Antiques (Short Story)

I grasp the ring tightly, never wanting to let go. This is a good sign, a sign of something else existing

other than what we know. This ring is filled with mystic power, something we mortals fail to
comprehend. As we uncover more, the ancient world starts to show itself to us, starts to shed its
true form. It can only be described as marvellous, unique. I study this ancient power, all ancient powers.
I am the only one who can feel this power. Because of this, I am unique. I am called to excavation
sites all over the UK so I can study more about these powers. I have come to the conclusion they
are powers of the Divine.

“Have you found something, Ineza?” One of the archaeologists asks me, some broken pottery in his
hand.

I nod, opening my hand, the ring resting on my palm. He stares at it, slightly confused at why I find
it so interesting. It glows in a rainbow hue, the colours changing as I move the ring around my palm.
The archaeologist walks away, muttering something about nonsensical, mythical behaviours.
Most scientists and professionals doubt my abilities but I know them to exist and that’s all that matters.

The ring dims when I bring it into the light, brightening more as I close my fist around it. I notice the
rainbow shining through my fingers. I open my hand again and it dims. I suddenly become excited.
What God did it belong to? Does it have the power of a God in it? Can a mortal obtain this power?
I slip it in a plastic bag and put it in my coat pocket. I can analyse it later.

I spend some time at the site before leaving. The only thing I felt was the ring.

At my lab, I take the ring out my pocket, taking the ring out the bag and carefully placing it in a glass
case. My fingers tingle when the ring leaves my person, like its begging to return to me. I leave the ring
and make my way towards a fossil. No scientist had ever seen anything like it. It’s a plant, one with extravagant flowers. I think it’s a Divine flower, one that came from the clouds itself. I can’t feel power as strong as the one from the ring was, but it’s still a strong one. Maybe they’re relics of different Gods, one weaker than the other, or ones older. There are many old relics in this world to be discovered and I want to discover them all.

I feel a light filling me. I glance back towards the ring. It seems to call to me. I ignore the call and
walk towards an old, battered pendant. Other archaeologists think it's just an old pendant and has
no meaning but I can feel the power it has. I think it used to belong to a follower of an old God called
Igni. He governed over fire and heat. He would give his most loyal followers the power of flames.
The feeling of the power within the pendant feels similar to the one within the ring, but it's not the
same so I can cross Igni off the list. There’s a Goddess which has similar power, Lyca, Goddess of
Thunder and Lightning. I cross her off because it's not the same.

I go through the list, feeling the power from different artefacts related to these Divines;

Raven, God of the Night,

Rula, Goddess of the Day,

Fera, Goddess of Animals,

Tera, God of Insects,

Herita, Goddess of Love.

None of these Divines power feels the same, but I can feel similar power from them all. I know there
are many more Divines I don’t know about and my knowledge grows with each artefact I get.

I feel suddenly feel excited. I don’t know what Divine it belongs to and that excites me. I go back to
the ring and take it back in my hands. It emits a humming noise. Maybe it belongs to God of Sound,
Hari. The rainbow hue, however, suggests God of Colour, Ju. The combination of power suggests the
God of Kings, Deniri or the Goddess of Queens, Tuli. There are many Divines it can be. I slip the ring
on my finger. It feels like it was made for me.

Ineza, you are the only one who can feel my power, who can hold my power.

Frightened, I take off the ring. The voice was masculine, so it isn’t Tuli. The flow of power I felt from
the ring means it isn’t the weak Hari or Ju. It must be Deniri.

I quickly go through my archives, frantically trying to find anything relating to Deniri. I don’t find much.
All records of him or his followers were destroyed long ago. I slam the drawer shut, suddenly frustrated
by the lack of information.

“Damn it, Deniri!” I yell.

The ring hums again as if replying. I slip the ring back on my finger.

You are the one who can carry my spirit.

Panic goes through my body as I throw the ring across the room. It gravitates back to the case I had it
in before. The panic retreats when the ring leaves my person. Deniri has dangerous power that we
mortals cannot begin to comprehend. If he takes over a mortals body, it can be one of the most
dangerous things I’ve ever seen.

I take a walk to clear my head. I sit on the beach, the moon reflecting off the water. I breathe in the
fresh, sea air, tucking my cardigan around me as the cool wind brushes over my skin. As I listen to the
waves, a golden mist emerges from the sand, materialising as a large man with broad shoulders and
shoulder-length hair. He’s golden, like the mist.

“Ineza, you have a lot of potential. You can be something huge. I can help you.”

I stand up and walk towards the God.

“Deniri, I will not allow myself to be controlled by you!”

