Chapter Forty-Six: In The Aftermath


    Another one gone. That was all Yue could think about. Zade was talking about leaving but Yue didn’t have the soul to do it yet.


    First, Diamond. Then, Jos. Then, Rosalia. Then, Astil. Now Poli.


    And Xander, of course.


    Five people she knew, killed by the cult. So much death, and for what? What was the purpose in so much death?


    She held Artemis as he wept on her shoulder next to the puddle that was once Poli. She was unrecognizable, a blob of what was once a friend, a girlfriend, a daughter.


    “Yue,” Zade said, bringing her out of her stupor.


    “What?” She asked, irritated.


    “We really need to go. I can already hear something outside. We can’t just stay here. I understand how much you want to mourn Poli, but now is not the time.”


    Yue nodded. “You’re right. Is everyone okay?” She stood up, her leg complaining, but she ignored the pain. For now, she was alive, and that couldn’t be said for all of them.


    “Well, both you and Artemis are hurt,” Aster sniffled. “Sia is still unconscious, and Poli…”


    “Poli’s gone,” Neena whimpered.


    “We should wake up Sia,” Skai suggested, looking slightly awkward with the group. She and Poli had probably never even had a conversation together, and so she wasn’t feeling the sadness like everyone else was. Only the horror and shock.


    “Good idea,” Zade said, running a finger over Sia’s hair. “Sia! Wake up.” He gently prodded her face, and she came awake, eyes wide.


    “Where am I?” Sia looked around, but, seeing Zade, she relaxed and smiled.


    “How did you find us?” Yue asked.


    “I needed to fight,” Sia explained. “I felt that I was useless if I didn’t do something, so I left the hospital wing. On my way out, I heard someone screaming, and somehow, I knew it was you. I wasn’t sure what I could do, but I came here, and…”


    “Awakened,” Th’ul finished, eyes dry but still vastly sad. “Well, you always wanted to be a mage.”


    Sia chuckled. “Yeah.”


    “Well, we need to get going,” Yue told them. “If Zade is right, and I think he is, then the battle isn’t over.”


    “Wait!” Xavier stopped them. “I want to know what we’re fighting for. Zade, who is Eva? Why is she fighting Dautha? Why are we fighting?”


    — — —


    I grimace at Xavier. “I’m still figuring it out, to be honest. But let me explain what I know. When I, you know, almost died, I ended up in this weird limbo space. It was black. Very black, like I''ve never seen anything so black. It felt like I was looking at nothing. It was a strange sensation, this blackness. It was a void—”


    “I think we understand,” Yue broke in.


    “Anyway,” I glare at her. “In the middle of this void, this blackness, a woman appeared. She was naked, which was weird, but I didn’t even notice until I woke up. Strange, right?” Seeing the impatient glances of my friends, I keep going hurriedly. “She told me she had two names: Eva and Leah. She says we might know her by the name Leah, but I didn’t.”


    “I don’t recognize the name, either.” Yue tells me. “So, who is she?”


    “I’m getting there. She explained that she’s been helping me for a long time. I was confused, so she told me her story, and this is the important part.


    “She is the Goddess of Life. She’s like the Anti-Dautha, if that makes sense. Her and Duatha are Gods, and they found us. Apparently, as the story goes, Dautha wanted all the power in this world, and so he and Eva had a fight. In the end, they agreed to never touch the world unless someone directly called on them.”


    “And this is where the cheating comes in?” Th’ul guessed.


    “Exactly. According to Eva, Dautha left writings, something he wasn’t allowed to do, and through his books, the Cult began and called on him. Eva figured out about this betrayal and decided to step in. First in the shadows, helping those she deemed her champions. She’s been doing a lot in my life that I didn’t know about.” I omit any mention of Angela. “I am one of her champions, destined to fight Dautha on this continent.”


    “I have a million questions.” Alyx said impatiently. “Why you, no offense? Are any of us champions? And what do you mean, different continents?”


    “Eva chose me because I was the best mage-in-training for her job, and no, none of you are champions, at least, as far as I know. As far the continents, this world is bigger than we thought. Much bigger. Eva showed me, and I still can’t grasp it.”


