She flinched a little but I know she doesn't have either, Ignius's teammate will be here soon to retrieve Miranda. My eyes darted to Ignius; he was conscious but still paralyzed from over exerting himself. But something tells me that too wont last much longer.
Miranda closed her eyes as she took a deep breath then signed, smiling sheepishly as she walked forward. I apologized one last time before drawing a wing pattern on her right side just under her collar bone.
" Lay down on your back... And... Try to relax. '' She hesitated before su settled down on her back I drew my daisy pattern on her clothes just above her heart and smiled sympathetically.
" okay... I'm ready. Start on three? " her statement shocked me. I guess she doesn't know that when I placed that Daisy mark I had already started and the pain was about to kick in any second.
" Okay... Three... Wither away..." The wing seal on her collar began to glow gold.
" Wait! What?!" Her body froze in pain then curled up instinctively. Her hands were at her collar bone. The only thing you could hear was her fighting the urge to scream and cry, she didn't win this fight because seconds later her screams echoed within the weird limbo space. The fact that we were in limbo meant it was half way over. The small child rolled from her side onto her legs, her body tightly curled in the fetal position with her hands clawing at her chest and her forehead and nose in full contact with the floor.
Miranda's heavy sobs at point stopped and was replaced by the sound of her teeth grinding while she was fighting against the pain again. This is when things started to change we were now in the Hellscape. Her pained huffs and puffs turned into angry ones. She slammed both fists onto the basement floor and left two large indents on the floor of the basement. She then extended her fingers. I watched her nails grow to be concerningly long and sharp talons. She threw her head back and screamed/ roared giving me a clear view of her new sharp canines. Oh and don't even get me started on her eyes... They were a blueish silver... A rare color among Embers the eye color of an Ember tells you their role within the world. The coming and going of an Ember is as frequent as the coming and going of a blue veil civilian. Which means that they don't celebrate the birth of a new Royal. Her eyes were normal but then she stopped screaming and looked me in the eye for a moment and I saw her pupils become nothing more than slits. I'm guessing the pain chose to make one last kick at her because she took in a deep breath and let out what I would call a battle cry as she let out her pain and frustration. I know this sucks but we weren't done, we still had to purify... Her face was now red and veins were sticking out and this continued for a few more seconds before coming to the last of the air in her lungs.
The pain looked like it had finally subsided. I remained silent for a bit longer just analyzing her face... She looked like her mind was elsewhere.
" Stay here. " I calmly stated as I began to slowly walk away. "
" No! Where is he? " Being told no angered me deeply so I spun to face her and proceeded to inform her who was in charge and the issues she faced.
" I said... Where is h- "
" I could give two fucks what you said I SAID to stay fucking put. You fail to understand that a woman will come to take your corrupted ass to the deepest darkest hole in Hellscape to torture you. You heard me you will be tortured instead of torturing him. So for fuck sake stay here!"
" But!" her attempt to talk back made me angry and I glared at her.
"I said. Stay. Here." the wing mark under her collar bone started to glow silver. She ignored my words and started to walk forward or... Tried... That's when you could hear it sear. Miranda gasped and and stopped moving immediately my glare was still intense and serious. She looked me in the eye and looked away immediately and with that I went on my merry way and walked to the far side of the Hellscape basement.
" I'll be back."
" where are you going? "
" I'm going to make a dead guy. So give me a moment, I swear I'll be back. Understand?"
" Y- yes."
" Good now if you excuse me I have a mess to finish cleaning." a look of pain spilled over her face then I realized that he said something similar about her.
" I'm sorry."I whispered as I walked away.
I needed to kill him while he was still within the abandoned building. Once I did so he just popped into Hellscape without even experiencing the two gates. I double checked that he was in his Little pocket of hell and once I confirmed this I walked back to Miranda who literally had not moved a muscle in fear of being seared again.
" You done?"
" Yes. " I chuckled to myself
" Good." This is when the aforementioned female made her appearance.
'Ether. Of course she had to come over to be in my way. She acts like a needy child. It's annoying... Has her mother not paid her enough attention.'
" WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING WITH THAT SOUL? " Her voice echoed itself. I felt Miranda become guarded behind me unconsciously taking a defensive stance. I stood there unfazed and unamused.
" Move Ether. I'm busy. "
" WITH WHAT EXACTLY... ESCORTING YOUR NEW PLAY THING?" I was absolutely done with all the interruptions so I froze the world which didn't pause Miranda or Ether... sadly so she was still an issue. Knowing this only annoyed me more. My power kept Miranda free but I couldn't understand why Ether also had this privilege. Thinking about it only angered the more and I know she has a mark that I placed on her but she never froze ever... Even Ignius freezes when I stop time. And he has marks that I placed on him as well. Only those I want to move can move but she breaks that rule and always has.
" Excuse me?!? You must have lost your ever loving mind. I don't need to explain shit to you. More. Out. Of. My. Way. " I pushed past her taking out my aggression on Miranda accidentally. My gold eyes pierced Ether the entire time.
" Let's go! '' Pausing for a second as I calmed down and repeated myself slightly kinder my frustration was still audible nonetheless.
" I'm sorry look let's go Miranda." Ether heard her name and did the dumbest thing in the world. As soon as she heard me call Miranda her face flashed a bit of pain then extreme anger.
"ANOTHER MIRANDA HUH? WELL MIRANDA DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE SOME CRUSTY OLD EVIL SOULS PUNISHER? DID YOU? I BET SH-" Miranda answered before I could. Miranda knew Ether wasn't going to like her response but then again... When does she ever like anyone's response?
" Yes. I do. Now if you exs- " Miranda was mid sentence when Ether started reaching over to break the control seal on Miranda's collar bone fulling knowing that the control seal was important to keep foreign souls from going berserk while they were in Hellscape I know she knows this because she also places these types of seals on new souls. Whether it was out at spite or boredom she broke the steel with her orange fingertip. Meaning Miranda would go berserk and try to attack me. I don't know why but berserkers always find their way to me and try to kill me. I wasn't concerned though I had a back up plan. Miranda tried to dash for me and I called my favorite words.
" Ether. To me." a smirk stretching across my face.