"No, it doesn't feel right..." I paused right then and there when I felt as though there was a sense of something being off.
A sudden cold breeze on my skin that was carried by the wind felt wrong. It made all the hairs of my neck stand up on end. As I made my way over towards where I noticed the disturbance, I realized this wasn't some simple monster or anything similar. No, it was entirely different. Dangerous even. It unsettled me. This was not what I expected in the Dihua Marsh. I mean something this big wouldn't have gotten past me so easily, right?
'There's no doubt about it. I detect a powerful being nearby.'
The closer I got to where I pinpointed the location as the source, it seemed as though all color in the environment had lost its luster, becoming darker and withered. The temperature itself was dropping with each minute that passed. The sky itself changed with grey clouds threatening a downpour.
'What exactly is this? Just what was I picking up on?'
Tightening my grip on the bow I held, I walked cautiously towards the source of my concerns. The direction that these winds were coming from was obvious. Wildlife retreated in the opposite direction as if they were desperate to survive whatever they sensed. Even with the darkened colors, one stood out to me the most.
'It's green... I understand. It's only now that I realize the kind of danger he's found himself in.'
The more I approached, the more intense the fear I felt when thinking of what could be happening to him just beyond this point. My feet began to pick up the pace, wanting to know if I was right and if he was really just ahead. My body felt heavier the closer I got, but I didn't want to stop or turn around, not when he needed me.
When I looked up, squinting my eyes and lifting an arm up to shield my face from any incoming debris that was flying around, I recognized the figure of the person most important to me.
"Alatus!" I called out to him, earning no response.
There he was, clutching his head fiercely. His mask of the Yaksha concealed his face, but I knew he was in terrible pain. He seemed to be unable to hear me with the gusts of wind surrounding him, as if he had formed something of a barrier around himself.
'He must've forced himself to stay conscious long enough to keep his self control. He forced all living beings to flee with his Anemo power... He gave them a chance to escape while they could before the Karma began to overcome him.'
"Alatus! Can you hear me?!" I called out to him once more and still nothing from him to show he acknowledges me.
'I knew that this day would come upon us eventually, but I thought we still had time! He looks like he's in so much pain... I can't stand seeing him in such agony, and I don't know how much longer he can last like this.' I struggled to get one leg in front of the other as I moved forward within these fierce winds. 'Although I'm also relieved in a way that the roles here aren't reversed, so I can do this for him.'
It looked as if he was struggling to keep himself in control, but at the same time had those periodic moments of drifting away where stronger gusts of winds almost made me lose my balance. He was actively trying to suppress the urge to scream out in his pain. In one instant, the amount of black winds pushed me back and he grabbed at his Yaksha mask suddenly. I knew this was it, that this was the moment he was about to be completely lost to the Karma.
With one hand raised in the air, and all of the power that I could muster, I used the power from my Pyro Vision in order to send out the strongest surge of flames possible. Flames propelled upwards to the grey clouds above. This act alone was enough, I hoped. Brightening up the night sky. It looked like the sun had fully risen to quite a distance away, lighting up even for parts of Liyue Harbor from where we both stood.
'This is what I can do for now. Surely the Geo Archon would know what to do to help you. I'm calling for him like this... But I still need to buy us some time!'
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to stop you!" I said out loud, wondering if any of my words were getting through to him as I forced myself to walk into his barrier. "I won't let you get close to any of those humans in the city. I have nobody to rely on but myself, so I know that I can't fail you." I spoke to him directly, hoping that my voice alone was enough to reach him. "Alatus! I'm not ready to lose any more of my family, so just like we promised each other, no matter what... You have to hang on just a little while longer!"
With the reminder of that promise, his head picked up, and he looked in my direction for a moment before he wasn't able to stand on his feet any longer. His groans of pain increased in volume as he fell over to his back and writhed in pure anguish. In that same moment, the barrier around him had dissipated in an instant, and I was able to move more freely. Rushing to his side, I immediately got on my knees and was able to see what I hadn't been able to notice before.
"Oh, no..." I gasped in horror when I finally saw him up close.
His mask covered most of his face, but I still saw the tears that were falling from his eyes, desperate of him to be free of this suffering. The green mist that had been coming off of him was being overtaken by the growing spots of black every passing moment once more. The wounds on his body were a testament to his strong willpower. They were clearly self-inflicted wounds so he could maintain the little control over his mind he barely had.
"Everything is going to be okay." I tried to reassure him and at the same time trying to convince myself of it.
Realizing he had heard me, he looked into my eyes and, with one swift movement, had grabbed onto my wrist harshly. Between each tortured breath he took, he only spoke two words to me.
"Kill me." He begged.
'Is he asking me to really...? No!' I tried to pull away from his grip, but he didn't let go or break eye contact with me to show how serious he was. 'Is this because of the pain, or his way of protecting Liyue so nobody gets hurt?... It's just not fair!'
