December 31, 2019

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Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

Chapter 15 Iris


Morning. Ginger awoke to rays of sunshine gleaming onto her face through the window of the infirmary, her eyes reluctantly adjusting to the light. Although she didn't plan on staying the entire night at first, she hadn't spent that much time with Dust in who knows how long, so she was happy that it worked out this way. The Moonblood savior was still sound asleep, his head nodded off away from her. She smiled and carefully removed Dust's arm from around her, getting off the bed to let him continue resting.

As she exited the room and made her way through the double doors into the foyer, Elder Gray Eyes was just coming down one of the spiral staircases from his room upstairs. "Ah, Ginger, I didn't expect you up this early!"

"Neither did I," the girl answered jokingly. "Are you checking up on Dust?"

"Yes. Is that where you were?" he wondered, and the girl nodded in response. "How is his condition?"

"He's finally come out of the coma, and seems to be recovering fine. I just don't know how well he'll be able to use that arm for awhile; it's a good thing he's pretty much ambidextrous."

The Elder looked upward. "Thank heavens. I am quite concerned about Corbin though.. I expect our Sen-Mithrarin will be back on his feet post-haste."

"Try not to push him too much, Elder. He's taking this pretty hard."

"Don't worry, my dear. Just breaking the news," he said with his head lowered. She knew exactly what that meant, but refrained from informing him that she already let it slip; softening the blow for Dust was the least she could do.

"Good luck.."

Gray Eyes walked away from her and into the infirmary, where Dust was still asleep in his bed. Letting out a sigh, he went over to a small built-in well on the other side of them room and filled two ceramic mugs with some water. After sipping from one, he pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down, briefly observing Dust's body to analyze the damage he had incurred. It was then that his eyes slowly began to open.

"Elder.. I-Is that you?"

He gave a reserved smile. "Of course, Mithrarin. I'm so relieved you're alright."

"I.." Dust let out weakly, "I don't think I'd call this 'alright'."

"True, you have seen better days.. Here," he prompted as he held out one of the mugs. "Thought you could use some water."

With his good hand, Dust accepted the drink and shakily sat up to take a few gulps. "Thank you," he responded before handing the mug back and lying down to close his eyes once again.

"..Mithrarin. There's something I must tell you-"

"How Cassius's soul is dormant? Yeah, Ginger told me last night." The Elder was somewhat surprised. "It perfectly explains why I've been feeling the way I have."

"That may be true," he agreed, "but know that it does not make you Sen-Mithrarin any less. In fact, there is still hope once all the Blades have been reunited and reawakened."

"Speaking of.. How do we plan on making that happen? If Evah didn't awaken after being freed from Mirage's corruption, then what else could we possibly do?"

The Elder gazed downward. "The conditions would need to be perfect, if not close. The next full moon is coming up relatively soon; Lady Tethys and I believe that may be the best chance we have. However, I pray we can solve the mystery of this corruption before those measures need to be taken."

"You mean if I can solve it," Dust thought, looking at an angle away from him. "..Any leads on Corbin?"

He sighed despairingly. "Nothing concrete, unfortunately. We can assume that warden continued northeast past Alcaeus Village based on the direction he was fleeing, but that delves into unfamiliar territory for us."

"I need to go as soon as possible," Dust sternly announced as he sat up. "I have to save him."

Gray Eyes placed a hand on his shoulder. "You will, Mithrarin. We only need to be sure you've suitably recovered. Ginger will check in with you later on-"

"Please tell me Fidget and Ahrah are safe," he immediately transitioned.

By then, the Elder had picked up on the urgency in Dust's voice. "Yes, of course. Ahrah is with Lady Tethys, but I can send Fidget in if you'd like."

"That would be great."

He smiled. "..Your compassion never wavers; I see that has not changed one bit." Dust bashfully smiled back at him. "Very well, I'll get out of your hair. Fidget will be in shortly."

"Thanks, Elder." He nodded humbly in response and got up from his chair to exit the room. Dust hunched over a bit, rubbing his skull with his good hand to calm down and collect his thoughts from the mess that they've been recently. He had to try to relax as much as possible while he was recovering; he needed to be on top of his game once he set out to rescue Corbin and undoubtedly confront Toru again.

No more than a few moments later, the door burst open as a streak of orange zoomed across the room and struck right into Dust's chest, causing him to fall back flat onto the bed yet again. Of course it was none other than Fidget, a comically large amount of tears flowing from her eyes.

"You scared me half to death, you big dummy!" the Nimbat yelled as she repeatedly whacked her tiny paws on Dust's chest, burying her face in its fur.

"F-Fidget, calm down! I'm still not completely better!" he nervously scolded after taking a hit from her impact.

"Well of course you're not! Just look at you! I-I thought you would never wake up again.." She trailed off during that last statement, her barrage coming to a stop. "It felt just like when you first left me.."

A wistful smile formed on Dust's face as he could feel his own tears welling up, and he placed his good hand on his longtime partner's back. "I-I'm so sorry, Fidget.. I let my guard down. I couldn't protect Corbin, and I made you and everyone else worry too much about me."

"..No, no," she mumbled. "It's not your fault. I know you did everything you could; you always do.."

He didn't say a word at first; he simply lifted his injured arm up to meet the other over Fidget's small body, transitioning into a light hug before he spoke softly once again. "..I would be nothing without you." The Nimbat girl gasped slightly and the tears ceased in that moment; those simple words were everything she needed to hear.

