A presence outside has Jace holding onto Zye’s wrist, lowering those hands away from his face. He recognizes it as a Nether and he’s sure it’s Lucile. Zye seems to think the same thing with how he glances to the side.
Together, they stand and head outside to see Lucile idling at the porch’s edge. She waits for them to come closer. Jace steps forward and holds out his hand to her, allowing a tendril to wrap around his fingers.
It’s not as intense as last time. He’s at least had a good night’s sleep and he feels a bit recovered. Considering he hasn’t been back to Solis’s waters, it’ll have to do. Once Lucile retreats from the touch, she regards them both.
“Kerse has been seen at the ruins. It sounds like the Surge is split between Daichi and Soren.”
Jace sighs. “Dammit…I knew I didn’t have much time. She moved faster than I thought. Lucile, be careful. I want you to stay away from the Surge and find Daichi’s location instead.”
“I know where he is. I saw the fight that day and followed him. I can take you there when you’re ready.”
“Alright. We’ll be gone for some time but I’ll be back to check in with you. I’ll return at dawn on the days I can.”
Lucile nods and begins to move away. Zye watches her leave, finding it rather sad to do so. The fact that she’s trapped like that is heartbreaking. It seems like the issue that should have always been priority number one.
“How could no one have ever known?”
Jace glances over at him. “No one questioned it. Well, I guess Hax started to if nothing else.” He pauses for a moment and steps down off the porch. “They should be here any second.”
Zye follows him, stamping down grass that comes up to his shins. As Jace said, a portal ripples into existence some distance away. The first person that comes out of it is Callua. Another appears beside it with Vespera striding out with Ilista right behind her.
Ilista doesn’t mean to push past either woman. She doesn’t intend to nearly knock Zye over, either, as she runs up to him. Yanking him into a hug, Ilista squeezes him tight.
“I’m so, so sorry! I shouldn’t have kept things from you. I should have been honest and if I had you would have gotten back to him sooner.”
“Ilista, it’s fine. You couldn’t have known.”
She leans in closer, lips hovering beside his ear. “I had no idea you landed the eye candy of Solis.”
“T-the what?”
Jace shakes his head as Ilista steps back with a laugh. He holds out his hand toward her, hoping to bury the hatchet so to speak. She takes it and gives him a strong grip in return.
“Vespera filled me in so all I need is for Zye to give me the juicy details. But, I’m glad we’re on the same side.”
As she pulls away, Jace gives a smile. “Thank you for looking out for him. I couldn’t have asked for someone better.”
“Geez, such flattery. I could get used to that. So, are you all ready?”
Callua comes up beside the three of them while Vespera waits patiently to the side. “I believe so. The sooner the better before the beasts sniff us out.”
Ilista snorts at that, laughing. “Oh, I like you.” She loops her arm with Callua, tugging her close. It has Callua looking up at her with surprise and apprehension. “You’re Cal, right? Xerxes talks about you all the time. So, you know, help a girl out with some information back?”
“You need extra info?”
“I could use some help. He’s just so cute…like a squirrel.”
They’re turning and walking away with Ilista leading the charge. She calls forth a portal and the three women slip through first. It leaves Jace and Zye with the former about to step through next.
At least, until Zye grabs his hand. He looks over at him with determination in his silver gaze. “I promise I’ll protect you.”
“Right back at ya.”
Leaving the desolate and bleak world behind, they trade humidity for the chill that resides in Noctis’s halls. Zye can feel the difference in returning here. It’s not that he’s unwanted, simply that there’s something that’s changed.
He watches Ilista and Callua talk as they go up the stairs to Celeste. From the blush on the young man’s face at the bottom of the stairs, he can tell that Callua has already gushed over him to some degree. It lightens his heart to see the smile on Xerxes’s face when their eyes meet.
It means even more that he’s tugged the mask down.
Zye drags Jace over. Only once they’re before him does he let go of the warm hand against his. He pats the top of Xerxes’s head with a smirk, “See? I told you I’d be back and better than ever.”