    My friends don’t seem to believe it. But they choose not to press the issue.


    “So, what does this mean?” Yue asks.


    “Well, nothing for  you, but I need to fight Dautha all the days of my life, using my power to hinder the Cult. That’s why I’m more powerful now. All because of Eva.”


    “I need time to process this,” Yue said.


    “You should do that on the trip to the market.”


    “Good idea.”


    — — —


    The trip to the market was silent, and not an awkward silence. Before they’d left, they’d collected their weapons—the shield had disappeared when the mages died. Now, Yue and her friends were just trying to understand and accept. Understanding Zade’s story was hard enough. Accepting Poli’s death was even worse.


    Yue had four important thoughts warring in her mind. The one winning right now was about Zade’s story.


    It was hard to believe there was a Goddess of Life. She’d already had trouble believing tha Dautha existed, much less Eva, or Leah, or whatever her name was. Not to mention that the story itself was absurd, and if it was real, why hadn’t she heard it before?


    Zade was a champion of Eva now, then. Yue didn’t pretend to know what that meant, but she trusted Zade enough to make the right decision in that situation. If he chose to be Eva’s champion, he had a reason for doing so.


    But this about more continents and a bigger world was just absurd. Yue had seen what Zade could do with his new powers, and so she found it in her to believe his story. But she didn’t believe the world was bigger than the continent they lived in. It was impossible. How could the world hold that much weight? It was laughable: Everything would sink or fall down.


    Even Gods could be wrong, she guessed.


    As she thought about this, the second thought warring in her mind pushed itself to the forefront.


    Poli’s death.


    As close as Poli and Yue were—not that close—it still hurt a lot to have her die. She was a constant presence in Yue’s life, always there even if she didn’t say anything. She’d wanted to leave the Vanguard, find a safe life, but she hadn’t done that, and look how that had turned out. If she had just left with Artemis, if only Yue hadn’t told them not to, then they would be fine.


    Was she guilty? Of course not. But she was used to the feelings of guilt. If something bad happened, someone always felt wrongfully guilty.


    That was just the way of the world.


    Looking at Artemis, she wondered what he was feeling. He was still sobbing, and he looked lost, like a baby looking for his mother. Yue always thought he’d been a little too stuck on Poli, and still did, but it was heartbreaking to see Artemis like this. If she wasn’t careful, she could find him one day dead, hung by himself. She would need to check on him, but not now. He looked miserable now.


    And Xander, thoughts of him were always in the back of her mind. She wondered how he was doing every second of every minute of every hour since he’d been gone. She wasn’t obsessed, just a worried girlfriend. The Cult was possessing his mind, of course she had every right to be worried about him. The Cult wanted him to kill her, and they said they’d kill him if he didn’t.


    Which meant he could be dead because  he ran away.


    No. Until she saw his dead body, she wouldn’t believe it.


    She couldn’t believe it.


    There was still hope in the world, and she didn’t believe the last would go away.


    The fourth thought finally took root in her. The murderers. She didn’t know why she was thinking about them now, but she thought it was because of Poli.


    She still needed to find them. That was a must. She would do everything in her power to find them at this point. She would interrogate everyone, torture everyone until someone admitted to it. Someone in the Vanguard had done it, and she needed to know who.


    A little idea came into her mind but she couldn’t focus on it. Maybe the killer was…the idea slipped from her mind. She was too tired to think normally, but she needed to try. She was sure the clues were there, she just needed  to rationalize.


    Easier said than done. The murderers were crafty, that much was obvious. There was more than one of them anyway, which made them all the more harder to find.


    Unless there was only one. That should be impossible, but could they have missed someone in their rush to eliminate people. She had talked to everyone they’d crossed off the list, but maybe someone had lied, and the eyewitnesses were just trying to protect them. It didn’t do to sow distrust in the Vanguard, but someone there was a murderer. That much was true.


    But if it was one person, who would it be? It could be anyone in the two hundred. Two hundred were just too many suspects.


