A Swine's Greed

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

The dark, devoid-of-life endless sky was unfolding itself on the shuttle's window shield. The turbine's flame was beginning to fade away as the shuttle's speed declined sustainably. A girl with a seemingly tired look was gazing at the serene scene that was spreading out in front of her sight.

"After so much struggle…after so much pain…It feels like it's been ages since I could just observe the scenery surrounding me."

The otherwise quiet atmosphere was disrupted, as she threw her body gently to the ground with her back touching the hard metallic floor.

"How long has it been since I've stared with you at the rendering stream of light the stars furnish the sky with? How long has it been since we've shared our usual conversations about the world and its limitless possibilities?", the girl continued to speak to herself as a tear formed underneath the girl's eyelid and swarmed down toward her reddish cheek.

"However, why do they suddenly seem so restricting? So finite? The world's true order must be trying to bound me down…the world's rules have to be tired of me playing with them to get what I desire…"

At that moment, the skies suddenly lit up with a vermillion color. An explosion had been triggered in the now faraway from the girl's position Earth, leaving only but hovering rocks behind it.

The girl's tears kept flowing out as a deep sound covered the silent universe. After laying down for a couple of minutes, she licked her soft lips while uttering, "Sour taste…I see."

Then, she put her right arm above her eyes, sweeping them over before lifting her body. Her eyes, now crimson red and swollen from the weeping gale of tears that were unleashed, gaped at the shuttle's inner area.

The girl paced down slowly while grasping tightly to her scarlet trench coat with a trembling hand as if trying to hold her anger and disappointed emotions from coming out more than they should.

Several hours had passed with the shuttle drifting on the endless cosmos and the girl was now seated in a small cabin that was resembling a kitchen structure.

The girl opened a top drawer, got a small silver package out of it, and cut the outer shell of the plastic straw that was extending. After a while, an odor that resembled a potato pulp assailed the girl's nostrils.

"It's been a while since I let my emotions out…all this time I've been holding so much of them back, I feel like I want to puke my guts out.", she murmured to herself, "I guess…this is the price I have to pay for wanting everything."

She then forcefully tried to feed her mouth with the mush, despite having no appetite whatsoever for anything resembling food. While gently chewing the soft texture of the food, she looked around the quiet and solitary place.

"I am alone in this, so I have to endure everything on my own.", the girl stepped up from her chair at the kitchen table, "I am the only one I can fix this. I can't let myself be disheartened now. It doesn't matter how long it takes."

"Why are you shouldering everything by yourself? You aren't proving anything to anyone with that attitude, and you sure ain't helping yourself either."

A man's voice resonated in her mind as she spoke to herself. The girl grabbed her chest tightly to bear a sudden pain that latched itself on it as she felt his voice echoing in the dark room.

"Maybe…I should approach the matter differently. I just have to find the strength to keep pushing forward, to keep wishing…despite the possibilities of my hopes getting crushed being high."

The girl steeled her resolve, and after putting her trench coat on, exited through the front door leaving on the plate a single, darkened potato chip from the prolonged exposure to high temperature.

"I need to find him.", she murmured while impatiently striding, "He might be my last hope, my last try for redemption in this damned universe…If even he can't help, then it might be the will of the heavens…I will let it be and end my life here."

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The girl went to the pilot room the space shuttle had on its front end and a small room covered entirely with windows unveiled before her eyes. Many levers and buttons placed on a wide metallic surface, begged her to be pulled and pressed.

Since she had traveled through the cosmos before and knew how a vehicle like this could be flown, she got seated in the position in front of the panel and with several movements, she fired up the turbines and made the shuttle speed up in the twilight place that surrounded it.

The destination was Serenil, a planet that was almost empty of life but one that also housed a certain individual that was famous throughout the universe for his unparallel wisdom of the world's rules.

After a few minutes of a quiet flight, an ashen planet painted with verdant dots that signified a forest's existence paved the way to the girl's eyes. Then, when she noticed an enormous mountain she flew around it till she decelerated enough to park the shuttle near its top.

The girl got out after quieting down the engine and climbed a bit till she reached the very top of the mountain, where a home similar to an altar was placed. Before her, another woman's appearance caught her eye as her playful voice rang in the solemn site.

"Oh? What do we have here? A visitor, at this time? To what do we owe such pleasure?", the woman said while gazing at the girl with a lighthearted look on her face.

"I…", the girl uttered while her heart pounded incredibly fast at the sight of the woman. However, before forming a sentence, she took a deep breath and regained her composure, "I would like to see Delong Aetheon. I need to speak to him about a private matter that requires his assistance at all costs."