“Welcome back. They’re, um, all upstairs.”
“Xerxes, you don’t have to be like that. Come here.”
When he doesn’t move, Zye chuckles and tugs him forward into a hug. It’s loose and allows Zye to spin them around. He circles around Xerxes with his hands on the shorter man’s shoulders. It allows Xerxes to slowly lift his gaze to Jace.
“You…you’re the guy that dropped off Callua that day.”
“I was, yes.”
“So…” He glances over his shoulder at Zye, “you two?”
“Mmhm.” Zye pats his shoulders before pivoting and starting to make his way up the stairs. “I think you two will get along great. Jay is just a big teddy bear and you’re a tiny one.”
Xerxes is swift in situating the mask back up on his face so that Jace can’t see how he pouts at that. Not that Jace would ever act on it. If anything, he gestures for Xerxes to go first.
“It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Jace.”
“N-nice to meet you, too.”
Like a mouse, he scurries up the stairs after Zye. Jace finds it rather cute. The people that Zye brings around him are all so different yet the same. He knows he’ll get along well with the smaller man, he can already tell.
Regardless, he can’t focus on that. He makes his way up behind them all. By the time he gets up there, everyone is already in their seats except for Zye who stands a bit awkwardly to the side. He’s waiting for Jace.
To which, he can understand.
Xerxes stands beside one of the couches where Ilista sits. Next to her is Aster and then Iris beside him. She sits closest to Celeste in one of the additional chairs brought up to create a U-shape of seating.
In the other chair is Orion. The couch where they’ll be sitting is empty save for Callua on the end closest to the exit. Beside her, stands Vespera.
Zye doesn’t go forward until Jace comes up beside him. He brushes a finger along the back of Zye’s wrist. Even through the shirt, Zye can feel the reassuring touch. Together, they scoot past Callua’s knees and the edge of the table to sit with Zye between them.
Celeste beams at them all. They’re more than a bit excited to have finally everyone in the same room. Rather…almost everyone.
“Thank you all for coming. It’s important we get everything out on the table as quickly as possible if we’re to deal with the problems laid out before us.” They shift toward Jace. “Vespera has been filling me in as best she can between what you have her doing and what’s going on. However, I’d like it if you told us yourself.”
“Celeste, that’s—” Orion tries to interject.
“I said he could talk. This is a safe space. Please, begin wherever you’d like.”
“There’s more going on than I think even we are aware of,” Jace starts. “At the moment, the three major threats are the Dark Surge, Kerse, and Daichi’s rouge group. I have a reliable source keeping tabs on all three. What I can provide, should you want it, are Hax’s journals as well as any information we’ve collected on the Surge.
“I’ve gone through all of his records and it shows he was experimenting with and on souls. However, he wasn’t harming them. His intentions were to provide them protection against the Nether. Especially the one that was going to be his vessel.
“He was most interested, it seems, in figuring out just what a Nether is. As well as where it comes from, how it develops, and are there ways to prevent this phenomenon from occurring to try and curb activity.”
Celeste leans back in their chair. “I see…which concludes that Hax is indeed gone as well? From what Vespera tells me.”
“Not really?” Zye leans forward, balancing his elbows on his legs. “He’s, uh, still with…me. He said I can let him out when this is over and I can get to the mirror in Solis. I don’t know if this one would work here or not.”
Orion’s grip tightens on the arms of the chair. “He’s in you?”
Zye huffs at that, “Phrasing. You make it too easy.”
Regardless of his retort, Jace’s hand falls onto Zye’s thigh. The protective notion doesn’t go unnoticed by anyone. Especially Orion. All of their attention gradually shifts back to Jace as he continues.
“Hax isn’t an issue at the moment. If anything, he could be our secret weapon. I do think his soul was weak from the transfer and sought a place to hole up. At least, that’s my best guess.”
