Silas Epista

by Maneiac

End of Apathy [Rewritten]

And this is part where you start running.... because when I sing, death comes in ferocious furry fury. You took too long, by the way; he kind of has your friends' heads between his paw, and he's drooling on your neck.

The call of a giant bird to my left made me flinch somewhat, but that was about all the reaction Altaria got out of me. I rubbed my head wearily, a little put off from the sudden call of my amorous avian amigo. Her desire to draw my attention was great enough to actually warrant it; so I decided a narrowed eyeball is what she’d get for her troubles.

As I peered at Altaria, her beak curved upwards into a smile.

“Oddly sinister... I’m not going to like what comes next; I just know it.” Almost as if I had signaled it, Altaria swooped down onto the ground and started to waddle towards me.

“You know; I would have thought that your mind would have returned to normal by now, Silas babe.” My eyes slowly widened at Altaria’s familiar line of speech. There’s only one woman I know that addressed me like that, and she was supposed to be back on Asla!

‘Altaria’ slowly turned the same light-silver of my Fester, and then started to grow until she was around six feet in height. By the time this happened, the last vestiges of Ouroboros had returned to their proper places, and Goddess-Queen Atharva stood next to my side of the bed with a gloved claw on her round belly.

I stared at the round belly for a moment in shock. “It’s been four days... FOUR DAYS. She looks ready to pop at any minute. How fucking fast do draconian’s mature, anyway!?” Atharva noticed my shocked eyes with her confused ones. She then proceeded to jut her stomach out towards me with a loving-slash-motherly smile on her face.

“Zuvais Epista Amaranth,” Atharva sighed happily, “‘Tis a nice name, yes? I spent the first day coming up with witty names.” She chuckled. I still looked at her like she was crazy, which didn’t go unnoticed by her as she blinked in response. “It seems my presence here has momentarily ceased your brain’s ability to function. Allow me to alleviate the confusion that’s surely tugging away at your sanity.”

I eyed her stomach again, wondering what kind of monster was going to come out of that thing. No, seriously; her stomach was the size of a fucking beach ball. “.... wat.”

Atharva chuckled and rubbed a gloved claw across my lower jaw, sighing all the while. “I’m not really here, Silas babe. The only time you met me in person was on the Ark; the Stalkers need a central hub to originate from, which means I had to be there. I sent a strong charge of Magi-Tech signals to the Fester in your left eye from Asla, which made them go out and consume a living organism that had the most chance of becoming something like a pet to you.”

She sat down on my lap, leaning into my chest while nuzzling the underside of my neck. “It just so happened that ‘Altaria’ was around. From that point on, the Fester in Altaria grew enough to allow full-body replication, or transformation. The bird herself is still alive; she keeps herself well-fed, you see.” My mind was still trying to process the fact that she basically took control of a living thing in order to feel me up like she was now.

“Uh.... Siri?”

“Yo.”

“... Can she really bend the laws of.... everything, like she’s doing now? How far is Asla from here in the first place?”

“Dude, it’s Aslanian Magi-Tech; it made me, you jackass. In case you haven’t noticed by now, I’m a fucking hologram-slash-computer-slash-artificial intelligence... motherfucker-thingymabob... with feelings. Oh, and Asla is approximately nine-trillion light years away from here... give or take. I rounded down, by the way.”

I have never questioned why anything works in my life. Even though I often engaged in philosophical discussions with a lot of people about why they think the way they do, I have never been more sure that this was slowly breaking my sanity. And I had to watch all the Thomas the Engine movies with my younger sister!

Sending directives to symbiotic nanites from across the fucking universe? These draconians are operating on some dangerous levels of technological savviness! “... How advanced are our people, Atharva?” It was a logical question; one that will give me a ballpark estimate to what this body had to go through before getting here.

“Aslanians? We’re pretty advanced, Silas. We own our own little System, after all; it only stands to reason that we would be pretty well-off in terms of military might and technological know-how. You might also want to take into consideration that Magi-Tech is one of the most perfect means of Science in existence; it’s basically turned all the planets under our influence into resourceful Edens, and we make sure to never outgrow our resources.”

