Rain continued to pour down on them, soaking them in water as they clashed.
8:19 p.m. They continue clashing.
Vander dodged out of the way, the blade narrowly missing his cheek. He swung his sword upwards, trying to knock Noir's sword out of his hands. Noir's grip on his weapon was tight, even the strength that Vander exerted, it could not waver him much.
"You can do much more than that," Noir commented as he laughed.
He grabbed the blade by hand, even if it did injure him, he had no intent of letting go. He gripped on the blade, his smile never faded as he dragged Vander closer, raising his fist and ready to connect it with his face.
Vander let go of his sword, blocking the strike with his left hand as he kicked Noir's stomach with his feet. Noir's reaction speed was still inhuman, as he moved the blade seconds before Vander kicked him.
He knew very well that Noir was going to kill him in any way he was given.
He swiftly backed away as the blade inched closer to him, Noir letting go of the blade as he was knocked back a few feet, destroying the trees and the ground. He summoned the blade again in his hands.
"I thought as much!"
Noir was very excited about the whole thing, seen by the smile on his face even when he was injured quite a bit. That kick did not do much damage to Noir anyways. He easily shrugged it off with a bright smile.
"Truly, a monster you are." Vander raised his sword again.
Noir shook his head, "You underestimate me."
"I'm not."
Noir summoned his sword again as he charged forward, this time with much more ferocity than before. The ground beneath him broke a line following where he was, the winds that he gathered due to his speed were violent.
The tree leaves were blown away the very second his blade collided with Vander's, even blowing some of the clouds and the water droplets on them away. It cleared out enough for the moon to be seen as they continued to exchange blows.
Another exchange.
Vander tried to shove him away as far as possible, yet Noir's strength was much more than him. Instead, Noir managed to push him away. He took the chance to strike, slicing at Vander while he was recovering.
He did not get much damage in, even with the strength he was using.
"How sturdy are those things?"
Vander rolled his eyes, "Even I would like to know."
It damaged the fabric but nothing beyond that. The clothes he was wearing were specially made, to assume the least. Noir spun his sword as he tried to figure out how exactly much strength was needed to damage Vander.
Or even kill him in a single strike.
"You did forget that we could do more than having all this equipment, right?"
The moment he finished, Noir could feel something was off.
Not exactly off, it was missing.
He looked to his right arm, or where his right arm should have been. It was cut clean off, his pitch black blood dripping to the ground. He noticed his right arm was laid close to where he got knocked back that time.
"Obnoxious trickery."
Vander sighed, "But you would be fine."
"I'm not like Amelia's, unfortunately."
His arm did begin to heal, yet not at a rapid speed that Vander expected. For good measure, he burned his cut off arm so as to not let him have his arm back. Seeing that it would take time for him to heal it and that his dominant arm was gone, he chose another route.
He charged towards him, grabbing Vander's blade with his remaining arm. This time, he did drag him closer, instead kicking it away from his hands. The strength he used, even if it did not show on his limbs, was enough to tear his arm away with ease.
The left arm that was holding the sword flew away to the side of the forest.
"Honestly, you all are monsters." Vander stated.
He tilted his head, "That's why we are monsters, no?"
Vander instinctively wanted to block with his other arm, however once he had considered that doing so would be a grave danger and disadvantage to him, he opted to simply dodge. Even then, he did not get away unscathed.
Noir was trying to grab his face, so part of it had deep scratches in them as it began to bleed. He noticed the bleeding although understanding that there was nothing he could do about his wounds, especially his missing left arm.
"So~ Not so great anymore?"
Noir appeared beside him, knowing full well that no matter how far he tried to run, he would always find him.
"I don't think I ever was, especially with nuisances like you."
He took in a deep breath as he took the both of them to somewhere else, Noir's arm had healed fully as he tried to grab him again. His view faded to black as he took another step, unknowingly being taken to somewhere else.