Celeste nods in agreement. “That would make sense. Weak souls don’t have the energy to move on and have a higher chance of spawning a Nether. Even attaching to people wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.”
“Kerse has also taken Charmilla’s power and control over the Dark Surge. Well…she thinks she has control over it. Hax told me he was the one that originally created it to investigate what I spoke of earlier.
“Now it’s run by a man named Soren. He’s not only convinced countless Stars, but also Kerse, to forgo cleansing. To the point where they’re showing Nether qualities. Some even turn into them if their soul can’t handle the strain.”
This information has silence settling through the room. Worse yet when Ilista tries to follow along. Her hand waves through the air before her. “That would explain the surge in activity as well as the power spikes. Some Nether seem to have abilities. Much like we do.”
“It’s possible that they’re retaining the gifts they’re given. Unfortunately, Kerse has more than likely already figured out I’m not on her side anymore. Still, her goal last I knew was looking for Hax.”
Out of them all, there’s only one person that’s concerned with Jace sitting in on this. In fact, being there at all. He’s worried and fearful that what happened to Celeste could happen to Orion. Aster continues to tap his foot against the rug, smothering the noise he’d make otherwise.
“This is absurd! We haven’t even discussed if we can trust him.” He gestures to Jace. “You attacked us. I watched Hax stab Orion and… How can we trust anything you say?”
It doesn’t anger Jace in the slightest. He knows about Aster from what Callua has told him. He’s not one to fly off the handle unless something or someone he cares about is threatened in any way. Even in the slightest chance, he’ll be on the offensive.
That doesn’t mean Jace is going to take it lying down. He’s sick of being walked over.
“I do understand that. We’ve all done things that paint us in more negative lights. Before you throw accusations at me, the one you hold on a pedestal is no better. We’ve both done what we thought was right even if it put us in precarious situations.
“Did no one think it was odd that he’d bring a mortal into this? The very thing that he doesn’t care to get near because of what he thinks they did to Polaris? Or that Hax wouldn’t give any of you the information he had, to begin with?”
Orion glares at Jace. “Keep his name out of your mouth.”
“If he wasn’t important to the conversation, I would.”
“Everything Orion and the rest of us do is to keep people safe,” interjects Aster.
As far as Jace is concerned, if they’re going to keep hitting, he’ll hit back. He squeezes Zye’s leg, watching from the corner of his eye as Zye glances at the ones talking.
“Even if that means kidnapping one person in this pursuit of justice? Orion locked away his memories and kept him here. All while he was trying to figure out how to stop Hax’s plan. And if it meant killing Zye so that the power didn’t exist at all, I’m sure he was ready to do that.”
Zye glances over at Orion. He doesn’t have all of his memories back. He knows Orion was there and he’s the obvious culprit. It’s not that he did it that has a shiver racing up his spine. It’s the accusation that Zye would have just been standing on the gallows, waiting and hoping it didn’t come to that.
If anyone, he believes every word that comes from Jace’s mouth. He understands where Orion is coming from. It doesn’t mean he likes it.
Much like how Aster doesn’t care for Jace’s side of things.
“And how would you know any of that?”
“Hax told me.”
“Like he could be trusted?”
Jace sighs. “I didn’t say he could. Everyone lies to get what they want. Even if it’s only to themselves.”
Celeste raises their hand. “Aster, that’s enough. Remember your place and respect your fellow Keeper. If he wasn’t trusted, he wouldn’t have been allowed here to begin with. Besides, we can come to the truth without raising our voices.”
Aster sulks back into the cushion. Meanwhile, Zye is trying to peer at Orion. He wants the man to look back at him. Just for a second. He can’t read people very well. But he wants to see those eyes— the window to the soul that’ll tell him so much.
“What Jace is saying is true.” Celeste nods to the collective before them. “I was still recovering when Orion brought me Zye’s soul. We already knew Hax was tampering with it and that his power was being placed there.
