“Let go of me!” Cordis groused after the ground stopped its violent shaking. Brushing off the remnants of the Four, green eyes darted every which way before flashing gold when they did not find what they were searching for. “Where the hell is he?!”
The Umbra hummed as it solidified. “Who?”
Turning his attention to the grinning Umbra, Cordis swung the scythe before watching as a head fell at his feet. Punting it away, he swung the weapon again to bisect the Umbra before letting out a frustrated sigh as he scrubbed a hand down his face.
“Go find him now!”
Audible footsteps were heard before the Umbra returned with its head in its hands. Placing it back on its shoulders, it stood in place as its body continued to mend itself together before proceeding towards the blonde.
“Cordis–”
“Shut up!” he snapped. “What I want is for you to go find him!”
“Cordis–”
“Shut up!” Cordis swung the scythe at the Umbra before having his arm seized. “Let. Go.”
“You need to calm down.”
“I will not calm down!” the blonde raged as he tried wrenching his arm back. “I had Animae right in front of me and now he’s fucking gone so don’t tell me to calm down!”
“Cordis–”
“Let. G–!”
The Four grabbed his face before its eyes slid into view. The usual smile was nowhere to be seen as the Umbra leaned in enough to see its reflection in the man’s eyes. It then proceeded to force his arm back down.
“You need to calm down.” The Four then stepped back. “You just need to be patient.”
“I’ve been very patient!”
“Then just wait a little longer,” it replied as it looked around the landscape. Golden eyes then locked on the matching pair glaring before the Umbra released the blonde and turned away altogether as a grin began to spread along its face. “Do play nicely with the young lady and I will be back soon with your other half, Cordis.”
“What?”
Giving its usual two-fingered salute, the Four vanished in a plume of shadowy mist. Left on his own, Cordis looked around the arena-like area before spotting someone laying on the ground several meters away. Dragging his scythe along the ground as he walked over, he swung the weapon downwards before stopping just as the woman shifted.
Squatting down as she started to awaken, Cordis lifted the blade over his head before lowering it as something else came to mind. He then took a seat next to her as her eyes opened.
“Good morning, sleepy head.”
“J…Jayden?”
Cordis smiled. “Want to try again?”
“C-Cordis?!” Nuallis exclaimed as se bolted upright.
The man hummed before resting his chin in the palm of his hand. “No need to be alarmed, Nu dearest. If I had any intent on killing you at this moment, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” The healer simply stared uneasily as the blonde smiled at her. “Question for you, Nu. Pretty sure Animae hasn’t explained any of the nuances of how the afterlife works, huh? That being said, let’s try to remain on friendly terms or you may not be walking away from this.” His attention then went to the marking on her cheek. “Plus you wouldn’t want to do anything that could hurt your friend, right?”
“What do you want?” she questioned.
“There’s a couple things really,” he replied. “I’m sure this is the same for you, but I want to go home. I want Animae to stop running from me so we can go home yet he’s so adamant on staying…” Gold eyes went back to their green color as they looked around before focusing on the woman. “…on staying here it seems. Why? I have a few suspicions,” he griped.
“Like what?”
The man narrowed his eyes in irritation at several thoughts before he focused on the woman once more. “Nu, would you be willing to kill for someone you love?”
“K-kill?”
Cordis nodded. “You know, kill. Would you kill someone for love?”
“I…I…um…”
“Think about it for a moment. You love the marksman, right? I mean, he is cute.” Her cheeks flushed. “No need to deny it and I won’t get in your way whatsoever; however, Ladnavia would. She has quite the plans for you when she gets a hold of you,” he stated thoughtfully. “Given her track record, you won’t be much of a challenge for her if you’re not adamant in your love for her husband. Wait…he’s her husband. What does that make you, dear? A mistress perhaps?”
“He–”
“You poor girl,” Cordis cooed as he stroked her cheek. “Hey, let me fill you in on some useful information. If you die in the afterlife, that’s it. You’re no more. No round three. No judgement, no peace, no existence. You’re done. Think about it. If she’s gone, Vandal’s all yours. You’ll get your happily ever after.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I’m willing to help you after all. Animae hasn’t told any of you a lot of things and its not like you need him, dear. I’m not only willing to fill in any blanks but I’m offering my assistance if you’re willing to lend me your healing ability.”
