It was still like another other day, although today was more extraordinary.
"Cyliam's body has been found, along with the eradication of the cults." Aeon read it out loud as he looked over the paper.
He raised his eyebrows once he heard it with his own ears, Amelia's hand holding a pen and signing more documents like usual. He lifted his head and stared at her, his gaze questioning her for her decisions.
"I thought he was alive, however." He waved the paper in front of her as she continued to work.
She sighed, "He's alive, I just fabricated his dead body."
"But they would figure it out once his soul is found missing from the heavens."
She placed another paper down on to the bottom pile before answering, "Marcus is covering it for me. So they won't intentionally look for it."
"I sure think this is too much…" He said while scratching his head.
"The Council are a few pieces of shit unfortunately, so they would definitely give me a lot more trouble if I didn't pretend that Cyliam and the rest are dead."
He was about to say something, although he immediately stopped once her statement reached his ears. He stood up, slamming his hands on her table. The impact almost caused the paperwork to fly everywhere if she did not contain it.
"WAIT THEY ARE ALL ALIVE?!" He screamed and leaned forward.
She responded nonchalantly, "Not all of them, but quite a few of them are alive. Just sustained heavy damages."
"So… who is dead?"
She smirked, knowing that she would not give him an answer. He had to figure it out all by himself in his own way. He groaned and sat back down on his seat, closing his eyes as his void vision became one in their eyes.
"It will be quite a fun story." She mentioned when noticing him concentrating.
Those eyes of his first saw Cyliam.
A day ago…
"I didn't think there would be a day where I would meet you."
It was a familiar place for those who frequently visited her realm. The aura of calmness was evident throughout the entire space, to the extent that anyone walking in would have their negative emotions fade away.
Cyliam stood near the door, having his missing arm replaced by a prosthetic arm. He could have asked Noir to heal his arm, yet he chose to let it remain missing. He stared at Iris who greeted him like she would with anyone else.
She raised herself up and tilted her head, her lips holding a gentle smile on them. She did not say much as he looked around the space, amazed by the amount of things on the shelves. She placed a hand in front of her mouth as she chuckled.
"Were you expecting it to look gloomy?"
Iris did not take insult to those statements, as she had seen and heard them from people too much to count. She did not mind it either, since many expected where she worked to have a heavy feel to it.
It was clear to those who stepped foot in it, it was nothing like Nyx's.
He nodded, answering back honestly, "I did actually… But it does feel nice to be here."
He coughed before continuing, "So… You already know what I am here for."
"Amelia has informed me of everything. I will assure you that it will go as smoothly as possible. Although…"
She did not continue her sentence, he understood why without needing her to say much else. He sat on the couch, closing his eyes as he leaned into it. She stood in front of him, chanting softly as if leading him to sleep.
"Just relax. And I'll bring you to where you need to be." Her calm and gentle voice helped him relax much quicker.
There was nothing at first. His vision was still filled with pitch black nothingness. Once he had begun to settle into that void, he could feel himself actually standing on something. He blinked a few times to make sure that he was not dreaming or hallucinating.
"Why do you act like you have never been here?" A familiar voice rang in his head.
He could not see anyone nearby, so he continued to walk forward. He did not understand his actions as there was barely anything anywhere as far as his eyes could see. But he knew a sensation so close to himself.
Blood. That thirst for blood that could not be quenched.
"Do you know where you should even look?" Noir was getting frustrated by the way he was speaking to Cyliam.
He shook his head, "I just feel like you are nearby."
He could feel himself getting closer to the demon, especially the bloodthirsty sensation getting more and more all consuming as he moved forward. It was not a pleasant feeling, even so he had to keep going.
"At least you're using your head."
He rolled his eyes at that insult, pouting slightly while still walking. Until he could see a figure with familiar eyes close to him. He stopped, wondering if he should get in close with him. He could not see Noir's reaction, although still knowing that he was displeased with him stopping.
He shouted, "Don't chicken out at the last second!"