“What he was trying to gain from it, I wasn’t sure. I suggested we house him, keep him safe, and watch over him. I wasn’t aware until a few situations occurred that Orion had gone a step further to lock the power away. As well as a backup plan in case it went out of control.
“Not that I’m making excuses. What was done to you was wrong and I believe we’ll all strive to make sure it never happens again.”
Zye watches the way Orion shifts. At first, he thinks it’s because he doesn’t want to look at any of them. A closer inspection proves that it’s because he’s trying not to garner more of Ilista’s attention. Zye shifts his gaze to her and he sees it.
The anger.
If she could rip through the material on the couch, he’s pretty sure she could at this point. Even Xerxes seems a bit nervous from where he stands beside her.
Celeste seems to notice this as well. “Is something wrong, Ilista?”
“A lot! I knew he told Aster everything. But you couldn’t even let me in on this?”
She levels a glare at Orion to the point where she rises from her seat.
“You kept me in the dark. You probably even knew Vespera was doing what she was and instead of stopping her, let it happen. You told me to protect him— make friends, you said. All so I could funnel information to you in case he was awakening his power, right?”
Zye sits up. His hands grip his knees as he tries to smile at her. “Ilista, it’s alright.”
“It’s not alright! I took an oath— we all did— to guard the balance and work to ensure the safety of souls. That includes you, too. And worse, we’re supposed to be a team and work together but no one does that anymore. Not even within our realm!”
Finally, Orion meets her heated gaze.
“I apologize for my behavior and how I’ve handled things. I was trying to keep the balance and everyone safe. I didn’t want to involve you, Ilista, in case things went south.”
“Well, it has. Ugh! This is such a load of crap. You didn’t tell me because you knew what I would do. I’d have taken him away from here. Far away and straight to Jace ages ago.”
Orion can’t deny it. To the side, Vespera taps Callua’s shoulder. The latter understands what she means and reaches behind Zye. Poking at Jace’s shoulder next gets the message across. The subject needs to switch. They can work this out privately later.
Jace does as they urge. “That’s not all. There’s also something you all should know about the Nether.”
This has all of their attention.
“While working with Hax, I came into contact with one that’s been helping him. The same one that’s watched over Zye and is helping us keep tabs on everyone we need to. It’s the Rank Ones in general. We’re not sure about the others.
“They’re not emotions left over from a soul. They are the soul. This is why even we can turn into them if we don’t cleanse. However, Hax discovered that we can give them some of our energy, or as they call it, light. With it, they can regain some semblance of themselves and control.”
Surprising them all, Iris is the one that speaks up. “Truly? Then…then we should work even harder to find these and cleanse them as soon as possible.”
Both Celeste and Orion seem agitated by this. If only because they could have had this information much, much, sooner.
Regardless, Jace continues. “Hax has done years of research into this and on a variety of topics. Once I’ve allowed Zye to look at the more personal documents I’d be more than happy to give them over for everyone to go through.”
“How do we know you’re not trying to lead us into a trap and bring Kerse in here at any moment once we let our guard down?” asks Aster.
While Zye would normally be the one to jump at this opportunity, Callua beats him to it. A helpful hand on her shoulder from Vespera encourages her to do so.
“You haven’t spilled your secrets while Jace has. He has nothing to hide. Meanwhile, you’ve been meeting up with a Dark Star by the name of Adrian. What have you done with the information he’s given you?”
“I tried to do something but there was nothing to do! I got locations for the stupid Surge and their hideouts but when I got there, they were all destroyed. Not a speck of anything was left.”
“Under Hax’s orders,” begins Jace, “I routed them to a single place. I destroyed everything I could. I have the location and I can promise that Kerse frequents there. However, Daichi is our first target. He’s a wild card and needs to be taken care of.”
Celeste nods at this. It’s all coming together and they’re mulling over the countless strategies to make this play out without any causalities. “Alright. If you’ll give us the coordinates, we’ll continue to observe Kerse while we trust the three of you to get to Daichi.”
