The Veil
Beta Belt
2015
Arzen felt a numb stab
of pain as she opened her eyes, moaning quietly as it resonated from her chest
to her arm to her legs. It felt like the kind of pain a day after dancing, a
day after swimming or participating in strenuous activity – except for the
looming asthma attack she’d have.
The sight that greeted
her bewildered her. Managing to sit up, she saw mirrors all around her, her own
figure greeting her. Arzen knotted her brows, pushing the hair out of her eyes.
She was wearing the
same thing that she had worn on the bus, on the way north. Her green sweater
hid away the soft white graphic shirt underneath. Her Oxfords remained clean,
and so did the dark jeans. She looked perfectly okay – a little pale, a little shaken.
She remembered falling
asleep after the first rest station, curling and facing away from the rest of
them who were laughing and chatting. The coffee she had chugged hours before
had begun to chip away. Before she woke up, she was in the bus on the way to
their retreat. Now, she was in an unknown room full of mirrors.
She tried not to feel
afraid. It had already happened before, twice.
The first, she was in the Peace Garden and ended up in the middle of
Technika’s Crossroads. The second, she was in her room, and then pulled away
into nothing –
“Mathias?” she
whispered. He had to be there. He was always
there. “…Mathias?” No one replied. Stifling a small whimper, she tried calling
his name yet again, but no reply came. Lifting her head, she looked into the
mirror.
Her coffee-brown eyes widened
as she saw the male in his Technikan suit, the lines and such glowing a very
bright powder blue. Elated, she said his name again – Mathias – and looked
behind her eagerly…yet he wasn’t there.
Irritation seeping into
her, Arzen rubbed her eyes and stared at the mirror. He was there – still there
– still smiling. The ice-blue eyes found hers and she stared at him, upset and
angry, and he began to walk forward. His mouth opened and he said a name she
strained to hear.
Arzen scrambled away
from where she was seated, gasping as she saw a man materialize right next to
her. He didn’t seem to notice her actions. “One moment he’s with you, protecting
you. Another moment, he’s gone. Terrible, don’t you think?” the man mused,
turning his head slowly to look at her.
His eyes were the same
hue of blue. Mathias’, however, had a certain warmth to them, a lick of
affection that he couldn’t quite express.
This man’s, however…it
was void of warmth. He was coldness in its purest form.
“Have you wondered if
there was anyone else before you?”
“There had to be
someone,” she answered a little too quickly. This made Nero’s lips curve up
slightly.
Usually, there wouldn’t be a response.
“How right you are.” Nero
looked back into the mirror and immediately, the reflections changed. Instead of
a Creator and the Lightning Original, Arzen saw a grinning man with wild brown
hair, laughing loudly as a girl punched his shoulder. The two moved freely, him
laughing heartily and his green eyes shining while the girl, a stormy-eyed
brunette, huffed loudly in irritation.
She couldn’t stop
herself. “Who are they?”
“Gabriel Silvas and
Amaryllis Coquelicot. People from the Alpha Belt, two Watchers tasked to their
own respective Assignments.” Nero didn’t bother explaining what or where the
Alpha Belt was and went on, “Watching Arianne Venura and Giselle Rivers,
respectively.”
Venura.
Rivers.
“Your Alpha Counterpart
and Elaine Rivers’ counterpart,” Nero added. “Interesting, isn’t it?” Arzen
didn’t reply, finding his coldness unbearable. “Here’s another fun fact, Monika.”
Arzen’s head snapped up
at his usage of her first name.
“Gabriel and Amaryllis
had…a thing with each other,” he said carefully. “Passion, attraction. Whatever
it is,” he told her dully. “And do you know what’s interesting about that?”
She shook her head. No, I don’t. And…I don’t think I want to
know.
Nero heard her
perfectly. So he smiled, flashing his teeth, and the two figures in the mirror
stopped.
Next to Gabriel,
Mathias appeared.
Next to Amaryllis, a
brunette lady appeared. Arzen couldn’t stop the gasp of horror that left her
lips. Next to the brunette lady with sunset eyes, Elaine herself appeared.
The Creator smiled,
triumphant, as she managed to decipher what the images meant. “I’m sure you
know what Connections and Parallelisms are.” He said nothing else as she
covered her mouth with one hand, shaking her head – not in response to his
inquiry, but to her own revelations – her own discoveries. “…painful, isn’t it?”
Painful wasn’t enough to
describe the whole thing.
You’ll never have him, she remembered the Setomion in the Tower taunting. You lost your chance. And you’re going to
lose it again. And he’ll be forever damned, to walk the Earth until it burns
and crumbles into itself. All because of you.
She remembered his
hugs, his words, his sharp intakes of breath every time he would come upon her
crying.
“You’re a star, remember? You’re my star. Don’t burn
out on me, Arzen.”
How foolish of her to
think that she’d be the only one.
Nero watched blankly as
tears rolled down her cheeks, splashing onto the ground and sizzling into the
air. He felt strangely relieved that her crying wasn’t loud – he hated loud
criers.
Besides,
he thought. The silent ones are the more
broken.
And the more broken are what make me stronger.
Nero felt it. He felt
all of it – the same anguish that surfaced over a century ago, amplified times twelve
into her. And if he closed his eyes for the fraction of a second, he’d also see
those horrified, emerald-green eyes.
“How do you feel?” he asked softly, faking a
tone of concern. When she didn’t answer, he zeroed in on her thoughts again.
The one person I thought I’d always have
Stolen away
No
No
No
Even in this time I can’t have you
If that’s the case then
I probably never will
Nero’s eyes glimmered
with a tinge of glee.
That was it.
That was what he
needed.
More tears rolled down her
cheeks and Arzen managed a small sob before covering her mouth. Snapping his
fingers, Nero watched as the images fades away.
Perhaps he could be kind.
Just this once.
Just this once.
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