Chapter 52: Resurrection

My grip on the matriarch’s neck was like steel pincers. I squeezed her throat hard, preventing her from breathing. The damn lizard pleaded with eyes full of panic and pain, mumbling words I didn’t understand. I didn’t want to hear her; I just wanted to show her hell. The smell of blood was intense, but then it began to smell sour. The lizard couldn’t hold it, and she’d emptied her bladder on the floor, filling the air with an overwhelming stench. With contempt, I let her go and, with a kick, sent her flying back against the ground. I ran after her as she tried to crawl on one hand, dragging her broken body away from me. Seeing her useless attempts calmed my heart a little, but not enough. I grabbed her by the tail and began to drag her without mercy. She tried to hold onto the ground, but her claws broke due to the force with which I pulled her, leaving a trail of blood on the floor. I wasn’t going to let her escape so easily. I tightened my grip on her lizard tail and began to slam her against the ground again and again. Her screams of pain were lost in the air as her bones cracked with each impact. Her body became a mass of open wounds and deformed limbs, seeping blood that mixed with the dust. I stopped hitting her, and she tried to flee again, dragging herself with the last few remnants of strength she had left. I stopped her, placing a foot on her head. "You dared to touch her, and nobody touches my family and lives to tell the tale, you damn lizard. And what’s worse, you dared to humiliate her, you asked your goddamn lizards to rape her, and now you have lost everything, your tribe, your people... your life. I’ll take everything from you, now tell me: was it worth it?". "She killed my husband..." "I see, that gives you every right to have killed her, huh?! You think I give a shit about your fucking lizards...". I lifted her again by the tail, slamming her over and over until there were no more movements. I lifted her by the neck and forced her to look at me. "Due to what you did, I’d love to rape you just like you abused her, but I wouldn’t touch your filthy cunt even with a stick." The Matriarch looked at me with absolute terror in her eyes. I lifted her one more time by the tail, dragging her toward where Lira’s body was. I wanted her to see what she had done, the emptiness she had left behind. When I arrived, I threw her to the ground, right next to my companion’s motionless body. It was then that the rage consuming me receded, leaving a cold void. Seeing Lira dead, the pain returned, a pain so sharp it took my breath away. Her eyes were closed, a peaceful smile on her face. In that instant of despair, a brilliant and urgent thought came to my mind, an ability I had forgotten in the chaos: [Resurrection], the most powerful ability of the god of time. With desperate hope, I activated the ability. The sanctuary’s silver aura transformed into a golden, healing light that enveloped Lira’s body. Delicate strands of light wrapped around her, and I could see every wound close, the bones reset, and her skin regain its color. It was as if time were reversing around her. Lira opened her eyes, looking at me without understanding. Her face was the same as before, without pain, without terror, as if nothing had happened. "Jax, where are we? What happened?". Her questions struck my heart. She remembered nothing. I could have kept the secret, letting her last moments of pain fade from memory. But then I saw her face contort. She knelt, covering her face with her hands, as the screams of agony and despair that she had suppressed in her mind were released in a heartbreaking sob. She looked at me with tears in her eyes, a mix of pain and gratitude. "Jax... you came... you saved me from that hell. Thank you, thank you for coming". Lira finished speaking and the silence became heavy between us. Without hesitation, I embraced her tightly, seeking to envelop her in the safety of my arms, but she tensed instantly. "Don’t touch me!", she screamed, her voice filled with panic. "I’m dirty. Those animals contaminated me... don’t touch me." She tried to flail and pull away, but I held her arms gently, preventing her from fleeing. I pulled her to me with a firm strength, wrapping her in my embrace again. She surrendered to the contact, and a gut-wrenching sob escaped her throat. She broke, and the questions came pouring out, turning into muffled screams against my chest. "Why? Why me? Why did this have to happen to me?". I didn’t answer. I just hugged her tighter, rocking her as she fell apart. My hands moved over her back in a silent attempt to console her, to remind her that I was there, that I wouldn’t let go. While that moment of intimate tragedy unfolded between Lira and me, I, the Matriarch, observed from a distance, with a look of absolute disbelief. It was impossible. I had seen that brat die. I had seen her dead. And yet, the girl was there, in that man’s arms. She can’t be alive. This can’t be happening it’s a mistake. If this is a fucking dream I must wake up. The matriarch felt pain as she bit her tongue, and suddenly, a cold and terrifying thought chilled my blood. The human in front of me had not only healed wounds but had resurrected the dead. A power like that... [that power belonged only to the gods]. Panic took hold of me, a fear much deeper than any other I had ever felt. Had I messed with a god? A god who walked among mortals with a man’s face? The terror began to overwhelm me, causing a direct heart attack. He could punish me. Kill me and then resurrect me only to kill me again and again. I’m fucked.