Their conversation had been going well and they were making steady progress on their way to Percivl’s hotel. They had been talking about small details regarding the town such as common traditions and casual forms of work the civilians often partook in. It may seem boring to others but they were both engaged in these topics, Lexxon was explaining it all to Percivl because he was new to the area and Percivl was eagerly listening.
Lexxon started to truly light up when he mentioned local eateries, “Oh! There are some great restaurants out here, there is a wide variety of foods but our town is known for its beef stew! We use organic beef and treat our cows well, the carrots in it are locally grown along with the potatoes! But I’ll let you in on a secret…”
Lexxon looked around to make sure nobody was near as he got on his tiptoes and leaned next to Percivl’s ear. He cupped his hands around his mouth and whispered as if trying to be extra discreet of others' hearing. In fact, it was like he was a girl at the tea shop spreading new gossip that everyone wanted to get their hands on. “I know of an underground place that serves the best beef stew in the area, it is extremely hard to get a hold of because it sells out so quickly. Truth be told, I am very well acquainted with the owner. I can get you some if you meet me extra early tomorrow morning!”
Percivl’s eyes widened by it all as he started chuckling a couple seconds later, in that moment Lexxon had realized how childish he sounded and coughed as if that would cover it up. He then sped up ahead with a few swift steps, Percivl quickly caught up as he grinned, “Well, well, well, looks like we have quite the food fanatic here. How does 6 in the morning sound?”
Lexxon nodded, “Sounds great...after that I can help you pack up. On the topic, what’s your favorite food?” Percivl thought about it for a bit before responding as he tucked his hands in his sleeves and looked away. He mumbled, “Chocolate Cake…” Lexxon paused a bit before responding, “Ah, that is quite a good dessert. I also wanted to mention that autumn around here is very notorious. The leaves deepen in color and drift off with the wind, it’s a wonderful site.”
With that said Lexxon bent down to pick up a small wrinkled russet colored leaf that looked like it would crumple any second and turn into dust along with a strong vibrant orange colored leaf that stood out amongst the rest. He twirled both of them in his hands and handed the healthy one to Percivl with a smile. Percivl then reached out for the wrinkled russet leaf and carried it with him, “They are impressive, aren’t they…” He seemed to grin with gentle eyes as he looked towards Lexxon.
Lexxon held the strong vibrant leaf in his hand as he looked at Percivl with a dumbfounded expression, “They are…” Whether Lexxon wanted to admit it or not he was in awe of the moment, he found it endearing in such an odd way that he couldn’t, or rather wouldn’t, describe. He then quickly caught himself and held a conflicted expression before looking away only to see the Constance Temple, “I forgot the Constance Temple was on the way to your hotel, hmm…” Lexxon started to internally question the idea of searching around the temple a bit just to examine it before Percivl spoke up, “We can take a look inside if you’d like.”
Lexxon paused a bit as he slowly nodded, he wanted to continue contemplating it but knew he would just overthink it if he did. Lexxon glanced at Percivl and decided to take the lead as he cautiously opened the old wooden door, it croaked loudly in such an eerie way that would frighten anyone. Or perhaps it was just the atmosphere in general, it had gotten late after all. There were tapestries of prosperous civilians who ate in abundance at their luxurious homes hung up as well as piles of gold coins that were in front of the poor civilians. They were all kneeling in worship to this gold, everyone had appeared overjoyed. These tapestries had looked a quite run down from hundreds of years ago. There was also a run down wobbly offering table that had empty incense holders. There wasn’t a single offering and the room was filled with dust and cobwebs. There was no seating for a person to pray, it was quite a sad sight. At the very end of the temple stood a run down grey statue of a woman. One of her arms had fallen off, as to where it was Lexxon couldn’t say. She held gold coins in the only hand she had, she appeared to be a Goddess known to grace civilians with riches. She wore expensive royal robes and had a graceful smile. Lexxon couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment, he felt that no God or Goddess deserved to have an abandoned temple like this. How could it have even been up and running this long? Who was taking care of it before? Lexxon had lost thought about why they were there to begin with, there was nothing suspicious after all. It was just a poor run down temple that needed some work done.
Lexxon looked back at Percivl with sympathetic eyes, “We’ll have to clean this place up and make offerings to her. I’ll be right back.” Percivl nodded as he looked around at the tapestries in an analytical way. With that, Lexxon headed outside and gathered flowers from nearby. It wasn’t much but at least it was something. They were bright yellow dandelions, he thought they would be the perfect flowers considering their meaning. He came in shortly after and saw Percivl kneeling down to pray to the statue. There was something about that image that made Lexxon stop in place. He felt something bubble down within his stomach as his eyes lit up, Percivl’s figure stood out in this deteriorating temple. It was like a pristine knight visiting a rundown castle that he treasured, Percivl had the exact same aura. The sight of this could truly charm anyone.
