Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this emotional discovery… especially for the one who has lost so much.
~保護者~
REVIEW REPLY:
Hello, Guest! Yep, he finally started letting them down. It's really good, and hopefully it keeps getting better for him. And yes, Sonic and Amy had a long overdue scene of sweetness. Glad you enjoyed!
~保護者~
"Farenhel Found"
~保護者~
By now, Black Doom's chambers were stained black with blood. The space was filled with all manner of torture implements. He was chained to one of them, in agony and unable to move beyond turning his head. This thing, whatever it was, was like nothing else he'd ever encountered before. The entire structure was made of metal and raised off of the ground. In a way, it resembled a table, but one without a standard top.
Rather than a single flat surface, he was laying across a series of metal bars that ran along his back and the backs of his legs. Below the structure was a raging fire. It burned continuously, but never reached high enough to directly touch him. What it did do, instead, was heat up those bars. They were red-hot, burning him endlessly.
This torture had been ongoing for so long that his wounds were starting to go entirely numb. Nareish was trying to torture him into submission, but he refused. Each refusal earned more pain. He was suffering, and she was enjoying it. But he wouldn't submit. Never.
~保護者~
Teleporting into Armaris's immediate vicinity had been a mistake. The emotions Espio sensed in the area from both her and his mother rocked him back on his heels. While he couldn't accurately put names to everything he sensed, the intensity with which he detected others' emotions was nothing new. What was new was the sensation of those emotions immediately adding to his own.
Aku had died. He could feel it. Their lifelong bond was no longer there. That wasn't a reality he was ready to confront yet. However, the sadness (grief, even) came regardless. But it wasn't just his own. He could feel Armaris's, his father's, and his mother's as well. Almost instinctively, he could tell how much emotion came from which person and, whether he could identify them or not, he could tell which emotions had come from which person.
This sort of thing… happened sometimes. Not always, though. It was infrequent, like reactions from burgeoning powers occasionally were as a person gradually grew into them. Why his mind likened this situation to something like that, he had no idea.
None of that mattered. He couldn't handle all of this emotion. He needed to get away from them. As far away as possible, in fact. His aura was carefully hidden like always, meaning Armaris hadn't noticed him yet. Without wasting another second, he took advantage of the moment and teleported away.
Only when he reappeared (why he went all the way to Splash Hill, he had no idea) did he realize that he was breathing heavily. Rapidly, too. Closing his eyes, he took the necessary time to steady himself and regain his composure. Now that he wasn't near Armaris and whoever else was still around her, he was left with only his emotions. They weren't easy to deal with, either, but it was certainly better than trying to deal with everyone's all at once.
Espio's communicator suddenly vibrated with a message from Steam. It played itself out loud, despite Espio not actually interacting with the device at all. "Hey. I noticed that your heart rate spiked all of a sudden. Everything okay?"
Initially, Espio jumped. However, he soon relaxed a little and resigned himself to texting back for now. "Armaris and others are… upset. I was not prepared to handle it when I teleported near them. I'm fine now."
"What happened? If they're upset, then it must be something."
This wasn't something Espio wanted to talk about yet. But he made himself do it, anyway. "Aku died. He told me he was ready to let himself pass on and we dissolved the bond that tied his life to mine. When Nareish recently attacked the village, he suffered burns severe enough that he could not survive." After hitting send, Espio frowned at nothing in particular. He wanted, even deserved, to pass peacefully in his sleep. He did not deserve to die like this.
"I'll be there in a moment. This might be a good time to explain something to you."
"Fine." Espio turned off his communicator screen again and found a comfortable place to sit down.
About ten or so seconds later, Steam appeared nearby and approached, making plainly sure that Espio could notice his presence. "First of all, I'm sorry for your loss. I know how much of a family member Aku was to you and your family." Espio shrugged a little. Expressing condolences was something that was polite and all, but he didn't have much of a response to give to it. "Second, what happened when you first showed up near Armaris and the others?"
Espio remained quiet for a short time, but unlike before it was because he was trying to decide how to word it. He'd never given those sorts of experiences much thought since they were so… normal. "Armaris and the others were upset," he wound up reiterating when other words failed him, "and I was not prepared for it."
Steam took a seat and nodded a bit. "I understand that feeling, really," he said, sighing gently. "For you, it's really strong because, if I'm correct, you're what's called an empath."
Amber eyes slanted toward him in a blatantly confused look. Espio didn't bother to hide it, if only because he wanted a quick answer. "A what?"
"On top of your autism making you sensitive to things to begin with, you're incredibly susceptible to feeling and experiencing the emotions of those around you. Has people around you being upset caused you to feel more upset?" Espio frowned but soon relented and gave a nod. "You're likely to come across that issue a lot, especially if you're around someone like Armaris. The more emotions there are around you, the worse it's likely to be if you don't know how to try and approach fixing it."
Espio's frown remained firmly in place. "You are rambling," he quietly accused.
Steam rubbed the back of his head a bit. "That's my bad. This stuff just matters to me, 'cause I want to help. Makes me ramble needlessly out of worry for my point not getting across correctly."
"Try to explain again," Espio sighed. "This makes little sense. My people have no concept of an 'empath'."
"Long story short, you're going to feel the emotions of people around you. Your people tend to be a bit more subdued in their emotions, so it's not likely to be a constant issue around other chameleons. Might be part of why it's taken so long for anyone to explain that to you."
And now I will have to find a way to explain this to Armaris. Espio didn't have much to say, but he at least nodded again to show he'd heard.
"I know it's sudden to find it all out, but I'd say for you to start on trying to understand where emotions are coming from. Start with Armaris, since she can be a bit more vocal and explain her feelings in very straightforward terms," Steam explained. "Another person might be Ryuji. He's pretty capable of explaining himself… at times."
Both were sound points. Espio couldn't find any reason to disagree… for the most part. Ryuji does not always like to explain himself. He is even worse than Mother at times. Still, he voiced no dissent over Steam's idea. "Understood."
Steam offered a smile to Espio. "If you have questions, I'll do my best to offer you whatever answers I can get you."
"Alright." Espio briefly turned on his communicator again and shot Armaris a short text. "I will be home soon." He felt ready enough for that now.
Before even Steam managed to reply, Armaris had shot a text back. "I have a surprise for you when you get back. You'll love it."
"I suppose we'll see." After sending that vaguely teasing reply, Espio turned the device's screen back off.
Steam continued unimpeded. "Just a note, I'll do my best to not force your communicator to read out my message in the future," he said, chuckling a little with a slightly nervous tone. "I just got worried and didn't want you to get upset."
Espio waved him off with a hand. "You alone have permission to do that when you see fit. I will otherwise assume the device is vibrating due to unimportant messages from other people."
The hedgehog blinked once before giving a quick nod. "Gotcha. I'll still keep it to a minimum, if only because I'd hate to interrupt anything. That, and… well, I figure Armaris sometimes causes things like your heart rate increasing, too. She'll kill me if I interrupt anything to do with her."
