It was a strange experience, to look at the world without eyes.
To Dragan Hadrien, it seemed as though the environment had been frozen in the very instant he’d activated Gemini World -- and each time he moved from his initial position, even by the slightest centimeter, that world seemed to blend together like a melting watercolour, mixing into a bizarre kaleidoscope that quickly abandoned coherence. Even the slightest twitch of his eye reduced the entire world to chaos.
Aka Manto in front of him and Lily beside him became crude smudges of vague colour, the throwing knife frozen in mid-air degenerating into the most indistinct silver line. The ground mingled with the sky above, and the sky above was seeded with the impressions of the lightning that was coming down. Even these abstract sensations weren’t consistent -- they changed second by second, relentlessly. As Dragan didn’t have eyelids right now, he couldn’t even close his eyes to escape the churning colours.
Nausea rose up in a stomach that didn’t currently exist.
Gemini World… before right now, actually using it had always been nothing but a hypothetical. Dragan had always been fully confident it would work, of course -- he’d successfully used a prototypical version to save Ruth back in Coren, and Aka Manto was clearly doing something similar -- but he had no reference to draw on in terms of what the actual experience would be like, how it would feel to record your own body.
He had no eyes.
He had no mouth.
He had no ears.
He had no brain.
How strange it was, to stop existing as yourself so suddenly. Within a single instant, he’d gone from a flesh-and-blood organism to information recorded in his own Aether. Dragan vaguely wondered how exactly his consciousness was still functioning like this -- for that matter, was his consciousness still functioning? Maybe this was all some kind of neural illusion, an extended hallucination he was having while he faded away into nothing.
Dragan didn’t quite understand why he was having such bizarre thoughts -- maybe it was a result of the lack of stimuli. No new information was streaming in, so the only recourse for his mind was to cannibalize whatever data was already present. He wasn’t especially sure how long he could last like this without going crazy.
Could he cancel Gemini World yet? From what he’d observed from the original explosion, it should only last a couple of seconds -- he couldn’t imagine this huge blast being much slower than that, at least for the epicenter. Even knowing that didn’t do much to help him: in this state, he had exactly zero methods to actually discern just how much time had passed.
He had no heart to beat.
He had no lungs to breathe.
He had no skin to feel.
Just like his vision, time started to blend together into an indistinct mess. He should have been counting in his head from the beginning, but he’d been careless. All he could do now was trust this intuition. He’d been thinking these bizarre thoughts for a while now, so enough time had to have passed, right?!
There was no choice. He couldn’t take another second of this hell. Like he was taking a greedy gulp of air, Dragan opened himself up… and began existing again.
The first thing he noticed was the scent of smoke. He noticed that before even registering that he once again had the organs necessary to smell.
Immediately, he collapsed to the floor in a crouching position -- he’d reappeared nearly a meter above his original spot, leaving him floating in the air for a split-second after he reappeared. It was the same for his plus-one, Lily, who fell in a heap next to him. She fell face-up, electricity crackling around her hair as she panted for air, staring up at the sky. A line of vomit ran from the corner of her mouth.
“What the hell was that?” she breathed, body shaking violently. Dragan had filled her in on the basics of how Gemini World was supposed to work, but he supposed that was no substitute for actually experiencing it. He couldn’t act like he was reacting to it any better, either -- waves of a sensation like nails against skin were pulsing through his entire body, sending him into a similar shivering fit.
His body wasn’t used to not existing. What an absurdity. Dragan tried to laugh, but all that came out of his mouth was a bizarre choking sound.
Still, it had been a successful test run. Recording his own body using Aether… even if the side-effects made it somewhat excruciating right now, he could imagine the ability to disappear and reappear would become very useful if he could master it.
With a jerk of sudden effort, Dragan forced his head upwards to look at the environment. Things had changed since he’d taken himself and Lily into Gemini World -- the swamp was all but unrecognizable. Lily’s last attack had done its work well.
No trace of the fog that had swirled throughout the swamp remained -- all of it had been burnt away in what had clearly been a truly gargantuan explosion. Instead, a charred wasteland spread out unimpeded in every direction, with only the occasional husk of a smoldering tree to break the monotony.
The stench was… unbelievable. A few months ago, Dragan could have proudly said he didn’t know what burning human smelt like. He couldn’t say that anymore.
