"A man believes he can carry his burdens alone not because he can, but because pride has disillusioned him of being invisible. Deep down, he has already succumbed to failure when he decides to walk alone."
~~~~~~~~
Kox was that person who knew when people would fail, but would not warn them for the sake of his wicked amusement. The shapeless soul lunged to take control of my form. I jumped, rolling on my back before yelling at the spirit that went through the floor because of my evasion. It resurfaced with a scream, its red eyes glinted upon spotting me.
"I'm here! Come and get me." I wouldn't want the spirit to possess the others. Then again, if it managed to possess me, it might infect the souls that were stored in my body. Where were Freyforsnore and Segreth? Perhaps I could use them as an oblation.
But what if I was putting this hateful soul in a poor environment by offering those two? No, this soul did not deserve such ill treatment. It had suffered enough.
I charged ahead through the thick screen of mist and looked for somewhere to hide. I crouched behind a box, listening carefully for the shrieks it exhaled as it hunted for me.
"Onii! Crowley? Kox! Where is everyone?" Ziru shouted.
"Kid, watch out!" Crowley shouted. The spirit shrieked, diving for Ziru's body. The boy fell on his back, scrambling away with his fluttering legs. Crowley threw himself over Ziru; the spirit pierced through Crowley's back with half of its smokey form still wriggling from the outside.
"Urghhh!!!"
"Crowley!!!"
The Hanuman fell on his side. Black goo flowed freely out of his mouth. Ziru grabbed his bigger hand, tears rolling down his widened and terrified eyes.
I came out of my hiding spot, searching for the two of them. I fell on my knees, grabbing on to the tail that continued to squirm like a determined parasite trying to completely invade its host.
"No, no! Do something onii! Please help Crowley! Please, please!" Ziru sobbed.
"Ki–Kid…It–It's gonna be alright…It's gonna be alright. I'll keep you…I'll keep you safe. I promised your dad…that I'll keep you safe."
"No, stay with us. Stay with us," I told him. I stepped on to Crowley's back, forcefully hauling the soul from him that wouldn't budge the slightest.
"You have to…go…Highness. You have to…save everyone…"
My vision blurred. With my jaws and teeth clenched together, I focused my strength on my limbs, making sure that the spirit does not slip through my palms. My hands started to pale, veins branched through my skin from coming in contact with the decayed soul. Crowley's fur changed into a shade of black. His other eye became clouded with darkness.
Save everyone?
How could I save anyone from having so many perish in front of me?
I was no savior. I was no one outstanding. I could never save anyone.
"Don't…give up on me! It hasn't taken over you yet, Crowley!" I shouted.
"Your Highness…" Crowley sniffled, snot coming out from his nose. He gripped Ziru's hand back, his eyes brimming with tears. "Don't let it take me, Lord Lucian. Help me…Help me fulfill my promise!"
He rose from his woe and from the ground that would be his grave if he surrendered, pulling his torso opposite to the direction of my pull. Ziru ran behind me, hugging my waist to aid with my pull.
"Fight Crowley, fight you stupid monkey!!!" Ziru snarled.
Crowley pulled even stronger, causing both Ziru and me to stumble forward before quickly regaining our balance. The heels of our feet hooked to the ground with how tenacious the spirit had become.
"URGHHHHH!!!"
"Pull! Pull! Don't let it take over you!!!" I shouted.
Little by little the spirit was succeeding. We have reached a wall of rock, leaving the soil behind us tilted. I gripped the soul tighter as Crowley's will power grew despite the great disadvantage.
"I don't want to smell like rotten fish you damn moocher!!!" The Hanuman shouted.
We gasped when the spirit slipped through my hold causing me to fall back on Ziru. Crowley fell forward in equal shock. Time slowed. I was deafened by my strong heartbeat.
A small hand which did not belong to Ziru reached out and grabbed the tail I was holding with ease. Light flashed before the spirit was extracted from Crowley and was tossed at me. Tenebrosity splashed my eyes before I was faced with a woman smiling at me from above from ear to ear. Her lips were charcoal black. Her skin was pale and cracked like chalk, veins branching and bulging like tree roots underneath.
