LOST IN TIME

His Seed of Life

Ahh such sweet voice. He definitely wanted for her to shout his name, but of course not like this... He watched her wriggle out of her maid's hold. He watched her face contort into panic. He watched her eyes stream down with tears for him... only for him.

Such a naive little human she is. He was a creature of the dark. Just like her pet snake, he doesn't deserve any care... any affection... any sympathy. He doesn't deserve to be cried over. He doesn't even deserve to live. He, of course, contemplated on dying a lot of times, almost thinking of doing what k******e fighters do best -- go on suicide -- but why was it that the only thing he wanted now was to live? To live mainly for her?

"Milady! Please! Stay! That demon is dangerous!" Mrs. Latrine requested vehemently as Selene continued on thrashing about. She remembered him telling her that the divine power was the only thing that can cease his existence. Judging from the swirling electricity around him, this was definitely it.

No! He is not! He is NOT GOING TO DIE!!! She shouted in her mind. Tears continued rolling down her now-puffy eyes. Oh my God! I love him! Please God save him!!! I LOVE HIM!!! I know this isn't right but I love him!

Her heart felt like it was exploding out of her chest. She could see him wasting away. She could see him in pain. Yes. Pain. He was truly in pain! She was damned sure now that he was greatly in peril. Although she knew she couldn't help him about it, but she still wanted to embrace him. Embrace him tightly just so to soothe the pain a little.

"Let me go please! Let me GO!!!" she commanded out aloud and with another forceful tug, she was able to free herself from the old woman's hands, jumping out of the bed and springing herself up to stand.

"Milady!" Mrs. Latrine bellowed, so did her parents with her given name as they saw her running towards the demon.

"Khronus!" Selene shrilled. Her eyes wide. Her face hardened with determination. She reached out her right hand in an attempt to touch him.

Drama wasn't in Khronus vocabulary. Leaving wasn't always that difficult for him. Heck, he was good at it actually. But now, this kind of goodbye was unbearable for him. He clenched his jaw and willed himself to do what was unorthodox for him --- to reach out for a human's hand. Although it was difficult due to the surrounding electricity, he raised his own hand, stretching it as far as he could.

One could see immediately that both were in desperate need to feel each other's warmth. Her parents could see it, the maid assistant and the sacristan too, but there was only one thing that registered in their minds then and it was danger.

When Selene and Khronus' fingers touched, right then and there he realized, if only he could use his power to stop time... just for this moment... just for this exact second... he would do so... but the divine electricity hindered him from doing that too.

Selene would have thrown herself into him during that time, but then the contact of their fingers gave off a sudden electrical spike. A mysterious energy traveled from Khronus to her, shutting down any known human electrical wiring in her body. Her eyes blurred at first and then it was flooded with white and black colors. Before she went completely numb, she felt being yanked away from him with woman hands.

"Milady! Are you alright?!" Mrs. Latrine frantically asked, placing her in the floor, but she didn't answer.

"Selene! Talk to me!" her father shouted by the time he arrived to where she was now lying. "Say something child!"

Say something! Duke Wyndall's voice was the last sound that reverberated in Selene's mind. Her droopy eyes were focused on Khronus who was slowly withering away. He was enveloped with an enormous tornado of electricity. His face showed a painful expression that lanced her heart.

Khronus... No... No... Her thoughts drifted into these last words until unconsciousness took her away.

The last of Khronus' memory embedded on the sight of Selene lying unconscious on the floor. The pain was continuous still, but now it was augmented with the pain in his heart. True that he didn't know any emotions, most especially what humans call 'love', but at this very moment, he believed that this feeling he felt now was truly that undeterred emotion. He was in love with her -- that -- he couldn't deny anymore.

He could see himself steadily dissolving into more than ashes. He could see now his end. But he was not afraid of it. He had admitted his demise already. Whole-heartedly even. That was because he was content... content that even just for a little while he had finally felt alive for the first time and it was all because of her...

