Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) during this stream of memories… especially for the one who still has so much anger.
~保護者~
"Nothingness"
~保護者~
It happened as soon as Kial had a spare moment to himself. More specifically, while Rose was off checking on Eila. Benevolent energy washed over the area as Aethra appeared before him, glowing softly and floating weightlessly a few inches above the ground. Her long hair flowed around her hair as though being teased around by nothing more than those aforementioned energies. Her disguise as that of a normal Babylonian was firmly in place for now, not that he could see it. "Hello, Kial," she greeted warmly. "My name is Aethra. I am one of the Faein. Might I have a word with you?"
Kial "watched" with blind eyes, carefully scanning her presence using his other senses. He knew without a doubt that what she said was true and that this being was… someone far beyond anything he'd ever come across in his life. As such, he approached the conversation how he always did. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aethra. If you desire to speak to me, feel free. My presence is not required elsewhere as of now."
"Regrettably, I must keep this brief regardless," Aethra told him. "There are other things that require my attention… but for now let us focus on the matter at hand. I have an offer of sorts for you, one that does not require you to make an immediate decision. The Goddess of Nature has, unfortunately, died. Existence requires the role not go extinct. It is well within my power to bestow the role upon another, and I believe that you are a rather perfect fit. But it is your choice whether or not to take on such a responsibility."
Almost imperceptibly (not like Aethra would miss it, regardless), Kial shifted. The idea of becoming a God once more was… unappealing. After his failures in Saethrim's stead, regardless of his lack of training, he was hesitant to accept such a position once more. "I… am unsure as to what my answer should be. Why do you believe I am capable for such a role, if time may allow you to explain?"
She smiled at him. "You have deep bonds to nature already, young one. It is something you understand even better than you understand most other things. In a way, matters of nature are very much your true calling. It also brings you great joy and peace to be surrounded with nature, does it not? That is much more indicative of how the role will be than what you are thinking. It is a warm, peaceful role, not full of conflict and stress like Saethrim's."
Kial furrowed his eyebrows, but simply nodded. To a degree, he supposed that she was entirely right. Aside from his time with Saethrim, the forest near his home had been his safety. It was where he had met Vun, and where he lived when times were tough with his family. It was safe, and the idea of becoming one with it in a more true sense of the word was certainly a pleasing idea. However… he couldn't shake his concerns. "You said that I did not need to make an immediate decision. I would like a day to discuss this with those closest to me. I appreciate your consideration, and thank you for your kind words and belief in my abilities, regardless of my choice."
"Take as much time as you need," Aethra gently insisted. "I will maintain things in the meantime, so you do not need to worry. This is not something you need to rush."
"I firmly believe I will only need a day," Kial replied in kind. "I would not wish to rush, but I understand the need for you to preserve the energy you currently have. You four… you require a great amount of rest if this war is to be won, correct?"
"This is true, yes," she said. "Our years of unfettered creation were entirely worthwhile… but also exhausting. It does not feel like it was so long ago, to us, that we were exerting ourselves to such a high degree. It will take many millennia more for us to fully recover."
Kial nodded gently. "I understand. I may not know the degree of energy required, but I truly do feel that in your presence. Please, return tomorrow and I will have an answer for you."
"I will do so. All I ask is that you give your friend Vun a bit of attention for me. He is sweet in his own way." Aethra prepared to leave, but not before saying, "Farewell, Kial." Then she was gone.
There was a small smile on Kial's face when she said this, and he found himself simply nodding. I am aware. For now, however… I should speak to Rose. Perhaps Sein and Alana could also shed some light on what I may be stepping into. Saethrim has been silent since he apologized… so perhaps I should leave him be. Mind made, he began his journey to relocate his wife. They had much to discuss.
~保護者~
Within Satsuno's body, Amnikaribah was laying on his back with his arms behind his head. He was atop what he knew from the man's memories to be a "bed". The thing he'd been staring at up above him was a "ceiling". Careful to keep his thoughts guarded, he mentally scoffed. Such meaningless, fragile things… And so pitifully small. My true form could have crushed this dwelling beneath a single claw. This body is pathetic in size. Its only redeeming qualities are its powers, speed, and strength.
For a time, he inwardly monitored the sleeping soul whose body he'd taken over. Satsuno truly was a perfect conduit for the dead. Possessing him had taken no effort whatsoever. Amnikaribah had free and complete access to everything. Memories, abilities, knowledge, strength, emotions, and more were at his disposal. He understood this man well enough to act almost perfectly like him already. Laying like this, staring upward while lost in thought, was completely normal behavior. No one had anything to suspect. He is powerful enough that I should be able to channel my own powers through him as well.
Oh, yes. Despite his earlier griping, he was irrefutably sold. This vessel will do nicely.
Myriu suddenly appeared within the man's vision, dangling by her hands from the roof. "Satsuno."
He blinked, eyes focusing on her. "Yes?" he asked after a slight pause. A spawn. …No… a "child". What does it want?
"Why are all these souls here?" Myriu questioned, dropping from the ceiling to land on the bed next to him. "There are more than usual, and they keep pestering me."
Searching Sastsuno's memories provided a quick answer. "This is not unusual for me," he said. "Unfortunate though it is, sometimes souls crowd whatever building I am in while vying for various forms of attention. Seiko can help to deal with them if they are bothering you again."
Myriu frowned. "That much is obvious, yeah," she huffed. "It's more than usual. Even with all four of us that can see souls, there hasn't been this many until now. I don't like it. It's freaking me out."
"That there are so many of us here who can interact with them could also be drawing more in," he pointed out reasonably. If not for his constant scanning of Satsuno's knowledge and memories, he wouldn't have had any answer at all. "It is not that unusual, though I do not blame you for not enjoying it. As I said, we can speak to Seiko for help if you would like." None of these souls can sense that I am here, possessing him. The reasons I provided are the only possible explanations. Accept that and leave my presence.
She watched him for several seconds, glancing around and waving her arm at a spirit that wandered a little too close. "Fuck."
"Take it easy," he murmured, sitting up. Acting like this, like the real Satsuno, was grating on him… but he kept it up for now and hid the emotions away deep within himself. "I will fetch Seiko. Try to relax until they are gone." He got out of the bed to look for the woman in question.
Myriu slipped out of his way, then crawled back up onto the ceiling to be further away from the spirits once more. She didn't like the feeling of this shivering, how her eyes watered and the thumping in her chest. It felt like home… not quite as bad, but similar enough that she hated it.
"Satsuno", meanwhile, quickly left the room. Mere moments later, Seiko's magic flowed through the house. The spirits were all sent away within seconds, leaving only the one wanted soul behind. He made sure to keep his interaction with the woman brief, if only because she was the most likely person to find out he wasn't Satsuno, no matter what he did to conceal that fact. So with that in mind, he swiftly returned to the room. Once he did he looked up at Myriu and said, "You can come down now if you wish. It is safe." Cowardly, tiny thing, he privately regarded her with scorn. You are a disgrace to your own kind.
The girl whined a little and dropped onto the bed once more, staying curled up in the tight little ball she had become when Satsuno walked out of the room. He carefully sat down beside her. Unsure whether or not she would react badly to any sort of touch, he avoided that for now. "Are you alright?" Such "compassion" is beneath me. It is disgusting. Why does Satsuno waste so much of his time with something so weak and emotional?
"No." Myriu scratched at her head firmly, clawing against her scales. "I'm not."
