PATHETIC

"Get me out of here!"

A scream inside his mind woke Zev up, when he opened his eyes it was dark around him, as if night had fallen on the sea, the silence bothered him quite a bit and now he knew that Evander was no longer by his side. He heard a piercing scream under the water, perhaps it was an underwater creature so he shook his feet at high speed trying to swim towards some coast even knowing that there probably was none. His breathing and heart shook as he heard the scream getting closer and closer, he did not want to be eaten by some creature of darkness.

"I'm scared Nix! Do something!" he shouted.

"Look for the exit," she said like an echo, "I'm very weak, I can't do anything about it, I feel like a part of me has been torn away."

Zev began to cry desperately but with each tear, the sea covered his body more so he chose to calm down. However, in the distance he saw the silhouette of something gigantic approaching. As he moved towards it, he saw a huge ship that included a crew. He waved his hands to get their attention and ask for help. From the boat, people threw some ropes that he was able to hold so that they could pull him up. Once on the ship he felt a comforting relief.

"Thank you very much…"

He froze when he saw what was in front of him. They were people, mostly men with a disturbed, pale and haggard face. They looked like zombies at some point, but the worst thing was that they all had his face.

He fell back onto the wood of the ship and backed away without saying anything. His zombie clones also did nothing about it other than continuing to navigate aimlessly.

"I'm not burning, nor running out of air, nor do I have dirt in my orifices, but still, I have an inexplicable feeling, I want to get out now!" he said to himself, quite disturbed.

Zev's clones suddenly became paralyzed, a storm was about to fall on the sea, one that would surely destroy everything in its path. Soon they began to say so many things that it was impossible to hear each of their words but Zev knew what they meant.

They mentioned all of Zev's fears, his flaws, everything he hid from others, his ego, his weaknesses, his crying and all his pain.

"You hurt a woman who really loved you and now you want her forgiveness when it's too late, you're pathetic."

"You always want to run away when the situation is not under your control. Do you really think it's easy to start from scratch as if nothing had happened? You are pathetic."

"Your brother seems to do things better, he made another girl forget you that easily, he seems to be better, you're pathetic. "

"Just because a deity is inside you does not mean that you are just as great as it, it is not going to give you the power you want, you are only its vessel, its puppet, that is pathetic, you are pathetic."

"Destiny is death, everyone's, but the fact that you are the first from here to get there is already too pathetic."

The voices tormented him as the raindrops fell, hitting the wood, bathing him in disgrace. Zev tore his face with his nails and as he did so, his clones became deformed and even disappeared.

"Shut up idiots!"

"We are just your inner voice coming out."

"They are not real, they are a lie like everything, like the elements, like the supposed war in that crappy dimension, nothing is real!"

Zev slowly stood up and walked towards the plank.

"Not even I am real..."

He hugged himself, closed his eyes and remembered most of the people he has met or interacted with in his life, his family, his friends, his partners, the reinforcements, Luna, the commander and even Nix.

"Maybe if I'm pathetic, there's something I should have done a long time ago..."

He walked to the edge of the plateau, with the storm in the background, his clones looking at him with a judging look and the tears in his eyes jumped to infinity with the intention of taking his life, if his destiny is death, he wanted to make sure he arrived on time.

"I can't… I can't handle so much, sorry Ocean."

He held his breath as long as he could before he began to choke.

"It's ironic that the woman I hurt has the name of the place where I'm accepting my death," he said in his thoughts.

Ayden could feel and observe what was happening inside his loop and was in doubt whether to stop it or continue. Ronda screamed for him to stop him but something happened.

Nix's golden hair sprang from Zev's mouth, though the tips were stained black, her scream audible to everyone, even the three reinforcements outside the loop.

"It's Nix! "I think it's coming out," Ayden said.

