Chapter 42

"Don't beat yourself up for things that have happened. The past is long dead and buried. Seize your future even if it seems like a dead end."

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"Yes, I am Maya. I'm the magic, the illusion that you see in here. It's very uncommon for a human to seek me out, though," she confirmed, clicking her fingers.

A bright purple light engulfed her and suddenly the person standing before me was not an elderly lady, but a middle-aged woman draped in shimmering red. Her skin was honey and gold. Daintily braided gorgeous russet hair sat atop her head like a crown. The expression on her face was serene. There was a certain purity in her icy eyes that felt welcoming.

But the weirdest thing were her glasses. White cat-eye spectacles framed her sharp face, making her look like a college professor. It definitely was fashion-forward.

"I...am not what you think..." I blurted.

"Yes, I know the story you've been feeding to everyone. And I also know the lie that has been fed to you all your life. But I really didn't expect you to find Matarisvan or come barging in here, after your daring escapade from prison." Her pale pink lips lifted in a smile. She wasn't being sarcastic. Her tone was friendly, almost as if we were two long lost best friends meeting after ages.

"How did you?"

"Oh, I know everything, sweet child," she laughed, loud and clear like the morning skies. "I see everything, I know it all. But I choose to stay quiet and not act on my impulses. Impulses are for little humans like you."

"I know I made a big mistake in coming here, but I can correct it," I blurted.

"How?" An amused smile was playing on her face.

"I became an immortal because of a glitch in your system. If you could fix it and make me a mortal again, I would go back to my world and stay there and never return here."

"Would you be happy?" she asked, taking a step closer.

I kept quiet. Would I be content in the human world when my heart felt at home here? No. But I had no one to be here for, and no one back at home either. My didn't feel so dejected ever as I felt then. Nobody needed me. Nobody wanted me. I was just another spare piece in the game of the universe. And for the first time ever, I really didn't want to live. This was nothing like what I felt on the bridge or when I accompanied Mrithun to the underworld. The thoughts in my head hurt. The next words that came out of my mouth hit me like a speeding train.

"Could you take my life then?" I said unsurely. "Because there is nothing left in any of the worlds to hold me back.

Maya's head shot up from her screen and she blinked, her eyes growing wider. Her eyebrows knit tightly, frowning in disapproval.

"I can't take a soul, Tora. Only Death can. And I doubt Death would ever obey me if I told him to take you. He's always done what he wanted to. He never followed rules."

"Why won't he?" I whispered, fully knowing the answer.

"Don't waste my time with answers you already know," Maya replied icily.

I lowered my eyes.

"If you're with him, and you get close, you'd die anyway, like your mother. Humans can't be with immortals, not the way you want at least." She sighed, shaking her head ruefully.

"Wait what? My mother?"

"You are not invincible but immortal blood flows in you because you were fathered by an immortal and your mother died in giving birth to you. It is impossible for a human to bear a child with immortality running in her veins. When your blood mixed with your mother's blood, the immorality in you slowly sucked out her life force."

"I killed my mother..."

My legs were shaking. I didn't want to stay there. Why couldn't I explode and scatter into the universe and float around like cosmic dust? I wasn't fully human. Neither was I fully an immortal by blood either. I really was a glitch. I shouldn't have existed at all.

"Don't blame yourself for something which wasn't in your control," she said slowly, taking another step towards me. Her aura was a calming presence. It somehow felt nostalgic.

"Could you just correct the glitch then?" I asked finally.

"What if it wasn't a snag, but purely deliberate?"

I looked at Maya. Her eyes were deadly serious.

"But who would want to make me fully immortal?"

"Your eccentric father, of course." She waved her hands in the air.

"And who is he?"

"I can't reveal his name." Maya's eyes were pained.

"Oh!" I said nothing more. The silence was suffocating. The gears in my head were working fast. Even if I perish, I would die after all I unravelled the mystery.

"Wait, but you are the supreme creator. Why would you allow someone to alter your system?" I asked.

"Because he's more powerful than me, more powerful than any of us, the fates, even Death." She adjusted her glasses over her nose.

My throat dried. My father was someone whom even Maya feared.

"So, can you at least change the system?" I pleaded finally.

"And incur his wrath? No. Your human mother came here as a soul and begged this gift from him, to make you immortal. None of us is at fault. Your dead birth mother is. I like order and discipline too. Who wants a glitch in the system they worked so hard to perfect?"

"Don't blame my mother," I fired up.