"Hey, Myriu," Tae called, walking into the room. The spirit's gaze fell on Satsuno, and he gave a small nod of greeting. "What happened?"
Weakness. Plain and simple. "She was not comfortable with the sheer number of spirits within the house," he answered. "I had Seiko send them away, but she remains upset… understandably."
Tae approached and gently set a hand on her. The girl didn't respond in the slightest, and he sighed. "I'll take her to rest in her room. Thank you for the help."
"I will keep an eye out while she rests," he promised, though in reality he had no desire to. Protecting her was the furthest thing from being a desire of his, in fact. "If other spirits emerge, they will be dealt with quickly before they can bother her again."
Tae wrapped an arm around his daughter and lifted her. It was difficult to do so, if only because her powers being so undeveloped meant that holding her would simply remain hard for the foreseeable future. If she develops those powers more… this might get a bit easier. Despite the challenge of the task at hand, Tae gently carried her off to her room to get her some rest.
Fucking finally. Amnikaribah laid back down in his previous position and let out a sigh. He was careful to keep the aggravation hidden inside, however. I loathe "children". There are too many of them around here. There was nothing he could do about that just now. Instead, he decided to close his eyes and lose himself in his thoughts again.
Now that he had a vessel, he had to decide what to do with it.
~保護者~
Knowing that her sister was safe had sated some of that concerning sensation from before, but there was still something in Rose's mind that felt a deep fear. She couldn't shake it, and that definitely bothered her. Kial was standing in the same place he'd been when she teleported away suddenly. It seemed like he had brought Sein and Alana's attention there, considering that the two were approaching. Rose glanced at Kial and then began walking.
The bobcat soon followed, and the pair met the hawks halfway. "Hello to you both," Kial said gently, smiling. "It is good to see you."
Sein blinked and raised an eyebrow. "You fluctuated your aura and made us think something was wrong."
"Yes," Kial admitted easily. "I then calmed myself. Hence, your lack of immediate concern."
"Be that as it may, why flare it to begin with?" Alana questioned. "There is no danger or other major problem."
"There was." Rose let out a soft sigh, looking fully to Alana. "I teleported to Eila shortly after she had been attacked. Steam was apparently corrupted and incapacitated her."
It was prudent to contain her alarm for now, so Alana did so. Still, she felt it regardless. "What happened?" she demanded rather than asked.
Rose pursed her lips. "I do not know exact details, as we don't know the whereabouts of Steam, but he suddenly appeared and attacked Eila. Once she was incapacitated, he waited for Cyril to appear and did much the same to him. We both suspect that it was in order to buy himself time to complete some other order, as they both have abilities he could not contend with."
Sein frowned. He certainly couldn't face their raw magic without some luck… or planning. Seems like it was intentional. Good assumption on your part. "That sounds about right. He's pretty smart, too. If he was corrupted, then he did something else, probably."
"Whatever it was, it could not have taken him long," Alana murmured with a deep frown. "He is the neutral Balancer. If he was corrupted for a prolonged period of time, we would feel the damage being done to the existential balance. We felt nothing, and there is still nothing to sense. Someone must have purified him rather quickly."
"Hm," Kial thought it through for a moment before nodding. "Assuming none of our other Immortal allies could have purified him, seeing as you two were not involved, I believe we could say it was the Faein."
"Most likely, yes," Alana agreed.
Rose abruptly changed the topic, seeing as that sensation she'd been suffering from caused her to shudder. "I have a question for you both. I have had this feeling inside of me that steadily bothers me. I thought it would fade when I checked on and ensured Eila was safe, but it remains. What might it be?"
Alana looked briefly at Sein to gauge his reaction even as she went ahead and answered. "From what I understand, you are becoming an Immortal who embodies Light, much like Eona does. Is that correct?" Sein watched Rose intently, focusing on something in particular.
The cat gently nodded. "Yes. That is what I have been told."
"My guess, in that case, is that it could have something to do with that," Alana said. "That is, it could have to do with Light. You are vastly more connected to it than anyone in existence apart from Eona herself." She thought about that, shook her head, and amended her words. "Perhaps your connection runs even more deeply than hers. I have no way of knowing."
Sein walked up to Rose and set a hand on her shoulder, earning her attention. "What emotion is tied to this feeling you have?"
Rose blinked and tilted her head. "Emptiness and… dread. I feel constantly bothered and as if my attention is needed. I do not know where or why, though."
"I presume we'd notice a massive loss of Light users' lives, so the ones in hiding are likely safe," Kial pointed out. "It would be quite unusual for such a thing to be unnoticed, even amongst the Gods and Goddesses."
"It simply would not have gone under the radar," Alana asserted. "Even if none of the others noticed, Cere and Finis would have. Zenith and Eona both would have as well. It is very much the latter pair's job to be aware of those kinds of things."
"Maybe it's something more along the lines of something being wrong with just one, then." Sein said. "Obviously Eila is Rose's sister, but she's also a being of Light. Might be that your assumption about her connection to other Light users is right on the money." He looked to Alana. "So, it might be that there's something going on with one person in existence, and it's a big enough situation to leave her with this sort of feeling."
"What Light users aside from Rose herself, Analia, and Eona are both alive currently and powerful enough to trigger this kind of a reaction from her when something goes wrong?" Alana was already thinking the matter over as she asked the question, but was coming up empty. These were the only Light users she personally knew, after all. Well, them and Silver, actually.
Rose tilted her head. "I was informed of a man by the name of Kohaku by Eila. She apparently restored his mind, and he also has incredible amounts of Light as a result of his ancestry with Analia. He is Silver's son."
"I must assume that he is residing with Sonic's group, then. Would you not have sensed it if something was amiss with him?"
"Meaning, it's likely someone else," Kial pointed out. "We may not know who it is, which is somewhat problematic."
"What of your sister, then?" Alana asked Rose. "She does not seem to leave Mobius terribly often as of late. If the person we are looking for also comes from that world, perhaps she is familiar with them. She seems to make a habit of monitoring just about everyone she comes into contact with, after all."
You are correct. "I may need to speak with her again. Even assuming she has not met this person, it is likely that I could have her track them down. Her mind and magic have shown to be capable of reaching far across the universe," Rose explained.
Sein nodded slowly. "We can also speak to Kath and see if he knows of anything, in the meantime."
"If you require any assistance from us," Alana told the younger couple, "then do not hesitate to say so. We will do our best to help figure this out."
While Rose nodded, Kial found himself a bit preoccupied with other thoughts. His silence drew Rose's gaze, and the bobcat soon spoke. "I was approached by a person by the name of Aethra. She is one of the Faein."
Alana's eyes widened a bit and she again looked at Sein. He tilted his head, then prompted Kial to continue. "What happened?"
Kial frowned visibly, trying to find the right words to explain it. "I was asked to take on the role of God of Nature… I… No, I was asked to consider it. I am under no pressure to take the position, but she seemed to wholeheartedly believe that I was capable of performing well."
There was an immediate response from Rose in the form of a quick nod. "Yes. I am absolutely sure that you would fit within that sort of position nicely."
"If I may…" Alana added, "I must agree with your partner. I don't know you well by any stretch of the imagination but, in truth, your close bond with nature could not possibly be more apparent within your aura. I was aware of it from the first moment we met. People's aura reveal a lot to those who know how to read them, and this is one of the most defining characteristics of yours."