    Poli hadn’t been the murderer. She’d refused to swear to Dautha, and Yue was still sure that whoever the murderer was secretly vowed to Dautha. Could it be Eva or Joanne? Well, Eva it wasn’t. Yue had seen how much Eva had loved Cali. That only left Joanne, but once again, Joanne just didn’t seem like the murderer.


    She’d already accused her and look how that had turned out.


    It just seemed like they never got any closer to solving it.


    They were finally arriving at the market, and they quickly realized how much everything was in disarray. All the books Yue had read loved to talk about the glory of battles. They refused to talk about the horror of it.


    They also refused to talk of the aftermath.


    The mages—especially the High one, no drugs involved, Yue thought—were using their magic to help people and fiz buildings, but the destruction and death was still everywhere. It was hard to watch, but Yue needed to help as much as she could.


    — — —


    What is happening, Eva? I wonder, reaching out to the Goddess, trying to find her consciousness. She finds my mind and responds.


    I don’t know if I can communicate with you this often, Zade. I cannot tell you what is coming because I myself do not even know. I only know that the Cultists have prepared the worst for last just for you and your friends. You’re still in danger. You need to be ready.


    Hard to prepare for what I don’t know.


    As I survey the battle scene, the scream of the dying strike my soul. Many are pleading for help, saying they don’t want to die. But it’s too late for them, and I can’t do anything about it.


    I can try, though.


    Yue has already begun to help people, clearing rubble and carrying wounded to the mages to try to afford aid. I’m supposed to get ready, but I need this moment to help those in need.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    It’s very important.


    One woman calls out to us, pleading for help, crushed under some rubble. I rush over to aid her.


    My core feels deflated, tired. My mana is down to about 40%, I think, enough that if I exert myself a little, I will Burn. I need to be really careful. Reaching out to my core, I try to lift the piece of roof covering the woman. The rubble fights me but with a little bit of strength, I’m able to lift it. I reach for the woman and pull her out, and once that’s done, I let the rubble drop, and breathe a sigh of relief which turns to anguish looking at the woman.


    The woman—thirty by the looks of it— is clearly not alright. Her clothes are in tatters, and she’s bleeding profusely from everywhere, but especially her legs, which I can see are bent at unnatural angles. Her arms reach out to me in a silent plea.


    “Will I live?” She asks me softly.


    “I…don’t know,” I lie. In fact, I am sure she will die, but I don’t have the heart to tell her that.


    “I’m dying, aren’t I?” She says. “I’m okay with that. I’m just thirsty.”


    I haven’t learned how to draw or make water with magic, and I don’t have the time to learn. Looking around, I see that every mage is occupied, even Th’ul.


    I have to try, then. It’s this woman’s dying wish.


    Closing my eyes, I focus on the ground. I’ve heard that water is underground. If I can pull it from there, then I should be able to give it to her. But I don’t know how I’m going to do that.


    “It’s easier than you think,” High Mage Aegon screams at me from a few feet away. He’s doing some sort of magic to a man nearby, so he can’t help me, but I appreciate his pointers anyway. “Drawing water is simple, but it will exert a lot of mana. Be careful. Imagine the world without land, but where land should be is nothing. The rest is up to you.”


    I scratch my head in confusion but do as he says. If I imagine where I am without land, I can see the water below. Is this magic or my imagination? I begin to draw the water, and I can feel it on my palm. High Mage Aegon is right. This is probably the easiest magic I’ve done. I’ll never go thirsty again.


    “Just be careful you don’t drain someone else’s moisture,” High Mage Aegon says.


    I nod and keep drawing water. When I’ve got enough on my palm, I give it to the woman. She begins to drink, and I replenish the water until I feel myself on the edge of fainting.


    “Thank you,” The woman croaks. “We need more people like you in the world. I’m Thury.”


    “Zade,” I tell her. She holds me close, and seconds later, she goes limp. My eyes water as I look at her.


    Another innocent, good, happy woman dead. This world is very unfair, and I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.


    The second person I try to help is even sadder. It’s a boy, about sixteen, and his legs are gone. When I pull him from under a massive rock, he weeps as he looks down.


    “I don’t want to die,” He cries. “I haven’t done anything yet. I don’t want to leave my girlfriend alone. Mister, please, save me.”


