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A memory of being in a dark space and hearing a voice full of security and loneliness painfully flashed across my mind. The voice! How could I forget such a voice?! It was vague, like a dream, but I remembered the feeling it gave me – like sleep itself was lonely and pleaded for company. That I'd be at peace and could sleep forever in its arms if I wanted. It was a plea I couldn't refuse.
There was a nagging sense that I'd forgotten something important, but it dawned on me that I hadn't heard the voice in a while, which was probably what helped me come to.
"Trik, I don't think it was the spirit energy that was influencing me. I heard a voice speak to me. Like it was calling to me. I don't know, it forced me under its will and there was loneliness but also something sinister. It's hard to explain. I know that sounds crazy, but I'm telling you, I heard it."
Trik stared blankly at me.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said flatly.
"As I said, you were pretty delusional. The only other voice I heard was his," Trik pointed behind him then continued, "and it's nowhere near as compelling or as majestic, or whatever, as the voice you just described; it's full of arrogance if you ask me. But I can say that we've officially found Death."
I squinted in the direction he was pointing but couldn't see anyone. Even after extending the field back to ten feet, I couldn't see anyone.
"Trik, I can't see anyone."
"Right," Trik commented. "Could you take a few steps forward? There would be fine," he said while pointing at a spot within the field.
A male figure seemingly materializing from the shadows emerged within the field. Instantly, the once dark world outside the field became illuminated by the evening sun (which was odd since I could've sworn there were thick thunder clouds overhead). In front of me stood an inhumanly attractive man. He was a little over 6 feet tall, anywhere between 160 and 175 pounds, and very muscular yet not bulky.
He wore dark, black jeans, and a black t-shirt. He had an intricate, thin, gold necklace laced with black steel and a tiny cross as a pendant hanging from his neck. His hair was well-groomed as it was trimmed around the sides, with each strand on top being 2 inches of perfectly curled, healthy hair. I also noticed a couple of the 1-inch marks just above his left temple.
Even from looking, I could tell his skin was extremely tough as the sunlight reflected off its brown surface. This was definitely not a human.
Trik was right; we found Death.
Externally, he appeared to be around my age, but that didn't feel right for some reason. The consciousness I experienced earlier felt like it was ancient, not 19.
"How old are you," I forced myself to speak. It came out a little hoarse, though.
He didn't seem to hear me at all. Instead, he was squinting in the direction of the sun and was being mesmerized by the sky.
"Could you quit acting like this is your first time seeing the sky? There're more pressing matters that need to be tended to," Trik spoke out.
"Trik!" I said, pulling him down to me. In a hushed whisper, I said, "You've been rude towards him since I came to. Why? What happened between you two?"
"Just look at him!" Trik exclaimed. "We're trying to talk to him, and he's staring at the sky, completely ignoring us. When he does speak, it's in short sentences with a tone like he doesn't owe anyone an explanation. And if what you say is true, let's not forget the weird power he uses in his voice or him letting his spirit energy out like he did – both of which almost killed you, by the way. It's almost like he's unaware of what he's doing, which would be worse than him doing it on purpose because that would mean he has no idea how to use his powers – which would mean he's completely useless in our mission."
"Even if he doesn't know how to control his powers, you need to remember who he is," I said solemnly. "He's still a Primordial who could easily kill both of us if you keep antagonizing him – which is also useless to our mission. So, start showing him a little more respect for both our sakes... Besides, if he really doesn't know how to use his powers, we can teach him the basics, then we can stop back home where he can train."
I hated pulling the "Leader" card on him, but his attitude may not be as appreciated by the Primordials as it is by me.
Trik glared at Death before eventually giving in.
"Fine. Your team, your call, but I don't see how he'll be useful in stopping a couple of millennia-old gods as an inexperienced newbie," Trik conceded.
"He'll be fine. After all, he is one of the Supreme Primordials, and they're way stronger than your average Primordial. It shouldn't be too difficult for him to get Greed and Despair back in line," I assured him.
"I don't know, Lisa. Someone took down an older, more experienced version of him, remember? And it wasn't Life or Fury. Plus, we did find traces of Greed and Despair's spirit energy near the site... Like you said, something big's going on. We can't get overconfident because of his potential as a Supreme Primordial. This may be the most dangerous mission as a Watcher yet." He glanced back at Death with a look of uncertainty.
I hadn't looked at it that way before. I mean, I've had a feeling this could become dangerous, but now that we've found Death in the state he's in – now that I can see him with my own eyes – it's starting to feel real. I kind of understood why Trik was so stressed and insistent not to have Death be part of this mission. But I also knew that having him on our side would be better than not having him at all if things became dangerous.
"How about we also track down one of the others – see if we can convince them to help us out if need be." Initially, the plan was to gather the others after we'd found Death and put a stop to Greed and Despair, but it might be beneficial to seek out one more just to be safe. That idea reassured me. Hopefully, it'd reassure him as well.
"Yeah," he replied. "The others have been around for a while. If things do get dangerous, having one of them on our side too would be a big relief."
"Great, glad we're on the same page."
"Uh-huh," Trik took a good look at Death, still staring at the sky, and sighed. "Oh, and don't think I don't know why you really want to take him back home."
I couldn't help but smile from the excitement of thinking about it.
"Mom and Dad are going to be so happy to have a Primordial as their houseguest," I said, beaming with joy.
"I can see them now.... Well, let's figure out what His Lordship here knows about himself before heading out," Trik said.
"Right," I replied. After helping me to my feet, we redirected our attention to Death and moved closer to him.
"Um... excuse us...."
Death averted his gaze from the now-setting sun to look at me.
"If it's okay with you, we'd like to take a few minutes to discuss something with you," I said while attempting a bow. When I glanced back up at him, he looked confused about the bowing, so I stopped and stood like I normally would – which was a relief (hopefully, the others' tastes are as modern as his).
He said nothing but his dark eyes somehow delivered his message clearly.
"Ah, you heard me tell Trik how your voice had affected me. So now you don't want to risk influencing me again, is that right," I asked.
He gave a slight nod. Aw, how thoughtful. I don't see any of the arrogance Trik claims to see in him.
"Alright then, allow me to properly introduce ourselves and why we're here. I'm Alissia – Alissia Heart – and this is my partner, Trik. Um, we're from one of three families known as Watchers. You may or may not have heard of them in history, but in lamest terms, Watchers are people who were tasked long ago to find and guide the divine. Speaking of which, have you ever heard of The Primordials?" I asked him.
After a brief pause of trying to recall, he nodded his head.
"Do you know anything about them other than them being powerful beings that once resided on Earth long ago?" Trik asked this time.
We both received a silent stare. Guess we'll take that as a no.
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