Sein gave a bit of a smile. "Absolutely. I've never sensed the kind of bond you and your wolf companion share from anyone other than that of Babylonians with the Celestial animals. You forged a natural bond with a non-magical creature that is so strong, it shines within your aura."
There was a long silence from Kial, the man taking a second to collect his thoughts again. "I understand that I have my connections with nature and feel well at home within it, but… that is different than being capable of protecting and nurturing it. I was relied upon once to be a God and I failed to manage what needed to be done. I took too long to understand and learn what I was to do, and worlds suffered from my failures." By now, the man was shedding a few silent tears, gently wiping them away when he noticed their presence.
"A Faein herself has offered this role to you," Alana pointed out quietly. "Whatever training is required, whatever knowledge or understanding you will need… She will not leave you wanting, Kial. If this is something you feel in your heart that you want to do, she will give you whatever you need to succeed. She will not condemn you."
Rose wrapped one of her hands around Kial's, squeezing his hand comfortingly. "And this time, you have your friends and allies with you. You are not alone. You will not be left to fend for yourself."
A soft sniffle escaped the bobcat and he nodded a little. It was very pleasant to hear all of these words of encouragement, no matter how much he understood that the Faein knew about everything. "I… Thank you. I appreciate this deeply."
"More than anything, focus on deciding if this is something you want," Alana told him. "Everything else can come afterward. Alright?"
Kial gave a slow nod. "I suppose this is a good idea."
"As I said, just give yourself some time to think on it. Sein and I will go speak with my father, as Sein suggested. I do not think he will know anything, however." Alana crossed her arms thoughtfully. "He is connected to the Light in a way, but only through Eona. He cannot inherently sense other beings of Light like you can, Rose. Still, we will try. If you learn anything from your sister, please let us know."
"Of course," Rose replied. "I am under the assumption that we may learn a lot from the conversation, so I will update you all when the chance arises."
"Alright." Alana gave a nod of farewell and then turned to walk back down the hall with Sein.
With that conversation over, Rose turned to Kial. "We should speak to Eila. There is no doubt in my mind that she can aid us in understanding this."
"From everything you told me, she seems like one of the smartest people in existence," Kial chuckled. "By all means, I'll happily speak to anyone who knows more about something than I do."
My sister is quite intelligent, yes. Rose gave a little smile and nodded, taking one of the bobcat's hands in her own and teleporting the both of them back to Mobius. They appeared in Eila's room, and once more Rose became aware of some building magic within. She blinked once and looked to her older sister, tilting her head. "What are you doing? You have amassed a great deal of magic in a short amount of time."
The older cat didn't dare look back, knowing that her expression would likely give away that she was lying. "I'm going to use it to heal a few people. Took some time to learn a few new spells and create my own… figured it was a good chance to use them."
Kial immediately frowned, but he removed the expression before Rose had a chance to see. The lack of a shift in Rose's aura means she did not recognize the lie in Eila's statement, either due to trust or… a concerning lack of intuition. He thought for a few seconds about calling out the lie, then chose not to. Eila must have had her reasons. "Ah, I see. In that case, I suppose you will need to be leaving soon?" He pointed his thoughts to Eila's mind, knowing that the woman would need a way out of this topic before she stumbled. "Just follow my lead. You'll feel worse if you keep lying to her."
Eila was far from sure how Kial knew to point his thoughts to her, nor how he picked up that what she had said was a lie, but it wasn't worth questioning right now. "Yes, I will be going shortly. There is something you wish to speak about, yes?" She turned to face Rose, immediately wincing at seeing the woman's expression. Dammit. Does your smile always have to be so sweet?
That smile only grew, and Rose gave a quick nod. "Yeah. As I am sure you are aware, I am becoming an Immortal. There was some sort of… sensation that I've been feeling." Rose's smile faded rapidly and she looked away from her sister's eyes. "When I came to check on you, some of it eased itself away, but there is some powerful remnant of the feeling and it worries me deeply. Might you know the source?"
Rather than bothering to read into Rose's mind, Eila only blinked. "Saran was corrupted by Nareish. The corruption, much like how mine was, is deeply rooted and has removed his ability to use Light. That is likely the source of this feeling you have."
"I see," Rose frowned more, disturbed by this idea despite having no clue who that person was. "Where is-"
"I forbid you to make chase," Eila immediately said, cutting her younger sister off. "I will not allow you to subject yourself to that. Is that understood?"
Being cut off so suddenly shocked Rose, taking a whole step back. "I- Why?"
Eila narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going to watch you die ever again. I've seen it too many times. You're going to keep your ass somewhere safe like Babylon, and you're not going to get involved without serious help and a plan. Got it?"
It was not like Eila to be so passionate and demanding, and Rose found herself looking at the ground. "Y-yes. I understand." I did not mean to upset you.
Standing silently for several seconds, watching her normally so stoic and strong younger sister crumble against her demands, Eila walked closer and hugged Rose. "I don't mean to be harsh, but I'm worried about you. Stay safe." I am not upset.
Kial added his own comfort into the mix, softly rubbing Rose's back with a hand. "It's not a bad idea to try and lay low. You still need to be trained some, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to hang around near Sein and Alana a bit more. Besides, you like it on Babylon."
Rose did her best not to sniffle, just nodding a little. "Okay."
Fucking hell… Eila winced and gently pulled herself away from Rose, settling her hands into the pockets of her cloak. "I will see you both very soon, I am sure."
"See you soon," Rose answered, taking Kial's hand and teleporting away.
Eila winced once more, grabbing one of her spellbooks and wiping a tear from her face. God dammit. I didn't mean to hurt her like that. Just want her to be safe and she won't listen otherwise… Maybe I was too rough with her?
It could likely wait for her to return from what she was about to do, so she tried not to think about it. Instead, her thoughts went to retrieving Haru, then… committing genocides in the name of good. That was how she was going to look at this.
Completely good, completely justified genocides.
~保護者~
Restless sleep gave way to tentative wakefulness against Black Doom's will. He was in a different position than he'd been in when he'd laid down earlier, namely on his side with his arm under his head as a cushion. For a time, he wasn't sure why he'd woken up. No one was here but himself and Ghune at the moment and she was being still and quiet. Likely making efforts to curb her emotions, since he wasn't smelling much from her.
…Actually, he was smelling something. Just not something emanating from where she was sitting. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and focused. His mind still felt incredibly foggy from exhaustion and… whatever else Nareish had left him with. There were no words for such things, not that he was aware of, and he wasn't interested in continuing to think about it. Instead he resumed focusing on the scent.
By the time it clicked precisely whose scent it was, they had already appeared. It was almost startling, seeing Saethrim there. So much so that he reacted automatically and, perhaps, irrationally. A mixture of defensive aggression and nervous submissiveness shot through him. He flinched and growled without having meant to while quickly slinking away on all fours further toward the back of whatever shelter Ghune had been keeping him in. Only once it registered that he could no longer smell corruption on Saethrim was he able to make himself be quiet again. The aggression died out, though his nerves didn't completely follow suit. He chose to just curl back up like he had been earlier and try to tune everything out.
It took nothing less than a second for Saethrim to be pinned against a wall with Ghune's nails piercing the skin of his neck. "One wrong fucking move and I will kill you," the woman hissed. Try though he might to breathe, her hand on his throat had him completely pinned and unable to get air. When she felt that he had gotten the message, Ghune retracted her claws and let him fall back to his feet.
