Chapter 4: The Devils Come When I’m Asleep

Like myself, the nobility of Tarrus have an obsession with life and death. But unlike them, I don’t intend to hoard those secrets purely for my own gain. Everyone will reap the benefits of this research. The results of Project Zero will have to be exclusive for a little while, but eventually, the general population will be allowed into the breeding programs as well. It might result in a few generations having to struggle to adapt to the changes, but even if a third of the population must die so that all of humanity can be reborn, I see that as a necessary step.

While Éclair and Ryan slept, Zanderius sat in idle contemplation. Though he had lived a long life, longer than any being currently alive if he included his past incarnations of Sacred Vessels, there were few joys he could remember that were as precious to him as the memories he had of raising Éclair. He remembered playing tag with her in the palace meadows. He recalled every detail of her sweet laughter as they played hide-and-seek for hours on end. And now, here she was, practically a woman. A woman who had endured and overcome more hardships than most girls her age could scarcely even dream of. And what’s more, she was falling in love; beginning the journey of understanding what love is. Love in its endless complications and whimsies that Zanderius had accepted long ago to be a mystery not even he could fully decipher.

She keeps professing her love for Leon, but I feel that is little more than an adolescent crush, he considered. She’s still far too young to understand what love is, what it means to fall in love with another person. And yet, when I see the way she is with young Ryan here, I begin to wonder.

Zanderius did not pretend to know the mind of a female too intimately, not even one he happened to raise. He still had trouble predicting Saria’s mood swings, and they had known each other for millennia. And at the same time, the thought of young bucks like Leon and Ryan chasing after his little princess annoyed him somewhat. Worse, she was beginning to return their affections. It filled him with mixed emotions that he was not fully able to process. All this after Éclair had just endured one of the most traumatic ordeals of her life, and all because of his carelessness.

But even worse than that was the feeling of foreboding that Zanderius felt at this sordid love affair. Éclair, Leon, and Ryan were all Children of Destiny, fated to put their stamp on the universe. When Zanderius had learned of Éclair’s unbridled affections for Leon, he did not completely approve, but nor was he altogether surprised by such a thing. Leon had a grand fate ahead of him, a fate that would compel him ever closer to the dark. Zanderius had hoped that Éclair would be able to temper his negative emotions, to balance him out. Though he would have preferred that their relationship be as platonic as possible, there was no controlling the emotions of young people. The more you tried, the more they resented you. It was often best to only offer guidance and let the young make their own mistakes in life, for mistakes were sometimes the only way to learn. At least, that is one of the lessons that parenthood had taught Zanderius.

And now, further complicating matters was Éclair’s seemingly growing bond with the brash, young Ryan Uruks. Under any other circumstances, Zanderius would have concluded Ryan to be a better match for Éclair than Leon; that is, if he had to decide ... which he would have preferred not to. He would have preferred for Éclair to remain his little princess forever, but passing on that responsibility to another man was a trial that Zanderius knew all fathers had to face someday. He just wished he would not have to face it too soon. But the most foreboding matter of all this was due to the fact that Ryan, Leon, and even Éclair were not normal children by any means. There was too much riding on their futures. Of course, Zanderius was fully aware that they could say no to their destinies and pass on their unique powers to future generations, but that was a choice that each one of them had to make for themselves. And, as much as it pained him to admit, a union between Eclair and Ryan instead of Leon could potentially prove disastrous, not just for them, but for a great many people in the universe.

The fact of the matter was that Ryan’s gifts were still unstable, and his bond with Éclair had proven to be unpredictable and even dangerous in the past. One of the reasons why Zanderius had postponed their meeting with each other for as long as possible was for this very reason. If not for the fact that he knew they were prophesied to work together to restore order to the universe, Zanderius would have probably made it so they would have never met at all. Éclair was always intended to be the leader that the universe would look to when he was gone, and Leon and Ryan were meant to be her protectors. Unfortunately, protecting her was not the only thing on their hormone-riddled minds.

