81)
As Narhuat’s chrysalis convulsed and shuddered, so too did the cave in which they were hiding. The very rock was collapsing around them. Alex knew that his energy would prevent them from being hurt, but it would also mean that they would be completely engulfed by the Deluge.
Suddenly an intense ray of light, far brighter than that which Alex was emitting, burst forth from the cocoon. Alex watched as the chrysalis split in two and the Butterfly slowly and triumphantly emerged from its leathery carapace.
Inch by torturous inch it pushed itself out of its dead skin until finally it emerged; its wings still folded as it hung precariously upside down from its spindly legs. It flexed them a few times before it unfolded its wings, which had been so long cramped inside the cocoon. It unfurled its proboscis, tasting the air many times. Alex felt the same sensations in perfect harmony with the butterfly; his own revelations and subsequent rebirth were now a reality and he felt anew.
“I am nearly ready to fly, Creator.” Alex felt the Butterfly’s words in his head. “You have played your part admirably! Onyx would be proud, as we all are. Your rebirth is magnificent!”
“As am I… I am re-made… whole!” Alex replied. “But what should I call you now? You are no longer Narhuat because that is the name of your other self.”
“You know who I am, and what I have become –and what you have become.” Alex nodded and smiled, it was obvious really. “Say my name and reclaim your birth-right.” The butterfly said.
“Bellkipeg.” Alex replied triumphantly.
“Bellkipeg.” The butterfly responded, nodding. “Now I must spread the hope and the
light across the world. I am the messenger of the triumph and the reclamation. You must fulfil your destiny as the Creator and make whole that has been torn asunder.”
“I bid you farewell. Thanks seems somewhat small for all that you have given and taught me.” Alex bowed.
“I thank you.” And with that Bellkipeg flexed its wings, extending them fully. “Now I must away.” Bellkipeg looked to the Deluge which was still kept at bay by Alex’s energy. “You will not keep me, Dark, for all your vaunted size and power. You have no dominion over me!”
With strength that belied his size, Bellkipeg beat its wings and flew up into the air. The Deluge howled in triumph, anticipating the claiming of such a prize, but the howls soon became cries of anguish and pain as the butterfly cut a swathe of light effortlessly through its gelatinous mass. Alex waved as it passed back in all its glory. He knew that he was now alone against the Deluge, and could feel its fury at allowing the escape. It was now exerting incredible pressure upon all sides of Alex’s light, squeezing with an almighty force and he could feel it the bubble start to buckle under the strain.
“No.” He calmly spoke, and waved his hand across his body. The Deluge responded in kind, and cleaved in two falling either side of Alex; the connection to its dark master severed. It could no longer threaten anyone else every again. Alex sent a burst of pure energy to the Deluge and it welled up beneath him like an almighty tsunami. Alex was truly the Creator, and he was now ready to confront The Presence and reclaim the land, as it had been written.
The Deluge swelled beneath him, rising him up on the crest of its shining viscous-black wave. There it carried him all the way back to the shore of the very land he had tried to escape from. Alex stepped off it and looked behind him, the Deluge now meekly waited for his next order – it was his to command, but in truth it always had been. He was of a purpose now.
In the distance he saw one lone horse and rider cleaving through the surf towards him. This was one of The Presence's guards. It had but one purpose now, to slay him before it was too late. The horse whinnied and snorted before stopping, hoofing at the pebbles and it was now that Alex could see clearly the rider.
It wore black chain-mail armour, a cloak and hood hiding most of its face in shadow. It dismounted in a smooth, almost liquid fashion barely making a sound when it landed on the pebbles.
At eye level now, Alex could see the creatures face. It was almost featureless, smooth and mottled like a fish, and a large ovoid mouth with needle sharp teeth lining its jaws like a huge lamprey. To his horror, deep inside its mouth was a single glowing eye, a deep bloodshot red.
The creature unsheathed a sword from nowhere and took a step towards him. Alex shook his head slowly and took a step backwards. He gestured to the Deluge which suddenly uncoiled, shooting out towards the creature in a stabbing motion before enveloping it. Only the sound of the wind on the waves could be heard.
The Deluge withdrew again. Of the creature nothing remained except for the chain-mail armour and sword. The horse stood still, transfixed under the Deluges influence. Alex calmly put the creatures armour on for it was now his time to do battle. He mounted the horse in a fluid motion as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do, yet it was the first time he had ever done so. The horse accepted him as a rider and together they set forth towards the centre of Bellkipeg; to The Presence himself.
82)
The journey was swift for there were no more obstacles for Alex to overcome. The Deluge remained on the beach; it was no longer needed for Alex knew that there would be no further resistance.
