Mirror Sky. Part 1 - Blissful Nemesis

03 - Blessed

Sam held strong against many urges swarming his mind.

He wanted to chase after his wife and ensure his son was okay. He wanted to comfort Magnar, who turned into stone on the ground, crushed by grief, eyes fixated on his slain childhood friend. He wanted to have a drink and turn off all his thoughts.

Instead, Sam focused his eyes on the Dark Horizon. He had duties to perform. The standoff made too much noise. The trouble could be on the way.

Perhaps they got lucky this time? Their gunshots and screams were loud, but the light would have been a much bigger issue. By an incredible stroke of luck, he had just tended his gun, trusted it fully, and took the shot, not letting Leon light himself on fire. Reflections would carry the light of the blaze for thousands of miles, luring the terrors of the Twilight out.

Magnar got yanked to his feet and was led away. Sam glanced at the group and came back to examine God Pillars' reflective surfaces interrupting the Dark Horizon.

He listened to the Call of Nought mumbling in his head non-stop. Day after day. Year after year. He learned to tune it out with a combination of mental tricks, the drug Hush, and good old moonshine, but right now, he needed to know if the voice in his head was getting louder.

Nought was different for everyone. To him, she spoke in a female voice - typical among men. Who would not have liked to have a seductive lady whisper in his ear? Sam imagined her as a femme-fatale at a bar who decided to flirt with you out of nowhere. The feeling of uplift you get from her sweet voice, purposeful accidental touches, and rehearsed flowing motions! Absolute intoxication. A smart man would sense foul play and walk away. However, deep inside, even a smart man wanted to see all her traps through. He would die, yes, but with a smile on his face.

Sam tentatively let his guard down. The femme-fatale rushed to his ear.

You enjoyed killing him...

Sam began to melt.

You did... You are a natural... Embrace it... Smell the blood...

He slowly inhaled. It smelled like perfume.

So sweet... Leon had it coming... It hits you stronger if you kill young, innocent, trusting... Your own flesh and blood...

Sam turned and looked at his wife in the distance, heading to the Landship Daring. In her hands, Alexander. His son.

If you look into his big trusting eyes and squeeze his throat...

Reluctantly, Sam turned away and began taming voices with fear: fear of losing his loved ones, fear of snapping and acting out on his urges. He raised the barriers in his mind one by one and fortified them. Love for his family. Empathy. Nought retreated, and as she did, she clawed his humanity, hurting it, subverting it. The bloodthirsty bliss subsided, giving place to pain and existential fear of losing everyone he ever cared about.

Sam pushed Nought back to where she was, but he knew she won a few more inches of his mind in this fight. They played this game back and forth for years, and she had advanced miles, slowly and silently taking a firm hold of him. The won mental battles were hollow. Sam knew Nought was winning the war.

He glanced at Leon's body on the ground. It had a further sobering effect on him, but it also reminded him of his ultimate fate. One day, it would be him on the floor. Who would have to pull the trigger? If he was lucky, it would be somebody who did not care as much. He would not want to scar his friend, wife, or son on his way out.

In his quick skirmish with Nought, he found out what he needed. The voice was indeed getting louder. Soon, he saw why.

The Dark Horizon was spilling onto the reflective surfaces of God Pillars. It was tricky to spot, and yet, patch by patch, the Twilight gave up to the darkness.