"That…still doesn't answer my question.", the woman said with a smile on her face that hid behind it a fierce killer instinct.

"Please, Chie, let me through! I am not here for any ill purposes!"

"How do you…Hmm, this will be interesting. Alright, come in, if you try anything I will not hesitate to purge you anyway.", the woman said with a calmer voice than before. 

"Thank you.", the girl bowed as she conveyed her gratitude.

As they were walking toward the altar on the mountain's summit, the woman suddenly broke with her shout the silence that resided there.

"Oiii, gramps! Someone is here to see you, come on out she says it's an emergency."

Then, a figure of an old man wearing a lengthy robe came out of the altar while brushing his long white beard.

"Chie, for what reason art tho disrupting the peace of these lands?

"This girl, gramps.", the woman began talking while presenting with her hands the girl, "She wants your help with something."

Delong gaped at the girl's eyes as he came closer and wore a wry smile on his face when he got near her.

"Delong Aetheon! I beg of you, I need your wisdom to get myself out of this predicament. So, please. Hear my plea out this one last time!", the girl expressed herself with an exasperated tone in her voice. 

"Alright my girl…But, before that, I need thee to answer my query.", Delong told her in a soft voice, "Art thou become lighter from thy interminable adventures and realized what is it that thou value most?"

The girl stopped her thought in its tracks and her face went instantly blank. Then, without further consideration of the matter, she gradually moved her head down as if wanting to agree with Delong's second inquiry.

"That is good. For I can assist thee in thy journey, only if what thou says is true.", Delong answered before taking a small pause. After lifting his head toward the sky that was beginning to get illuminated by the early sun's rays, he continued, "Life…works like a marketplace. For thee to get one thing, thou have to sacrifice another. And that's especially true when it comes to a person's everlasting happiness."

The girl tilted her head slightly sideways at Delong's words, before widening her eyes in shock after she contemplated his words for a while.

"I…I might know what I have to do then…", the girl fearlessly spoke out with a fiery expression on her face, like having realized what was the thin line that separated her from becoming whole again and having mustered the courage to finally cross that line.

"That is good then, my girl.", Delong replied to the latest remark as he turned his attention toward the altar. The girl interrupted his slow pacing as she tried to follow him deeper.

"You are the wisest person in the whole cosmos, there's no way you haven't figured out why I am here by now."

"What do you imply exactly?", the other woman went in front of Delong to cover his figure from the girl's sight, "For you to be able to recognize me, it has to do something with what lies before this shrine...But, it's still not enough for me to trust you with that."

"You both know it by now. I've come here before to ask for your aid in my and the whole Arcadion's future...We've met under different circumstances and you've helped me travel back in time via the Nethergate."

The girl then dropped her face down and lost a lot of her full-of-life tone, "However...I've lost. I couldn't make the difference despite your assistance.", she lifted her head again to look deeply at both of their eyes, "So I beg of you! Please! Give me one more chance. One more chance for redemption! One more chance for me to find happiness..."

"Hm!", the woman scoffed as she let the girl pass through. Delong, having heard her plea, spoke again while being in a more consoling tone.

"I do not let others use the gate, but I also do not stand in the way for those with enough determination to go through hell to reach the heavens. But hear this, my little girl, time is not an instrument that one should amuse themselves with. Fate has a reason for being as it is and the universe goes a long way to keep that true as it may."

"I still...Want to, no, have to go back."

"If this is thy final answer...", Delong said as he waved the scepter that he got from near the altar's entrance, "Then, go! The future that lies ahead of thee is waiting. No one knows what it will be, but no one should negate thee from grasping it."

An azure pale light came from the altar's entrance gate as the tip of the scepter that Delong held, lit in the exact same manner. The girl then reached with her right hand at the blue light's surface, and after caressing it with her fingers, went through with a leap.

"Are you sure about that, Delong?"

"Chie, aren't you curious enough to join her in her quest and see what the outcome will be?"

"No, pops. My curiosity will be solved shortly anyway. I am not that impatient as to endanger time itself for satisfying that."

"Hoo...So thou are the one that knew her?"

"She mentioned Arcadion. So I thought that I might have met her back when the first Ixoir landed its feet there and I went for an inspection. But she must have altered time enough for me to not have met her on this timeline."

"So, for her to come here, Arcadion is gone, I suppose.", Delong shared his thoughts after listening to the woman, "Let's be the ones that witness it then; the bright future or the impeccable demise of this world...", he continued as hundreds of aircraft showed their hoods from afar.