"D-Dust.." She tried to contain herself, but couldn't help sobbing even more as she pressed her face close to his chest. It was then that he slowly sat up on the bed to properly wrap his arms around her, leaning forward to kiss the top of her head. She continued to let the tears fall, while bashfully hiding the ruby red blush that came across her face. It felt like heaven.

Unfortunately, Dust still had something to discuss with her. He eventually relaxed his arms back on the bed, and his partner pulled away from him with a questioning look, rubbing her nose and sniffling a bit. "Fidget, did Elder Gray Eyes tell you about Cassius' soul?"

She looked down. "Yeah.."

"Thought so.. I can't really say this to him, but.. I'm finally starting to feel the real pressure of him relying too heavily on me, especially because of this development. It's like he sees me as some kind of all-powerful being that can do anything, but I'm really much more like you and everyone else, you know? I may be Sen-Mithrarin, but I'm still only one person," he solemnly admitted while Fidget looked back up at him, concerned. "I mean.. I'll keep doing what I can, just please try not to get your hopes up, in case I let you down again."

"You could never let me down, Dust," she responded immediately. "Even if you think you messed up, I'll be the one to tell you it'll all be okay. I'll stay by your side forever, no matter what!"

He put his finger up to his turquoise eyes, which started to become watery yet again. "Th-Thank you.. You know I wouldn't want it any other way."

She smiled wide and fluttered up to his face, kissing him on the nose. "Me either, goofball."


Another day passed. Dust had finally recovered enough to get out of bed, and even insisted that he do some training with Ahrah as his own form of physical therapy. As expected, he couldn't use his left arm as well as before the injury, but that only motivated him further to use the good one as effectively as possible. Fidget kept him company and cheered him on, of course.

Eventually, Sanjin came out to the palace's courtyard to call the group back inside. Elder Gray Eyes requested another meeting, this time regarding Dust's experiences in Alcaeus; apparently whatever Fidget had told him while Dust was in his coma wasn't specific enough. It was alright though, Dust had a much better way with words.

They both followed the Moonblood commander through the foyer to the same room they convened in just before they departed to Lake Nadir. The curtains were already opened, with Lady Tethys floating next to the Elder sitting at the table.

"Welcome, welcome," he greeted. They bowed and took their seats while Fidget landed on Dust's shoulder. "So, care to share what you've gathered?"

Dust nodded. "Well, I suppose to start, we encountered a good amount of enemy soldiers both on the way to the prison and inside it. These men wore strikingly similar armor to the kind that.. General Gaius' soldiers had, although much more twisted in design."

"Mhmm, very intriguing. They must be remaining soldiers from the army that still feel resentment towards us. Unfortunately that doesn't explain just who they're following."

"There's.. no way Gaius is still alive, right?"

Lady Tethys chimed in. "Absolutely not. I felt his soul pass on to the Life Thread after he fell into the Everdawn volcano; he's gone."

Dust let out a sigh of relief, but it's not as if that meant all their problems were solved. "Good.. Now that brings me to everything about Toru. First of all, he said that Gaius was his hero. He was apparently a soldier in his army until he put him in charge of the prison? He even knew Cassius way back then, and said he was jealous that Cassius was so close to Gaius. It was all so hard to hear."

"..This is certainly a lot to take in," Elder Gray Eyes commented. "Gaius clearly trusted him greatly if he gave him the reins over an entire prison. And yet, he still harbors negative feelings towards Cassius. No wonder the corruption took hold of him."

"That's what's weird though," Dust countered. "I don't think he's been corrupted. Unlike Nadia and Evah, he said that wielding Baelrah was his own decision. It was hard to believe in the moment, but the way he talked about his master and what he knew about the past makes me think he is completely aware of everything he's doing."

"I agree. It sounds as though this warden may be acting of his own volition rather than as a result of the corruption," Lady Tethys hypothesized.

Ahrah picked up from her observation. "True. My brother Baelrah's spirit may be shrouded, but Toru's choices seem to be true to his own beliefs."

Dust held his head down. "It would be easier if he actually was corrupted; at least then I could save him like I did with Nadia.. I don't think I can ever forgive him at this point."

"We understand, Mithrarin. This was a perplexing well of information. Right now, we must focus on finding out where Toru went, saving Corbin, and ultimately retrieving Baelrah," the Elder concluded.

"Yes, of course. Fidget and I will leave as soon as possible."

"I'm coming with you," Sanjin finally interjected.

Dust looked over at him. "No.. I can't allow anyone else to come that close to someone as dangerous as him."

"Don't try to change my mind, Dust. I'm going."

"You don't get it; he's insane! He'd kill both of us without question if given the chance!"

"I'm willing to take that risk!" Sanjin responded with full confidence. "..Corbin is important to me too, you know. I trained him the whole time you were gone, because he wanted to be just like you! To take your place!"

An awed look came across Dust's face. Corbin really did want to become a hero, and he could tell that Sanjin was completely serious. "Alright.. You've made your point. It'll be great having backup."

"Thank you, Dust. I won't let you down," Sanjin promised as he stood up and held out his hand. Dust got up as well, using his good hand to complete the handshake.

"Tomorrow, we bring Corbin home."


[Yay I got another chapter done before the year was over LOL (I swear I do this every year). I had fun writing Dust and Fidget's interactions here, but chapters like this are always hard to write because it's like, the calm before the storm, you know? Next chapter is gonna be pretty wild though, I can tell you that haha. Happy New Year, everyone c:]