"Oh really? Then tell me whose fault is it?" Her cold steely eyes were looking right through me into my soul. She was correct. My dead mother had landed me in this predicament.

"It's frustrating." I held my head.

"You realise how frustrating it's for me?" she bit back. "I'm the creator of Patal Lok, not his babysitter. And then having to tell lie after lie in an attempt to cover up the error in my perfect system..."

"I wish I didn't exist." I bit my tongue.

Her face suddenly turned stony. "I know this entire tale, but I never imagined you would come here into my office. I expected you to stay in the mortal realm. You really are a mistake, but the first of its kind. I wonder if you're more than just human."

"Being human is my superpower," I breathed. I could practically feel a smile creeping up to my lips. It was a strange situation. I had come to the underworld in search of a way to correct a glitch and got a life story I never wanted to hear, found love and friendship again and was now standing with an identity crisis and not knowing what to do next. I almost wished Mrithun hadn't loved me. At least he could have taken away my soul and freed me from all the extra burdens that I had gathered on my journey here.

"So the great Maya can't help me in any way," I concluded, making my face into a mask of disdain. I was in the mood for some drama, and challenging Maya definitely promised to be fun.

A silent fire lit up in her eyes swiftly. She clearly didn't like a half immortal confronting her in her own office. But the anger dissipated as fast as it had come.

"I'm as old as the times. Not as hotheaded as the Fates or foolish like Death. I will not act on my impulses. Challenging me will not help you."

"I'm sorry." I blinked. The apology was genuine. I had a lot to learn from her. The virtue of patience was the first.

"I can contact your father to let you know you're here," she offered, giving a sincere smile. Someone like me was just a powerless newborn for her.

"I don't want your pity though," I protested.

"When I think of a human who has wreaked havoc in the system of the underworld and dared to seek me out, pity is the last feeling that comes to my mind." She waved her fingers in the air. The celestial walkway disappeared, bringing the cute office room back again. "The right feeling would be fear. You're definitely not someone anyone should take lightly. The Fates better be aware."

Somehow I felt proud of the way she complimented me. But I knew better than to bask in the glory of praises. I had more questions left unanswered.

"Was it you who saved me and pushed me back that day?"

"What day?" She raised her eyebrows. I bit my tongue. I couldn't reveal anything about the safe cave. Maya wasn't supposed to know that. I had almost messed up.

"Oh, there was a time when I was being chased by Pisachas," I lied.

"Oh, that might have been Matarisvan." She squinted at me from over her wiry glasses but didn't seem to have noticed the sudden change in my demeanour. She settled on her straight-backed chair and powered on her system. I could see the reflection of her screen on her spectacles. Lines and lines of text were jumping out as little green letters on her screen.

It's then I realised why being human was my superpower. Humans could manipulate and lie more than any being. They knew tactics to sweet talk themselves out of any situation. None of the immortals could ever match the lies a human could spin. They could hold back information, but never lie completely or spin tales.

"What if my father doesn't want to alter the system?" I asked. "What will I do then?"

"You're an escaped convict, and you murdered someone in the Fates' office. They can sentence you to eternal torture for your crimes. And I won't stop them. Have you thought of that?" Maya narrowed her eyes at me.

"So you think I should spend the rest of my eternity in hiding? I can't do that. That's also as good as any eternal punishment," I cried.

"Then there's only one option left for you to choose..." She held my gaze.

"Mrithun," I whispered. I'd have to ask Mrithun to take my life, my soul. Choices were so much easier as a kid, book or toy, those were choices. How did I come to this stage where I was being offered a chance to choose between eternity and death? And how is that even a choice?

"I think my father already knows I'm here." I closed my eyes, remembering the warmth of that unknown presence. It felt like a guardian, like a force of love, true and unconditional love, something only a parent could give. And I was pretty sure if he loved my mother, he wouldn't want to go back on his word. Would he forgive my crime? Then that would be partiality and be made an example of again. I wouldn't stay locked up for eternity and I wouldn't want to get caught either. So I had only one option left for me, Mrithun.

"I think someone else knows you're here too." Her eyes twinkled with amusement.

I whipped back and was immediately consumed by a pair of sad charcoal eyes gazing longingly at me.

"Mrithun..."

My voice was barely a whisper. My heart was breaking into a million pieces, knowing what I would put him through with my demand.

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Author's Note : Did Tora make the right choice? Will Mrithun agree to take her life? What do you think will happen next?

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