Aries

A/N: I know, I am late. My flu became worse and I was suffering from a stomach infection.

I hope you can forgive me this time. (What can I do? I have a really sensitive body)

And... Thank you so much, guys! Aries got 100k reads. Wow! This is the first book of mine to cross this mark. Phew! This would not be possible without you guys!

Anyway, I hope you can enjoy :)

********

Alioth literally glided over the crystalline pathway. Saiph was just an inch behind her. While once, she had stood by and admired the swirling sand storms that raged beneath the bridge to her sister’s place, she could not bring herself to stop and admire them.

Megrez was waiting for her at the entrance. As much as Megrez was a brilliant scientist, she was one strong warrior. So strong that she would give her Saiph a run for energy.

Just as expected, her half-sister had abandoned her coats and took her armour. A long sword rested on her shoulder as if it had always belonged there and she held a long-range bow on the other hand. While stars usually fought with bare hands using their brute strengths, some preferred weapons.

“I can’t believe it,” Megrez snarled when she reached close. “I can’t believe that Adira had the audacity to sell Dubhe’s location.”

While not many knew, Dubhe was quite a special star. She had in addition to receiving their mother’s fertility, she had also inherited Ursa’s ability to bend space to her will.

To put it in simple words, if the universe was coded, Dubhe had the ability to change the code to her will.

Worlds were not simply created. Only those who can bend space can create worlds. Surva could bend space to her will and hence she created worlds. Dubhe could create worlds if she wanted to. But unfortunately, her powers were way too much for her.

The last time Dubhe tried to use her power, she was on the brink of insanity. It was like with Ursa’s death, a part of Dubhe’s power was fragmented. Until Dubhe collected herself, using her power would be equivalent to killing herself.

That was the reason why they made Adira look after her. Adira had been Megrez’s mother’s most faithful warrior. To imagine she would do this!

“Are you sure it is Adira?” Saiph asked, a frown marring his face.

Megrez nodded. “I beat the energy out of her. She receives a quantum of energy every minute. Just to keep her alive. Surva is coming to investigate this.”

Alioth could not help but gasp. “Surva? She is coming? It’s been ages since she came.”

Megrez began to walk inside the crystalline structure, with Alioth and Saiph trailing behind her. “Not only Surva. Qamar too.”

“Oh my!” Alioth gasped. “Qamar too?”

Megrez clenched her teeth. “If Qamar says that this kidnapping is needed, I will assassinate Qamar himself. Let Fate be damned.”

The universe held no close association with heat or cold. It just existed. It did not have any concept of time or temperature or distance. After being on earth for two thousand years, this was a bit peculiar to her.

But right now, the uncaring temperature dropped a few degrees. A weird kind of chillness raced up her body. Her energy was frizzy and it noticed the presence of someone more powerful than herself.

“Fate be damned?” a cool voice asked. “That is quite cold of you, Megrez.”

Megrez rolled her eyes. “So what if you are the King of this part of the universe. So what if you have ten worlds under your control? What if your Soul-Bound created them all? My sister is missing. And you damn well wrote her Fate.”

Alioth turned to see Qamar in his form. The Moon the people of earth worshipped. His hair was silver and this form of his had eyes as black as darkness. As if to say from where he hailed. His core was mayhem and destruction. He was a child of Chaos.

Next to him, stood a lady in gold. She was positively glowing with a soft shine. Even though her face was hard, there was a softness in her eyes. Surva was every bit a daughter of Cosmos was.

Alioth bowed her head to show her respect. Megrez was his niece and she had equal grit in her soul, but Alioth was different.

Saiph followed her example.

“I hope you know,” Qamar began. “If not for your mother, you won’t be let off easily.”

Megrez snorted. “Cut it, uncle. I don’t care.”

She walked in with her head held high. Surva gave Alioth a smile and the female warrior returned it.

They walked in the core of the chamber where Dubhe resided in. Mizar and Kendra were already there with Polaris, the Northern Star and his consort, Seren who was Qamar’s sister. She was born along with him.

Her father was grim while Seren was fuming. Though Dubhe was not her child, Seren was the one who grew her up.

“Seren,” Qamar began slowly. “Quit being agitated.”

“My daughter is taken, Qamar!” Seren seethed. “You expect me to stay still?”

Qamar nodded gravely. “My daughter is held somewhere.”

