Dark Secrets
Walking along the dark maze like corridors as his heart race frantically, General Ashe rushed towards the Grand Master's office.
When he saw the door to his destination, Ashe bypassed all courtesy and etiquette that he holds on very dearly, and just barged inside.
"Grand Master we have to evacu-" Ashe announced as he went inside the Grand Master's room, but the moment he laid eyes on the view in front of him, his voice died.
Feeling his heart take a plunge to the ground, Ashe stood frozen, his face filled with unimaginable horror.
There, on the far end of the room by the window, the man that Ashe ever so revered and held in high regard. Now that same man knelt on the ground like a brainless mutt, continuously licking the shoe of a man sitting crossed legged on the table where the Grand Master himself worked. The same man that held himself with dignity was nowhere to be seen, as he tried to please his so called "master" before him with great enthusiasm.
"Grand Master, what are you doing?!" Ashe spoke, feeling bile rising to his throat.
As if Ashe became air, the Grand Master kept licking the shoe of the man before him. No longer able to watch the despicable scene in front of him, Ashe removed his gaze from the Grand Master. Transferring his stare to the man that transformed his revered teacher into a mindless slave, there Ashe saw a familiar face starring right back at him, the owners inky black eyes twinkling with wickedness and amusement.
"You! What have you done to the Grand Master?!" Ashe roared in rage
Ignoring him, the Raven started inspected his nails and spoke as he does so.
"My dear loyal dog, remined me again, who I am to you"
"You are my master, the all powerful Raven!" The Grand Master answered whilst imitating a dog trying to get its owners attention.
"And why did you decide to become my dog again?" The Raven asked, feigning ignorance
"My master is all powerful! He promised me great power to rule over the Gifteds if I agree to becoming his dog." The Grand Master replied in earnest
"And do enjoy being my dog?"
"Yes! Certainly, all mighty master Raven! Becoming your dog has and will always be the best decision that I have made in my entire existence!" The Grand Master replied with great excitement and enthusiasm.
"But what about the Gifteds, your very own kind? Isn't pitiful if a powerful Gifted such as yourself be downgraded to becoming a mere dog?" The Raven said with a tone of mocking concern.
"Leaving them is but a small sacrifice in exchange for the absolute power that my master has bestowed upon me!" The Grand Master replied
"Oh? Is that so.. hmmm." The Raven said with a gigantic smirk on his face, as he watched Ashe's face contorted in rage every time the Grand Master spoke. Clenching his fists until they became white and clenching his jaws until they're about to lock, Ashe's distain and wrath mixed with hurt and incredible shock, was very evident. Seeing the man in front of him slowly crumble further fueled the Rave's ecstasy. Wanting to see Ashe crumble even more, until he's no more, the Raven spoke once again.
"I'm getting bored, my dog." The Raven said dramatically
"What should this loyal dog do to entertain you, my great master?" The Grand Master immediately jumped to the Raven's beck and call.
"Hmm.. how about you tell me a story"
"What kind of story would you like to hear?"
"How about... the one when you waged war against the Queen of the Gifteds" The raven starred very intently into Ashe's horror filled eyes as he spoke.
"Certainly!" The Grand Master obliged "It all started when the Gifteds saw the evident decline in power of their kind under the rule of the so called Queen. The Gifteds were no longer satisfied with how the Queen ruled, but they could just keep their mouths shut in fear of being punished by the tyrant. As the years passed by, the Gifteds' discontent with their Queen grew more and more. Until one day a group of Guros, or the so called advisors of the Queen, told her a prophecy: that under her rule, the Gifted kind will be divided and many lives will be lost. That prophecy tipped the Gifteds into their breaking point and wage a rebellion against the Queen. With I, your loyal dog, at the helm of the rebellion, the Gifted kind started planning. Many Gifteds agree with the rebellion but many were also still afraid of being overpowered by the tyrant herself. So, I, as the leader went and search for a solution that would ultimately bring the Queen to her demise. That's when my master had encountered this loyal dog. As I continued to wander and lose my way, you my great master brought me back to my path. You promised to give me the power that I so desperately seek, in return, I would become your loyal dog.
In great desperation, I agreed to your proposal and became your very loyal dog. Returning to Petra with new found power, the rebellion finally started. Even with a great cause, many Gifteds decided to stay neutral and seek for peace and balance instead. Many stood in the rebellion's way, including my so called bestfriends, Samuel and Esther. They begged me to stop the rebellion as many Gifted lives will perish along its path. They said that the deaths were unnecessary, but I say they are. Those deaths are precious to completely cleanse our kind and start over.
Alas, they never understood my vison, so they died by my very own hands. With them by my side, together, we could've ruled over the Gifteds. Now that they're gone, I decided that at least their children should take their place. Taking pity on their children, I decided on raising them myself.
