Underneath the city of Thre-Etas was a huge maze of caves and tunnels. Many of these were flooded with lava, boiling water or steam and used to generate power for the city. The Trelotam Chambers though were the exception. They were cold and frigid, as billowing winds swept through them. Among the frigid cave walls, the Retha hid their best kept secrets and buried their past. These catacombs were where the Trehans were killed.
The Trehans were a type of Retha relatively unknown outside of Rethan-controlled territories. They looked very similar to normal Retha. Same height. Same weight. Same build. The only real difference was their desire to stick to the shadows, unlike their sun-worshiping cousins. Despite their sameness, the Trehans wanted to rule themselves and keep their dark ways, but a failed revolution turned them into pacifists. Their cowardliness was their undoing though, and the Trehans were all but destroyed, unable to fight back against invading Deitics.
That was over three thousand years ago. A passing memory. Only one example of their existence remained, buried in the Trelotam Chambers. Psivee-En had been born a Threan-type, but was raised by Trehans, eventually finding himself fighting and even leading them against their Rethan overlords. For his crimes, he and many other leaders of the rebellion were frozen in time, but he was the only one to survive until today.
“Occasionally, he is woken up and… Why am I telling you this? You know it all already!” Talis, the bulky Ethran-type guard in his white and blue armour, smiled down at the visitor. Talis had worked here, guarding the pretty-much-everything-proof prison cell belonging to the so-called last Trehan for most of his life. It was a good job. Lonely, but good. There was no way Psivee-En could get out of the cell, let along past Talis and the other heavily armoured guards. “You probably know more than I do. State your business, Retha.”
The visitor, looking like the polar opposite of Talis, a Threan-type half his size and in black and yellow armour, simply shook his head. “You would not understand, guard. But this is of great importance to me.”
“State your business.”
A sigh. “Fine. My name is Kayel Theanon. I…”
“I see. No need to continue. General Verlain mentioned you would be coming today. You may pass. Take the third right, his office is there, he wishes to speak to you first.”
Kayel nodded and thanked Talis. He slowly walked past the guard and edged his way down the path, passing not a single soul as he headed towards the general’s quarters. As he reached the third right, he hesitated, shivers running down his back. It wasn’t because he was cold though. The Threan knocked three times on the heavy wooden door. Beyond it, he could hear the sound of a chair creaking, then being scrapped backwards. Five, no six broad, weighty footsteps. A click. Finally the door opened.
General Verlain wasn’t as huge as the guard was, but he was still a good four heads taller than Kayel. Large, decorated shoulder plates barely did anything to protect the hulking Retha’s broad shoulders. His armour was covered in spines and his chest plate engraved with intricate zig-zaging patterns, mimicking the frozen environment around him.
“You must be Kayel.”
“Pleasure to meet you, General Verlain.”
“Please, come in.”
The office was typical of his rank. Medals, certificates and trophies littered the walls. Verlain let his guest sit down first before doing so himself.
“You do realize that your presence here is not exactly wise. After what happened all those years ago…”
“23 years ago.”
“… Yes… But you are here. And despite the high security here, I am certain he can sense your presence. You are taking a gigantic risk coming here. We have taken precautions, but I do hope you have taken the necessary steps in case things take a turn for the worse.”
Kayel nodded and pulled a small notebook from his backpack. “I have. I do believe I will not be harmed, but I have written down instructions…” He shivered again. “Just in case…”
Verlain took the notebook and awkwardly flicked through it, glancing at the detailed handwriting. After a few seconds, he closed the book, placed it neatly on his desk then pulled open a drawer to his left. A little rummaging around came up with a heavy silver chain with some sort of mechanical device hanging off the end. “When things go wrong, use this. We will come and collect you.”
“With respect General Verlain, I think you mean ‘if’?”
The general lowered his head. “No, I meant what I said. Now go. You will have as much time as you need. Do not hesitate to use the alarm.” He waved Kayel out of his office, pointing him down the end of the corridor. Kayel glanced back at Verlain, then silently left, once again edging down the hallway. Both the cold and his own nerves were nipping at his toes as he walked.
At the end of the hallway were the gigantic, bolted doors. There were no guards here, the doors could only be opened remotely. Kayel paused a good few meters in front of them. His own fears had caught up, no longer tugging at his legs, now gnawing at his spine and clawing at his mind. Maybe the General was right. Maybe this was insane. No one would question him if he turned around right now. No one would be angry. No one would judge him. No one would know his true intentions.
But Kayel would judge himself. He’d be running away from his fears yet again. He’d be a pathetic nothing. He already felt like a pathetic nothing, but not doing this would set it in stone. He would have to live with this forever, rather than ending it here. He’d never forgive himself.
He took a step forward, lingered, then took another. A camera above him squeaked, watching impatiently before shutting itself off. A third step. A fourth step. The doors shunted open, slowly at first, making just enough room for him to pass through. Five, six, seven steps. Eight, nine and he was in. The door once again shunted, this time closing him in.
