Chapter Seventeen - Freedom? Or not?

/// Grey ///

Groaning, I opened my eyes groggily. Using the lower side of my palm, I pressed them against my eyes. My vision was replaced by a static dark as a splitting headache invaded me.

"Feeling any better?" Seris' gentle voice reached my ears as I removed my palms from my fingers and looked up at her. She held a cup full of hot liquid. Placing it beside my bed, she sat at the far corner of the bed.

"The headache is still there. Fortunately, the soulfire didn't invade my mana core", I replied. She nodded in affirmation and took her shoes off. Raising her feet above the floor, she placed both of them on the bed and slipped them inside my blanket.

"Are you sure?" She asked, wrapping her arms against her knees and placing her head on her crossed arms. Her obsidian eyes seemed to be scanning me for any abnormality.

"Yeah, don't worry", I paused as I took the small knife that Ethan had used against me in his desperation, "this knife... It was used by one of the Rivermoore's. Most likely he was a foster son. The knife perfectly conducted the soulfire. Furthermore when I tried to break it by infusing aether, it still remained intact", I said and extended my hand, with a knife on my palm.

Seris' fingers brushed against my palm as she picked it up from my palm. An incomprehensible chill crept up my spine at her touch. She seemed to have noticed my reaction to her touch, as a miniscule frown formed on her forehead. "Grey... are you really okay?" She asked.

Replying with a silent nod, I looked down at my hands. My hands were as pale as the first day I came here. There was no problem with my hands. Why did I do that?

"It's a relic. Although mostly relics are given to newly appointed Retainers or Scythes, sometimes, Retainer candidates are given relics by respective scythes too... if they are personally interested in them", she said and frowned even deeply.

Her tender fingers traced the runes etched on the hilt and blade of the knife, as she felt its texture. Her long pearl coloured hair was let loose as it fell on her face, reaching down until they curled down in her lap.

'Papa? Are you awake?' Sylvie's voice boomed in my mind. I looked frantically around, cursing myself at why I did not think of her before.

"She's fine. Just a bit mana exhausted. I don't know what you make her do since she doesn't have such issues normally while being trained by Cylrit", she spoke.

I looked at Seris for a brief moment as she smiled at me. I focused on our bond once again, 'Are you okay, Sylv?'

'I am ok, papa. I am playing with Uncle Cylrit', she replied, sounding oddly happy.

'I'll meet you later, Sylv. Enjoy yourself and take care, ok?'

'Ok, papa!'

Severing my connection, I gripped the bridge of my nose. Seris seeing this, got on all four and crawled towards me. Sitting right beside me, she bore her gaze into me, staring intently at me. "What's wrong?"

"Mind explaining why Sylvie is like this?" I asked, remembering her happy expression as she crushed mages and un-ads alike in her maw.

"Like what?" She asked, sounding confused. Pulling the cushion from beneath my back she looked at me and placed it behind her, leaving me with nothing to take comfort with.

"You know what I am talking about, Seris", I replied, letting out a sigh. My hands balled into fists as I remembered Sylvia and my promise of taking care of Sylvie. I can't take care of her if she turns into a human eating monster.

Seeing me like this, Seris gripped my hand and placed it in her lap, "You know how things are, Grey. You want to protect her right?" She asked, as she drew multiple shapes with her thumb on the back of my hand.

"I do... not just her... you and caera too", I replied, my voice carrying a rock hard conviction.

"I... or Caera, aren't your responsibility, Grey. Even if we die, we ourselves are the only ones who should be blamed."

"I won't let you di-"

I was interrupted as she placed a finger on my lip, "However, Sylvie is your responsibility. But your role demands separation from her... not always, but sometimes. You can't always be there to protect Sylvie. So, you have to educate her enough so that she can defend herself in case you're not around", she finished, letting go of my hand.

I looked down, my clenched fists already relaxed. She was right. My paranoia was unjustified. It was wrong to make Sylvie live a life in a comfortable bubble. I won't always be there for her. One day I'd die, but she would stay alive for many years after me.

"Sorry", I said beneath my breath.

Despite not looking at her, I could feel Seris' mocking smirk loom over me like an overcast shadow. "Say what?", she spoke, amusement evident in her voice.

"I said I am sorry, ok? Don't make a fuss out of it, geez!" I said as she bursted out in laughter. I groaned and looked the other way. A small arm coiled around my neck as she pulled me towards her. Placing my head on her shoulder, she combed my hair with the fingers of the other hand.