Nix's long hair came out along with her head, the image was heartbreaking in itself but Zev felt nothing as he was in a temporary death as the mother aether protected him. The arms began to come out as well, as did the torso, which was covered by a white tunic. Zev's body lit up as she pulled out completely, moaning in pain.

"Nix is out," Ayden mentioned.

Not only Nix had been freed, but also the three-headed black beast, which ran out of the loop on all fours, causing them to lose track of it. Half of Nix's body was covered in a viscous black substance that disappeared as the black beast vanished.

Nix stood up, Kylen gave the order to be all ready in case she attacked, he asked to protect the citizens and placed his best soldiers in the front row. Mother Ether put her fingers to her forehead to say a few words.

"Suppression."

From one second to the next, she completely canceled Ayden's loop, then looked at Zev's body who was lying unconscious, and again used another power.

"Reversion."

Everything that had previously happened to Zev was reversed, bringing him back to life after his small death.

"We can't wait for Ocean and Evander, we have to fight," said Barret.

Kyle freed Maeko, who could be a lot of help.

"Don't trust anything or anyone, Nix surely works with the Aurora, alert everyone in the bunker!" expressed Kylen.

A golden thread connected Nix's navel to Zev's like an umbilical cord, so she was not completely separated from him yet.

"Loop of..." Nix pronounced but Barret attacked her using his earth power.

Nix was not defensive, in fact she looked weak and tired. She repeated the first words again but this time Ayden attacked. The soldiers fired while Maeko tried to control her with her voice but the efforts were useless, although something curious was that the bullets did not harm her, except for one that accidentally grazed the golden thread, causing her to scream in pain.

Nix looked really bad, she wasn't beautiful, she was deformed, which meant she hadn't gotten her true form yet.

"My children, kill all these people," she said but none of the reinforcements allowed themselves to be manipulated.

Nix used to have the power to manipulate them since they were her creation but they no longer allowed it so she became enraged at not being obeyed.

"That's why Evander has always been better than you," she said with the intention of making them angry. "Where is my son the most handsome?"

Ayden and Barret attacked her again while Ronda held Zev tightly with the help of her hair, if they contained him it would be easier to contain Nix. Ronda squeezed Zev so hard that she managed to squeeze out all the water in his lungs.

"What's happening?" he asked but was surprised to see Nix in front of him.

"Zev, dear, cut the thread, you know how to do it without it hurting."

Zev directed his gaze towards the cord that joined them but contrary to what she said, he didn't know how to do it. While he was thinking, the soldiers shot towards the thread making both of them hurt.

"Stop, sons of bitches!" he exclaimed when he felt pain, "if you don't, you will be the first to die when she recovers."

His body had become strong so he was able to free himself from Ronda's hair and ran towards the soldiers, he hit one of them and took his weapon, then he began to mow down those who were nearby, killing them, leaving everyone speechless.

"This is about to begin, there will be nothing they can do, I will kill them all and I will kill Ocean," said Zev being manipulated by Nix, "nothing will make me happier than bathing in her blood, the four elements are not going to win."

Nix's body transformed into a white flying beast, it was huge, with the appearance of a Komodo dragon and enormous wings full of metal spikes, it was truly terrifying and was six meters long, it also seemed to be heavy, anyone would die if it were crushed by her. Zev mounted her still linked by the golden thread and they both flew away from the place to plan their next move.

"There is no time to waste, we must go to the base of the aurora and cross to eternal life, without Zev inside the loops it will be impossible for Ocean and Evander to return, there is no other choice, there is no other portal other than that one," Ayden said with a racing heart.

"Are you kidding? That's too risky," Kylen interrupted.

"We're not asking for your permission, Kylen," Barret said defensively.

"You protect the people and fight against the leaders of the Aurora, we will take care of Nix, that is our battle," Ayden said quite convinced.

"Come on," Barret said.

Both transformed into their elements and left for the Aurora community facilities with one goal in mind, to bring back their missing brothers.

"I will help you protect the people, I have an idea," Maeko said and started singing a song.