His hand felt frighteningly cold upon contact with my skin, and it was trembling. Was it from the pure terror or the crippling affliction of the Karma? He was only going to get worse. I sat there motionless as I considered carefully what my next move was going to be as I awaited the presence of the Geo Archon.
Rain drops let itself fall from the cloudy sky upon this scene in a rather fitting way, just as my own tears welled up in my eyes. I pulled him closer to me to cover him from the weather, deciding to slowly pull off his mask and set it beside him. When I finally saw for myself the kind of expression he wore on his face, one that I had never seen before on him, that's when I knew. It was almost like something inside of me broke in that moment, and I realized that things were never going to be the same ever again.
Without giving his suffering another moment to tear through his body and soul, I placed my forehead against his.
"...I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do. Please find it in yourself to forgive me because, well, I chose to do this." Activating my own adeptal power, I began to use it to receive his Karma into my own body. "I'm sorry that I won't be able to watch over you after today, little brother. With this act, in theory, you can surely live past the life expectancy of the other Yaksha."
The more Karma my body absorbed, the more I felt my own existing Karma intensify. A growing pain began to spread throughout my entire being, but I clenched my teeth and stopped myself from screaming so I could endure it. I wouldn't allow my sacrifice to be in vain, I would take away his share of the burden and allow him a chance to live rather than the both of us perish underneath these grey and rainy skies. I will allow him to surpass us Yaksha, and live.
Opening his eyes, Alatus was barely able to ask what I was doing when he witnessed the black mist coming from him separate from his own green mist and enter my own body. He looked horrified, but even as he attempted to sit up and reach towards me, his weakened body finally gave out, and he collapsed.
Unconscious from his ordeal, there was nobody here to stop me passing my limit, and I knowingly continued to take in a fatal amount of this poison as the tears streamed from my eyes. There was a minute of intense focus as I continued before I sensed the presence of an overwhelming energy nearby, but I couldn't stop now.
"Y- You're... here..." It was near impossible to talk with this much pain. From behind me, a familiar glow caught my attention, but it was much too late for me. "I- I... had to..."
Feeling a gentle hand on my shoulder, I knew what he wanted me to do without having to say it.
"You've done well. I apologize that I was not able to arrive here sooner, Indarius." His tone was genuinely remorseful. Holding out an arm for me to take, I moved as though my body was no longer my own. He helped me walk, yet I still felt weighed down with the Karma from the both of us combined. "Why would you resort to doing such a drastic thing?" He asked me, his voice not hiding his sadness.
"I wanted... My family to survive... He's my little brother..." I tried to explain as he sat me up against a nearby tree. "Promise me... Watch over him..."
With a silent nod, I felt a fresh surge of pain course through my body and gripped onto the fabric of the front of my shirt. It was like my body was engulfed in the flames of the Abyss itself. Cold rain water mixed in with what was now my blood coming from my eyes and mouth.
"With your sacrifice, he will live." He confirmed for me, knowing it was what I wanted to hear the most.
"You... Seal me away..." I began to cough blood into the palm of my hand. Despite the excessive Karma rampaging through my body, I wanted my last words to be heard and fought it the best that I could to speak. "Don't tell him... This secret..." I trailed off with, earning a small nod of understanding from him.
Taking a few steps back from me, he formed a powerful shield around me just when the black mist I had taken away from Alatus had began to leak from my own body, threatening to contaminate a vast area of this land in an explosion of pure negative energy. The Geo Archon's intervening thankfully had prevented this outcome.
Inside of this unbreakable barrier, I screamed in pain until I lost my voice and had nothing else to give until my body gave out. I finally slumped over on my side to the hard wet grass. I finally laid still until complete darkness took over my sight. My Pyro Vision faded to a dull grey color just as the stormy clouds above continued to shower these lands, making this my final resting place and not his.
The thunder and rain had hidden the tears that came from the Geo Archon as he witnessed the last moments of his dear friend, hearing a faint voice along the wind to thank him for his kindness before fading away completely. Despite the nightmare she had just experienced, there was a smile on her face right before death took her as she knew she had saved the young Yaksha lying just a few feet away from her.
Nearby, slight movement had caught his attention as he realized that nearby, Alatus was beginning to stir. With his power, he was able to get the Yaksha to safety and away from the site of near disaster. He wondered how much longer the young adeptus, who had a significant amount of Karma removed from his body was able to live. He was left feeling feeling both grateful and saddened that the life of this one of them was spared tonight through sacrifice.
Indaruis... Her last words bound him to a contract of their own. The Geo Archon, Rex Lapis, protects General Alatus from now on as the last living Yaksha Liyue has, swearing to be there when needed. Should his long time quest to find out more of Bosacious's whereabouts bring him to any danger, General Alatus shall not fall.
(Quinarius: Consisting of five things; arranged in fives.)
November 16th, 2023
Twitch: Enrita11