A feather for your courage

Talim was almost there, she could see Tarim crying over her body. She was happy as it was only a question of minutes before she could rejoin him. She was as high as the mountain, after all the distance she made, what was left was nothing and she was already imagining herself cuddling her brother, telling him how much she was sorry for the pain she had caused him.

When she started to feel herself again, starting to feel the connection between her soul and her corpse. When the breath of Tarim over her made her warm, she suddenly had the feeling of being in great danger. She turned her head and saw the Golden City in the sky, with above it, an angel in golden armor. 

"This is not a Jessadian, he can't see me. Zuline said only Jessadians can…" She could not finish her sentence when she saw a large grin on the lips of the man. Talim was sure now, he had seen her and he was coming for her. The flapping of the golden wings was quick and precise, the panic took her and she started to move frantically like swimming in the air to join Tarim as fast as possible. 

Her hand was almost on the scale of the dragon, she could touch him with one little impulse, but the strong hand of the man grabbed her by the collar and took her away.

"Brother!!!" Talim screamed, but Tarim could not hear her, still crying over her dead body in the clearance. 

The man didn't give her any chances to fight, the struggle was real. He moved her like a paper doll and joined the Golden City in no time. They flew over the remaining gods and she understood they were looking at him with a curious expression. Nobody could see her, nobody except him. 

If her fear was already great, it only increased when she was thrown into a cell of white marble. There were golden hooks and chains, and a table that she identified as a torture tool. The floor was white and pure but she saw traces of blood. This blood had been washed before and it was so old that it was grayish on the floor. She swallowed in silence, feeling her sweat falling from her forehead. 

Talim was young, even if she was a queen, she never had to face such kind of scenery. The man closed the door behind him, he crossed his arms, and stood strongly against the door. 

His long hair was golden and his blue eyes were piercing. If it was not in these circumstances she would have found him handsome. His large chest and powerful bare arms were decorated with bracelets and thin golden chains. The man passed one of his massive hands over his head to push his hair back with a charming smile.

"Welcome to the city of gods, little one."

Talim listened to him, his voice was incredibly beautiful. In a low tone, it was inspiring power and respect. Nothing about him could let her think of a mean or cruel man, it was the kind of gentleman anyone would follow to shine with him. Absolutely everything about him was perfect. 

The man walked to Talim, the enchanting smile on his face was reassuring her and she felt safe to the point of almost forgetting the room she was in. He lowered himself to look into her eyes and his melodic voice was calming her.

"Here is the thing, little one, I need your help," he whispered to her ear.

Talim looked at him with curious eyes.

"Me? How?"

The man brought his hand up to her face and caressed her cheek softly.

"You are about to have something interesting and I want to make a deal with you."

Talim listened with attention as he continued.

"When you retrieve your body, the blood of Zarkhaïm will run through your veins and unlock a very special power. An ally of mine told me that your power, little one, will be to have access to the memory of the blood."

She opened her eyes widely, "What is it?"

He chuckled and took a seat in front of her, crossing his arms on his chest once again.

"The memory of the blood is just a theory. It says that the shared blood from one to another member of the same family can transmit the souvenirs in the lineage. Manipulating the power of blood would allow you to access the memory inside someone's blood having a resonance with your own."

Even being born in a world with magic, Talim was surprised by what he was saying. 

"If it is true, what do you need from me?"

The man smiled widely and leaned in her direction.

"Everything. I need every memory of every member of Zarkhaïm's blood. I need you to be my little spy from the inside."

Talim looked at him with surprise, "But, isn't it betrayal?"

The man freed one of his hands and took one of hers in his.

"What is betrayal, was to save your brother and not you. Some of us know what will happen and the collapse of the universe. Do you think that this day there will be a place for you with them? They will separate you from your brother, but I can make a place for you both in my kingdom of light, my lost bird. I can protect you from the life of suffering they promised you. I can protect both you and your beloved Tarim."

Talim had a sparkle in her eyes, after the fear she had while speaking with Zuline, what he was saying was exactly what she needed to hear. She felt safe and it didn't take much for her to believe in him. 

"I am Archanium, I am the unique God of light. I created what humans call heaven, I ascended humans to the rank of gods and angels. I have the necessary power to protect you, unlike them. I also think I can prevent the end of multiple worlds. I can save everyone, but I need your help for this," Then he had a grin, "It is not for nothing that Zarkhaïm was born in the shadows and me in the light. You will never cry again with me, you can believe me."

Talim desperately wanted to believe in his parole, after having been poisoned by the first friend she made, rejected by Zuline, and seeing Tarim all alone with her dead body in his claws without any of them to try to help him it was obvious that Archanium words sounded much different. 

"What if I don't have this power you mention?" She asked, lowering her head timidly.

Archanium stood up from his chair and took her chin in his fingers, "Don't worry, my child, you will have this power."

She lost herself in his beautiful eyes, drinking what he said word after word.

"I believe in you, little one, you will be my amazing little spy. Together we will prevent the collapse of the universe, and even if we can't, we will build another kingdom of light and save as many people as we can."

Talim had a large smile, she had completely forgotten the place she was in and the traces of blood on the floor. It became just normal to her vision and the charisma of Archanium was overcoming every doubt she could have had. 

"What should I do now?" She asked and decided to follow his path.

Archanium knew he won, and it was even more enjoyable that he didn't have to fight too much for it. 

"Now, I will bring you back to your body. You will awaken your tremendous power and be reborn as the powerful creature you were meant to be."

"Will it be painful? Zuline said it will."

Archanium had a dark look, "Zuline is a filthy creature of the darkness. She sees only pain wherever she goes." 

The man spread his wings and ripped a feather from one of them, he placed it in her hands and closed her fingers on it.

"If the shadows become too hard to stand, think of me, little one, and I will be the light guiding you through the darkness."

Talim looked at the feather, its light and warmth was incredible, she placed it against her chest firmly and nodded. Full of resolve, her fear completely vanished at the contact of the god. He placed a solid hand on her shoulder, giving her a firm look of determination.

"Are you ready to embrace your destiny and become a secret paladin at the service of the light and humankind?"

The young queen nodded and answered in a tone she didn't know she could have, "Yes! I am!"

In the blink of an eye, Talim found herself near Tarim once again. She looked at her brother but there was no sorry look any more in her expression. She found herself an unexpected courage to guide her steps. Talim didn't fall to her body, she controlled her movements and faced herself lying unanimated on the floor, stained with blood.

She looked at Tarim one last time before her soul would join back the realm of the living.

"I love you, brother."

Then, she pressed the feather against her a bit stronger and she hopped into her corpse.