After taking a second to decide exactly what Steam might have been implying (and ultimately settling on the decision that Steam wouldn't be thinking in the same way as Armaris), Espio shrugged. "Alright," he agreed simply.
"Before I go, though, do you have any questions? Even unrelated to being an empath. I'm fine to answer anything," Steam offered, motioning for Espio to speak up if he so wished.
Once more, the chameleon took his time to consider his words. "How certain are you of what you told me about my being an Immortal?" he eventually asked. "You did not say much when you brought it up."
"I believe it wholeheartedly, even more so by the day," Steam explained. "There's no way you'd be as strong as you are if you weren't becoming an Immortal, even with your heritage. I can even sense it now while we're sitting here."
That was probably true. Espio didn't like that, though. "Nareish is of the opinion that I am meant to embody evil Darkness. I am typically disinclined to believe her, but I cannot pretend that this does not seem true."
Steam sighed a bit and let his anger about Nareish saying that fade quickly. "She's right, but if she's telling you that you are evil and should tread that path, she's just trying to get what she wants," the hedgehog immediately explained. "She wants you to turn on everyone, or to at least become a threat to people who are on our side. But you don't have to do that sort of thing."
"She spoke of those things," Espio admitted, "but that was not why I was asking. My confusion stems from how I am meant to avoid those paths if this is the type of Immortal I am supposed to be."
"Just because you embody a type of energy doesn't mean you're defined by that energy. Think of Eila, who acts nothing like a being of Light," Steam offered as an example. "Nothing is stopping you from going down those paths, admittedly. Nothing besides you. If you don't want to be evil, then don't let your Darkness define you even if it's your title."
"I have virtually no control over it," Espio reminded, a touch moodily. And she is hardly a decent example. Her Light is virtually nonexistent. My Darkness refuses to stop growing no matter what anyone does.
"Have you spoken to your parents?" Steam asked. "I know it's a bit, well, different for them, but I'm sure nobody here considers them evil."
"There has been no opportunity to approach them for help," Espio said. He chose to tune his own thoughts out and focus on the conversation instead. "Even now, Father has vanished again and Mother is emotional."
Steam drummed his fingers against his leg, then clicked his tongue. "I know it's easier said than done, but sometimes the best thing you can do is make an opportunity. Your parents love you more than enough to spend time helping you. Shei's situation may be a bit worse, and he may not be able to immediately help, but I know your mother could."
Espio let out a breath that was somewhere close to a sigh. Eventually, he conceded the point. "I will attempt it."
"I can help," Steam offered easily. "I have no problem with helping you approach her, provided you're there with me. I'd rather not get my head taken off."
"I would not let her try," Espio huffed. Then he added, "I will not be approaching her today. There are other things I need to do." Such as checking over the damage to my home… again.
Steam nodded quickly. "Of course. And death is something that takes some time. Just send me a message whenever. If I don't hear back soonish, I'll send a message your way to check up on you. Sound good?"
"Alright." Espio stood and idly brushed some grass off of his legs. "Armaris is expecting me back. I should go."
The hedgehog chuckled. "Don't keep her waiting too long. I know Tara might murder me if I make her wait too much longer to see me again."
…Kayde's daughter? She is alive? Rather than question that, Espio merely nodded. Out of habit, he gave a small bow of polite farewell, and then vanished. That Steam wasn't a shinobi and might not understand the action wasn't something he stopped to consider, even after the fact.
That simply made the fact that Steam did understand all the better, prompting the green hedgehog to smile as he teleported away to find his wife. It was likely that she'd want to sit down and talk before he vanished to do whatever he planned on doing next.
~保護者~
It had been long enough, Saethrim decided as he appeared on the planet where he sensed his student's recently revived wolf companion. He had every intention of checking in on Kial and Rose, and it didn't take him long to realize that they were both in an incredible mood. Beats the residual anger I felt off of Rose before and all of that stress and concern in Kial after what happened with Black Doom.
When he got to them both, it became clear based on their breathing that the two were resting. Both had stirred upon his arrival, but they settled down shortly after. Rather than interrupt them, he simply sat down against the same tree as them. He closed his eyes and let himself join them in relaxation. It's good that they've gotten a chance to calm down.
Ultimately, it wasn't all that long before they were all properly asleep, more than willing to simply enjoy each other's presence.
~保護者~
As Cyril had cautioned, Wave could find nothing that could help fix Kath's age. She'd spoken briefly to Sein and Alana about what was going on while Jet had dozed in his bed, then reluctantly turned her attention away from the matter. She woke Jet up long enough to tell him again that Ten, Hannah, and Suri had gone to Gardenia after he'd asked them to leave A'latria, but would be back soon. This was just in case he'd been too out of it before to remember. It turned out that he had been. At least now he knew and could rest a little easier.
Checking in with Espio had been next on her mental to-do list. She would have just texted him, but… chances were that he simply wouldn't ever check the message. It was more effective to visit him in person. When she arrived, it was clear that hell had rained down upon the village recently, but Espio waved off all of her efforts to discern what had happened. In the end, she'd simply informed him and Armaris of the well-being of Zei and Sako (who seemed to quite like Cosmo) and then left.
Shortly after teleporting into space a short ways from Mobius, she stopped dead in her tracks. A familiar energy signature reached her senses. The magic she sensed came from one of her relatives. It wasn't her father or little brother, though. Which meant it could only be one of three people. her uncle Thane, her grandmother Alonei, or her grandmother's sister Aera. They were all pure-blooded Hexans like Han was. More concerningly… they were the kind of Hexans that was classified as "evil".
Evil Hexans weren't like demons in that they weren't weren't filled to the brim with hatred. They just… didn't care. Killing wasn't something they would hesitate to do if they ever felt the urge or saw it as somehow necessary. It was quite the opposite of her father, who cared a great deal about life in all its forms and hated to end even vile beings. Their relatives just weren't like that and likely never would be.
At first glance, many outside people looking in were often tempted to say that such Hexans were better than demons and their ilk and weren't cause for much concern. They were wrong. In many ways, evil Hexans could be much worse. It was as she'd once heard someone else say, "Anger and hatred are far easier to counter or otherwise deal than pure, unfeeling bloodlust." Given that, Wave was tense and uneasy. Her family wouldn't harm her, but that didn't mean she liked interacting with those three.
It soon became clear which one of them was headed her way. It was Thane, her father's fraternal (but not identical) twin brother. Thane was the oldest by mere minutes, and unlike Han he'd never developed emotions beyond bloodlust. He was cold and impassive, unaffected by emotional matters regardless of how severe they were. And yet, despite this being how all "evil" Hexans were, they still took care of their own for reasons unknown to all but them. Wave strongly suspected that was why Thane was approaching her for the first time in something like eight hundred years. He must have sensed that something happened to Dad.
Letting out a calming breath, Wave turned her attention. "Hey… do me a favor for a short bit, okay? I have an uncle, which is the brother of a person's parent. In this case, it's my dad's brother. He's coming and I probably need to talk to him. The issue is that if he sees or senses you, he might just refuse to talk and instead turn around and leave again. Hexans are really secretive and private like chameleons are, especially about family matters. He won't be willing to discuss anything with me if he knows you're here. We can work on a proper introduction between you guys later, though, I promise."