Deniri flicks his wrist and the golden mist flows from his hand and enters my chest. I feel the light fill
my bones and muscles. I know this is a small portion of Deniri’s power. I stare at my palms as gold
mist surrounds them. A small figure emerges from them. One with a fishtail made of water, although
I know its not a mermaid.

“Undine.”

She giggles the undine swimming through the air. The tail disappears to reveal human legs. Her
purple hair stops at her abdomen. She has what looks like a bikini covering her. Like her tail, it looks
like its made of water. Her skin is light blue.

“I have gifted you with some power of summoning. This undine will assist you in controlling my power.”

I clench my fists, hoping the undine will disappear. She doesn’t.

“I don’t want your power!” I yell.

Deniri laughs before disappearing into the sand.

“Ineza? My name is Tura. Lord Deniri told me to assist you.” Her voice is high and squeaky.

She reforms her fishtail before swimming up to my shoulder. She relaxes on my shoulder, the tail
gone.

“I feel like I’m going insane.” I poke the nymph on my shoulder.

She recoils slightly, falling off my shoulder. She reforms her tail to swim up. It seems like undines can
only swim in the air if they form a water tail. I make a mental note to research more about them. Tura
can help with that.

I make my way back to the laboratory. Tura swims around, amazed at the city scene. I don’t think
she's ever seen anything like it before.

“Where do undines and nymphs live?” I ask, determined to learn more.

“We live in the ocean. We can survive on land but we can only really move if we form a fishtail.” Tura
swims around my head, landing on it, her tail disappearing. “Humans are troublesome creatures.
The Gods always complain about them. All they do is seek power. Your different, Ineza. Any human
would have been overjoyed to have Deniri’s power but you fight it at every step.”

“I’m not interested in eternal power, not like some humans.”

“You have the power of creation. Anything you think of can be yours.” She spreads out her arms.
“The only limit is if it’s in the realm of possibility.”

Opening up my palm, I create a small snowflake. It melts immediately. I feel a rush of power flow
through my veins. If I accept Deniri, this could be my life. It could help with my research. I could create
mystic creatures like Tura, I could create powerful artefacts. I have the power most mortals dream of.
The power of a God. I clench my fist.

“Tura, your right. I have the power of creativity.” I think about something and small flames flick from
my closed fist. Opening my hand, a small phoenix flies out and lands on my palm. It has orange,
yellow and red feathers that shimmer in the moonlight. When it moves its wings, small flames flick off
them and disappear when they hit my hand. I rush back to my laboratory.

When in my laboratory, I put Tura and the phoenix in a glass case. The phoenix falls asleep but Tura
swims around, her tail shorter as not to hit the glass. It doesn't stop some splashes of water from
hitting the glass.

“Calm down, Tura.” I attach small tubes on the glass and they phase through, attaching themselves to
Tura’s tail.

She freaks out and her tail disappears. She sits on the floor, scratching at the tubes attached to her
legs. A device on the table beeps and I tap on a keyboard. The flow of water on Tura’s tail depends on
how calm she is. It seems she can’t keep it together if shes panicking. The water that serves as her
clothes seem to stay in place. It must be using different magic to control it.

“Ineza! Why are you doing this?” Tura shouts at me. The glass muffles her voice.

“I’m a scientist researching mystic power. I am taking advantage of this opportunity.” The device
beeps again and a set of numbers appear on the small screen. 34:98. The speed of the flow of
magic:the speed of the flow of water.

“You creatures are truly magical,” I remark, pressing a button. The glass melts away, freeing Tura.
She suddenly forms her tail, the device beeping before she flicks the tubes off her tail. She swims
as far away from the glass cases as possible.

“Relax, I got what I need from you.” I go to bed that night and leave Tura to calm down.

The next morning, I wake up to Tura on my chest. She’s sound asleep. It makes me feel bad for
panicking her so much last night. I pick her up and lay her on my hand. Her body seems to
instinctively form a tail. I have to admit, it’s nice to have some companionship.

I place her on the side table and she mumbles something. Maybe she misses her home. I put the
kettle on and a golden mist emerges from my palms, forming Deniri.

“Ineza, I see you're making good use of your new powers.”

“Deniri, I will not let myself become corrupted by your power.”

“Then let me give you more.”

More power flows through my veins and my heart beats faster. Everything gets warmer before
everything stops.

“Goodbye, Ineza.”

Tura appears in front of me. It’s just us in this black world. She’s taller than she was before,
about the same height as me.

“Ineza, Deniri killed you. He fed you with more power than the human body can handle. It destroyed
you. However, he has allowed you to be reborn as an Undine.”

I look at my clothes. They’re less revealing than Tura’s and not made of water, but I do have a water
tail formed. My skin is pale blue and my clothes are dark blue. The fabric curls around my belly button.
This is my life now. I will live as an Undine until the Gods decide otherwise.

