Chapter 31 #2
“But then he realized…” Tyrak inhaled through his nose and out through his mouth, as if he were trying to calm himself.
“The longer the suffering, the more power he gained. And so came the realization that he fed on pain. Forest animals were no longer sufficient, and as his powers developed, he needed more. We were told he claimed his first human victim the day he came into his full power, solidifying his status as an Extos, and the first Occulti demon sprang to life from the chest of that victim.”
“ What? ”
“Now,” Tyrak continued, “whether Malosym’s power had grown so great it gained a physical form or this human somehow had this evil festering inside them that Malosym happened to free, we’ll never know.
On his own as an Extos, he was powerful.
But that first Occulti made him unstoppable.
The world had never seen anything like the new demon.
And with Malosym’s dark power that was so different from that of the other Extos, he quickly became an outcast, of course.
With no full-blooded brothers or sisters of his own and two parents who wanted nothing to do with him, he was always on the outside.
He was reprimanded for killing humans, but there was no punishment that would hold him down for long.
Somehow, that single Occulti demon split, creating two, then four, until the realm was overrun with them.
And humans were no longer enough to satisfy Malosym’s craving for pain.
“Until one day, he invited the Forgotten Saints and all of the Extos for a feast. He claimed he wanted to change his ways and invited everyone to help him on his newfound path.”
“That’s not what happened, is it?” I asked carefully, though I already knew the answer.
Tyrak shook his head, swallowing hard. “No. In front of everyone, he killed Eraura and Shovhor, his parents.”
I should’ve gasped. I should’ve been surprised. But I wasn’t. “He could kill Saints in the Old World?”
“An Extos could kill a Saint in the Old World, yes. But the Holy Beings of the Old World could only be killed by their own bloodline. And with no brothers or sisters, from that point Malosym was completely unstoppable.”
Every one of my muscles went slack with defeat. “So we’re fucked.”
“No. Not necessarily.” Discomfort was evident in his features, as if every word he spoke felt like a betrayal. Maybe that was the case. “You are aware Rhedros was intended to be a force of good, right?”
“Yes. ”
“And he is the son of the Forgotten Saints Aislar, Saint of Grace and Fasios, Saint of Clemency. Which means Rhedros is an Extos, just as Malosym is. Which means you…”
The words should’ve elicited some sort of response from me, but I was numb. “I’m an Extos?”
“I believe so. I say that because you are able to cross through the realms with relative ease, a trait of the Extos of the Old World.”
My mind was a hurricane and I was standing in the wind, trying to grasp on to something that would anchor me. “And Rhedros can do the same?”
“Not anymore. He thought it best at the time to renounce his title as Extos and be solely a Saint.”
“He could do that?” I was no closer to finding anything to hold on to in this storm of information.
“He could. And you know Katia was placed here in the New World as a force of evil, yes?”
Apprehension threaded through me at his tone. “Yes… What are you getting at?”
Tyrak was silent for a long beat, and when he finally spoke, his words were measured. “How do you think Katia ended up here in the New World?”
I reared back, blinking rapidly. My ribcage ached at the force with which my heart pounded against it. “Is… Is Katia Malosym’s daughter?”
“Well, no, not by any standard definition. She is not a daughter by birth. Malosym created Katia as a force of evil for the New World.”
“So what does that make her?”
A strangled sigh left his lips. “We do not know, and it does not matter. She severed all ties to Malosym the same way Rhedros did as an Extos. She is a Saint of the New World, and that is all.”
“I… I have so many questions,” I sputtered. “How… Why… ”
“If we make it through this,” Tyrak said with a gentle smile, “I swear to you I will tell you the whole story. From the very beginning.”
“Okay,” I answered sheepishly, waiting for Tyrak to continue.
“The Forgotten Saints created the Canon, a list of rules to prevent another Malosym from coming into existence. There is a whole page of these commandments, if you will, but a few hold more importance than the rest. A Saint cannot kill a human. A Saint cannot enter the Human Realm unless cursed by a Keeper and returned as a human. And two Saints cannot, under any circumstances, have a child together.”
“But they did.”
“They did.”
“And what is the consequence? What happens if a rule of the Canon is broken?”
Tyrak’s arms extended out from his sides. “Look around. The world is on the brink of complete destruction. That is the consequence.”
I gnawed at my lip. “I’m a daughter of two Saints. So…I’m just an Extos.”
A humorless laugh left his lips. “ Just an Extos,” he said. “Ties to a title does not remove the power from one’s blood. Rhedros may bear only the title of Saint, but Extos power still runs through his veins, though it is dormant. Katia may bear the title of Saint…”
“But Malosym’s power still runs through her.”
“Correct.”
“Which means…” I was on my feet, my head shaking so violently it made me dizzy. No. It wasn’t true. He was mistaken. “His power doesn’t run through me. No. There’s no way. I refuse to believe that.”
Horror and shame and guilt crashed into me, but it was nothing compared to the pain on Tyrak’s face, and it was then I knew this was no mistake. This was no cruel joke. “You are a part of his bloodline, Petra.”