And making matters worse was the fact that Ryan, as the potential Sacred Vessel of Balance, would be better off not falling in love with anyone, especially not Éclair. His father had chosen to forsake his calling because of love, a decision that eventually cost him his life. It was an unfortunate choice, but not one that Zanderius blamed his old protégé for. If Zanderius had the choice, he would gladly turn his back on his gifts for the chance to be happy. The only problem was that there was no one capable of taking up the calling after he was gone, not yet anyway.

As Zanderius contemplated all this in silence while Éclair and Ryan rested in relative peace, he was steadily becoming aware of a cold presence coming to the planet. Closing his eyes, and breathing sadly, Zanderius mentally steeled himself for what approached. He knew perfectly well that this would happen, but knowing was not quite the same as being prepared. As the dark of night seemed to close in on the abode of light that Zanderius had drew around himself and the children, he consciously heightened the intensity of his psions, ready for any sign of attack from his very old adversary.

Sensing an invitation for a peaceful talk appear in his mind, Zanderius felt the call of his old friend. They would not fight today, at least not physically. But for his ancient enemy, even wordplay was a battlefield. Reluctant to commune with such darkness given how close the children were, Zanderius mentally agreed to a meeting on the Third Plane, a plane of existence only very powerful telepaths could enter.

After placing a sleeping spell on the children with his telepathy so they wouldn’t interrupt the conversation, Zanderius opened his eyes to a world made of white, swirling mists. Behind him, he could still faintly see his physical body standing watch over the children as they slept, but they were ghosts to his mental projection, intangible to his touch.

“Feeling sentimental, I see,” commented the Dark Dragon Lord in an amused voice. “Young people are such fickle creatures. But I remember a time when we were not much different ourselves. So brash and headstrong. So full of ourselves, and so extremely naïve. Have you ever wondered what it would feel like, Zand ... to be young again?”

Turning to his opponent slowly, Zanderius saw only the silhouette of a tall, dark figure within the churning mists. It almost resembled a man in black robes, except for the horns that were angled at a downward angle. The creature’s long, spiked tail swished about playfully on the ground behind him, almost like a cat. And although the face was obscured, Zanderius could still make out the four burning red eyes that forever haunted him. Eyes filled with malice, loathing, and contempt for everything they perceived. Eyes that were also filled with an unquenchable bloodlust that enticed and threatened all at the same time.

“What do you want, Dark Dragon Lord?” asked Zanderius abruptly, knowing full well what the answer was.

“Oh, we’re using our formal titles now, are we? Well then, how about a little compensation, Prime Minister,” answered the Dark Dragon Lord, almost purring, or growling since there was little distinction with him. “After all, you did just destroy an entire planet’s worth of my Parasites, a considerable undertaking on my part. It’s little things like that which annoy me. Doesn’t quite seem to align with the treaty of no direct confrontations that you used to be so eager to preserve. How’s that working out for you these days, by the way?”

“Verbose as ever, I see. You and I both know perfectly well that the nest I destroyed on this planet was but one colony. You have more hidden throughout Black Star, perhaps even beyond,” countered Zanderius, hardly in the mood for his rival’s usual mischief. “And besides which, you violated the treaty first on two fronts. We agreed long ago that this area of space was to be neutral, yet here I find you attempting to resurrect the Parasites on my doorstep. Not only that, but you tried to kidnap Ryan and Éclair once again. I hope you can understand if I am a little put out by all this.”

The Dark Dragon Lord chuckled coldly, sending reverberations of dread coursing through Zand’s soul. “Oh, Zand. You really are adorable, you know that?”

The Dark Dragon Lord then took a threatening step forward, his astral form moving towards the children’s bodies. That was close enough. With a discharge of white energy from his hands, Zand instantly brought his long sword-staff of starlight materializing into existence on the Third Plane. The Prime Minister’s powerful weapon seemed to be made out of white light as its pure metals glowed with the power and intensity greater than any star. Zanderius wielded his weapon like a spear, gripping the long, silver pole in both hands while angling the thick, sword-length long blade at his opponent. Runes of green energy went down the glowing white blade as it pulsated with Light Elemency. The mists swirled around the massive blade as a high-pitched humming noise filled the air. It had been a long time since Zand had wielded his great halberd in battle, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to bring its immense destructive force to bear this day, even on the Third Plane.

