Even though I absolutely adore the relationship between Marno and Sagi, I can't help but feel hatred in Marno's side. They were killed by the Children of the Earth, who ironically failed to kill Wiseman, the original cause of the War of the Gods. These events caused the resentment that Malpercio feels for the world in EWLO.
Although not explicitly stated, it is implied that Marno took over Melodia and used her to get revenge. So, Marno's pretty much a time bomb. I think the slowly change on him started to affect Sagi, too.
WARNING: Spoilers, lots and lots of spoilers.
Disclaimer: Don't own.
Nightmare
From the age of eight, Sagi had suffered from headaches.
He never worried about it, not even when the pain was too much to bear and he would faint suddenly. He would see things, sometimes, strange people and places, but he would always see the same blue-haired man, looking at him as if he was studying the boy. Sagi always thought he looked scary but then he would smile at him and Sagi would smile back and feel giddy. And it would feel right.
His mother told him that, maybe, he was imagining a friend and Sagi very much liked the idea. He would love to have a friend like that.
Sagi hit a stroke of luck. He had found a (Broken God) friend one night that told him they would be together forever (Lies) if Sagi allowed it. The best part was he looked exactly like the friend he imagined nights again. He was so happy to have made a friend that he didn't need to be told twice. He felt so warm, so happy, so…
Safe.
His new friend's name was (MaLPerCIO, I KnoW YoU Are-) … and they played together always and never a harsh word said between them. Unlike the other kids in Hassaleh he was always welcomed and happy with him. His best friend.
Sagi had become a (Puppet) Spiriter that could change the fate of the world. His new friend wasn't much interested in saving the world and would much spent his time being quiet. Sagi himself was a quiet boy so he didn't mind.
And in time, Sagi grew out of his haze, and however timid he was, he was a sweet, lovable and wonderful young lad who made his (Wrong) mother very proud to call him her (Fake) son.
At age 9 he had found another best friend. Guillo was a (God Slayer) paramachina, or at least that what it looked like, that he found buried underneath the ground. Guillo was sarcastic and moody and everything his spirit wasn't. It was refreshing. Sagi loved his Spirit but…he was so quiet. So his new friend's attitude was something else.
It was, at age nine, that the nightmares (Memories) began as well.
Horrific scenes of blood and feathers and Magnus and monsters haunted his dreams, made him wake up screaming hard enough to lose his voice. If his terror and desperation hadn't been so intense, his mother and Guillo might have assumed that they were simple childhood nightmares.
But they weren't.
-
At age fifteen, he had become part of the Imperial army in hopes to help his (Unlucky) mother and the children at the orphanage. As soon word got out that he was a (Puppet) Spiriter, he was then recruited by the Dark Service, an elite paramilitary group known for doing the dirty work of the Empire that reports directly to a powerful politician, Lord Baelheit (Spiriter). The pay was good and that was pretty much it. He got bullied by the other guys but he didn't care as long as he got Guillo and his Spirit. Sagi's first mission was that night and eager to prove himself he was given a questionable mission to assassinate Emperor Olgan. He knew this mission was (Right) wrong but he had to do it.
While attempting to assassinate the Emperor however he instead discovered his lifeless body slumping over his table. To add insult to injury, he was then attacked by his fellow platoon men who betrayed him by orders of Baelheit and forced to run.
That's when he'd had his first hallucination.
He'd running from the soldiers when (Seph) a monster appeared from out of nowhere and attacked him. Sagi was beginning to feel another headache coming-
"Guillo…!"
Apparently the paramachina was possessed or something because no matter how much he (Begged) screamed, it wouldn't stop attacking. That monster was crying, it was crying so loud it hurt.
Sagi fainted.
He opened his eyes he found himself in another world, possibly a (Memory) dream, but it were the two men that irked him. Sagi had watched, spellbound, before following the strangers. They called him 'brother' and treated him with much love and affection that he could feel the spirit purr in delight. When he met the rest of them he felt at ease.
And he didn't know why.
That man, Seph, laid a comforting hand on his shoulder but before he tried to speak, he found he was quite unable, and all he could do was make a slight, choked noise. And suddenly Sagi saw red. The stranger's throat had been ripped open, and his blood was splashed across his body. Half his face had been clawed apart, and that blonde hair was drenched with red.
"You forgot us," he whispered (Poison). "You forgot us. Even me."
And Sagi screamed.
Waking up, he noticed the monster was dead and Guillo was telling him something, grabbing his elbow and making him run. He had to run now.
After that, it became apparent that the dreams that were meant to alleviate him were actually making them and these new hallucinations that much worse. It was a morbid fascination, a now masochistic need to know, because something deep within him was telling him, begging him, ordering him to remember.