I jerked back in response to that, which caused her to squeak in surprise from how fast I did it. “Outgrow? You kill off other Draconians; to make sure the numbers of your people don’t reach higher than what you can provide? Atharva... that sounds pretty cruel...”

Atharva sighed and leaned back onto me, picking up my claw in hers and laying it upon her round belly. “It is not cruel. The Draconians, if you may remember, have a strong sense of equality. We believe that what is taken, should be given back equally. Regardless if you’re an Alpha, Sigma, or Omega; we all make sure to keep to ourselves. War doesn’t exist anymore in our System; we’ve become pacifists whose hobby is combat. The universe is a selfish place; we offer a safe haven for any creature willing to come and accept our way of life.” She smiled at me. booping my nose with an index finger.

“‘Tis why it’s called the Haven System, Silas babe.” Her reasoning didn’t seem all that bad. If her people truly believe this to be the best possible option-

“Also,” Atharva interrupted my thought. “We have a strong sense of isolationism. There is no reason for our people to expand onto other planets outside of the Haven System. Expansion leads to interaction with other worlds, which could be a boon; although it can most certainly be a restriction as well. We prefer to keep to ourselves, Silas; simple as that.” I could feel her heartbeat through her back, and it seemed to have a desire to match my own.

I blinked at the ceiling that I had resigned myself to looking at. “And what of our... son. Zoo-Vye-Us sounds like a pretty good name, but what’s his future going to be?” The moment the question left the sanctuary of my mouth, my eyes widened in shock. There was absolutely no reason why I should have claimed that child as my own! I certainly had no thoughts to do so earlier when she announced his name, so why this is a problem now.... I couldn’t really say.

I didn’t feel put-off about it. There was no resentment for the child itself, just the mother that forced me to take a part in making it. “Zuvais....”

I shifted my position on Sunset’s bed a little bit, and then froze when another revelation made itself known to me. “Why isn’t Sunset in here!? She fell asleep on top of me, if I remember correctly! How did something as large as Altaria not go noticed by her!?”

“Your heartbeat’s picking up, Silas...” Atharva trailed off, looking up at me with pleading eyes. “Just a little bit longer, okay; this is going to be my last time seeing you for a while.... and I want to make it good.”

“What happened to the mare on my chest?” I wasn’t angry with her as much as I was a little miffed at her unwillingness to answer the question. Io’s Comprehension was running a mile a minute, scanning every smidget of Atharva’s body for any sign of treachery or trickery. If there was a meaning hidden in her words, my godly boon should have discerned it a while ago.

Atharva sighed, clearly annoyed that she’s being ignored. “She went off to go take a shower. By the way she smelled, you were having a little bit of fun last night. I’m not bothered by it as much as my body leads you to assume otherwise...”

“That is a lie! We did nothing of the sort, you crazy rapist Queen!” I plucked her on the forehead, right underneath that little shattered tiara made from her Fester Armor. Atharva hastily rubbed the spot with a frown on her face, giving me a short hiss all-the-while. “And why are you so hung up on me in the first place? I can’t do anything for you and you know it; a draconian with no memories cannot help you in any way.”

She glared at me for a little bit, before averting her eyes with a sad grimace. “You comfort me... even though you act so cold. There is a heart on the inside of you just like anyone else, and I feel a connection with the old Silas through you... because you act like he did as you are now... and I loved him...” Her face was quickly buried into my neck as she sobbed. “I just want to hear his voice one more time...”

“I’m not using his voice? Odd; I could have sworn my voice sounded a little too high for my liking. My human voice was deeper than this, I have no doubt about that. Wait... I’m starting to understand something...” I smiled in victory as my Comprehension ability came through for me again, causing me to clear my throat.

