Darkness stretches out in every direction.
This place is quickly becoming familiar to Zye. It almost feels like he spends more time here than anywhere else lately. The only difference is this time he’s on his back against the water’s surface. He stares up into the sky speckled with stars, galaxies, and an array of colors.
At least, he is until he feels it.
The surface gives.
He’s sinking and there’s nothing to grab onto to claw his way out. Panic has him reaching up for the bright orange light high in the ‘sky’ above him. It’s the last thing he sees before instinct has him closing his eyes while the warm water rushes over his face.
Opening them again, he’s greeted with an entirely different sight. The hallway is rather barren— no furniture, no decorations, no rugs. It’s just a slender run of stone floors and yellow-orange walls. Three doors are the only things that break the monotony.
He stands outside of one with Hax next to him. The man is quiet, still as a stone. There’s not even a thought that seeps out of him and into Zye’s mind. Not a lick of anything until a door is shifting.
A woman walks out and Zye can’t take his eyes off of her. Hands with red painted nails comb through short white hair with black lower strands. She tugs them all back into a high ponytail. It allows bangs to dip down into a bright red gaze that sweeps toward him— toward Hax.
She strides closer while tugging the black button-up shirt from around her skirt. The slit in the side shows off the shorts beneath it. Coming up next to Hax, she grins at him. “Ready to go?”
Hax shrugs in response. “I suppose. Did you make sure to cleanse, Kerse?”
“I’m not a kid, of course I did.”
“I know. But you do forget if you’re tired.”
Kerse nudges her arm against Hax’s as the door across from them opens. Exiting the room is Charm with a metal rod in her hand. It reaches from where it rests next to one of her pale-yellow flats to the horns curling against the sides of her head.
The bangles on her wrists shift as she moves to meet with them. She’s ready for a mission from the look of her black thigh-highs, with a yellow streak down the outer sides, to the dark long-sleeved leotard.
Over it all is a button-up bodice of the softest shades of yellow. From it fans out a piece of cloth, both front and back, of an even paler color. The only thing she doesn’t change is the long hair swaying behind her with each step.
Hax glances over at Kerse at the arm touching his. She smirks up at him. “Looks like the queen finally decided to join us.”
“Come now, Kerse, what kind of nickname even is that?” asks Charmilla as she stops before her.
“It’s what everyone calls you behind your back.”
“How quaint.”
Another bump of her arm to his. “What do we do now that Orion refuses to host us? It wasn’t even your fault.”
Charmilla taps the pole to the stone to gather Kerse’s attention. “Celeste says it’s better we give him time to grieve.”
“Whatever,” scoffs Kerse. “Hax is doing just fine and he was closer to the little shrimp. What a weakling.”
“Kerse, that’s enough.” Charmilla locks her gaze onto Hax, watching to see if it bothers him in the slightest. “We should do our best to mourn the loss, as well. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been to see.”
Worried, Kerse turns to him as well. They’re both greeted with the tiniest of smiles.
The fakest of smiles.
“I’m fine. We have our jobs. Let’s focus on that, hm?”
Hax turns to walk away when Kerse grabs at the back of his shirt. It tugs it ever-so-slightly out of the cloth tied around his waist. He shoos her hand away and begins to tuck it back in.
“I told you not to do that.”
“And you said we were sparring today and then tackling that mission. Celeste was supposed to go with us…” This distracts her for a moment before she’s back to the goal at hand. “Let me take your mind off it. I can beat you this time.”
“Keke, you beat me every time. I have somewhere to be, sorry. Later after the mission.”
“You said—”
“I promise I’ll be back soon and afterward we can let loose, alright? Why not let Charm join you instead?”
At that, Charmilla laughs. She doesn’t partake in the conversation as she makes her way for the stairs. “Because I always win and she ends up pouting until you tell her how much better she is.”
“I do not! Ugh! This is why no one likes you.”
Charmilla ignores her and continues down to the main floor. Besides her, Hax brushes a hand down her arm. “I’ll let you know when I’m done, alright?”
She purses her lips and looks away, hating that he’s breaking their engagement to do something without her. “Yeah, whatever. Just go already you stupid liar.”
The smile he gives her is so much more real than the one that was already there. One that fades quickly as he draws up a portal and pulls away from her.
“And I do think you’re stronger than her, Keke. You have the determination to surpass all of us.”
