Chapter 60- Mhia Atlas

Chapter 60

 

Mhia Atlas

 

           

            “Mhia,” whispered a voice. “Mhia, wake up!”

            Mhia imagined opening her eyes and seeing clouds. Angels soaring through the sky. The Sun’s rays warm against her skin. The face of her mother. Sister. Brother. Serevex. Odhis. Callatz. All her people she had let died. Though her shame would forbid her from facing them directly, there was nothing her heart longed for more.

            Then the burning pain reminded her that she was very much alive. Mhia woke up screaming in a brief moment of hysteria. The back of her head, face, and wrists, were throbbing with unimaginable pain. Her torture had not yet come to an end.

            She opened her eyes to Lana in tears hovering over her. “Thank God, you’re awake,” celebrated her cousin.

            “Where…where am I?” Mhia asked. It didn’t take her long to remember though. I was fighting Charles. He killed Callatz. Me as well…or so I thought. She tried to raise her head. “Where is Charles?”

            Lana turned pale and looked the other direction. Mhia followed her gaze to a gruesome sight of Venir butchering his father’s corpse. She struggled to lean up to get a better look, her pain growing exponentially the more she moved.

            “I’d tell you to lay down but we need to get out of here as fast as possible,” urged Lana.

            “Did he kill his father?” asked Mhia. “Was he the one who saved my life?”

            Lana shook her head. “Cardinal Daimios has the honor of that. Malus came after.”

            “Where is Dante now?”

            “I’m not sure. Charles told him something and then he left running in tears. Minutes later, Malus came down and started butchering Charles’s corpse. I’m not sure I want to linger long enough to find out why. We need to regroup with Calam in the altar of truth before more Judicians come.”

            Mhia heeded her advice. She was astonished by how well Lana was taking everything in. She had always assumed she was the weakest of the royal family.

            As Lana was helping Mhia stand up, a new surge of pain gathered around her knee. As if the rest of her pain wasn’t already bad enough, now she had a broken knee to worry about. “I don’t think I’ll be able to walk on my own…”

            “Don’t worry, just put your arm around me,” said Lana.

Mhia listened and adjusted herself in the best possible way. After the first few steps, she realized the futility of this plight. “Just leave me. We’ll never make it to the altar of truth with you carrying me like this.”

            Lana glared at her. “What kind of Cruorian abandons their Queen? We’re making it out of this together.”

            Mhia didn’t bother fighting her. “As you wish.”

            The two slowly made their way towards the huge hole left by the Judician bomb from which Charles came from. Mhia glanced back at Charles. It’s really over, isn’t it? He’s finally dead. Then why is it I still feel just as empty as before? Mhia had dreamt and prayed for this moment more times than she could count. She thought the day it finally happened a huge weight would be lifted off her shoulders. It was disappointing just how little it actually did. Charles was dead but it was apparent that nothing had changed. Perhaps everyone else was right. In the end, Charles was just another one of Judicium’s pawns. Reluctantly, Mhia turned her back on Charles.

            While limping their way across the hall, Lana accidently stumbled over some debris causing both her and Mhia to fall. Mhia was able to land on her good knee and was about to get up on her own when she felt a firm hand lift her up aggressively. Before she could see who it was, Lana shouted, “Let go of her!”

Venir let go of Mhia’s hand. From head to toe, he was drenched in the blood of his father. Beneath the crimson cape, his eyes pierced through like ice needles. Mhia knew that this would very likely be her end.

“What do you want from us?” she asked.

            Venir tilted his head. “Since when has what I wanted ever mattered to you?”

            “Charles is dead. You no longer hold any value to us. You’re neither enemy to Judicium or Caelum Infinitum. You’re free to go wherever you want. No one will hurt you anymore.”

            Venir laughed. It was the first time Mhia ever heard him do it so vigorously. Thank God my father is f*****g dead! Now we can all go our separate ways and live happily ever after!” Venir celebrated. He had another spasm of laughter before calming down. “Mhia, if I hated my father whose worst crime was neglect, just how exactly do you think I feel about you?”

            “We don’t have to be enemies,” Lana tried to plead.

Mhia recognized that look in his eyes. Whatever fucked up plans he had in his head, there was nothing that was going to stop him now. “Lana…I want you to leave me and run,” ordered Mhia.

            “No,” said Venir. “No one is f*****g running.”

            Without warning, Venir slammed the hilt of his knife to Lana’s face, dropping her to the floor. Mhia leaped for Venir’s legs but instead got his foot on her face. For a fleeting moment, everything went black and Mhia could only smell the iron of her own blood. She lost sense of the world for a brief moment only to return to it with the sight of Venir beating Lana senseless, steadily turning her screams to whimpers.