It was comforting. Almost as if the headache was waiting to run away as soon as her fingers touched. "You should get some rest. Tomorrow's a big day", she said.

Shifting my head from the side, I buried my face in the area between her shoulder and neck. The cut of her dress revealed a portion of her skin. My breath hit her skin as I felt the heat transfer. I haven't felt warmth like this in a long time.

An awkward silence ensued as something made my mind race.

"Big day? What do you mean by big day?" I asked. Seris looked back at me, her pale colour recovering from the slight tint of cherry-blossom. She dead-panned at me, "Did you forget? How can you forget, Grey!? It's Victaroid tomorrow", she yelled at me as I suddenly remembered.

I messed up!

// Tessia Eralith //

A soft moan escaped my lips as I pried my eyes open. A faint orange glimmer illuminated the murky dark of my surroundings. Infusing mana in my dislocated arm, I pushed the ground. My fingers dug into the soft, moist soil beneath me—its aroma invaded my nostrils as I felt a warm shiver run across my body.

My vision was blood stained as I struggled to fight for control over my consciousness. The pungent smell of bile and blood mixed in with the aroma from the once lush green soil.

Through my blurry vision I looked at the bespectacled boy—-Elijah Knight. He was resting with his back against a metal wall. Looking around I saw a metal dome erected around me and him.

How did it come here?

A human can't use metal. With every last bit of my strength I moved forward. My arm's skin scraped as I crawled my way to Elijah—-slowly and painfully.

The glass had a cobweb of cracks over it. Streams of blood were dried over his face. His nose, eyes, ears—-everything was bleeding. His fingers seemed bent–dislocated. Placing a hand over his cheek I wiped the tear mixed stain of blood from his eyes.

I don't know how he did it...but he tried to save me. An act I never expected any human to do.

I focused on his core.

The dark orange ball of mana that shone in a lifeless shade was cracked, a minute amount of mana trickling out from his core in tandem with his hitched breaths as his chest heaved up and down erratically.

Injecting my own mana to sustain his life was impossible. Reaching for the mana in my core, I added a little amount to my dimensional ring and took out the basic bandages—trying to stop the bleeding.

The outside was dead calm. Not even a subtle sound. Looking back at Elijah, I saw him turning. He wasn't conscious but the minute warmth from bandages was enough to sustain him for now.

I looked at myself. The bandage at my hand was already lost, revealing my attempts to kill myself multiple times. My finger trailed on the smooth skin which was interrupted by cut marks, still healing.

How many times did I try it?

A hundred?

Two hundred?

Why did I stop?

What's stopping me now?

I looked below to my arm as my other hand reached for the knife strapped to my shin. My life was hell. I've been through something that no one could even imagine.

"Cherish your life. It's invaluable, no matter what happens...understand?"

My eyes widened as I dropped the knife. Bairon's voice echoed in my mind like a distant thunder on a stormy night.

Like on cue the metal bunker behind me bent—-a huge dent in shape of a fist forming on it. Then another. Lightning popped and crackled. A pair of hands gripped the gap and tore it open.

The sun shone behind the figure, hiding his features. But I still recognised him. His platinum blonde hair fell on his scared green eyes as he looked at me.

In a flash accompanied by small yellow sparks he arrived in front of me, his hands wrapping around me.

Unknowingly...

My own arms reached out for him. Like an infant wailing for his parents—-in search for the sense of security, I held on to him. Like my own life depended on it. My fingers gripped his white uniform with full strength.

A pained cry escaped my mouth as I broke down. My legs lost all of their strength as he held me tightly to himself.

I was scared. Not scared of going back to that hell again—-but of dying alone with the weight of someone else dying because of me. He coiled his around my waist and made me stand on wobbly feet.

"Bairon", I said as he looked at me.

Pointing at Elijah I looked at Bairon with a pained look, "H-He tried to save me. At least take him out of here", I said.

Without wasting another second he nodded his head and picked Elijah up.

In a storm of yellow flash and rumble he took me up. I closed my eyes because of the sudden exposure to light. Fast, chilly air brushed against my face.

I'll be back into that hell again.

But I don't feel scared now.

Why?

I don't know myself.

"You'll be free now", Bairon said.

"Huh?", I managed to say before a strong jab to the back of my head took my consciousness away from me.