Revelation

“Are you sure you would like to know when you will die?”, the seer asked, customarily. The client, an adult man, looked at her, slightly uncomfortable. “Yes, I do”, he said. The seer lifted her arm, and with her eyes closed, she slowly caressed the palm of the man’s hand, as if exploring his future. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes, ready to relief the strain of her client. “You will die in two months”, she said, imbuing her look with commiseration. The man’s face reflected pure consternation, motionless, as if exploring his past. After a moment, he regained his composure, ready to complain. “I do not believe this, you are a liar, a simple swindler!”, he shouted. The seer smiled. “Of course I am”, she said. The man gave her a perplexed look, to which she would respond the following. “You still do not know when you will die, but now you do know why you must live, otherwise why would you ask me?”

“There is someone by the lake!”, announced Albert, bringing Sonia back from her daze. The group looked towards her, waiting for a customary explanation, but they could only see her gulp, in an attempt to hide her ignorance deep within.

Albert did not have time to stay still. “We should go see who it is, they may need our help”, he said.

Just as he was about to begin walking, and possibly calling to gain the figure’s attention, Freida clasped his arm, using her weight to stop his movement. She gave him a worried look, and then pointed at our protagonist with her other hand.

Albert did not understand. “What is it Freida? Do you think it is dangerous?”, he said. The child nodded, still pointing at our protagonist. Albert looked in the direction of her finger. “I see, you want her to decide right? Well, it is fine by me”, he said, failing to see Freida’s disapproval.

Albert walked towards our protagonist, and put a hand on her shoulder. “What do you think?”, he said. She realized she had never made a decision before, and this one seemed important by the looks of Freida.

For some reason, she could muster a kind of determination unnatural to her. It seemed Albert’s touch had transmitted part of his audacity to her. “I think you are right, they may also help us understand this place”, she said.

The two of them began walking towards the figure. Freida and Sonia followed, hesitant.

After a few steps, a peaceful tune gradually emerged. Some of the sounds were familiar to them; the sweet lyre, the choir, and the female voice now accompanied by a similarly feminine flute.

As they walked, their bodies were caressed by a dense cloud of the characteristic golden dust. Their movement manifested in slow ripples across the cloud.

The figure was a few meters from them now. They could clearly see it was a young, slender woman, with long curly black hair. She held a golden scale.

The ripples had reached her and announced their presence. She turned around slowly, revealing her marble countenance. Her dejected look could not spoil the beauty of her bright blue eyes.

She fixed the remnants of her attention on our protagonist, and started walking towards her. The female voice and the flute smoothly elevated their pitches.

The group stood still, cautious. The beauty of the woman increased as she approached them, to the point it was unbearable to constantly look at her. Awe overtook Albert’s vigilance. “Such pure green eyes…”, he whispered. Our protagonist noticed his remark, confused as the eye’s of the woman were clearly blue.

The woman was now in front of her. “The container… hand it over”, she said, softly. The traveller could not help but do as she said. This sensation, the vanishing will, was the same she had felt back then when she met the fisherman.

An alabaster hand held the container on its palm. The woman closed her eyelids, becoming oblivious of her surroundings. A spring of light started emanating from her heart and into the container, flowing until it was full. The choir now followed a faster tempo.

With her eyes still closed, the woman put the container in one of the scale’s plates, the other remaining empty. Afterwards, she uttered some final words. “Good luck…”, she said.

After a few seconds, the scale overbalanced towards the empty plate. The woman opened her eyes, as a loud trumpet sound thundered into the scene. “Fate has decided. Follow me…”, she commanded them.

The group, trapped in the woman’s charm, walked behind her.

In short time, they reached the Mirror’s shore. Their inhibition allowed them to be at that distance, otherwise the perfection of the light would have caused them to falter.

The woman looked at them. “You came for this. Now do it”, she said, starkly. The four travellers, separated by unnaturally calculated distances, looked into the lake. The trumpet made a loudly sound.

The woman began walking next to them, along the shore.

She stopped by Albert. “My Courage… You were both the cause of my happiness and its downfall. You have served me in uncountable difficult decisions, and I am going to need you one last time”, she said.

She stopped by Freida next. “The merciful designer of my suffering, my Temperance. You showed me every demon has a weakness that mere humans can exploit, and I thank you for that”, she said.

Sonia was next. “The ever-growing refuge to my ever-growing storm. Prudence… your prison kept me safe while the revolution roared outside. But the revolution would not end, and I became too attached to your comfort…”, she said.

Finally, she stopped by our protagonist. “I know you did not remember your name. Look at me, Marceline”, she said.

Marceline turned and looked at the woman. The wind started to rise. The female voice and the choir now singed vivaciously.

The woman smiled at her. “You came to me in that wretched room. Your strength… it was freshness… it was hope. I soon knew you were my savior, the deus ex machina of my life’s play. I apologize for doubting you. This… Justice, she tried hard to persuade me, but her illusion fades in the face of your purity”, she said.

The woman approached Marceline. “Close your eyes… let us go together now… my dear Wrath”, she said. The woman embraced Marceline, kissing her passionately, and at the same time putting an stiletto in her right hand. The trumpet sounded a third time.

The wind had become a gale. The golden dust danced disorderly among the figures. The background voices competed with each other to reach the highest tones.

Marceline opened her eyes, revealing the same bright blue color she had seen moments before, now sparked by a profound freedom. The body of Euridice was falling from her lips to the ground.

She quickly rushed towards Freida, stabbing her across the heart. The child’s last thought was the regret at not thanking her and Albert for saving her back in the settlement. The trumpet sounded.

Almost immediately, Marceline took Euridice’s body, and before she could regain her senses, she pierced her neck. The trumpet sounded a fifth time.

Sonia tried to run away from her, but froze after a few steps. Marceline smiled. “This is most ironic, Prudence. You should be the one knowing this is how this ends”, she said, as she stabbed her on the back.

Albert looked incredulous at Marceline. “What has she done to you? Where is your shyness and your kind-heartededness? Where is my partner?!… Marceline, if that is your name, you must remember who you are!”, he cried to her.

Marceline approached him, smiling. Expecting to be stabbed, he opened his arms, and surrendered to his fate. Marceline hugged him dearily, resting her face on his chest. After two seconds of tranquility, she stabbed Albert and herself.

Just before fainting, through his blurry vision, Albert could discern the trail a lonely tear had left on Marceline’s left cheek. The trumpet sounded a sixth and seventh time, giving way to eternal darkness.