            Knowing she was incapable of stopping his wrath in her current state, Mhia swallowed all her pride as Cruorian, as a Queen, as herself, and begged, “Please! Spare her life! Mine alone should be enough.” Venir continued to beat Lana, whom was no longer whimpering. “Please!” begged Mhia, loudly. “Your sister died because of me! I was the one that ruined your life! Not her! I take full responsibility! Just please, don’t hurt her anymore! I can’t bear the thought of losing anyone else…”

            Venir stopped. “You hear that, Emilia? She can’t bear the thought of losing anyone else. She thinks she alone deserves to be punished. Isn’t that f*****g hysterical? Remember when she and her followers cut your head off and tortured me for something our father did? And now she thinks she deserves to suffer by herself!”

            Mhia bared her shame. “You’re right…I am a hypocrite. But turning into me will not fill that hole in your heart. Believe me, revenge…it’s not as sweet as we think.”

            Venir stood up. “You’re right. Hurting you won’t change anything. It certainly won’t give me my old life back. But you’re wrong about the other thing.” Venir turned around with a sinister grin. “Revenge is f*****g sweet.”

            Mhia looked into his empty eyes as he started walking towards her and felt her body start shaking. I’m trembling. I’m actually scared! Who would’ve thought that after everything, I’d be this scared of death. Venir kneeled in front of her, knife in hand, and Mhia closed her eyes. She tried her best to find some solace in her imminent death. Mother, it’s time for us to meet again. However, death did not come. Instead she felt his hand caress her cheek. She opened her eyes, confused.

Venir eyed her strangely with a look of concern. “I’m not going to kill you,” he whispered.

            “You’re…not?” she asked, skeptical.

            “No,” he reassured. “That’d be way too merciful.”

His hand gripped her throat and pushed her on her back. Suddenly, she felt her legs forced open. Mhia instantaneously began to panic, “No! I won’t let you!” She punched, kicked, and shook her body as hard as she could, forgetting she was ever injured. Venir’s grip tightened and one by one, he started ripping Mhia’s clothes. Mhia continued to fight relentlessly but to little avail. She even tried to kill him with her eyes, glaring at him with more hate than she’d ever had for anyone else. But he just stared back, fearless and cruel, grinning from scar to ear.

            He held her down for a couple seconds without moving, just watching. Mhia wondered why he was hesitating. Was this his game? His way of torturing her? Did he intend to replicate what his father did to her mother or just give the illusion? The grip around her neck loosened and for the split of a second, she almost believed it was all just a trick. Then he said the words. The same words Charles had told her mother. The same words Mhia had whispered to Venir. They were simple words. But enough to break her. 

            “Do you believe in God?”

He didn’t’ wait for her answer before breaking her both emotionally and physically. Her body instinctively tried to push his away but each time he just came back harder. It hurt, but more so her pride than her body. Mhia felt her tears about to bleed out and shut her eyes tight to hide them.

Venir was rough and brutal. His nails dug into her neck, pressing her upper body against the floor, while he smashed her body down below over and over again. If only he accidently choked her to death, then at least she would no longer need to live with this shame. But he made sure she could breathe just enough to spend every moment of this punishment awake.

Mhia resulted to attempting the only other forbidden solution, suicide. Sadly, Venir would not even grant her that luxury. The moment he caught note of her attempt, he head butted her and started kissing her intensely to prevent her from biting her tongue off. Mhia tried to bite his off instead but he quickly moved away and squeezed her cheeks tightly together with his hand. “I won’t give you the privilege to die!”

He punched her in the face, flipped her on her stomach, and started raping her from behind like a b***h. Mhia could no longer contain the tears. All she could do was cry as she accepted this irreversible humiliation. A moment that should’ve been special to every girl had just been tarnished in every possible way. Mhia had never felt smaller in her entire life.

Unable to fight physically any longer, she surrendered her body and tried to save her mind. She searched for the happiest moment she could think of. It was a couple weeks before her mother died. Calam had just been born and she was holding him in the royal garden. Her mother and sister were also there, along with Saix and Sia. They were laughing and joking together. Despite already knowing the fall of Cruor was inevitable, they had all managed to cling on to some happiness. It was a special moment because for just that moment, they were able to forget. It was the greatest gift God had ever given her. And a lie in a world that only knew misery.

            Mhia felt Venir’s fluids enter inside her, making every muscle in her body cringe. Though he had finished, she could still feel his repulsive touch pressed against her. He flipped her over and she shut her eyes, too ashamed to meet his condescending eyes, or anyone else’s that might be watching.

            She heard Dante’s familiar voice in the background. “What have you done…?”

            “What I felt like doing,” answered Venir.

            “You fool! Inside Yggdrasil of all places. God will never forgive you for this…” The confliction was clear in the Cardinal’s voice. Kill him, Mhia prayed.

            “After the sins you’ve committed, how dare you play the saint. F**k you and that imaginary friend you call God!”

            “Malus…what’s gotten into you? This isn’t you…” Kill him!

            “On the contrary. This is the first time I’m finally who I want to be.”

