Chapter 32 Jane
It was finally time.
The young sisters, their forms aglow with a radiant, unified fuchsia, hurried towards their mother, eager to witness the miracle about to unfold.
Amantius had witnessed the birth of a Goddess five times before.
She had been present for the arrivals of her younger sisters: Immaru, Philia, Shantih, and Harmonia, each of whom had brought extraordinary qualities into divine existence.
Every birth had been a blessing, the creation of entities that embodied cherished and nurtured traits.
Amantius herself had given rise to the creation of love.
Her sister Immaru followed, bringing forth light, while Philia, the third-born, brought joy into being.
Shantih introduced the principles of peace and unity, and Harmonia, the youngest, wove harmony into the fabric of existence.
Together, the sisters had shaped the essence of benevolence.
Now, they scurried towards Creare, their mother, as her bellows reverberated through the dimensional void.
Amantius remembered the pain her mother had endured during her previous labours, but never like this. The agony in Creare’s cries was unlike anything she had ever heard before. Concern ignited within her, yet she held firm to the belief that the suffering would not be in vain.
For today, another sister would be born.
“Mother!” Amantius called out to the birther of all Goddesses, but as her eyes fell upon Creare, her enthusiasm dissipated and was instead replaced by an inescapable dread.
Creare had always radiated a brilliant fuchsia aura, a picturesque beacon of life and vitality. Today, however, her Light had darkened to an ominous crimson, its intensity highlighting the beads of sweat glistening on her forehead.
“Mother?” Amantius hesitantly called again. She froze in place, reluctant to step any closer to the woman she loved most.
Behind her, her younger sisters huddled together, their smaller frames trembling with alarm. They clung to one another for comfort, an anxious embrace, as they peered over Amantius’ shoulders, seeking reassurance from their eldest sister but finding none.
Creare rested atop a mountain of billowing silky white pillows, their porcelain shone a drastic contrast to the profound ruby glare emanating from her body.
Amantius slowly and carefully stepped closer. Gently, she placed a hand on her mother’s arm. “Mother…are you well?”
Creare’s hands clutched her womb in a futile attempt to quell the torment within. Slowly, she lifted her chin toward Amantius, her lids peeling back to reveal a startling crimson gaze that burned unnaturally. Though her stare flared bright, it wavered as her eyes were unable to stay open for long.
“Amantius?” Creare whispered through laboured breaths. “Amantius, is that you?”
Amantius steadily, yet affectionately, tightened her grip on her mother. “It is me, Mother. I am here.”
Creare’s gaze shifted as she finally took notice of the younger Goddesses huddled behind Amantius.
Her lips curved into a faint, strained smile.
“Daughters,” she began, faltering between laboured gasps, “do not fret. Today, a new Goddess shall be born… Another magnificent addition to our existence, to our family.”
Immaru stepped forward and pulled Amantius aside so they could speak in private, hidden from the prying ears of their younger sisters. “Amantius, what is happening? I have never seen Mother in this state. Something is not right.”
Amantius placed a hand on her sister’s arm, a feeble attempt to calm her. “Hush,” she urged under her breath, glancing back at the younger Goddesses who clung to one another. She did not wish to alarm them any further but deep down, she could not deny Immaru’s words.
Something was terribly, terribly wrong.
“I… I do not know,” Amantius admitted, fumbling as her eyes strayed toward their mother, now encircled by the others attempting to console her.
“What has happened to her aura?” Immaru’s tone rose as she pressed harder. “Why is it crimson? Is she ill? How is that even possible? Amantius, what is happening?”
“I—” Amantius began to reply, but her speech was drowned out by a blood-curdling scream.
The sound tore through the dimension, violent and excruciating, as Creare’s body convulsed, her cries bounding in every direction.
The siblings froze, their mouths agape in shock. Amantius rushed to her mother’s side once again, grasping Creare’s shaking hand to steady the unrelenting tremors wracking her frame.
“It’s,” Creare stuttered through convulsions, “coming.”
Amantius’ sisters looked on in fright. Tears streamed down their faces as they helplessly watched their mother’s torment.
The crimson Light emanating from Creare’s form intensified, bathing the space in a blood-red glow that pulsed like a living nightmare. Her screams grew louder, shriller, as the radiance within her reached a breaking point.
The Light began to burst through her surface, splintering her form with every pounding beat. Piece by piece, Creare’s essence disintegrated, consumed by the overwhelming blaze swelling within her.
The wails of her sisters thrummed from behind, but Amantius could barely hear them over her own frantic pleas. She desperately tried to hold her mother’s form together, her hands pressing against the cracks of Light splitting through Creare’s body.
But it was futile. The relentless crimson Light broke her mother apart, dissolving her essence until only her face remained.
For a fleeting moment, Creare’s eyes locked with Amantius.’ Her frail voice whispered a single plea: “Help…me.”
The dimension erupted. A blinding explosion of red Light consumed everything, obliterating the pristine white expanse in an instant.
When Amantius came to, she found herself sprawled across the fractured ground. The once-pristine plane was now marred with remnants of Creare—splintered fragments of Light and spirit strewn across the space.
A gut-wrenching screech imploded through the silence. Amantius turned to see Harmonia, her gaze fastened on the monstrosity that now loomed where their mother once lay.
It was a vicious swirling cloud of darkness. It pulsed and writhed, absorbing the faint traces of her Light that still lingered. Little by little, the blight began to take form, shaping itself into the silhouette of a man.