Saethrim rubbed at the open wounds and sighed a little. "Fucking hell. I'm not corrupted anymore," he huffed, lifting his gaze to her. "Calm down-"
"You don't get to tell me that," Ghune muttered. "Your mere presence is causing a problem and I am unwilling to allow you to keep contributing to the issue. Speak your piece and leave." Her expression gave Saethrim one bit of insight into her thoughts.
She's about to try and kill me. Though that thought didn't faze him in the slightest, he was here for a reason. "I'm sorry that I hurt him, even though I was corrupted. I wanted nothing to do with it and I hate that it's caused this many problems." The only indication that Black Doom himself heard this apology was a faint movement of his ears.
For once, Ghune visibly paused, taken aback by the sincerity in his voice. She searched his scent for several seconds, trying to find even the slightest hint of this being fake, only to come up with nothing. I… did not know you were capable of such emotion. "I see." Ghune straightened herself from the lowered stance she'd been in (having been prepared to attack), and simply nodded. "Don't let it happen again. I will beat your ass a second time if I must."
Saethrim licked the blood from his fingers and shrugged. "Didn't plan to let it happen. Gonna do my best regardless, I suppose." The man glanced to Black Doom and he frowned a little, shifting a little closer to the dark being. "I'm sorry that all happened, Black Doom. It was never my intention to hurt you, and… I wasn't allowed to do anything else. I hate that it went down like it did."
A few seconds passed before exhausted yellow eyes finally looked up at him. It was a good sign that he was being listened to. Black Doom didn't say anything, however, just eventually let out a sort of huff in acknowledgement. A vague thought drifted slowly through his mind. This is… safe. He is not a threat. All of his uncharacteristic nervousness and agitation died off at that point.
Ghune frowned, watching Saethrim. She remained incredibly protective, despite having come to the same thought as Black Doom. "Keep talking to him. He has been mostly silent."
With that knowledge, Saethrim merely sat down on the ground and crossed his legs. "Figured I'd come see you, since everything has been real shitty lately. You recovering okay?" He got nothing more than a blink in reply this time. There were still no words offered to him. Black Doom just sort of watched him for a moment before looking away again. As Ghune had said, he was being silent.
Ghune waited for several seconds for either of them to speak, then spoke in their place. "This may not reward your efforts with much, in truth. To say he has been through a lot would be an understatement."
Saethrim sighed. "I know, but I want to try. I've watched over him virtually all of my life and for me to ignore him now would make it all worthless."
"Mm. You view him as if he were a child of yours?" Ghune replied, raising an eyebrow curiously. "I thought you only viewed your ward in such a way. It is rare that you develop bonds with others."
The da Asani rolled his eyes, leaning up against a wall. "Ah, I suppose so. Hard for me to find people to give a shit about. Hanging around those few people that I can is all I've got."
So you do care about me as well, beyond that crush you harbored so long ago. This revelation in mind, Ghune waved a hand in his direction. "Stay here, then. I must go briefly to check on Ryint and the rest of my people. Knowing he is in your care will ease my nerves somewhat while I am away."
"Hm." Saethrim shifted his gaze between Ghune and Black Doom, then nodded. "I can stay."
Ghune turned her attention to Black Doom. "Is that acceptable for you?" Being spoken to directly again caused him to look over at her. He still didn't say anything, but if nothing else he was relaxed again now. With this, she stood and stretched herself. "I will return soon."
Saethrim watched as she teleported away, then settled himself in. "Try to rest, Black Doom. You need more of it." He got another brief glance, but no arguments (nonverbal or otherwise) came. In the end, Black Doom just closed his eyes. The da Asani sighed and curled up a bit, a tail growing from his body to wrap around him for comfort. This is such a shitty situation.
~保護者~
Arkiri became vaguely aware of a being materializing next to him, glancing over with a gentle smile. "To what do I owe the second visit, Rusen? I presume you need to speak to me if you are hiding your presence from others."
There was a sort of chuckle, something that elicited a wave of warmth over Arkiri. "Ah, yes. I do wish to speak to you. First, are you feeling better?"
Arkiri blinked once, then nodded. "Yes, I have made a choice that seems to have improved my quality of living since Tarin's passing. I wish for nothing but to live on in her name."
"Do not forget that you must live for yourself to a degree as well," Rusen replied, gently pulling Arkiri toward a window. "The worlds around you will live on in your absence, but can you live on without yourself?"
He supposed that Rusen had a solid point, so he didn't refute it. "Yet, having my directive in life be to live for something beyond myself, that merely gives me a stronger resolve to continue on this journey. I have more reason, more desire to keep myself alive, especially since I know well that it will make her happy."
"I merely wish for you not to forget." Rusen smiled to Arkiri. "The kindest souls often forget the value of their lives when they look at others. I do not wish for such a pure being as yourself to lose your way to the sorrows that come with mere existence."
"I cannot allow myself to," Arkiri admitted. "I have too many people around that care for me, that will miss me. People that may need me. I have a grandson and a child, and now I have extra grandchildren. Friends, family, and unknown allies that, if I am no longer here, may have need of me. For me to be so blinded to existence that I am lost to sorrow, that truly would be the death of me."
Rusen smiled a bit wider. You truly are fascinating. While semi-Immortals may have a strong grasp of what comes with existence, and what it means to live a nearly eternal life, only mortals could truly understand how it is to live with limited time. I understand why you are so well loved, and why you gained my respect. "Then, embrace life, Arkiri. Always."
"I plan to." Arkiri turned to Rusen after staring out over New Babylon's landscape. "So, you have something you wish to speak of? I presume a being who brought about existence does not need to speak philosophically with a mortal."
"It is a unique experience to see the way people not amongst my direct kin view existence," Rusen replied. "I respect and appreciate your thoughts, and I wholly see that you have a great care for things in life. I wished to offer you the role of God of Life, a being who would protect life as the name implies."
Arkiri debated this possibility for a moment, then gently nodded. "I presume that you approached knowing I dislike fighting, yes?"
"You are not a fighter," Rusen admitted. "I cannot pretend this position would come without strife, but you will not be fighting as often as others you will work alongside. They may often be able to aid in preventing your need to fight, as well."
"Then, I am perfectly willing to take on this responsibility," Arkiri murmured. "All that I ask is a way to speak to the original being in this role. I am approaching this without much knowledge, and I could not imagine attempting this without the aid of those more knowledgeable than I."
Rusen smiled a bit. "Of course, I am sure this could be arranged. I daresay that Cosmo may like to see the fruits of your efforts, though you may also wish to speak to Eona. She is the true original bearer of this role."
Arkiri nodded a little, feeling that swell of energy inside his body as the role was transferred to him. I do doubt I understand the breadth of this, but I feel that he would not have reached out if I was incapable. "Thank you. Tarin would be proud that I am taking up a bit of her mantle in this life."
"I firmly do believe she would be, yes," Rusen replied gently. "Now, should you ever require aid or knowledge, simply think the name 'Cosmo' and imagine yourself speaking to someone. It should allow you to speak to her."
The owl tilted his head, then nodded in reply. "I understand. Thank you greatly. Is that all you required from me?"
"Yes. I will leave you now to go speak to Kath," Rusen said, holding a hand out to Arkiri. "I am sure that you will do your wife proud."