            There was a short moment of silence. “I…I won’t argue this right now,” said Dante. “If we any hope of making it out of here alive, we need to meet up with Uriel before Maximillian arrives in his airship.” There was another brief silence. “We also need to take care of them.”

What? You’re a man of God. Kill him! He’s the enemy! A few minutes ago death would’ve been a kindness but right now there was hope for divine judgment. All that needed to happen was for the Archangel of Wrath to do his duty. A task he should do without question. Mhia wanted to scream at him but the words were stuck in her throat. Why am I shaking when I should be screaming?

            “She lives,” refuted Venir. Suddenly Mhia wanted to die again. Don’t let me live as his prisoner.

            “She can’t,” argued Dante. “You’ve raped the Queen of Cruor. The bride to be of the man rescuing us. Not even I will be able to save you from Caelum Infinitum’s wrath if she lives. If we do this now, we can still blame Charles. No one has to know the truth but us.”

            “I said she lives! I don’t need Caelum Infinitum’s mercy. I’m not going back. I’m leaving…and I’m taking Mhia with me.”

            Mhia’s eyes shot open and she blurted, “Kill him, please! “If you don’t…then kill me instead.”

            Dante glanced at her with pity and turned to Venir. “If you mean to run away from everything, she’ll only slow us down. Kill her and you’re a free man. No one is looking for you, but they will be looking for a Queen.”

            “I’m taking her with me,” Venir made clear. “And I never asked for your help, Dante.”

            “Even if you didn’t… the choice isn’t yours to make. If you have any hope of making it out, you’ll have to follow me. I know a place we may still be able to escape through. Yggdrasil has thick roots. One in particular leads directly to Lucifer’s Tomb. If we’re quick, we might just make it.”

            “You would turn your back on Caelum Infinitum just like that?”

            “I would keep the promise I made to an Archangel no longer amongst us…”

            “Please,” Mhia begged Dante. “If being an Archangel holds any meaning to you. Kill him! I will marry Maximillian Osgia. We’ll fight Judicium together just like we planned. But kill him! Please!”

            “I can’t…” whispered Dante, ashamed.

            “Then kill me…if you cannot do your duty as an Archangel, kill me.”

Dante remained quiet. He didn’t even have the decency to look her in the eyes.

Venir in the other hand had no shame. He looked right down at her, smiling. “If you want a miracle so bad, why don’t you pray to God?”

A fire started to brew inside Mhia once more. “Fear not. I will pray every night and day until the day God f*****g burns you…”

Malus kicked her. “Wrong God, c**t.” He leaned over her again and stuck two fingers inside her. “Now this time, I want you to pray to me.”

Author's Note

I imagine this chapter can drastically change how you view the characters involved. So I'm curious to know your thoughts on Venir/Malus, Mhia, and Dante, and about the events that transpired.

Reviews

[Dark Rider]

Okay, first, I'm sorry for the long awaited review. I've ben really busy. Second: WHATTHEHECK,VENIR?! I honestly have no words to describe the shock I'm in right now. I both want to strangle the boy and want to feel sorry for him because he basically just lost his mind. Thank you for making me have conflicting thoughts about my favorite character, Cynical! XD
Putting all that aside, It was a good chapter. I kind of feel a tiny bit of sympathy for Mhia, but then again, she had it coming to her. She should have known that he was going to do something bad to her when he got the chance. Though, I do believe he should have just tortured her like he had been tortured, but hey, it's your story.
I am still loving this book, even though I haven't read it in a while. It's still one of the best ones I've seen plot wise, and the action and betrayal in it really keeps me guessing. I love it and can't for more. :)

[Cynical_Art]

Thanks for still reviewing :) It's okay, I've been real busy myself. Had to move again. But yeah, I actually finished the rest of the chapters for this book, so I'll revise the last couple left and post them so you can read it. I started writing the sequel but I haven't posted any of it yet. I'm writing it in a way so that it's accessible to people that didn't read this one since the 60 so chapters is probably overwhelming for an online reading website. Although if you've read this one, it's definitely going to be much more enjoyable.

Moving on to the chapter, yes, Venir/Malus has essentially lost it lol In his previous chapter he pretty much cracked and this is the biggest turning point in his character. I will always give reasons to hate/love every character though since there really is no good or evil in my story. The next few chapters of the climax will also feature turning points for other characters so stay tuned :)

[Dark Rider]

Yes, but why did you put more reasons to hate Venir in this chapter?! Again, HE WAS MY FAVORITE! I swear, if you do anything like this to Caius, you're in trouble. XD
I was also kind of sad to see Charles die finally. Now I feel like there's going to be a hole in the story until you throw another shocking turn of events in my face, lol.
And if you couldn't tell, I'm definitely sticking around to read this book, and its sequel, through to the very end. :)

[Cynical_Art]

Lol well there's certainly a couple more stuff that'll happen :) I posted the next chapter and will be posting the remaining ones hopefully by the end of today as well.

[Dark Rider]

Yay! I'll go read them now. :)