We were in a spacious room. Mold was everywhere and even in the air, acting like dandelions ready to carry one's death wish. White mushrooms grew out of the rotting walls. A rancid smell lingered, stirring my stomach from the foul scent. I was lying on a moldy bed; it was musty, stale, and earthly. The sheets didn't seem to be washed for a long time from how it appeared to be white once upon a time.
"Hello my little cub," she greeted sweetly.
She was donned in a black dress with the top fitting her upper torso and with the bottom half cut in the front. The back of her dress extended to the unclean floor. There was a crown of withered flowers sitting on top of her head. Long black and white feathers grew behind her head and stretched for at least a meter. There was a stained glass table with equally filthy golden legs in the middle of the room. Two chairs were tucked under the table.
"Can I offer you anything, my love? Coffee, tea…" She poured a glass of red and thick liquid into the teacup. "Blood?"
"Who are you if you don't mind me asking?" I dangled my legs out of the bed. She blew the non-existent steam from her cold cup.
"I don't blame you, you were so young when I… took my own life."
I licked my dry lips, knowing fully well who this woman was. "Queen Titia?"
There was silence. She settled her cup on the saucer and I waited for her response. Her neck snapped, an audible crack resonated as her neck stretched unnaturally and curved to the side. Ceramic shattered on the ground as she tossed what she was holding and slid to my place with a grating scream.
She grabbed a hold of my neck, her jaw widening as the corners of her lips ripped to accommodate my head.
"gIvE mE bACk MY huSbAnD!!!"
"Lucian!" Raphael yelled.
I awakened to the sound of the spirit's screams. Half of it was inside of me and half of it was getting sucked into the Elurio stone that the angel managed to get from the sword. He was carrying it with Caleb who had an equally terrified gaze.
And now I know why. The spirit was screaming through me. The ground I stood on continued to break down into a deeper crevice. Foul winds gyrated. Crowley and Ziru were behind Caleb. The Hanuman's fur was back to near normal. Some parts of his fur were dyed white.
"Lord Lucian! You can fight this!"
"Onii! Onii!!!"
"Come back Lucian. Come back to us!" Caleb pleaded.
The spirit trying to possess me was overflowing with hatred. It wanted me to feel its abhorrence. It wanted to use me to take revenge and to become the seed to bear its fruits of despair for everyone to consume.
More winds coiled menacingly but not from me; it was an omen for the reaper's arrival. It was the first time anyone blew a sigh of audible relief from seeing him. The reaper grabbed hold of the spirit, shoving it inside the stone and opening a portal for him to hide the stone.
The winds halted. The voice that did not belong to me died down. I closed my eyes, feeling my body collapse. Caleb, Raphael, and the reaper were quick enough to catch me.
"Are you hurt?" Peaches queried.
"Lucian, are you okay now?" Caleb buried his nose on my forehead, sighing and sobbing at the same time.
"Let me take a look at your wounds. You need urgent care," Raphael hurried.
"I am fine. Do not worry," I replied. It was cold. My whole body was shivering. Not only was I cold, but the little hairs on my body stood from remembering Queen Titia.
I made her like that.
"Onii!!!" Ziru cried, rushing to throw himself on top of me. "I was so scared, onii. I was so scared that I'd lose Crowley and you!"
Crowley knelt behind Ziru, placing his trembling hand on top of mine. His eyes were red and wet.
"Thank you, Lord Lucian. Thank you…"
"Is everyone…alright?" I murmured.
"You don't have to worry, save your strength, okay?" Raphael assured.
Everyone was okay. No one left us this time.
We gathered everyone we could find. Fortunately, no one was severely hurt by the explosion. The twins fainted and attained burns on their bodies while Caleb got out completely scar- free due to his healing capabilities. We placed the twins close together, waiting for Crowley and Raphael to report any more findings.
"Mister Blob escaped," the Hanuman sighed.
Of course, Segreth would take this opportunity to flee. Despite his tendencies to become an idiot due to his malevolent goals, he had survival skills and the undying will to fulfill the desires of the Higher-Order.