    “I can’t,” I tell him. “You’re too far gone.”


    He screams. “No, no, no. You’re a mage. Please fix me. I still have a lot to live!”


    “Even a full mage would have a hard time fixing you. I’m sorry.”


    The boy’s screams and cries became muffled as I hugged him.


    “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to…die. I don’t…I can’t.” He falls unconscious. I can feel his heart beating, but I know he won’t ever wake up again.


    The tears in my eyes flow down my shirt. These people didn’t deserve to die. Thury was sweet. This boy was desperate. He’d lived a mere sixteen years. In a cruel twist of fate, he was taken from this world.


    I’m just about losing all hope when I find a third person. Another woman, young, maybe early twenties. She smiles at me, clearly in pain, but still happy.


    “Can you help me?” She asks, pointing to her stomach. I can see she’s been impaled by a spear, but, from what it looks like, it missed anything vital.


    “You need professional help,” I admit, “But I’ll do what I can. I’m not sure you''ll live, though.”


    “Ah, whatever kills me makes me stronger,” She laughs. I reach over to her and speak softly to her.


    “This will hurt, just warning you. Prepare yourself.” I break the spear in half and pull it out the other side. The woman screams, her eyes going wide in pain. I rip a big piece of my robe and begin to bandage her. I can’t do much but I used to live on a farm. I know a little about first aid. Although I think this is a little worse than first aid.


    “Thank you,” The woman tells me. “I don’t know how to thank you.”


    “I didn’t do much,” I admit. “Get one of the mages to help you. They can heal you.”


    “Are you a mage?” She asks, pointing at my robe.


    “In-training, ma’am,” I reply, bowing. “But I’m too tired to do any magic now.”


    “Well, I’m eternally grateful.”


    “I’m Zade.” The woman chuckles, and stands up, wincing.


    “I’m Joy,” She says, limping off. “Hopefully, we see each other again. I own a small shop down that way. Don’t know if it still stands, but visit me sometime.”


    “I’ll do my best.”


    As soon as she reaches another mage, he gets to work on her. I smile and sit down for a minute. I saved someone. It’s possible some other mage could’ve saved her, but if I hadn’t taken the spear out of her body, she would’ve died.


    I saved someone!


    The cries of the wounded and dying reach me as I rest, and I groan.


    My work isn’t done.


    — — —


    Yue couldn’t close her eyes anymore. If she did, she would fall asleep. She’d never felt exhaustion like this before, and reality just did not seem like much anymore. There were just too many dead. Hundreds, maybe thousands, needed help. Sadly, many were not from Arcadia, instead being people who had arrived for the tournament. The tournament she’d won but did not care about anymore. She’d felt so happy when she won, but that already felt like a lifetime ago.


    She’d already seen five brave men and women die in front of her eyes, and one cowardly one cursing her the entire way. She thought she’d saved someone but she couldn’t be sure. Those who were not seriously injured weren’t given help, and they themselves walked away. The gravely wounded, though, were the ones the mages and warriors and nurses did everything they could to help, but most of them would die. There were only so many mages and only so much mana. Plus, a good portion of mages were Cultists, and they would never agree to help those who got their ‘righteous judgment.’ Yue wanted to gut every single one of them.


    There were still some beasts alive too, and she killed every one she saw. They didn’t deserve to live, not after what they did, even if they were animals and reacting from instinct. They had been too smart to be common animals.


    She needed to find the other Vanguard Warriors. The Wolf would probably be trying to get them all together, and someone would probably be around soon to collect them. For now, she would just keep going.


    Just as she thought that, Alyx ran up to her, Kol behind her.


    “Captain asking for us,” She breathed. “Come on.” As they ran, Yue waved at Zade, who cocked his head at her.


    “Vanguard duties!” She yelled and he nodded.


    “It’s good to see you alive,” Kol told her.


    “Same to you. It was a hard-fought battle, but a good victory.”


    “That it was,” Kol agreed.


    Kol led me, Alyx, Aster, Neena, Artemis (the last three who they met along the way) to an inn near the market. There’s ample space there for all two hundred in the Vanguard. Not everyone was there, maybe about one hundred and fifty, but that’s still plenty. Some were probably injured or wounded. As soon as they arrived, the Wolf smiled.


