They continued walking in unknown directions. No more memories surfaced. All they could see was darkness, but at least they weren't alone, and that reassured them.
"Do you think they're locked up somewhere like us?"
"I don't know. I don't even know how we ended up here. By the way, how did you find me?"
"I saw you, so I ran to catch up."
"Maybe we're not really alone? Maybe it's just an illusion?"
"Sad illusion."
"That you said."
"I think if Elie had wanted to catch up with you she would have."
"I think so too."
"Maybe we're the ones who should be looking for her with all our hearts?"
"And what about Jin?"
The two thought back to the times Jin had slaughtered his enemies without mercy.
"I think he'll be okay?"
"Go for Elie first."
They shouted his name into the gloom, but no one answered. A certain echo began to materialize. The voices repeated but nothing answered. They still seemed alone. Marc looked around to see if there was any light, but there was none. Fog and complete darkness filled the place.
Marc thought hard about Elie. He didn't want to lose her. He'd promised to protect her. Whatever she'd seen in her vision, he was ready to face it. At least, he'd try. He really wasn't confident about the enemies he'd have to face, but Elie was a priority.
Then he thought back to his return from the library. Elie's face, looking as if she'd lost everything. The way she had protected him. The way she'd comforted him after that day when he'd killed so many people. In all this, she had always been the one to console him, reassure him or protect him. He'd never done anything for her. However, the best thing he could do to reassure her was to do nothing. But he couldn't stop there, so she decided to support him. For her to have her shield against the end, she had to protect him. Marc hated this feeling of guilt.
"Elie. If you can hear me or see me, forgive me. I didn't measure up. I didn't do what I wanted to do. I'm sorry. "
He held out his hand.
"If we could have the slightest chance of being together again, I promise to watch over you until the end. I promise."
Suddenly, the fog lifted where he had held out his hand. Elie's hand now held his. Unfortunately, she was on the ground unconscious. She'd raised her hand so she could hold Marc's even in her condition.
"Elie. Are you okay?"
Marc worried immensely. He checked her pulse. She was alive.
"Is she okay?"
"Yeah, just unconscious. We've got to get out of here."
Nathanaël had never seen him so worried. Marc carried Elie on his back.
"Next."
"That's Jin. But I think we'll have trouble finding him. How did you find Elie?"
"Uh..."
Marc felt a violent breath pass by his shoulder. A body had just passed by him at such speed that he hadn't seen it. The cause: Jin. He was fighting a multitude of people, all different. There were beings in white, boys in judo uniforms, army soldiers, policemen, wrestlers, actors from well-known action movies - in short, anyone who could fight. There were even animals fighting against him. He was alone against thousands of opponents, crushing them one by one. The reason was simple. The memory he had seen was the time he had been beaten by Thierry, the Judo teacher. He hadn't accepted this memory. Filled with rage, he charged at Thierry and landed a series of relentless blows.
After that, all the students got up to face him, and when he'd finished defeating them, he faced policemen, then the army, then...He didn't know how long he'd been fighting, but he didn't want to stop. His black hair, dark eyes and narcissistic smile were taking pleasure in this never-ending fight.
"A sad illusion?"
"Doesn't apply to some people."
"Looks like it."
Jin didn't even see his master come into his field of vision caught up in the battle.
"I'll take care of it."
Nathanaël entered the crowd as Jin noticed the number of opponents diminishing. In a flash, his gaze turned to Nathanaël, whom he had spotted as a powerful enemy. He disappeared from the center of the crowd to reappear in front of Nathanaël, who blocked his punch.
"I will not be left behind. Do you hear me?"
But Jin couldn't hear him. On the contrary, his smile widened; he'd found a powerful opponent to play with. The two stepped back as the crowd surrounded them without any other enemy intervening.
"We've got to get out of here, Jin. Then I'll have to wake you because your master is busy right now."
Jin approached slowly. His aura expanded into the room and two eyes manifested above staring at Nathanaël.
"I see. Then come."
His sentence barely finished, Nathanaël received a tremendous circular kick to the face.
"Damn."
He then followed up with a blow to the abs. Nathanaël stepped back a good twenty meters. His feet were smoking on the ground.
"I don't know anything about martial arts, but I know what I have to do."
Jin lunged at him again. He jumped up and lifted his leg to try and kick him in the head, but at the same time, Nathanaël drew a sword out of nowhere and countered Jin, who was surprised by the sword's presence.
"I'll remind you who we are."
Nathanaël's aura swelled in turn, completely encompassing Jin's.The light shone so brightly that Marc needed to turn his face away.
"Is that on purpose?"
Jin stared at the spectacle in amazement. But even so, it didn't stop his smile from returning. He lunged at Nathanaël before holding back. He'd already seen his position. It was the same as the Emperor's when he sliced through the air with his sword. Nathanaël released the pressure and the blow went so fast that Jin barely avoided it. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough to launch a huge jet of light that split the place they were standing in two.
"It's not that."
Marc retorted.
"No, it's not. But what is it?"
Jin smiled and went on the attack, seeing that Nathanaël was unfocused. Even though he quickly got back on his guard, Nathanaël received quite a feint before taking a Brazilian kick. Jin followed up with all kinds of kicks to keep his distance from Nathanaël's sword, which at times shot out huge, powerful jets of light. Before delivering the final blow, Jin replied to Nathanaël.
"Thank you, for this magnificent fight."
"You've been awake for a long time, haven't you?"
Jin smiled. So did Nathanaël.But this time, Jin's smile was gentle.
His fist split the air in the direction of Nathanaël, who was collapsing.
"Would you stop?"
An armor-covered hand stopped the fist's trajectory dead in its tracks. Nathanaël sank to the ground permanently as he saw who had arrived.
"We had to get out of here and you were fighting. We'll have to rethink our sense of ownership."
The Emperor held Jin's hand firmly. Exorian followed close behind.
"Emperor Turcan."
"I'm fine, thank you. But there's something more urgent. We've got to get out of here. Exorian takes the girl and frees Marc."
"Right away, sir."
"It's all right. She's not heavy."
"Are you sure, Marc?
"Yes."
Marc shivered at the thought of the intense gaze of emerald-green eyes returning.
"Good. Now that we're all together, we need to..."
"You're all here."
A female voice had interrupted the Emperor. Exorian turned quickly to shoot the person who had dared interrupt the Emperor, but stopped when he saw a woman wearing a dress of dust. Her eyes looked like two broken light bulbs that no longer shone. She had a hat made of cobwebs and a beautiful body that looked extremely fragile. One thing was certain: she wasn't human.
"I'll send you home."
Marc watched as the lady sent them dust, which he recognized instantly. It was the dust in the otherworldly library.
With a last breath, he tried to ask her the question.
"Was that you?"
The lady smiled and gave him a compassionate look.
"Don't cry, slave of fate."
It was the second time he'd heard these words, but he still didn't understand their meaning. Marc extended his hand towards the lady, who brushed it away with her dust.