An ethereal glow reigned over the dimly lit street, where Furnella and Reed stood looking back at a character in joy.
A smile widened, and the man Idicus Geraint opened his arms to witness the awe in Reed's face even further.
Idicus Geraint's deep jade mane waved along the pathway of the night's winds. He stood there and put his arms slowly, completely ignoring Furnella.
"Oh Toma," he began to speak, his voice deep yet gravelly. "I thought you died," he said.
Before Idicus could continue, Reed had jumped into the man's arms, a friendship he thought he'd lost, but Idicus Geraint had been in front of him, safe and alive. He could not believe it. He felt the man's fur coat, and he could hear his breaths. This was not fake, this was everything, this was real to Reed, and he kept hugging Idicus.
"Reed?" Furnella said, "Who's this?"
"This," Idicus replied, his eyes slowly shifting over to Furnella as his arms had not dropped from their wide reach. "This is Toma's friend, brother perhaps."
"Wait," Furnella spoke, "Reed, is this one of the casualties?"
Reed released his embrace from Idicus and stepped back, looking him up and down, wiping away flowing tears.
"Yes." Reed said, "this is Geraint, Idicus Geraint."
Idicus walked past Reed to approach Furnella. He reached his hand and as he did; she raised hers to shake. Idicus's hand was not going in for the greeting but instead for her hair.
Digging through her hair, Idicus felt the smooth locks as Furnella slapped his hands away and stepped back.
"Don't touch my hair." She said, now puzzled by the man's relationship between the two.
"I see you took this bitch as well," Idicus muttered, his smile fading.
"What?" Reed asked, "Idicus, what're you talking about?"
"First Linette, now this woman, you surround yourself with gems, you're lucky you know that."
"Idicus!" Reed shouted, not understanding a single meaning the man was speaking of.
"I am happy to see you Reed, really I am. But you have to admit you enjoy watching me seethe with envy in the corner of every moment I nearly had with Lin."
"I don't understand."
Idicus turned, his movements sharp and deliberate. His eyes locked onto Reed, cold and unblinking.
"I knew about that ring you planned to give Lin," he said, voice low and controlled. "After everything I've told you, after laying myself bare... You'll see me as nothing but a monster after tonight. You took what was mine and shredded my heart."
"Is this really about Linette? Are you not alive and well from the attack? Do you not care that I am alive, Geraint!"
Idicus's laugh was hollow, mirthless. He breathed in the night air, nostrils flaring.
"I loved it when Lin called me by family name, but you," his voice hardened, "I despised your presumption."
Reed stood frozen, mind racing through past encounters.
"So this is how it is," he said. "You've come to tell me the truth, have you?"
"No," Idicus said flatly. "I waited in Dromair for you. I waited after that Profaner took your heart. Who do you think buried you?"
"What do you know?" Reed's shout was raw with pain and confusion.
"You took the one thing my heart was missing," Idicus said, his tone final. "Now I see that I must do the same."
Idicus turned to Furnella. Reed noticed the man's neck tense, veins protruding unnaturally. Something was wrong. Reed's instincts screamed danger as Idicus's right hand clenched, knuckles white. Suddenly, a long white lance sprouted from thin air in Idicus's grip, its surface marbled with black and dripping a dark liquid.
"Run Furnella!" Reed's shout cut through the air as Furnella stood frozen, shock etched on her face. Reed clutched at his chest, desperately willing his power to manifest.
Suddenly, the street erupted in blinding white light. Reed's silver blade materialized, its edge scraping against the nearby storefronts. Distant onlookers stood motionless and transfixed.
As Furnella turned to flee, Reed moved to distract Idicus. In his panic, he'd forgotten the raw power of the Argent Knight. One step forward launched him through a wall and into a storage room, surrounded by boxes and scattered knives.
"Dusted hells!" Reed cursed, his silver armor absorbing most of the impact. Idicus's laughter echoed from outside, chilling and inhuman.
Reed ran normally now, unwilling to risk another uncontrolled burst. He spotted Furnella on the ground, having tripped in her escape attempt. Idicus stood between them, his image complete.