Lexxon didn’t want to disrupt Percivl which is why he made sure to remain extra discreet. He used his sleeves to clean the dust off the table, he couldn’t care less about his clothing getting dirty. He felt that this temple was more of a priority. Afterwards, he stealthily placed the dandelions down on the offering table. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight, although he knew it was only a small change he was glad he could do something to help the Goddess. He then knelt down right beside Percivl and closed his eyes as he put his hands together and started to pray. He made a prayer for each dandelion he had, there were seven total.
On his first dandelion he prayed for the temple and Goddess herself; he hoped that they could successfully restore the temple to the full glory that it deserves. On his second dandelion he prayed for protection and healing of the townspeople, especially those who lost loved ones due to this disturbance. On his third dandelion he prayed for the eternal happiness of Baxton and Remmington. He cared for them and couldn’t help but be thankful to have them in his life. He truly wished them nothing less than the best. On his fourth dandelion he prayed for the poor boy he saw earlier. He had already prayed for the townspeople but he was more so worried about the mental headspace the kid was in. He wanted the kid to heal the most. On his fifth dandelion he prayed for this disturbance to end. He would do whatever he could to help as long as it meant there wouldn’t be any further danger to the local civilians. On his sixth dandelion he prayed in hope of punishment for all the great sins he had committed. He knew deep down he could never dare to pray in hope of repentance, in fact, he didn’t deserve such a thing as repentance. He could only wish with all his being for punishment. He knew it wouldn’t erase that creeping feeling of guilt that often preys upon him. He only hoped that it would fill him, even if only for a day.
He paused on his last dandelion and thought of Percivl for some reason, he couldn’t quite understand why. Percivl was different from any other person he had met, Percivl felt unique in the most indescribable way. He was mature with such odd ideas, a fairly organized and composed person. Quick witted and charming. Interesting. Not to mention the fact that he was a striking sight to behold. He had thought about the variety of things Percivl did that left him in awe. He had barely met Percivl today but something about Percivl made Lexxon feel like fireflies were exploding in his stomach. He really didn’t know much about Percivl and didn’t understand him at all but he couldn’t help but pray on his last dandelion that he could get to know Percivl even just a little bit more.
With his prayers finished he slowly opened his eyes and couldn’t help but feel himself lose composure. He had just realized how odd his prayers sounded. He quickly covered his face and peeked over at Percivl through an opening between his fingers only to see Percivl grinning at him. Percivl had finished praying early and had his elbow laying on his knee as he leaned his face against the palm of his hand. Lexxon couldn’t help laughing at how unlucky he was, of course Percivl saw him acting suspiciously.
Percivl laughed too as if he was in amusement. Percivl stretched, “Hmm, I wonder what you were praying about.” Lexxon quickly collected himself once again with a small sigh as he smiled, “If I tell you my prayers may not come true.” Percivl nodded as he playfully rolled his eyes, “If that’s the case then I’ll never reveal my prayers in hope that they come true.”
With those words said the two stood up in front of the table of dandelions, they had both stared keenly at them as the tapestries started to crumble to dust and the ground rumbled. Lexxon immediately felt his heart stop as he grabbed Percivl’s hand and started to run out. He felt panic set in because he knew this wasn’t as simple as an earthquake. He always had a good sense of intuition and could feel that something bad was about to happen. Before they could even reach the door chains burst through the wooden door and covered the temple's walls leaving no space open for a chance to escape. Lexxon glanced at Percivl only to see him with furrowed eyebrows and sharp glowing orange eyes that appeared to be analyzing the situation.
Before Lexxon could even wrap his head around all the chaos around him the dandelions floated around them in a binding circle and started to glow. Yellow sparks started to bounce off from the pollen of the dandelions as they spiraled out of control. At that moment Lexxon knew something major was going to happen and Percivl did too. They both glanced at each other with concerning expressions as the binding circle of dandelions started to close up around them slowly. As the circle was closing in, the dust on the floor immediately disappeared and the spots it covered were left spotless. Lexxon and Percivl could only assume that this meant they would disappear too just like the dust which is why Lexxon turned his back away from Percivl and Percivl did the same. The two were back to back and looked around for a solution anxiously. Lexxon felt his heart sink, he was about to do something he swore he never would again.
