Chapter 25
"Alia!" Nakai screamed out, as his eyes filled with tears.
With a cry of anguish, Nakai barreled into Lady Rose and knocked her into the wall. The sword that she had taken from him fell from her grasp and skittered across the floor to the foot of the dais. Nakai leaped quickly to grab the sword, before turning again to face his captor.
An animal like snarl escaped Nakai's lips, as the tears continued to stream from his eyes. With a defiant look on his face, he moved in to attack again. The rapid blows were fierce and carried with it much more force than before. Lady Rose found herself pressed to defend herself, and with her back against the wall, she desperately tried to look for a way out.
Her blocks grew more and more desperate till finally
Nakai lunged forward, his arm extended and his sword aimed at Lady Rose's head. As she moved to block the blow, he cocked his elbow slightly, bringing the tip of his sword down, aiming it at her chest. At the last second, the General realized that she had been tricked cursed at her careless mistake as she attempted desperately to counter. But it was too late. Nakai's sword pierced through her chest.
The General's eyes widen in total shock, as she stared in disbelief at Nakai. "A Talsian? How could this be?" She asked, as blood oozed out of her wound. She opened her mouth again in protest, but no sound came out. Lady Rose sighed and then slumped over. With a satisfied grunt, Nakai flicked his wrist and the Shadarian slid off his sword and fell to the ground in a heap.
Nakai turned to face Ka, who still stood over the spot where Alia had disappeared.
"I have won!! I have won!! Talsia's Chosen One is dead!" She screamed out.
Nakai slowly and deliberately crossed behind her. As he made his way to her, he knew what he had to do. He had to kill Ka. He would only have one chance at it, so his strike had to be true.
As he drew closer, Nakai raised his blade ready to strike. Alia was gone, but her death would not be in vain. He would see to that. With a cry, he brought his blade down on Ka's back, but she turned at the last second and sent him flying across the room.
"Puny Talsian. You think you can defeat me? Your Chosen One couldn't, so what makes you think you could?" The Empress said with a wicked laugh. "You have lost. All of you have lost! Talsia is no more! And now, you will bow down to Shadar!" She crowed, her eyes flashing.
Suddenly, Ka's cries of exultation cease and a cry of anguish escapes her lips. Nakai looked at Ka sharply and saw her face turn from one of ecstasy to one of pure agony. "No!!!" She screamed, as she started to claw at her arms and face. "Get out!! Get out!! No!!"
Ka began to pulsate and flicker. One moment she would be filled with absolute pure white energy and the next with darkness. Slowly her body began to ripple with the every as the two mixed together and pulsated rhythmically. The Empress screams turned into wails filled with longing and agony and became deafening. Suddenly, Ka, herself seemed to be both lights at once and then, shattered into a million different pieces of pure energy that floated and finally disappeared.
Nakai stood in the middle of the throne room totally stunned. He looked around for some sort of sign, anything that would tell him what happened to Alia, or even what exactly happened to Ka, but there was nothing. He was alone. The Talsian dropped to his knees, and his tears fell freely from his face, as his feeling of loss swallowed him.
Suddenly, the doors to the throne room burst open. Nakai lifted his head slowly and saw Atanaya and Devin entering the room. The two rushed over to Nakai and knelt beside him.
"Nakai, what happened? Where is Alia?" Atanaya asked.
"She is gone." Nakai answered quietly.
"Gone? What happened?" Atanaya asked, as she exchanged looks with Devin.
"I ... I don't know for sure. She is just gone." Nakai chocked back a sob.
"She is with me, Nakai." The voice of Talsia said. Nakai raised his eyes and saw Talsia standing before him.
"Talsia?" He asked as he got to his feet.
"It was the only way. To be able to defeat Ka and Shadar, Alia had to become one with the power and energy, and therefore be one with me. She gave herself to the energy to defeat Ka." Talsia tried to explain.
Nakai's face contorted in a frown as he tried to understand. "So she is not dead?"
"No, Not exactly. She is still alive, just not here on this plane." Talsia smiled.
"How did she ... did she kill ... " Nakai struggled to not let his emotions over come him.
"Kill Ka? By becoming one with the energy, she was able to then enter Ka's being. Since they energies of Shadar and I, and are Chosen One's were opposites, Ka could not live with the opposite energy within her. It began to tear and break up her very being."
"Is she gone?" Devin asked quickly, his face creased with doubt.
Talsia laughed, "Yes, Devin. You can't come back from that sort of experience. Her energy, her essence was scattered all over the universe. Ka and Shadar are gone."
The Goddess looked over to where Lady Rose had fallen. After a moment, she crossed the floor and knelt next to the General. Talsia stretched out her hand towards the wound that Nakai had inflected on her chest. A small glow began to issue from her hand, and within seconds, the wound was healed.
Lady Rose was still breathing, though barely. Talsia reached out and brushed her forehead lightly. Slowly, Lady Rose opened her eyes to stare at Talsia.
"Hello Rose." Talsia greeted. The Shadarian opened her mouth to speak, but Talsia pressed a finger to your lips. "Not now, save your strength. I made a mistake along time ago, when I left your people to fend for yourselves. I did not and would not accept who you were because you were different than I had wanted. I was wrong. I will not force you or any of the others to come to me, nor will I force you to change if you do come to me, as I have learnt from my past mistakes. It will not be easy, but you will all be welcome. I will love and care for you all, if you will let me." Talsia smiled and caressed Lady Rose's cheek. The Shadarian's gaze was cold, but had started to soften ever so softly. "We will talk again later."
Talsia rose then and turned to Nakai and watched for a moment as the sorrow and sense of loss began to envelop him. Slowly, she crossed to him, and gently caressed his face. "Nakai. I am sorry. I wish things could have turned out differently, but Alia's destiny was written for her long before she was ever born." Talsia paused.
"I know you love her, and she loves you, with all of her heart. I would have loved to marry you that day when you asked me so long ago, but I knew then what the possibilities were and could not. Your souls, however, are bound in love and will be throughout the ages."
Nakai nodded and tried to reply, but no words would come out of his mouth. Tears again filled his eyes and began to roll down his cheek. Talsia smiled softly, as she watched Nakai struggle with his emotions before her.
There was a soft glow that began to develop in the corner of Nakai's eye. He turned his head and wiped his eyes to see more clearly. There besides Talsia, stood Alia. She was surrounded completely by the white energy that Nakai had seen before, and her form seemed almost translucent.
"Alia?" Nakai exclaimed, his voice filled with wonder.
"Nakai, Know that I love you, and will always love you. Go now, and help our people, and live life to its fullest. And know that every day I am with you. I am apart of you." Alia said. She leaned forward to kiss Nakai on the cheek, and then was gone.
"I love you Alia." Nakai whispered softly. "And I will take care of our people, and make you proud."
The End