What Does It Mean

I lift my hand, quickly summoning the portal to go back. I stand on unsteady feet and quickly step through the portal as if trying to run away. Hell, I was. When I reappear, Mago yells, "Woah! What was that!?"

I fall back to my knees, as a light snow falls down all around me. Mago awkwardly clears his throat and asks, "Are you okay? What happened? You were sucked in for like two seconds and then spat out!"

His words have me frowning. I was only gone for two seconds?

Suddenly, the old woman's words come back to mind. She said that time didn't exist there. I was there for hours but here... it didn't seem like I was gone at all. I close my eyes, forcing myself to calm down as I try to digest everything.

How do I even know that she's telling the truth?

As soon as I ask myself that question, I know how stupid it is. She knew my last name. Mago breaks my thoughts again as he asks, "Lyra? Are you okay?" I sigh and say, "Sure, I'm fine. I just need a minute."

He hesitates before silently slipping from my necklace and into another mirror further away. I remain on my knees as I silently stare at the ground slowly being covered by the snow. I wish that I could bury everything in the snow.

An endless winter so that the snow wouldn't melt once spring came.

I don't know how long I stay there like that before blinking. You know what? It doesn't change anything. I'm me, with or without that information. What does any of it have to do with me? If she really was my mother, she abandoned me.

Whether she didn't want to deal with me or wanted to protect me, she left me in the care of others. I'm not going to hunt her down or try to get answers. It wouldn't change anything. Was I mad? No, not really. There was nothing to be angry over.

Who knows what my life would have been like if she had kept me by her side? Would I even still be me? Or still be alive? By hiding me away, she gave me a chance at life, and for that; I'm grateful, not angry.

I don't understand why she felt she had to do what she did, but she must have had her reasons. So, I'm going to respect those reasons and her decision, whether I understand it or not. I guess I got a taste of what was in Pandora's box and decided to close it back up.

I didn't want to know any more than I already did but for some reason, an unsettling feeling had taken root in my heart. I was living blissfully unaware of my true origin and the dangers it could bring.

My mother, Nyx, the very Goddess herself felt that she needed to hide me away. That didn't sit well with me, at all.

Don't worry, I will continue to stay hidden. I don't want to alert whatever enemies may be lurking in the dark. I suddenly had a feeling of wanting to protect the tiny bit of happiness that I had recently found here. I didn't want anything or anyone to threaten it, including me.

___________

WEIMIN

Weimin pushes everything off his desk in a fit of rage. Everything crashes down as he yells, "Nothing's happened!? You're telling me the Deity of the East just walked in there and never came back out?"

The guard lowers his head, clenching his fists as he says, "Yes, reports have him walking in but not coming out. No one has seen or heard of him since he stepped inside." Weimin's anger surges but he manages to swallow it as he asks, "Were there any signs of fighting?"

The guard shakes his head 'no' and says, "Nothing. It's been silent." Weimin grabs the desk and flips it! It crashes into the wall, shattering as he yells, "Are the troops ready?" The guard flinches and falls to his knee as he reports, "The troops are ready, the Deity of the West and South are waiting for you in the reception hall as well."

Weimin sneers as he walks past the kneeling guard and heads straight for the other two Deities. Either they killed the Deity of the East or he's now on their side. It's unacceptable! Before walking into the hall, he takes a deep breath, calming himself and fixing his clothes.

As soon as he walks in, he finds both of them staring at him. One had all-white hair while the other one still had black hair. He bows, showing respect as he says, "I first want to thank you both for coming here on such short notice but it's an emergency."

The two Deities silently look at each other before looking back to Weimin. Weimin wastes no time and says, "A man named Bolin isn't human! He's using dark forbidden methods to attack our nation. He's taken the king and the Goddess! He's been poisoning her mind with his lies to use her against us. He wants to destroy our world and kill everyone in it!"

The two Deities frown, not really knowing what to think but it sounded like this monster named Bolin needs to be stopped. The Deity from the West with white hair asks, "Are you asking for our assistance in bringing down this monster?"

Weimin nods and says, "I even reached out to the Deity of the East, and he tried to help but Bolin killed him." The two flinch, widening their eyes in shock. They look at each other again, nodding together before saying, "We will help take down this monster. If the Goddess is too far gone, we will have no choice but to kill her as well."

Weimin panics and quickly says, "No! If you... if you could just capture her or knock her out, I'll take care of the rest. I have a way to save her, but I can only do that if I can get close enough." The two frown but slowly nod their heads in agreement.

Deep down though, they would not hesitate to kill her as well. They're talking about the safety of their world!

Suddenly, a commotion outside has several guards running in and reporting. They bow before anxiously reporting, "Demons! There appear to be demons popping up all over! Reports of sightings keep coming. There are too many, Young Master. What should we do? Should we attack Bolin, or should we divide the soldiers and send them out to the places that were reporting the sightings?"

Weimin narrows his eyes dangerously as he yells out, "We keep to the plan! The King's safety is the most important. Once we have the King back, we will send troops out to the villages that have reported sightings of the Demons!"

The two Deities nod in agreement as Weimin leaves to get ready. Why now of all the times!? Right as they're about to attack, sightings are popping up everywhere. Was this really a coincidence or was there something more to this?

Doesn't matter. Once Bolin is dead and he has Lyra back, he will figure out the rest. Nothing else matters until then. He picks up his armor and straps them on before picking up his long sword and wiping it with a dark cloth.

Even if poison didn't kill him, it would be enough to slow him down. He won't let him win this time, no matter what.