Broken - 5

Among stars. A walk that brought me closer and closer towards my ultimate goal. Gone was the stick, the crutch that brought sight to this void of nothing. Stars, each shone a greater light. Dead and alive, souls that touched amongst the others.

Dreadful flames that sought to extinguish the other. Tainted by the source. Each of their flames - such a wonderful representation of the soul. Extinguished so easily, as human's… as we were. Yet the greatest among us. They blazed brighter… greater… stronger than even the void could contain.

I realized now, as my feet brought me closer. Vision brought by trauma, an escape from this void. For it was always my goal to heal all. And what closer than a sight of souls.

I stumbled not, not when debris erupted from the ground. Nor when another cultist was sent towards the ground. Blood spewed from their mouth and upon my gentle touch.

A smile on my face. Our souls touched. A glorious meld of soul against soul.

Mine won.

"Rest."

I spoke. There was no hint of hesitation as the taint was taken within my own. Blood, crimson blood coppery in all but appearance. Onto my waiting tongue.

His cloak clutched my own, staining both a horrid red. An intuition beyond that crutch of a vision. For each step, he grew closer and closer to ash.

Horrified in both soul and body. Signals that brought him closer and closer to my knee. Only I stayed still. My body a fortress for that grip of his.

And when he faded to nothing, when his soul graced the gardens of god. He turned to ash. I knew… that upon his face was not a frown of pain. Nor a grimace of rage.

But one of absolute peace. Injuries… taint… every ailment that affected both the soul and body. Taken upon my own.

A student of mine should not cower behind blocks of debris, of any person. You are more than the beast they tell of. You are a student of my own. And you may say… that I have never taught you a lesson. But is that true? Have I not given you my guidance many times. Through trials and tribulations given even amongst your trip within that realm.

A visage of green. Hair who's very smell tasted of grass, of evenings spent galloping within the confines of a garden. Picking an apple, making a pie. A small… sweet slice of heaven.

Atalante a comradery forged in the fire of conflict, within a gaze that burned with such intense vitriol. A decision to protect me from the hounds.

My nose turned to the sky. Eyes parted but empty, a cloudy substance that spoke of my very blindness. I found it no consequence.

For even within that void. Within naught but blackness. There came a revelation. A divine intention and even greater intervention.

A visage of the green world we called home. A being that gazed over with such impassive words. No, even such a description could not encapsulate her grandness.

For it was not the ground I looked upon. But the sky. The celestial star. A blaze of power that brought heat to the world. Allowed all to live within its sphere of power.

A flame greater than all other flames.

And like a fog had been removed from my sight. The void no longer filled me with such intense loss. For within was a light. Born from that great being.

It took…

Oh how it took.

But what I had gained in return. That was the true prize, was it not.

I felt sure that the sight I had gained - a fluke of fate to be sure - was gone. Trauma induced magic.

For that was all it could be. There was no divine mandate that told me I could see again. Or even an allowance of sight. So, it must have been against the heavens. My sight, taken as punishment.

But I mourned not its loss, instead… I hailed the insight I found in return for the trauma. For the loss.

'Is that what they worship?' 

I asked myself, even as my progress went unheeded. A fight, one they were so engaged within, that they could not even spare an iota of attention to me.

A god, was this their object of worship, my own? 

I looked once more to that star within the sky, the life giving heat that it gave. Only to be consumed by the void of nothing. Used as fuel to grow.

Grow what?

Even I could not tell.

But that insight, even just that one glimpse brought me closer to life than I had been for a while.

Maybe it was a consequence of work, of pressure and stress. That I had not truly consumed that trauma. As even the day before I had freezed in place. Helpless against one I should have been able to escape from.

A single yell, a call for help. And Abby would have come running… I knew she would. She would not abandon me, not willingly.

I breathed. My hand placed upon that creature. Who had retreated so in the face of overwhelming power.

Snow, powdered atop each other to create a sword powerful enough to pierce that rough hide. A battle that brought injury, both internal and external.

I felt it all. Blood dripping from my mouth, a coppery taste of crimson life. And within moments, our souls touched once more.

An expression of power that I could not understand. For I had never felt, nor seen such an interaction before.

I chuckled as the creature placed a hand over my cheek. Rubbing gently as the pain faded.

It muttered something. I could not decipher it. But I knew that it was important. So I nodded and fell to the ground with the creature.

Letting his body fall to ash within my grasp.

"Rest now." I spoke. Letting warmth fade slowly within my voice.

"Rest please."

"Thank… you…"