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A wondrous greensward space with numerous trees laid upon the girl's view. As she opened her eyes, the glowing sun's glare made it difficult for her to recognize her surroundings till her eyes got adjusted to the light. She lifted her body from her laying position and moved her head right and left to understand exactly where she was currently at.

"I am here, huh...", she spoke feebly, "But at what exact time? I remember Delong explaining to me that the Nethergate transports you to the place in time where your mind unconsciously thinks of."

The girl started to walk for a bit to get out of the grassy area and toward the bustling sound of the streets where the horses' petals reverberated as they hit the rocky roads.

Then, a vibrant town with carriages swinging left and right and many people traversing through the sidewalks where medium-sized concrete buildings were placed next to them, laid upon the girl's sight.

In the central street where the girl walked around as she was seemingly searching the area, a magnificent palace with a giant black steel gate could be seen at the end of the lengthy and wide road.

"Time is of the essence. I can't recognize yet as to what is the exact time spot I am transferred into. I need to rush to Rosalia and inform her about-"

Before the girl could finish her murmur a loud noise coming from the now grey-colored sky interrupted the girl's thoughts. Her heart started pounding at an extreme rate as she gaped at the giant aircraft that descended slowly to the now panicking city.

"What!? I was thinking so much about the recent event, the Nethergate moved me exactly to the point I wished I could change...The universe really isn't letting me tinker a lot with the events that transpire.", she disappointingly voiced out.

"Ok. Let's not stress out now.", the girl clapped her hands in response to her words before clenching them tightly, "I can still make it in time to the palace and take Rosalia out of there. I won't let her get caught this time..."

The girl run like her life depended on it toward the gate that was now slightly opening to let plenty of guards and warriors out to face the Ixoir's arrival and protect their country at all costs.

Suddenly, a warrior atop an ashen horse that looked like the leader of the attack units, shouted to the girl that was running in the opposite direction of hers, "Hey! Where are you going? Our country is attacked!"

"Please trust me and let me in the palace, the princess might be in trouble!", the girl responded in a grave tone making the knight twitch a little.

"You...You are her majesty's friend, right?", the knight answered, "Go ahead then! Tell the guardians left inside that I, sir Malcolm Grandel, let you in to see the princess."

"I'm in your debt!", the girl shouted excitedly as she continued her path to the glorious pale gate that was the only thing that separated her from the palace's insides.

After reaching it, she explained to the knights that were stationed there the situation and mentioned the knight she met before, and they opened the gates for her to pass.

Then, she run with all her might to the upper floor without stopping, till she finally caught a glimpse of princess Rosalia behind a beautifully made white door with gold marks scribbled on its surface.

"Rosalia! Thank goodness you're here. The Ixoir are attacking us head-on! We need to go find a hiding spot as everyone is dealing with the thread. Come!", the girl panicky called out to the woman seated in the room's interior that was gazing outside her tall window.

"$%^&! How are you...Never mind, we can't just leave this place while everyone is fighting. That's not fair! I have to go help them.", Rosalia answered the girl's worried plea.

"You have to have faith in me! I will explain along the way. Let's head for the palace's underground caverns to take hide and you will soon understand everything!"

"Do you know why is this happening? Please, tell me so that we can negotiate with them and avoid any bloodshed that will occur.", Rosalia grabbed the girl's slim and soft hands with hers as she gazed deep into her eyes.

"I...I will tell you everything if that is your wish. But you have to follow me first.", the girl said while avoiding eye contact with her.

"Alright then...Let's go. Fill me out along the way.", the princess said as she started running alongside the girl while holding her hand, "Oh, and $%^&...Thank you."

The girl blushed at Rosalia's words but didn't lose her speed. Time was her biggest enemy, she thought. She couldn't waste that on little things that she could indulge herself in after she solved the whole situation.

Rosalia instructed the guards to defend the palace at all costs, thinking that it was the only thing that remained from her parents. After she took the golden key to the palace's restricted underground area, she bid them farewell with a gentle 'stay safe' while urging them not to follow her.

"Ixoir...why are they suddenly so aggressive toward us? They stood quiet for a long time.", Rosalia started to converse to get the girl to speak about the current situation.

"The truth is heavy and your shoulders quite thin...Are you sure you are prepared to face and hold it for the rest of your life?", the girl responded in a serious manner without looking back at Rosalia.

"Yes. No matter what, I am the current queen of Valizon, the leading country in the whole of Arcadion. I can't let myself be swayed by emotions.", Rosalia answered in the same manner as the girl, "Besides, I have you by my side. I am sure you will help me shoulder this burden."

The girl suddenly stopped in the middle of the murky dirt path and turned her attention and whole body to face Rosalia, "For that, you can be sure. That's why I am here anyway.", she said before letting Rosalia's hand.