Only acknowledging Zand’s display of power with another gleeful chuckle, the Dark Dragon Lord continued to step towards the children unconcerned. “Especially when you’re flustered.”

“I’m only going to say this once more, Zorron,” said Zanderius with the full authority of a Sacred Vessel, his eyes glowing with a white and green light. “Stay away from these children. Stop interfering in their lives, or you will lose more than an army of Parasites today.”

“Relax, mother hen,” replied Zorron. Though Zand could not see his face, he could tell that the being smiled cruelly. “I don’t mean any more harm to your precious little chicks today. To be honest, I’m just as surprised as you that they popped up here of all places when they went through that portal. I just wanted to liven things up a bit when I sent those Cthulhu ... nothing this dramatic.”

“Why do I find that so hard to believe?”

“Believe what you will, old friend,” answered Zorron, completely unfazed by Zand’s anger. “I’m guilty of many sins, but you and I both know that outright lying is not among them.”

“If you’re so guiltless of deception, then why bring the Parasites back and devote so much time and resources to keeping their existence hidden from me?” asked Zanderius accusingly. “Not even you can hope to control the Parasites. No one can. Their hive mind is too powerful. They are just as likely to attack your forces as they are mine. What do you have to gain?”

“Call it nostalgia,” answered Zorron as he raised his clawed hand, his tone betraying nothing of his motives save the bemusement he felt at this conversation, as if it was all one big joke that only he could understand. “After all, the Parasites have so much history for both of us. I just wanted to recapture some of the emotions from yonder days. Even you can’t say that the Oh-So-Holy Zanderius Alastar did not get a thrill of decimating their ranks by the thousands yet again. You probably hated them more than I did in those days when we fought the first of the infestations together. You can thank me for that rekindled flame if you wish. Though I know you mainly came here for Éclair and Ryan, I still felt the slightest tendrils of pleasure from you when you destroyed those Parasites, as well as their poor Infected slaves. I can’t tell you how much it warmed my dead heart when you were brought to that point. And I wasn’t even trying that hard to tempt you this time, Zand.”

“When did you become so flippant?” asked an enraged Zand. “When did toying with the lives of children become little more than a game for you?”

“You cut me to the quick, Zand,” said Zorron quietly as he gestured to his chest with his long fingers, almost genuinely sounding hurt. The tragic thing was that on some level, Zand knew that he was hurt deep down inside, very hurt. “Playing games, as you so aptly put it, is one of the few pleasures left to me. I would think the same could be said of you. After all, you’re so powerful now that you can hardly call yourself human. You no longer have any peers save for me. Can’t you admit that these little games of ours are the only diversions left that are worth your attention? Can’t you admit that I am the only reason you still bother to drag your old, sagging body out of bed in the morning? I can admit that of you.”

“Enough of your bile,” exclaimed Zanderius angrily, consciously having to keep himself in check. Zand wasn’t entirely sure why he was getting so riled up. He and Zorron had many meetings like this in the past with Zorron always playfully trying to goad Zand on. And though Zanderius was usually able to keep his cool, this time seemed different for some reason. “Either attack us or leave us be! I’m in no mood for your mischief today, Zorron!”

Zorron clicked his tongue in a lecturing manner while wagging a finger like a disappointed math teacher. “Touchy, touchy. Why so grumpy today, Zand? You’re usually more composed. Is it because the children are so close at hand? The objects of my ... mania, as it were. Are you feeling protective of them?”

As Zorron said his piece, Zand noticed him shift his gaze towards the children for the briefest of moments, as if he contemplated taking them in his deranged mind even now. Zorron’s obvious obsession with the children made Zanderius feel more uneasy than he was willing to admit, but he did his best not to show it. Zorron behaved like many predators. He would take any sign of weakness as a reason to attack, promise of peace or not. Zanderius perceived Éclair and Ryan out of the corner of his eye, as if mentally checking that they were still there safe and sound.

“I always feel protective of them, whether they are in my presence or not,” countered Zanderius while trying to keep hidden his other reasons for being on edge.