The Aether shrunk itself down and climbed from her shoulder on top of her head, turning invisible to everyone but Wave just as the Void always did with Jet. "Okay!" it said, smiling a little. "I'll be super quiet." Wave smiled back slightly in appreciation.
Two or three minutes after the Aether hid, Thane abruptly appeared before Wave. As expected, his appearance hadn't changed at all in the last nearly thousand years. He was a darker tan color than Han and had darker blue eyes, along with a magical (in that the magic of their realm had caused it on him and plenty of others) birthmark in the shape of a thin, wispy, chocolate brown cloud that wrapped horizontally around his left wrist. His hair was a similar style to Han's, meaning that it was mainly the rest of his appearance that allowed him to be easily differentiated from his brother.
"Hi, tae," Wave greeted politely, using the Hexan word for an aunt or uncle. Which one it was referring to depending on who was being addressed. "I'm assuming that I can guess why you're here. It's about my dad, right?"
Thane crossed his arms. "Yes. Something is amiss with his magic, to a degree that I can sense it even from deep within the Hex. Our mother wants answers, as do I."
"It's corruption," Wave sighed. "Magical corruption, that is, from a member of Nareish's army. To put it briefly, he was attacked by a woman with corrupted petrification powers. When she petrified him, it affected his magic. He refused help at first, but from what I heard he accepted it a bit later and was fine for a while."
"We sensed this," Thane confirmed.
"I figured. But the issue now is that someone entirely different re-corrupted him during a recent battle, and…" Wave subconsciously mirrored her uncle's posture in an effort to calm herself. "A couple of Immortals helped ease the corruption for now. But from what they said, the corruption is much deeper and stronger this time. They couldn't rid him of it, just mitigate its effects for now."
"I see." Thane took a moment to consider what he'd just been told. "Why did he not tell us any of this himself?"
"Because… the person who corrupted him the first time… also stole his memories." Wave swallowed thickly in response to the reminder. "Most of them, anyway. He doesn't know who any of us are, anymore."
Hearing that triggered sudden bloodlust to light up darkly in his eyes. "You're certain?" he demanded softly.
"Completely. She's dead now, though. Only the second attacker is still alive."
"And you don't know who they are?"
"No. I'm sorry, tae. I wish I did."
Slowly, the bloodlust left his eyes. "Fine, then. I will relay this information to our mother and look into this myself." Seeing the look in her own eyes, he reiterated more firmly. "Wave, myself. I do not want or need you there this time."
"Yes, tae," Wave sighed, giving in. "Just… be safe. I don't want you to get hurt, too." She paused, then asked, "I don't suppose I can convince you not to tell ati Alonei, can I?" Using her mental connection to the Aether, she explained that "ti" or "ati" meant "grandma/grandmother" in her language, as well as what a grandmother was. Then she refocused fully on her conversation with her uncle. "I don't really want her to… well, go on a killing spree."
Thane blinked once. "No, you cannot. She will find out the truth regardless of what I do, and I would tell her even if that was not the case."
He had a point. "What about tae Aera? You didn't mention her at all. Is she not interested right now?"
"She is dead," Thane blandly informed her. "She died two weeks ago to a wandering group of Pyrzar beasts."
No wonder it took you and Alonei so long to notice what happened to dad, Wave realized. You must have been off hunting down every last one of those beasts and ensuring they also died. She personally had never been close with her great aunt and so wasn't very affected by this news. Still, part of her felt sad regardless. Even if two of your closest relatives aren't capable of grieving for you… at least you mattered enough to them for them to avenge you. I hope that's enough for you to rest easy, despite how you must have died. "Oh," she murmured after a noticeable delay. "I didn't know. Dad didn't tell me."
Her uncle merely shrugged. "Take care not to suffer the same fate as him. If his attacker was powerful enough to get at him of all people, you will also be endangered." Thane teleported away before she could respond.
Wave sighed to herself again. "Well at least I know he cares… Erm, sort of. Not really." She rubbed at her face, then looked at the Aether. Or, at least, she looked up. "Sorry about that. You can stop hiding now."
The Aether slipped forward and let itself fall off of Wave, growing back to its normal size in front of her while floating upside down. "It's okay. You don't have to apologize."
"Alright." Wave managed a small smile. "Anyway… yeah. That was my uncle. He can be dangerous, but I don't think of him as a bad person. I guess, in a way, he's essentially your family, too, now."
"He's not a bad person," the Aether agreed. "I'm sure he can be real mean, but otherwise I'm sure he cares."
"Well… no. Not technically. About the caring part, that is." Wave thought things over for a moment. "The real issue is his and my dad's mom, honestly. She gets bloodthirsty way more often than anyone else in the family. It's… a bit of an issue."
"Well… if it becomes a problem, I can probably help?" the Aether offered, a bit unsure.
"I'd appreciate that," Wave agreed. "For now we'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, though, is there anything you want or need to do? We've been focused solely on my stuff lately."
The Aether bounced its head back and forth for a moment before righting itself. "Hmm… maybe it would be good to check on the Void? It's been very quiet lately."
"That's true," Wave murmured. "Jet mentioned that it's been sleeping about as much as he has ever since the raid. I guess, from what he's said, that it really took a beating just like he did.
That fact seemed to bother the Aether a great deal. "I wish there was more I could do about that…"
"Me, too," Wave agreed. She reached out and gave her friend a comforting pat, then asked, "You ready to go?"
The being smiled and nodded a little. "Let's go." Returning the smile as best as she could, Wave teleported away with the Aether in tow.
~保護者~
Silver was in the middle of slathering a piece of bread with jelly when he sensed Cyril's mind enter the area. When it was clear the Babylonian was headed this way, he grinned. It'll be good to see him again, he immediately decided. We've barely seen one another since he was corrupted. He's obviously been feeling better since then, so maybe he'll stick around a while.
Pleased with the idea, he finished what he was doing, then quickly ate his bread. He used his psychokinesis to close up the jar of jelly and put it away while simultaneously turning on the kitchen sink and cleaning his knife. That was then also put away as he walked to the living room. He strongly suspected that Cyril was going to appear soon, since that seemed to just be how the man rolled. Any second now…
Cyril did indeed suddenly appear, much like he was known to do. However, he did so practically on top of Silver. This resulted in Cyril dropping onto his butt as he yelped and collapsed backward in an effort to not knock Silver over. Silver similarly yelped and fell over regardless. Once he'd landed, the hedgehog instantly burst into a fit of laughter. "Dude, come on!" he exclaimed. "And everyone says I'm ungraceful!"
"Not my fault you were standing in my teleport spot!" Cyril replied in kind, laughing as well as he launched himself up to his feet. "You were just there where I always come back to!"
"Well I didn't know that!" Silver countered jovially. He got up as well and wiped an amused tear from his eye. It had been a while since he'd had a good laugh like this.
"Well don't go blaming me!" Cyril accused lightheartedly, grinning widely. "How's it been here? Been out and about a bit more than I expected."