With another grunt of effort, he forced himself up to one knee -- control of his body was quickly returning to him. He wasn’t exactly in tip-top shape, but that was an unrealistic expectation at this point. Ignoring the occasional pinpricks of pain that swam over his face, he turned towards Lily.
“Can you move?” he grunted.
Electricity was still crackling around her, and her hands were still shaking violently in the mud, but she nodded all the same. “We need to get out of here,” she rasped, one hand on her throat. “There’ll be survivors.”
Dragan raised an eyebrow. He didn’t doubt that, but in this situation he imagined any survivors from the enemy would be busier dealing with their own losses than pursuing the two of them. His gaze slid over to the tunnel Bruno, Serena and the rebels had escaped through -- or, at least, where the tunnel had been.
The entrance was completely covered in rubble, inaccessible from this position. If Dragan had known for sure just how deep the thing was filled in, he could have tried to put together a plan to clear the blockage, but without that information they couldn’t risk just sitting here and working on it. They needed to find another way out of this former swamp, as soon as possible.
He returned his gaze to Lily, who had finally managed to get up on her feet, and quickly followed suit. The legs supporting him felt like jelly, but he supposed that was the best he could hope for under the circumstances.
“Alright,” he breathed. “They should still be trying to recover from what we did. If we hurry, we can sneak through what’s left of them and --”
“How dare you?”
Oh. Right.
Dragan didn’t even bother whirling around this time. Before that thought could even cross his mind, he was struck in the back with a fist like a sledgehammer and sent sprawling back onto the ground, face in the mud. That was when he had time to whirl around -- or the equivalent in this case, which was pathetically rolling over in the dirt to face the threat.
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Aka Manto. Of course.
What was left of its cloak was a smoldering wreck, smoke still drifting up into the sky from it -- and underneath, the red-and-blue bodysuit it wore clung tightly to its thin, angular body. The eyes behind its cracked mask were blazing blue, so bright that they almost hurt to look at. Red-and-blue Aether crackled sporadically around its entire body, flickering in and out -- but most prominently around its hands, giving them the power to act despite the Entity’s obvious injuries.
In this case, that act was gripping Lily by the throat, Aka Manto hunched over as it reached down to strangle her.
“How dare you?” it repeated. Unlike before, there was no trace of rage in its voice -- simply an unsettling tranquility, with the undeniable intent to kill bubbling just under the surface. “How dare you? How dare you?”
He had to do something. If the two of them were going to make it out of this, Dragan had to act now. He reached deep inside himself, to that place of firm self-determination where his Aether lived, and pulled it forth -- letting it flow through his exhausted nerves. Blue Aether began to weakly run over his skin.
Aka Manto was still speaking, its voice echoing through the burnt wasteland. “How dare you? Do you realize what you have done? You have taken the body of a noble, divine, perfect being and utterly disgraced it. There is no redemption for what you have done. There is no forgiveness. Kill you, kill you, I’ll kill you…”
There was no time to charge his Aether up as much as possible. He had to act now or they’d lose.
Dragan kicked off the ground, ignoring the screaming pain from his legs. He’d get in as quickly as possible and somehow try to shove Aka Manto off of Lily. If he did that, there was a chance she could use her own Guardian Entity to launch a proper counterattack. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was all they had.
He lunged at Aka Manto with all his strength --
-- only to be interrupted as a pair of Skeletal claws were speared right through Aka Manto’s back, exiting through its chest. Immediately, the Guardian Entity released Lily on reflex -- and she dropped to the ground, spluttering for breath. Dragan adjusted his course, instead skidding to a halt in front of her, Aether crackling around him as he faced Aka Manto. If it came down to it, he could fire off whatever Gemini Shotguns he had left as a defensive measure.
But, in his heart, he felt like that wasn’t necessary. The presence of the figure perched on Aka Manto’s back told him that without a doubt.
Ruth Blaine was grinning as she clung there, claws stuck deep through Aka Manto’s body, holding firm as it writhed and screamed in response to the attack. Red blood poured freely out from around the claws, splattering to the ground -- but the crimson Aether that raged around her and ignited her hair was by far more radiant.
“Release me!” Aka Manto roared, trying in vain to reach the girl on its back. “There is a -- there are two paths -- you miserable pieces of shit!”
And with that, it flickered out of existence -- replaced by a sparkle of red-and-blue Aether that faded after a moment. This time, Dragan was sure it wouldn’t be coming back for the time being. Ruth dropped to the ground, claws landing in the swampwater, the blood mixing into the liquid.