"Ixoir is, as you know, a very ancient alien race. They existed since the dawn of Valizon and your bloodline. However, they were always contesting and conquering resources vital for our growth. So, the then-king thought to strengthen the Arcadion's whole army by letting Ixoir alone for a while--All to accomplish the plan of attacking and destroying them as much as he could."

"I know that my family had no other choice but battle since the resources that Ixoir kept taking were thought to be threatening our survival while strengthening theirs.", Rosalia said as she heard the girl's explanation, "I am not sure I've heard about the plan of attacking them though, I thought that the battle occurred outside of either country."

"That's where everything starts...", the girl resumed in a graver tone, "We attacked their country after gathering enough power for that; and we evaporated nearly 70% of their population, be it soldiers or residents. The Ixoir cursed us for centuries for leading such an expedition that dyed their planet red."

The princess was left dumbfounded. She looked at the girl's eyes deeply while hanging on her next words which she had already thought about judging by the girl's talk.

"And...They have finally gathered enough power themselves to seek revenge on us...", Rosalia said in a feeble voice.

"Yes. And specifically you, the only one left on your bloodline that was responsible for the Ixoir's demise back then."

Both stayed silent for a brief moment. Rosalia's eyes widened and her breath became slightly unstable as she contemplated upon the girl's words. The truth was heave indeed, the girl thought to herself.

"Why...am I the one hiding if I, and my ancestors, were responsible for the death of so many of their tribe, and so many of our people?", Rosalia voiced out softly.

"You are not at fault for this! The people of this country love you and your family for everything you have offered us! They are willing to sacrifice themselves for this country to live on because of that, so don't even think about responsibility."

"But...I..."

Before the princess could finish her sentence, a loud clap echoed in the tunnels. Then, a man's figure made its appearance along with two blue-colored lizardmen with big black round eyes and a long tail in the shape of a spear.

"I beg to differ, Avry.", the man spoke to the girl and the princess that stood still in their surprise, "This country has evolved much further than the Valiz family allowed. We have surpassed everything not just because of them and it's time to face that truth and continue moving forward without endangering ourselves or others!"

"Dan...How did you find us here?", Avry said while clenching her fists so fiercely that blood poured out of her hand.

"You think I wouldn't think about the palace's hidden tunnels? They are interconnected throughout the whole city, so it would be the best place to hide and not get found; by someone that isn't knowledgeable of them.", Dan answered while clenching his sword in the same manner as Avry did.

The two lizardmen started moving forward while being on guard, with her spears' tips pointing at the two women standing in their way.

"Hand her over and come to me! It's not too late to back down from this foolish errand! The future of our country lies not in them, but our people's strength and ideals!"

"Violence and sacrifice are not the answer! It's a neverending loop, don't you get it? There will be more people that will be willing to fight for the honor of the family that built this country. Please, step aside, Dan...", Avry pointed out in a painful voice, "Or I will have to make you."

"Bloodshed is not the answer you say, yet our people are getting massacred outside because of your outlandish decisions. Get them!", Dan shouted with a hint of sorrow in his tone, "But don't kill anyone other than the target."

The two lizardmen then jumped to attack the princess, but Avry put out her twin swords from her pockets and defended her from the attack. Rosalia wanted to discuss and make her point in the matter as well, but Dan and the lizardmen didn't let her.

He knew that further discussion of the matter might wave his decision since Dan was well aware that it was a harsh one despite being the one that would save everyone. He knew the princess from when they were little because of her being friends with Avry.

Rosalia then took a small staff outside of her pocket and murmured various incomprehensible words before a firebolt was cast at the position of the two lizardmen.

The two Ixoir soldiers dodged and then jumped again to disarm Avry and get to Rosalia fast before she could let out another spell toward them. Dan, understanding that he couldn't just stand there, tried to evade the fight between Avry and the two lizardmen to get to Rosalia first while the former was distracted.

Since the tunnels were too narrow, Dan couldn't pass that easily though and Avry caught up on that and disarmed one lizardman and pierced his chest before throwing her other dagger at Dan's position. He anticipated that attack and used his sword to defend from the blade that was directed at him.

Avry used that situation to get closer to Dan and slice him in a non-fatal area but he guarded against that attack as well with a full swing of his sword.

"Why are you so persistent? Surely you must know that there is no other way to achieve peace now!", Dan shouted as he clashed his sword with Avry's dagger.

