Harry had gone once and for all. His body lied there amongst all those who had received the salvation and the extreme pleasure of someone's life. Ambulances were called to pick up all those who had died. The news of Oliver's death had reached Cygnus and their ambulances were sent through the portals picking up the dead ones.
On Cygnus, people stood in rows outside the Royal Palace. The names of those who were found dead were proclaimed. The relatives of those stood in suspense. Their only wish was not to hear anyone's name connected to them but many of them had to. Injured and wounded people were brought through stretchers.
On Earth, it was not as organised as was on Cygnus. As everyone knew they were going to attack another planet, people had developed their mindsets in the same way but Earthians had to suffer from a dreadful loss.
The Spirits and Ralph just sat surrounding Harry's body thinking what had happened. Though Ralph seemed to know the reason, he thought this might not be the right time. Oliver had to suffer a severe and dreadful death which was better than direct death. He was made to beg for death and that paid off all the bad deeds he did. A simple death for him wouldn't be justice to all those uncountable people Oliver tortured tremendously.
An hour later when there was enough sunlight that the blood spilt on the beds of unending dusty land was visible, Oliver's body which was without limbs was visible clearly in the way where the rays of the sun were reflected from the blood that was spilt all across. The three of them (Charlotte, Oliver and Edwin) lied on the same metallic board of THE SPIRITS delineating that the three of them had to kneel in front of the unity and the empathetic friendship of all the friends. Though they were from different countries, their friendship was selfless.
A few hours later, Oliver 's along with Charlotte and Edwin's body was taken through the portal. It broke all the silence. Ralph chose not to see Oliver for the last time but to discuss on the fact that where should Harry be taken to... His funeral was disputed. Harry was indigenous to Cygnus but he and his memories were all that he faced on Earth.
"He should be taken to Cygnus! My personal opinion...", said Ralph calmly.
"No, I think not! See he spent all the time with us... His body belongs to Earth! He connected himself to Earth.", David broke in.
"But his birth... That was in Cygnus! He shall lie as a messiah for the future there!", Valencia plotted her point in the debate that started.
"Did he remember anything? All that he remembered were the memories we spent with him! That's simple as that", David put another point from his side.
"No! Whatever it may be, but he was indigenous to that place...", Sapna also entered the debate, "I agree with Valencia!"
Everyone engaged their minds in the debate that asked about Harry's funeral. Peter was silent, still in the grief, not able to execute so many thoughts at once, abruptly went into anger and spoke at the top of his voice, "SILENCE!!!"
Everyone went silent without any words just thinking what Peter would say!
"Does it matter where we should bury Harry? Cygnus, Earth?", Peter mimicked the way in which everyone put their points in the debate, "This is where our priorities lie, isn't it? Yesss... It is... No matter someone's dead... No matter who's died... More important is their place to bury them? Is it that way...", Peter was vexed and taunted as he was getting annoyed. Then Peter, suddenly, turned his behaviour from anger to become quite emotional with some accompanying sobs, he fretted, "Does it not matter how he died? No one knows! No one can even say he succumbed to injuries, then what is it? But no, who cares about it? We have to attend the funeral!"
"Peter, don't get angry, be calm", said Ralph.
"How can I be calm? I was the one who knew him from the moment he lost his memory! How can you tell me to be calm?", Peter burst into tears.
The Spirits understood Peter's emotions and everyone came to tap his back. They, too, were in grief but was not comparable to Peter.
Finally, it was decided to bury Harry in the Earth and to mark one of the deadliest battles ever fought. Harry's body was shifted a bit and a pit was dug where his body lied. Then he was sepulchred in the ground with thousands lying there itself. All of the Earthian dead bodies were buried on the point which they died. There were thousands. Not only London but many places marked this deadliest war so that the upcoming future generations can know what their ancestors did to save their life.
People who were brought to fill the pit were sent to other works. Harry's pit was filled with soil by the whole team. All of them, fist by fist, were displacing the soil to fill the pit up. During this process, balls of hard-powdery undisturbed coldly white and opaque snow started to shower. The scene was getting macabre with the snow befalling the situation.
