"You two done?" Seren muttered, curling his arms up to his chest and letting out a lengthy shiver. "I'm done with being up here- It's too damn cold!"
Silas turned back, nodding. "Right- you guys can wait in the tower. I'll stay and keep watch."
Acher and Seren didn't even hesitate, marching their way down the winding stairs with the buckets in hand. Nyx, however, couldn't help but feel bad. "Are you not cold yourself?"
"Of course I am. It's just that I volunteered for this job in the first place, so I'll see it to the end."
That's right. They now stood only ten minutes since their first arrival at the church, and eight since Rei had thought of a way to kill the Coalescence. They had each been given their roles, and Rei was to prepare herself mentally for what was to come.
"What about you?" Silas asked, "Are you not?"
Nyx only gave a slight shake of the head. The only part of his body which he could feel the dread of night was his arm — though he chalked it up to nothing more than his wounds clashing with the air around him.
"I'm... I'm worried about you Nyx."
"Why? It's not like me feeling warm is a bad sign."
"Nyx- this has happened before. Over the past two days... it's like you haven't been able to feel anything. Not only that, I can tell you've been trying to hide a limp ever since we got to the church."
His eyes widened slightly. It was true; Since then, he's been trying his best to cover up a slight hindrance to his movement. 'I didn't think anyone noticed...'
"It's nothing, Silas. It just feels slightly numb, that's all."
He sighed. "If you say so... but even still, you should go join the others."
Nyx didn't try to argue, shuffling his way down the spiraling stairs. He wasn't quite sure himself as to why his leg was suddenly numbing over time, though he was aware that this was no place for concerning himself over that.
He could feel his mind begin to wander — not alone about his obliterated heritage, but of the bare, desolate and windswept lands they now found themselves in. Of their ongoing crisis, the plight of Terrors, the Phantoms who stormed the nest; Everything straight to the elementary fact of their bleak existence on this planet.
In doing so, his eyes began to wander. They inspected every slight crevice of the stairwell, from the rotting wooden walls tracing its edge to the gaping hole in its center undeviating down to the floor below.
The stairs themselves would even pique his interest, listening to the subtle squeaking of the wood with every step he took. His hand traced against the metallic banister, bumping over the slight imperfections rooted by time and sustained by neglect.
The only light managing to creep its way in was from the dim moon shining from above. Even then, the tower was still capped by a pointed roof, and its winding nature didn't help with visibility.
Truth be told, its interior was near to pitch black. Fortunately, the subtle glint from Seren and Acher's eyes managed to act as a waypoint to him.
"Nyx, you're here." Acher murmured. "It's almost time, huh?"
"Yeah..." He agreed, "Yeah, it is."
"I can tell you're nervous. Then again, you'd be insane not to be. Fighting with a Terror far out of our league... I still think this is a bad idea. We should've left when we had the chance."
Seren shook his head. "And what? Let that Terror grow out of control? Risk it finding a town and slaughtering everyone there? You know what Sir Vaelis said-"
"Oh, to hell with Sir Vaelis!" he snapped. "I'm starting to get real sick of you, you know that? Who in their right mind would prioritize execution over preservation?"
Nyx had expected Seren to react with rage, though he merely had a slight scowl in his voice. "A soldier, jackass. It's our duty as a cadet to fight."
Acher shook his head. "Whatever. What's done is done. But just so you know- our lives are in your hands; You and that psychopath downstairs."
This wasn't the first time this discussion had erupted between the group — the same thing had occurred when Rei was delivering her plan. Of course, it was quite the event seeing three shadowbound argue over something.
What Seren said next, however, was probably the most shocking statement that entire night.
"I don't always agree with what she says..." He began, arms crossed and eyes closed, "But I can trust her judgment on this. Not about our survival, but about her skill. If she thinks she can fight... then I believe her."
The three of them spoke no further. Over their time together, one thing began to become quite apparent to Nyx; Rei and Seren appear to be more similar than the first night had led him to believe.
Even if they don't get along, they were both trained since birth. They were taught and grew up off of the same ideals. The duty of a soldier.
He passed a quick glance towards Acher. For the longest while, something felt... different about his presence, and for the longest while, Nyx had no idea why.
Until now.
It was clear that Rei trusted her own strength, and Seren trusted the strength of his comrades. Acher, on the other hand, seems to put his faith in the simple concept of survival. He doesn't want people to die. Noble in concept, misguided in execution.
Both Rei and Seren can understand what the duty of a soldier is — it's to risk their lives for humanity's survival. Acher, however, is by the mindset that death equates to failure- and truth be told, Nyx was conflicted as to two was in the right.
In a war against the spawn of hell, should we prioritize their death or our own preservation?
This was a battle of two mindsets. Then again, regardless of whichever one was better, one thing was still clear; It didn't matter in the end. They were all survivors. Every step and decision they made risked them taking their last breath. They were stuck with each other, and all of them were painfully aware of that.
And so, together they stood and united they'd fall- whether they liked it or not.