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Arne simply grinned silently.
Tymon's gaze lingered on Michael, who held anger in his eyes, but he noticed something else too.
"It's our fault..." Za'Fia said abruptly, gaining everyone's attention. She looked Tymon in the eye. "This happened because of us."
"No, it was my idea," he agreed, willing to admit his recklessness caused this. "I made things worse by destroying his bases and attacking the High Gods. Then, I failed to be here when they retaliated because I thought they wouldn't. I'm sorry I wasn't here when you guys needed me."
"They knew we were divided..." Za'Fia added.
Michael stepped forward angrily, approaching Tymon.
"Where were you exactly? What were you doing, killing people to gain that power!? While the others nearly died....Killing humans for power...you're no better than them," he practically spat,
Michael released some of his spirit energy to show he was ready to fight should Tymon's response prove unsatisfactory. Tymon could tell his anger wasn't focused solely on him. Still, this agitated Tymon, making the sky darken as thick clouds rolled in. Suddenly, thunder booms were heard outside as the air around heated up. Tymon realized that Za'Fia and Damien were ready to strike if Michael attacked him.
Judging from Michael's grimace, he was aware of it too.
"Without your regenerative powers, this won't end well for you," Tymon said imposingly as the two stared each other down.
"Woah," Alissia said, stepping between them, placing a hand on each of their chests as she lightly nudged them away from one another. "This isn't the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. Not to mention, if Avarice didn't know our location before, he does now."
Michael lowered his energy and apologized after some consideration. "I have no right to be angry when I wasn't there to protect them either....I've never felt this...vulnerable before, so when Avarice took away my regeneration, I didn't know what to do. Truth be told, I'm still trying to cope with it."
Tymon lowered his energy as the sky brightened, and Alissia placed a consoling hand on Michael's back.
"No one should blame themselves," she proclaimed. "This has been a difficult time for each of us, and I even lashed out, which I'm truly sorry for," she added as she looked at Damien, Arne, and Naomi earnestly. "But we need to remain together to overcome all of this."
She turned to look at Tymon.
"We may not have agreed at first, but Tymon did right by destroying those bases," she turned back toward the others, "And we were caught by surprise because they took advantage of us being separated. We need to make sure they don't have that advantage again."
Everyone looked around. No one said anything, but there was agreement among them. Tymon looked at Michael, who held out a hand toward him. As Tymon accepted the gesture, they acknowledged Alissia's words. Even without his healing, Tymon knew that Michael was still among their best capable fighters—he, Michael, and Za'Fia would likely be their main strength against the High Gods, Verin, and Avarice.
"Good," Alissia said before turning her attention back toward Tymon. "But I think it's only fair that you explain how you obtained this power."
Tymon thought momentarily as he circled to the other side of the room to lean against a windowsill. He had to choose his words carefully; otherwise, they would spark misinterpretations.
"I've been feeding from humans, like Michael said," he began, "It's the only way we know of that makes us stronger besides aging, and our enemies each have at least nine centuries on us. Plus, even working together, we'd never have beaten Avarice, so I did what needed to be done to help increase our chances of surviving the fight."
"How many?" Michael spoke in a low tone. "How many people did you kill?"
"Only the responsible ones."
"You couldn't have gotten this much stronger from the Holders alone."
"I didn't, but I didn't kill any innocents if that's what you think."
"That's possible?" Arne questioned skeptically from the corner of the table.
"It is," Viraa answered from my bracelet. Tymon is the only one among you capable of feeding off others without being the cause of the victim's death because the source needs to be dying already. So, his simply being nearby when someone dies is enough to strengthen him if he chooses to absorb that power."
"Something I wish I'd known in my previous life. Maybe I could've prevented everything they've done to the world. The stain they've left on it..." Tymon remarked regrettably.
"If you didn't have to kill for the power directly, why butcher the Holders?" Michael asked him. "Despite their alignment, they were still humans."
"I killed them because they knew what they were doing and still chose to do it for power," Tymon retorted with stern conviction before softening his words. "I also did it to prevent war between them and the Watchers from happening. I wanted to save their lives. Most of them would have died had I done nothing."
Michael paused in deep thought for a moment. Then he looked at Tymon with understanding.
"Though your intentions were virtuous–defensible even–your actions to prevent many of them from dying is what caused all of them to be eradicated."
Tymon remained mostly expressionless but glanced at Alissia with a hint of sympathy before responding. He empathized with her, having once watched his parent be killed before him as well.
"I admit, I hadn't expected that to happen. I didn't think they themselves would attack after losing so much."
"It would've happened regardless," Alissia announced. She told them of the future Viraa showed her had the war happened—how the Watchers had been reduced to nearly nothing. How each of them lost. How some even died....
The pain of reliving the events as she spoke was apparent in her voice as she avoided eye contact.
"Sadly, Avarice and Verin would've made sure the Watchers were dealt with regardless of what happened," she concluded.
"So, I died, huh," Arne commented, looking down at their hands. Arne looked at Tymon. He could see Arne's admiration of his strength—how they wanted to get stronger. Arne was always confident in their strength and durability before, but knowing they'd died despite their defensive capabilities seemed to stick with them.
"Speaking of death," Tymon said as his gaze shifted to Michael. The others followed suit. There was a lingering silence in the room before the collective comprehension set into the others one by one.
Michael looked away from everyone, almost ashamed of his fate.
"That's what that vision meant..." Alissia muttered. She explained how she'd once seen a vision of a white light descending into darkness when she first searched for Michael. She had no idea it was a premonition of his future.
Michael finally found the solicitous stares unbearable, so he pushed past everyone to leave. The others, even Arne, followed him to make sure he'd be okay, leaving Tymon and Alissia alone momentarily.
Tymon could see her mind racing at a thousand miles per hour, trying to think of a way to keep him safe. He approached her with serious intent, causing her to look up.
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "For scaring you the other day...I didn't want to lose anyone, and I felt useless in the state I was in."
Alissia shook her head subtly.
"It's fine; in the end, what you did prevented us from being captured and saved Arne's life, so...I'm just glad you and Za'Fia are back," she fist-bumped his chest lightly. "Water under the bridge. Just don't leave again."
"I don't intend to," he responded earnestly. He turned to look at the others who were on the other side of the manor. "So, Michael..."
"We'll think of something," she stated solemnly. "We're not letting him die."115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwD81CPQbdC
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Fun fact: Michael, "The Healing Phoenix," is the fourth strongest member of the Primordials in terms of raw strength.
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