Lexxon took a deep breath and mumbled to Percivl, “I am going to try something...you might want to close your eyes…” Percivl could only helplessly agree, “Mhm.” Yet, what Lexxon didn’t know is that Percivl did not close his eyes. Lexxon knew they were cornered and time was running out. He had to act if there was any chance of survival, Lexxon let out a long...long...sigh as he lost control of himself. His green eyes glowed into an almost honey like color as his hair came undone and strands started to flow in the air around him. A striking bright golden light surrounded them, Percivl was in awe as he felt sweat drip down to his neck. This light was unbearably hot and felt like it could engulf the two of them any second. With this the circle stopped in its place and Percivl sighed in relief yet a second later he noticed Lexxon start to struggle.
Tears started to flood from Lexxon’s lifeless glowing eyes onto the floor, the tears were of a golden divine color. Lexxon bit his lip in pain as vibrant red blood fell from the corner of his mouth. He started to grit his teeth as if he couldn’t keep it up for much longer. Percivl knew this was a bad sign and as expected the circle started to close in on them one again. Percivl’s eyebrows furrowed as he glared at the circle, his burnt orange eyes suddenly faded into a piercing dark red. His fluffy dark hair unraveled as a surging dark red energy intertwined with the divine energy. When the two energies mingled the circle stopped and acutally started to be pushed back. Red streaks appeared on Percivl’s face as he put in more effort to push it back as much as possible. The two bumped into each other and the circle started to fade for a split second. Percivl raised an eyebrow as he continued to face away from Lexxon and grabbed ahold of his hand. With that the entire room flashed with a blinding red and golden energy. The energy was completely amplified and took over in abundance. The two had felt an overwhelming sense of power and fulfillment, it was as if everything within them had lined up perfectly. If a genuine understanding of oneself could be achieved, it was in that moment. The circle of dandelions immediately blew apart and the building couldn’t bear to stand all the commotion. It started to tremble and almost fall apart all at once.
Percivl quickly withdrew and they both instinctually cut off their energies. Lexxon’s honey eyes stopped glowing and reverted back to green while Percivl’s eyes turned back into that charming burnt orange color once again. Lexxon’s golden tears stopped flowing from his eyes along with Percivl’s red streaks. So much had happened within that one day and it was almost too much for Lexxon to process. The temple was a complete mess. The dust from the tapestries was everywhere and brought back forth once again. The wobbly offering table had been flipped upside down and completely broke. Surprisingly enough the statue was still standing and in even better shape than before but it had tilted a bit to the left.
Lexxon could feel himself lose balance as he turned around to face Percivl but Percivl was already staring at the wall in a daze. Lexxon started to reach out for Percivl and lightly touched his shoulder for balance before he toppled over on the floor in a pool of his golden tears. A loud thud could be heard and Percivl turned around in a flash to see what had fallen. Once he saw Lexxon his eyes dimmed in horror. He kneeled down and started to shake Lexxon’s shoulder’s in hope of waking him up but it was to no avail. He mumbled to himself, "no no no...this isn't happening. no, it's not happening!" His usual amusement and analytical composure had faded as he quickly checked Lexxon's pulse only to notice it wasn't there.
Percivl felt panic pour out of him from deep within his stomach, he shook his head in disbelief as he started to shake Lexxon once again. This is the opposite of what Percivl wanted to happen, Percivl started to lose himself in that second as his eyes turned red and black this time. Red stripes decorated every inch of him and he desperately poured all of his energy into Lexxon by laying his palm on his chest. Percivl couldn't think straight when the red stripes under his eyes faded and appeared on Lexxon instead.
This situation was far beyond the two and when Percivl realized it all was to no avail he started to attempt thinking rationally. All he knew is that he had to get Lexxon out of that temple as soon as possible. The stripes and red in his eyes had dissipated because he used up all his energy for the day.
He had gotten ready to carry Lexxon outside when his vision suddenly got hazy, he knew this was an awful sign as for what was to come. He lost all of his senses one by one. His sense of smell was gone, he couldn't feel anything, he couldn't hear the sound of crickets chirping, and he couldn't even taste the stillness in the air. In an instant he collapsed next to Lexxon in the temple. The two laid together facing one another with the chilling wind entering the temple. They almost looked like a depiction of yin and yang. The Goddess statue of Constance stood before them and continued to smile with her riches above them.
The binding circle of dandelions had regrouped once again and surrounded the two in an instant. It glowed even brighter than before as fireflies entered the room to dance around them. Neither of them could have dared to suspect that the trip to Constance Temple would turn out the way it did.305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwxyTNOQ7Z