The pitch-darkness of life was seen by all those who were bereaved, There, also, was a community of people which should be considered the most fortunate one, the community who suffered no loss. No loss of friends, family or anyone else connected.
The next day, when the grief of the war had mostly settled, THE SPIRITS organisation was reinstated with Peter as its head. Everyone realised that they had committed a huge mistake and it was foolish to not believe the whole team. Still, Peter accepted the post with the support of the team.
The very same day, Peter held a live show, just as Harry did. Through live video conferencing. He kept his pain at one side realising there were millions of others. As a world leader, he recognised his significance and with all the confidence he could gain, he started, "The dark times have gone and the villain shall not return again... Keeping the fact in mind that the world which was going to be attacked on the first of January was delayed because the antagonist knew we all were ready... There were some defects in the plan but we won. Some of us might be thinking about why am I not talking about LEADER LONDON... About his death...WHY? The simple reason is we also don't know. Not me nor anyone in my team but we will surely figure it out...Still, I say we shall rise again. The sun will again shine on us. And my blessings with the whole world. We will stand united once more"
Though this was a short speech but was enough to tell Peter's mindset and that was praised by everyone.
A FORTNIGHT LATER
Ralph had not left Earth and was wanting to tell Peter something but he thought to keep that with himself. He hesitated while the team was unaware of all the secrets Ralph knew.
When all of them were sitting in a room talking about something unproductive, Ralph entered the room and then suddenly, said, "I know why Harry died"
"What?", everyone spoke suddenly.
"Yes"
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
"I thought that time wasn't right... Now when everything is settled, I can reveal the secrets you all don't know"
"Whatever you thought, I need to know what happened", said Peter.
"Wishes, Peter...Wishes"
"What wishes", David asked.
"Well, there are two kinds of wishes. Some of them happen to take place only when you work on it. For example, if I say, I want to succeed when I grow up and that's my wish. Then if I don't work on that plot and just leave it to destiny, the wish will not be fulfilled"
"How does that matter?", Sapna asked.
"Let me come to that point.", Ralph took a sigh, "The other kind is amazing. You don't need to work on it. That'll happen and no one can deny it who so ever it is. I feel this method of providing ten year old children with wishes is a foolish act but I cannot do anything about it. Traditionality... But as it is, mostly wrathful wishes makes the wishes of the other kind. Oliver also did."
"What wishes did Oliver take", Valencia questioned.
"Yes, that's the question. Two wishes that Oliver took were of the second kind. Wrathful. First, as Harry saw in the dream, that he should get the cleverest mind... He did but didn't execute it properly. His second wish was rather wrathful though it was a part of the first kind of wish. His second wish was that he should become the king once in his life and he did. The wish was fulfilled. The last wish was the reason for Harry's demise... Very wrong wish... Very-very furious and curious too."
"What was his last wish, Mr. Osborn?", Peter asked anxiously.
"His last wish, Mr. Parker, was that when he dies and who is the reason for their death shall be executed the same moment."
"Means?"
"Whoever kills him shall also die and that could not be denied. One will have to sacrifice if one wishes to kill Oliver. That is the reason Oliver said during the face-off that he's never gonna lose. He said the same things when he was in his last moments... That was NEDNASTIAN Language, I suppose... This is the wish that couldn't be fulfilled by anyone's works."
"Then why didn't you tell us?", Peter asked furiously and in rage, "If you knew that by killing Oliver, Harry would also die, then we must've locked him up in the dungeons or something else. And shouldn't have killed him. If you knew and told us at the right moment, then Harry would've been here."
"Peter, calm down", Ralph said confidently, "I knew what I did."
"Did you really know what you did?"
"Yes, I did Peter... Calm down; give me the chance to speak"
"Have it your way", Peter slapped the chair kept nearby and then with the most peculiar expressions, he started listening to Ralph. The whole team's reaction were the same.