He travelled across the landscape of Bellkipeg watching it change like a flicker book until he finally arrived at the very heart. He smiled for he was in another wood, but this one was unlike the others he had previously traveled through.
Paradoxically it seemed very young; all the Birch and Beech trees were aligned in mis-matched rows closely packed together like a plantation. Their thin canopy still managed to strangle the light from the day, and the wind held its breath in dread and anticipation.
Soon even the horse would go no further and Alex was forced to walk the rest of the way. The closer he got to the source of the dis-ease the staler the air became and the darker it got. Alex had no idea what The Presence's abode would be like for up until now he had only thought of The Presence as an intangible boogie-man.
The wood thinned out again and as it did so Alex could see a distinct glow in the distance. As he walked ever closer to the inevitable he realised that the source of the glow was gaudy electric lights, flashing and strobing neon’s. He was both alarmed and confused by what he was witnessing. Alex had preconceptions of a castle, a cottage or even the re-appearance of his own home, which was where he believed The Presence had been conceived, but the sight that now met his eyes was incomprehensible.
It was a Fun House; a prefabricated, gaudy monstrosity; something more at home in a fairground rather than in the middle of the woods. It was built like a haunted mansion with mock Gothic columns either side of a huge door with cobwebs festooning the arches.
The mansion towered above him, the many windows all shining with sickening yellow and green lights. But it looked as scary and realistic as a papier mache building and Alex wondered just what he was walking into.
There were loud speakers either side of the entrance and Alex could hear faux-scary voices, high pitched screams and sobbing. A deep voice boomed out “Welcome to the Fun House… You’ll never leave.” Alex found it hard to suppress his smile.
In amongst all the b-movie wails, moans and screams Alex could hear the sound of a child sobbing, alternating with cries for his mummy and daddy. Alex felt a shiver traverse the length of his spine and he knew that all his answers lay beyond the doorway. He walked through the door brushing the cobwebs away and as he looked behind him he saw the world slowly fade away to a misty nothingness before the darkness enveloped him.
83)
The sight that met his eyes was even more bizarre, confounding his expectations once again. It was like standing in an abandoned movie set of a dungeon, complete with stone walls, wooden doors and a spiral staircase leading up at the far end of the corridor. Behind him was another wall with no sign of where he had entered. There was no ceiling overhead, simply blackness. The corridor smelt musty, unused and old with faint aromas of plywood and paint-thinner. Alex knew that he would find Onyx in one of the cells. He could feel the story of Bellkipeg draw around him with every echoing footstep, drawing to its inevitable conclusion.
Onyx was actually in the ninth cell on the left, exactly where Alex knew he would be. However as he approached the cell he saw that there was no way for him to actually enter it, there was no door handle or even a key hole. Unperturbed Alex simply punched through the balsa door and pulled. The door was as sturdy as it looked and came apart easily, and as Alex walked into the cell and looked around he could see that it was only a movie set complete with support braces keeping the very walls up. It was getting more surreal by the minute!
Onyx sat in a corner, unharmed but aged and in chains. He was grey of beard and pockmarked with liver spots, his skin worn and dry but his eyes still had a spark and lit up upon seeing Alex.
“It’s ok, old friend.” Alex said as he knelt down to him. “I’m here. I’m so sorry I took so long to come to my senses.” Onyx smiled and tried to chuckle, but the sound
strangled into a coughing fit. When it subsided he said.
“I am glad that you made the choice to come here at all. I know it was hard for you, Creator.” He coughed again with the exertion of talking. “For Creator you truly are now.”
“Yes. I am.”
“And you know now what must be done?”
“Yes I do, old friend. We’ve been apart for far too long. It’s time I realised myself and stopped trying to externalise it.” He held his hand out to Onyx. “Thank you, you have always been so patient with me.” Onyx took his hand and as he did so his whole being shone with the most transparent of lights, his very outline shimmered and then disappeared as his energy flowed into Alex.
Standing up, Alex had never felt so sure of himself, so powerful and yet completely at peace. The energy he had witnessed upon Narhuat’s transformation was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. He felt completely aware and with that awareness he felt emptiness, some kind of imbalance and he knew what it was and what needed to be done.
He looked around him at the flimsy sets and props which had outlived their usefulness and in a quiet but powerful voice he said “I no longer need this..” He gestured around him. “this… ego scaffold. I can see now… Show yourself to me and we will finish this.” Suddenly the dungeon was plunged into darkness and in the distance was a circle of light, and standing in that circle of light was a small boy.
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