Isolated

Stop.

—-Why?—-

I don't want to do this. I don't want to relive this.

—-Most would die for the opportunity to retread their greatest moments.—-

…Great moments end in triumph, not mass extinction. In the end, what mattered?

—-The end? No, no. We are so very far from the end. You are not yet ready to taste true glory. You may not yet be familiar with the concept of metamorphosis , but we assure you, you are experiencing it right now. You were once free to roam your little box but lacked wings to fly out of it. And so you grew them —the little larva that you were—wrapped in a cocoon. Now, you need only cut yourself from it. But to do so, you must leave behind that which made you weak, retaining only that which makes you strong.—-

But my world…

(Shattered.)

—-Recreated here, for you.—-

(Reformed. All around me.)

—-Every painstaking detail.—-

(The suns. The Abyss. The Regime. Lubrae.)

—-Every painful memory.—-

(My clan. My family. Khloa, clan-father. Kheesa, clan-mother. Kheeta, sister. Vrhuna, mother. Rhelik, father. Their heads in my hands.)

—-Love for them made you weak. Power over them made you strong. Upon reflection, you are filled with regret. Believing yourself to be under the spell of the Regime. Believing your actions in their tenure to be wrong. But morality, oh dear Rhulk, is subjective. And now that you are all that remains of Lubrae, isn't it time you made the rules? Isn't it time you looked back upon your life with pride? After all, your actions brought you to us. And only we can help you emerge from your cocoon.—-

We…? What even are you?

—-We are your salvation. We are your judgment. And soon we will be… your Witness.—-

Defiant

Category: Book: Shattered Suns

Tainted