The emotions that shimmer to life in her ruby eyes have Hax giving her one last nod before he steps through the portal. Gone is the hard, warm stone only to be replaced by thick grass, oppressive heat, and thick humidity.
It’s at its worst at the heart of this island where a large village is nestled. From what Hax has discovered, it seems to be the hub where all the others around the islands are connected. It’s no surprise to him. Not with the powerful energy that seems to vibrate out of the place.
To anyone else, they wouldn’t see it. But his kind can. The shimmer that moves throughout the air is nearly palpable. While it proves something is protecting this location, it also means it’s drawing in the worst kind of attention.
Hax remains on the outskirts of the clearing. He hoists himself up into a tree and takes a seat on one of the thicker branches. There, he waits and watches as the large wooden gates begin to open to allow a squad of humans to exit the village.
His senses have him turning his attention to where they begin moving. There have to be at least ten beast-looking Nether.
“So many Nether today. And they’re early.”
As he mutters this to himself, the sound of a horn rips through the air. The gates begin to close, leaving enough of a gap for a quick retreat should they need it. For a moment, he hesitates.
There’s a part of him that wants to go down there and speak with them. Help them.
There’s another that sounds like Charmilla in his head. That he’s forbidden to do so. Hasn’t he caused enough damage already? His job is to protect from a distance. Not to meddle.
At the front of the pack of people, he watches a woman step forward. Short, dark brown hair is tugged into a ponytail that sits high on her head. It keeps it out of the fierce, bright green eyes that glare at the monsters ambling toward her.
She doesn’t flinch. She tightens her grip on her spear and smirks, making the yellow dots and lines beneath her eyes crinkle. The wooden length is unaffected by the fire surging to life around the metal point adhered to the wood.
Despite it all, her face catches Zye’s gaze. The tattoos beneath her eyes dare to stir him. He can almost imagine he’s seen them before— touched them, admired them, and wondered what they could possibly mean.
A shout of bravery is the prequel to her surging forward. Two others are right behind her as they clash with the Nether. The three in the back continue to support with bows and arrows.
Hax has to admit, she’s a mighty warrior. The power that burns through her comes out in the way her flames eat through three and then five of the Nether. They’re losing against her and for a moment, he’s confused.
He’s never seen a mortal fight back so hard. He’s also never seen ones that not only acknowledge the Nether but even think to attack.
Yet there she is, dodging and slicing through the Nether and around them as though she’s dancing. Untouchable with a trail of fire left in her wake. It burns out into the dirt as she sinks her spear into a seventh.
It’s hard for him not to admire her strength and determination. “Not good…A power like that brings hope. When it dies out, there’s despair. That will only make more powerful Nether. An endless cycle.”
A shiver crawls up his spine. Peering past the fight he can see it, another Nether staggering out of the tree line. No one else seems to notice it.
Without a second thought, he hops off of the branch. No matter what the reasoning, he can’t sit idly by while these people are slaughtered. He has to do something to keep that fire burning.
Haru would say the same thing.
Still up on his perch, Zye watches from a distance as Hax can’t take a step. He’s left stunned as the woman sidesteps the surprise attack and slices off one of the writhing tendrils.
Only for one from its side to wrap around her arm as well as the spear. It splits her attention and that’s her downfall.
The woman digs one heel into the hard dirt to try and pry herself away from the Nether. Behind her, the beast-like Nether refuses to be ignored. Just as she’s about to lift her other leg to kick at the one holding her, the beast nearly swallows her leg up to the knee.
A scream rips from her throat yet she clings to the spear with all she has. Fire consumes it and forces the Nether to relinquish its grip. The second it does, she’s slicing through its tentacles.
“Tulli! Brace yourself!”
Despite the teeth digging into her leg, she flips the spear around and stabs it deep into the ground. Buckling down onto her knees, she grits her teeth to muster through the pain.
A gust of wind surges through the area from the gates. It slams into the Nether beside her as well as the one latched onto her. Both are sent flying with the latter dragging its teeth down her leg.
It stuns all of the enemies enough to slink back for a moment at the behest of the Rank One. Its cerulean eyes stare down at the human woman that can barely stand.
The man who yelled for her rushes over. He bends down and tries not to focus on the deep gashes ripped through her pants. The blood is as deep a red as his hair.
Tulli clings onto him as he bears almost all of her weight. Hunched and limping, it’s the only time she’s not standing tall and proud above him. She grunts as she tries to steady herself on her feet. “A-Avan, sorry.”