Cyliam knew that he could not run away from this now. He walked towards Noir, even as the emotions began to overflow from him. He panted as he walked, right up until they were at arm's length. Noir finally turned around as he had gotten close.
"Yep, there you are." Noir sighed as his jaw opened up a little.
Cyliam could feel his emotions going back to normal. He sighed as he stood there, them staring at each other without saying another word. The silence was not that tense, even knowing what the ending of this might be.
Cyliam was the one who broke the silence, but it was an answer Noir did not expected.
"Osial."
Noir had heard that name before, it was from his back seat view when Cyliam was the dominant consciousness handling his physical body. It was the name of the person he could not save from the past.
And the one that ended up making him sign a contract with him.
"What about---" Before he finished, Cyliam stopped him.
"Even Amelia's has his own name. I want you to have a name of your own."
Noir. The name Noir was given to him by Cyliam, since Noir was his code name during the establishments of the organisations. Even most people know Cyliam's name as Noir, until they knew of his actual name.
However, that statement stunned his entire being. He understood what Cyliam was implying yet his mind was still trying to figure out why he wanted to do so. Cyliam took another step forward as he remained still.
Cyliam suddenly gave him a hug, even if Noir's figure was much taller than him. His claws remained in midair as he tried to think of what to do. His brain had been reduced to nothing as it was too much to take.
Cyliam took a step back as he realised that Noir was not going to do anything else. He noticed his reaction, wondering what he even had such a reaction after all. He shook his head as he started talking once again.
"So, let's remain in our contract, but in another way."
He raised his prosthetic arm, Noir had seen it so he knew about it. He looked confused at first, wondering why he even raised it up for him to take a look at it. Until something clicked in his mind, realising what Cyliam wanted to do about their contract.
His thoughts were explained by Cyliam's words right after, "I know that our souls can't combine like Amelia's and Asura's, it will only result in you consuming my soul. So… I rather part of your soul be left with mine, but the powers be contained by this arm. Maybe even more than this arm."
"But why do you even want to maintain this contract, you could've just let me go."
There was no use for his powers anymore, while it was useful for those thousands of years, it was evident to both that Cyliam's body could no longer sustain having another soul being a parasite to the main. If he truly wanted him to stay, then he must look for another way.
His way was to turn part of Noir's soul into his physical and spiritual body.
"Well…" Cyliam wanted to state his reason, yet words could not leave him.
Even he himself did not understand his decision, so much so that he tried to justify to himself that it was a good decision. He still did not know what the future hold for him, what those sins of his would he pay back with.
Nonetheless, he thought too much. The answer, had always been in front of him.
"Because now you are a part of me." He said it while placing a hand on his chest.
Cyliam's tone of voice was nothing but honesty, not even faking it to persuade him to stay. Noir was with him long enough to tell whether or not he was genuine, from the way he spoke and his body language responded was everything he needed.
Even so, the truth of the matter was, even Noir had grown rather fond of his host. He did and still found Cyliam to be insufferable at times, yet him not ever letting Cyliam die told much more than what he could ever convey with words.
They spent quite a long time together, enough so that without each other there would be a missing gap in their lives. Neither of them could deny the impact that each other had, even if they hardly ever saw eye to eye.
Noir's, or Osial's, ears twitched as he said, "Fine fine. I'll stay."
Cyliam was beyond estatacted when he heard that, even giving Osial another hug. Osial seemed more annoyed by the entire thing beyond all else, perhaps even regretting his decision already. But, who could deny the smile on the corner of his jaw?
When he blinked again, he realised that he was now back in the same space. Iris stood in front of him, with a black mixed with red and white crystal ball in her hands. She chuckled after noticing that he had awakened.
"It went pretty smoothly." She continued to laugh as he shook his head.
"I still want to thank you."
She stopped, sighing before telling him, "The decision was yours after all. You could have ended that contract right then and there."
