Morpheous has Risen - 1

Morpheous closed his eyes, trying to devote his full attention to those voices but seeing him flinch as he closed his eyes, got Eva worried.

"What is wrong with you, brother? Are you in pain like at the lakeside? Is your hand burning again?" Asked Eva.

"You were there with him Eva?" Asked Damianos surprised.

"Where? What are you asking about Damianos?" Eva asked without looking at him and gave a mild jerk to Morpheous, and he opened his eyes.

Damianos looked at Morpheous, and then he looked at Eva in disbelief.

"You also woke up next to him near the lakeside? I mean last night?", asked a shocked Damianos with the sudden revelation.

"Erm... Yeah... But how do you know about the lakeside?" asked a puzzled Eva.

"I told him about it yesterday..." said Morpheous and then realized what mistake he had done. A slight slip of tongue, but something that would not go unnoticed by his sister.

"Yesterday? But wasn't Damianos at a neighboring village yesterday? Then how and when did he talk with you, brother?" asked Eva with a skeptical tone, looking at Morpheous.

Changing the course of conversation, Damianos said,

"Morpheous, take Nicholas and help him meet our Apothecary. But do meet with your parents first. They have been worried about you since long. Meanwhile, little Eva and I have some talking to do. Come Eva, let's go near our favorite spot," and saying that Damianos held Eva's hand and started walking towards the Angel oak tree.

After walking a couple of steps, Damianos turned back and saw that Morpheous and Nicholas had already crossed quite a distance. Gauging that it was the right time to ask questions he halted and turned towards Eva.

"What did you see near the lakeside? How did you reach there? Morpheous has no recollection of it. Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

But Eva wanted her own answers first. So instead of answering to his question, she asked one of her own,

"What are you both hiding from me?"

Even though she was young, she was one of the best scholars that Damianos had seen in his life, and was way mature, than the young ones of her age. He was initially hesitant as he didn't want to burden her with the truth, but he knew that the truth of Morpheous was something that was not going to be hidden for long.

He had turned twenty-five a couple of days back, and it was his time to rise and realize who he really was. The curse that he had for the last twenty-years had been broken. As Damianos remembered a couple of words from the prophecy, he took a deep breath and said,

"I am not hiding anything from you my child. I think you already know something. It's just that you want me to stamp on your beliefs," said Damianos and looked deep into the eyes of her, trying to tap onto the secrets lying within her.

"It's ok, don't hide anything from me. Everything has an explanation. Probably what you are thinking as something out of the blue also might have an explanation," and saying that he placed his index and middle finger on her forehead, just to see what was worrying that child.

But the very next second, Damianos stepped back startled as he couldn't believe what he saw. An involuntary shudder ran through his spine and his eyes looked blank, as if he had seen death.

"What... What happened Damianos?" asked Eva, seeing his eyes go blank.

"When did you... Why were you in the kingdom? When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me before? What was written on that baton?" Damianos started heaping his questions in front of her.

"But I haven't told you anything. How do you about the baton?", asked Eva and started taking a couple of steps back. "I thought it was just a dream.... Don't tell me it was not a dream...". Her breaths became haggard, and she looked at Damianos with fright filled in her eyes.

Calming himself down, Damianos said, "Trust me Eva. Trust me when I say that I will protect your brother. Just tell me what was written on that baton." Shutting her eyes close, Eva tried hard to recollect what she had seen. Since everything happened in a flash of a second, her memory wasn't clear and so Damianos was unable to read the words on the baton.

"It was... It was something like - 'In the end, only time shall prevail'. I think."

"Balthazaar !!!", muttered Damianos.

"Yes, yes... that was the name of the man holding the baton. Do you know him? He is the head of the general council," said Eva, trying to pour in as much detail as she could recollect. Then she continued, "I don't know what that man did, but the next second, we were in the forest of the forbidden. It was like he flipped us back in time. Because everything that you see now, for me and for Brother, that had already happened. I don't know, probably I can't even explain to you but trust me, what I am saying..."

"I trust you... I understand what you are saying Eva," said Damianos looking into her eyes.

"But how could you know what had happened? Did you just touch my forehead and read my mind? I thought the only person who had magical powers was Master Nubeous but then happened Balthazaar and now... Now you...", said Eva and looked at Damianos. "What are you hiding Damianos? How do you know Balthazaar?"

Taking a deep breath, Damianos looked at Eva and said,

"I know him... because we share the same father Eva."

"No.... what are you saying Damianos? You are a man... just like us. Aren't you? Just like me, just like bro...". Her words halted before she could say the same about her brother. Looking into the eyes of Damianos she asked, "Tell me, he is like us right?"

Taking a deep breath, Damianos asked her, "Do you remember the prophecy of soul realm that I taught..."

"Yes, I do," and saying that she started narrating...

'The bolt of death,

Will perch up in the sky.

Oh, the suitor of death,

The throne you would decry,

The son of God will rise.....'

And she halted and couldn't dare to finish it.

.

Damianos looked at Eva and said, "The son of God has risen !!!"