Once he’s got a grip on her, he calls up a forcefield of wind. “Everyone, back inside!”
The pressure keeps them from moving forward while a team of teens rushes out. They hurry to help everyone get back inside. All the while, Avan is struggling to help her inside with determination shimmering in his silver eyes. It rivals that of the tears budding up at the corners.
“Thank you, my love,” she whispers to him.
From the side, Hax is staring— stunned and motionless. Despite the threat on their doorstep, they don’t give up. Even when their mightiest suffers so greatly, they rally together. A spare thought crosses his mind, that someone from these people might make a good vessel.
“Still…there’s work to do. I should take out as many as I can,” he mutters to himself while summoning forth a dagger.
Hidden from the mortals’ sight, he makes for the edge of the forest where the Nether are beginning to regroup. The markings down his right arm change from dark gray to white while his eyes begin to glow.
He’ll fight as many as he can— cleanse as many as he can. If anything, he can give these people a fighting chance until he can figure out why there are so many here.
From the side, Zye watches it happen with a single concern crawling through him. Vessel? What could he mean by that?
He has the same markings as all of these people. It hurts his head. It has his chest aching. What’s worse are the ones under that woman’s eyes. It has his head tingling like there’s something he should know.
A hand lands on his shoulder with a whisper dusting over his ear. “Does something look…familiar?”
It preludes the darkness gathering his sight only to drip away in the next second. Gone is the forest of that world to be replaced by a musty bedroom with not enough light from the ceiling fan.
Hax places a hand on a girl Zye has been before.
Z.
The girl he delivered that package to for Soren. The one that scared him to death by saying things only his mother would know.
“I’m sorry I won’t be back for some time. Do what he asks for now. He won’t hurt you, I promise. Once this is over I’ll make sure you get what you want.”
She shakes her head with tears welling up in her eyes. “I don’t want anything. I…you already saved me from the accident.”
“But I couldn’t save your parents. I’ve failed you in so many ways, Sigil. So please—”
“You…you could come by more. That’s all I want if that’s okay?”
The soft smile dares to give him away. It threatens to crack underneath the realization he can’t give it to her. He can’t promise or agree and it has guilt blossoming in his chest.
“I’ll do my best that you’re never alone again.”
He pats her head and gives her a card. Zye recognizes it as a bank card, surely he’s giving her money. How much, he’ll never know. He can only be a fly on the wall as Hax slips from the room and calls forth a portal.
“I’ll see if Jace’s little friend can help her.”
The name nearly has Zye tripping as he’s tugged through the portal and back into that hallway from last time. It’s all the same except one of the doors is open, left ajar just enough to see the plush white carpet turn dark.
Hax steps closer, slowly.
Zye can feel the trepidation coming off of him in waves. There’s a level of fear and worry that’s swirling together to create a tornado of panic inside.
Hax nudges the door open to see orange staining across the once-pure carpet. Not too far in, is Kerse standing with a body quivering from whatever has transpired. In her hands, she clutches at a bright, pulsing yellow orb.
Her coat is ripped and singed. Gashes and burns sear through her clothing as well as her skin. Blood drips from her nose as she doubles over the orb she clings to. Tears roll down her cheeks as she lets out a sorrowful wail.
It’s so loud that Hax takes a tentative step back at first. That and because of the body she stands over.
Charmilla isn’t moving.
She doesn’t look any better. In fact, she looks worse. Evident by the way her white attire is awash with the purples of Kerse’s poison and her own orange blood.
Hax doesn’t need to change how he sees to know that she’s not there anymore. That her soul is gone and the orb in Kerse’s hands is her power. He doesn’t need a play-by-play to know that things hit the fan the second he left Solis for a few minutes. He can only watch as Kerse absorbs the power into her body.
“Kerse…what are you doing?” he quietly asks from the doorway.
She snaps up straight with her eyes going wide. Fear is all that encompasses her as she tries to swallow past her emotions. “T-that crazy…she attacked me! Said I wasn’t fit to be an Infernal. She’s not right! She can’t be! And…and now…she’s…gone…Hax, I didn’t…I didn’t…”
Moving inside the room, he tries to ignore the scene before him and stay calm. At least, on the outside. “You know she’s wrong. You’re more than fit and it’ll be okay. We just need to lay low and come out here.”