Dark, voided eyes stared at Reed, so black they seemed to pull at his very being. Idicus's neck had become leathery, his ears elongated and twisted downward, brows thickened into a grim visage. The man Reed once knew was gone, replaced by something... other.
"We're alike, you and I!" Idicus's shout rang out, his eyes fixed on Reed's new form, a transformation he'd never witnessed before.
Suddenly, Idicus whirled away, his attention locked on Furnella. He hurled his lance, the weapon embedding itself on the ground beside her. With inhuman agility, he launched into the air, landing directly in her path.
As Furnella scrambled to her feet, Idicus reached for her, his fingers grasping at air. A blur of motion slammed into him–Reed, throwing his full weight forward, his blade carving a path of destruction. Yet Idicus barely staggered, merely grunting in annoyance as Furnella fled.
Idicus's elbow shot out, catching Reed's face as he broke free.
"Witness my newfound love, Reed," he snarled, his voice laced with dark promise. Without another glance, he resumed his pursuit of Furnella, leaving Reed to recover from the blow.
Reed stumbled to his feet, eyes searching for Idicus. The man was already far ahead, his heavy footfalls echoing through the night.
For minutes, the sounds of pursuit filled the air. Idicus crashed through buildings, his uncontrolled power sending him slamming into doors and homes in his desperate chase.
The city lay dark and quiet. A few guardsmen stood by, powerless against the supernatural pursuit unfolding before them.
"Get over here, bitch!" Idicus's shouts pierced the night. Furnella remained ahead of both men.
"No, he can't have her, not another one!" Reed muttered, pushing himself harder.
Suddenly, Idicus was within sight. A man with a sword appeared, ready to strike, but Idicus's lance pierced him cleanly. Without breaking stride, Idicus leaped forward, snatching his weapon in mid-air as he continued his relentless chase.
Turning through darkened streets, Furnella had led them to a maze of alleyways as Reed kept slamming himself forward with uncontrolled bursts of pain until he turned a corner.
The back end of a home blocked off the one-way alley as Idicus had Furnella's head in his grip.
"No!" He shouted, "Not her, please Geraint! Please, she has nothing to do with this."
"He... Help." Furnella said, looking to Reed for aid.
"You know, Toma." Idicus said, looking in Reed's direction, "I will not kill you. I will not allow you to die because that is the mercy I will not give you. Suffer in life rather than death."
As he began raising his arm to strike with his lance, Reed's vision slowed. He was in stasis almost, yet his tears now ran faster than ever.
He reached out his arm, hoping that the Lance would not go through her.
One.
Reed stood, witnessing the speed of thought between his ability to do something and the distance between the point of the lance and Furnella's heart.
Two.
Idicus launched the lance toward Furnella's heart, moving slowly yet furiously.
Three.
Reed's calves ached as he began pushing forth, his momentum becoming the beacon of hope that could destroy the prospect of death at this moment.
Three things Reed experienced in the moment of thought, the speed of action, and at the end of that instant moment, he blitzed his way up to the lance.
Time is a natural, uncontrollable aspect of life and everything, yet Reed could've sworn he had that aspect in his control. So why is it that there's a piece of steel in Furnella's chest? He thought to himself.
He failed to protect and instead smoke covered the air as he burst into the stone wall beside Idicus and Furnella. Witnessing the sin as he passed and was now laid flat and nearly unconscious by his own doing.
A father of two kids walked up to him, the owner of the home, looking down on his battered body as the smoke cleared.
He groaned and crawled back to the outside and found himself in a similar, almost nostalgic scene of blood and despair.
Laid out in blood, Furnella's lifeless body spasmed as it died vigorously. A gaping wound in her chest revealed the inner contents of her body. Her eyes were wet with blood and tears.
In the distance, a silhouette vanished into thin air, leaving Reed to exhaust himself. His pain, his love, his will, his everything, and every part of his being diluting to the most basic form of nothing.
"I've still got my courtesy." A grim voice echoed in his mind,