Retribution—a word that signified revenge on the Imperium.

Isaac, the deity of war and a seer above all, claimed that he had fallen because of a double-cross by the current army commander, Xavier. Or at least, that’s how Isaac told the story. For years, he had waited, watching the horizon for the right person to hand his map to. And guess who that person was. According to him, I had the makings of a hero. Old fantasy movies bullshit.

I hated to break it to him, but I was no hero. I was the deity of death, backed into a corner. A hero wouldn't be trapped in this nightmare of an island, contemplating stabbing everyone at the back if anything. I was the devil herself, if not more, and all I needed at this point was a way out.

I unfurled the map he had given me across Nicole's table, feeling an odd sense of amusement as it opened up to reveal the irregular shape of Anubistopia. The hills, rivers, mountains, forests—every contour and shadow—was clearly drawn. It was a place full of secrets.

“So,” Nicole began, staring at Marion across the table. “You’re human?”

She said it like she couldn’t sit still with the idea, as if repeating the words would somehow settle it in her mind. She was asking for the I don't know…hundredth time, and here she was, asking again, needing confirmation that she wasn't imagining things.

“Yeah,” Marion answered, a rare patience in her voice as she dealt with Nicole’s incessant questions. “I’m human.”

“And how did you get here?” Nicole pressed, eyes flicking back and forth between us, searching for cracks in the story.

“My mom…” Marion hesitated, and I caught the flicker of pain on her face, as if the words tasted wrong in her mouth. “She worked for the Imperium. She disappeared a year ago. I think they killed her. I've been looking for her since then, and I knew that the angel of death would be here. I needed to find my mom in the afterlife, so I snuck after the Imperium guards when they were teleporting a guy here.”

The hairs on my neck bristled at that. “How did you know I would be here?” I asked, my focus torn from the map in front of me.

“Like I said,” Marion replied, her voice steady. “My mom worked for the Imperium. She had a list of victims they were targeting. You were one of them. I saw it about a year and some months ago.”

The revelation struck like a blow to the gut. My fingers curled tighter around the edges of the map. “You mean your mom knew that I would get apprehended?”

“No,” Marion clarified, her brow furrowing. “She only documented what the Imperium was up to. They knew.” She went silent for a second, letting the words sink in. “I think they set you up.”

Her words sent a shockwave through me, a stray bullet ricocheting around my skull. “No.” I stepped back, clutching my head, the weight of it all too much to bear. "No, they couldn’t have.”

“I…” Marion hesitated again, her voice trailing off, cautious. “I think they did.”

No. It couldn’t be. I had been a loyal servant to the Imperium, doing their bidding, taking souls when commanded. Trading my life for that task hadn't been easy, but I’d never questioned it. The Imperium wasn’t supposed to punish angels. It was there to protect us. But now… now the puzzle pieces seemed to fit too well. Too perfectly.

“So, how do you survive around here?” Nicole asked, as if my entire world hadn’t just collapsed. She didn’t seem particularly bothered by the fact that I might have been framed.

“I apply this oil that gives me an aura similar to a demon’s—” Marion’s words faded, growing blurry in my ears as I tried to process the implications.

It was all too good to be denied. It fit like the last shape in a toy box. This was actually happening. The Imperium set me up for some messed up reason my damn memory couldn't recall.

Suddenly, Nicole snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Hey,” she said sharply, pulling me out of my spiral. “Focus.”

I glanced down at the map again, struggling to pull myself back to reality. I couldn’t afford to lose it. Not here. Not now. My first priority was to get off this cursed island.

Isaac's map wasn't a map that led to the outside world—no—at least not directly. He told us about five gems that pillar Anubistopia. They were scattered in precise intervals, forming a star—a star like the one that adorned the heart of the Imperium’s emblem. It made sense now. But the problem was that the gems were deep in the surrounding waters. Monster-infested waters. Not to mention how terrifyingly hard it would be to retrieve them. No one ever said it would be a joyride.

“We’re going to need your weapon,” I said, breaking the silence. It was the only chance we had. “There’s no way we can take on those monsters without something powerful enough to give us the upper hand.”