Memories: A Tale of Two Sisters (Short Story)

Black. All I see is black. No scent. No sound. All I can feel is my skin burning. My hands are covered
in burns but it, surprisingly, doesn't bother me. I take slow steps forward, not knowing what I could
bump into, but one thought stays the same. Where am I?
A scream pierces the darkness and I find myself running although I don't know where I'm going. I just
know, I'm not the only one in this barren place.

I stop in front of a glowing sphere and the smell of flowers fills the air. Daisies, daffodils and dandelions.
I hear the wind rustling in the trees and feel the wet grass beneath my bare feet but I don't see anything.
It's still just black. I glance towards the sphere. It's no longer empty. There are trees with purple and
brown leaves. Green grass covered in water droplets and two girls running through the field. I
remember this, me and my sister when we were children. Six years old, if I remember correctly.
Then voices flow from the sphere.

"Nee-san! Hurry up!" My sister calls back to me. She's so lively. I don't think I can ever catch up to her.
I pant since I've been running for an hour.
"Luna-nee?"
I giggle softly. Trust her to know I'm behind. "Slow... down, S-Sora," I stutter slightly. Evil looms in the air.
I can feel it.
I bend over, my hands on my knees; my head bowed to catch my breath. A shadow moves beneath me
and I stand up straight, my lungs still burning from lack of oxygen (I really don't like running). The
shadow settles underneath Sora and, before I can utter out a warning, it pulls her in, her scream fills
my ears.

I turn away from the sphere and my legs give out. I lie on my side in a fetal position, holding my head,
and I start to sing. My body is numb, I don't even feel the tears sliding down my cheeks. All I feel is
sadness. I could have stopped it. I didn't.
"Nee-san, don't cry." I hear her voice.
"No! It's not her! No! No!" I scream. I clamp my eyes shut and bring my head towards my chest, my
skin burning even more with unwanted contact.
"Luna-nee?" A soft, childish voice asks. Someone touches my arm and I look up. A woman with blue
hair that rolls down her back in waves, like a waterfall. Her skin, like mine, is covered in burns but also
has bruises and scars. Even some blood running down her arm and dried blood on her face. She is
clothed in a singed, purple dress covered in holes and black leather boots. Her nails are jagged, like
she bites them, and are painted a royal blue although it looks chipped. Her onyx eyes run over my
body and soften.
"Sora!" I jump up and hug her but she doesn't return my embrace. She pushes me away and I stumble
back. "Sora?"
"No, Luna!"
My eyes widen in shock. Oh, God. She's serious. She never calls me by my name. It's always
'Nee-san' or 'Luna-nee' because of her Japanese heritage. Sora isn't my birth sister. Our family
adopted her after she wasn't wanted because she's my spiritual twin (meaning we can feel each
other's pain).
"All this is because of you! Because you kept something big from me! Your little sister!" She yells,
advancing towards me. I stand my ground with my head lowered, my bangs covering my eyes, and
my hands trembling.
"You're not my 'little sister'," I mutter. "If you know what my secret is then you will know we were born
on the same day, at the same time and you will know that neither of us is younger than the other.
"I did what I did to protect you and..." I take a deep breath, "I'm sorry."
Sora throws herself in my arms and cries in my hair.
"You'll always be older, Nee-san. The truth changes nothing." She wails.
We stay in each other's embrace for a while until I pull away.
"Where are we?" I ask.
"Neither dead nor alive. We're living in our memories. Mostly bad ones. Do you not remember?"
I shake my head and Sora waves her hand over the sphere. Smoke fills my nose and I gag at the
scent of burning flesh. I examine the sphere closely. All I see is fire, and me.

I run into the burning building. Someone told me they were keeping my sister here and, since the
experiment failed, we're going to kill her. I feel the flames burning my skin even though I'm not touching
them. Sora is being burnt alive.
"So... ra!" I shout, coughing violently due to smoke. I am met with silence. "Sora!" I call again.
This time I receive a reply. "Luna-nee..." A weak voice reaches me.
I run up to Sora. She's tied to a pole by charred ropes but she's too weak to pull herself out of it. I pull
the ropes away, my hands coming away black, and sling her arm over my shoulder to give her support.
I slowly make my way out of the building, navigating between walls of flame, something I didn't bother
to do on my way in.
My eyelids feel heavy and everything blurs. I can hear voices.
"Is anyone in there?" One asks.
"Two women though one is probably dead by now." Someone replies.
I collapse, taking Sora with me, and close my eyes. Luckily, Sora lands on my back. I feel her being
removed from me and someone turns me over, slips their arms under my knees and back and picks
me up, cradling me to their chest.
"You're an idiot, Luna. Going in after your sister." A masculine voice says before I pass out.