Chapter 7: [Interlude 1] Leon Ward

Leon sat in the front pew of the empty Valkuth church in Sorrow. His Atarahn marble armor kept him from relaxing too much, keeping him firm and still in place, but weighed little despite its sturdiness. The large projector screens on the wall were displaying a still image of a radiant sun with wings, the symbol of the Valkuth faith. He sighed, hating how commercialized the Valkuth Church was becoming, and lowered the hood of his red robe while taking off his mask, revealing his bald head and brown eyes.

Distantly, the door at the front of the church creaked open. Leon turned his head to see the small frame of a woman in plain clothes, her crimson hair flowing with the draft. She closed the door behind her, walking slowly and with purpose towards Leon. She sat in the pew behind him, making it hard for him to turn to look at her.

“Rosa,” he said and faced forward, not wanting to strain his neck.

“Leon,” she replied. “I heard you’ve been drinking.”

“Not enough, apparently; all they serve is beer.”

“Why not come to my bar? That place is too close to a church to sell hard liquor.”

Leon cleared his throat. “It’s because I can’t smoke in yours.”

“You can’t smoke anywhere now. Society has changed… and you have too. I don’t even smell it on your clothes.”

Leon hoped to not have this conversation—to not see anyone he knew in Sorrow. Just being there was too much for him, but he remained strong. He had to.

Rosa asked, “Why have you come back? To make amends? Be at peace?”

He shook his head. “The Order is trying to expand their presence in Sorrow… I took the job myself.”

Rosa lowered her head. “I’ll never understand you, Leon. You don’t even believe and yet you’ve sworn an oath to the Order. After all you’ve lost… all that you’ve given up… why throw away all that you have left?”

“I believe that all things happen as they should, but not all things will be good. Maven taught us both the truth of that. I am where I need to be… even if you disagree.”

“You could’ve been so much more, Leon. Staying in the Arbiters would’ve been better than this. And if you accepted my offer, you could do more for this world than remove life from it.”

“The cost is too great, Rosa. I’m only human and will always be human. I may have lost much in this world, but I will never lose my humanity. That’s clearly something you will never understand—to continue these old arguments. Find another soul to torment with your presence before you nag me to death.”

Shaking her head, Rosa said, “You have no shame.”

“Shame? No. I have nothing to be ashamed of because my mind is not clouded with doubt… something that you seem to struggle with as much as Maven did.”

Rosa stood up, both sad and furious. “You’re a real fool of a man, coming all this way just to die.” Vines started to wrap around Leon’s pew, creeping up to him and tightening around his arms and legs. “I can’t allow someone in the Order to reside in Sorrow… even if it’s you.”

Leon didn’t struggle, allowing himself to become tangled as the vines encroached upon his neck. “I suppose I expected this. Better me than some poor bastard in over their head. But I wonder if my death will cause more problems for you than not.”

She ignored his concern. “You’ll quickly lose consciousness if you don’t struggle. Do you have anything to say for yourself before then?”

He frowned. “I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye.”

Rosa then grinned. “I accept your apology.”

The vines dissipated, causing Leon to stand up in disbelief and turn to face Rosa. The church and the pews all disappeared, leaving them standing and staring at each other in a gray void.

“A mind trap?” Leon asked. “But when did you manage to—”

A vision of the real world appeared between them. Leon was drunkenly sleeping on the pew in the church with Rosa sitting on his chest and gently rubbing his bald head. “You were already asleep when I arrived.” The vision cleared and Rosa pointed at Leon’s right arm. “You should’ve known things were amiss if you just paid attention.”

Leon looked at his right arm, opening and closing the hand. “I never lost it in my dreams…”

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“You promised not to interfere. For years you kept to yourself. Kept away from Maven and Elliot. And then you just up and leave without telling anyone after she died… I brought the boy here in your absence. Now your paths have crossed, and you’ve broken more than just a promise. You need to tell me why.”

He placed a hand on Rosa’s shoulder. “I really have no intention of getting involved with the chimera… but the Valkuth Church continues to grow, and the Order wants to reclaim their old glories. I’m here to remind the faithful of our presence… and to face my own reality. There’s little else I can do with what little strength I have left.”

Rosa looked him over with concern. “Leon… You really came here to die?”

