well...shit. I did not realize the Archangel from Avelin would come all the way here. Why would he travel so far anyway?

Ah, maybe it was because there are so many people living here. It must have pulled the Archangel’s attention.

I would not doubt that as soon as he saw the hundreds of homes, he gathered some Angels and then tried to have a feast.

Unfortunately for them, these are people who are already sided with the Demons.

The city would have fallen in maybe...three days, but they chose the wrong time to attack. They should have done so sooner.

Stupid Angels.

When I manage to convince the Sun God that Yinx should become an Angel, then they will have a true leader who is not stupid.

Speaking of Yinx, seeing his display of power was a lot more than I expected.

I already knew he was a powerful mage, but using demonic magic? That was unexpected.

He created a trap that used the runes of the Demons. How he learned such a thing is beyond me. I know I never taught him that. I have never taught him anything.

I am happy he killed the Archangel. That takes away a problem I no longer have to deal with.

Well, I had to help a little bit, but I only really shared a small drop of magic. However, that one drop was enough for Yinx to kill the Archangel on his own. Seeing all that power...Yinx would be unstoppable when he joins me. I could really use that power to my advantage.

Maybe Yinx will see the benefits of joining me. He got a taste of the power he will gain when he joins me.

Actually, maybe this might be the perfect moment to try and convince him that joining me is not so bad.

Sure, we made the deal that he would be joining me in a week from now, but I can tell that he is still unsure. Of course, I will most likely have to force him to join me, but it doesn’t help trying to coax him into joining me willingly.

Yinx is different. I would like to make sure he is comfortable with me.

Hmm, how to do this. It appears he has passed out? Well, the power of a god is too much for a mere human, so I am not entirely surprised.

Perhaps I can do this on a more interesting playing field.

I summon Yinx’s spirit into my realm and create a small room for us to stay in. Can’t have him seeing all the wonders of my home now can I?

Ah yes. This could be fun!

Yinx appears before me.

“Greetings, my prize.” I smirk, “did you enjoy my power?”

Yinx is silent and does not answer. He does not even bother trying to look around. Does he not care that he is somewhere other than Thymestrys?

Well, I guess he is not physically in my home, but it is close enough.

I am pretty sure he can see right now as well. Yet, he does not seem to care.

“Just think,” I say while circling slowly around him, “if you were to join me, you would have so much more! I can just feel the power within you.”

“The Archangel said he sent you.” Yinx says bitterly.

Dammit! It always has to be the hard way doesn’t it?

I just shrug, “I do not know what he is talking about.”

“I believe you do know,” He glares, “Tell me why you sent him to my home.”

I sigh. “I swear I did not send him to your home on purpose. The Archangel was from Avelin. He was looking into your window and in a way to save your life, I convinced him to move elsewhere. I guess elsewhere happened to be the Serendian Desert.”

Yinx’s eyes practically burn with rage but he tries to keep his voice down. “His sword pierced my parents.”

Oh, right. I may have forgotten that small, itty-bitty detail.

“That is most unfortunate.” I say. What else am I supposed to say?

“You did this.” Yinx frowns, “You are responsible for letting my parents become marked by the Angels. Now they will die and it is all your fault.”

“How is this my fault?” I laugh, “I am not the one who chose to fight it. They did.”

He shakes his head, “No, you are the one who sent it in the first place when you are a God! You could have killed it yourself, yet you chose to send it off to my home.”

I roll my eyes, “That is a bit of a dumb argument is it not? Why do you even care anyway?”

Yinx gives me a baffled look. “Why wouldn’t I? These are my parents!”

I lean down towards his face to find some kind of lie, “You say this as if your Mother had not beaten the living shit out of you. As if your Father would just sit back and hide because he was to afraid of dealing with his problems. Tell me why you care, Yinx. I would consider this a blessing. Both would die in two days and you would be free of those disgusting memories when you join me.”

Yinx just frowns and his shakes his head. “I-I...I just do.” He pulls on a glare again, “I can do as I damn well please. You, however, should own up to the fact that you have caused all this trouble to not only my family, but also to all the innocents in this city. You bring nothing but hate and destruction.”

