He was floating in that space again.
It was the one that embodied the intangible sphere of his mind, a limitless white void streaked through with odd strokes of blue and red and odd bits of black that wasn't really black, and every color in between. It was a quiet, peaceful place. There was nothing to disturb him but the sound of his own breath and the mystery of the sourceless wind that kept up a constant, uplifting draft. He allowed his body to float aimlessly for the time being.
Ratatosk was absent from this space. Emil figured it was because he was the one with manual control over their shared vessel at the moment, and he wasn't, so he was the one left… hanging. Literally.
He sighed. The sound dissipated into the silence. This mind-space of sorts really wasn't the most interesting place to be in. Apart from snippets of the happenings outside, he had no real contact with the real world, or even his own body. For all he knew, the next time he reemerged could be a hundred years after his final goodbyes to his friends… Lloyd, Zelos, Regal... the Sage siblings... Presea, Colette, and... Marta.
A hundred years. That really… was a long time, to him. He supposed it didn't look so daunting to Ratatosk, him being a summon spirit and all. His full age probably dwarfed his measly sixteen. …or, technically, one-and-a-half.
Didn't someone mention that Ratatosk had been alive since the birth of the world?
Hm…
The void's emptiness was rather contagious once he stayed in it for more than a few minutes. After awhile, he wouldn't even be aware of his own self. And he would wake up whenever Ratatosk decided he was bored with being in the front seat, with no memory of the time elapsed… This had been what happened after Tenebrae returned to core state, which triggered his 'Ratatosk-Mode' to fully split from his own personality. In any case, hopefully his more aggressive counterpart would be kind enough to fill him in on what he missed, from now on.
Not that he'd miss much. An eternity protecting the Ginnungagop wasn't exactly an eventful job.
He wondered if Marta would die before he saw the world again, if ever.
He sighed again.
and waited.
…
…
…
…Emil.
Ratatosk's deeper voice cut through the haze of the mind-space, disturbing Emil from falling deeper into his coma. The fog that had advanced into his senses retreated just the tiniest bit. "Huh…?" he muttered belatedly. The void's effects had yet to clear out of his mind completely. It was slow to pull away, like a gigantic, stifling, opaque painkiller gel. He vaguely remembered having to force one down after taking a bad hit, which had fractured several of his ribs during a battle against several Ogres.
Or had it been Manticores…?
Emil. Wake up.
Man, that had hurt. The gel had kept the pain at bay while Professor Sage healed the bones with an arte. The way the shards of bone had twisted in his body to realign themselves had sure looked painful. Thankfully the gel had worn off long after the bones had mended, and—
Focus!
His tone was not so commanding as it used to be, but there was an urgency in his voice. Emil shook himself more awake and dragged up a gloved hand to rub his eyes halfheartedly, mumbling, "I'm up, I'm up…" It took a moment for the world— or rather, lack thereof— to come back into focus. The colors swirled distractingly. He blinked. Oh, that looks pretty…
There was a sigh and the intangible equivalent of a hand dragged down the face. Emil. Pay attention.
He nodded.
We're separating.
That definitely caught his attention. "Wha— Wait, what?" he asked confusedly, jerking himself into an upright suspended position. What was left of the null in his brain peeled away forcefully, causing a minor headache; this Emil ignored to the best of his ability. Ratatosk was still nowhere to be seen within the void, but the odd swirls of color danced at a heightened speed. Glancing about wildly, Emil called out, "Where are you?"
Get ready.
"For what? Separating? What do you mean?" Emil inquired desperately. What was this about separating?! Would Ratatosk die? Hell, would he die? "What's going on?!"
There was a split second of utter silence, permeated only by the sound issuing from his heart. It beat noisily, pounding in his ears. Emil was almost fearful he wouldn't hear Ratatosk if he spoke again for all the noise his pulse seemed to be making. His limbs shuddered with adrenaline, eyes wide and searching still. Ratatosk didn't show. He tensed, uneasy and not knowing what to expect.
A second passed.
Emil frowned, then opened his mouth to try to call Ratatosk again—
Would you… say hello, to Marta for me?
He only had enough time to blink in surprise before the walls of his mind-space imploded upon him.
The world faded to black.
Sorry it's short. Next chapter will be longer.
R&R, please.
