fantasy

<p>Excerpt:</p><p>“Ashes</p><p>Aboard the ship, both cut through the stars. For one, that cloak was familiar territory; for the other, it was a strange ocean, full of dead constellations that seemed like silent watching eyes.</p><p>The silence was broken by Lorian’s voice, rough and heavy with suspicion:</p><p>“Why did we have to leave Exquema so fast like you said? I understand nothing’s left there but… your uncle… but still, it’s strange. What are you hiding, Rakai?”</p><p>The red-haired Shin piloted with crossed arms, eyes fixed on the darkness dotted with stars. She answered calmly, though her voice bore a weight the void amplified:</p><p>“The Federation still lists the old Empire system as a sector to ‘Eradicate.’”</p><p>“Eradicate?” Lorian tilted her head, her red eyes lit with doubt.</p><p>“They never patrol the area because it would be a waste of time… but you never know when they might. If they see people in Exquema or any planet in the system, they wouldn’t hesitate to destroy it.” She sighed, leaning back against the seat. “That’s why I only go every now and then to see my uncle.”</p><p>A harsh silence grew between them, finally broken by Lorian’s question:</p><p>“The Federation? Which Federation?”</p><p>Rakai leaned back even more, squinting as if the stars weighed on her.</p><p>“When the Republic fell and dissolved, the few surviving primordial gods formed the Universal Federation. Let’s say it’s a second Republic, but much less cold… and in certain ways, much better.”</p><p>Lorian’s eyes widened in surprise. She leaned toward her, seeking each word as if they were burning embers that both burned and illuminated.</p><p>“If the Empire never fully formed, then what ended the Republic?”</p><p>“The Republic fell just a few years ago,” Rakai spoke with strange calm, like reliving a memory she didn’t want to touch again. “There were many things, but among them, the war of the Holy Divinity.”</p><p>Lorian frowned impatiently.</p><p>“Don’t leave things half-said as though I knew everything here, Rakai.”</p><p>She smiled slightly, bitterly.</p><p>“It was a war among gods. The Republic against itself. My father and I were caught in the middle.” Her gaze hardened. “That was only three years ago.”</p><p>Lorian muttered an insult under her breath, crossed her arms, and turned her face to the stars.</p><p>“How did you end up adopted by one of the greatest gods of the universe… or universes, who knows?”</p><p>Rakai tilted her head and replied bluntly, as if tearing off a scar with her nails:</p><p>“I lived in a common world, with a common life. I was barely five when a war broke out among the gods of my world. It was the first time they revealed themselves… and they did so only to kill each other.”</p><p>“What war? And why?” Lorian asked, her tone sharp.</p><p>“How should I know?” Rakai spat the words disdainfully. “Gods are like that: they fight for supremacy, pride, for nothing. They drag mortals who pray to them into ‘divine’ wars where no one wins. This was no different. Just more bloodshed… temples in ruins, burnt flesh, screams mixing with the thunder of their power.”</p><p>She paused. Her golden eyes flickered with a contained fury.</p><p>“Their war cost me my world. My parents died protecting me. And I would have died too if it weren’t for him… who appeared just in time to save me.”</p><p>Lorian looked at her sideways, her expression stiff.</p><p>“I don’t get something. Dante saved you, but… wasn’t he trapped in the Nexus?”</p><p>Rakai sighed and rubbed her face.</p><p>“Yes… but he left years ago somehow. He told me a rift opened, and he escaped. He didn’t know how much time had passed, only that when he emerged, he found Exquema reduced to ashes. He wandered aimlessly until he reached the planet where I was.”</p><p>Lorian clenched her jaw, confused.</p><p>“You’re terrible at telling stories, you know that, Rakai?”</p><p>Rakai shot her a glare, but the arrogant smile returned to her face like a gentle poison.</p><p>“Actually, no, princess. I don’t usually tell myself stories about the universe.”</p><p>That nickname triggered a twitch in Lorian’s brow, who snorted.</p><p>“Anyway, he saved you and adopted you. Lucky mortal kid.”</p><p>Rakai looked down at the stars. Her voice broke, barely audible:</p><p>“Yeah, lucky to watch everyone you loved die.”</p><p>Silence grew heavy as lead. At last, she continued:</p><p>“Yes. He adopted me, raised me, and a year later… he put his blood in me.”</p><p>The words struck like lightning. Lorian lunged at her, grabbing her shoulders, eyes wide like a deranged beast:</p><p>“What?!”</p><p>“Let go, crazy bitch!” Rakai pushed her back against the seat. “What the hell is wrong with you?”</p><p>Lorian trembled, voice torn.</p><p>“What for? You… you’re a mortal adopted by a deity, and he transferred his blood into you! How are you still alive?”</p><p>Rakai averted her gaze with a resigned sigh.</p><p>“I have no idea. It just happened. Dad gave me his blood… it hurt, yes, but my body adapted. I have the blood of the Supreme Deity of Darkness flowing through me. Technically, I’m a goddess. But I hate being called that.” She hugged herself. “I detached myself from that long ago.”</p><p>Lorian looked at her with a mix of disbelief and disdain.</p><p>“Technically you are… but you’re something I never thought I’d see. An aberration.”</p><p>“I know. And I don’t care.” Rakai’s voice was low, bitter. “I just want to be me. Not Dante Lorian’s daughter. Not the goddess of Hate.”</p><p>That name hung like a knife. Lorian repeated it, venom dripping:</p><p>“The goddess of Hate? Why would they even call a mortal that?”</p><p>Rakai took a deep breath, eyes fixed on the void…”</p><p>–Read more in its original Castilian language at <a href="" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>fictograma.com/</a> , an open source Spanish community of writers–</p> <small class="notice" x-post-type-data="None"> Takahe has limited support for this type: <a href="https://lemmy.world/post/39070224">See Original Page</a> </small>