[Chapter warning for detailed violence. Although all of it is just monster-fighting, stay cautious.]
Elias watched in silence as Faine knelt down on the ground, head against the dirt, facing the great tree. He looked to be in a state of prayer, communicating with the withered thing as if it understood the very essence of Faine's desires.
Miraculously, the tree's branches creaked from its lifeless state, moving to deliver a single flower into Faine's hands. It glowed much like the rest of the flowers, a celestial gold and orange, resembling the flames the God of Fire often wielded.
The demigod would've been envious of Faine's affiliation with such a sacred centerpiece had it not been for the sheer awe he felt as the flower twinkled against the courtesan's fingers.
It was astounding, how heavenly beings seemed to descend from the comfort of their domains to be with Faine. Elias wanted to find out for himself what it was they sought after, but he shook his head, quick to dismiss the thought—he and the courtesan would probably end up slaughtering each other before he could discover anything of substance.
Just as quickly as the Pétillantes gave life to its surrounding, they withdrew it. The flowers regressed to their state of slumber and before Elias knew it, the place had been colorless, cold, as if they had never blossomed for the man Elias accompanied in the first place.
Faine turned to the demigod. He smiled, one that resembled a child's wholesome excitement.
"You look much more approachable when you aren't snarling at me, you know that? Is it your default expression or is it saved for me because I'm special?" The demigod announced with that conceited voice of his, hands hidden in his pockets.
Faine, with a soured mood, only made a judgemental look in return. "Are you going to keep being a jerk or are you going to get me out of here?"
"Don't rush. I'm not that unbearable."
"Your lack of self-awareness is truly praiseworthy, Eli."
Elias scanned the area and assessed their possible routes. His eyes looked to be smoldering, like ardent violet stars, whenever he was absorbed in his surroundings, Faine noted to himself. The eyes of a hawk never looked so bright. Perhaps because Elias was more dashing than a hawk.
"We have a few options."
"Those options being?" The courtesan asked, his curiosity feeling like a persistent itch on his bottom. Not that he's ever had one. Ignore that.
"Well," Elias uttered. After a long contemplating look, he continued. "Scratch that. We have two options."
The demigod's agitation was worrisome, his troubled look even more so. But Faine waited, soothing the anxiety gnawing on his insides so as to not disturb his companion's train of thought.
"We can take the route we took on the way in, but that would take us too long. It'd be dark by the time we reach the other side. Our other option would be... The original entrance to the tree."
"That doesn't sound so bad, but why do you sound so discouraged mentioning it?" Faine asked, curiosity sincere. A brief image of the entrance flashed in his head—the harmless, and even quite charming entrance.
"Why do you think we didn't use the entrance to break in?"
"Don't tell me..."
"That's right." Elias turned towards the direction of the entrance. It was barricaded, but nothing the demigod's exemplary strength couldn't handle. "It's surrounded."
Faine's eyes flashed wide. His hands clenched into fists. The strange creatures were frightening from a distance. It didn't seem as if they were brought to life for anything but to tear human flesh from the bone. He couldn't possibly imagine fighting one. How could Elias expect him to survive an entire crowd of them?
Still, he inhaled. "Eli, toss me a spear."
The demigod was shocked beyond words, the question marks floating over his head practically visible. They didn't have much of a choice, but he didn't expect the courtesan to accept their fate so willingly.
"Toss me a spear," Faine repeated himself. "I'm not asking."
"O...kay." The demigod raised his hand, conjuring a spear out of thin air. It was a replica of the one he frequently used, the one that wounded Faine's shoulder. It looked much too heavy for someone like the courtesan to be carrying around, its size towering over Faine's small frame.
Faine offered the flower in return, Elias covering it with a protection spell before making it invisible to the naked eye. The bursts of magenta and purple encasing the Pétillantes faded as quickly as it appeared.
The courtesan inspected the weapon, getting used to its weight in his hands. He traced over the writing carved on the wooden material, Elias' mark. To both their surprise, Faine got comfortable quite quickly.
He swung it around with unanticipated expertise, his movements swift and practiced. Although it was a bit rusty, flawed, there was clear experience guiding his every step.
"It's been a while since I've used one of these."
Elias was successfully stunned, eyebrows furrowed. Were his eyes playing a trick on him? Or did Faine actually look good with a spear?
"You... you've used one of those before?"
"Why so surprised, Eli? Need I remind you who it was that raised me?"
The whitehead shook his head vigorously, trying somehow to get his brain running. "No, I just didn't think you'd—"
"That's because you only knew me in my time as the god of love." Faine countered, a smug smirk drawn on his face like a hubristic work of art. He struck a pose with Elias' spear, adrenaline running through his veins. He could practically smell the bloodshed he swore to abstain from a long time ago. "Had we met as demigods, I would've kicked your ass a long time ago. Really kick your ass. Leave some bruises while I'm at it."
Instead of elongating his show of foolishness, Elias opted to whip his head toward the entrance they were dreading just moments ago, practically sprinting towards the pile of rocks blocking outsiders from entering.
With a single slash of his spear, it all came tumbling down. The crash of stone against the hard ground was chaotic, destructive. Good. He needed to reclaim his pride as a warrior.
"Don't slow me down, human." He snapped, refusing to meet the courtesan's eye. He didn't want to acknowledge the reason why.
The only reply he got was a rather arrogant proclamation. He could practically hear Faine's smirk. "I'm gonna make you eat your words, Eli."
