Lynn yelled in strain as she pulled Vin's inanimate limbs over her shoulder and scrambled forth. Her face was drowned in weeping, and she picked any direction and throttled forward.
She prayed. Her adrenaline pushed her so extensively that she could not spare a second to uncover that the boy she carried had succumbed to his afflictions. Her own heart was too loud to note that Vin's had stopped, and with each passing second, he further parted from that world.
Still, she charged forward, splashing through the rotten water in haste, her eyes fixed only on what lay ahead.
The young girl's breath came in ragged gasps as she moved, her muscles burning with exertion, screaming from the leaded weight of Vin's limp body. She refused to let it slow her down; in fact, she rumbled faster like a car's dying stretch.
Before long, a brilliant, silent FLASH cut her off before she made much ground. Lynn was dazzled by a multitude of colors beyond an Earth's rainbow, the light was warm and healing in nature. She silently cowered, and her eyes widened at what new, fresh horror could materialize. After so much, she had nothing left to give.
That mystical light evolved before her like a forceful tear through the fabric of time and space. It blocked her escape and even, somehow, disordered her essence, as if it were taboo to be exposed to such an array of magical brilliance.
Meanwhile, there was a tint of gray inside the blackness of Vin's mind. It was faint initially, but a weak pulse pinched his dormant heart. As more esoteric light coated him, he regained a sense of the mortal realm.
He felt a gradual mitigation, which ferried him to consciousness. It was strange, knowing you'd died. Departed, yet arrived back at the same station without any explanation.
Nothing in that world was predictable or made sense. As Vin slowly opened his eyes, he couldn't believe what lay before them.
Dozens of fairy-like creatures and spectral entities fluttered from pure light, all small enough to fit on his palm. The fairies took various shapes; some looked like colorful, tiny, winged humans. Meanwhile, there was a hotpot of numerous other icons from human fiction; a Dragon, a Nine-Tailed Fox, a Mermaid, and many more miniature deities.
Absolute fascination filled the faces of these entities as they flew around Vin and Lynn. Neither teenager spoke; they just watched in awe at the mystical scene before them. The entities' auras continually gave the humans life, either as a byproduct of their otherworldly existence or intentionally.
Vin believed it may have been the latter. The creatures regarded them so curiously, and most of their faces were perplexed while they studied them and their human physique.
The teenagers weren't impressive. However, that may have been precisely what surprised the gleaming entities. The encounter with the decaying slug had to have been a sight for them to behold, like if humans witnessed two unmatured dogs surmount a ravenous wolf.
Vin was bewildered and just watched. Moments later, one fairy broke from the group and gravitated toward Lynn. This one's complexion was a glowing, icy blue, and its attire was seemingly sown into its skin. A trail of soft snowflakes followed where it flew, and eventually, it came within a breath of her.
Unexpectedly, in the next moment, it placed both of its tiny hands on her right cheek, shut its eyes, and bestowed an amiable kiss upon her.
The sentiment seemed sweet, as if congratulating her on a hard-fought battle. Though, soon Vin felt her grip on him release. The temperature near them immediately plummeted as Lynn's next breath could be seen. Then, in a heinous instant, a clump of ice blasted from the cheek the fairy had kissed. It extended, then quickly spread down the girl's entire body.
With only half of her face unfrozen, Lynn yelled his name with only half of her lips. Vin, horrified, found his own footing. He desperately punched and clawed at the encompassing ice to free her, but it was to no avail. He'd grown so frantic that his nail beds ripped and bled over the glaze.
Frost continuously engulfed more of the girl, solidifying half of her body into an ice cluster. Vin smashed and tore with his all, staring at her terrified expression.
He believed it should have been him if anyone had to suffer that torment. He was the worthless piece, the one that should have been punished.
As that thought passed, Vin suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder. He hastily snapped his sight toward it, already seeing the devastation caused by the touch of these mythical creatures. This iconic entity was a Phoenix, though, unlike the fiction he knew, it was jet-black with subtle highlights of burning magenta feathers. Its tail was long like a peacock, and its entire body had a constant blaze and presence so fiery and fierce that most spirits recoiled from its company.
Vin wasn't in a situation to regard that fear; he continued to dig at the ice. While the Phoenix scared off the other celestial beings, it seemed to reach out to Vin. It stared at him with firey purple eyes, and he felt its near devilish and heavy presence claw into his mind. Then, he sensed something.
Not words, not even a voice like the mysterious Soul of that planet. But he perceived an implied sense of its intent. A dark sensation.
A pact. One that didn't require words, a signature in blood, or even a handshake.
A vow, for a vow. A blessing for a promise.
Vin didn't care what it wanted, nor did he have time to consider the implications. His mouth flared open in intensity, and he yelled, "Save her!"
The black, burning Phoenix acknowledged his will, then inched in and tapped its beak against his face. With a peck, Vin's form, which had been freezing, abruptly heated.
He had time to blink before his entire body exploded in profound lavender flames. Excruciating pain ripped his veins to shreds, then burned the remnants. He screamed as loud as his burning lungs could manage while occupied with one thought.
It was Lynn. After everything they'd gone through together, all the torture, he wanted to see her home more than anything. He didn't consider the consequences; he thrust himself into her freezing body and wrapped his arms around her as she did him when he'd grown sick.
A mass of vapor flooded the entire swamp as a melting point collided with sub-zero. Vin delayed Lynn's freezing, utilizing what little strength returned to him to clutch her.
The ice fairy looked appalled at this act, as if it was wrong of Vin to attempt to save his. His-
Friend? Yes, they were friends.
Vin released a boisterous roar that'd shy even his haughty father's voice. He clung tighter, melting the ice faster than it could form. A little fire was nothing compared to the guilt he'd feel for failing her.
As this proceeded, his flesh melted, exposing bone, and even the cloak of dark flames burned even that. Even as his body quickly dissolved, he didn't let go.
The transgressions Vin committed dearly offended the fairy. With an irked clutch of its fist, an aura of violent coldness surrounded its small body like a gale. Suddenly, the entirety of the swamp's water froze, spreading to the decaying trees and solidifying them in a shell of ice.
While agonizing and destroying Vin's human body, that excruciating coat of flames was the only thing keeping him from completely freezing. Not that he was grateful; he was going to make those bastards regret reviving him.
Vin believed this and was committed to it.
The ice fairy's fury began to peak, and temperatures plummeted far below zero. Still, he held on in a rising snowstorm that'd whited out the previous setting and obliterated all life in sight. The whiteout of cold was less of a problem than the agonizing pain of those dark flames, which liquified all of his outer layers, stealing his sight and ability to scream.
JUST ONCE, he wanted to repay Lynn for putting up with his weakness for so long. Thus, fate was cruel, and to die the same way as the slug was truly wrongful.
Despite how much Vin struggled, it took one minute for his entire body to burn up, and eventually, his consciousness incinerated alongside the rest of his condition.
As he departed, an echo of sense remained.
A vow, for a vow. A blessing for a promise.