~ S ~

After the exorcism rite... after the physical body of Khronus disappeared, the old exorcist priest became stiff as a rock and his eyes quickly turned all black. Selene's parents were still in a panic, but it heightened more when the old priest started to talk.

"Qui fallacibus fallacique morietur... Veniet mors omnibus!" ("Death will come to those who are treacherous and deceptive... Death will come to all!") he stated in a dark, husky voice definitely not his own natural one. It had an eerie echo in the end that shot more goosebumps into the spectators.

"My God! What have we done!?" Duke Wyndall shouted, horrified. He extracted himself out of his daughter to a nearby table and vomited spectacularly the food he had recently eaten at dinner.

The duchess closed her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Just the mention of death, it immediately sent her body into a frozen state.

Mrs. Latrice disregarded their welfare and continued on to focus on Selene. She lifted her up slowly and placed her in the mattress. At least, the young woman was still breathing. Surely, she wouldn't forgive herself if her Mistress was dead.

Father Linus fell on the floor after being released in the trance. His assistant sacristan immediately raced to support him. The priest was back to his normal self again. Red eyes were not seen anymore and his aura returned to a holier one.

"Boy... take---take Father Linus to his chamber," the duke ordered after he cleaned his mouth with any residual bile.

"Si, si," the sacristan replied.

All was well. At last the demon was gone, but Duke Wyndall was beginning to feel a lot more anxious... a lot more unsafe. Whatever the exorcist priest was mouthing during his trance, it definitely was an ominous sign for their family.

*

*

The next day, Selene was still in bed, showing not a single sign of waking. Mrs. Latrice continued to take care of her, while her parents were at the chamber of the exorcist priest. Apparently, they have called for a Vatican officer, Mr. Sloane, to assist Father Linus as the latter was beginning to feel ill. What scared the duke and duchess of the old priest's failing health was his constant, delirious blabbering. They noticed that it was in a different voice this time. It sounded totally different from the one that emerged in his mouth the very minute he exorcised Selene's demon last night.

"Vis est mea! Legitime meum est!" ("The power is mine! It is rightfully mine!") Father Linus trashed in his bed amidst being in a high fever. His assistant sacristan restrained him on the arm. "Luna... et stellae... dam... exspectamus..." ("The alignment... the moon... the star... wait for it,") he added, this time with a raspy, weak voice.

A nurse who was present administered a mild sedative on the priest to calm him down.

Just what is he talking about? Everyone in the room couldn't piece it together but the Duke was able to connect it with the exorcism last night. He then exited the room with Mr. Sloane trailing behind after giving him an eye signal.

"I will have to report this to the Holy Pope, Duke Wyndall. Your account about last night would certainly help," Mr. Sloane stated the moment he closed the chamber door.

"Yes. Don't worry. I will coordinate with you gladly, but please, I request you, that everything that happened here should be kept a secret on the public. I do not want the Clave family name tarnished. You know how bad a demon topic is received by the population." He answered, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief at the same time.

"Of course, Duke Wyndall. I assure you, this issue is something that Pope Sixtus would want to be kept silent about."

*

*

It was twenty-five minutes before twelve noon when Selene woke up. She immediately felt a heaviness in her body, as if she was lifting weights yesterday. She also felt a burning sensation in her eyes and her palms and when she exhaled deeply, she felt her breath hot although she didn't have a fever.

Alone was she in her room, something that she was thankful about. At least with this short time of solace, she could rain herself with a lot of tears. Good God, she couldn't believe that Khronus was dead... She couldn't believe that he was actually gone... She felt her heart bursting with sadness when she stared at the very spot where he had crouched helplessly, surrounded by the electricity he had said to be divine.

She knew from the start that loving a demon would only end up in tears. He has immortality. He doesn't age, while she would as time passes by. He has an unlimited life and she only had a meager one. She would end up in heartbreak when he leaves her then. She knew that he would continue on to live his life when she's dead, but never had she realized that he would die before her.

Gods, this kind of pain was unbearable for her. What was even worse was that he had taken her heart with him and she knew that she could never dare love another man again...