“Thank you.”
“Once you have, signal Aster and Ilista. We’ll all exchange links before parting today. They’ll come to extract you and anyone else that wants out. While also cleansing the rest. Once that’s down, we can handle what’s happening with Kerse. And the leader of the Surge?”
“He has the power of sight and he’s honed it to where it’s deadly if we don’t take him on together. The only problem is he has two people always at his side. I don’t have a lot of information on either of them.”
Aster huffs at that. “I’ll get in touch with Adrian and see if he can figure anything out about them.”
“No one should approach him,” warns Jace. “He has a blessed tool. I retrieved the one that paired with it and allowed the girl, Sigil, that made it to destroy it. As well as any others I could find.”
“You mean…” Celeste glances over at Orion. The one time that Orion meets their gaze. They both are thinking the same thing. The very thing that Jace continues to clarify.
“She’s a descendant of the human Haru gave his life to save. She still has a piece of that power in her. Soren is hunting her down. Hax did his best to keep her safe and at the moment, I have her hidden. Vespera is usually the one I leave with her.”
“I see. Then first things first. Orion and I will take care of your memory issues.” Celeste gestures to Zye before sweeping that motion to the rest of them. “Everyone else, exchange signatures and we’ll be with you shortly to discuss rotations. Jace, how long until you wish to go to Daichi?”
“A day or so at most. I have to at least start his training and make sure he’s recovered completely.”
“Alright. We’ll reconvene after that. Anyone that wishes to help Jace can let him or me know. Now go rest and prepare.”
Iris is the first to move out of them all. She slips around the back of the couch and proceeds to the cleansing room. While she goes to get everything ready, Callua pats Jace on the arm and hands him a small velvet bag.
“I’ll meet you at your place?”
“See you there.”
It’s a short burst of everyone shaking hands. A brief stint that goes throughout the circle as they all establish a connection with each other. Some take longer than others. Zye finds it the hardest, unsure of just how it works even still. He’s more than happy when everyone begins to leave and he doesn’t have to shake anyone else’s hand.
It means he can get this over with, too.
Standing around the room, Zye watches as everyone else begins to leave except Aster. He lingers with a hesitant gaze falling on Jace. He strides over to them with hands in his pockets.
“Sorry about jumping down your throat.”
Jace shakes his head. “Don’t be. I get it. He’s important to you and when someone threatens that, it’s natural to be abrasive.”
Zye bumps his arm against Jace’s as he grins over at Aster. “Maybe if you’re nice I’ll put in a good word for you, huh?”
“You brat—”
“Aster, watch it. He’s an Infernal and you’ll watch your tongue.”
“Yes, sir.”
As he goes to pass by Zye, the latter reaches out. He’s aware of the way Aster flinches from the touch on his arm yet doesn’t pull away. Zye drops his voice. “Don’t listen to him. I’m not your boss, insult me all you want.”
“Idiot,” mumbles Aster as he shrugs out of Zye’s grasp and hurries to leave.
Once he’s down the stairs and out of earshot, Orion sighs. “I apologize on his behalf.” “We both apologize, period. To both of you.” Celeste stands. Suddenly they don’t seem very sure of themselves. It was a lot to take in and it’s not even over yet. “I am sincerely sorry for my part in this. Without Charm and then being attacked, I let Orion handle everything without butting in.
“I have no excuses for what I’ve allowed my friends to endure as well as do to others. None of us have done things right, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to fix as much as we can.”
Celeste moves to stride toward the couch. “Do either of you have any questions for us? If not, the door is always open as we should keep it from now on.”
“Jace told me the balance is off at the moment.”
Orion clicks his tongue at that. It is, terribly so. “We’ve consulted with those above and they have said they’ll make a decision once Kerse has been dealt with. They’ll either appoint another Infernal or relieve one of us from duty.”
“Isn’t she your friend?”
“Friend is a stretch.”