It meant a lot to hear that. Arkiri reached out and shook Rusen's hand, watching the man vanish from sight shortly after. "Well, I suppose I will need to get moving once more." With his hand falling back to his side, the owl began walking once more. A renewed strength in his soul, he moved on to do as he'd originally intended.
~保護者~
Locke needed a distraction. Between being corrupted, learning about all the murders Nareish had committed, and knowing now that Knuckles and Kayde were among those who had died… Well, no distraction he could fathom would ever be enough for him to handle the last part. I only got to spend time with Knuckles once before this. I didn't even know Kayde was revived. And now they're both gone… again.
He stopped flying. He'd been on his way home to the Temple of the Sun, but… Honestly, it felt like he no longer had the energy to accomplish that simple goal. What point was there in trying? It was easier to just stop where he was, which happened to be an asteroid belt circling around a planet whose name he'd never been able to pronounce. The place was uninhabited, anyway, so it wasn't like it mattered. It was just a lame distraction his brain had chucked into the forefront of his mind. One that hadn't really worked.
With a heavy sigh that seemed to drain all the strength from him, he flopped down onto his back on one of the asteroids. He watched rocks of all sizes and shapes drift lazily by overhead with his arms stretched out at his sides. At least rocks don't have to worry about anything, his brain decided to tell him. They don't even feel pain. They just… are.
A flash of Light signaled the appearance of someone familiar. The person floated into his field of vision. "Locke?" Tessa asked, voice filled with concern. "You… okay?"
Locke blinked until his eyes focused on her. "Oh. Hey, Tessa. I'm… alright… I s'pose."
Tessa frowned visibly and took a seat beside him. "What's wrong?"
The former deity let out a heavy sigh. He debated for a long time whether or not to answer her question truthfully. "I have a few kids," he murmured eventually. "Two daughters and a son. My son is all grown up and has two boys of his own. He and his youngest were just revived recently, but… I just found out they're dead now. Nareish killed them, and I wasn't there to even try and protect them." Lifting an arm, he quickly wiped at his eyes when they started getting misty. "I only got to visit my kid once before he died, and I didn't get to see my grandson at all. Now they're both gone again and there's nothing I can do about it."
That was… a lot to take in. Tessa turned her gaze from him and laid out on the asteroid by him, staring into space. "I'm sorry to hear that. That's… genuinely awful."
"Yeah," Locke agreed softly. He decided to just keep his arm where it was rather than move it. "It just… happened so fast." For a time, he let the silence linger. Then he weakly cleared his throat and tried to change the subject. "You were… You were off doing things, yeah? What were you up to?"
Tessa didn't dare drag him back into that conversation, so she let the topic change. "Not a lot. I think we'll actually be seeing some of those Light beings out in the open again soon."
"That'd be nice," Locke sighed. "Better late than never… but it would've been better if they'd shown up ages ago."
"Yeah. Something about it all has me a bit spooked, but I guess it's just the worry for my brother," Tessa replied. The concern was obvious in her voice, but she tried not to let it be overwhelming. "I can't say much, either. I was hiding for quite a while."
"It's understandable," Locke said. "There was a lot of danger facing you guys. More than ever before."
"Sure, but that doesn't excuse everyone avoiding the only things and people that could protect them," Tessa murmured. "Regardless, I've… more or less told them that they have to leave now. I'm more afraid of what'll happen if they stay at this point."
"I get it. More or less, anyway." Locke didn't have much more to say than that and just wound up putting an arm over his eyes. He wanted to just go to sleep and forget about everything else, but… he had to acknowledge that that probably wasn't the best or safest idea.
"We should go soon, ya know," Tessa murmured. "Best not to get caught with our guards down and all."
"...Yeah." It took a moment for Locke to gather the necessary willpower to move. Once he did, he reluctantly shifted and stood up. "Where will you be headed to? It might be for the best that you try to keep in contact with people now and then so that no one winds up worrying that you've been killed."
Tessa shrugged. "May as well head on back toward Mobius. That's where all of our allies are, for the most part," she pointed out. "You going that way, too?"
"I probably should," he acknowledged, "but I just… don't have the energy for that many people right now. And I don't want to cause them any unnecessary worry by being… like this."
"We could go find a place to be nearby without them completely noticing you. I could probably even hide your presence under my Light, as long as I stay focused." She gave a small smile. "'Course, I'm offering. Don't feel bad about it."
He looked over at her again. "You don't have to go out of your way to help me out like that. I appreciate it, mind you, but you're under no obligation."
Tessa chuckled. "That's why I said I'm offerin'."
Locke gave the matter a small amount of thought. "I guess we can go," he said. "Like you said, it's probably for the best."
She nodded, then teleported herself away. It was only then that Locke remembered that he'd transferred his role away just an hour or perhaps two before this. Which meant he was an ordinary mortal again. "Ah, hell," he muttered to himself. "I forgot all about that… and I can't teleport like this."
After several seconds had passed, Tessa teleported back to the spot she'd been in, panicked. "Oh shit, you're okay!" she breathed, moving closer. "What happened? You didn't follow me."
"Yeah, sorry," Locke said a touch sheepishly. "I'm not a deity anymore, so I can't teleport. It completely slipped my mind."
Tessa blinked, then visibly frowned. "What? Why the hell not?" she demanded.
"Er… Would you believe it was an emergency?" Locke hedged, rubbing the back of his head. "Trust me, it was drastic but necessary for me to transfer my role away." And to think that it went straight back to Althea… When was she revived and why? He didn't have the energy to even begin contemplating that. Not right now.
It didn't take her long to figure out that he didn't really want to talk about this, and so Tessa simply nodded. "Alright. Come closer and I'll teleport us both." Locke went ahead and did as she said, lowering his arm as he went. When he was close, Tessa teleported them both back to Mobius.
~保護者~
Knowing that Althea was going to be busy for a short time, it was easy enough for Pyrun to slip away back to Mobius. After all, he didn't wanna be dragging along behind her for what could end up being the next couple days. She had said multiple times that she would be fine if he took off, anyway.
Pyrun walked up to the home he'd approached recently, knocking on the door somewhat softly. He didn't want to disturb or spook the people within in any way. They'd dealt with a lot lately. "Hey, Sonic?" he called.
In a flash, Sonic was there. He blinked several times before saying, "Pyrun, right?"
"Yeah," Pyrun replied, managing a smile. "Came back to make good on a promise."
"About training?" Sonic further questioned. He hesitated just a little and then nodded. "Now's as good a time as any, I suppose. Better than earlier, anyway."
"Figured," Pyrun replied. "Anyway, yeah. Long as you're good for it, I'll spend some time helping you."
"I'd appreciate that," Sonic answered with tired honesty. "Thank you. There's a clearing not too far from here that we can use so we don't run as much risk of damaging my friend's trees."
Pyrun motioned for Sonic to lead the way, taking a step back to give him room. "Go ahead. I'll follow." Sonic nodded and headed outside before dashing off toward the clearing in what he considered to be "light jog". Which, in hindsight, it wasn't. When it came down to it, though, Pyrun was far from slow. He kept pace without trouble.
When they arrived, Sonic let himself be relaxed for a moment. "You're lighter on your feet than I expected."
There was a small chuckle from the Erukti. "I'm literally fire and heat embodied. Nobody ever expects me to be fast, just strong."
Sonic considered that briefly. "I mean… fire can be fast in the right conditions. That's not uncommon knowledge."