The first thing Kayel noticed wasn’t how cold it was, but how dark it was. That didn’t bother him in the slightest. He couldn’t see more than a couple of meters in front of him, but he could hear, almost feel everything in the cell. Everything except the empty space where the prisoner was. A Retha-shaped nothing among bouncing sound waves.
“I am glad you came here. I did not expect you to take those last few steps.”
Psivee-En’s voice didn’t stutter. It didn’t echo. It seemed somewhat monotonous, with just a hint of joy, perhaps?
“I am here to face my fears. For too long I have been trapped in your shadow!” Kayel’s words were falsely strong. No matter how much power he put into his voice, his soul suggested otherwise.
“Your mind defies you. You are still terrified. But I understand. We both have many words for each other. Please, continue.”
Kayel blinked. He was confused by Psivee-En’s attitude. There was no evil. No malice. Nothing. Kayel’s mind suddenly went blank. His mouth was moving, but for a moment, not a single sound came out. Eventually, he managed to say something, and it was not what he expected. Something torn from the darkest depths of his mind. He’d wanted to make this quick and he’d already failed in that aspect.
“Why did you tear me apart? What did I do to deserve the life I’ve had? All I have done my entire life is what is best for everyone else. All I do is serve. I served Enyelar, the former Vice-General. I had my life ripped from me when I was only 20, giving birth to a child without a father, and everyone despised me for it. I sacrificed myself for the Vice-General, only to be torn to pieces by you. I brought what you gave me to life, only to have it taken away from me. Then six months later I died in childbirth, only to find that even death itself rejected me. Everything rejects me. Nothing wants me. I have spent the last 20 years wandering alone, unwanted. I never got to meet my children. All these years, I have lived in the shadow of my past. My triumphs are meaningless with so much pain hanging over me. What did I do to deserve all that? WHAT DID I DO?”
Psivee-En’s eyes widened. They glowed in the dark, one a hideous, tortured red, the other a pale, innocent blue. Kayel seemed visibly weak, as if his fear had taken over completely. “If I could take back what I did to you, I would. I had lost my mind. That day, I had been woken up, only to discover that everyone I ever cared about was dead. You ended up taking the brunt of my anger and you did not deserve that. Although I can never undo the past, although my apologies will mean nothing to you, I am sorry. That is why I saved you from death.”
Kayel stood still, horrified. Psivee-En picked up on this and continued.
“I have all those years watching you. You were the first being I had seen in over 2000 years and I treated you in the worst way possible. I only wished to make up for what I did. I wish to be forgiven for my horrible mistakes. That will never happen though. All that awaits is death.”
Psivee-En fell silent. Something snapped inside of Kayel. Almost audibly. The pair of them stood motionless as what little warmth remained quickly seeped out of the room.
Without warning, Kayel raised a hand, flicking his wrist. Psivee-En found himself flying across the cell, scraping his body against its frozen, jagged walls. Kayel’s telekinetic powers leaped into action, throwing Psivee-En around, bashing him against any surface. Disorientated by this sudden onslaught, Psivee-En found himself not only incapable of fighting back, but also unwilling to.
But as suddenly as he started, Kayel quickly stopped, dropping Psivee-En on the ground, before collapsing in a heap, tears streaming from his golden yellow eyes. He pulled his arms in close to his body and curled up into a ball. Psivee-En struggled to his feet, then inched his way over to where Kayel had fallen.
“You came here to kill me.”
“Yes.”
Kayel loosened slightly, as Psivee-En placed a hand on his shoulder.
“I appreciate you trying. I have longed for death for a very long time. Maybe it is not time for either of us to die. Maybe we were destined to travel on a different path?” Psivee-En took a deep breath and sighed. “I… I do not know. But there is something we must learn here. You could have killed me and you did not. After all you have been through, you are still here. You are a far greater being than anyone could imagine.”
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Kayel pushed Psivee-En away, before getting up. The anger, the weakness, it was all gone.
“I am. I could have killed you. But I’m better than you.” He lifted his arms and concentrated on the heavy doors. They stood still at first, but quickly began to violently shake, before bowing to Kayel’s telekinetic might. He threw Psivee-En back one last time and stormed out, slamming the cell doors behind them. “I am better than you.”
The young Threan charged out, smiling for the first time in years. He may have failed to kill Psivee-En, but he’d done something stronger. The fear in his mind had been replaced by inspiration. He felt whole again. Reborn even. As Kayel left the Trelotam Chambers, clarity flooded his mind.
He had a child to find.
Trapped in the darkness once more, Psivee-En closed his eyes. Something unusual had just happened. His mouth turned upwards into a grin, as thoughts of the future drove him to sleep.
“You have no idea, little Kayel…”