“But it’s only a prototype,” Nicole protested, shaking her head. “And I still haven’t got the right liquids to make it work.”

“Then we find the liquids,” I said firmly. “First.”

°*°

I never thought I’d find myself relying on chemistry, let alone venturing into alchemy. But there I was, standing in an alchemy shop, holding a list of ingredients that might as well have been written in an alien language. The shelves were packed with all kinds of strange bottles, herbs, and powders, none of which I could make sense of.

Marion was beside me, squinting at the labels. “What the hell is ‘essence of shadow?'” she muttered.

“No idea,” I replied, running a finger along the dusty shelf, searching for it. “But if Nicole says we need it, we need it.”

After what felt like hours, we finally returned to Nicole’s basement, bags full of strange, volatile ingredients. Nicole was already poring over her notes, her brow furrowed in concentration.

“You sure this is going to work?” Marion asked, nervousness creeping into her voice.

Nicole didn’t even look up. “Not unless it blows us all up in pieces,” she said with a dry smirk.

“Fantastic,” Marion muttered, her sarcasm almost as sharp as Nicole’s. Mavobella, on the other hand, quipped, “If we go out in a bang, at least it’ll be a memorable exit.”

The rest of the day passed in a blur of mumbled words and bubbling liquids. Nicole was lost in her alchemical trance, mixing concoctions that smelled like burnt rubber and looked worse. I, on the other hand, had taken up the task of making lunch. You could imagine how that turned out—definitely not very salty or too watery. Sarcasm aside, it was a disaster.

By the time the sun began to sink behind the horizon, I found myself sitting on a bench with Marion, watching Nicole work. The air had grown still, heavy with unspoken thoughts.

“So,” I began awkwardly, desperate to keep the silence at bay. “What happened to your face?”

Marion shuddered raising a shoulder as if it would hide what I had already seen. “I was hit by one of the guards on my way here.” That proved that she hadn't been here for long, despite her smart moves that seemed horned.

I nodded. I didn’t need more details. I now understood all too well what the Imperium was capable of. They were a dark force, hidden behind a smile, making us believe they stood for goodness, for balance. But that was a lie. The real enemy had always been in front of us, and we had been blind to it.

As I stared out into the growing dusk, I felt a new kind of resolve take root inside me. Retribution wasn’t just a word. It was a promise. And if Isaac intended to keep it. I was around to help.

“Now, everyone stand back. I don’t need distractions,” Nicole uttered.

We all took a cautious step away as she carefully uncorked a vial of shimmering blue liquid, holding it up to the light. "This is the last one—the core catalyst," she explained, her voice soft, almost reverent.

The mixture in the volumetric flask before her was bubbling softly, an eerie green glow illuminating the room. Nicole reached for the vial and, with a steady hand, poured a single drop into the concoction. The liquid hissed, the green glow intensifying as wisps of smoke curled up from the cauldron.

We held our breath.

Slowly, Nicole added another drop. Then another.

The liquid inside the cauldron began to shift, the glow deepening to a brilliant emerald, and the bubbling became almost rhythmic, like the heartbeat of something alive. Nicole’s expression remained focused, her hand never wavering. She poured the final drop, and we watched in awe as the entire mixture settled into a still, gleaming pool of glowing emerald.

“Did it work?” Marion whispered, unable to hide her hope.

Nicole leaned over the cauldron, her face bathed in green light. After a long pause, she smiled. “It’s perfect,” she said quietly, triumph glinting in her eyes. “It’s exactly as it should be.”

The tension in the room broke, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. For a moment, none of us spoke, all caught up in the strange success we had witnessed. Even Mavobella, who had been fidgeting restlessly, stood still, her eyes wide with awe.

“I can’t believe it actually worked,” Marion muttered under her breath.

“I told you,” Nicole said, her voice taking on that dry humor again. “Alchemy’s just science with a little bit of magic. The trick is patience—and a steady hand.”

We all laughed, the tension of the day melting away, if only for a moment.

As I stood there, staring at the glowing liquid, I felt a glimmer of hope. We were up to something—a way out of this shit hole.