[Amelia's side]
"What makes you think that these snakes are not what they resemble?"
Amelia's voice was monotone, her eyes were not so, however. The feelings in her eyes were slowly being blinded by blazes. Falak's smile grew ever so wider, the tension growing so much more as she took another step ahead.
"Falak, simply tell me what you want."
She was honest, especially with the way her serious tone underlined every single word she uttered to him. He knew it as well, nonetheless he wanted so much more. He chuckled along with the snakes, shaking his head to her words.
"When have I ever been honest?" He tilted his head, the eyes of his with so much insanity.
Amelia's dull eyes glared into his, "You haven't. But you should at least tell me what you want."
Time, he was chasing that depth of depravity of his with time. He was dragging along, even though she knew what he was doing. He was challenging her patience, that thin layer of patience that she has for everyone.
Even much less for him.
"Falak." Her warning was not going to get through to him.
He tilted his head up as he said, "Come at me then."
The violent winds blew, immediately clearing out all of the clouds around them. The water droplets blown away with the clouds as her blade striked his, made out of the snakes that formed his umbrella.
"What cheap tricks you have."
She applied more force as the air blew him far away, his snakes along with the trees being diced into pieces. He chuckled as a few grazes appeared on his cheeks, blood trickling down it. He wiped it with his thumb then took a lick of it.
"This is what I want."
His maniac desires were now placed on her. An excitement in being killed by her blade was much more evident in his actions as she continued, again her blade being unsheathed at a speed where he was not noticing.
Precise.
She knew exactly what she was aiming for, instead of going for the head, she went for his heart. As another barrage of slashes came his way, he dodged them without much of a thought even as the ground was heavily damaged and trees cut up in pieces.
He had narrowly dodged her blade. One slice at his neck, one slice at his torso, one slice at his right arm, one slice at his right leg. He was still keeping up with her speed as his head dodged to the side, that single thrust went through the trunk as smooth as butter.
"Come on~ Come on~"
Ridicule.
She understood the reason why he was not attacking her, because he wanted to get more on her nerves. He was one who knew everything about the other, especially manipulating the negative emotions within living beings that had them.
All in order of simply having himself entertained.
This was not enough, nowhere near enough. At least not so to gain his action. He took a step away as she thrust her sword at him again, this time he bothered to push the blade along with her away. Yet, he did not take the chance to hit her.
Amelia was clearing out the weather for him, at least what it felt like.
Her strike became more ferocious, one was enough to blow away trees from their roots. Still, he did not fight back. Simply watching her as he smiled, as if this destruction was nothing but a show for him and only him to view it all.
"Ridiculous." She sheathed her blade as she stood still.
She would have at least wiped out a quarter of the forest if she kept going, yet she didn't. Knowing full well to get this thorn out of her side, she needed to do the opposite. That was to bore him out as much as possible.
Trees laid to pieces on the ground, some of it were still intact yet it was sliced up pretty bad. The ground could still be walked on, simply that it would be much more time consuming due to the amount of split lines and holes.
She might have already destroyed a quarter of the forest.
"Eh?"
Falak sounded surprised, he was caught off guard the second she decided that it would be a better idea if she stopped there. There was a feeling, emotion he had to process simply because he was in such a high before.
Now that he was not, it felt hollow.
"You're seriously going to stop there?"
She sighed, "You make it sound like there is something wrong with it."
In the absence of chaos, something felt off to him. Perhaps he was so surrounded by it at every moment, everyone gave the reaction that he wanted. He never thought about what would happen if someone did not play into his game.
She, of all people, did not give into it.
She reminded herself what she was here for in the first place, not a fight to the death with Falak, it was to see Cyliam's end. That be physically or metaphorically. That was all that she was here for, nothing more nothing less.
"This was a damn waste of time." She turned around and started walking away.
Falak remained stunned, perplexed at what had just happened to him right in front of his eyes. As her figure eventually left his view, he could only tilt his head at the scene. His mind comprehending what exactly went on.