Though these people claim to have known him -by the name Marno- since he was a small child, Sagi had no memory of them whatsoever. But it was the moment he entered Cujam, for the very first time that he began to believe them.
It was dark.
It was eerie.
It was familiar.
He heard (Dead) voices somewhere along the path to the stairs, and ran off to the room he hadn't known (Did Know) was there.
But there was nothing.
No (Dead) siblings to greet him.
But he did find a map. And a drawing of a fish (Whale).
These dreams were, in retrospect, short and incredibly infrequent. Sagi had a mission: stopping Baelheit (Daimon), the Empire that threaten the world and uniting the Islands. By the time he was about end all of this, he managed to come up with a very important word:
Dark Brethren.
The word stung and made him cringe every time someone said it and he knew those words from his childhood. So when (Dead) Seph proclaimed an alliance he whimpered. He was forced to go with them and explore Zaurak Keep (Underworld).
He'd had visions of them (MONSTERS) before.
Around the rocks surrounding Zaurak Sagi walked (TURN BACK), all the while sensing a pair of eyes on his back (We're Watching You), but every time he turned around, there was (Someone) no one. Milly and Guillo asked him if was fine but he didn't answer.
The path was beginning to clear and two or three shadows (siblings) dashed up the path towards the heart of the Keep. Sagi followed after, though in no hurry, his footsteps getting more and more difficult.
Then Sagi entered the Brethren's lair.
He stepped inside with the utmost dread, this place was bad, this place was dangerous-
(RUN)
SLAM.
And just like that, the exit was blocked and locked tightly behind him, trapping him (AGAIN) in this place. Then he felt the eyes again, boring at his from every direction even when he knew that (Everyone) no one was there.
(Get Out)
He had to get out.
Every fiber of Sagi being was telling him that he had to leave, right then, or he would die. His panic increased (Out) he had to go (OUT) he had to leave (ESCAPE)-
(Dark Brethren)
(Trails)
(Siblings)
(Promise)
(Red)
(Wiseman)
(Red)
(Kill him)
(KILL HIM)
"We did it, Seph!"
Huh?
He saw a dead chimera in the middle of a blood pool and he knew he had helped them kill it. Oh no…please god, no. It was done. They had passed the test (Again) and were going to get that power. He was going to die in this place, he was-
And when he woke up, he was back home, safe from them but still in danger. But he needs to know, he needs to know what happened to them. He needs to go back.
And he got his wish.
-
Sagi can't believe what Guillo is doing to them. Malpercio screamed because the Sibling Gods were children, the oldest of them 22 but still a child. He doesn't remember the chase. He doesn't remember seeing Guillo's eyes blood-tainted.
The God Slayers slaughtered two of them, Ven and Pieda, right there before they could react and defend themselves. Thoran destroyed the Slayer but was ambushed by two more, his spine snapping as he screamed. Seph had damaged two of them but was outnumbered and his throat was cut open as he whispered his beloved's name.
He also doesn't remember that, of all the deaths he saw, Marno was the most peaceful-looking in death.
He is glad the sibling God doesn't remember this.
-
As Verus (Wiseman) lays on the ground dying he can't help but feel happy and that scares him. That man should've suffered more than just a petty death; he should feel the pain Sagi lived because of that experiment. It is because of him that all the nightmares haunted him; that his mother's wings were ripped apart, that Milly is now an orphan. That Marno lost his family.
That's he's going crazy.
"Sagi, we need to get out! This place isn't going to hold much longer!"
A son never chooses his own father.
-
They moved to Mira in order to get a much quieter life. Sagi and Milly were pretty much done saving the world. Ever since Sagi bonded hearts to Marno he felt more secure than ever in his whole life: the nightmares were gone now that Marno knew everything, but Sagi couldn't help but wonder if the sibling God ever felt sadness knowing his past life. The young boy questioned the spirit inside him once. Surely, his feelings would've probably changed since the battle with Seginus.
After all, the strange feeling he got whenever he looked at Guillo's head was anything but friendly. He was sure Marno resented him now.
Instead of being concerned, or even surprised, he merely smiled and said that he couldn't even remember them. Nothing to worry on.
But Sagi pressed the subject, saying that Marno was right to be angry and that the death of his only family was a serious matter, until Marno (With a bit more force than was common for him) told him to just forget about it. Don't worry.
Drop it.
And Sagi did.
Or, pretended to.
It was the first time, Marno ever used that tone. It was frightening and he never brought the subject again.
Until one day, he'd been found in a room, blood-soaked, and crying for no reason. He opened his eyes to Milly's horrific scream but he could only see red. She had seen on the ground, small streaks of blood.
They led to the room he was in.
So she went it. He could barely register what was going on until he was pushed aside by Milly while she gathered something in her arms. Milly questioned him, asking if why he had done something so terrible to their friend (revenge), wailing and screaming. He hadn't answered.