Seren threw her hands up. “This is idiocy! You know where your daughter is. Of all people in this universe, you would know.”

Surva glanced at her Soul-Bound before she sighed. “Of course we know where. But we can’t release her just like that.”

Alioth gave Surva an incredulous look. “What? You know where Luna is?”

Surva shared a glance with Qamar. “We do.”

Seren’s eyes darkened considerably. “What did you just say?”

Qamar closed his eyes. “Luna is bound by the very chain Surva used to bind Faolan. She is caught in a space she had created herself. Since her powers are being used to bind her, she cannot be simply freed. Had Niava had been free or had Carwyn been sane, Luna would not be in such a predicament. But, they have their own battles to fight. The only person who can release Luna happens to be her descendant, Antlia.”

Alioth gasped. “She is a child.”

Surva nodded. “She is. But she managed to carry the essence of Cosmos from Luna.”

“So,” Seren began. “You did know what happened with Luna. How could be silent, brother? Do you know how worried Amaris, Kamaria and Chandra are?”

Qamar sighed. “I know. But the future is never predictable. While I can control time to an extent, I will not do it for everything. I can’t do for everything. There is a codex that I as a Fate writer must follow. As much as I write everyone’s fate in this room, I write the possibilities. With each decision you take, the future changes.”

Seren glared at her brother. “Then tell me where the hell is Dubhe!”

Qamar glanced at his Soul-Bound. “I can’t.”

“Why so?” Seren cried.

Surva took a step forward. “This is the future where Dubhe will meet her Soul-Bound.”

At that magical word, Seren quietened.

“I don’t care if she will meet her Soul-Bound like that,” Polaris said quietly. “I want to know what happens to my daughter. I know what Fate you have written for her, Qamar. I know.”

Seren gaped at her Soul-Bound. “What do you mean, Polaris? What is her Fate?”

While Polaris and Qamar were having a staring contest, Surva broke the tension. “She has two Fates, Seren. Either being kidnapped by Melantha, undergoing this torture and finally meeting her Soul-Bound. At the end of this Fate, she ends creating a world. There was another Fate, Seren. A fate where Dubhe is not kidnapped, where she absorbs the raw aether and ends creating a Soul-Cleaving weapon which she eventually hands over to Melantha. It depended whether she trusted Adira or not.”

Megrez blinked. “I am one of the most brilliant scientists out there, yet I cannot understand how these two fates of my sister are connected to Adira.”

Qamar broke the staring match. “If she trusted Adira, she would have been kidnapped by Melantha. If she did not trust Adira, she would become a weapon for Melantha.”

Seren shook her head in disbelief. “So... Dubhe trusting Adira and being kidnapped by Melantha was the only way you had the chances of saving your daughter?”

Surva’s eyes blazed for a second. “Never! This is a decision Dubhe made for herself. We just write a million possibilities and make sure that all the dots connect no matter what.”

Mizar opened his mouth for the first time. “So, now Dubhe won’t be Melantha’s weapon?”

Surva took in a deep breath, as though she was a human. “No. A wolf named Nira carries four of Dubhe’s children. One is a cross between a star and shifter, other a cross between a star and vampire, third a cross between a star and a Magyc. The fourth happens to be just a star. If... Dubhe decides to grow even one of the four kids as hers, she will become Melantha’s weapon. She will forge a Soul-Cleaving weapon by aether’s will.”

“She will?” Megrez whispered.

Surva nodded. “She will.”

Kendra raised her head. “We have to stop that.”

At that, everyone saw her. Alioth had mixed feelings towards Kendra. This female had been Miguel’s mate and now her brother’s Soul-Bound. There had been a few instances where Alioth hated her and a few instances where she saw herself being friends with this female.

“How?” Megrez asked, crossing her arms.

“What do you mean?” Seren asked.

Kendra sighed. “I know. But... what if we interfered? What if because of our interception, Nira lost all the four kids? In that way, we can ensure that Dubhe will be safe.”

“That’s not how Fate works!” Saiph exclaimed.

“That’s cruel,” Alioth commented. “You can’t do that to a female.”

“Then you want Dubhe to grow a child and become a weapon for Melantha?” Kendra asked.

“That’s not what I meant!” Saiph protested. “I am saying you can’t meddle with fate.”