"Some people just can't use their brains," Pyrun replied, shrugging. "Long story short, I'm not exactly slow."
"Evidently." Sonic shifted his weight onto one foot and crossed his arms. "Anyway, I'll follow your lead this time. How do you want to do this?"
Pyrun idly threw a ball of flames at Sonic, raising an eyebrow. "Like this."
Sonic side-stepped it with a similarly raised eyebrow. "Gonna have to be faster than that."
The Erukti shrugged as the flames suddenly redirected back at Sonic. "Suppose so, for a hedgehog." Amused, Sonic idly redirected the flames as well, sending them harmlessly up into the air. "Good senses, kid," Pyrun commented. "It's just the Wrathfire you really need help with, yeah?"
"More or less," Sonic admitted. "I've had anger issues in the past. That hasn't exactly lent itself to me being all that willing to try and use it."
"The thing you should note with something like Wrathfire is that being consumed with your anger is obviously going to make it stronger," Pyrun explained. "But… the fun part about that is when you temper it all down and channel your fury. Emotional control is something you've had to practice, right?"
"Not as much as you might think, no," Sonic said. "I do know some things, but I'm no expert."
Pyrun clicked his tongue once, then nodded. "Makes sense. I like to think about it like my fist." He held up a closed fist for example, then opened his hand. "If I swing with my hands open like this, I'm bound to shatter my fingers because I'm basically just flailing wildly. However…" He balled up his fists tightly. "When I make a full fist and I punch something, they have to suffer the brunt of it. You want to condense it down and channel it into every attack you use. Burn your enemies out of existence and keep them from ever getting to touch your friends and family again."
Hm. Never heard it explained like that before. "That makes enough sense."
"Feel free to test it on me. Think yourself through whatever makes your blood boil and just hit me with all you've got. Guarantee that you can't hurt me much," He chuckled, opening his arms as an invitation. There was no reason not to try. Sonic resolved to do just that. Armed with fresh knowledge, he gathered up his emotions…
And let them turn into flames.
~保護者~
For now, Kath and Azerel were on their own again. He wasn't sure where Yareis had gone, but he wasn't worried. She could take care of herself, as could Laralei. The latter woman had gone to acquire information regarding the current lack of a ruler. If Saraya had any modern relatives, they were the rightful successors since she had no children considering her young age. But if there weren't any, then there would be a bit of an issue. Laralei could legally take the throne again… assuming the general populace is willing to accept it.
There was also the fact that he technically also could, which wasn't an idea he really entertained. He'd only been king at one point due to his marriage to Laralei. It wouldn't be right of him to try and reclaim that title when they weren't a couple anymore. Frankly, ruling again wasn't something he particularly wanted, anyway. Of course he would help Laralei if she ever needed it, he always would, but that was all.
He took a seat at one of his tables and rested his chin in his hand. With himself and Laralei purified, his father exploring the building, Alana's emotions returned, and Sein seemingly calming down, he had nothing he needed to be concerned over right now… except for Jet. I can do nothing for him, he reminded himself. Wishing I could will accomplish nothing. He had free time, so he debated what to do with himself for the time being. While he did so, Azerel laid down by his feet as usual.
Whatever train of thought he started to establish was derailed quickly, however, when he sensed Arkiri heading his way. The pair had interacted a mere three times, all of them brief, since Tarin's death. And I managed to be a bother the last two times, he remembered with a sigh. He doubted Arkiri was upset about it, at least. So there was that. Still… I need to resume giving him space. That was the one thing he asked for when his partner died. Space and sleep.
All in all, Kath didn't dwell on the matter long. He felt a bit bad about the whole thing, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Arkiri's aura didn't communicate any upset, anyway, beyond the expected amount of grief and the like regarding Tarin. Kath felt some of the same emotions, just not as powerfully. He'd cared for Tarin, respected her deeply, and very much considered her family. He just hadn't ever grown as close to her as he had with Arkiri.
However, there was plenty of pain to be felt regardless. Coupling that with all the other emotions he was dealing with lately made for an unfortunate situation. Though he'd taken care to hide it so as to not exacerbate things he'd been pretty anxious about Sein, Alana, and Jet. Alana losing her emotions hadn't been something any of them could have prepared for and it had bothered him greatly. The little bit he'd heard about what happened to Jet's children, his relation to and bond with Saraya, and his reactions to those four deaths had been extremely concerning. Sein's own devastated and panicky response to all of these things hadn't done anything to help Kath deal with feeling those same things.
The very last thing Kath had wanted was to make things worse by getting overwhelmed by the emotions of the situation. He knew himself well enough to be aware of his own limitations. There was only so much he could do to cope before he would inevitably start losing the ability to do that. It wouldn't have helped anything. All a meltdown or panic attack, no matter how mild his tended be, would have done was increased the stress and difficulty for everyone else. And that just wouldn't do.
Azerel used his snout to firmly nudge Kath's shin, alerting him to the fact that he was bouncing his leg again. It was something he often subconsciously did when antsy, overly bored, nervous, or so on. He forced himself to stop and sighed. Clearly, he wasn't quite as calmed down as he'd thought he was. Which… made sense, in all fairness. Alana seemed better now and Sein appeared to be recovering, but his family still wasn't well overall. Not yet. That sort of thing was uniquely skilled at getting his emotions into an upset like this.
Unlike in the past when he was receiving regular care (first at his mother's insistence and then at Laralei's), he no longer had a caretaker to help him with this sort of thing. He'd never liked such an arrangement in the past, anyway, but he had to acknowledge that it would have been useful here. Instead he had to rely on his own methods. In particular, he decided to utilize a common practice he was familiar with from his tribe.
Whether or not Arkiri would disapprove, since he'd never done this (the rare few times he'd done it at all) in front of the man before, Kath had no idea. He didn't take the time to question it much as he reached for a traditional curved wooden pipe and teleported a cloth baggy of dried herbs into his free hand. Satav'i people had a long history of smoking different herbs to achieve different effects. Some induced altered states of mind for special tribal ceremonies. Some were used to make the mind more active and, in their own words in old texts, "more willing and able to work strongly for extended periods". There were more, all native to their homelands, and none were addictive. They were merely useful and culturally important. Moreover, a few of the herbs were used for their mental health benefits - such as calming one's emotions. Which was what he was after.
He had prepped and lit the pipe when Azerel yawned and said, "Arkiri is almost here."
"I know," Kath mumbled around the mouthpiece. He idly pushed aside both the baggy and some papers he'd been writing on earlier. At the same time, he took a long drag off the pipe. "Unlike you, I have been paying attention."
"Well excuse me for having a nap," Azerel huffed.
"I won't." The conversation ended there. Neither had more to say, nor were they in the mood for any of their usual banter.
There was a brief bout of silence, then Arkiri walked into the room. He smiled warmly to Kath, approaching to sit down near the now older man. "I see that you are no longer a child. That is a pleasant sight, even if I miss your younger years."
Hearing this caused Kath to huff. "I have not truly been a child in some time."
"I care not," Arkiri smirked. "You were adorable, even if I did not have the energy to watch over you like I wanted."
Kath refrained from huffing a second time, though he was tempted. "I was not," he grumbled, taking the pipe away from his mouth.
Arkiri shrugged. "I perfectly understand that some people bear incorrect opinions."
Beneath the table, Azerel snorted in amusement. Kath was quick to nudge him with a boot. "Quiet," he further grumbled. "You aren't helping."
