05-04-2021, 10:01 AM
In so many ways, his death had opened his eyes to the whole of existence. He had seen for the first time just how very small they were in the face of the cosmos. Had understood just how much more existed beyond the small world Beqanna clung to. Had seen that not all viewed life in the same way he did. In the same way they did.
The creatures like these? They existed to devour. To turn all of life into a macabre image of themselves.
It had been foolish to ask her if she was hurt. The ‘no’ that rolls off her tongue is a lie exposed in the black liquid that dribbles from her nostrils and unsteady flailing of her limbs. And just like that, the guilt rises. He had brought her here. He had made this happen to her.
Swallowing a lump in his throat, he mutters a low apology under his breath before reaching out once more to wrap her in his magic. He should never have brought her here to begin with.
When he drags them through the crack once more, he is convinced he had somehow done it wrong. That somehow he had glanced off, landing them in yet another mirror dimension. But as he lifts his head and tastes the air, he knows he hadn’t. As his eyes rise to the eclipse, a slow horror burns in his throat.
Without second thought, he grabs her again and flings them forward in panic. Had he inadvertently led to the destruction of his home? But when they land again, the sun shines brightly onto the beach around them. The relief is nearly instantaneous. Whatever it was, it clearly passed.
Turning to the girl at his side, Ten presses his nose to her once more, feeling the flood of her illness as he once again sacrifices his own health for the sake of another. As black fluid begins to trickle from his own nostrils, a small, shaky smile stretches his lips. “I hope that… you’ll be able to forgive me.”
The creatures like these? They existed to devour. To turn all of life into a macabre image of themselves.
It had been foolish to ask her if she was hurt. The ‘no’ that rolls off her tongue is a lie exposed in the black liquid that dribbles from her nostrils and unsteady flailing of her limbs. And just like that, the guilt rises. He had brought her here. He had made this happen to her.
Swallowing a lump in his throat, he mutters a low apology under his breath before reaching out once more to wrap her in his magic. He should never have brought her here to begin with.
When he drags them through the crack once more, he is convinced he had somehow done it wrong. That somehow he had glanced off, landing them in yet another mirror dimension. But as he lifts his head and tastes the air, he knows he hadn’t. As his eyes rise to the eclipse, a slow horror burns in his throat.
Without second thought, he grabs her again and flings them forward in panic. Had he inadvertently led to the destruction of his home? But when they land again, the sun shines brightly onto the beach around them. The relief is nearly instantaneous. Whatever it was, it clearly passed.
Turning to the girl at his side, Ten presses his nose to her once more, feeling the flood of her illness as he once again sacrifices his own health for the sake of another. As black fluid begins to trickle from his own nostrils, a small, shaky smile stretches his lips. “I hope that… you’ll be able to forgive me.”
TEN
@[Shipka]