Chapter 401: Blur
Van once again found himself surrounded by darkness. His unusually long hair, serving as some sort of make-shift bed as he floated aimlessly through the expanse of space. Queen Ameera had offered him an entire room for himself, but he chose not to accept it as he would most likely not be using it anyway.
The feeling of sleeping and resting in space was something that could not be compared to any bed; there's not even a hardness or softness to debate with… the darkness just conforms around his body.
"..." Van's eyes then turned towards the planet of Osiris. If his world did not get destroyed, would it have also been like this after a hundred thousand years?
Whether he liked to admit it or not, Queen Vivati's words got to him-- he… was a god. And any traces of his past self was almost completely gone. The fact that he was out here, resting in the harsh environments of space and thinking it was the most comfortable thing in the universe showed just how different he already was from the others.
Is this what Athena and the others felt when their God Souls were still intact and they reigned over their people?
Is this the reason why Evangeline could swallow what she did? Because in the bigger picture, the suffering that almost drowned Van when he was young was just a speck of dust in the boundless universe; soon to be forgotten in the ashes of time?
Is he… also starting to lose his humanity? He could feel it, the thin line that was holding the last of his connection with his past was turning into a blur.
"King Evans."
"..." Van's solemn thoughts were then disrupted as a ship slowly approached him, and judging by its shape, it was his and Ameera's-- it was quite hard to tell since the voice that was being emitted by the vibrations were all the same.
"What is it, Captain Ameera?"
"Something urgent came up; There's something wrong with Queen Vivati."
"...What?"
"We… believe it has something to do with the baby she is carrying with you."
"...It's already developing?"
"… I think you must see for yourself."
Even through the monotonous vibrations that weirdly traveled to his ears, Van could still hear the urgency that was coming from Ameera's voice.
"..." The baby didn't claw out its way through Vivati's stomach, right? It hadn't even been a full day since Vivati did what she did... If something like that would happen… then there will be a whole slew of problems coming his way. And so, with that thought, trickles of lightning quickly emerged from Van's eyes as he disappeared from his spot.
***
"G… Gah!"
Even before entering back to the Queen's Pyramid, Vivati's screaming shriek pierced Van's ears; almost making his feet to not take a single step inside Vivati's room. But after a few breaths filled with hesitation, Van proceeded to enter the room.
And as soon as the silver door slid open, the screams that were seeping from its edges instantly amplified; almost making Van's legs turn to jelly.
He had heard shrieks of voices screaming in pain before, but this one was different.
"K… King Evans, you are here!" One of the attending physicians quickly acknowledged Van as soon as he entered the room, hastily urging him to go to them.
"What's going o-- Oh shit!" And as soon as she saw Vivati's bulging stomach, he could not help but almost jump where he stood.
"K… Kha!"
Van was about to say something else, but before he could do so, Vivati once again screamed in pain. Van's eyes traveled across the room, absolutely not knowing where to look or what he should even do in this situation.
"K… King Evans, help us decide what to do in this situation!"
"...What?" Van could only blink his eyes as the physician that called for him clapped his hands, desperately trying to get his attention. Shouldn't he be the one asking them that question? What was he even supposed to do here?
"What's… happening?" Van then breathed out, "Is… she giving birth?"
And as soon as Van's words reached the physicians' ears, they all quickly looked at each other, before one of them shook his head.
"...No," the physician nearest to Van then leaned closer and whispered, "Your… genotype contains too much energy. It's… killing the Queen from the inside out."
"What? Then do something! What's all your technology for if you can't remove something like this!"
"That's… We could remove it, but--"
"No!"
And even with the screams she was letting out, Queen Vivati tried her best to sit up; she was, however, quickly pinned down by her physicians.
"N… no one is killing my child!"
"We… can't disobey the Queen," the physician then said as he looked at Queen Vivati, his eyes clearly disturbed from what was happening to his monarch, "But you… you can order us to remove it, King Evans. Your authority is officially higher than hers."