He nodded, smiling sheepishly as she motioned him to come over. She placed the ball on the table, on top of a scroll with a magic circle drawn on it. She grabbed his arm while he was wondering what was going to happen.
"You can do it now?!" He nearly shouted in shock.
She snickered and mentioned, "This is not anything too complicated."
She closed her eyes and started to chant, "May two souls reunite, even through the violent winds and turbulent seas; May the two hearts unite, fighting through darkness and shadow to reach the light…"
His prosthetic arm turned into his human arm, until there was a narrow wound going through his arm. It was filled up with familiar black stitches as it stitched together into a black line, his arm switching from his skin tone to light grey.
"May their body and soul be together for the rest of his life, until the day where he passes; May them be one, until the end of his world comes. O' great lord, may you protect them so they would never have to separate again."
He could feel Osial's soul disappeared from his, yet it felt now like they are one and the same. The colour was still inside the ball, although most of it had disappeared. She let go of his arm, letting him have a look at it first.
"This is…" He said while noticing the sharp claws.
"His arm, now it's yours."
He looked over to the ball, "What about the rest?"
"Perhaps you can ask Hitties to make a weapon with it."
He could feel energy surging through his body as he moved his brand new arm, he had intimate knowledge of this sensation, even when his consciousness was taking a back seat while Osial was in charge of it.
She laughed looking at him as he tried to get used to the feeling, she handed him the crystal ball as she continued to work. He stared at it, feeling the sense of life within his palm. He was careful in not dropping or breaking it.
"So my soul is…"
She continued his sentence, "A quarter demon, yes."
He placed it close to his chest as he breathed in, feeling how it reacted to him.
It was more gentle, like a tamed beast warming up to its owner. Nevertheless, he would not deny the raging storms of emotions surging through it as the colours mixed and combined. The most evident of which was his blood lust.
Maybe he would never tame Osial, but there was not such a need anymore.
Aeon stared at the scene, until it faded away into nothing.
Those eyes of his saw someone unexpected.
In downtown, alley ways of Fortuna.
"I really didn't think you would accept such a humiliating invitation!"
Sensu laughed as William lowered his head in shame. One of Sensu's underlings was helping him bandage his wounds as Will was dragged back to their base by the same person that was taking care of it.
He clicked his tongue before retorting, "I didn't know you wanted me dead."
"Oh no. If I did, I wouldn't have asked you to join me."
It was clear that it would take a while for them to see eye to eye, yet Sensu seemed particularly fond of him. To be more precise, Sensu was rather interested in the man's past, present and potential future with him and his gang.
He hissed when they continued to tend to his wounds, especially the feeling of paralysis even when it had mostly disappeared. Sensu hummed as he went behind the counter, starting to grab some bottles of alcohol then making a cocktail out of them.
"MEN!" His shout gained everyone's attention.
He placed some bottles of alcohol that he took on the counter, from the way his men's eyes lit up, Will had a feeling as to what was going on. Sensu continued to smile gleefully as he shouted at them again, announcing what that was everyone wanted to do.
"WE SHALL CELEBRATE THE NIGHT WITH A DRINK!"
Everyone in the bar understood why he meant by a drink, he meant getting everyone black out drunk and woke up with an insane headache the next morning. Although it was clear that nobody cared about the consequences, they simply wanted to drink.
He laughed before announcing, "Drinks to your heart's content!"
Most of the people went around the bar, finding their or pre-existing stashes of alcohol. They were incredibly wild as they opened it up without another thought and chugged them, even handing it over to their friends for a taste.
They have gotten rowdy in such little time which Will seemed to be amazed by. The person finished tending to his wound before going to grab themselves a drink. Some even had started to have drinking competitions with their fellow pals.
"Is everyone here drunkards…?" Will commented as he looked at the scenery around him.
Sensu shrugged, "We just happen to like chilling off like that. We don't drink all the time, you know?"