Atlas, there was not an answer he could accept.
It was shallow, as shallow as the river flowing through cities and on top of the mountains. So much as he wanted to force her to stay as his toy, she would not do it. Sure they would get into another fight, but how long will that last?
She was an impatient woman, wanting to do everything as quickly and efficiently as possible. That also meant stopped fighting in the middle of some fights due to it taking up too much time, or was an unnecessary one that should not have happened.
The clouds slowly but surely came back, rain started to pour on him again. This time, he did not bother trying to shelter. He stood in the rain, letting it drenched his body in water as he continued to think. He raised his head up to look at the rain.
Usually, he would have taken the situation lightly. He could and had failed before.
What was so different about this time?
"Liar." A familiar voice rang in his head while he was deep in thought.
It was a voice he was so familiar with, yet the owner of the voice no longer existed in this world. This was all in his head, he knew it full well.
"Lying again." He commented again with a laugh.
A moment of silence passed, only the sound of rain pouring down on the ruined forest filled his ears. Falak could hardly hear the person's voice from the rain, at least he thought he could not.
"You just want something, don't you? Isn't that why you agreed to be the God of Chaos even while in agony?"
That story should have been lost to time, hardly anyone would remember what had happened all those years ago. Maybe it had been lost, but not to his memories. He could feel and saw the scenes in his head like it had happened yesterday.
Even if it had been 6 million years.
"I'm sentimental today…" He mumbled to himself with a chuckle.
The voice was heard again, "You are. You haven't forgotten about me after all."
8:28 p.m. Amelia appeared near where Noir and Vander were.
[Amelia's side]
Amelia watched them clash without saying another word. She turned into a cat, sitting on a tree branch as she watched the winds blow, nearly blowing her cover as well. She groaned as she sat there, staring at them.
"Asura~?" She mumbled in her head.
The headache came before she even uttered his name, Asura answered her calls a little before she needed him. She scratched her ear with her feet, tilting her head enough to do it. She was still talking to him in her head.
"What do you need?" Asura replied with his usual high-pitched voice.
"Help me find Cyliam."
He remained silent for a little. She could feel him looking at something, or trying his best to look for him. He started to snicker once he found it however, she could feel him nodding his head to what she just said.
"Alright. Off I go then." He laughed before going away.
She could feel part of her missing as he left, she stayed on top of a tree branch as they continued to fight. She had to move away since Vander was this close to slicing the tree she was on in half.
"I do wonder what the hell happened before…" She murmured while landing on another tree branch.
[Inside of Noir/Cyliam's mind]
The dull grey skies continued to hang over Cyliam's head, only now that he's laying on the ground. As much as he wanted to move, he could not. His body rejected him moving any more than his current position, feeling like he was restrained there by something.
He saw someone's feet in front of him, making him wonder who it was until he looked up. Seeing a familiar smiling face yet of the one that was not his own. Asura's jaw opened up as he bent down just to see Cyliam's face more clearly.
"Ah~ Didn't think you would look like this." He chuckled after what he said.
Cyliam rolled his eyes, "Would you at least help me out?"
Asura tilted his head, "Help you? Oh, out of the restraints?"
"Yes, please. The snakes are squeezing me and it's getting more and more uncomfortable."
Asura saw the snakes once he began the process of removing the seal. It was not that hard, he simply had to set an unseal magic on Cyliam's soul, then slice off a few of the major snakes holding the seal together.
With a strength like his, no matter how hard the snakes were, he could slice them clean with one finger.
"I wonder how long I would stay like this if you didn't let me go."
He slowly stood up, stretching his limbs as he had not done so for a while. He sighed as he stared at Asura, who was smiling with his jaw showing those sharp teeth. He shook his head, starting to ask him questions related to Amelia.
"You won't lie to me, right?" His uncertainty was felt before that question was asked.
