A Tale of Forgotten Gods

Chapter 48: The ’Mimick’.

The whisper of the realm echoed in Mo Fei’s ears. Ahead, the throne waited. He stopped in his tracks, considering his choice. The Serpent waited, patiently, calmly and unblinking.

Before taking another step, Mo Fei asked, ”How is this supposed to keep me sane?”

The Serpent hissed twice. Its voice lowered but held no menace, just something old, weariness? Perhaps. ”Great master, the souls eat what festers in you. Corruption, madness. That’s their hunger.”

Eating my corruption? Mo Fei pondered, and then he finally took steps forward, murmuring to himself. The Serpent continued again. ”And so they live. And so you remain... You.”

A bitter sound escaped his lips, not quite a laugh, not quite a sigh either. ”I don’t understand half of it.” He took another step forward slowly. The wind shifted to silence. It became dull and quiet. The voices stopped. The whisper stilled. The light lowered. And at last, the Serpent unwrapped itself from the throne.

”But if it keeps me from going mad long enough to see another sunrise.” He exhaled bitterly. ”Then I’ve paid worse prices for less.”

Mo Fei touched his chest, the cloth wrapped around his empty socket. The wound he couldn’t see... Couldn’t see, was the wound, after all. ”So they eat my insanity and stay alive?” The Serpent nodded.

”A fair bargain then.” Mo Fei said, but the taste of the words was wrong. He wasn’t even sure he believed them.

Then the throne came into his view. Up close, the throne was worse. It was just a stone, but as if it had forgotten that fact. The Lightless Throne. The seat where the creator had sat before, the same place where a God had been forgotten... Just like the stone had forgotten its texture.

Mo Fei stopped near the throne and asked. ”The ’Architect.’ What was his identity?”

”He had no identity.” The Serpent’s golden eyes dimmed slightly. ”The creator is a name given by those who found his ruins.” After it finished speaking, it waited for his steps.

Mo Fei’s hand hovered near the armrest, and then he finally focused on the crown. Crystals shaped into one, reflecting the light. It was beautifully terrible. Light flickered, yet... The shadow forged it, plastered it from inside. Waited silently, but relentlessly.

His hand traced the crystal thorns. The crown was cold, colder like ice, colder like death, and colder like the moon. As Mo Fei lifted the almost weightless crown with one hand. He raised it toward his face; nothing seemed to stop the faint glow. The wind stopped its breath. The Serpent watched quietly as Mo Fei raised the crown with one hand.

Then, his gaze landed on the cushion, resting over the seat. He put his other hand there. The wool was soft and warm. Afterward, he examined the whole throne. He quietly sat down there.

Nothing changed in the realm. The spirits were silent, admiring their new God... Or perhaps–

Nonetheless. He sat quietly, moving the crown toward his head. The sharp thorns traced his fingers as he put it on his head. Slowly, pushing it down.

He closed his eyes and waited, but for what? He himself didn’t know. There was nothing to wait for except for the descent, yet he waited for something. As expected, that something didn’t come.

Tap... Tap. Tap... Tap

A beading of deep red hit the surface. His eyes opened as he felt hot liquid dripping from his head.

Mo Fei gasped, bringing a trembling hand to his forehead as the crown, now heavy with blood slipped, slick with blood. The sticky substance ran through his eyes and cheeks, as if the crown were crying blood. His face felt the drops; they slowly descended on the throne. His hand held the crown; it slipped slightly. For a moment, his hand tried to remove it. Then he stopped.

The blood came from the darkness of the crown, a cry. The blood stuck to his hair, flowing down slowly. More than two minutes had passed already.

The ribbon on his wrist started to heat up. His gaze found the Serpent, standing beside him. It slowly moved toward the throne, curling its body on Mo Fei. The Serpent’s scales didn’t touch him. Mo Fei’s breath hitched as he observed.

Then he asked. ”How can I return now? Furthermore, how can I come ba—”

His eyes snapped open, and he gasped. He couldn’t finish the words; his gaze swept over the room. Everyone else was sleeping, except for Jian Yue, who wasn’t there. Must have been guarding.

”Was that a dream?” He looked around.

Lin was sleeping peacefully, her eyes closed. Her brows furrowed, and three stress lines formed on her forehead. Zhuo was a few meters away from her, sleeping near the kids. No one was awake at that moment. Then his focus shifted to his ribbon, the letters changing their shape.