He chuckled at Will's groan, handing him some of the cocktails he made for himself. Will was confused at him, looking back and forth at the glass and Sensu. He hesitantly picked up, giving it a sip before saying anything else.
Although judging from the way he smiled, he certainly enjoyed the drink.
"I have pretty bartending skills too, you know?"
He shook his head, "I can tell."
Although Sensu did lie about his skills, Will still had a smile on his face as he continued to consume his cocktail. Sensu noticed the especially soft and relaxed facial expression, even with the amount of people screaming and throwing alcohol at each other behind them.
"You have gotten used to here pretty quickly, haven't you?"
Will did not answer him, yet Sensu already knew his answer even without having to answer. He laughed as he watched his men get more and more rowdy the more drinks they consumed, clearly having fun even when blood was shed.
"You could have turned me down, why didn't you?" He asked while taking a sip of his drink.
Will remained silent, finishing his drink but not saying another word. As even his own mind was reasoning himself for agreeing to join in Sensu's gang, he could not comprehend his reasons. That was until he remembered something from a while ago.
"You don't have a home to go back to, right?"
Those were the exact words of Salem, the person who got him into the making of the organisations in the first place. Those words of hers reminded him why he was here, and why he stayed so long even after wanting to leave it all behind.
"Don't you all want to belong in this world?" Will's sudden question caught Sensu off guard.
He could feel Sensu's confused from his body language, he left a gap of silence as he turned around watching the people. The happiness on joy on their faces, masking the despair and sadness for those who had passed because of that incident.
He took a deep breath before saying, "We all want to feel like we belong in this world, this society. So… at times we want to look for some place we belong, and stay there even after knowing what we have gotten ourselves into was more dangerous than needed."
Sensu laughed after hearing what he said, however his laughter was not in ridicule. He nodded his head as Will continued to stare at him, wondering what his reaction was all about. Once his laughter had died down, he said something unexpected.
"You have sharp eyes, don't you?" It was a genuine compliment from Sensu.
He hardly ever complimented anyone, or even at all. Will could tell how rare this was as he noticed some that heard it stunned, like they had turned into stone after hearing their leader compliment a newcomer.
Will sighed, "Not really, it's just how it is."
"But I still appreciate you for being able to see through it anyways."
Sensu poured him another glass of the same cocktail, he raised his own cup towards Will's. Will understood his intent, clicking their glass together and taking a chug of his own. He let out a satisfying sigh as Sensu watched on.
"You know, I went there just to see if I could get more recruits."
Besides that line of his surprised Will, it was also how honest he was about it.
"So you did expect to get some people."
Sensu chuckled, "I hope so. But I got their leader, so that was a nice reward."
Will realised how much of a deal he had agreed to, even so he did not feel an ounce of regret for joining in here. He heard Sensu's men drink and laugh as the night went on, sitting shoulder to shoulder while sharing smiles together.
"I am officially joining as a newcomer." He said loud enough for Sensu to hear him.
Sensu smiled happily as he poured another glass of cocktail for Will, the smile on his face returned back to his usual grin. Will took another sip of his drink, hearing the people singing something he did not know as they got drunk.
"There is a ceremony for that, well a tradition. But, let's do it through drinks instead!"
He could feel Sensu getting a little tipsy as he raised his drink again, Will followed his motion without him saying a word.
He was still smiling gleefully as he said, "I, the leader of Red Bull's, will have you as my eternal companion. So what's your full name?"
"William Holloway, at your service." Will said with a small grin
Their deal was solidified by their glass clinking. The night went on as everyone was still celebrating death and victory.
The scene once again faded away.
Now, his eyes saw something particularly interesting.
That night…
Cyliam stared at the address on his phone, then looked at the building in front of him. He stared at the unlit sign, making sure that he read the words correctly. He pushed the heavy door open, noticing that there was almost no one here.
"Uh… hello?" He shouted as he walked into the building.
His voice bounced off of the concrete, it echoed back to him. He looked around, wondering what was going on as he noticed the table near the stairs. He stood still for a moment, contemplating if he should sit down on the chair or not.