He nodded. “Of course.” He then stepped away and looked around. “Can you make a sketchbook? I’d like to draw—the bionic arm just isn’t as good.”

Rosa looked away. “You have as much control as I do now. Just think of it and it’ll appear.”

Leon rubbed his chin as he thought of something. A memory of a shallow river running through a forest surrounded them. He altered it to suit his needs, creating a flat spot of grass with proper lighting from above while bringing in a floating piece of sketch paper and pencil. A woman with black hair and gray eyes then appeared, splashing water in the river with a teenage-looking Rosa—their antics being played on a loop with no awareness to their observers.

“Do you remember?” Leon sat down on the grass and started to draw. “I think this was the first time you and Maven got along.”

Rosa sat beside him. “Yeah, but only because you were watching. We’d’ve tried to drown each other otherwise.”

Leon grunted. “She was so furious when she saw that I drew you instead of her. I told her I only draw things that I want to remember… and that she was someone I could never forget. She made me promise that I’d paint her after we all got home. The fact I was never able to is one of my biggest regrets.”

Rosa smirked. “You still got to paint her insides.”

Leon laughed but it wasn’t enough to change his mood. “I should’ve asked her to marry me sooner. But then with her being pregnant… I felt such an urgency to make things legitimate. Like I was being forced. I wonder… if we had done things a bit differently… but there’s no changing the past.”

“Would you do anything differently?”

“Yes. If only for our child to live.” He paused. “The real one. Not the chimera.”

“I think she did it as much for you as she did for herself. But then… I hate to wonder what other motivations she had. She was never one to hide her xenophobic side, but then, that never stopped her from working with monsters.”

“It’s because she hated monsters. Genuinely. Not because she saw them as lesser, but because they all offered something more than what we’re capable of. She felt that if enough monsters agreed, then humans would end up becoming nothing more than chattel… barring complete extinction.”

Rosa tilted her head with a frown. “It could easily be that way given enough time. Her work with Somni Solutions was always meant to stop that at whatever cost. With chimeras, the memory and minds of humanity can live as one forever in the gestalt consciousness. And vampires… surviving like the head of a snake after it’s been cut off; the venom killing anyone that tries to remove the image of humanity from the Earth. But both have no reason to retain their own humanity. Those expectations were shackles on creatures that have just as much a right to exist as freely and independently as humans do.”

The sketch was starting to take shape. The process was more in Leon’s mind than in his hands. The strokes were merely a formality. “She furthered our own displacement out of spite, but it’s not like she did it alone. I’m not ignorant of the fact you were there every step of the way. There’s no end to minds like her’s—corporations like SomniCo—but none have the resources and support that you provided her at Somni Solutions. You let her go too far.”

Rosa leaned back and crossed her legs. “You know exactly why I do the things I do. It’s not like I set her up to fail. I’m completely neutral—impartial to all non-mara. It’s always been a pleasure to help wherever I can. However I can.”

“Hm. You’re no better than a shade.”

She laughed. “I wish you wouldn’t compare me to those relics. Shades offer power and control. I offer solutions and second chances. What people do with either is of their own choice. Just because someone doesn’t fully understand the consequences doesn’t mean they’re not at fault for them when they appear.”

“Alright, it’s an unfair comparison. But still, you should know that offering solutions just removes the need for someone to think critically about what they’re doing. And choices don’t matter if you can just get a do over. Magic like that removes any meaning there is to life.”

“You act like there’s no limitations involved. Even here, on this planet, technology has surpassed some of the capabilities of magic. At some point there will be no difference between the two. Shades are just one example of that future.”

The sketch was finished. Leon smiled at the image of Maven before him, but it was not quite as he hoped. The image shifted each time he blinked, becoming a different pose, a different scene. And it would set itself in motion if he stared. “Well, it’s finished. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Rosa… Even if it is just a dream.” He looked to his side but found that she was gone.

Rosa’s voice echoed from beyond. “Don’t sound so disappointed. The only difference between dreams and reality is persistence.”

A loud snapping sound then broke the mind trap on Leon. He awoke and found himself in complete darkness, feeling a sheet of paper on his face. He lifted it and found the sketch of Maven as he truly imagined it, with words in the corner saying, “Welcome back, Leon.”

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