“My healing ability?” She received a nod. “W…what do you n-need my ability for?” she asked shakily as she watched the man climb back to his feet.
Cordis stretched before twirling his scythe at his side as he looked down at her with a smile. “I just need you to make sure we don’t die of our injuries is all.”
“D-die? You wouldn’t kill Jayden, would you?”
The man chuckled before it became a full-blown fit of laughter. He then wiped the corner of his eye. “Well, that’s not the plan, no,” he replied, “but I do plan on beating him within an inch of his life.” Gold eyes then focused on her. “So do your best to heal us then you can have what you want, ok?”
I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t relieved to not see Cordis or that Umbra anywhere nearby. I wasn’t entirely sure what had separated us but from the look of the landscape and the ground shaking, I could only guess that this place had shifted once again.
A quick survey confirmed that much before the growing dark had me looking up at the incoming storm. Hurrying into the closest store, I made it just as rain started to pelt the ground outside. The weather was going to be the least of my problems, however.
“Ok, let’s get our bearings straight,” I muttered to myself as I looked around what appeared to be armory.
I wasn’t particularly fond of guns, but anything would be good by this point. If anything, I’d have to remember this location for Vandal. He’d get more use from it than I would.
“Say goodbye, Animae, as it’s the last time you’ll see them.”
I grimaced at the recollection before exhaling slowly.
I shouldn’t have been as worried as I was. They could handle themselves after all. Cordis had made that very clear in the penthouse. Everything he said struck a chord with me because of how true it was.
‘What can I do?’ I mused dejectedly before patting my cheeks. “Ok, ok. Being depressed isn’t going to change anything, Jay.” I looked about as I walked down one of the aisles. “Ok, what do we have to work with?”
I picked up a magazine before looking around for ammunitions. Wandering into the next aisle nearly had me dropping the magazine as soon as I spotted someone laying on the floor. Not recognizing anyone females with black hair, I rolled her over slowly to see if I could locate any injuries before stopping as my hand ran along something at her backside. Turning her onto her side, I could see what little remained of what was once wings.
“Senshi?
I watched her chest for a rise and fall before focusing on her lack of wings. I could feel the lump in my throat at the possibility of this being Cordis’s doing but he was with me when we had departed. I felt the wings again as the thought of this being Gideon’s doing but the wings had been cleanly sheared.
‘What happened to you?’ I bit my lip at the possibilities before climbing to my feet to stare down at the faery. ‘Actually, why should I care?’
Senshi had left us. When she did, I had no idea but what I did know was that she was working with Cordis.
With Cordis.
I clenched a fist at my side before turning away from her altogether.
She left us to go work with Cordis.
Was it really that bad to stay with us? Did I let her down that much?
‘Regardless of that, she betrayed us,’ I reminded myself as I proceeded down the aisle to find knives. As I eyed them, my attention slowly drifted back to the unconscious fae that lay on the floor before sucking my teeth as I doubled back to retrieve her. “Such a troublesome woman,” I grumbled as I carried her further into the store.
“No matter how annoying or troublesome a charge can be, it’s your duty as a reaper to ensure they remain safe.” I remembered Runihura had told me this after I had complained one too many times over the subject. “I had to put up with you after all,” he had teased.
The memory had made my face flush before I patted my cheeks again, exhaling aloud. Looking down at Senshi, I bit my lip before looking over my shoulder as I detected someone else for a moment. Scanning the shop slowly, I placed her behind the counter before walking towards the opposite end of the store.
I glanced at the racked firearms before swords then knives. Picking up a few to observe, I continued down the aisle to stand in front of what looked like a halberd mounted on the wall prior to getting that inkling of a feeling that someone else was watching.
Toying with the knife in my hand as I continued to stare at the weapon on the wall, I finally turned towards one of the further aisles.
“I know you’re watching,” I said quietly, not truly hoping for a response of any kind as I proceeded in that direction. “Come out.” I stopped at the end of the aisle and looked both ways to see no one before letting out a small sigh of relief. “It’s just your imagination, Jay.” 424Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaOsKx8mPm