"Things have been pretty alright since the attack, overall," Silver answered. "Way better than great on my end, actually. Remember my son, Kohaku? With Eila's help, we were able to restore his mind to how it used to be, and it's been wonderful!"
"Seriously?" Cyril outright demanded. "That's so awesome! I'm so glad to hear that things are going great there, and of course that she is able to do good things around here too!"
"Absolutely," Silver smiled. "She even comes inside sometimes, and she didn't used to. Tails mentioned her getting breakfast with him and Wery once a while ago, and Rouge mentioned that Eila sleeps in the house sometimes, too. She seems to be way more comfortable than she used to be."
Cyril nodded to this, pleased by these facts. His expression grew a bit softer when he spoke up. "How's Wery doing? I know that it was… well, really rough on her."
"To be honest, I don't think she's great," Silver admitted. "She slept a bunch, but she's been up for a while now and has herself buried up to her ears in work. Maybe even more so than usual. I understand the need for a distraction, but I don't think she's talked about it at all."
The finch sighed a little, shaking his head. "There's not much to do, then… Just gotta wait for a bit for her to open about it," he said, shrugging gently. "Until then, just gotta be there and all."
"Tails is practically glued to her side," Silver replied with a small grin. "So I think that's covered."
"Good," Cyril replied. Ultimately, that covered most of the things he was actively concerned about. Everything else on his mind would require him to go elsewhere, but he had every intention of hanging around here. "So, what should we do? I got some free time on my hands and I'm itching to have some fun."
Silver thought that over before cracking up laughing. "You know- In the past, before I died, me and Tails… God, we used to do all these crazy pranks. We mainly targeted my uncles, Shadow and Jet, but we went after my dad a good bit, too. I think my dad would forgive us for nabbing him with something just this once, if you're interested."
Cyril's grin grew mischievous and he let some sparks fly off his fingers. "God of Magic, at your disposal. Give me ideas."
"Nah, man, this is a trial by fire!" Silver declared. "You've gotta prove your mettle and come up with an idea all on your own, that way Tails and I know you deserve to be on the team!"
The finch snapped his fingers and grinned widely. "Oh, you should know this is going to be good, then. I won't be taking this lightly."
"Good," Silver grinned back. "But for the record, you should know that that statement was vaguely frightening. You learn that tone of voice from Wave or something?"
Cyril raised a finger, blinking, then lowered it. "Meh, prolly. Only person I know that can do that sort of thing."
This made Silver chuckle. "Anyway… what's your idea?"
"It's, uh, well," Cyril replied, mouth hanging open for several seconds. "I dunno."
"Well, just tell me whenever you think of one," Silver smiled, amused.
"There's this teensy, weensy, tiny possibility that you won't find out until I find out, and by that point it might done," Cyril admitted. "Sometimes things just happen and I can't really figure it out."
Silver laughed again. "Surprise prank, huh? I like it." He moved to a nearby couch and sat down on it. "In the meantime, though, what have you been doing? Honestly, every time I sense you, you've randomly disappeared from one place and appeared in another. And you're doing it all the dang time!" He shook his head with another chuckle. "You're busier than even Tails and Wery, I swear."
"Well, let's see…" Cyril thought for a moment. "Met all the Gods and Goddesses… for the most part anyway, fought one of them, met Kath, befriended Kath, became friends with the Aether, met Eona… She seems to think I'm nice. And I kinda took on a student? Hard to say. She's got an insane amount of magic, potential, and talent, but she seems to be kinda bad at making use of it without a lot of help. Oh! And I met this person named Teyan. She was super cool."
That was… a lot to digest from one paragraph. Silver let everything sink in, before giving Cyril an entirely new kind of grin. "Teyan, huh? What was she like, beyond just being cool?"
Cyril smiled. "Well, I kinda appeared in her realm randomly. Realm of Chaos, I think?" He thought it over for a moment before speaking again. "Anyway, she said she'd never really been outside of that realm so I brought her here for a bit to show her around."
"That was nice of you and all, but what was she like?" Silver pressed. "You skipped over that part entirely." At the same time, he thought, Holy crap, the Realm of Chaos? That's a thing?
"Oh, right!" Cyril replied. "Well, she was really nice and just super interested in everything. Wanted to learn about everything she saw, for good reason."
"For good reason?" Silver asked.
"Well, like I mentioned, she's never really been outside of her home realm, so being here was entirely new. She'd never seen a cloud before, for example," Cyril explained, hoping to make it make more sense. "So anything she saw, I explained what it was."
"I didn't realize you meant it so literally," Silver admitted, surprised. Then he continued, "Like I said, though, what you did was really nice by the sounds of it. You look like you enjoyed the experience, too."
"It's always fun to be around people," Cyril said with a bright smile. "So, yeah. She was pleasant company and that's all I can ask for."
"Sounds to me like you made a new friend," Silver said with his own smile. "And with someone who might just need a friend, if I had to guess."
"If she wants to be friends, then I'm absolutely down."
"I'd definitely recommend it." Silver used his psychokinetic powers just then to tug Cyril into a seat. "Siddown, man. You've been running around like crazy, so you have fully earned the right to chill out for a bit."
Cyril laughed a little. "My bad. I'm so used to running around and just not sitting down in my normal day-to-day life that it's not even bothering me," he explained.
"It's fine," Silver answered easily. "Now, I kindly demand you tell me one more story. You mentioned Kath, see, and my uncle Jet was always really close to him. Used to talk about the guy a lot, way back when. I never really met him, though. How the heck did you manage to meet and befriend the guy?"
The finch ultimately shrugged after a short bout of silence. "I'unno. It's kinda hard to say. We just got along, I guess?"
"Alright, fair enough," Silver relented. "Hey, listen, when was the last time you got some proper sleep? You can crash here for a while if you need to."
"I mean, I slept for a bit recently when I was hanging out with Teyan," Cyril said, shrugging. "Not really all that tired, though I can definitely try to relax."
"I think that would be a good idea," Silver smiled. "Though, I wouldn't recommend going too far from the house if you want to chill outside. The forest gets people lost all the time." You napped with a pretty lady, huh? Totally not crushing on her, I can see. In truth, he could sense that this wasn't the case. He just couldn't resist some internal teasing.
Cyril blinked once. "I mean, I'd just teleport myself back if I got lost. Figure that wouldn't be too concerning, really."
"That's what's weird, though. Something about the confusion that it causes people tends to make them forget that they even can teleport or fly away or whatever else." Silver shrugged. "But, it doesn't affect everyone, so you might be fine."
"I've noticed a lot lately that my magic just… notices things," Cyril admitted. "Most specifically magic things, but, well, that's fair."
Silver chuckled. "You've gotten even more interesting since we first met. I'm looking forward to hanging out with you more in the future, but I should probably get back to my wife, Blaze. She was hoping to get a little bit of cleaning done for Tails since we're living in his house and all, and I promised I'd help."
The finch simply smiled at what he immediately (and correctly) assumed was a compliment. "You know, I could help with that, too. Might be good for me to use it for stuff that isn't fighting."