"If I would have told you all in advance that Harry's going to die if he kills him, then Oliver would remain alive as long as Harry would. I didn't want that. Killing Oliver was the only way. Oliver had too many supporters with him that would always go looking for their master in the dungeons. Maybe with proper plans and all, they would've freed him creating disturbances all over Cygnus again. If Harry was the ruler, then the security for Oliver would always be a tension for him. Had Oliver not died, then I was sure of it that he'll try to come to power again. And if he does, no one would've stood a chance then. Not letting Harry die for just our mere desire to live with him, I didn't want to lose as many lives in the future as we lost in our present."
"I should claim that your plan was very good", Peter said, "But one thing without offence that you even can't deny is that Cygnian people are foolish. How can someone give wishes to ten years old children without any control? What was that poem line: No boundaries; can be wrathful... Why wrathful? And in so many years no one tried to establish democracy there? Why is that... On Earth, people struggled but we've ended making most of the countries democratic and independent..."
"Peter, your question is worth it. I would need to tell a story about it... Till then, any other questions? The story would take much time...", said Ralph.
"What were Harry's wishes?", Valencia asked curiously.
"Ah! That's unordinary", Ralph exclaimed, "Harry's first wish, as you know was to remember the name of his parents in any condition. He did even after losing his memory. Then, his second wish was quite different. His second wish was a wish that he'd take in any moment of his life that was adverse. That happened during the attack. When he was losing, he said that he wishes I was there and his team was with him, too. This is a kind of first wish. I wouldn't have come if all the guards from the dungeons would not have come to attack the Earth. The wish was fulfilled because some work was done regarding it. The same way you also reached at the same point because you wanted to know why it took so much time in stealing that book... Right? So work was done... And the wish got fulfilled. His third wish was spoken in the minister's ear and only he knew it and the minister. But the minister told me about it late that night. It was that Harry knew that one day he's going to lose his demeanours. His third wish was that if he loses his demeanour ever in his life, he'd be able to retrieve them. He did"
"Right wish... I suppose..."
"And also I wanted to add this fight was never about demeanours."
"What?"
"Yes", Ralph continued while everyone went silent, "You all took demeanours as nouns. Though it should not have been."
"Then, we wasted our time collecting demeanours?", Peter asked.
"No, never... Collecting demeanours was the motive that kept you working in the darkest of times. Take it in this way. Demeanours are behaviours that enhance one's quality. They aren't only six. There are many. But which that were gifted were only six. Through the passage of time, people develop their own. Like, Harry had the goodness demeanour in him. Yeah, he did. Then, Oliver was also developing many others. But if you won't have collected your team, then you would have surely lost. When you fought Oliver for the first time, Peter, he told you about demeanours in 2013. Why weren't you able to defeat him at that time? Because Harry had nothing. No motivation... But with more team members motivated him and even filled up the spaces of the demeanours he didn't have. Basically, this was not about demeanours would be wrong, as I earlier said. But this wasn't all about demeanours... The Chalice Of Demeanours helped you a lot in that way"
"Well, was I eligible, then, for the hard-work demeanour?", Sapna asked.
"After Ramesh's demise, no one would have been able to fill that demeanour. This fight was not all about demeanours and that's why the loss of one demeanour didn't affect your team much. Neither Peter was eligible neither you. But you fought very well, that cannot be denied..."
"Do you think Oliver lost because of his challenging behaviour?", David asked.
"Yes, I am sure of that", Ralph responded, "He would've easily killed Harry during the bike chase in Germany or when he introduced him for the first time. But he wanted a good fight... That killed him. Harry's blunder or face-off was an opportunity for Oliver to kill him and his Maniac's motive would've succeeded but he got blackmailed. He, therefore, ordered Charlotte to kill Ramesh to lose all your motivations... That's the thing, student"
"Student?", Valencia asked, "David's your student?"
"Yeah, he is... When he started protesting against Oliver, I led him to his way to success. Though I was in the dungeons, I used to flee for some time when there was a lack of soldiers near me and then I used to teach him the basics of meditation and concentration. And when I came by the fact that he was the concentrating demeanour and that poster, my teachings also increased. I taught him telepathy and then we used to talk by that..."