“What…what do you mean? Aren’t I on the same level as Orion now?”
“Kerse, that’s not impor—”
“She was in our way and plotting against you! She wouldn’t agree anyway. Now…he’ll…they’ll all listen to us!”
“Charm wasn’t a threat. You should have come and got me.”
“No! I thought you said you trust me? It’s us against them! And she…she tried…to kill me.”
“We’ll talk about it later. Come on, come here.”
“No! Why can’t you see I’m better than him, than all of them, now? I can take them all out if you want. We can do what we want.”
Hax holds out his hand. All while hoping it’s not shaking as much as he feels like it is. “Kerse, go on. I’ll clean this up and then—”
“No!”
She steps over the legs already turning into shimmering dust. Kerse marches straight to him and grabs his wrist. Yanking him out of the room, she thrusts him into the hallway with her.
He wants to flinch away from the way her hand smears blood across his arm and then his shirt as she grabs it. Kerse won’t let him run away, no, she’s trying to urge him to her room instead.
“We can talk now. You…you aren’t betraying me too, are you?”
Hax reaches down for her wrists, trying to pry her from him as well as stop her from dragging him. Not that he can, she’s stronger than he is, and by quite a lot at that.
“I’d never betray you, Keke, calm down.”
Her charred jacket sleeve rides up her arm as he finally gets a hold of her wrist. It’s then that he sees it. The pale, nearly translucent skin with blue veins glowing throughout it.
She’s not cleansing.
The panic rises up all over again. How long has she been going without? How did he not notice? How could he have let this happen? Can he even convince her to cleanse again?
“I’ll take care of Jace. I’m sure she’ll side with you and if he doesn’t I’ll handle it. Alright?”
“No. You can’t leave me.”
Kerse yanks away from his grip only to grab his wrist again. She doesn’t realize she’s activating this new power until Hax doubles over with a yelp of pain.
Retreating back a step, she stares at him. “I…I’m…I didn’t mean to.”
Hax straightens back up in time to see the furrowed brows and tears beading at the corners of her eyes. She’s hurting and he doesn’t know what to do. What can he do?
“It’s okay. I’m fine. Go get used to the new power, cleanse, and I’ll take care of everything.”
“F-fine. Don’t be long.”
“I promise I won’t.”
He watches her turn away, hesitate, and then finally hurry to her room. Glancing over his shoulder, he watches Charmilla fade away completely. All he can do is blink back the tears burning at his eyes.
“I’m a damn fool…” He strides to the door and begins to close it, to let the powers that be take the space away. All while he eyes Kerse’s door while summoning a portal. “I’ll kill the bastard that’s feeding her lies.”
________________________
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1Xy7Ffn3T
Thrust back into himself, Zye’s eyes open with a start. He’d shoot up out of bed but he feels as though he weighs a ton. Lying there limp, he feels miserable. Almost on par with a raging fever that he knows all too well.
His body is on fire and he feels as though he’s sweating to death. Not to mention the thudding pain in his head that’s accompanied by tears running down his face.
Yet the hand on his forehead is cool and refreshing, calming even. Following the arm, he notices it’s connected to Orion. The very man that’s perched on the edge of the bed with a blank expression.
“What?” he asks and intends to get more out. Except his throat feels dry and hoarse, causing the word to come out low and raspy.
“Celeste can’t do this on their own. I figured I’d help.”
Zye can’t deny the frustration that has him knocking Orion’s hand away. This is completely different than when Celeste did it. This has his body feeling as though he’s in complete agony.
He might as well be alive and suffering again.
“You can’t just do that to someone,” he chokes out.
Orion places his hands on his lap. “Do you not want your memories back?”
“A little warning would have been fucking nice.” He groans as he tries to sit up. “I feel like shit. And they aren’t even my memories.”
Orion’s gaze is on Zye’s right arm and the markings that are steadily getting darker against sweaty skin. He stands up, moving away as Zye struggles to kick the blankets off. “I guess there’s no way to stop it.”
“What?” he asks while plucking at his tanktop, trying to cool air on his skin. Even in shorts, he feels as though he’s sweltering. Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he looks up to Orion as the man steps away.
“I can do it again later. I need to recover my energy first.”
“Why help now? What changed?”
Zye ignores the tightness in his chest and tries to stand up. His first thought is to make it to his bathroom. A soak in the cold water sounds amazing right now.