Avry was pouring all her might into her little blade to withstand Dan's strength and overwhelm his immense power, "NO! You cannot really think that killing her will solve everything! We've been together for so long, I know you are not the kind of person that sacrifices others that easily and I loved you for that kindness!", Avry yelled at him.

"No, you are wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong! If you loved me so much, you would understand my reasoning!", he said before swinging his blade with all his power and throwing Avry's dagger out of place.

The lizardman tried to get the advantage of that situation and launched itself toward Rosalia who was now almost ready to unleash another one of her spells. Before the lizardman reached her, she shouted 'Amash Inka', and a powerful light ray pierced the tunnel and lit it up as if the sun was nearby.

Everyone dodged the attack and latched themselves at the nearest wall while the ray passed through.

"Stop you two...please!", Rosalia said while panting, "You both say that violence is not the answer, yet you both fight each other. I can't stand watching you hurt each other!"

The alien lizardman was dumbfounded by the sheer strength that Rosalia displayed and backed off a little while calling in the intercom to its allies. Avry and Dan were both sitting in silence before lifting their body to gaze at each other. Avry began to move toward his side, but suddenly, a loud noise echoed throughout the whole region.

"Warning, warning. Commencing clearance operation. Beginning countdown. Arcadion's destruction will occur in 10 minutes."

"That's...", Dan tried to speak but no words could come out of his mouth.

"It's from Ixoir's battleship...", Rosalia added in a surprised tone.

"How has the bomb started its countdown?", Avry said before staring at the lizardman who was now holding a tiny button, "YOU! YOU PIECE OF..."

The lizardman then started to run down the tunnels at the sight of Avry's fury before she could finish her sentence, " Come here now!", she shouted as she grabbed her daggers and tried to hunt down the monster.

Everyone followed her suit immediately with their weapons in their hands. 'The bomb is placed deep into the tunnels. I remember the location, but I might need that lizard to disarm the bomb', Avry thought to herself.

They all run in the maze-like tunnels beneath the city till at a certain point they reached a spacy room with many cables and a round object entangled with them. The lizardman had tried to escape from them and go guard the room, but everyone caught up on it and was now in the bomb's place.

"Disarm it at once!", Avry said as she pointed her daggers at the Ixoir lizardman.

"We don't have much time for negotiations! We have less than 6 minutes!", Rosalia pointed out worriedly.

Avry jumped to the lizardman and after a few swings, she threw its spear out of its hand and pointed the tip of her dagger to its throat, "I SAID, release it!"

Then, the lizardman bite its tongue and fell to the ground uncoscious before Avry could do anything to stop that from happening.

"I don't believe it...They are such faithful followers that they sacrifice themselves for their planet.", Rosalia said in astonishment. Avry didn't budge and rushed toward the bomb and looked at all its cables closely.

"We don't have time for that!", Dan said, "We need to leave!"

Rosalia, then, after contemplating for some seconds to herself, spoke out in a resolute voice, "We don't have any other choice. I will surrender myself to them before they leave this planet devoid of life."

Everyone looked at her in surprise before Avry jumped in to shout "NO!". Dan and Rosalia looked at her with tilted faces like trying to tell her to let it go and exited the room to rush to the ground above.

"Shit! Why is this happening? Come here, please! Do not sacrifice yourself!", she hollered in despair in the empty room as tears came out of her eyes.

Both Dan and Rosalia should have already gone to the surface since the exit was near the bomb's room, so Avry didn't have much time to waste. She lifted her body and run toward them to witness everything.

"Please! Listen to me! This won't solve anything!", she continued shouting at them, but they didn't budge.

"Avry...I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me someday.", Rosalia told her as she stepped into the giant spaceship where two lizardmen awaited her.

However, before the spaceship took off, a tiny ray was launched at Dan's forehead, piercing his head and leaving a small hole.

"Not...again...", Avry said as she watched the love of her life die and her friend take off with the alien spaceship. The bomb's ticking continued echoing throughout the whole region as everyone stood there dumbfounded from the impeccable doom that awaited them.

They all lost. Both their pride and their country.

Avry dragged her feet to a nearby soldier and took his gun away forcefully from him. Then, she aimed at the last lizardman spaceship that was taking off and fired a bullet into the windowshield.

In response, the spaceship started falling from the slight height it had started to gain and Avry dragged her feet again to reach that and get inside. After she threw the dead body off and did a few teaks in the command room, the spaceship took off and launched itself into outer space.

"Again and again and again...", $%^& murmured to herself disappointingly.

Then, she cried out with all her might as she gazed at the endless cosmos before an explosion was unleashed that shattered the whole of Arcadion.

"Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.", the girl ultimately muttered while the spaceship got lost in the boundless universe.