Qamar was silent. Alioth saw him. “What is it?”

“As much as that is a possibility,” he said. “Anything can change, Kendra.”

“We can’t intervene?” Mizar asked.

“It would not be wise to,” Surva said.

“But-” Mizar began.

Since when her brother interested in changing the fate? Was it because he was newly Soul-Bounded?

Alioth could no longer look at her brother. There has been a time when he would have said that this was Dubhe’s life. Only she had the right to choose what she deemed the best for her. Now, he was siding with Kendra, deciding for Dubhe.

Was this change good? Necessary? Who knew?

“It is not good to intervene,” Qamar said. “As much as there is a Fate written if you intervene, it will set a ripple effect. Everything will be affected.”

“But isn’t there a chance where Dubhe will not be Melantha’s weapon?” Kendra asked.

Qamar sighed. “There are always two paths for each choice.”

“Then we can take it, right?” she asked.

“Are you crazy?” Megrez asked. “That is a total of four lives you are talking about killing. Four innocent lives.”

“But if those four lives are going to decide who is going to survive this battle why not?” Kendra retaliated.

“Why not-” Saiph began.

“I agree with-” Mizar said at the same time.

“Enough!” Surva castigated. “Aries Soul-Binding itself is a game-changer. The bond he has with that pulsar, Lyra, is more than enough. Melantha could possibly not see that happening.”

“Lyra is a pulsar?” Mizar asked.

“She’s a pulsar?” Alioth questioned at the same time. Their father just chuckled as if he knew everything. Of course, Polaris knew everything.

Surva nodded. “Yes. Lyra is a pulsar brought to Origins way before I was born. She was assigned to stabilise Aries’ soul. About four thousand years ago when Tucana and Canis were killed because they formed a bond, Cosmos erased the pulsars of their memories and stripped their identities. Erased the Warriors’ memories too. Then-”

“Then I came and told Surva and Luna to take care of the pulsar souls,” Polaris said quietly.

Alioth blinked at her father with wide eyes. He knew?

Qamar said. “They both hold responsibility for those souls until they mature.”

“And how will we know she has matured?” Saiph asked.

“When she is strong enough to wield the cosmic flame,” the fate-writer said. “That is when she has matured.”

Megrez closed her eyes. “Of course. She is Soul-Bounded to Aries. Fire would be the element she would represent.”

“So...” Mizar began. “Her maturity has nothing to do with her shifting?”

Surva gave him a crooked grin. “She is a pulsar by nature. Why would her maturing factor depend on a race that belongs to earth?”

“But her shifting-” Alioth protested.

“She can shift anytime she wishes after she wields her flame,” Qamar said. “I hope someone says to her that. Or else, we have to wait for a triggering factor for her to shift.”

Whatever Saiph was about to say was interrupted by the beeping green light that blinked on Megrez’s Sensor. Her sister touched her ears as though she was listening to a wave of a certain frequency.

“By welkins!” she muttered.

If Megrez was agitated, then it was definitely not good. She was a perfect creature who was half-star and half-pulsar. Literally nothing could faze her. She had even won against Surva. There was a reason why Qamar trusted Megrez to be one of his commanders to lead his army and Surva believed Megrez could revolutionise the science the way they knew.

“What happened?” Polaris asked his daughter.

Megrez gritted her teeth. “Remember Gaelan? That unregistered Pulsar who was in interrogation? Rionach freed him and took three stars with them.”

“What?” Seren shouted.

Megrez nodded. “Gaelan apparently has a child on earth. He is going down with the three stars.”

“Why?” Seren asked.

Qamar’s eyes flashed white before he became calm as ever. “Melantha promised him that if she won the battle, she would give Gaelan’s child to him. If not, she would kill his child.”

Without another word said among the siblings, the three raced to the earth. Even if Dubhe was safe at the moment, this Gaelan was not a light thing. He was pulsar because he identified himself to be one. For his maternal side had the roots to something more primal than the race Cosmos and Chaos created.

He could walk in both the living and the dead world at the same time and the way he rushed to find his child, Alioth could only assume that Gaelan’s child had inherited this power.

A/N: Quite short from what I usually write. Hope I can make it up in the next chapter.

I think we have five (not more than seven) more chapters to go for Aries to finish. And as many requested, I will do my best to put up a character guide.

Until next update,

~Quill