Chapter 24: Ametrine

*Souta*

I stood by the window. More thoughts than usual filled my already overly active-head. I gazed at the sky. It usually helped calm me down. The sun was setting, casting a reddish glow over the city. I couldn't help but stare at the sky.

Ava and I fixed up Sekin at his place, and from there, the two of them went to see their girlfriends. it would've been nice if I could've gone to see Sehun. He hadn't contacted me since we left. Hopefully, he was right about the angel.

"Sunset gazing?" a familiar voice called out.

Standing by the window was a shirtless Purpura covered in gauze bandages.

Standing up, I sighed and opened the large window. "So you finally return but in this condition. You're into pain or something? Because you're giving me that vibe," I said, shaking my head.

He glared at me as he jumped into the room. "I didn't choose to be tortured!"

My eyes widened. "Is that what happened? Did you get captured... was it whoever hurt you when we met?"

He looked down at his hands. "Sorta. The ones who hurt me that first time were the grunts. This time, it was the big man himself, my father."

My eyes widened. "Y-your father?" And here I thought I had a rocky relationship with mine. At least Pops wasn't abusive!

He nodded as his now shorter hair fell over his eyes. "The man I thought was my father turned out not to be my father. I'm..."

I ran over to him and hugged him. "I'm sorry for what I said to you before." I held his arm even as I moved away. "What happened to you." I frowned. "It's my fault, isn't it? If I hadn't kicked you out, none of that would've happened."

He scoffed and pressed his head against my shoulders. "It's not..." My sweater quickly became soaked with tears.

I patted his head. 'This guy... just what did he experience in a single day to reduce him to this state?'

"I'll let you stay here until you're feeling better." I let go of him, and that's when I remembered that he was shirtless. "First, you should take off those dirty bandages and take a shower. I'll wrap you up in nice, clean ones and lend you some of my clothes again."

He gave me one of his usual smiles before walking to the bathroom. He turned the knob and opened the door before looking back at me. "Thanks, cinnamon roll. Though just leave the bandages. I'll patch myself up this time."

My face turned bright red. "Want me to kick you out again?" I said, glaring at him.

He snickered as he walked in.

'That guy... was he faking it? No, the tears looked and felt too real. Purpura, does he hide his sadness behind a smile? A smile... that's exactly what I do.'

###

When I returned, Purpura was already done and dressed. I had lent him a white button-up shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

"Here's some food. Dinner isn't until later, so I went with something light," I said, putting a plate of spaghetti on the desk by the bathroom door. "How are you feeling?"

He glanced up at me. His amethyst eyes met my citrine eyes. "I will be alright, thanks to you."

My face felt warm. "Don't say stuff like that." I put my hands on my hips and turned my head away. "For your information, I already have a boyfriend."

Purpura stood up and went straight to the spaghetti. He gobbled the stuff down in seconds. Holding out the plate toward me, he asked, "More."

I crossed my arms. "I'm not your servant." Sighing, I grabbed the plate. "I'll do it this once because you're hurt." I put the plate back down. "Mind showing me your wounds?"

His face grew warm. "You sure like me taking off my shirt, don't you?"

I turned away and snatched the empty plate from the desk. "I'm going to go get you some more to eat. However, you should make sure that your bandages are properly fitted. Say, who put those you had on earlier anyway?"

He ruffled his hair. "It was your boyfriend."

I dropped the plate. Thankfully, it didn't shatter, thanks to the floor being orange carpet. "Sehun helped you?"

Purpura nodded as he made his way over to me. He picked up the plate. "Yeah. Even I was surprised. At the very least, the guy isn't anything like his uncle."

My eyes bulged. "His uncle?"

He opened the door. "The guy who inflicted these wounds on me was Suoh Opal."

Wait, didn't he say it was his own 'father'...

"Wait, doesn't that mean that you're Sekin's..."

He nodded. "I'm Sekin and Kanade's brother... sort of." He closed his eyes. "I'm an experiment meant to recreate the powers of the ancient Amethyst Priestess. To be honest, I'm not quite sure if Suoh is my biological father or not."

"Suoh was the one who nearly killed you? Wait, why would he try to poison you if you're an experiment? Is he done with you?"

"I didn't think of that." Purpura ruffled my hair. "You know, you're rather smart for a guy who acts like an idiot fanboy."

I puffed my cheeks and punched him. "You're the idiot."

He leaned in and grabbed my arms before kissing me. His lips, they were soft, yet firm like grapes.

"I guess we're both idiots," he said as he slowly backed away.

I pushed him away, but the guy just laughed. "Your face is as red as a tomato." He touched his lips. "That was payback for that goodbye kiss."

I took the plate from him and ran downstairs. That guy! If he wasn't injured, I would've kicked him out right that second! What was he thinking, kissing me?

Once I was downstairs, I took a deep breath. My heart wouldn't stop beating rapidly. I truly had become no better than Ava... 'Darn you, Purpura. Why did you have to kiss me? I hate this murky sensation. Sehun doesn't deserve this!'