Thankfully, someone appeared that answered his pleads.
"Whoops! I'm sorry." Liu Yue snickered as he walked down the stairs.
Cyliam stood still, staring at the man as he sat down. He noticed his hesitance, choosing to remain there as he started to talk, "Cyliam, or Noir, as people called you."
He was not surprised by the whole aspect, some already knew his true name even when his bounty did not use it. Although, this was the first time he heard it from another person which made him feel a little uneasy.
Yue sensed his nervousness, simply stating, "Don't worry, it will just be a simple conversation."
'I certainly hope so.' Cyliam said internally.
After a while of silence, Cyliam decided to take the seat opposite of where Liu Yue was sitting. He had gone off of his seat to make some tea, smiling once Cyliam was sitting close to him. He poured some tea for both of them as they chatted.
"So you want to join in the bounty hunting business under us, right?"
It was a rather odd decision, as even he thought that it was an unusual one. Although knowing that he did not have many options to keep himself alive, especially when he was supposed to be dead yet again.
"Only for a sum of time. Afterwards I'll work by myself." He said while staring at the cup of tea near him.
Liu Yue drank his tea and poured himself another cup before stating, "But why do you want to work with us in particular?"
It was the same question Amelia asked him before he came here, choosing to work with the same guild that kidnapped Salem and got the staff. He knew exactly why, even when the logic that made him reach the decision was near absurd.
"Because all of you are strong, and I still need strength. Besides, I have no one to cover for me anymore."
Power. He wanted to give up on that road, to never be blinded by wanting more power. Yet, he still knew that what he had now was unstable, he needed others to watch over him as he got used to his abilities and grew as a person.
Hence why, he chose them above others.
Liu Yue noticed his right arm, it was hard not to notice after all. No one ever got to see someone's demon arm hanging out without another thing blocking it. He could feel the power radiating off of it, the same as when he fought Asura.
"So you are like Amelia then?" He noted as he stared at Cyliam's arm.
"Not completely, I can't retract this even if I wished to."
Liu Yue nodded after what he said, another silence filled the room. Amelia had told him beforehand that there was something interesting that she needed him to take care of, he just did not think that it would be keeping an artificial half demon as his comrade.
Still, she knew that he would not turn down such an offer.
"You do know this is a dangerous career to be having, right?" He poured another cup of tea for himself.
Cyliam drank his before saying, "Of course. But, this is what I need to get better."
He left out many other details, doing it by intention as he did not want to let Liu Yue know what exactly happened. Nonetheless, Liu Yue seemed more ecstatic that he now had a new underling that was working under him.
"Quite an interesting proposal. I'm taking you in." He said with a small laugh.
Cyliam let out a breath that he was holding in, he was expecting Liu Yue to turn him down as now they were going to have more of a mess to deal with. Though, it was clear that he did not seem to mind who joined them.
So long as they could perform their work.
Liu Yue stood up, formally introducing himself, "My name is Liu Yue, a SS rank bounty hunter. I look forward to working with you, and seeing your performance on the field."
"Naturally, it's also my pleasure." Cyliam stood up as well.
Suddenly, a girl's voice was heard near the stairs, "A new person…?"
Cyliam heard her voice, although before he could say anything, the rest three appeared to see what was going on. Liu Yue did not pay them much mind, even starting to introduce them to Cyliam for him to see who his companions were.
"We work together as well. That grumpy little guy over there is Xiao, the taller one is Pois and the girl is Shana. We all have our own work, but we do sometimes work with each other. Even working against each other too!" Liu Yue said the last sentence rather cheerfully.
Xiao did not bat him an eye, Pois simply waved at him and Shana nodded.
'This will be, quite the change.' Cyliam thought as he chuckled a little.
"Naturally, don't disappoint them too, alright?" Liu Yue said with his arm over Cyliam's shoulder.