I raise an eyebrow at that, “Is that what you think of me? That I only bring hate and destruction?”

Yinx pauses before giving a firm nod, “Yes. Being alone all those years has made me realize just how much your name has ruined everything around me. It broke my family. You turned my Mother against me and my brother. It drove us to the point that it made him take his own life.

I used to think ‘maybe this has nothing to do with the gods. Maybe this is just my Mother being hateful and wrong.’

No, it is not that entirely her fault at all. It is very much because of a damned God, and it is not just you, however. It is all of you. All the Gods are to blame for so many wrongs in the world. We all so blindly follow you for no reason. Today has only made me realize just how much damage you all bring.

Because of you, an Archangel was brought here along with hundreds of Angels. Because of you, so many have been marked and will die. Because of you, both of my parents will die.

Just like my brother, they will die because of you. A God.”

I just stare down at Yinx. Anger boils under my skin. How dare that this small human talk to me in such a manner.

Yinx is beneath me. Nothing but a small ant on this world. The fact he feels as though he can get away with such treachery is inexcusable.

Not going to lie, I am tempted to take his sight just as the God of Darkness did, show him that he truly needs me, but the only thing I can take away is the mark. All that does is allow his thoughts to be read. His hair would turn back to black and then anyone would be able to try and take him.

“You had better watch what you are saying Yinx,” I grit out, “I would hate for more troubles to be sent your way.”

Yinx just smiles, “Go ahead. Fuck up my life some more. What else could you do?”

I raise an eyebrow, “Your little werewolf would make a nice slave for me.” Instantly his smiles disappears. “Yeah, you had better watch how you are speaking to me. You seem to have forgotten you are speaking to a God.”

“I have not forgotten.” He says, “I just have no respect or care for the Gods.”

“Oh really? Then why were you making offerings before we met? You were making quite a lot if I recall.”

Yinx just shrugs, “I noticed my wounds would heal. I took advantage of the situation. Nothing more.”

I frown, “taking advantage of Gods. Not many people would do such a thing.”

Yinx rolls his eyes. “Most people are stupid.”

“Some would say it is stupid to take advantage of us.”

He just smirks, “Maybe the Gods are stupid for thinking they matter. Sure you all have gifts and can live forever, but I heard that it is possible to kill a God. Surely that means they aren’t actually all powerful beings.”

I narrow my eyes, “Who told you that?”

He just chuckles and begins to circle around me, “Oh you did! Just now. The God of Darkness may have hinted at it before, but you made it more concrete.”

Dammit.

“You are planning something.” I say slowly. “What is going on in that head of yours Yinx?”

He stops in front of me, “Why don’t you take off this mark and find out?”

“Oh, I see.” I grin, “You are trying to get rid of my mark. I am afraid your words can only get you so far, Yinx.”

Yinx reaches his hand out and places his hand on my chest. I freeze and tremble at the vibrating energy that radiates from his skin.

What...what is this?

“I have chosen the God of Darkness.” He says out of nowhere. “I already promised to become his Champion.”

I shake my head and glare at him, “You did what? We made a deal!”

He just shrugs and turns his back to me, “I am afraid I already made a deal with another God.”

“Get out of my home!” I snarl.

Yinx turns to me with a smirk, “I think you will have to do that yourself. If you forgot, I am just a mere human.”

With a wave of my hand, Yinx disappears and I am alone.

The damn fool. He will regret playing with me in such a way. He used me. Used me!

If Yinx thinks that his actions won’t have consequences then he has another thing coming.

Now, just how dramatic am I willing to take this?

~~~
~~~

Laneer

After making it to the palace, I brought Yinx to his room.

When he finally wakes up, he looks up at me in the bed. He leans up and kisses me before sighing and resting his head on my chest.

“I just spoke with Morgoren,” He says.

I freeze. “W-what did he say?”

“Oh, nothing. It was actually not that bad. We only spoke about my decision to join him.”

“Didn’t you say that you were not going to join him?”

Yinx nods, “That is correct. I will never be joining him.”

I furrow my brow, “Does that mean you are joining the God of Darkness?”

Yinx slowly shakes his head, “No, not even him. I will not be joining either of them.”

“How are you going to manage that?”

