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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/AngelmZeal1 on 2023-08-10 12:24:10.
What did I do? Did I really free my village or did I instead release a villain? Did I create a new threat? If that new threat was Askhartès, then I had just condemned all of us to a greater doom.
The monster leaned forward and toward us as we stepped backwards in fear.
“This fool always spoke endlessly.” Askhartès said before absorbing something out of Redeye’s remains.
“What— what you doing?” I asked trembling.
“Don’t you have something to do?” He retorted, and I looked at the Root Altar location next to Redeye’s fallen throne. There was still something standing there despite the roots that the monster had absorbed. Black vapors emanated from all the remains of Redeye then merged to form the dark soul of my great-great grandfather. “My work ends here.” The monster spoke.
“You said— you said you would help.” I protested.
“Don’t be dreaming kid, those things never help anyone. At least not for free.” Razor corrected.
“I said that I shall do the rest, which is taking back everything that is mine. Your human woes are no concern to me. I have to go back to the realm of my kind.” Askhartès spoke, then his tentacles wrapped the soul of Redeye before he flew away, moving in the air just like an octopus swims in the ocean and disappeared through the ceiling, taking Redeye’s soul with him.
I looked at the core structure of the Root Altar still standing. I did not know exactly what time it was, I did not know what to do, I only knew that I had to take it down, therefore, I ran towards it and even touched it with both hands. The moment I made contact with the altar, I found myself in a new place, a dark place where the only source of red light came from the platform I was standing on.
Calling a ‘platform’ is just my way of trying to make it as clear as possible, in fact, I stood on a wide sized version of the Redeye’s cult symbol resembling a compass. It glowed in red while everything around was totally obscure. The symbol made a lot more sense due to the fact that there were smaller versions of the altars I spent the whole day taking down, positioned according to their respective locations in the real world: North, South, East and West.
Each of the altars had a curved column bent to support a statue of Redeye standing in the middle of the symbol. The statue itself stood on what resembled a cage. I walked around the center not knowing what to do, and approached the cage to see what looked like a small version of the village with little lights like fireflies, all trapped inside.
“Help! Help!” I heard from disembodied voices and for some reasons thought about Redeye pointing out that the Spiritual influences the Natural, or in other words, what happens in the spirit realm, defines what happens in real life.
When I tried to touch the cage, I found out that it was protected by an invisible magnetic force, therefore, I thought about reproducing what I did in the real world: South, North, East and West, the exact order in which I took down the altars. I touched the South Altar but nothing happened, so in frustration, I kicked it and it crumbled, along with its curved column. I did the same for all the other altars until the statue was deprived of support, allowing me to just push it and let it shatter on the symbol, gruesomely reminiscing of what I witnessed earlier. I then touched the cage, and it just sort of melted, allowing the village, and all the lights to be set free. They shone with a bright white, blinding me to the point of hurting my eyes and I just sat there, waiting until I could open my eyes again.
The first thing I remember doing is hearing the music from an old radio placed at a window of the house behind me. The second thing was the feeling of the cool breeze of the outside, thus leading me to the third one, opening my eyes to see. I remember the stars and the moon, resplendent like on the wallpapers we see on the web. I remember the lights of the village, the lights from the buildings, more beautiful than ever as the electricity had returned. Everyone around me was unconscious and I checked the time to read 11:47 pm. It was not midnight yet, it was not the 10th of June yet, but the blackout was over.
Unfortunately, the sweet realization of the victory soon faded away as screams of terror and distress ushered in a massive period of grieving. The 84th and last blackout was by far the deadliest with a record of 349 deaths.
“Carla? Carla? Vivian?” I heard from a familiar voice. It was my mother.
“Mommy?” Carla answered, not far away, making me jump on my feet and run to her.
“Don’t go to her!” I said, retaining my sister to protect her. She hugged me, happy to see her brother.
“You?” My mother said.
“Don’t come close to us!” I warned.
“You’re not— you’re not dead? You— so he failed?” She wondered, and could see in my eyes that I knew.
“Terrence, it’s mommy!” Carla said.
“Don’t go to mommy Carla, she’s evil!” I said.
“No look, it’s mommy? What you doing? Where’s daddy? And Vivian?” She asked, shattering my heart for the umpteenth time that day.
Penelope then made the first strides toward her escape after realizing that her cover was blown, ignoring the desperate cries of her youngest child as I retained my sister. It was not the moment to go after them just yet. The same night, my sister and I settled in Adelaide’s house because I needed to watch after her and the evidence, and because well, our house was destroyed. Right from the following day, when authorities were again able to operate, I explained and showed them everything that I could.
Of course, there are many things that unfolded from there so let me just fill you in with a few I think you might find interesting. After my revelations, the village population was split between those who believed me and some others still sceptical. My mother was the only surviving cult member devoted to Redeye. All the valid men volunteered for her capture, and they found her at the outskirts of the forest, trying to perform a ritual. After the diary that I had lost was found by one of the villagers, further evidence emerged against my mother, and she was thrown in a heavily guarded cell immediately after her trial. To avoid anyone to be manipulated by her cunning nature, I am the only one allowed to visit her alone without escort. For everything that I had accomplished as the Outlander, Carla and I were given a new house despite the fact that all the calamity arose from our family. I was awarded with an honorable rank in the village that I preferred to decline because of the shame Redeye and my mother brought to our lineage. A few weeks after the last blackout, we started receiving many visitors on the land, stating that our village was not visible on any existing map. That brought quite a lot of development in the community, however, we chose to remain hidden, discreet and in full control of our small part of the world.
In 2021, after the village, Carla and myself reached a little bit of stability, I went on an important trip to fulfill my promise to Edlynn. Thanks to the diary, and what I helped her with in writing, I could trace her parents’ address all the way to the United States. The moment I stepped into their house, after pretending to be some sort of medium, I could see pictures of her with a heart warming smile and her preference for the green color. However, what mattered for me the most are the tears of joy they shared when they recognized that the note I gave to them truly came from their daughter, as it contained information only her and her family knew. People that are separated because of death indeed still have many things they wish they could say or share. Upon leaving the house, on my way to my requested ride, I saw a Great Green Macaw land on their mailbox, a few meters away from me, before flying high in the sky, making me smile and wave Edlynn goodbye one last time.
My whole life was turning into a valuable lesson, even a whole course. From the blackout to its end, I had to grow up fast and eventually became my sister’s guardian and only ‘sane’ family. How the little things can have such impact on the world. Some parents fail to recognize the value of their own child, then that child sinks into a deadly megalomania and delusion, in turn failing to recognize the value of every single life around him. Many lives destroyed, many lives wasted because of the pain. I am grateful for still standing, trying my best to escape a destiny that was almost forced upon me, instead of just letting me find my path. I always wonder what would my life be if my great-great grandfather did not do what he did. At least, I did find a path despite the storm. I do not believe to be the Outlander, no. I refuse to let Redeye, his cult or even Askhartès define who and what I am. Before the resolution of the blackout and after its definitive stop, I stand in between. Yes, I am the bridge between the old world and the new world, between the time of war and the time of peace. At least, that was what I thought.
As soon as I returned to the village a few days later after my trip, I was hit with a really worrisome news. Someone in the village had stolen all Adelaide’s witchcraft books.
The same night of my return, I dreamed abou…
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