Life was going to be different for Cyliam, although he did not mind much about it. He did want a change of pace, for a new life and a new meaning. He clenched his fist as he smiled, having the hope for a brighter and different future.
Even if it would be less calm than he had hoped.
Aeon smiled as he watched on, before the scene disappeared.
His eyes were greeted by a sharp sunlight, before he sat upright again. He saw Amelia was still hard at work, although her paperwork was about to be finished soon enough. He cracked his neck as he leaned forward, his figure still towered over hers.
"You're done?" Her tone was rather emotionless, like usual.
He noticed her coldness, deciding to pat her head to clear out the problem. That decision of his obviously irked her, although she did not say much about it. For once, she was silent about his physical affection, which was a rare occurrence.
"Are you in a good mood today?" He asked with a soft tone, intentionally being loving.
Her cheeks puffed slightly after she heard it, "Do I look like I am in a good mood?"
He laughed and continued to ruffle her hair, making her get more annoyed as he continued. He eventually stopped as he could feel anger and embarrassment fuming out of her, choosing that it would be a better option to not get stabbed or smacked on the head.
She continued to do more paperwork as they stayed silent. Him turning his attention to the desk that was beside the bookshelf, Diane not being in the office right now. Even her desk had a large pile of undone documents on it.
"Do you…" He was going to suggest her doing Diane's but he was worried.
She nodded, "Give them to me."
He was surprised at her agreeing, although he still calmly handed most of it over to her. He placed it on the table as she finished her pile, now starting to work on Diane's pile as he sat there and stared on.
He wanted to talk to fill in the air, so he started to chat with her.
"Does Diane know about your decision?"
She shook her head, "Not entirely, but she would have an idea of what exactly happened."
It was quite interesting that Diane knew her pretty well even if she had not said much about her past. Diane had sharp eyes, she understood how Amelia thought and worked enough that she could easily guess her surface intentions without her saying a word.
"Diane really knows you well." He chuckled lightly.
She understood what he was implying, for a split second a small smile appeared on her lips. He still noticed it even though it came as fast as it went away. The gaze in his eyes changed into a much more soft and loving one as he stared at her working.
She could feel it as some tint of pink appeared on her cheeks.
He laughed for a moment before saying, "You know, this is a good thing for you."
"You mean an assistant that understands me enough to not say anything about me that is like everyone else?"
He shook his head, "I mean by someone looking out for you."
The second she heard that, the emotions on her face were complicated. She did not know how to react, even that thought was relatively new for her. Aeon knew about her hesitation as he walked around her desk, before giving her a tight hug.
"It's fine." He did not need to say more as she understood it.
She could only mutter, "You are an idiot…"
He stayed there for a moment before letting her go, she did not protest or hug him back, but he seemed to be content with himself anyways. He chuckled after seeing her reaction, having her be a literal stone while still blushing a little.
"So… about Cyliam's weapon…"
She coughed before replying, "He already picked it out, we just need the weapon materials."
"Oh, so that job has landed on you."
She nodded as she continued to go through the paperwork, he looked pretty excited to go on it with her. She noticed his reaction although did not say too much about it, her head lowered as she thought of what exactly to say.
"Ah, don't you have an annual celebration coming up?"
He reminded her of what she was supposed to do before the entire incident. She sighed as she placed her head on her desk, letting out a very long sigh of despair as she remembered. He wondered what was going on in her head while he stood there.
She raised back up again, "Right we do…"
"This is going to be rather annoying," She muttered under her breath.
He laughed and patted her head, "Don't worry, everyone will work together."
"I sure hope so." She shook her head as she stood up.
She had not finished the rest of her paperwork, yet she walked out of her office. Aeon followed her along without her having to say a word. He already had a feeling as to where they were going, since it was a regular routine.
"Stroll now?" He walked up to her and kept with her speed once he was right beside her.
She placed her arms behind her head, "Yep, is there something wrong with it?"
He shook his head and smiled, "Nope. Don't worry."