The fearsome, faceless beasts they had been walking eggshells around shared eye contact with Faine—if their empty blackness could even be counted as eyes—and before he knew it, the ravenous beasts were already launching at him.
Faine pounced from the ground, slashing two of them in a split second as he spun in the air. The ink-like substance that splattered all over his body only served to worsen his excitement, his breathing uneven from the sheer urgency of the moment. He should've felt guilty for inflicting harm on another creature, but he could only muster up guilt for not feeling guilty in the first place.
Even then, it wasn't enough to stop him.
His feet came in contact with the entrance's layered stone walls, using it as leverage to pierce through another's head with a speedy throw of his spear. He was quick to retrieve his weapon, his demigod companion moving like the wind in his peripheral view. Elias slashed through the monsters with haste, their howls of agony a direct result of his unanticipated attacks.
There hadn't been as many monsters as Faine imagined. Their regeneration was quite slow as well.
"Must've rusted over the years." He whispered to himself, stabbing through the one launching for him from his back. It was a good feeling, sending the spear flying as it pierced through his enemy's chests.
They seemed weak in the area of defense.
But then again, as the courtesan watched them bear their sharp, shadowy teeth, he realized that the god of death must've been focused on their offensive traits.
He stumbled into a rock, legs staggering for a moment before he found balance once again.
A brilliant idea popped into his head as he lifted the rock in the air. With the help of a miracle, Faine mustered enough strength to pummel the rock toward a bunch of the monsters, effectively pushing them back as the rock burst into tiny fragments from the impact.
"You're having too much fun for someone who claims to be a pacifist." Elias teased, an adrenaline-boosted grin stuck on his tainted face. The black substance looked to be quite poetic on his pale skin.
Faine only shot him a playful smile in retaliation. "What are you saying? This is merely self-defense."
One of the ferocious beasts leaped at the courtesan, taking the length of his spear in between its teeth. The damned thing started gnawing on the wooden material, Faine's eyes widening from the implications. Faine did his best to struggle against the monster's bite, wanting to salvage his only weapon, but its incessant scratching eventually reached his chest and he knew he was in too much pain to endure longer. He felt the spear snap bit by bit.
He expected the replica to be less resilient than the original, but he didn't expect it to break so early on.
He shoved the monster, just enough for it to stumble a few steps backward before the courtesan used the broken halves of the spear to pierce through its head, splintered ends meeting in the middle of its wounded flesh.
The creature shrieked in pain before slouching down, practically dead in Faine's hold. He let go of the spear, the monster falling near his feet. The crimson leaving his chest tainted the ground below him, as well as the weaving shadow of a body he slaughtered.
It was bloody, filthy, something unabashedly unhinged, but the sight sure did compensate for the suffering Faine had went through.
He took a step back. The courtesan could barely stand back as he stumbled, hand supporting him on a wall, the blood loss effectively dizzying his head. He never really got used to his human stamina or his human body in general.
Faine panicked, noticing the monsters he previously attacked regenerating around him. He turned to Elias, his only way out at that point. Seemed to Faine that the demigod took the heavier load while he had his fun. Elias was crowded, despite defeating an impressive amount of the beasts with every step he took.
Violet eyes met his own. "Faine!"
He turned around, a faint breath leaving his mouth as he prepared himself for his imminent death. Had he kept his eyes open, he would've witnessed metal chains wrap around the harbinger of his death, a split second passing before the beast exploded from its neck up, the sheer pressure from the chains causing most of its inky fluids to splatter on Faine's face.
"Missed me, my dearest courtesan?" Yvnir, in all his immortal glory, stood triumphantly at the far end of the entrance of the cave. The god whipped his flail upwards, its chains slicing through numerous monsters in one swift move.
Faine could only chuckle, the rush of excitement returning to his injured body. Something about the scene had him reminiscing about the old times, way before his life became disturbingly complicated. "You should practice your lines. They're getting a bit cliché."
A flash and then a clang flew by, he recognized the exquisite saber to be Calixto's, the captain's back meeting his after he beheaded one of the beasts coming for Faine.
"I warned him, but he wouldn't listen to me." Calixto teased behind his mask—a new one, Faine realized—it looked good on him. Its origins were something he would question later. For now, he and Elias needed to be rescued.
"Figured. He has a knack for never listening." The courtesan joined in on the teasing, his eyes immediately landing on the deity's irked expression. It was still the same stoicism that looked back at him, but Faine noticed enough of the smaller details to know a good monster hunting session would benefit the god.
He heard Elias yell something before he was swept off his feet. Calixto darted towards the open forest, Faine clinging onto his shoulders for dear life. Yvnir covered their backs, retrieving his student along the way.
When they managed to evade the beasts, all Faine could hear was their panting. Calixto's hand was clasped over the courtesan's mouth, his own sweat violating his taste buds. Tension rose from his insides as he heard the monsters pass them by. He watched as Elias worked some magic to hide them from their pursuers' senses.
Silence. There was silence. Then, everything calmed down, pain immediately attacking Faine around his torso. The rush he got from fighting must've pushed down the feeling altogether, but now that there were no immediate threats, all he could feel was the warm blood flowing from his wounds.
Yvnir immediately took him into his arms, hand levitating over where most of his pain sourced from.
"You'll be alright." He mumbled against the courtesan's hair, the feeling of healing magic embracing Faine like a blanket. Before he knew it, his wounds were mended, including the one on his shoulder.
With everything out of the way, his thoughts were immediately flooded with an uncountable number of questions.
Starting with, "How the hell do you two know each other?"