"Might teach you some finesse or something," Silver agreed. Then he laughed. "Nah, just kidding. You're fine, and we'd appreciate the help."
"Good to hear," Cyril chuckled, already walking in the direction of where he sensed Blaze. "Bet I can clean faster than you."
Hearing this, Silver popped out of his seat and hurried after his friend with a grin. "You're on!"
~保護者~
While Saran waited for Steam to return with Eila, he sat down in the grass and silently observed the wilderness around him. This place is not the skylands. The great island seems to be gone. How could such a thing have occurred? Greatly curious though he was, he had to acknowledge that the matter wasn't likely of great importance these days. If it really had been so long since he'd died, then there was no telling how long ago such a catastrophe might have taken place.
Besides, he was more curious about the plants and animals that now populated the lands that were formerly shadowed by the ground he'd once walked upon. The flora and fauna appear to be largely unchanged, but I do not sense the same mystical beings that once roamed the wilderness. Where are the dragons, yokai, and others like them? He was puzzled and even a bit concerned by his inability to sense such creatures anywhere for miles upon miles around. What has happened to the magic of this world?
There was no way to get these answers now. He sighed to himself and laid his staff in the grass by his legs, then folded his arms together in such a way that each hand was tucked away in the opposite arm's sleeve. After that, he crossed his legs and leaned back against a tree trunk. Doing all of this was comfortable, yes, but in truth he was also doing what he could to further portray himself as non-threatening. An easy way to do that was to appear relaxed, and the easiest way to do that was to be relaxed. He certainly felt at ease by the time the people he'd been awaiting approached.
Eila moved with immense hesitation in the direction of Saran, keeping her eyes trained on him even as Steam spoke in undertone to her. "Relax, Eila. I promise that it's completely safe. He likely doesn't even know," Steam said.
"I can't be sure of that," Eila muttered aggressively. "I find it hard to believe that many beings of Light don't know about me."
"Look, you can trust him of all people. You'll likely find that he's more like Rose than you expect," Steam continued, trying to reassure her.
If she had any thoughts or concerns regarding this, Eila didn't voice them when she came closer to Saran. She remained entirely silent, glancing around shakily. Saran noticed her intense nerves, and would have even if he hadn't easily overheard their conversation. He mulled things over briefly, trying to decide how best to help calm her. My "people skills" appear to be a bit too lacking, he inwardly lamented. When was the last time I spent time around anyone who was not my family or one of my students?
Eila stood there in complete silence for several seconds before Steam spoke up. "Saran, this is Eila. She's a very powerful and skilled magic user."
"I can sense that, yes," Saran answered. "It's nice to meet you, Eila."
"Same," Eila mumbled gently, gaze still entirely focused elsewhere.
When it was apparent that they wouldn't be continuing the conversation on their own just yet, Steam spoke again. "I think you two have a bit more in common than you realize. Eila, you could learn a lot from him."
Eila rolled her eyes a bit. "He was one of the greatest magic users I've ever taken notice of, barely beaten out by people like Cyril. That's potentially only because I never met him."
Hearing this, Saran tilted his head. "Now I am sure that I never made such a claim of strength. Who exactly are you comparing me to?"
"Cyril, the current God of Magic," Eila answered. "Insane talent and power. Beat me at my own game and only broke a sweat because he didn't want to hurt me."
Such a deity exists? The implication was rather stunning, but for now Saran chose not to question it. "I see."
When Eila glanced back to where Steam had been and noticed that he was gone, she sighed. "He's someone that you actually should meet." I'm not worth the time of someone like you.
"Hm, in time," Saran agreed. "For now, I am content to remain here. I admit to being rather curious about you as well, but you do not have to remain here to satisfy that. I can tell you're nearly as nervous as a loose leaf in a stiff breeze."
She chose to ignore that last statement, preferring not to think about how easily he'd noticed that. "Steam asked for a favor. I'll at least make good on that, so show me a place you'd like to stay."
As he spoke, Saran grabbed his staff and stood up. "I am not especially picky," he said, "but I would prefer some degree of solitude. I have never spent much time in the company of other people, much less as many as are in that house nearby."
"I sometimes want to stay elsewhere," Eila admitted, turning and beginning to walk away. "It's nerve-wracking for me, but I owe them as much. I'd prefer them to be able to keep an eye on me."
"You are troubled," Saran observed quietly, following along by her side. "Is it something you wish to speak about? I somewhat doubt that I could help, but I can at least lend a listening ear."
Eila blinked once at this offer, then spoke softly. "To put it rather simply, if you or other Light beings had come across me during your time alive, I would likely not be here." To some degree, I wish that had happened.
This teased a somewhat grim smile out of Saran. "The morning's light and the sun's shadow fall upon all of us equally, you know," he told her. "I have made my own grave mistakes in the past. Yet I lived on, as did you. Is that really such a terrible thing?"
"I spent my life doing things out of spite towards my family," Eila answered. "First to prove them wrong, then to prove them right. Up until some time recently, my goal was to be removed from existence. I was a bit too close to that goal to be happy about it."
"Yet here you are. The people here are treating you as an ally from what I can sense. That is rather damning evidence that you have changed for the better." For all the good it would do, his blind eyes glanced at her. "I'd wager that one of them saw something in you, something good, and chose to put their faith in that. They saved you, did they not?"
In response, Eila blinked a few more times and then turned her eyes to him. "I know not what goes through the mind of a true Immortal, one who has become like the Faein. Perhaps he saw some sort of better future where I lived, or maybe he just cares too much about life." She sighed a bit, running a hand through her hair. "I appreciate them all, but I worry daily that I'll turn my back on them. The knowledge I carry is… dangerous, especially in my own hands."
"The last thing you said… It could technically be applied to me as well. But do I strike you as the sort to turn on my allies because of it?"
I know what the correct answer would be, but Nareish and black magic don't care about what is typically correct. "As you are, no," Eila mumbled. "But in my own situation, the slightest misstep could lead to me harming or killing the only people in existence that care for me."
"Explain it to me, if you are willing," he said. "I would like to better understand what you are grappling with."
Eila summoned a book into her hand. Normally, she would have never shown this to people, but it felt reasonable enough here. "This book was guarded by my family for some ungodly number of years. I came along, stole it, used the spells within, and ultimately killed my parents. I was beyond the universal language's ability to comprehend in terms of sheer evil. I don't know any one word that encapsulated who I became."
Since he used his magic to see, Saran didn't have to take the book from her in order to view its contents. "You more fully walked down a path that I once also started along," he murmured, frowning to himself. "These spells are… familiar to me, unfortunately. I learned about them from my own sources when I was young."
Hearing this, the woman blinked once. "I was a scourge to existence."
"And you worry that you will become so again in the future." Saran pondered this briefly. "Given that you are unwilling to tread the same paths, I must admit that I do not understand your concern. No demon that I am aware of would have the power to corrupt someone with even a small amount of Light."
"And yet… I was a demon at two points in time," Eila said simply. "And the woman we face in this war, she can also corrupt me despite not being a demon or using black magic."