Celeste cheerfully interjects. “She is. I’m afraid we weren’t as close as we should have been. However, we haven’t spoken to her in many, many cycles. I don’t understand what’s going on in her head at the moment.”
Jace, in hopes of not painting her as a terrible evil, speaks up. “She’s not cleansing, but I don’t think she’s like Soren. Hax warned me that whatever she’s feeling at the moment is amplified to where she only focuses on that.
“She’s going to behave just like a Nether would, searching for something to make the ache go away. It’s only made worse by the fact that Hax informed me she didn’t kill Charm deliberately, but that Charm attacked her first.”
Celeste brings a hand up to their face, covering their mouth. It’s a hard pill to swallow. But not an unexpected one. “That’s…not good news. Charmilla’s last message to me warned me that she noticed a change in Kerse. She told me she’d take matters into her own hands if she must even though I told her not to. Oh, that poor thing…”
“Do you know if she asked anyone above about it?”
“No. I mentioned consulting with them but I don’t know if she did.”
Orion is already marching over to the room. He wants to carry this conversation with him so he can get this over with. “How long has she been doing this?”
“I don’t know.”
Celeste, even with bangs shifting in front of their eyes, appears sad with how their shoulders dip down. “We’ve…let her down. I should have talked to her more instead of singing her songs.”
“It shouldn’t be a surprise,” Orion states as he situates at the head of the couch. He glances at the doors that open to the cleansing room. Iris can be seen setting towels and robes out. “Charmilla demanded we follow our guidelines. Nothing more, nothing less. And I’m guilty of pushing that on people as well.”
“Orion—”
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll still take her down and allow them to—”
Zye refuses to listen to their back and forth any longer. Especially when it grows more and more uncomfortable. There’s a feeling in his chest that tells him Hax would feel the same. Still, he knows that maybe once Daichi is taken care of he can convince them to try something else. Just because they think they failed her doesn’t mean she can’t be reasoned with…maybe.
“So, you can fix my head?”
Celeste smiles at that, gesturing toward the room. “Haha, it’s more your heart, but yes. However, it’s very taxing and will take some time. But if we work together we should be able to clear it up in one go.”
Jace moves to sit back down on the couch while setting the bag Callua gave him on the table. “I have some blessed water from Solis. It should help for afterward.”
“Perfect. Then let’s get started. Orion and I will have to recover once we finish, but you can still get in touch with us if we’re not here when you wake. Now, lie down for us.”
While Zye heads to the other couch to lie down, Jace is apprehensive and on the edge of the other. It doesn’t help that when Celeste and Orion move to him, they hold out their hands. Orion’s hover above Zye’s face while Celeste’s are over his chest.
He knows he can trust them— he should. Still, Jace wouldn’t be himself if he wasn’t concerned.
Zye smiles over at him. “It’s fine, relax, okay?” He winks at Celeste next. “Just don’t let this one break anything. Last time he did this I felt like death afterward.”
“You don’t have to worry. I made the knots, I can undo them.” Orion begins to focus. A soft white glow outlines his fingers as he does.
It doesn’t matter to Jace. He’s still worried— will always be. To him, it’s no different than when he accompanied Zye to the hospital. There’s a feeling of helplessness. He can’t do anything but sit and watch. Be supportive and quiet as they work is all he can do.
Celeste glances at him, “If you’d like, you can speak with the others.”
“No. I’ll stay.”
Jace refuses to go anywhere. Not when Zye could need him. Of course, still awake, Zye can draw his lips into a wide smile. He’s far too happy to know that Jace won’t leave.
It’s comforting.
Much like the previous times, it doesn’t take long for Zye to fall asleep. Jace watches with tense shoulders and eyes that never leave the three of them for long. Even if he could use a nap, he doesn’t move aside from adjusting his position now and then. He makes sure to send Callua a message only to find out she’s with Ilista and Xerxes.
All the more reason he should remain here. It doesn’t matter how long it takes.
ns 15.158.61.55da2