"No! P… please don't!"
"..." Van could only take in a long and deep breath as Queen Vivati's piercing screams went through his ears.
"Are… you sure there is no chance of saving the baby?" And after a few more seconds of his breaths becoming heavier and heavier, Van finally looked the head physician straight in the eyes.
"There… is nothing to save in the first place, King Evans," the physician shook his head.
"...Remove it," Van then said as he closed his eyes. And as soon as his words reached Queen Vivati's ears, her screams became even louder; penetrating through the walls of the pyramid.
"..." Van wanted to leave and cover his ears; but not once did he stray his eyes away as the physicians pinned Queen Vivati down. They used some sort of tool to seemingly take the bursting energy away from her womb, but Van's mind was too clouded by Queen Vivati's cries to even focus on anything else.
This continued on for almost an hour, with Queen Vivati not even relenting with her screams for even a single second.
Until finally, it was only the two of them inside the room; the screams that almost tore down the colossal pyramid they were in were no longer to be found. Instead, cries that whispered like knives travel from and to Van's ears, almost like a sharp thread that was sawing through his head.
Queen Vivati was still lying on her bed, her tears falling without end as she stared at the empty ceiling. As for Van, he was sitting beside her, completely at a loss as to what to say. Van may not have a single romantic sentiment or any sentiment at all with Queen Vivati and the child that was supposed to be growing inside her, but seeing her completely broken like this… Van didn't have the resolution to just leave her alone.
When Artemis lost Ymir… was her expression also like this?
"..."
"..."
"..."
"You needed to live, Queen Vivati."
And finally, after what seemed like an hour, Van finally opened his mouth, "I am truly sorry that you lost your baby. I… had no idea that something like this would happen if a normal… species carries my--"
"They lied."
"Hm?"
"They… lied to you."
"...What are you saying?"
"I could feel our child growing inside me, King Evans. He was alive… he was here inside me."
"That was just the energy--"
"I know my body, King Evans," Queen Vivati then slowly sat up, wiping the tears that already left markings on her face, "They lied. It's true that I probably would have died if I chose to carry the baby… but I would have persevered and endured until it was born… They lied, King Evans."
"...I can't pretend I know what you're feeling right now, Queen Vivati," Van then stood up from his seat as he looked Queen Vivati straight in the eyes, "But… I want you to know that I am here for--"
"You don't understand, King Evans," Queen Vivati returned his gaze, "I am not talking to you as a mother now, but as the Queen of Osiris."
"...What?"
"The baby inside of me… was alive," Queen Vivati breathed out, "They probably wanted to take it away because it had enough energy to power an entire reactor… but it's truly dead now, I could no longer feel its energy."
"Why… would your physicians even do that--"
"I don't recognize them."
"..."
"The doctors that were here earlier… I didn't recognize even one of them," Queen Vivati's tone was now calm; any sadness that she was expressing earlier was completely gone, "Whoever they are… they probably wanted to sell it to another planet."
"Wait… are you telling me there really was something growing inside you?"
"Yes, King Evans," Queen Vivati's jaw slightly trembled as she answered Van's question, but her voice remained clear as her eyes did not leave Van for even a second, "My… our child was truly growing inside me."
"I… I ordered them to remove it," Van could feel his chest tightening as the disgusting thought of him killing Vanya was suddenly drawn in his mind, "I… I ordered them to…"
"You… didn't know, King Evans."
"I… I killed our child," Van then breathed out as he once again looked at Queen Vivati.
"T--"
"Ameera!"
And before Queen Vivati could say another word, Van suddenly let out a roar that shook the entire pyramid.
"K… King Evans!?" Ameera, who was waiting outside the room, quickly barged inside the room as she heard Van's screams. But as she saw the red streaks of lightning trickling around Van's eyes, she could not help but take a few steps back.
"The people that were here just now…
...find them."