Loki awakes to the sound of wood snapping and a fire crackling. His eyes were lighter than the sacks of lead from earlier. Vision blurred into focus to show a crimson figure hunched over a flame. He made it to his feet, slowly reaching his red companion.
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"I guess you got what you needed?" He said to Zero, hunched over this slow-growing flame, not turning or acknowledging Loki's existence. The silence grew unbearable as Zero snapped twigs and tossed them into the flame, causing it to grow again.
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"Did something happen while I wa-
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-you're slowly dying and inching closer to death by the second, ya know?" Zero interrupted. Their voice was odd and distorted, causing a shiver to run down Lokis' spine.
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"Who are you!?" Loki demanded, causing the faux Zero to cock their head to the side.
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"You know us deathless... You use our name yet refuse our family." The voice is hollow and distant even though Loki looms over his partners' form. He was frozen. Every muscle lurched at the idea of moving away. Another handful of broken twigs was thrown into the fire growing it more Loki could feel the heat growing closer to his face.
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"Deathless?" Loki questioned, unable to do much else.
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"You have died once before, no?" The faux Zero posited curiously. Memories flooded Loki's mind, years gone by, and a vengeance yet exacted.
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"Mothers Mold?" Upon speaking its name, Mothers Mold spun around, revealing its face, unlike Zero, whose face, even though entirely covered by the crimson fabric, held life and so much emotion that he had seen the past few days. The Mothers Mold's face was hollow and sullen, its eyes dark abysses that tugged at the corners of your soul for something you, yourself, never knew was there, but it wanted to change it, shape it to fit its form even if that meant breaking whatever it wanted to make sure you fit its Mold.
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"The one you call Zero... They struggle to keep your thread from snapping while mending it constantly... To keep you whole..." Mother Mold's mouth didn't move, but Loki heard every word clearly. Loki's skin crawled at how close the Mother's Mold was. It cracked another handful of twigs, throwing them into the fire and causing the flame to grow behind it, the heat now baring down on Loki's face.
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"They struggle for you... To keep a Promise made to Family... I can't undo but if you... joined..." The offer from Mother Mold shook Loki to his core, allowing him to take a step back. A heavy gust blew behind him, causing the flame to wane, giving him slight relief. He understood what joining meant. It meant allowing the change and the breaking of who he was. Loki could see the flames dance behind the Mother Mold, his focus drawn to it. Deep within the fire, he saw Zero fighting creatures in the darkness, the needles from earlier peppering their body as they struggled against these agile creatures.
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"They struggle for you... You join, they struggle less..." The Mother Mold states, waiting for Loki's answer. Loki looked from the hollow crimson spectator and the vision in the flames of Zero.
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"I-
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-Just hold on, Loki, I'm coming! Don't give in!" Zeros voice erupted from the flame, causing the mark under Loki's eye to burn.
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"I won't join." Loki replied, causing the Mothers Mold to let out a soul-piecing screech. Loki could move now. He shielded his ears from the noise. The wind picked up, and the flame burst to life behind the Mother Mold. Loki forms a spear and tosses it directly into the Mother Molds' chest, causing the screech to end, but instead of slumping to the earth, the Mother Mold stood with a twisted smile. It lunges forward, and now, inches from Loki's face, the world grows silent.
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"I may have to mend you... I do not have to keep your thread from snapping..." The Mother Mold's voice was quiet. The wind seemed to whip around them, but all Loki could hear were its words. The Mothers Mold holds up a green thread before Loki's face, and the flame's heat pours over his body as it grows. The Mothers Mold pulls tightly on the strand. The noise of the stress on the string booms in Loki's head, causing pain to streak through his body. They pull tighter, the noise growing louder as pain grips his limbs. He reaches for Mothers Mold's hands, but they pass straight through, to his surprise.
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"STRUGGLE!" The Mother Mold screams as the flame folds over its back. The heat makes Loki wince and shies away. His eyes snap open to the sight of a maw with endless rows of teeth slowly spiraling down a throat inching towards his face—hot breath poured from its beak. With quick instincts, he forms a spear to skewer the creature through the top of its beak, killing it instantly.
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The beast slumped to the ground with a few death throws before falling limp. The sky filled with cawing from the others that had gathered above. Black wings filled the canopy with the bird-like creatures from earlier, watching the most courageous of the bunch suffer the consequences of such bravery. His arms and legs ached from the scratches and pecks he suffered while unconscious. A ringing in his ears and the feeling of standing on a boat let him know the poison still coursed through his veins.
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He summoned all the Ether he could, filling it with as much killing intent as possible, but that didn't deter them. This time, something was different about this flock. They were agitated and more aggressive than the last. Screeches from above made it known they had grown the courage to attack two dive bombs, causing him to dodge the earth swaying beneath him, though causing him to fall flat. More caws rang out above him as if mocking laughter. He watched as shadows circled him from above. His body was heavy again, unlike the dream, and was barely responsive. He remembered the string and the Mother Mold stretching it, and something in his chest tightened, but then he remembered Zero and what they said.
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His mark itched again.
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"I will struggle... I will hold on because Ivo is dead, and I am Loki!" Green threads form a mask over Loki's face as Ether pours from his body and black wings engulf him.
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