My eyes widened. 'Sehun and Purpura. If Sehun helped him, then doesn't that means Purpura was at his place earlier? Wait, the boy that the angel mentioned, was it Purpura? If so, then that spells big trouble. Suoh will come here if he finds out his son's here. What do I do? I can't endanger my family, but I can't push Purpura out like this. I have to keep all of them safe. Perhaps, it's time I train my powers some more. As long as the number of attackers is small, I should be able to win. But what if it gets bigger? Then I'll be in danger. How many people can I protect?'

"Souta?"

I turned around and saw Sehun standing there. He was still in his school uniform. He seemed worried. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to check on you." He smiled. "I heard what happened to you. I'm glad you're alright."

Had Ava called him?

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Sehun."

"No problem." He smiled. "Say, if you haven't eaten anything yet, want to go out and grab something to eat?"

I smiled back. "Okay."

We walked out of the building and onto the streets. I gazed up at the starry sky. It was so beautiful. Something about the stars reminded me of my boyfriend. The way they sparkled made me think of an ethereal dream. They were especially nice after an exhausting day like today.

"Hey, what's that?" Sehun pointed to a spot on the horizon.

I followed his finger. There was a small dot in the distance. It was getting closer and closer. "That's a comet."

"No, that's not it." He frowned. "It looks like a giant eye."

I gasped. "What is it?"

He rubbed his chin. "Looks like it's coming straight for us."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know."

We both stared at it. It was growing larger and larger. Soon it was as big as the moon itself.

"Look!" Sehun pointed at it.

A giant white figure appeared in front of it. It looked like a huge angel. It had wings that stretched across the sky. The angel slowly descended toward the earth.

"It's a messenger," Sehun whispered. "It's come to tell us something."

The angel landed right next to the water tower.

"Mora?" the angel said.

I turned around and saw Purpura standing there. "Hey, what are you doing here?" I snapped.

He held up his hands. "I saw something strange in the sky, so I came to check it out."

"W-what's that?" Ava said as she ran out of the house.

The angel turned its head toward her. "Hello, my name is Tael."

She gasped. "Tael?"

"Yes, I am the Angel of Destruction," he said.

"Destruction?" I said, my voice trembling. "But you're supposed to destroy evil things, aren't you?"

The angel smiled. "I am not here to destroy anything. I have come to warn you."

"About what?" I asked.

He pointed to the sky. "There is a monster that has appeared in the heavens above. It's a black creature that's eating the stars."

I gasped. "Are you saying that thing is after us?"

He nodded. "That monster is searching for you."

I gulped. "Why?"

"It wants to consume the stones within your brains to give itself more power."

My eyes widened. "It wants to eat our brains?" What kind of horror monster were we up against? A zombie cosmic beast hybrid?

"Yes, the members of the Great Clans possess great power, but it comes at a risk to themselves."

"By attracting monsters toward us, right? I'm aware," Sehun said.

I gasped. "You are?"

He nodded. "Yes. To be honest, I've been fighting several of them for a long time now." He glanced at Purpura. "My role is to protect this town. That's why I found his arrival disturbing."

Purpura averted his gaze. "Thanks..."

"This isn't the time for sarcasm! We have to fight whatever wants to eat our brains!" I glanced at the angel and smiled. "You'll be helping us, right?"

Tael nodded. "That is true. However, I cannot help you. I am forbidden from interfering with human affairs. Only if the creature threatens my masters directly or if I'm ordered to, may I help. And right now, the order is only to prepare you for what's to come."

I groaned. "What do we do then? I don't want to become zombie chow!"

"I can only tell you how to defeat the monster yourself."

I clenched my fists. "How?"

"To start, you must locate the stones inside your brains. Once you have found them, use them to defeat the monster."

"That sounds easy enough," Ava said.

I narrowed my eyes at her. How was finding something in our brains easy? Wait, could X-rays detect it? If so, then I guess she had a point there. But, how would we get exams? We probably would have to come up with some kind of excuse for that.

The angel smiled. "If you wish, I can teach you how to do so."

I smiled. "Thank you!"

He bowed his head. "You are welcome."

"Will you be alright?" Sehun asked.

"I'll be fine. You two go back home and rest."

"Alright," he said.

Ava trembled. "I can't leave you here. What if this is a trap?"

The angel sighed. "It's okay. I won't harm him. Nor you."

"I-I'll wait here in that case."

Sehun turned around. "Since Ava's staying, I might as well stay too."

"That's alright. All four of you are necessary to defeat the darkness devouring heaven's light."

I nodded. "Alright. So, how do we access more of the power of our clans?"

He smiled. "I will show you. Follow me." Tael took to the skies, causing his wings to cover up the stars. Could no one else but us see him?

"Should we really trust that guy?" Ava asked, tilting her head.

Purpura stepped forth. "Something tells me that we can."

I rubbed my chin. What made him someone as distrusting as him say that?

I followed after him and chuckled. "If you say so."

He grumbled. "What's so funny?"

I smiled. "It's just nice seeing you being more trusting."

Purpura glanced at the strange-looking sky. "I wouldn't call it trust. More like instinct."