He sighs and shrugs. “I just hope and pray that everything will work in my favor.”

The more we talk about the gods and their intentions, the more nervous it makes me.

“How long have I been asleep?” he asks.

“Only about an hour, your parents are in their room with the Timeseeker.” I say, “They were waiting for you to wake up.”

Yinx sighs and rubs his eyes. “I feel like we can never get a break here.”

I frown and hug him close. “Maybe we should run away together.”

He shakes his head. “No, everywhere I go, stuff just always happens. Maybe...maybe we should end this no-”

I cover his mouth with mine. I will not have him saying such things.

When we pull apart, I stare down at him. “Are you happy with me?”

Yinx looks down at my chest but does not answer.

“Are you happy with me, Yinx?” I ask again. He nods and pushes his face into my neck. “Then stop saying stuff like that. No matter what happens, even if we were to separate in death, my heart would always belong to you.”

Yinx’s bottom lip begins to tremble and his eyes begin to water.

“Please shut up.” He whispers. “I do not like thinking about things like that.”

I lean down to peck his lips and hold him close. “Then don’t mention us ending what is between us.”

We rest there for a few minutes. I almost drift off into sleep but people are sadly waiting for us.

Quicky, we run up some spiraling stairs until we reach the King and Queen’s room.

The doors are open and being guarded. They let us through and we find the King and Queen with wet rags on their foreheads and they look even worse than before.

The Timeseeker stands when she sees us, “Their temperatures have risen and they are far too weak to leave the bed. They can barely even open their eyes right now.”

Yinx stares at his Mother and it almost looks as if he cares.

“The mark of the Angel is killing them.” The Timeseeker says quietly.

“I heard that.” The Queen rasps. She looks up at us and motions us to come closer.

I place a hand on Yinx’s back and slowly walk us over. He does not push back against my hand so I guess it is fine to be closer to her right now.

“I guess this is what I deserve.” She sighs. She looks so old and worn. Not at all like the strong woman I met. “I’m sorry, Yinx. Honestly, I am so sorry for everything I have done. You...you should fight back against Morgoren. Live for yourself and grow into your own life. Just know, if you are going to fight back, make sure you do it in style. He is not a caring God.”

Yinx does not say anything. He just stays silent and leans against me.

Queen Natzalia looks up at me. “You had better take care of him. Give him everything he needs. He deserves to be treated right.”

I just nod and wrap my arm around Yinx’s shoulders.

“Um...excuse me.” The Timeseeker pops up next to us. “I believe there is a way to fix this.”

The Queen leans back in her pillow and rolls her eyes. “Really? You tell me this now? I can’t have everything thinking I’ve gone soft.”

“Sorry! I just wanted them to be here so they would hear it at well.”

“Well what is it?” The Queen scoffs.

The King opens one eye and glances at us before closing it again. His mark is a bit brighter so I don’t doubt that he is the weakest between the two.

“Well, I received another vision.” The Timeseeker starts, “it showed me the Drulai forest and a purple tree. The roots were glowing so I think we need the roots.”

Yinx raises an eyebrow. “That seems oddly specific. You didn’t even know if there was going to be more than one Angel before.

Yeah that is a bit strange. She said the visions are usually blurry and short.

“I thought so as well,” The Timeseeker says to Yinx, “but I really feel like the goddess sent me the vision this time!”

“The Goddess? Drulai?” Yinx crosses his arms, “how do you know she sent that?”

The Timeseeker bites her lip and glances at the Queen, “I-I just feel it.”

Yinx sighs and rubs on his temples.

The Queen blinks slowly before nodding. “Well. Call a group of soldiers to go to the forest. Surely it would not be so hard to find a purple tree.”

“No, I’ll go.” Yinx says, “I have been there before. I know exactly where it is. The soldiers will just get lost or take forever finding the stupid tree.”

The Queen sighs. “You do not need to do this. Just leave, Yinx. I can tell you do not want to be here. Go on and live your life.”

He shakes his head. “It’s fine. I want to help.”

She looks surprised by that. Not going to lie, I am a bit surprised too.

“Th-Thank you.” She says slowly.

Yinx nods and turns to me, “let’s go. We are going to need some shovels.”