It was a peaceful time, as there was nothing else there.
Even if that peace was not long lasting, they still wished it stayed around longer.
"Say. Having fun, aren't you?"
A voice dragged him out of his calm trance, looking around and wondering what was happening. He did not see anyone, yet he could clearly feel his presence near him. It was too familiar for him to ignore it, and too dangerous for him to shrug it off.
His vision was clouded by something, until it showed something happening before.
"Welcome home, Vanderwood."
Vander stood in an empty space, one that resembled Falak's realm. However, it was nothing like Falak's. It was so cold and barren, as if nothing could exist here. He noticed that his outfit was the same as when he died, although there was a new weapon in his hands.
"What-- Who are you?!" He was more afraid of the unknown man speaking to him.
He could not see the figure, but he could still hear the man clearly. He gritted his teeth although was curious about the weapon in his hands. It was still his long sword, yet there were words engraved into the blade.
He did not understand what those words meant, however he could feel the power surging through even without using it. He felt like he had so much more power than before, yet there was this unsettling sensation in his heart.
This was anything but a normal day.
"You don't need to know who I am, all you really know is that…"
He could feel things trying to trap him here as things were wrapped around his legs. He easily cut them off of it with his weapon as he began to run. He did not know where he was going, only hoping that he could find his way out of this place.
"You're not going to leave~"
The man was being so cheerful about the entire thing, hearing his laughter echoed off of the walls. He continued to run as he killed the things trying to get him to stay here, having to kill off waves and waves of mysterious fog that he could not see clearly.
Vander screamed, "WHY DO YOU WANT ME HERE?!"
He did not make a deal with that man, he made a deal with Falak. Hence why he could not understand why he was doing these things, trying to keep him here. Another thing was, why did his weapon feel so much stronger?
"Because, your soul is now mine." He said it while laughing out loud.
His eyes widened up, his guard was off by a second as he was pinned down by the fog. It immediately decided to suffocate him by intruding his nose and mouth, letting him breath in an unknown substance that would subdue him quickly.
"I did not… deal my soul to you…" Vander struggled as he said it.
Foxglove shook his head, now an outline of his figure was seen by Vander. He walked towards him with a sinister smile on his face, all the while Aeon could only watch as Foxglove started to drag Vander's soul out of his physical body.
"You didn't. But now that you are dead and deal with it for power, I can take your soul if I want to."
He laughed as he took Vander's soul right out of his physical body, holding the crystal ball in his hands. He raised it up and stared at it, watching the colour mix and swirl around each other. He smiled, then turned his attention to the weapon on the floor.
"I'm amazed by those who think you are actually dead, when two people chose to keep you alive as well."
He picked up the sword and examined it. He noticed the words engraved onto the blade, his smile grew wider once he knew what it was. He swung it around before it disappeared into fog as well with the crystal ball in his hands.
Aeon could only stand by as he watched, until he could get closer to Vander's physical body. He touched the body, noticing how fast it had gotten cold. The sorrow on his face was clear as he realised that now, Foxglove had someone in his hands.
He did not know what Foxglove was going to do with it, maybe as a hostage.
When he was trying to back away, Foxglove grabbed his wrist. That part of his veins immediately turned dark as he tried to move away, however an all consuming despair swallowed his entire being whole.
Fear, the feeling that he had not felt for a while could be sensed even in his bones.
"Don't worry~ Have fun with her in the meantime, alright~?"
He could not move, he wanted to move so badly yet his body disobeyed his orders. He could only stare at Vander's lifeless body on the ground, until someone's voice broke through that vision of his, forcing him back to where he was.
"Aeon?!" Amelia slapped his face in order to wake him.
He shook his head and stood upright again, she stared at him in confusion. He did not say anything, smiling again and pushing her forward. She knew that was something wrong, although she could not exactly say what it was.
Those moments of peace were fleeting… But, it was all that they would ask for.
For now, the illusion of peace would be kept up, until it could not anymore.