Despite the situation, Dragan couldn’t help but feel his lips curling into a smile.
“Took you long enough,” he said.
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Bruno went to turn back as the explosion echoed, but Serena took control, resuming their crouching march through the tunnel. They were surrounded by darkness on all sides, with only the faintest impressions of the frightened rebels visible as they scurried through the dirt, but that was no obstacle. With their eyes properly infused, Bruno and Serena could move through this place as easily as a brightly-lit room.
What are you doing? Bruno asked angrily. We can’t just leave them!
“Yeah we can,” Serena mumbled, ignoring the funny looks from the rebels around them. “Mr. Dragan said to. It’s the best thing to do.”
Bruno’s anger leaked onto their face, twisting Serena’s brow into an uncharacteristic scowl of disapproval.
What if they’re dead? he demanded. What if they’re dead, and we’re just leaving them?
“Then they’re dead,” Serena replied, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. “If they’re dead, they won’t come back to life if we go back to see them. It’s simple, right?”
Bruno made another effort to assume control, but Serena stuffed him down again with ease. In this situation, she was deadly calm while his own emotions were running rampant. He was no match in terms of mental strength.
So you’re just going to abandon them? his inner voice was tinged with more than a little spite.
“It’s my job to protect you,” Serena whispered. “If abandoning them protects you, then it’s an easy-peasy decision. There’s no point getting mad about it.”
And with that, she continued up the tunnel, listening as Ted called out orders to the rebels. Wherever this tunnel led, it seemed they finally had the best chance of making it there in one piece.
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As Nael staggered to his feet, he could feel a curtain of ash fall from his body. In the same way, soot clung to his eyelids as he opened them to get a good look at what exactly had happened.
Devastation. Utter devastation.
The fog wall in front of them had completely vanished -- along with most of the swamp that it had concealed. All that remained were flames, smoke and corpses. So many lives had been snuffed out in an instant.
He had no idea of the cause, but some kind of light had come down from the sky and ignited the fog that had filled the swamp. The explosion had been beyond anything he’d ever imagined -- a monolith of flame that had consumed the world around them. Even here, outside the fog, the hot winds blown by the detonation had swept over the army, cooking skin and charring bone.
The only reason Nael had survived was because of his Guardian Entity. With his shamisen’s strings, he’d been able to lift up a barrier of stone and rubble to shield himself and those immediately around him from the blast. Even with that, though, it was a miracle they’d survived at all.
What had happened? The question raced anxiously through his mind. Had their enemy somehow caused this, or was it some kind of natural disaster? The answer wouldn’t change the results, but he couldn’t help but desire that knowledge. It was like he was trapped in a dark room, fumbling around for some kind of light.
A senseless loss of human life. No matter the cause, that fact remained true.
One of the scouts who’d been standing next to Nael shakily rose to his feet, looking around in horror at the sea of dead and dying men around them. The young man blinked once, twice, as if he couldn’t even register what was in front of him.
“Sir,” he mumbled. “What do we…”
He didn’t finish his question, as an arrow struck him in the head before the last words could leave his lips. The shaft of the arrow sticking out of his eye socket, the man staggered backwards before collapsing to the ground, dead. For a moment, Nael could only stare numbly at the body. With so many around him dead, his brain could not possibly register another loss.
But no. He couldn’t stop. He still had duties to fulfill.
With steady hands, he lifted up his shamisen and swung it fast as lightning, deflecting two more arrows aimed straight for his own face. He whirled around, back against the stone barrier he’d made, facing off against his attackers.
These weren’t the rebels -- these were another party entirely. They were clad in dark cloaks of leaf and branch, only the slightest slivers of faces visible through the gap between hood and cowl, pitch-black crossbows and daggers clutched in their hands.
Three of them were approaching him -- two with crossbows, one with two daggers -- while countless others of their ilk moved among the rest of the army, cutting down those too disoriented to respond. This would be a massacre among a massacre. After so many had just died, would they really have to suffer further losses?
Nael lifted his Guardian Entity, ready to fight, only to falter for a single moment. He had recognized a face among their attackers.
Not one of the three approaching him, but one who was moving through the army, finishing off those who would have probably died anyway. The eyes he saw above that cloak… he’d seen them thousands of times before. He could never mistake them.
“Grena?” he mumbled.