There is clearly much I do not understand anymore. At a loss as to what he could say to that, Saran responded with little more than a thoughtful, "I see."
She let out a soft sigh and shrugged. "My life is a mess, and I still can't quite sort it out."
"I suppose I really only have one piece of advice to offer, if you are willing to hear it," he replied.
"Continue," Eila replied, waving for him to go on.
"You must resurrect the deep pain within you and give it a place to live that is not solely inside your heart," he told her quietly. "Let it live within and be devoured by brighter connections. Your body is not a coffin for pain to be buried in. Put it somewhere else."
After a slight pause, Eila mumbled something incoherently. Then she said, "I forgot that people our age like to make metaphors for life and all it encompasses."
This earned a more genuine smile from Saran, one that rapidly morphed into a sort of wry grin when he gave in and chuckled. "It was a rather common form of speech, as I recall," he admitted. "In fact, I believe I learned it from my own parents growing up, come to think of it."
"My parents were pretty bad about it, too," Eila mumbled irritably, suddenly striding forward a few steps and snapping her fingers, watching as a house slowly came to be from her magic. "It should be ready in a moment. This spell always takes time."
"Thank you for assisting me with this," he responded, letting his smile fade while he observed her magic in action. "I hope to be able to handle such trivial matters on my own again once I rest."
Eila blinked once more, then shrugged a little. "Ultimately, I don't greatly mind doing things like this for others. It gives me something to do other than attempting to decipher what the future holds."
"Hm. I suppose it would." Saran started to say something else, then stopped and turned around abruptly on his heel. With his free arm, he swiped his hand out and snatched a small wooden object out of the air. He frowned down at it, puzzled. I did not call for you, he thought as though this were some sentient thing that could reply. I had thought you would be destroyed by now.
The woman jumped at this thing appearing. She stumbling back a few steps, and it took her a second to realize it wasn't dangerous. "Why the hell do you have a cursed item like that?"
"An early warning system, of sorts," Saran responded, carefully examining the box. "Albeit… one I did not expect to have survived this long."
She blinked again, then frowned a bit more and walked closer to inspect it further. "What in the world…?"
"You do not need to be so wary," he assured her. "The curse contained within this item has long since been nullified. It is nothing but benign now."
"I simply have never encountered something such as this. Setting a spell to trigger in response to something is fairly common practice, but… what is the trigger for this?" Eila questioned.
"My student's life," Saran admitted softly. "Long after I nullified the curse, I met a boy. He was no older than two, and I soon took him into my care. However, I could not always be glued to his side despite the fact that his life was never especially safe for him. I bound this music box to him in such a way that it would play its song whenever he was in genuine danger. That way, I always knew to drop everything and go to him, lest something happen."
Eila stared at it for several moments before standing upright again and glancing back to the home that was now complete. "Something like this would be nice so that I am not so often required to spend my nights watching over my sister."
"Ah, you may want to ask her about such a thing before doing it," Saran cautioned. "It does not hurt anyone, but the spell does cause discomfort initially. If you decide to follow through, however, I can show you what to do. It should not be difficult for someone of your caliber."
"I cannot say that she is likely to agree to it," Eila admitted. "I love my sister dearly, but she wishes that I would not worry myself so much over her own life."
"I understand that." Saran tucked the music box into his sleeve and turned back around to face her. "Worry is not a good emotion to feel in spades as you do. You have every right to worry about your family, but you must also try to take time and find a measure of calm within yourself as well."
If I lose her, the fallout of my mental state will be catastrophic. Eila admitted to herself this fact, already sure of what would happen. She didn't feel like stating this to Saran. "I simply wish to not lose the only good things I have left."
"I understand," he said again. When there was nothing left to say regarding that, and given that he didn't want to continue to be a bother, he politely bid her farewell and started walking to his temporary new home. His energy levels felt rather drastically depleted now that he was alive again, and the need to rest was rapidly catching up to him.
Eila blinked, then spoke up quickly and looked fully to him. "Saran… do you really think that I am capable of becoming a good person?"
Saran paused, then turned to face her again with a bright smile. "Of course," he answered without any hesitation. "It's my personal opinion that you already are one."
She froze briefly and stared for a long moment, ultimately turning away to avoid his gaze. "It is… entirely possible that you are incorrect."
"I chose to believe that I'm not," Saran said. "Believe what you will, but do at least consider the possibility that I am correct."
"Considering possibilities is how I live my life," Eila answered vaguely, looking back to Tails's home. "Call for me if you need any aid. I am nearby."
"In that case, I will extend the same offer to you. But, for now, I intend to sleep." Saran gave her a small bow, as doing so was polite in Tokarian culture. "Thank you again for your help."
Eila gave a small nod, flexing her fingers in a minor display of anxiety. "Y-yeah. Not a problem." Saran responded by again offering her a farewell. He resumed walking into the home she'd made. Once he was inside, Eila disappeared to her room and pulled her fingers through her hair, staring to the ceiling. Relax. Not all Light beings will want you dead on sight. But why is his presence familiar? I've never met him… I know I haven't.
It didn't make sense, and right now she couldn't think straight with how her heart raced. It was much easier to just lay down with a blanket over her to get some sleep. She couldn't feel bad if she was asleep… probably.
~保護者~
Therin quietly left his sister's room and shut the door. Lin was in good spirits today, but she was as tired as ever. Now that she was asleep, her pleasant mood could no longer rub off on him. He walked into his living room and sat down while running a hand through his hair. Word had reached him not long ago about what had happened to Finis. He... couldn't shake the stress that this news had caused him from the get-go. Still, things were resolved by now. That meant his concern was pretty worthless, wasn't it?
I'm glad you're okay, Da'. After that, he forced himself to think about something else. His thoughts traveled to Sona without delay. Wonder where she went off to. She might've gone back to her place, but she didn't say anything. …Not that she has to tell me anything to begin with. But still. He sighed to himself. I'm not her keeper, and she's not under observation or anything. It's none of my business where she goes.
Just about then, he felt a mental tug of sorts. One of the threads of mental connection he maintained with all of his spies was calling for his attention. Closing his eyes, he tried to find the source within his subconscious. Before long, he'd followed the thread back to the mind of whoever wanted to tell him something. What he was rewarded with was intel that left him reeling. In shock, he ended the connection. Holy shit. I have to tell Sona. This is insane. Focusing now on her, Therin reached his mind out a second time. "Hey, get your butt over here when you can. Nothing's wrong, but this is better shared in person."
"The hell d'ya want?" Sona replied.
"Just get down here when you can, alright?" he answered in kind.
"Fine," she grumbled. "Be there shortly. Was mourning the loss of my harp."
Therin blinked a couple times. "...Harp? What harp?"
"The one I used to play," she told him oh-so-helpfully. "It was destroyed when my home was attacked. I haven't had a lot of time to worry about that fact."
"I didn't know you used to play any instrument, much less one that gentle," Therin admitted. "Listen, though, bring it here if you want. I might be able to find someone to fix it for you sometime."
There was a long pause before Sona replied. "Got it. I'll scrounge it all together and bring what's left of it in a second."