Asura simply shrugged, meaning that he would not confirm or deny that he would lie about certain aspects of things. Still, from the way he continued to smile, Cyliam knew that he would be truthful about most of the things.
"Why does Amelia want me alive?"
That question never went out of his mind, throughout this entire road, he always wanted to ask. Why was it she wanted to help me? He knew that she definitely thought of it too, yet neither of them ever brought up the question. What was it because she did not want to answer?
Or that was something he did not quite know.
Asura laughed at it, making him think that he was ridiculing him. The matter was, Asura was not laughing due to that reason. It was his humour that only Amelia understood, perhaps that insanity of his was the one thing nobody else acknowledged as comprehensively.
"I can't saw if you both were dumb idiots or shit at this…" He shook his head as his laughter died down.
"Maybe you will figure it out for yourself one day."
Cyliam sighed, "So do you know?"
"Oh I absolutely do. But I won't tell you, just for her."
He leaned forward when he said that, his jaw nearing where Cyliam's head was. In a state of panic, he took a few steps back. He was more afraid of being eaten right here than Asura not answering his questions honestly.
"Did she know about all of this beforehand?"
Asura knew what he was talking about, even if he wanted to be as vague as possible. Simply, Cyliam's questions stem from some of her decisions. She usually would not tell anyone what she was planning, you could only see it when it was happening.
He laughed, "Oh she definitely does. What she plans on doing with this before has changed a bit since Sensu is in the picture. But she is always a step ahead of anyone else, no matter how little of a step it actually is."
Cyliam's reaction was… as expected. Although he did not seem too surprised, part of him still had to accept the fact she had known this much before going in here. Maybe even before their agreement in the bar.
The woman's curiosity that knows no bounds.
"There's something more than that, right?"
Asura nodded, "Naturally, but that is all I'm going to give you."
He hummed for a moment before saying, "So why did you switch?"
Cyliam was unsure of either Asura's or Amelia's intent, while she had her reasons for sending him in here, what exactly she was thinking of was a debatable subject by itself. He could only stay here and be interrogated.
"What do you mean why? I can't really do anything about him." He was offended by what Asura just asked.
Perhaps, his offense was misunderstanding
"Who knew that you can feign ignorance?"
Those words irked him, however it was not a regular annoyance. The way Asura reacted to him with a smirk said as much, he huffed as he tried to grab him. These emotions made him more bold than usual, although Asura easily dodged him.
"I know how your contract works. So why are you feigning ignorance?"
There were things he could not answer, or chose not to answer. Whatever his decision for it was, Asura knew that he would not get anything out of him. The purpose for them was left up to him for interpretation.
"Such a fragile mind you have." Asura's last comment before he left him alone.
The space went back to him alone, yet this time, he was not completely alone.
[At the same time]
They continued to clash, however Vander was using more tricks than one. They were no longer in the forest, instead a familiar space with limited lighting and a lot of snakes around them. Their bodies were still in the forest, however now no longer being restricted by it.
"You won't get out of this alive."
It was far to say that Noir was getting cocky, perhaps way too cocky.
The sound of their blades hitting each other was music, a rhythmic one where they continued to exchange blows.
Vander slashed him again while Noir was trying to slice his head apart. This time, he was actually doing some damage to him. Noir's smile started to shift once he got in here, as if his body was reverting back into a human's than his demon's one.
"I am going to get out of this alive."
Vander kicked him in the stomach while he was still in midair, his blade this close to slicing Vander's head in half. No one could exactly tell how strong they were fighting, still it was clear that they were using so much more strength than before.
He could not hit the ceiling, as there was none. Yet he was still flying through the air even if he tried to get himself to stop. Vander jumped up into the air, he sheathed his sword as he pushed Noir down with the sheath.
He was knocked back to the ground, the floor he landed on would have broken if he was not in someone else's realm. He coughed out some blood as his body started to break down, the intense headache came back to him.
