Celsius's footsteps were light as she made her way through the spirit world. Shadow, silent as always, crept along in the shade that the ice spirit cast onto the ground. Celsius slipped through the large pair of trees that blocked the spirit Origin off from the rest of the realm, snickering slightly at how ineffective the foliage was to her. Lesser spirits were repelled by them, but the things hardly existed to her. A low, quiet sigh came from Shadow which was quickly muffled by a curt stomp from Celsius.
She continued on her way until she saw Origin. He sat with his legs folded over each other and his eyes closed. His white bangs blew slightly in the breeze, other than the slow rise and fall of his chest, he was still. His breathing was slow and deliberate, obviously he was focusing on how he breathed. His long white cape spread out behind him like a bird's tail. Celsius stood with her arms crossed, taking a moment to look onto Origin with a frown set to her lips. She really did miss him, that golden-eyed human. The one who formed a pact with her. The one who loved both humans and spirits alike.
"Origin." Celsius said. He jumped in a startled fashion and sighed out, most likely upset by how easily startled he seemed. He turned to face her, his eyes lacking the glow she was used to.
"Yes, Celsius?" he said in a monotone voice.
"Just wanted to see how you were doing. Shadow's here too." she tapped the toe of her foot to her shadow, which seemed to called out the spirit of darkness. Shadow's true form was rather frightening, but his current one was...not. He seemed to have taken the form of a dark-purple cat with large eyes, one of them covered with a black fin-like feature, much like Celsius. His tail was large and paddle-shaped, an opening arching around an orb of darkness. A large ring was on his back, similar to Volt's, with a bowl-like object suspended slightly behind the center. Shadow slipped from Celsius's silhouette and slivered over to Origin, rubbing against him in a very cat-like manner.
"Hey, Shadow." the boy smiled, stroking the spirit's head. Shadow let out a noise that sounded like it was supposed to mimic a purr, but sounded more like oncoming thunder. Origin looked at Celsius, a look of concern and fear glistening in his eyes. "Celsius, you know no one is supposed to see me-"
Celsius cut him off with a dismissive wave of her hand "Yeah, yeah, I know. Maxwell is going to be mad, blah blah blah. But I can't just let you be by yourself all the time." She put a hand on her hip and sighed. "Besides, Shadow keeps pestering me to let him see you. You know how he is."
The boy sighed. "Yeah."
Shadow's ears perked and his eyes trained off into the distance. "Maxwell." was all he said.
"What- Oh no..." The boy grimaced. "Here he comes..."
Celsius snorted and glared in the direction Shadow indicated, a scowl set to her face. She hated Maxwell. She hated him with and intensity she couldn't quite put into words.
The old spirit drifted towards them, a frown set to his face as his eyes caught on Shadow, and then Celsius.
"What is the meaning of this?" Maxwell demanded in a seemingly calm manner.
"Relax, you old bastard, we're just here to see the kid." Celsius growled.
"Origin, what did I tell you about having company?" he hissed.
Origin frowned, bowing his head and looking to the side. His left hand reached to grip his right arm but he winced and forced himself to be still. "That it distracts me."
"Exactly." Maxwell said, displeasure radiating from his voice and gaze. "Celsius, Shadow. Leave. NOW."
Celsius growled, taking a step forward with her fists clenched. "How dare you tell me what to do-!?"
Shadow's tail wrapped around Celsius's waist and pulled her back with an apologetic nod to Origin as he dragged the raging Ice Spirit away.
Maxwell watched the pair depart, leaving Origin to his worried thoughts. He could tell the old spirit was angry, he could feel it come off in waves, crashing into his very being. After what seemed like an eternity, Maxwell looked down on him.
"What are you doing still sitting? Stand up!" he ordered.
Origin avoided Maxwell's eyes as he got up onto his feet. Subconsciously, he bit his lip.
"Origin, that is a human habit."
"R-right." he winced.
Maxwell sighed and turned to face him. "Origin, you know I'm just trying to help you, don't you?"
"Yes, I know." the boy nodded, still avoiding the older spirit's gaze. "I was created to become the overseer of the Soul Cycle, and you just want me to be prepared to do so."
"And in order to do that..." Maxwell frowned. "You can't have human weaknesses."
"Then why was I created with human weakness?" He asked, waving his arm out in front of him. "If I was meant to have no flaws, then why was I created with them? Why couldn't I have been made without them-"
"Origin."
He flinched. "I'm sorry-"
"You do not apologize." Maxwell muttered, sighing. He know this would be a lot of work, trying to turn a human into the next Origin. What the hell was the previous one thinking, letting this kid take over? It was ridiculous. Milla taking over for himself, Maxwell, is understandable. Milla was created by him, so it'd only make sense. But having a human, normal, run-of-the-mill human become a spirit... It was ridiculous.
And he didn't even know it... Maxwell felt sorry for him. From what he knew, Jude has never done anything deserving of losing all he was... The kid just happened to trespass onto territory he didn't understand.
Maxwell sighed. "Keep up with your training, Origin."
"Yes, Maxwell." he said quietly. Maxwell looked at the boy for a long, silent moment, then left the boy with himself and his thoughts.
The new spirit watched as the elder departed, and continued to look on even long after Maxwell had disappeared from sight.
Origin sighed and settled himself onto the grass, closing his eyes and trying to ease himself into a trance. As always, he found it impossible. Images of people and places kept flooding into his mind and he found himself overwhelmed by the information. His mouth quivered and sweat slicked his face, but he continued to keep his eyes closed and forced his breathing to be steady.
All the information of the souls juggled themselves frantically inside of him. He struggled to stay still and not to shake, and it was excruciating. He found he couldn't breathe. He caught himself wondering if he even needed to breath. His thoughts went on rapidly, galloping across his mind like a stampede of raging beasts, tearing at his heart and mind with claws made up of vile and slaughter.
He broke.
Origin's eyes snapped open and his heart was running laps in his chest. His breathing was heavy and his body shook with tremors. Panting, he lied on his back and looked up at the sky, disappointed in his ability to keep up with the Cycle.
He was a failure, really.
Origin closed his eyes, slowly, breathing with as much control as he could. He knew that if he focused on a specific soul, it wasn't at all painful. But he also knew doing that was virtually useless. Although, for whatever reason, it was comforting looking onto the lives of humans.
He was created for the purpose of becoming Origin, the purpose of taking over the Soul Cycle so the old Origin can retire. It was tiring, and lonely. And he always felt like he had a hole in his heart. Though he didn't know why, he didn't know what it was he felt was missing. He's only been alive for four years. He didn't have anything to miss.
With his eyes closed he focused on one specific soul. It was a little girl with a little purple dress, skipping down the road with her older brother. It was nice, this little girl's life. She loved her family, her friends, her dog. She loved breathing the air of the town Hamil and buying poranges at the local market. It was a simple life.
"Jude!" he heard a familiar voice. He blinked open his eyes, almost sleepily, and found Celsius and Shadow looking down on him.
"Celsius, that isn't my name-" he was silenced by Shadow's tail wrapping around his mouth.
"No, it is." Celsius said. "Jude, I can't let you just sit around like this anymore. Come with me."
He sat up, brushing Shadow off and casting Celsius a curious look. "What, where are we going...?"
"The human world. I'm going to get you to remember yourself."
Sorry if some characters (Celsius) seems OOC, I can't say I write these guys that much... I promise I'll get better though! I'd really appreciate reviews if you don't mind. (They're good for the soul!).