"Alright." Therin pulled away from her mind and refocused on his surroundings again. Sheesh… Guess I never really got to know her as well as I used to think I had.
It didn't take long for Sona to appear at his home, opening the door and carrying in a sack that rattled with every movement. She seemed upset, but didn't speak about it. "What did you want to talk about?" Sona asked, glancing at him once she had the broken harp set aside.
"Good and bad news. Well, formerly bad. It's fine now." Therin indulged in a quick stretch. "Da' was corrupted by the new God of Demons, it turns out. Ma and some others saved him, though."
Sona blinked once at hearing this, furrowing her eyebrows. "Uh-huh…"
"And, turns out," Therin continued without delay, "that someone found freaking Farenhel."
The woman was utterly silent for several seconds before nodding slowly. "I'm… guessing Cere has already been informed?"
"Yeah, 'course," Therin said. "From what I understand, she headed over there already not that long ago. Locke's supposedly with her."
"Ah, shit," Sona muttered, leaning up against a wall. "This is gonna fuck her up. I'd hate to see her like that."
"Yeah, me too," Therin agreed. "No one could ever convince her not to go, though."
Sona let out a low sigh. Hope she's okay. Closest thing to a mom I've got left. "Anything else?"
"One more thing. A question." Therin glanced at the sack she'd dragged into his home. "You want to tell me why that harp's so important to you?" Just don't bite my head off for asking.
She paused a little at that and turned away from him entirely, clearing her throat a little. "It's, uh… it just… means a lot to me."
Therin crossed his arms. After a moment, he tentatively asked, "You… wanna talk about it?"
Sona rubbed two fingers together for a moment before turning to him and letting out a small sigh. "It was Azanae's… or, rather, a gift to me. She taught me how to play."
"Azanae, huh?" Therin contemplated this. "I always heard you guys were close. Sort of a… parent-child thing?"
"She was the only mother I've ever had," Sona mumbled under her breath. "I never met my parents. Probably realized how useless I was pretty fucking fast and dipped."
"First of all, I'm sorry you didn't ever know them. I know how hard that is, growing up. And second, you aren't useless and you don't get to come into my house and start spewing that crap." Therin walked over to Sona and gave her shoulder a small squeeze. "You aren't useless, never were, and never will be. Got it?"
Sona didn't speak for several seconds before shrugging a little. That's what you think. "Yeah."
"I'm a telepath, remember?" Therin mentally told her, his expression unamused. Then, speaking aloud, he continued, "I do think that, and so does everyone else who knows you. If you're feeling bad, that's okay. It happens to everyone and we can try to help you. But I don't want you to believe nonsense like that, Sona."
The woman whipped around aggressively and reared back a fist, but never moved to actually hit him. "I always feel bad, Therin. I've been a fucking mess all my life, and Azanae was all I've ever had."
Her aggressive posturing made him subtly flinch (an action that expressed itself as a mere blink), but he didn't dwell on that. In all honesty, he'd sort of expected her to get angry at him. Here's hoping my next sentence doesn't blow up in my face. "Sona… people have been getting revived lately. Saethrim was already brought back, in case you somehow missed that. There's absolutely nothing stopping Teyan and Eona from reviving Azanae, too. Especially if Ythene or whatever her name is has anything to say about it."
"Don't you dare get my fucking hopes up," Sona bit out, tears welling in her eyes.
"Look, we can just go ask them if you don't believe me," Therin answered. Then he shrugged, entirely blase about the next thing he said. "And if I'm wrong, you can follow through on your punch and I won't bring any of this up again."
Sona shivered a little and her fist quivered before she turned away, gripping one of his sleeves. "We're going." Therin nodded and teleported them both straight into the Realm of Chaos. A potentially risky act, he knew, but he also trusted the resident sisters not to let any harm befall them.
His bargain paid off. None of the Chaos flowing around the pair brought them any degree of injury. Soon, Teyan herself was jogging into view. She looked justifiably surprised and confused. "What are you two doing here?"
Sona let go of Therin, wiping her tears away roughly as she strode up to Teyan. "Where is Ythene?" she outright demanded.
Though additionally surprised by her demeanor, Teyan didn't do much more than frown and call out, "Sister, will you come here please?"
As always, her sister heeded the call immediately. The somewhat younger being of Chaos simply appeared amidst them. Seeing Sona, something in her normally mysterious expression visibly softened. "You do still live," she murmured, relieved beyond measure.
The female cat didn't reply to that, instead shifting her attention entirely to Ythene. "Bring back Azanae."
Ythene, very slowly, managed a slight smile. A single tear slipped down her cheek when she murmured, "I cannot, but… Teyan and Eona already intend to. They are preparing to gather the energy necessary for it."
Sona paused briefly before her body suddenly relaxed and she covered her face in her hands, allowing herself to drop to her knees. The thought of having her adoptive mother back was enough to make her openly cry, though she tried to hide it. Seeing this made Therin make a potentially dangerous split-second decision. He knelt down beside her to gently rub at her back, unsure if he could get away with anything else. As such, this was the only comfort he could think to offer.
Whether or not she noticed Therin was another matter all its own, but Sona felt the weight of the cosmos finally lift from her shoulders… just a little bit. I missed you, for so long… I want you to hold me again.
~保護者~
Cyril had departed as suddenly as he had entered her life. He'd said something about having a magic user to visit, and that was that. It didn't bother her any. Finding her way home was easy. Locating her sister? Even easier. Which was good, because she had a lot to share with the one person who knew her best. "Oh, Ythene!" she exclaimed, striding over to the other woman. "The most wondrous thing happened while you were away!"
Her ever-mysterious sister was often much more open and directly forthcoming when it was just them. As such, her curious smile wasn't surprising to Teyan. "Oh? Did you go somewhere?"
"Yes, I did!" Teyan beamed. "I left home and it was wonderful. Ythene, I saw a planet up close for the very first time. I stood on it. It had so many remarkable things that our realm and outer space simply do not. I touched clouds and grass, I saw trees and flowers… Oh, it was more than I could have ever anticipated it being."
Ythene gently took hold of Teyan's hands. She was smiling even more, matching her older sister's enthusiasm in her own quiet way. "I'm very happy for you, my sister. I recently got to see those very same things. You're right - they are wonderful. Using my Chaos to view things from afar through Sonic's eyes in the past did none of it true justice. Planets are… beautiful."
"They are, truly." Teyan gave Ythene's hands a squeeze. "Now, I'll tell you why I went exploring if you tell me why you did." When Ythene nodded, she continued. "A man named Cyril - accidentally, if you can believe that - appeared within this realm shortly after Eona and I parted ways to take a break from reviving so many people. He took me to Mobius and showed me some things, and then we rested in a field of flowers for a time. When he had to leave, I came home."
"Cyril, was it?" Ythene canted her head. "I believe he's the God of Magic, is he not?"
"He is."
"I thought so."
"I would have assumed you knew so, O Wise One."
"And I would have assumed you were brave enough to explore on your own."