Except the world threatens to tilt the second he does. The burn settles into pure discomfort as he doubles over expecting to vomit. All that comes out are coughs that violently wrack his body.
Clasping his hand over his mouth, he tries to hold it back and calm down. He can’t stop it. He can only try to reach back for the bed as blood drips between his fingers.
“That shouldn’t happen,” Orion mutters as he rushes back over.
He guides Zye back to the edge of the bed. Sitting doesn’t help in the slightest. Zye stays doubled over and pinches his eyes shut as his body trembles. It hurts so bad that he can only pray it stops.
“Hang in there, Celeste is on their way.”
Zye can feel the hand on his shoulder. Orion doesn’t know what to do and his bedside manner is a new level of clueless he’s not used to. Nonetheless, he appreciates the cold hand on his skin more than anything.
Especially as the coughing fit dies down. The only problem is he feels worse now than he did before. His clean hand clutches at the bed in hopes of stopping himself from swaying.
“Heh, feels like…you’re trying to…kill me instead,” he says between gulps of air he doesn’t need.
“Just, uh, lay down. They’re almost here I’m sure.”
“The blood?”
Zye doesn’t particularly mind it. Although, part of him does. Especially since it’s dripped down the front of his shirt and onto the floor between his feet. He can only imagine how it’s smeared over his mouth.
Disgusting.
Orion shakes his head. “I don’t care about the sheets. Lay down. The Mark can clean it up later.”
Zye keeps his eyes pinched shut as he lies down. He’s almost sad it means the cold touch leaves him. “Fuck, my head hurts.”
“Your name?” asks Orion.
“What?”
“Tell me your name. I want to make sure you’ve not lost anything.”
“Zye Rigel.”
“How old were you when you died?”
“Twenty-nine.”
“And we’re in?”
“Noctis.”
Orion hovers beside the bed, staring down at the hand rubbing against the sheet. It smears the blood across his skin and the fabric. Orion takes a step back as the door flies open.
“What in the name of God did you do? I was using the healing waters for a reason.”
“I thought—”
“You could destroy or break something tampering with a soul like that. Call for Ilista or Aster so they can carry him for me.”
Orion makes his way into his room so he can meet Aster when he comes in. It’s the least he can do to get away from what he’s done. Meanwhile, Celeste stands vigil at the side of the bed.
“It’ll be just a moment and we’ll get you healing.”
Their eyes watch the way the markings begin to fade away. While they do, the streaks of orange blood remain. They brush a hand over his shoulder.
“If I could only get you to Solis. I can’t get in touch with any of them. I wish I knew what was going on.”
Zye cracks an eye open and gives them a smile. “Hey, it’s fine. I can handle feeling like shit.”
“You shouldn’t have to. Can you tell me how you’re feeling otherwise?”
“Tired. I was hot as hell. Now I’m just…cold.”
From the doorway comes both Orion and Aster. Celeste glances at them. “Aster, come take him to the water and stay with him. Orion and I will be there in a moment.”
It goes without saying it’s because they need to talk. Aster doesn’t question it, he merely does as he’s told. Over to the bed, he begins to haul Zye out of bed. Zye does his best to make it as easy on Aster as he can.
The slow shuffle out of the room only gets worse when they’re at the edge of the pool. The steps going down into it prove the greatest enemy until Zye’s bare feet hit the water.
It feels like ice.
“Can we wait?”
Aster huffs at that, “No. They said in the water.”
“But your clothes will get wet.”
“Are you really going to be a baby now?”
Zye pouts down at his feet. He watches Aster kick off the pair of slippers he had been wearing. Together, they begin down into the water until he has Zye sitting on the middle step.
Half in and half out, he shivers at how cold it feels. To the point where Aster sits on the edge and takes off his coat. The blue material cascades over Zye’s shoulders and gives a warmth he doesn’t expect.
“Sure I won’t get my germs on it?”
“I can take it back.”
Zye glares into the water and how the orange begins to wash off his hands. “Thanks, Aster.”
A hand settles on his shoulder with an accompanying leg against his back. It’s all to keep him from falling over just in case. Not that it would hurt him.
The sentiment has Zye tugging the coat tighter and folding his arms over his knees. All they can do is wait for Celeste and Orion to finish their conversation. If anything, he’s grateful Aster doesn’t demand he go further. Instead, they sit together until he begins to doze off waiting.
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