"I found this," Raphael spoke, dragging an unconscious Frey on the rough floor.
I didn't know much about Frey; he had goals in life but he did not have the skills like Segreth to survive on his own. He was a jack-of-all-trades when it came to various ways to fail.
"Give him to me; I know a place where we can hide him," Peaches offered.
"The place you're talking about is the afterlife, aren't you?" Crowley deadpanned.
Caleb took a whiff of air from where he sat; an even deeper frown appeared on his face.
"Something is coming. We should leave," he alerted us.
"Aspergers have tracked the scent of the giant. We must hurry and depart," Kox supported his statement.
Crowley stared at Kox with a displeased expression. It was visible how he wasn't growing fond of the boy because of the secrets he kept from us. His ability to see the future with his blind eyes and to hear one's destiny with his deaf ears were puzzling. I could understand why Crowley was upset. Kox knew too much that he might be a traitor who was pulling the strings to our demise.
"Can you teleport us to Tourmaline Mountain?" I asked Peaches.
The reaper nodded without signs of hesitance and did so in a glimpse. Light flashed in our eyes and a short sound wave visited our ears. We arrived in a mountain of dark crystals with black clouds looming in the skies.
A growl erupted from a reptilian four-legged beast right in front of us. It had a spiky gray horn between its nostrils and a long neck that sprouted from its muscular body. The anterior part of its form was silver-like in nature while the rest of its skin was bronze with silver thorns growing from the back of its neck. It had a long and thick tail that ended in a spear-like appearance.
It was simply a dwarf version of the twins but with no wings.
"There are more drakes..." Ziru said.
My eyes wandered, seeing more of them popping out of nowhere— preying, observing, and plotting.
"Just when we need the twins to communicate with fellow dragons they're here enjoying dreamland," Crowley groaned.
"Hope they stay there," Caleb said and snorted.
The reaper arrived shortly after; the drakes were alarmed and scattered in fear. His reputation was everywhere.
"He is a harmless man," I assured them. "He will not kill—"
"Until you give me a reason to..." Peaches cut me off, glaring menacingly at the lone drake who was brave enough to stay.
Compared to the other drakes, his color was purely dark gray and he was significantly larger.
"You are an Ancient. Are you Lucian?" The drake queried, politely.
It would seem that my arrival was already endorsed.
"Yes, I am," I answered.
"Your brother has been waiting for you. My name is Saber. I am the leader of the Tourmaline tribe."
At the mention of my brother, my stomach fluttered. I regained a bit of strength; I could breathe better.
"May I see him?"
Many drakes looked at us with distrust as we walked in their territory, but with one sweep of Peaches' gaze, they were sent cowering in fear.
We left the twins and the children in Saber's grotto. Their tribe was fond of digging holes for them to sleep in and aside from that, roughhousing was their form of entertainment.
At the other side of the mountain, a dark and menacing sea awaited us. Saber led us to the bottom of the mountain and into the beach of black sand where baby drakes rolled on in sheer innocence.
My eyes hurriedly searched for Lucius' bright joyful eyes; my ears waited for his cheery voice to reach my ears.
I didn't even realize that it was my first time seeing the ocean. I was so preoccupied that I forgot to savor the scenery and the sound of the sea.
Just as my eyes landed on a darker shade of swirl in the water, a towering serpent-like creature burst out of the watery realm. It had both wings and fins and its long length ended with a fish's tail. It soared and swirled in the air, shaking off the water from its glistening blue skin.
"Your brother has been waiting for a long time," Saber told me as he watched the creature that acted like a king to both heaven and sea.
I gave him a questioning look.
"That is not my brother."
I wasn't informed that Lucius was a flying fish.
Drake stared at me with amusement.
"Of course you wouldn't know about King Lohan's son from his first lover," he said.
The serpent rushed to the beach, shrinking into the form of a man. The fins on his forearms and the gills on his neck remained. His scaled tail swept the footprints left by his webbed feet on the sand.
He ran his dark and sharp nails through his white hair, glancing down on us with his narrowed obsidian eyes.
"Leviathan," the man introduced himself. "Your king's bastard son."