Atharva blinked at me in response, to which I smiled harder. “... I love you, Atty...” Silas’ voice rolled off my tongue easily, which caused Atharva to look at me with misty eyes before taking my mouth with hers. She sobbed into the kiss, but I could tell with Comprehension that they were sobs of happiness. Our kiss continued for a solid minute or so, before she slowly separated herself with a smile.

“Thank you.... so much....” Quicker than a whip’s snap, her body transformed back into the Bullivian Gigantecles I had come to call my own. Altaria squawked at me joyously, flapping into my face in order to nuzzle me. Of course, this mean her feathers found their way into my mouth against my will.

Sputtering, I called out to Altaria, “Alright! Alright! I get it!” In response to this, she flew onto my shoulder and stayed there. Her talons didn’t break through my scales, and mostly felt like someone was poking me with a marble. Shaking my head at how weird this day is already starting to be, I got off the bed and made my way over to the door; hoping to get into the kitchen and cook something for Sunset and myself.

When I opened the door, I felt my Adam’s Apple drop into my coccyx as Sunset fell against me with the side of her head. Her body was kept perfectly balanced on my toned legs, but she looked like an fall waiting to happen. I allowed her to pick herself back up, ignoring how funny it would be to watch her fall.

Her face immediately contorted into a harsh glare. “And who the hell was that!? Why was she in my room, and in my house!?” Her horn ignited into a swirling blue-green fire that made me a little miffed. She had every intention of blasting me unless I told her something.

I decided to tell her the truth.

“A rapist,” I answered with a shrug of my shoulders, leaning against the door frame while crossing my arms underneath my pecs. “Apparently, she wanted to let me know how fast her child was growing, and that I should know his name... she never answered what was to become of him though, which has me slightly worried.”

Sunset’s left eye twitched in confusion as her horn snuffed itself, leaving behind a solid wisp of smoke. “.... A rapist... in my house...”

“Uh...” I droned sarcastically. “Yeah, there was totally a rapist in your house. I mean it, too. She already raped me once; I’m actually kind of glad you came when you did. That woman is a bit feisty when she’s in the mood for, you know... ‘forcey fun time’, so to speak.” I awaited some type of response from the evening-colored mare. She simply looked at me, blinking at random intervals.

“I want to know everything about the first encounter right now, and whoever it is she loves. I know she wasn’t talking about you, because when your voice changed, she broke down into tears! And if I find out you’re telling lies...” Sunset’s horn flared again as she rammed me with it, pushing me into the room while slamming the door behind us.

“Fine... I have no reason to keep such trivial things hidden from you. Atharva is actually a Queen for this body’s people; the Draconians. They reside on their homeworld, Asla, in a system called the Haven System some nine-trillion light years away. She used my body after knocking me unconscious on the Ark to get a child that would cause a revolutionary war to stop.” I walked back over to her bed and sat down, resting my arms on my knees. I don’t even know if she followed me over here.

“This body belonged to a being by the name of Silas Tre’Rexum Epista, who was the leader of the Sigma Draconians; a mix between the only other two breeds of them, Alpha and Omega. These hybrids are strong in both the technological field, and the arcane. Silas was a great person until he the war started, where he wasted no time in showing what a true monster he was. Families were decimated, lovers torn asunder; whole lands destroyed within a matter of days.” I shook my head and sighed.

“And now... he’s inside me. Silas Epista from Asla acts as an embodiment to my Fear, one of the emotions I kept under wraps with my apathy. When I lay down to dream, I fall into a place called the Station of Awakening, which depicts fated occurrences by way of colorful sun-catcher-styled murals of stained glass. There are a total of Four Dragons I must overcome; each of them bearing an emotion I had locked away. Wrath, Fear, Doubt, and Pride.” I counted the four off on my claws for added effect, and to show how serious I was if she was paying attention.

“This would have normally gone unnoticed by me, but during one of my visits to the Station, I ran into another ‘draconian’. I use that term loosely, for it was actually a Dragon God named Io Ninefold. In exchange for me helping the dragons of this world get set back on the path of culture and peace, he imparted me with the gift of Comprehension; this in turn, allows me to understand foreign languages and whatnot easily, even body language. I used this newfound ability to determine what my Four Dragons were during this conversation with you, actually.” A feeling of laziness came over me, and I let it drag me down into the bed with a big plop.