Their mutual teasing earned mutual smiles. Teyan broke first, truthfully, but Ythene wasn't far behind. The former gave in and chuckled while saying, "Alright, your turn. Where did you go and why?"
Only now did Ythene let on to what she was feeling. Her smile remained. However, it turned… sad. "Long ago, before we were sealed… I grew fond of Azanae," she reminded Teyan quietly. "I never knew for certain because I lacked the courage to ask back then, but I like to think that she was fond of me, too. I went looking for her, only to find out that she died long, long before our recent freedom was achieved. The person who told me, a God named Nier, directed me to her grave. I spent some time there before returning home."
Teyan immediately pulled Ythene into a hug that was readily returned. "I'm sorry, Ythene," she murmured. "I remember how much she always meant to you. She was your dear friend… and may have one day been more than that. When Eona returns, I have every intention now of asking her to focus our efforts on reviving her next. Besides, she was once the Goddess of Stars. She will be a powerful ally."
Knowing Ythene, there were statements that could have been made in response to that. Instead of voicing any of them, she just laid her head on her sister's shoulder and nodded. "Thank you," she whispered. Thank you so much.
Perhaps we will get to see one another again, after all.
~保護者~
Locke landed just in front of the ruins with Cere and Tessa in tow. Though he suspected that Cere would ordinarily have chafed against being offered blatant help and support by most, he kept his hand firmly under her arm to keep her steady. He knew that seeing this place was going to be… a lot for her. God, how many millions of years has it been since she's been here? After one of the oldest generations of Immortals died, this place was sent hurtling through reality and got lost… only to somehow wind up here, of all places.
The Hexan among them was silent, gently slipping herself free of Locke in order to walk forward. It was… hard to focus on anything around her as tears filled her eyes. A place where, at one time, my children all called home. I cannot believe Farenhel was found once more.
Although he was concerned, Locke let her go and whispered to Tessa, "Try not to startle her. She seems out of it… understandably." Refocusing on Cere, he slowly approached. Only once he was certain that she was aware of his presence did he speak. "We didn't set foot inside before coming to get you. I know it's been a long time, but I can't imagine it looks pretty in there. Going inside isn't something I recommend you do, either. Not right now." Even if all other traces of the bloodshed are gone, there will still be weapons and bones. Immortal bones don't turn to dust, no matter how much time passes by. He grimaced at that particular bit of knowledge. All these people deserve a burial… but Cere may not be ready for that yet. Finis, either, even if he's more reserved about these things typically.
Cere didn't listen, instead forging onward even as her tears stained the ground. It hurt to be here, but she had to see it. I have to.
Crap. Tossing Tessa a worried look, he hurried after the older deity.
Tessa was fairly well out of her element, but ultimately she jogged after the two. Goddamn, that woman moves fast.
It took no time at all for the trio to make it to the entrance of this once grand fortress. One of the two massive doors was in scattered pieces on the ground. The other wasn't much better, though some of the upper section of it remained just barely attached. There was… a faint stain on many of the pieces. Locke recognized it to be ancient blood. But whether it was an Immortal's or one of Nareish's soldier's there was no way of knowing. Still, it made Locke's stomach sink.
The space inside was, at first glance, not too bad to take in. The entry hall was crumbling, sure. However, there were no bodies to be seen. What there was instead was more staining. There were long, deep gouges in parts of the floor and wall that seemed to be from sharp weapons. Peppering other parts of those same walls and the same floor were impact craters like people with brute strength often created with large hammers or the like. Hell, the ancient stonework was even blackened and charred by equally ancient fires.
He could scarcely imagine the hellish battles that must have been waged within these walls.
Against his better judgement, he let Cere lead the way deeper inside. Portions of several hallways were completely collapsed, rendering them impassable unless one were to take the time to clear the rubble - or, worse, risk trying to bust through it all. Both were terrible ideas. Neither held any degree of his attention. His heart in his throat, he knelt down just in front of one of the points of collapse. He slowly picked up a piece of bone that had been snapped off of a larger bone. More fragments seemed to be under one particularly large chunk of structure.
With shaking hands, he lifted the chunk and set it aside. He was greeted with the sight of a shattered skull and a couple similarly shattered spinal vertebrae. Immediately, he felt sick and backed away. The bones were in terrible shape, but he recognized the species immediately. Viskari… One of the ninth generation Immortals was a Viskari. He was the only Viskari Immortal, ever. Wasn't his generation the last to die here? And the previous generations were all buried… meaning this person was one of the final ones to meet their end in this place.
Drops of water shattered the silence as Cere stared on silently, tears streaming off of her face. My children… so many of them… Here. An immense pain built up in her chest and she took in sharp gasps of breath, tearing her gaze up to the ceiling to try and refocus herself. She knew it would be this way…
Tessa stared on as tears stained ancient floors, grimacing. She didn't fully understand the implications of this place, but the emotional stirring was enough to drive her away a few steps, examining elsewhere. This place looks terrible.
Locke was torn between wanting to comfort Tessa and wanting to do the same for Cere. In the end, he found that he had no words to do anything for either of them. Still, he did try. "Hey, Tessa… If you want, why don't you go see if you can find more of those Stones of Lore, like what you found the last time? Whether they're broken or not, they're important." And with you hopefully able to find a distraction, I can try to focus on helping Cere through this.
After a long moment of trying to decipher why Locke suddenly wanted her to do that, Tessa gave a small nod. "Yeah. I'll go look around a bit." The woman vanished shortly after, leaving Cere and Locke alone.
"It's not fucking fair," Cere muttered under her breath. "They all died because of Nareish. They didn't deserve this."
"They didn't deserve any of it," Locke agreed quietly. "But… there isn't anything we can do for them now. Nothing except properly bury their remains with their brothers and sisters. You still know where the oldest Immortals were buried around here, right?" It's somewhere on this awful strip of land, I know that much.
Cere shifted a little and found herself suddenly leaning up against a wall, her body unwillingly growing tired from the intense waves of emotion. "Yeah… I know where. I can… probably find it again."
"Tell me where," Locke murmured. He looked down at the bones and added, "I'll carry him there. Every part of him that I can find. I promise I won't leave anything behind. He deserves to be properly laid to rest."
Those words stung her heart and she clutched at her chest, pressing her forehead into the ancient stone walls. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. "I'll… make a magic flare there or something… You'll be able to find it."
"Understood. As for you, Cere… You should return to Finis. Or at least go talk to someone you're actually close to, unlike me. You're hurting, and there's only so much I can do to even try and help with that." Locke let out a sigh. "Just… take a break for a while. That's all I'm asking of you."
Cere slammed her head once against the wall and sobbed openly, finally letting her legs collapse under her. It was all too much, and just being here was taxing on her mental state. She couldn't even find the energy to argue with him, only teleporting herself away in lieu of a reply. This is too much...
Locke sighed again, but let her go. I knew this would be hard on her but… damn… I didn't think it would be this bad. For now, he tried to keep it out of mind. He had a task to do and a promise to keep.
~保護者~
12,679 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support, and I hope you enjoyed. Posted (at about 5:20 p.m.) 10-20-22.