Searching for the Children's whereabouts, it was very unfortunate by I was only able to save one. Raising that child like my own, I re-named him Ashe. We might've not been successful in overthrowing the tyrant in the end, but we succeeded in making her let go of one of the sacred places made for Gifteds and its precious location. The Queen held a tight lip when it came to these sacred locations, but seeing that she's willing to give up one, just goes to show how powerful the rebellion was and the impact it brought to the Gifted kind.
Many joined me in creating a new paradise for the Gifted and ended up calling it 'Castle'. The Gifted kind flourished under my command as the years passed by, bringing us to today"
"Wonderful!" The Raven clapped in enjoyment, as he watched Ashe drop to his knees and began throwing up on the ground.
Every time the words that he just heard repeated over and over again in his head, his stomach would revolt, making him chuck his guts out over and over as well. As tears started streaming down his face, he felt his whole world that he knew crumble before him, just as the lie it was. The Grand Master deceived and brainwashed him into making the perfect and ultimate slave.
"Now, my dog. That's isn't all, am I right?" The Raven began speaking again to Ashe's horror.
"Yes, of course!" The Grand Master nodded his head
"What of the Gifted that migrated to the Castle?" The Raven asked for s*beep*s and giggles.
"They are to be raised to perfection, so that when the time ripe, they are to be served to the Shadows, to be eaten." The Grand Master answered
"And what day is today?"
"Today is the day, set for the Shadows to feast on the perfect produce that I worked my life on"
Hearing what he just heard, Ashe slammed his fists on the ground and shouted on the top of his lungs.
"You MONSTER! Your treat your own kind like cattle to be eaten! HOW COULD YOU! WE TRUSTED YOU! I TRUSTED YOU!....." Ashe shouted his lungs out, not caring if he eventually snap his vocal chords. He kept shouting and shouting but to his defeat, it seemed like the Grand Master never heard a word that he just said.
Enjoying the look of the broken man in front of him, the Raven slowly pealed open the left side of his suit, before tapping its inner pocket.
Realizing that the Raven is silently telling him to check inside his suit pocket, Ashe did so, only to find a single black feather tucked inside. Coming into conclusion on why he was being treated like air. Ashe grabbed the feather before taking it out from his suit pocket. In great rage, Ashe turned the feather into stained glass, before shattering it. The moment the feather shattered it was like Ashe had came into being.
Finally Noticing Ashe, the Grand Master greeted him with a big smile.
"My dear Ashe it is good that you are here, it is time for you to meet the savior of our kind!" the Grand Master said, making the young man almost snap a vein in his neck and head.
"YOU CALL HIM THE SAVIOR OF OUR KIND?! MY WORD, YOU ARE BEYOND SAVING! AND TO THINK THAT I ONCE LOOKED UP TO YOU! YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAT A POWER HUNGRY MANIAC! It's quite ironic really. You deceived your own kind, but in the end you were being deceived first." Ashe's voice broke just as his heart is. "Hearing it come out from your own mouth, it finally reminded me who my parents' killer was. You killed them in front of me, in cold blood, making me loose my mind in the process. Ending up in that pitiful state, you took advantage of it, and gave me new memories. It's such a shame that it didn't replace my old memories, memories that I would rather forget. Memories that I would rather erase. Why would you do that! They were your close friends! They treated you like family and you still killed them! WHY?!"
As endless tears began streaming down his face, Ashe stood up, his eyes filled with rage.
"And don't call me Ashe ever again. That was never my name." The young man said, as he harshly wiped his tears away. "Rael. That's my real name. That's the name that my parent gave me."
With huff, Rael let out a self deprecating laugh, "And to think, my siblings were already right in front of my eyes, and I couldn't even recognize them."
"Ashe, what are you talking about? I only ever did the things I've done with our kind's best interest. I did it for you!" The Grand Master said
"Zip it old man!" Rael snapped, "Everything you did, you only did it for yourself!"
"My dog, it is very unfortunate but it seems that this child of yours has come to betray you." The Raven said in all seriousness, but his eyes twinkled with mischief.
"It's about time, you put him in his place once and for all." The Raven instructed as he hopped out of the table he was sitting on. "And make sure that there is nothing left of him"
"Understood, my Master" The Grand Master said as he stood to his feet.
"Remember, I do not tolerate failures" The Raven said before turning into a murder of ravens that flew right out of the office.
"It is indeed very unfortunate, but in the end you turned out defective like your parents are." The Grand Master said, void of all emotions.
Enraged, Rael charged at the Grand Master. The Grand Master calmly just lifted a finger in front of him, before giving the air a gentle tap. As the Grand Master tapped, power surged through his finger shattering the space directly in front of him. As cracks started forming all over Rael's body, when he was finally just inches away from his former teacher, his whole body shattered into tiny billions of pieces.
Emotionlessly, the Grand Master turned around before tapping the air once again with a finger. This time the space where he tapped shattered, creating a dimension portal. Giving one last look at the place where Rael once stood, the Grand Master then walked through the portal.