"Noir, you were never the one suppose to fight me." Vander said while pointing his sheathed sword at him.
Noir laughed out loud, he felt more maniac than before. He placed a hand on his head as his headache grew worse and worse. He did not care, not letting it slowed him down, even as his soul began to reject him.
"This is what he wants."
Vander shook his head, "You don't know what he wants."
"Neither do you!" He almost screamed out.
Vander stared at him as his body continued to bleed, inside and outside. His mouth started to drip off blood, he could taste the iron. The insanity in Noir's eye did not change, however Vander had already seen through something in the cracks.
"Why do you deny your feelings?"
The question was odd, because it was one no one had thought of asking him.
Noir chuckled, laughing at the question as if it was absurd. "What do you mean? We don't have feelings at all, this just isn't what we have."
"But now you do, don't you?"
Was it something he chose to ignore? Maybe, he did not understand it very much. There was something that he could never understand fully, emotions. Emotions to him were such a foreign object that he could never truly grasp it.
"What do you mean by that? I don't have them." He tilted his head as the headache faded.
His wounds began to heal as his body changed back into a demon's, the slash on his stomach closing up by itself. However, he could feel himself disappearing as if something was holding him back and away into his own slumber.
"You're also a human now."
Those words. Those words pissed him beyond belief. He did not understand why entirely, but now, he truly wanted to torture Vander until he died. He laughed again, much louder and so much more maniac than the one before.
Noir charged at him, his hand now turning into the claw as Vander blocked it with his sheath. Yet he could not hold him back as he was pushed much further away. He was ready to unsheathe his sword, although this time he did not get to.
Noir grabbed his face, raising him up before slamming him to the ground.
"I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!" He shouted as he turned around.
Vander appeared behind him as he unsheathed his sword, simply grazing his palm as he sliced him. Noir's speed was still way too fast for him to adjust to as he grabbed his face again, swinging him away so far, Vander's face was injured badly.
Vander stopped himself by placing his sword on the ground, it created enough friction for him to stop eventually. Nevertheless Noir had no intentions of letting him catch a breath, he charged forward at him again as he tried to tear his face off.
"Paralyse." Vander mumbled as he stared at Noir's claw.
Noir's body started to sprout out pins, the nail-like pins were created from snakes around them. A mark was placed on his soul as he was forced face down on the ground, more pins sprouting from his body until it was too paralysed to move.
Vander panted as he stood up, snakes helping him to fix his face and the injuries he had suffered. He had to hold himself up by his sword, Noir glaring at him as he was held down. Vander noticed the anger and frustration in his eyes as he tried to move a muscle.
"I didn't think I could get you this angry this easily."
To Noir's ears, it was obviously an insult. However, Vander would take it differently.
"We always have tricks up our sleeves, after all, the Servant of Chaos does not show all their cards in their hands. This is just how we fight." Vander answered him a question he did not, or had no intention, of asking.
Noir flipped his face to glare at him as he said, "Let me go."
"You're too dangerous to let go, your soul has now recombined with you. This will be too much for even some Gods to handle with."
He continued, "Besides, you were not the one that I wanted to be here."
Noir knew exactly what he was referring to, as he said it time and time again. He could not say much, only glaring back at him as he wondered what exactly Vander would do. Once his face healed up much more, he spun his sword before placing it near his arm.
"To summon the host, I need a sacrifice."
Noir panicked, however he still was angry as he warned, "I'll kill you."
"Don't worry, I'll die with him instead."
He slowly dug his blade into his shoulder, until he quickly sliced it off. The blood flowed from it as their surroundings changed back into the forest, he sat near a tree as Noir's eyes closed. Vander breathed in slowly as he stared at the body.
"I don't have enough time." He said while raising his hand.
His body was still assimilating to the power, it was clear to him that he could not handle it. He used too much, whether he would live or die would be up to the last exchange. His fate was in both of their hands.
8:41 p.m. Cyliam's consciousness returned
"I still…" He muttered while standing up.