    “We’re just waiting for a few more people to arrive. Xander? Poli?”


    Yue shook her head. “Xander is missing. Poli is…” The Wolf nodded sadly.


    “We’ve lost almost twenty Vanguard members today,” He said. “Ten percent of our army. This is less than I thought we had lost, and for that I am thankful. Here, take a seat.” He waved at an empty table, and they sat there.


    The next few minutes passed tensely. Most of the Vanguard Warriors were accustomed to death, if not battle, so they weren’t shocked by the blood but it was still sobering. Some were crying over loved ones. Artemis’ tears were gone, but now he was just in shock.


    Eventually, after a few more warriors—Joanne one of them—entered, the Wolf stood himself up on a chair and spoke to them.


    “Welcome, my Vanguard Warriors. Today we have suffered through the battle now known as the Battle of the Tournament. It was a tough and rigorous battle, but we—and all of Magefell and its surrounding countries—have fought well. We have won a grand victory today, one that shall be sung for generations.


    “But it was not without losses,” He continued in a somber tone. “We lost many wonderful men and women today. About twenty warriors were lost, as you know, but that isn’t even close to the number of humans lost in the battle. In the destruction of the Arena, we lost about thirty thousand people, a vast majority innocents, especially from foreign countries. In the ensuing battle, we lost one hundred Magefell Guards and fifty Magefell Soldiers. Thirty of the foreign tournament participants were lost. Finally, almost three thousand innocent Magefell citizens were lost. In total, we lost thirty thousand people. This is just an estimate, but I am sure it is close to the right amount.


    “From the bodies spread through Magefell and the plain, we killed almost fifty thousand beasts. It was a costly battle, but we did win. Congratulations.


    “Now comes the healing process.”


    “What about the Cult?” Someone shouted.


    “Yeah, shouldn’t they pay?”


    “No, they were right!”


    “They killed innocents!”


    “What even is the Cult?”


    “They deserved it!”


    The shouts and murmurs from the Vanguard spoke to Yue. She looked up to her captain who stared straight back at her and nodded. She walked up to stand by him.


    “I know nothing about a Cult,” The Wolf admitted. “But I have someone here who does. Yue Zhang!”


    “I have met many cultists,” Yue began. “They are the lowest of the low, the most evil there is! They worship an evil god, one named Dautha. They wish to enslave us.”


    “We do not!” A warrior retorted. “We just want the righteous Hierarchy.”


    “What is so righteous about this Hierarchy? They wish to make us the lowest!” The Wolf interrupted her by whispering in her ear.


    “Be careful with what you say. Keep yourself neutral. There are Cultists in the Vanguard too.”


    “No,” She returned. “I’m done being silent. VANGUARD WARRIORS! Listen, heed my call. One of us is a murderer. And that person is a Cultist. The Cult of Dautha has killed Diamond. They killed Jos. They killed Rosalia. They killed Cali.” She looked at Eva, who smiled at her, tears in her eyes. “They killed Poli! THEY MURDERED ALL OF THEM IN COLD BLOOD! Just because they had different views. Jos knew nothing about the Cult, Rosalia knew nothing about the Cult, Cali knew nothing. They did not deserve to get killed by something they did not know. The Cult may not have murdered Rosalia themselves, but it was still their fault.


    “And how do we respond to this? Do we stay silent, say they are right? They want us to be below, in a Hierarchy where we are worth nothing! Where we serve a god who doesn’t give a single DAMN about us! Who will MURDER those who don’t understand to get what he wants. Who will send DEMONS over us to do his dirty work. Now tell me. Is this a god who you want to serve? If so, you do not belong in the Vanguard.”


    The Wolf looked angry at her for disobeying her, but he couldn’t stop her, not now.


    “We must fight! We cannot let the Cult have Jurisdiction here. There are those of us here who belong to the Cult. I know some of you,” She looked at Joanne, who glared back at her, although her face softened when Yue looked at her. Please don’t, Joanne mouthed. “I know some of the Cultists here. And they are sweet people. I’ve grown to love them. I value their friendship. They do not deserve to die the deaths we did.


