07

And the tears that didn't roll down your face, rolled over mine. I cried as I wrapped his shoulders with my arms and moved my hips harder over yours. And I kept crying even when we reached the climax together. Because that was the last one. Because we were very close to my death. Because we knew that's where it all ended.

And it occurred to me, as I rested my head against his shoulder and our moans gave way to breathless and choppy breaths, that the magic we had just created was enough to open a new portal and get out of there, or to defeat my enemy with full force. But if history tended to repeat itself, how could I die before I could open the portal for him Could it be that in my deathbed all the powers were released at once and that was what made Vraxlon able to return safely? But if it were so, now that he and the other sins were kept trapped around my life, how could I die and not him?

All these questions kept spinning in my head as I ended up falling asleep once again. I was fully aware that every second mattered and made a difference. But I gave myself the luxury of enjoying the last minutes of peace I would have. To prepare for the end that everyone knew so well. And to enjoy the warmth of Vraxlon's big body against mine. All its essence revolving around me, like a planet around its star.

I woke up in what should have been only a few minutes later, because the magic in my necklace still spiralled through the walls of the cave, but it was no longer strong enough to overshadow the natural glow of Vraxlon's black eyes. And it was these eyes that watched me fondly as I woke up again. He opened a very beautiful smile when he saw me stretch.

"I think we should continue our journey before we end up repeating the whole energy charge," he said fun, pointing to my necklace now made of blue magic. "Not that I make any objection to continuing here for a few more days, but we will still have time for you to show the ways to recover magic when we finish what we came to do here.

"Incredibly, you're right," I agreed with humor, coming out of your lap. “And, by the way, thank you for the magic borrowed.

Vraxlon laughed.

"I thank you for the use, majesty.

We wear our clothes as quickly as we took them off. And I finished drinking one of the bottles of water before storing the flashlight in my backpack and handing it over for Vraxlon to carry. The warlord offered me one hand and in the other he continued to hold his sword firmly. Thus, we left the cave and started another expedition around the Purgatory.

Climbing the mountain full of trees was much easier than the first one made of stones. Because there it was not possible to see the sun or feel any heat. The whole environment was humid and fresh. As if nature there were the most splendid and legitimate than its own in human lands. Vraxlon walked in front of me, making his way among the very close trees and with branches full of leaves that stuck to our hair. And, in addition to the air being much easier to enter our lungs, there was also the possibility of holding the trunks so that the ascent was not so difficult.

Although, a few hours later, even with the help of Vraxlon and the thick trunks of the trees, it became a little complicated to continue climbing the mountain. The power inside my necklace remained intact and full. However, my legs were weak due to tiredness. I couldn't tell if it was because, just like hell, that world had not been created for humans to access it, but I was again exhausted and upset to keep walking without coming to an end.

I had the impression that it had been days since we had left hell. And that it had been even more days since we were walking among those trees. I emptied all the remaining bottles of water, and I was about to grumble for the thousandth time about how tired I was to keep walking, when Vraxlon contoured a tree and stopped. I had to stop too, and leaned to the side in order to see what was in front of him.

"We arrived," he announced in a weak voice.

I couldn't tell if he was worried that we arrived or disappointed that we didn't take longer to find what we wanted. However, I hoped that we were already before the Oracle and that the whole journey had come to an end, but we just reached a clearing that opened to a stone temple of the moon. The old and immaculate construction, with large blocks of stone and rising against all nature.

I immediately realized that the temple was too small to house a celestial entity, and I understood that we would have to go down a narrow passage between the stones, in order to go down everything we had climbed from the outside. It would be much easier if we had wings, we would have avoided a long walk, considering that we would have to repeat it, now inside.

“Ready? “I asked, moving to be on Vraxlon's side.

The warlord offered me a smile full of emotions that I was not able to deduce, and lightly squeezed my fingers on his.

"Let's finish with this," he said, guiding us to the temple of the Oracle.

"Tell me every detail about what you know about the Oracle," I asked Vraxlon.

The Prince-warrior still led us to the marble steps in front of the entrance to the temple in the heart of Purgatory, the home of the celestial creature who knew the whole truth about life and time, and who was responsible for writing the stories of humans. Eva. The second woman created by God. Exiled from paradise for having yielded to the sin of the serpent, eating the forbidden fruit. Mother of all, and trapped in the world where supernatural creatures were condemned after his death. Mother of monsters.

"The Oracle is believed to be Eve, the second woman created by God. Made after Lilith did not comply with the Creator's expectations "he recited, slowly climbing the steps to keep up with my tired pace. "When a human is born, she foresees his life and writes it, sending it to the archangels. In this way, God knows how and where a story ends, and can interfere in determining which archangel should be used as the guardian of that human.

"So, human stories are written by the Mother, and not by God," I was quietly, completely panting.

Vraxlon helped me reach the last step, and gave me some time to breathe before answering.

"Yes, but still, it is he who determines when these stories can be interfered and reaped. The supreme power is still his.

"And this... Oracle... he accepts proposals in exchange for questions, doesn't he? “I asked, forcing breath into my lungs.

“Accept. But you have to be careful with what you ask. "He wasware, watching me with intensity. "If she says she will answer a question, remember to ask only one as objectively as possible. Because she will be sincere in answering, even if she asks something useless like what is the true color of the sky. Remember that we are talking about a creature that has control over life and time. It can reveal the past, the present and the future, if you want to know. That is why it is not possible for supernatural creatures to escape from this place. First, because our magic is drained as soon as we arrive. Second, because not all creatures are prepared to endure so much knowledge. There are many legends about creatures that were attacked by the Oracle in an attempt to steal it for themselves.

"Objective questions, right... "I said, hiding my necklace into my clothes. The bluish glow still appeared even camouflaged by the thick leather of the combat suit. "What about these legends... How true is your source?