All he'd been capable of was a blank stare.
He noticed the carpet was dirty with red, he was dirty with red, and the thing in Milly's arm was red too. It was a head. It was Guillo's head (A prize). And now he was blood-soaked thanks to that stupid machine.
He hated the color red.
He hated Guillo, too.
And he had no idea why
Dear God, something was wrong.
-
In the past three or four months, Marno had been wound more tightly than a jack-in-the-box. Every move he made, every step he took, and you could feel Marno was agitated. And he'd been more prone to snapping recently.
But now… Now he was calm. Collected.
Relieved.
He felt the warm feeling again, as if telling him that everything was alright now. Now that Guillo's head had disappeared, he felt right at home. Milly had looked for it everywhere and even threaten him to leave him if he didn't tell. But not even Sagi knew what had happened and decided to ask Marno.
"Wh… Wh… Wh-Where… Where is… Where is it?" Sagi whispered, actively terrified of the answer. He could feel him cocking his head to the side, regarding Sagi with none of the contempt he'd been giving him in the past few months.
"Haven't the foggiest."
He was lying, and Sagi knew it.
He was too calm, too cool, too… Assured, for someone who despised Guillo. If Marno really didn't know where the head was, he would've made some sort of derisive comment about its supposed whereabouts.
And he wouldn't have looked so satisfied.
-
Milly had avoided him after that and he couldn't bring himself to care. Sagi's changed and he is well aware of that –Milly and the others tell him that every single day-, he knows it's because of him. Milly already begged him to part with him, she cries, on her knees and begs and Sagi knows he shouldn't make her wife feel this way especially now that she's carrying but he can't do that.
But he doesn't want to stop feeling warm.
He has covered all the mirrors in the house. He sometimes likes to breaks them in little pieces because mirrors bother him. He feels trapped when looking at one and feels their eyes looking at him. He hates their reflection.
Sagi looks twisted and horrible like a monster (Wiseman). He sometimes closes his eyes and finds himself in another place: almost as if he was controlled by something and trying to do something.
He tries not to sleep that much. He's afraid of closing his eyes because he knows he can see their faces (Malpercio). They weren't as clear as they had been before, but they were crying and yelling now. Not coaxing as they had been before.
Sagi shivered. They were scary now (real), always yelling and trying to grab him, and Sagi found he didn't want to see them as much as he had before.
In fact all he wanted them to do was go away (Help Him).
-
Milly has given birth to a girl, they tell him, a healthy baby girl. Her name's is Melodia (The New Puppet) and she's beautiful. They gentle push him to see his first born and all he can do is look. She's looks so much like Milly and he tries to smile, he really does, but all he can manage is a blank stare now. Milly's smiling, she thinks the birth of their child will soothe his worries and bring the old Sagi back.
"Sagi, you want to-"
"She reminds me of (Dead) Pieda."
Sagi's so afraid because his mouth is moving on its own and that isn't even his voice. Milly doesn't take that answer nicely and asks him to leave. As he closes the door he thinks he hears crying.
He wants to cry too.
-
Marno had taken Guillo in the process-probably tortured what was left of the paramachina until he killed it-, and now he would take Sagi too. Dimly, he began to accept and even welcome the idea. He's afraid now, he's afraid of his first friend and he can't help it. He only hopes Marno doesn't turn his attention to Milly or Melodia.
Sagi'd seen too much (Memories). Heard too much (Screams). Been involved in just too damn much of this chaos. And what chaos it had been! Nightmares and monsters and dead siblings and dead friends and fear and pain and loneliness…
Yes. Maybe it was better this way.
"You should be thanking me, Sagi."
Sagi was silent, uncomprehending.
"Guillo was created for the sole purpose of killing me, the accursed God Malpercio, I'm sure it would have snapped any day now and attack you. I'm part of you, Sagi, you were in danger. I was protecting you. Us" He could feel him reaching out and coolly, delicately, lifted a strand of Sagi's blue hair. The cold hands of a dead God.
"But you barely have any idea as to what I'm talking about, don't you?"
Sagi was paralyzed. No speech, no movement. "You should be so lucky. I wish I didn't know. The memories won't go away no matter how much I try to forget" He calmly released his hold on Sagi's hair but he doesn't stop feeling cold. He needs help, he needs saving. He needs to get away.
And apparently, Marno knows he wants out.
"Now really, Sagi, what's to be accomplished by telling anyone about this? Guillo's not coming back. Neither are my brothers...but I can at least change that. We can stop the nightmares, together. We can take care of ourselves, and without having to worry about Milly or Guillo attacking us or any other pest puppets. Are you going to tell anyone?"
Sagi lowered his head. "No." He whispered softly. "I won't."
"Good boy."