9. Realization
"You've gotten stronger, human."
Therius gritted his teeth as he felt Zepha slam him against the wall, grabbing him with one hand by the waist and gripping onto a particularly bruised area to make the pain stronger. The white knight refused to scream or beg for mercy. Callista had bravely tried to defend him some few days ago. If she could be so brave, why not Therius himself?
Zepha hesitated, before he blasted Therius with a Shining spell again, the knight letting out a grunt of pain when he was hit. Unlike Zesha, Zepha was different when it came to torture techniques. He wouldn't go physically beat them like Zesha did, but he would implement his magic for this situation instead...
Therius coughed, trying to stand properly, trying to speak.
"Surprised you haven't noticed that I'm not as beaten as usual, until now." The knight hissed back. "Your brother hasn't come down here for the past few days...I wonder why that is...?"
Zepha frowned at this, before backhanding the knight in the face, making him to land on the ground with a sickening thud. Therius winced-not just from the pain of being backhanded, but from the cuts and bruises all over him. Therius shut his eyes, expecting to be hit with a spell.
He didn't receive any more attacks. Instead, he heard Zepha's footsteps fade away after the door of his cell was locked. The white knight blinked in surprise, wondering if it was only now that Zepha had actually noticed this. He wondered if Callista was alright-if she was bearing Zesha's presence, if she was still in decent health...he just hoped that she was alright.
He would find a way to break out of this place. He just had to observe carefully to try to find a kink in the security...
Zesha let out a quiet breath, glancing at Callista silently for a moment as he tried to think about what exactly was going on his mind about this human. She was different, yes, unlike the other humans he had ever faced. Despite her being an enemy, he did not feel as strong of such hatred for her as he did before. Was it because she saved his life? Made him think about what he had been doing, about his own stubbornness? Because of how pretty-
No. No. He looked away. Zesha wasn't going there-physical appearances meant almost nothing to him. Though she did look pretty for a human, he admitted quietly, glancing at her again before looking away. Putting that aside, though...
Well, she was a human. She was his enemy. Not someone that he could grow closer to, closer than a mere ally at his side.
...Right?
I can't.
He glanced at Callista once again-only to realize that she was looking at him. He looked away immediately, hoping that she hadn't noticed him staring at her for the past couple of minutes.
"Are you alright?" She spoke quietly, but she was loud enough for him to hear.
When he didn't answer, she persisted.
"Are you alright, Zes-"
"I'm fine." He muttered quietly, cutting her off quickly. He hoped that his unease did not show in his voice... "I'm just...fine, if you're wondering."
There was silence, before she spoke.
"...You're not fine."
He wasn't sure what to say in response. If she had said that in the beginning, when they first met, he would have snapped at her and insisted that he was alright. But now...
"You're right," He spat out bitterly, figuring that he might as well admit it all. "I'm not fine."
Callista didn't say a thing, and he looked towards her as he continued.
"You...have done so much to help me. Never said a thing to be harmful...you only healed. How do you bear being with someone who can nothing but hurt?"
She hesitated, before speaking.
"I think anyone is capable of healing and hurting, even those that seem to do more harm than help." She started slowly. Pausing again, she took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sure that if you really wished to try to help, you can."
Zesha looked away from her-and perfect timing, too, as Zepha suddenly entered the room.
"Brother," Zesha's older twin rasped, "Prepare for battle. Those filthy humans have come to attack."