"That matter aside, are you doing okay?" Arkiri asked. "I do believe I haven't seen you use this method of relaxation in some time."
"I'm fine," Kath told him. "There has just been a lot going on lately. It started getting to me more than I would have liked. Letting it get out of hand enough that others noticed would not have been ideal. They have enough on their plates as it is."
Arkiri thought of something aside from this, shrugging to himself. Actually, I do not believe it was you that I saw do this in the past. Perhaps… an old friend, instead. "It is reasonable enough. As long as it does not render you incapacitated in any manner, I will say nothing."
Kath was tempted to roll his eyes. "These do not incapacitate people. Only a few very specific herbs are capable of that, and I am not fool enough to try using them recreationally. All this herb does is help calm high levels of emotion."
"I am aware," Arkiri replied. "I was speaking broadly of this type of activity." The owl smiled a little and chuckled. "If it helps you, that's great."
There was nothing left to say on the matter, so Kath let that subject drop. Instead he cautiously replied, "You appear to be doing better."
The owl shrugged a little. "Somewhat, yes. I am still not quite okay, but the time came for me to no longer lay in bed." He thought for a moment, then added, "Besides, I was approached with a unique opportunity."
It was only about then that Kath noticed that something felt… different about his father figure. He knew immediately what he was sensing, and it stunned him. "You're a deity?"
Arkiri laughed, amused by Kath's apparent lack of attention. "I figured the stargazer would have noticed something such as that a smidge more quickly," he teased. "I am a deity, yes."
"I was a touch preoccupied," Kath reminded him before moving on fully. "How did this come to be? What are you the deity of?"
"Life," Arkiri replied. "The previous owner of the role passed, and I was asked by a being named Rusen to take up the role. I was not pressured to do so, but I firmly believe that… it was meant to be."
While Kath has never taken much stock in fate or destiny, he had to agree that this was beyond fitting. That the previous deity died is troubling, however. "I assume you'll receive some form of training from the other deities at some point. As for this 'Rusen' person, he is likely a Faein, is he not?"
"You would be correct on all fronts, and as it stands… I should be able to contact the previous owner of the role without too much trouble," Arkiri explained. "So that my lack of experience does not hinder me from performing my duties."
Kath nodded slowly while thinking this all over. "This is an… unusual turn of events."
"I cannot say I disagree with that," Arkiri admitted.
"Why did you agree to take on such a responsibility so quickly?" Kath asked him.
Arkiri thought this through for several seconds before coming up with an answer. "I no longer wish to sit and grieve the death of my wife. I want to act, to do something. To end this war and protect whoever I can from the hell we've all been subjected to," he explained. "And I wish to live on behalf of Tarin, performing the same work she did in her life."
Soon, Kath found that he had no suitable answer to that. Everything Arkiri had said made sense, especially coming from him of all people. "I see."
There was a moment of sadness in Arkiri's aura as his thoughts drifted to Tarin. "I know her soul is in a safe place now, but… it is very hard knowing that I may not see her for a long time. And taking on this role… that certainly extends the potential to a far longer range."
"There are ways to visit her from time to time, I believe," Kath murmured. "Sein and Alana may know more. Although she is gone, you do not need to completely bid her farewell."
"While you are correct, I must put forth the effort regardless," Arkiri pointed out. "I will not be able to see her day in and day out as I once did. Instead, I must live without her directly in my life for some time."
"That is also true," Kath acknowledged. He knew from very personal experience just how true it was… and how difficult this could be for Arkiri going forward. He just didn't bring it up. "Since things are quiet for the moment, what will you be doing once you are finished here?"
Arkiri thought over this for a few seconds, tilting his head. "Hm… I suppose that, to some degree, I should begin focusing on my new job. I will allow myself to be guided until I am more accustomed to it."
"You will not give yourself a bit more time to rest first?" Kath asked.
"I will feel better the more I am doing," Arkiri answered. "Rest is good, but it is not good to rest beyond what is necessary. I have decided to be productive, and thus should use my energy to accomplish something." Kath considered this response before ultimately just murmuring an agreement. "Will you be okay in my absence? I am unsure how long I will be gone if I must leave."
"I will be fine," Kath said. "I do not need to be watched over like I did as a child."
"It was more intended to prompt you to discuss anything on your mind before I leave," Arkiri chuckled.
"I have nothing else to bring up," Kath confirmed with a small huff.
Arkiri simply nodded and stretched for a moment. "In that case, I may be off here soon… Once I eat something."
"You are on your own for that," Kath told him with mock annoyance. "I will cook nothing for you as reprimand for your incessant teasing."
"Hah, and here I thought that all those years of putting up with your incessant stubbornness would be worth some form of reward," Arkiri teased in return, chuckling.
"The only reward you get is no longer being bothered like you once were," Kath answered him mildly.
Arkiri snickered and shrugged. "It never once bothered me, Kath, even on the days where I thought that I was gonna have to walk away for a while just so you wouldn't be mad at me."
Kath waved him off. "You have never and will never do anything to upset me to that degree. I can assure you that."
That was something he was fully aware of, but the confirmation was always nice. "It was good seeing you again, Kath. Not the baby version of you, but the grown you."
"It was good seeing you as well," Kath replied. He nudged Azerel to see if the wolf would offer any sort of greeting or farewell. All he got from his companion was a tired grunt.
"I will return soon," Arkiri said finally as a farewell, turning to leave the room. He had so much to learn about his new life. Now was likely the time to start.
~保護者~
Jet didn't know where he was. He didn't care. The ground was solid beneath his feet as he paced around and around with his pounding head in his hands. For one reason or another, the Void was leaving him alone. It was for the best. He had every intention of blasting it into the next fucking universe if it said or did anything, the bastard. Actually, the real bastard at the moment was Cyril. Eila, too. They were the cause of his ever-intensifying migraine. He had every intention of thinking up a way to deal with them, only for that plan to be derailed when a brief memory flashed through his mind.
"You're too negative, you know that? You never even try to be optimistic."
Blinking, Jet looked at the soldier walking beside him. "Hope plays such a wicked game with the heart," he said after a time. "At some point, we're all bound to grow tired of losing."
The pounding in his head had managed to grow even worse. He sank down onto his knees, his fingers digging into his feathers with painful force. Another memory barreled into him, maybe even plowed him over, and he was powerless to stop it.
"An instant is time enough for tragedy."
This was a phrase Jet had heard from Kath just once. It had been said with a faraway expression, eyes seeing an event from long ago. Jet suspected he knew, for only the memory of the loss of his home and family on Planet Babylon could ever make him so… dull.
Now Jet had his own memory to associate with those words. He felt numb as he regained his feet and began stumbling away from the bloodbath surrounding him. Until just moments ago, he had thought these people were safe. He'd thought he'd gotten them far enough away. These were innocent civilians. They hadn't deserved to die. But now they were gone, all of them.
It had all happened so fast…
Jet gritted his teeth and shifted his hands to cover his eyes. What the hell…? What's happening…? Those were the only thoughts he managed to have before it happened again.
Pursing his lips together, Jet tore his eyes away from the bloody battlefield and the mourning survivors dotting it. By his feet was something so small and innocent that he found himself kneeling down to pick it up. As he gazed at this child's toy, the words "from Mama" caught his eye engraved on the side of it. He knew what house had once been here. He knew the child who owned this toy… and the mother that had given her life for her child on this day.