Then. The word, where no name had appeared before, now began to form an ancient word.

”The Mimick.”

Aside from that name, the number ’10’ glowed. The same as the world numbers once had. Though, there were no numbers such as worlds anymore, they were embedded beneath of it noe. The descent had taken over that. His gaze lay on his shoulder, examining the wounds. Surprisingly, the skin began to heal. That wasn’t the only thing; his clothes also mended themselves. The silk rewove the fabric, making it the same as before.

”That wasn’t a dream, huh?” He scoffed, and then his head ached. ”Agh, I wasn’t sleeping all this time?” He clenched his temple before standing up and walking toward the door. His hand closed around the edge of the door as he opened it quietly, trying not to make a sound.

Outside, the whole place was silent. Of course, a peaceful one. The sound of crickets and various insects provoked the silence. He quietly walked toward the entrance, trying to find Jian Yue.

As he walked, he finally saw Jian Yue standing near the large gateway of the temple.

Jian Yue’s eyes were watching the city outside the temple. The night was dazed, then his ears flickered as he noticed Mo Fei’s steps. He looked over his shoulder, finding Mo Fei standing behind him.

Jian Yue didn’t ask anything for a few moments, and then he opened his mouth and spoke. ”Where were you?” His voice... shaking. Something had happened, but Mo Fei didn’t realize it.

”Just went for a walk.” Mo Fei answered, but he didn’t tell the truth. He didn’t know what was going on yet.

Jian Yue simply nodded, his eyes fixated on the stars above, which were adoring the moon. Then he let out a long sigh that felt almost eternal. Slowly his hand reached for his pocket, and he pulled out a paper silently. His hand curled the paper into a letter before throwing it toward Mo Fei.

”What’s this?” Mo Fei caught the letter, slowly unwrapping it to open it.

”Do not open it yet... Mo Fei.” Jian Yue said, slowly standing up. His eyes were calm. More than usual. Mo Fei couldn’t understand, but he respected his words and folded the letter again.

Mo Fei quietly put the letter in the pocket. There was an unusual silence between them. Not a comforting one, something... He couldn’t name. ”Did something happen?”

Upon hearing the question, Jian Yue shook his head and walked back toward the temple. Mo Fei followed him with questions. Then Jian Yue asked, ”Has your first descent been completed?”

Mo Fei nodded, but none of them stopped walking.

”We have only one day to rest,” Jian Yue began. ”Why are you awake? First, rest well.”

Mo Fei stretched his arms, yawning. ”I was going to sleep, but you need that more.” He paused in his steps for a heartbeat and walked again.

”I will get a good rest... Very soon. Don’t worry about me.”

Mo Fei’s eyes flickered when Jian Yue said that. He finally realized something was profoundly wrong, but he didn’t question it. Jian Yue tilted his head up, turning toward him slightly.

”Mo Fei, you shouldn’t join the fight.”

Mo Fei’s breath stopped. In a daze, he looked at Jian Yue. ”What? Do you think I’m a coward? I already gave my answer.”

Jian Yue narrowed his eyes, turning to walk again. ”You are still a kid, Mo Fei. I hope you and Zhuo stay away from this mess and live longer.” He heaved a sigh.

”What about Lin? She is not any older to fight either!” Mo Fei countered. His words were dense and filled with a slight annoyance.

”She’d not listen. Lin is capable enough to escape... you aren’t. Zhuo may too, but can you? What do you have to escape?” Jian Yue’s voice flickered with something that was unexplainable, his words hiding the care behind it.

Mo Fei remained silent. ”No one. That’s what you want to hear, right? But I’d not run away.”

Jian Yue said nothing. Soon they entered the room. Mo Fei quietly lay down, trying to understand everything.

The first descent had been completed. Yet, this was just the beginning of what was coming in the future.

The ’Mimick.’ Did that mean I could copy? Or was it like the mimic I had fought?

Mo Fei thought. His eyes closed in a deep slumber, his face holding a hint of tiredness tainted with worry.

That was the beginning; he didn’t know where the story would lead him. Who were the Gods? Who was the ’Lightless’? The questions only tangled him more. Something terrible before the calm, but not to talk about the descent.

Who created it?

Dreams... He had true dreams this time. Normal dreams. Joyful dreams. Happy dreams.

He saw himself in the university. With his friends, meeting the professors, and submitting the assignments. One last time, one more time.

–To be continued–