    “But you serve the wrong ideal. Look what has been done today. Look at all the innocent deaths. The gore. Look at your Vanguard friends, killed because a God who never controlled, and will never control, anything decided they needed to go only because they did not serve him. Is that really how it should go?


    “A few months ago, I was just like any of you. A Vanguard Warrior, ignorant of any Cult, any God of Death, any murders. Now, I have learned a lot and I must pass it on to each of you. I’m not special. I’m not up here, because I was chosen. No, I am up here because I learned the truth too early, and I’m here to pass it on to you. And you must pass it on. We must now be the people standing up to rise.


    “We are the Vanguard Warriors, the Wolves. The greatest army to ever exist, protectors of Magefell. You know the deal. Magefell looks up to us. The world looks up to us. We must show them the truth.


    “WE MUST STAND UP AND FIGHT! WE MUST DO EVERYTHING TO END THE CULT. Not the people, the Cult,” She chuckled nervously. “WHO’S WITH ME?”


    The Vanguard cheered. Not a mild applause, no, a roar, a battle cry, a visceral primal roar that inspired confidence struck fear. Yue joined in, pumping her fist in the air and roaring with them. She could see a few Vanguard Warriors sitting down, Joanne included, but the others stood as they roared in happiness and confidence.


    “What now?” Yue asked, stepping down to meet the Wolf.


    “You should not have done that,” The Wolf told her. “The Vanguard has just made enemies in high places. You don’t understand the repercussions of what you’ve done.”


    “We can face it.”


    The captain hugged her. “I hope so. Oh, Yue, I hope so.” He stood up on the chair to speak again, and someone tapped Yue on the shoulder. Turning around, she found herself in another embrace, this one from Joanne.


    “Just so you know, I still worship Dautha,” The girl told her. “But I love and appreciate your speech. I’m still a Vanguard warrior. That is who I am.”


    “So what happens to you now?”


    “I’m not sure,” Joanne admitted. “Identity crisis. Existential crisis. Religious crisis. A lot of crises I’m guessing. But I’ll get through it. I have you guys.”


    “The real battle is not over,” The Wolf told the army. “The real struggle begins now. We must go out and exterminate any beasts left. We must save those in need. We must protect those who will now be victims in a vulnerable city.


    “This has just started. Let the fun begin,” He grimaced.


    — — —


    I don’t think I can do this anymore. I’ve heard that the more one sees death, the more one feels numb to it. So far, that’s a lie. I’m seeing dozens of deaths now, and I feel more and more sick with each one. Every single person wants to tell me their story, talk to me before they die. I always end up feeling sympathetic and sad, and it’s crushing me.


    Yue’s been gone for a while now, and since then not much has changed. It will take a long time to repair the damage done here, even with all the mages working to help. There are so many bodies littering the ground that need a proper burial. That in itself will take weeks.


    The mages have been evaporating the beasts’ bodies. It still feels like they don’t disappear, though. There are so many monsters hanging over us like a looming presence reminding us of the destruction and death they caused.


    The more space that is cleared, the more I see the stained cobblestone. There’s so much blood on it and remains. Every step I take squelches. Every time I walk, I feel like vomiting.


    My friends are each doing their own part, but I can see they’re all struggling with all the death too. Xavier has already vomited a couple times. Th’ul looks nonchalant as usual but I see hurt beneath his eyes.


    But Sia is the one hit the hardest. At first, she vomited. After a little, she spent her time crying. She needs comfort. I don’t know if I can do it, but I can try.


    “Sia, how are you holding up?” I don’t ask if she’s okay, I know she’s not. She buries her head in my shoulder and sobs.


    “I…I’ve never seen anyone die before,” She sputters. “It’s worse…than I could’ve ever imagined. It’s so…sad, depressing.”


    “It is,” I agree. “That’s why we have to fight. Look what they want to do to us.”


    “This is why I want to be a mage,” She tells me. “To stop all this death.”


    I’m about to answer when I see someone running from the corner of my eye. It was quick, but I’m sure I recognized him. Dread and hope fill my heart simultaneously.


    Xander.