He noticed his missing arm, although it was not bleeding. He noticed that something had blocked the blood but did not heal his missing arm. He stared at Vander, questioning what he had done.
"Don't ask too many questions," He simply said as he stood up.
Cyliam shook his head, "You don't need to return me back."
"That's true, I don't need to. But I want to."
By intention, Vander made his purpose for returning Cyliam unknown. Although it would stay as a mystery for too long, once Cyliam noticed the cracks in his body as he moved towards him. His breath was shallow, almost too shallow.
"So you are dying."
It was a clear observation, especially with the near emotionless eyes of his. Vander simply chuckled, shaking his head before tossing his weapon away. He clenched his fist as he walked towards Cyliam, ready to punch him in the face.
"Want a fist fight?" Cyliam said while taking a step back.
Vander did not answer him as he ran towards him in the straight line, Cyliam blocked his fist before it connected with his face. He tried to knee Vander in the stomach, although his knee was blocked by Vander's free hand.
He only noticed his reaction as he exerted enough strength to push him away.
Vander was smiling, his smile felt especially child-like and innocent. Cyliam did not understand why it gave him such a feel, until he noticed how rapidly his body was breaking apart. This presented another question in his mind.
Why did Vander not just kill off Noir earlier?
The answer was much closer to him than he had thought.
"At least, let me relive the moment."
He charged at him again, still using so much more strength than he should. This time, he went to kick Cyliam on his waist, getting him off balance. He saw it coming as he blocked the kick with his remaining arm, just enough to not push himself away.
He took the chance and grabbed the leg before Vander tried to attack him again, this time dragging him in close before knocking his head with Cyliam's own. He lost balance for a second, giving Cyliam the chance to punch him in the gut.
He coughed out as he was punched, shoving him away as Cyliam followed closely along. Vander immediately tried to sweep him off of his feet, the second he moved a little, Cyliam jumped up to dodge the attack
He was familiar with his moves, as if they had been here before.
While he was in midair, he tried to kick Vander in the face. He was fast enough to grab his foot with one hand, pulling him back down to the ground then making him crash on to it. Before he had a moment to breathe, Vander let go of his leg and stabbed his stomach with the heel of his feet.
He blocked it before it got to hit him, pushing it up while getting back up. Vander tried to sweep him off his feet again, this time Cyliam stood his ground as he got hit. He grabbed his feet and twisted his body a little more to punch him in the face.
For some reason, he could see a teenage version of Vander asking him for a fight.
"Old man, you're not a fighter, are you?"
He successfully broke his nose as it started to bleed. Vander was forced to take a few steps back as the injury was too much. Cyliam gave him some space to breathe as he stood there and viewed his reaction.
"When was the last time we fought?" Despite the situation, he still spoke in a gentle tone.
Cyliam snickered, "Hand-to-hand? That was a while ago."
"Ah… I miss it."
There was a sense of fleeting warmth between them, knowing that it would not last.
Because no matter what, Vander still wanted to fight till the very end.
This time Cyliam decided to charge at him, his intent was not to hit him, not at that moment. He grabbed Vander's arm as he raised his arms up to block him, he pulled him closer then kicked him very hard in the gut.
He held him there so he could kick Vander a few more times, which he took the chance and did so without thinking twice. He finally let him go, however not without another kick in the face. Cyliam was going to wreck his face at this moment.
And he did so without much effort.
It was clear to Cyliam that Vander was getting much weaker, his lips already spilling out blood to the ground. Even so, he still ran towards Cyliam. He first tried to punch Cyliam who dodged while pushing his arm away from him.
However, that seemed to be Vander's intent.
He halted himself as he grabbed Cyliam's remaining hand's wrist, pushing him off balance and kicking his feet for good measure. He took a step forward then raised his leg, slamming it down on his chest. Cyliam hit the ground hard, although Vander took more damage than he thought.