"A lot of connection... But what was that mind-manipulation fist technique?", Valencia asked.
"One of the most brilliant inventions in our history. When these children went to take admission in a school, the principal asked for their parents. Harry, at that moment, used his power to manipulate the principal to get them admitted. By the time, when they grew up, Oliver always thought it happened because of him. He developed a wrong memory in himself that he manipulated that principal, though it was Harry. When you told Harry at the last moment to use it, he surely would've tried though he didn't admit. But because this power could be used only once, Harry was unable to use it. Oliver thought that he had used it that's why he didn't give it a try. Once they had manipulated the other one's mind, one of them would have surely won but that's a lot of confusion..."
Peter, listening to all this, sat on his chair and said in despair, "We are talking about someone dead... You know sometimes we need someone to simply be there... Not to fix anything or do anything in particular but just to let us feel that we're supported and cared for! And that someone for me was Harry. For all of us was Harry"
"Yes, he was", all agreed.
Meanwhile, the questions had finished and Peter had sprinkled a bit of emotional touch to these talks, Sapna came up with another question, "But, sir, if you don't mind, may I ask you how is it that you know everything, sir?"
"That's a good question... As Oliver told earlier that whatever Charlotte experienced was published in the papers the next day. I used to read them and make up my theories... And, now, I think the story shall begin..."
"Wait... Another question!", Peter stood again, "What was given on the next page after REVILO NORBOS and HYRA ROBNORS... That time page and the Mesoteph Mythology even says that the rule of HYRA ROBNORS would be the best in the world. But, if Harry was HYRA, then he's dead. The prediction's a lie."
"Peter you'll get the answer in this story.", Ralph continued again, "I'll tell this in short. Once upon a time about a thousand years ago... Two greatest scientists and the twins of that age, Wigbert and Anastasia Bryan were working on a project related to time-turners. But the king at that time, Uxorious Allen, was devastating, more than Oliver perhaps. He was looking for these scientists so that he could take them under his control and do whatever he wanted. He, perhaps, did that. When he finally caught the twins, they were presented in the court and in the fear that the twins had to work under the control of the king, they fled by making a portal. They reached Earth somewhere near London or actually I should reveal that the point where THE SPIRITS headquarters were made. That time, they learned English and then wrote a book on their experiences... MESOTEPH MYTHOLOGY... Two copies of that were written when they made that time-turning project. They christened that project as the 'EXEL MACHINE' spelt as E-X-E-L. While during a test ride, they suddenly got into our future and this battle, and saw everything. And wrote it in the book. They saw Harry and Oliver which they wrote as HYRA and REVILO and then they claim they noticed a very strange thing. They noticed a man who knew them and had kneeled in front of them. But they didn't talk about it much. This book has Old Cygnian Languages and it's very difficult to read. Then they returned to their present and they left the books unguarded on Earth with the fear that someone will find it on Cygnus. They kept one book in the same house they lived in London and one somewhere in Germany. Then, they came back. Turned the time and defeated Allen. But during that time, protests for democracy were already going on which the twins were unaware of. Then, it suppressed all the protests and no one stopped the hierarchical system. These stories were told to me as bedtimes and when Harry, Oliver and Daniel went to BPTD, I went looking for the book. And Consequently I found them. They were underground because of layers of soils that got displaced on it. And I gave it to Harry in London when he needed. I kept it under the bed of that house which was later turned into THE SPIRITS headquarters. And to David in Germany."
"Quite brilliant"
"Basically, Mesoteph Mythology was the base?", said Valencia.
"Can be said... Well, I was coming with another thought that I shall give one more wish to your team for what you all have done and as a reward of special services to our planet."
Peter stood again and then to everyone he said, "Leave it to me..."
"Yes, Peter speak up... You have one chance"
"By the use of all the EXEL technology, can I turn this world back to 1995?"
"What?", Ralph exclaimed.
So interesting!
ReplyDelete