“The Emotions I Resent the Most; it’s a good title for them besides The Four Dragons. I never realized how much entertaining bullshit has happened so far,” I turned my head and peered off at Sunset, who was sitting on the floor looking at me from the foot of her bed. “Least I got a good friend out of it, eh? You even took the time to sit there and listen to me gab your ears off. You’re really something, y’know that?” I cracked a satisfied smile at her, feeling a weight being lifted from my chest.

Sunset still looked pretty unsure about everything I just told her. Her face held a permanent grimace, as if some doctor was approaching her hoof with a needle and kept telling her “Here it comes.”

Her unnerved appearance did not go unnoticed by my keen eye. “Just to let you know, half of that was a complete surprise to me. Everything feels so new and foreign..... weird even. Guess this is what I get for wishing on a star that something interesting would finally happen to me.” Raising my claws into the air, I willed myself to manifest the Hearth’s Fire.

My claws, even when balled into fists, ignited the sky-blue flame for me. “This is the Hearth’s Fire, Sunset. As Silas has told me, it’s a power I should never want to use, especially around the ones I care for. It’s meant for destruction, and can even challenge the Absolute Powers of existence themselves; the Gods. I don’t see how a measly flame like this can cause so much humdrum.” I lowered the output so that I was bouncing a small fireball back and forth between my index fingers.

“I want to know more about it, and I think it’s going to be my ticket in restoring the dragons back to their old selves.... and fighting The Emotions I Resent the Most. They all seemed so strong, Sunset; so confident in their ability to crush me under foot... I don’t know if I’ll be able to face them in mortal combat. I’m pretty sure my soul will be put in that dreadful place for all eternity too, and it... it... it scares me. I-I don’t w-want to die!” I have no idea why it was suddenly becoming hard to breathe. This could be one of those panic attacks I saw Natasha suffer from back on Earth.

There was silence for a painful amount of time, and I could practically hear the cogs turning in Sunset’s head before she spoke up. “... Then don’t. You don’t die. You get in there, and you kick their ass.” I sat up and looked at her like she was crazy.

“These beings come from a planet that outranks my own in terms of magic and physical aptitude! I can’t fight them; they’ll fucking destroy me!” I jammed a finger onto my temple in rising irritation. “Use the grey matter in your head, Sunset! I’m not going to fight them at all! I’m going to avoid my Station like the dickens! That’d be the smart thing to do!”

“They’re going to kill me one day! I know that it’s true! There’s nothing you can do to help me with this problem of mine! Your words only go so far, Sunset!” I was now breathing heavily as Sunset glared at me. It hurt to look into those eyes, almost as if my brain was siding with her in this argument, and sent my lungs as mobsters to fuck up my chest a little bit; such was the pain emanating from that area.

“Well excuse the absolute FUCK out of me for trying to help you, Silas! You seemed pretty fucking sure of yourself three days ago! What happened to that confident asshole, huh!? Has he suddenly dropped his dick and balls somewhere!?” I reeled back from her venomous strike, hardly believing my own ears that she had just said all that.

Even so, I wasn’t done trying to make her see reason. “Listen to me, you daft mustard bottle! I can’t fight them! It’s impossible! You don’t know what it’s like at all! How could you possibly understand living with guilt like I do!? Ho-”

My rant was silenced by way of charging pony head. This makeshift battering ram found solace in my sore chest, sending me onto my back and winding me at the same time. Sunset locked me down around the wrists, neck, and ankles with some type of restriction spell. Her face came down into mine, her mane spilling around us both to form a red and yellow curtain.