"My body is seriously crumbling under this pressure."
He found it particularly ironic that although Charlie traded his life to assure that Vander's physical body could not crumble under an immense power that needed months and months of training to master partially.
As if his death was all for nothing.
"You don't need to die with me, you know?" Cyliam commented as he launched forward at Vander.
Vander's leg was mostly cracked, threatening to be broken apart into pieces in the next few minutes if he kept fighting. There was no real way that Vander was going to come out of this alive, unless someone did something to him.
"But I want to." Vander said as he blocked Cyliam's fist with his hand.
However, this time Cyliam's strength was much more than what he had expected. He pushed forward, forcing Vander's hand to crack as he punched him in the face again. Vander let go of his fist as he hit a tree, he laid there and started coughing up blood.
"You don't need to, this never involved you anyways."
Cyliam did, he honestly wanted to let Vander live if possible. Yet, looking at the state of his body and soul was in, there was not any other way to keep him alive. He stayed there, not willing to take another step even as Vander forced himself to stand up, punching him in the chest.
It did not push Cyliam away, nor did it hurt him. They simply stood there, Vander's head lowered as he chuckled. He noticed cracks began to appear all throughout his body, his vision getting more and more blurry as he tried to move.
"I don't understand…" Vander mumbled as his left arm disappeared first.
Cyliam held him up, no matter how little his soul was left. He watched as Vander's body shattered into pieces, like glass that was dropped to the ground. He did not know what to say, although even both of them knew the underlying sadness in Cyliam's eyes.
"Save your strength."
Cyliam did not want to hear him talk, perhaps to accept and close off his heart to the emotions that would come with it. Still, Vander would not respect his request. Even as most of him had been gone to ashes, he had just enough strength left to speak.
"You will always be…"
This time, Cyliam could not deny his feelings. Even without him fully realising it, his tears had begun to stream down his face. He held on to what pieces of Vander was left, until it had dissipated into the air.
He could hear the rest of his sentence in his mind.
"You will always be my mentor."
9:01 p.m. Vander was dead
The sky was clear, too clear; As if the rain did not extinguish the fire; As if a life-changing fight did not just happen. Life was cruel, at times too cruel for even the strongest of wills to handle. Cyliam, was not like any of those people.
As much as he wanted to move, going further away from the laboratory and perhaps reaching town, he simply could not. He tripped over himself as he laid on the ground, feeling the calm breeze and his cold skin as he stayed there.
Although the thing that was holding his missing arm's wound together was still there, it had slowly begun to fade away. His arm was dripping blood to the grass, his body was slowly shutting down by itself from the wounds and exhaustion he was feeling.
Still, this was not yet over.
He saw a familiar feet appearing in front of his eyes, a posture and aura that was such intimate knowledge to him that if he was to recognise it wrongly, then the person standing in front of her would not be him. It would be a doppelganger pretending to be him.
"Amelia…" He faintly called out her name.
Amelia noticed the man near her foot, how weak and vulnerable he had been. Nonetheless, she came here for a reason. She initially did not tail him due to how weakened he was, he would have gone too far with what remaining power he had within him.
She tilted her head, "Have I ever seen you like this?"
"I don't think anyone has…" He chuckled after he said that.
She shook her head as she sat on the ground, noticing that his bleeding arm had gotten worse. She flicked her fingers, holding his wound closed temporarily as she continued talking. She also transferred him some energy, enough for him to sit up.
His movements were slow as he was concentrating on what she had to say.
"How do you feel?"
That was a particularly heavy question, that point of which was solidified when his widened eyes turned from surprise into despair. He lowered his head and sighed, yet not giving her a concrete answer as to how he was doing.
She groaned, "I can never understand you people. Why destroy everything that you have simply because you wanted to pay for your sins."
Her usual ridicule hurt him way more than it would have. He was not in a great state, neither was he in a good enough mind to take it. Yet, he knew exactly that her statement was true. Maybe she had known his intentions all along.
