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Trinity
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One by one I went to the others. I don't know what to call what I was doing exactly. All I knew was that these people were moving on and finding peace and that was making me feel so much better.
There had been almost two dozen souls that had come after me when Hekate had issued her command to them. Nearly two dozen people that she threatened with her eternal damnation. She wasn't able to do that though. I wasn't going to let her. She wouldn't ruin their afterlife anymore than she would get out of hell.
Person after person. Soul after soul. I got closer to being safe and moving on from this place as well. As long as Hekate sent these people after me, I myself was stuck in limbo. I was a living being that was stuck in the in between.
And to make matters worse, with each person that I freed from this place, the air around me got colder. It was like the air was reflective of Hekate's mood. I knew that she was pissed off at me for foiling her plans to get my soul.
The moment that the last person was freed of their binding, having moved onto their eternal happiness which involved painting murals, Hekate screamed in frustration. Her voice once again sounded like carrion birds that had taken flight for a particularly juicy piece of roadkill. Man, that was creepy.
"DAMN YOU!" She screeched the words so loud that I felt like they were spoken right into my ear instead of from the entire space surrounding me. "YOU HAVE ONCE AGAIN RUINED EVERYTHING, TRINITY! YOU HAVE DESTROYED MY PLANS!" She seemed to be breathing heavily enough for it to be called hyperventilating. The frustration, anger, fear, loathing, whatever it was that you wanted to call what she was feeling, it made her sound as if she were shaking uncontrollably.
"And I am glad that I ruined it for you, Hekate. You don't need to be toying with people like that. You are an evil, sadistic, psychotic, bat shit crazy bitch." OK, that insult wasn't the greatest, but at least it was true.
"You will pay. Mark my words, you mongrel scum. You will pay for foiling my plans. I will destroy you, and then the world." I couldn't believe that she was still thinking that was a possibility.
"Go ahead and try, Hekate. Go ahead and try to get out of here. I will stop you."
There was no response to my words. It felt to me like Hekate had disappeared from the vicinity. Even the atmosphere, and not just the temperature, felt better with her being out of this place. I could breathe easier and the goosebumps had left my arms and neck.
"Finally." I sighed and nearly collapsed to the ground in relief.
I couldn't let myself get too relaxed, though. I had just been through one major attack that had been thrown at me by an evil Goddess bent on destroying the world. Letting myself do anything aside from taking this seriously would literally be like signing my own death certificate. Mine and everyone that I love.
Without showing my vulnerability, exhaustion, or anything else that would be seen as a weakness, I jogged over to the three little imp boys that I had been protecting. The moment that I got close enough to them, I removed the barrier and then the bubbles of heat from around them.
"Are you alright?" I knew that they were OK physically, but I needed to ask about emotionally and mentally as well. They may be imps, but they were still living creatures.
Not a single one of them spoke. It was the same as every time I had spoken to them before. They nodded at me but didn't speak. The one that had cried when we first got here, because he had been hurt, hugged me around my waist when I asked him if he was ok. He seemed to be more affectionate and clingy than the other two were.
I found all of that adorable, but I couldn't dwell on it for too long. We had a lot of work to do between now and when I finally found Hekate in her prison cell. I needed to talk to the other me as well as them. I needed to figure out how I was going to destroy a Goddess that was already living in the underworld. In truth, is there even a way to do that?
I didn't know the answer to that question, but I will work really, really hard to figure it out. I would do what it took to come out on top and save the world. This one and the other one.
After vowing that, I looked at the three little imp boys with a serious look in my eyes. I needed to know how far they were willing to go with all of this.
"I am moving on. I need to finish this and stop Hekate. Are you three going to come with me? Or you would like me to go on my own while you stay here?" I swear that all three of the imps looked as if they were going to cry now. Why was it that they sometimes acted like little kids that didn't want to be away from their mother? I mean, I know that they weren't my children, but it felt that way at moments like this.
"Alright, don't worry, I will take you with me. I think it would be better to stick together anyway. You three will know more about this place than I would."
'Do not forget about me, Trinity. I have knowledge of this world as well.' The other me piped up again.
"Yes, that you do. I have four guys, one inside my head and three clinging to my legs." I heard the other me chuckle at that statement. Well, I was glad that I could make her laugh, but now it wasn't really a thing.
I took one last look around me, one last look at the city block that had once felt so familiar and welcoming. It didn't feel that way now. After the attack, it was cold and lifeless. That most likely was due to the fact that there literally was no life to be seen around this place. I had freed the souls and now, this block of the underworld was empty.
"I wonder how many more souls I will run into before I leave this limbo. How many more people will I need to help?"
'Do you intend to help every soul you encounter? Do you intend to take that much time?'
"I will not seek them out, but if they are in my path, then I will help them. I cannot abandon people here to be stuck forever."
That seemed to be all that the other me wanted to know about that topic. She didn't say anything else, so I prepared to leave. I needed to move on to the next level. I needed to find Hekate.
"Do you know where to go?" I asked the three little imp boys and they smiled excitedly. I was betting that that meant yes.. Well, I was hoping it did anyway.
