EXPOSING EVIL

After a few days, La Resistencia and the Community of Dawn were still at war and more and more people accepted their fate.

"I'm not going to fight, once I cut the thread I'll accept my fate," Zev said holding a gun pointed towards his temple.

Nix looked at him tenderly, even her pale eyes were filled with subtle tears. Nix was beginning to look beautiful in Zev's eyes, after all she was a powerless deity, she was very tall, with curly golden hair with hints of blue, porcelain skin and thin fingers, her lips were thin and reddish.

"I'm no longer afraid of dying, maybe I've become insensitive, I feel so different that I could swear this is all my imagination," he said to himself.

"Cut the thread," Nix threw the same sword he killed the other girl with. Zev bravely grabbed it and without thinking twice he passed it over the thread, managing to separate his body from Nix's.

Mother Aether rose into the sky, she felt freedom and power, however, Zev didn't feel that way, there was still something that tied him to Nix.

"So you won't go with me?" Nix asked, extending her hand.

Zev looked at her from the ground, he was sitting hugging his knees in a fetal position and at his side a gun loaded with a single bullet.

"Come on," she smiled warmly.

Zev took her hand and they joined Milo and Luna.

"And my children?" Nix asked.

"They crossed the northern lights but they're trapped," someone behind them spoke. It was Shun.

The young soldier knelt when he was in Nix's presence.

"Ma'am," he implored.

When Nix asked Shun to stop kneeling, they felt the breeze of the air caressing their faces, then a tremor shook the ground they were standing on, immediately the water wet their shoes and finally, the Community facilities caught fire thanks to a strong explosion.

Hearing and seeing what happened, Zev reacted. Ocean, Evander, Ayden and Barret were back.

"Nature strikes," Zev uttered in a thick voice knowing it wasn't his. "It's time to fight."

Zev's eyes blackened even more and he sprang into action, emerging from hiding and his other allies following behind him.

"That's not my brother, what's wrong with him mother ether?"

Nix didn't answer but she knew something was strange. Outside, chaos reigned, many people ran out and a few asked for help from either la Resistencia or the Community of Dawn.

In a wide field, reinforcements made their appearance, ready to confront the mother ether.

"Where is?" Barret asked very determined.

"Isn't it humiliation enough for you to come pick a fight?" Milo challenged the reinforcements.

Barret spat on his shoes. Zev, on the other hand, blinded by the darkness that invaded him, approached walking on all fours towards the middle of the field, he seemed to sniff out something.

"And what's wrong with this asshole?" Evander commented.

Zev stopped as soon as he looked at her, the Ocean from his dimension was standing next to the reinforcements, who felt confused and distant.

Ocean also looked at him with a confused expression, she didn't know what face to make or what emotion to feel but nothing was positive there. Neither of them reacted for a moment until Barret felt desperate.

"There is no time for romantic reunions," he commented frustratedly and launched into attacking his opponents.

However, Shun jumped to Milo's aid and covered him with his body. Barret was surprised to see how good a fighter he was.

Barret decided to use his power and attack him to get rid of him but Shun responded, protecting himself using fire.

"What the hell?" Barrett questioned.

Seeing that Barret had a difficult time, Ayden jumped to his aid and launched a water attack, which Shun was able to counter using the wind and pushed away the wave that was approaching him.

"How does he do that?" was surprised.

"I guess if I attack him with my wind he'll use the earth to defend himself," Evander thought as he frowned.

"I forgot to mention that we have a problem, if we attack him he can counter," mentioned Ocean, who was far from the fighting zone.

"How tough is it, love?" he asked her.

"I don't really know," she replied, crossing her arms.

Evander headed at high speed using a large-scale tornado, Shun smiled very proudly and prepared to face someone like the wind boy, however, he did not contemplate the magnitude of his power. Despite using the earth as a shield, the tornado was too strong and was able to collapse some of his protection causing a few cuts to his face.

"Tssk," he complained about the cuts as his fingers touched his own blood.

"Hey, who are you?" he asked him.

"My name is Ronny Randy Shun."

Zev reacted to that name, Ronny, the same one he had been mistaken for on the day of the train.

"What kind of ridiculous name is that," he commented not very pleasantly.

"Hey don't make fun!" He demanded respect.

Evander sighed, "hey join us," he proposed.

Everyone present was taken by surprise by Evander's proposal.

"And what did I gain? being with your girl?" He stared shamelessly at Ocean.

Evander's serious expression changed to a completely enraged one, that comment was not funny nor was he willing to accept it. Evander was tired of every man who showed up wanting to take Ocean away from him.

"Get yours, you bastard son of a bitch," he thought.

Shun's expression changed when he saw how Ocean approached him quickly ready to attack, he wanted to defend himself using the water element but she was not going to attack him with fire, but with brute force since it was the only way to stop him.

Shun saw her fist approaching at high speed and with the strength of her hard skin she managed to knock him out in a matter of seconds. Ocean wiped the blood from her knuckles with her tongue and then spat on the ground.

At that moment, the other Ocean was talking to herself, believing that she was in a strange dream because she was impressed to see the powers of each of those present there. She walked away slowly and fell to the ground seeking comfort. Zev ran towards her on all fours, still, and tried to touch her.

"Back away," she became defensive.

"Ocean, I wanted to tell you something..."

"Stay away, you look horrible, I don't want to hear anything you say," hearing this comment, fire Ocean felt proud.

"I don't love you anymore," he whispered.

Ocean felt a chill when she heard his words, the comment hurt but not to the point of hurting her, in any case it was what she needed to hear to feel free.

Zev's appearance was creepy, he looked more haggard than normal, with hollow eyes and a vacant look, the tone of his voice was distant, he had become a total stranger to everyone.

"I wasn't going to do it forever either," she replied, standing up, ready to walk away.

At that moment Maeko appeared from behind and began to sing in the other Ocean's ear to subject her to powerful hypnosis. She lowered the effect of the song, convinced herself that everything was a dream and that when she woke up she wouldn't remember anything, not even her life with Zev.

The girl of the song opened a portal where the other Ocean could return to her reality and continue her real life like anyone else. Zev watched her enter, this time to get away from him forever.

When the portal closed and she was no longer there, Zev began to expel a black liquid from his mouth, its consistency was viscous, which made him feel worse.

When he finished, a black mass was left in front of them, which slowly took shape until it became a flesh and blood person.

First the body was formed and lastly the face, in front of them was the face of darkness, Nix's counterpart.

"Ebon?" Ayden was surprised, "is that you?"