The wails of the living reached his ears anew. Turning the toy over in his hands, he wondered, 'They mourn over lost souls… but what about lost things?'
When had this happened? It felt like the memories containing any sort of context were… missing. Why were they missing? How much was missing? None of it made any goddamn sense. The fact that more fragmented memories kept resurfacing did nothing to answer his questions in the slightest.
"I used to want to defend existence... this beautiful thing, capable of fostering so much more than just life alone. But the closer I got to it... the more I fought for it… the better I could see the darkness waiting within… the evil we would all rather forget."
He… He remembered having that thought. More than once, in fact, but he couldn't place when those moments had occurred. "Life is full of darkness, both literal and not," he suddenly recalled saying once. "These days, it feels like that virtually all there is out there. And… so what if it is? I'm too exhausted to care anymore."
A new memory quickly rose up to take the place of the previous one.
An ill-favored comment about the bandaged and still aching wound left behind after his arm had been torn from him by Malevolence caused Jet to snap. He was so tired of this dick's attitude, especially when the bastard had never even so much as tried to fight with the rest of their people. "Well this is what it looks like when you've actually fought in battle," Jet told him harshly. "It's not glorious, it's not beautiful, it's not even heroic. It's merely doing what's right, and doing it again and again, even if someday you look like this."
When the other man fell into a startled silence, Jet spun around on his heel and stalked away.
Jet squeezed his eyes shut tighter than they had been before. I was… so tired. All that fighting, all that warfare… and for what? We did nothing except lose and die, over and over again. Malevolence, Kaden, the Widow, Nareish… They crushed us. They wouldn't stop. We couldn't make them stop. I couldn't make them stop. Everything was so fucking pointless. That thought barely had a chance to finish before the next memory was upon him.
"Everything that is beautiful has its moment and then fades away," Jet murmured, turning away from the colorful blooms that had taken root on A'latria. His world had been growing colder lately. Darker. Less hospitable. It bothered his current companion greatly, and it showed in their eyes. "Do not expect this spring to last. It will end soon enough." Despite never explicitly saying so, it almost seemed as though he was less talking about just the passing of the seasons… and more about the matter of peace.
Hopeless. That was how he'd been feeling back then. He'd experienced the emotion throughout his life, but never to the extent he'd begun to during this specific area of his past. Rather than just contending with the losses of mere hundreds of people across Mobius and New Babylon, he'd begun having to cope with entire solar systems worth of people being wiped out left, right, and center, day after day after fucking day. Nothing he'd tried to do to stop the massacres had ever been even remotely enough. So many survivors had blamed him for it all, and to this day he couldn't blame them. He'd been worse than useless back then. He'd gotten to the point where he just couldn't do it anymore.
"Trust is dangerous, you know," Jet warned someone softly in the latest memory that revealed itself to him. "It can shatter you, sure as any false hope or broken dream. And… it can leave you emptier than you have ever been."
There was no time to contemplate this. Yet another memory was upon him.
"I have no fear of death," Jet murmured to an unseen companion. "Permanent death, that is. It's always sounded peaceful to me."
Just like that, it happened. What felt like the biggest monster he'd apparently had locked away surged forth from deep within him. He was forced to relive every moment of it as though it was happening again right then and there.
Proceeding with caution wasn't always Jet's strong suit. He had a bad habit of recklessly pushing his way forward in any situation no matter what the consequences might be for himself. Now, however, he knew better. He knew better. This new realm, this new energy… Whatever it was, it was more dangerous than he yet understood. And it wouldn't stop talking to him just as it had been doing for the past several years. Its voice was constantly echoing inside his head…
"Come closer," it beckoned him no sooner than he'd entered the realm it apparently called home. "I know you are not afraid. Approach me, Jet, so that we may lay eyes upon one another for the first time."
Why Jet decided to obey, even he wasn't sure. Perhaps it was some form of morbid curiosity. Or perhaps he was just a fool. Either way, he took flight and proceeded deeper into the ethereal purple energies that surrounded him on all sides. His head felt clearer than it had in months. Certainly clearer than it had been when he'd begun obsessing over death and writing incessantly about this… thing. Whatever it was.
In truth, he had no idea how badly this encounter was set up to go. All he knew was that, no matter what happened, he needed to find a way to weaken his apparent connection to it. His… bond with it. It had done nothing but grow and grow, to the point where he found himself no longer even remotely disturbed by anything this presence suggested he or even they do. That alone was disturbing in and of itself. 'I have to break away from it. I just… need to figure out how. Soon.'
"I am destruction incarnate," the voice murmured to him as he ventured ever deeper. "I am the bringer of sorrow and suffering, the final whisper of death and the hollow nothingness that follows in its footsteps. We are not so different, you and I… but you pay too much heed to the weakness in your heart. Your grief… your shame… your fear… your 'morals'… they serve no purpose now. Let them fade into empty blackness within your soul as you travel forward through your everlasting life."
"You will never find that which you seek," it told him. "Not even the battle you long for so dearly. Not as you are now. If you wish to face the true mastermind behind your suffering, if you truly wish to kill her… then you need me as much as I want you. So many enemies stand in your way now… but that will not last forever. Our nothingness will consume them… along with her."
Jet slowed to a stop, eyes straining to see anything in the darkness. He could feel that something was nearby, he just didn't know what. "'Our'?" he questioned. "I never agreed to join you."
"Not with words," the voice agreed. "That you came here has already said more than enough. With a resounding whoosh of air, something massive came to hover just inches in front of Jet. He was still unable to see it for reasons unknown to him. Regardless, he maintained his composure and kept looking forward as though he could. "Your history of pain is both your shield and your weakness. You are resilient and can withstand far more than most… but once you shatter, you shatter completely. I cannot fix you. Only you can do that. But I will be here to guide and protect you… always."
"Not happening. Tell me who or what you are. Now." Jet crossed his arms with a hard scowl. "I'm tired of games and half-truths."
"I suppose I am a void," it answered him, "though I have never contemplated it. Perhaps I am even the void. It is no name, but it is all you will get." This being, this… "void" shifted so that its forehead came to rest against Jet's. Ice-cold power like nothing he'd ever felt before rushed through him and rendered him still. "Now all will end…" it whispered, "and everything will begin. Walk with me now, Jet… Transcend."
The flow of memories ended, taking Jet's inexplicable headache with it. He blinked his eyes open to find himself scowling at the palms of his own hands. Gritting his teeth a bit like he had been earlier, he braced his hands on his knees instead and stood up. So he remembered now. So what? What did it even matter why he had let the Void bond with him? It wasn't as though he cared at this point.
Whatever Eila and Cyril's game was, he didn't care for it. The whole thing had him pretty pissed, actually. He had half a mind to erase them right then and there, but… frankly, he had more important things to do. Like preparing to kill Nareish, for instance. Turning to the Void, he flexed the fingers of his left hand. The life-like prosthetic he had used for so long in the past was gone, as his arm had regenerated several years after his loss as he'd developed stronger and stronger Immortal-level healing abilities. But that was no matter. It was just… odd, being so vividly reminded of the violent amputation he'd once suffered. "Get up," he muttered. "We're leaving."
Not wasting another second, the pair vanished.
~保護者~
13,298 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all his help and support, and I hope you all enjoyed. Sorry for the long delay in posting, I'm off visiting some family for a while. Posted (at about 10:15 p.m.) 02-09-23.