That was not what he was going to say next.
"Would you kill me now?"
HIs intentions aligned with why he had gone through the trouble to destroy everything. Nevertheless, it did not give her that impression. As the voice he said it in was anything but aligned with his intentions, or more beyond that.
His real intentions.
"No." She said firmly, obviously not backing down.
He pleaded again, "Go on, kill me."
She was not going to kill him, she made it extremely clear. He was not going to back down still, as he lunged at her then grabbing her by her shirt's collar. He pulled her so much closer to him, his eyes glaring right into hers.
"COME ON!" He screamed in her face, desperate to get killed.
She was not going to do anything, simply watching as fury began to blind his eyes. She did not say much, he gave up and eventually sat back down. His frustration was still clear as day for her.
"Why do you…"
"Did you think I kept you alive not for a personal reason?"
That line of hers stunned him. He had the thought, naturally, but no one had fully confirmed it for him until she said it himself. He was not very surprised at the fact, just that she said it herself made it more interesting.
"So there is a reason for you to not kill me."
She shrugged, "If you do want to die that badly, I'll do it."
She was going to take up his offer, however she was going to do it only if he wanted it. There was no need for him to die, there was never a need for any of them to die. The most major difference was…
Was it said in that spur of the moment? Or was it what he actually wanted?
"Then, let me die."
She stared into his eyes, noticing that undeniable layer of void. She shook her head as she stood up, she summoned her sword yet it was still sheathed. She raised his head up by placing the sheath on his chin.
"If you want to die like that, Vander would have killed you."
She did not lie, he understood that. He did not know what else to say, the words that would have left his lips could not persuade her to do what he wanted. Or… was it even what he wanted?
"They want you to live. Or Vander would have killed you even during your fist fight, he still has enough strength to slice you in half." She sighed as she said it.
"You have never lived for yourself, have you? Now think about it for once."
She paused, letting him take in a deep breath before continuing on.
"Why did you think they made you a leader? It was not because you were fitted to be a leader, because only you could have been the leader, for the one gathering them. You wouldn't be the leader if you haven't done so, not even staying for this long."
Her sword disappeared as she stared at him. She was going to wait for his answer, they already knew what each other wanted. He stayed there, his mind trying to figure out what to say as she waited.
Silence. It felt like time passed way too slowly as nothing filled in the gaps. They simply stared at each other, his mind trying to make up anything, anything to answer her. Yet, there was nothing he could say.
"So tell me, do you want to live?"
She asked him this question again, yet in another perceptive way. She wanted him to be sure of what he actually wanted, or why he was still here. He lowered his head for a moment before raising his head up again.
"I…" His mouth was left agape as another word did not come from him.
She was ready to draw her sword, as her sword appeared on her waist. However, he slowly stood up as her blade touched his neck. It stayed there as she did not move it, his eyes more lifelike than before.
"I want to live." He said confidently.
"I want to live, if that means paying back those that I have dragged down. I will leave this legacy behind, and make a new one."
He was tired, his body was about to fall down. Even so, he said it very valiantly, his body posture stood upright and staring straight at Amelia's emotionless eyes. She knew from that, he was not lying.
"So then, don't you dare disappoint me." She closed her eyes as she sheathed her sword.
Cyliam chuckled, finding it much more bitter than usual. His body eventually landed into her arms, she stared at him as his eyes closed. She shook her head, making another exact body like his on the ground.
It was different from the one in her hands, as it was cold and bleeding.
The moon still high up on the skies as she walked away, not looking back at the destroyed laboratory and Sensu. She noticed his presence as she left, him simply smiling at her as her figure disappeared into the shadows.
Should I lie to you…
No. Of course not. After all, you would know whether or not I am lying. Then… for once, please save this as a secret for me. I will owe you a favor for doing so, thank you very much for helping.
9:17 p.m. Everything is now over.
… End of recording.