“STOP BEING SUCH A PUSSY!” Her shriek caused me to choke up more than her hold around my neck did. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT GUILT IS!? GUILT IS FUCKING OVER A GOOD LIFE IN ONE THE GREATEST CITIES ON THIS FUCKING PLANET BECAUSE YOU WERE ANGRY AT YOUR PARENTS! GUILT IS SPITTING ON THE ONE PERSON WHO HONESTLY GAVE A DAMN ABOUT YOU BECAUSE SHE WOULDN’T MAKE YOU A PRINCESS! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT GUILT, MOTHERFUCKER!?”

If there was a condition to explain why a face makes those little motions when you start to cry, I would like to know the name of it posthaste. Indeed, my eyes became misty as I realized just how big of a fucking landmine I stepped on right there. Sunset’s face was hindenburg remade; the soft shade of red underneath her yellow fur giving a stark contrast to the river of tears flowing down her face and her running mascara.

“How could you!? How could you make me feel this way!? I thought these things were going to be shut away forever... and you tear them up with a few loose words!? HOW!? YOU’RE A FUCKING DOUCHE!” I was slapped across the face. The blow didn’t register any real pain on the physical level, but it impaled me on the emotional level.

I felt like shit wrapped up in a vomit tortilla. My erratic breathing returned full force, and I felt like throwing-up. The fact that I’ve caused this mare nothing but problems, even going so far as to insult her while doing so.... it’s inexcusable. I have sunken down to a new low with this apathy of mine, and I no longer want it. So that’s what I did.

I got rid of it right then and there.

The feeling was glorious! It wasn’t enough to bring me out of my tizzy with Sunset, but I definitely felt better. She was still glaring at me, though; her hot tears dripping onto my face as she did so. It was time for me to right this wrong.

“Sunset... I’m sorry,” I sighed with averted eyes.

“No... no, not again! Stay angry at me! Please!”

I gritted my teeth as her magic dropped enough for me to pull her into my chest. From there, I decided to hug her tight. “No... I can’t stay angry at you. How can I? The fact that you want me to win so bad against them; that you honestly expect me to just waltz in there and kick ass.... you’re more than just something, Sunset.”

“Please, no. Don’t say it...” She sobbed.

“You’re my best friend.” And the dam broke. She hugged me tighter and wailed into my chest instantly. “I care about what you have to say, Sunset. Your opinions and thoughts drive me to do better. I couldn’t ask for a better friend, Sunny.... I just couldn’t....” I was quick to join her, although I didn’t wail like she did. It was just a lot of sniffling as tears streaked down my face and onto her head.

On the outside, I looked pretty beaten down. But the inside was a whole different ballgame. I felt awake and alive; everything seemed brighter. And most of all... I felt encouraged; like I could take on what was laid out before me! This was a great day indeed, and it’s only just begun. “Alright then; let’s see how far I can take this new view on things! If I am to fight The Emotions I Resent the Most, then I shall do so with gusto... and for Sunset.”

I leaned down and kissed her on top of the head. She deserved it, after all.

There was no longer a fear of my Station; of being trapped in there for eternity should I lose. I couldn’t lose; not to them; not to the Emotions I kept under wraps for so long! There’s too much for me here in order to give up now. As cliche as all this sounds, I actually felt this way!

“I’m no fool. There’s gonna have to be some serious training for me in the future, possibly later today. I need to learn how to fly, and how to use the Hearth’s Fire like Silas did; as a weapon. Just because I have it around my fists, doesn’t necessarily mean I have combat capabilities with it. I’m gonna have to find what works best for me and the weapons I have at my disposal, should the time come where I fight against them.” At the end of my thought, Sunset made herself known by shuffling a little bit.

“... You’re an idiot...” Was all she said before falling silent again.

“Yeah, well I’m your idiot. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

“Shut up.”

I chuckled at that and rubbed the back of her head. Today was just beginning, and it seemed like a lot was going to be in store for it.

Comments

[Void_Walker81]

Oh, and Asla is approximately nine-trillion light years away from here...

First time a story has ever made me do a spit take holy fuck that surprised me

[Black--Soul]

I love your story for so many reasons. Thanks