Chapter 35: Revelation

Curtos watched his friend fall to the blade of someone he thought he would never see again.  "Helena!", he exclaimed.  She looked up at him in surprise, and as soon as the image registered in her mind, her face turned to pure hate and anger.  "YOU!", she bellowed.  Helena launched towards him with astonishing speed.  Curtos raised his scythe and braced for impact.  CLANG!  Their weapons met finally met and flung sparks everywhere as they pushed against each other.  They fought against each other for a few more seconds before jumping back.  As soon as Helena touched her feet on the soft earth, she jumped off and met weapons with Curtos again.  She unleashed a relentless storm of attacks.  Curtos had no problem parrying her attacks, he was having trouble with the impact of every blow.  Curtos finally broke Helena's rhythm and pushed her away by ramming his palm into her chest.  Curtos made a cage made of solid earth around Helena as soon as she fell with a thud to the ground.  Helena started thrashing wildly at the bars that bound her.  "I HATE YOU!", she screamed.  Her thrashings sooned weakened as tears welled in her eyes.  She finally collapsed onto the soil and wept tears of hate.  "I will deal with you later.", Curtos said as he walked away from the weeping figure he once knew.  Helena, once again lighting up with more fury than ever, broke through the cage that bound her and screamed, "YOU FUCKING COWARD!!!!"  Curtos spun around and just barely deflected her powerful attack.  Helena's sword edged between the sythe's blade and body and separated it, exposing the chain binding the two.  Helena took the flailing blade and ran it through Curtos' chest.  Curtos fell backward, shocked, onto the the cold ground.  The blade lurched forward as Curtos hit the hard surface, causing the blade to come partially outward.  Helena started laughing maniacally with a crazed look on her face as she stared at the dying figure laying before her.  Helena got onto her hands and knees next to Curtos and slowly pulled out the blade, causing Curtos to grit his teeth in agony.  After she removed the blade, Helena dove her had in to the wound in the dying man's chest.  Curtos bellowed in agony and sat straight up.  Helena removed her hand and kept laughing that same maniaclal laugh.  She then felt a warmth on the right side of her face.  It was a hand.  A hand that had not cradled her face in the longest time.  It was Curtos that now held her shocked and beautiful face aloft.  A single tear ran down the side of Helena's soft cheek.  Curtos lifted his head up and kissed Helena passionately, yet also gently, on the lips.  "I have forgotten what that actually felt like.", said Curtos, smiling.  "So have I." replied the still shocked Helena.  "Please listen to me, Helena.  I must tell you something very important.", whispered Curtos, "I love you.  I always have and I always will.  I'm also sorry I betrayed you, my dear.  I did it to save lives.  I did it because it was the right thing to do."  "You said you loved me, left me, and came back to kill me!", Helna replied, " You condemned me to hell."  I know and I'm sorry it was hard for me to decide what to do.  There was so much I did not do that I wanted to and I offer you a choice.  You will know what choices are available in due time.  The impact of either decisions is astronomical.  You can either save billions, or destroy those billions.  I leave you now my love.  If you choose the right choice, we will be together forever.  Choose the wrong and you will be alone forever."  Curtos' body then shrunk into a ball of bright light and dissipated.  Helena collapsed and wept heavily for her lost love.