Hyr breathed, falling into the flow of the universe, the small child who had immediately called to them settling into their weight, easing their tiny body to the right as though falling alongside their larger form, letting the rivers of time and space move their combined shape with just as much ease as they moved any properly trained member of the synat.
The person who had stolen away the others—a Risen Guard, based on the descriptions Emilia had given them—reappeared, already reaching for them.
They were too slow, their touch intercepted by the flow.
Hyr fell, energy coursing through their body and spiking through the fabric of the world, slicing straight through the person’s neck, their head falling from their shoulders, hitting the floor with a wet smack, their body falling to their knees next, before collapsing to the side.
The child in their arms gasped, but it was fine. They had already seen far worse than this, at least according to the rantings from Emilia—the woman certainly liked to talk a lot, her chatter having filled most of their travels in a soothing sort of way. Unfortunately, even within Nur’tha, many feared the synat, especially those like themself. It had been nice, to come across someone so willing to freely converse with them.
⸂Cool!⸃ the child—Caro—breathed out, peeking out of Hyr’s neck to gaze at… not the body. No, the body was just a thing existing around the blood curse, now winding through the world and forming into a hair clip, similar to the one already adorning the child’s hair. Fate then—Hyr clipped it into place, alongside the first. ⸂Oh! Thanks! Conrad gave me this one, after he stole it from the Risen Guard.⸃ Their little face screwed up as they finally looked at the body laying at Hyr’s feet. ⸂This person is a Risen Guard, aren’t? Why did it feel like they weren’t very trustworthy?⸃
Hyr breathed in the aether, letting it join momentarily with the aetherstores they rarely used, unless they were leading a seeing or using their temporary Censor. ⸂CoRuptED,⸃ they managed to get out, the words mangled as they forced them to form in as close an approximation to the local speech as possible.
Caro’s eyes widened, seeing in a way that they shouldn’t have been able to. Something had touched them—altered their connection to the aethernet—in a way that was dangerous for them, without proper training. ⸂You can speak? Or, not really? Kinda?⸃
Nodding, Hyr tugged the {Blood Glass} out of their pocket. Killing the Risen Guard was potentially unhelpful, as the pair of them were now separated from the others, but at least this way, someone existed outside of whatever prison they had been taken to.
As with the last time Hyr had looked through the {Blood Glass}, when Emilia had been trying to convince themself and Zyrex to leave searching to her, the blood item showed only one path to take. Handing the item over to Caro, Hyr contented themself to sending a message off with their Risen Guard system—no new messages from Emilia or Zyrex, so they were likely unable to communicate—which had helpfully contented them to this Boundary person, as well as the girl who was stuck between two fates.
That wasn’t to say Hyr were entirely ignoring the child still snuggled into their arms, now peering around and taking in the futures surrounding them. Despite the fire that would soon consume them, they didn’t seem afraid, and when Boundary popped up in front of them, swearing about traitors, Caro simply smiled and let the hand holding the {Blood Glass} fall.
The clarity to let the future fall away? A child’s distractibility? An inkling that they should not look upon the aether so closely for too long?
Boundary’s hand landed on Hyr’s other arm, and a blink later, they were standing among the people Emilia had assumed they were being taken to, when that other Risen Guard had first appeared.
⸂What happened?⸃ the man asked, several of the members of his group turning their way, the crack of anger in his voice calling their attention.
“Someone came and took everyone. It did not feel right, so I killed the person. I believe you saw their body.”
Hyr blinked and Emilia’s Risen Guard friend vanished, reappearing with the body and head. They pulled the intricate mask off the head, nose scrunching as they were forced to grab hold of their spine to tug the head free. Hyr could not decide if it was better or worse for no longer containing any blood. Certainly, the lack of blood dripping from their neck meant less mess, but something about a body devoid of blood was off-putting, just as strange and unnatural as when they visited the Har’ky, where the aether itself seemed devoid of its own lifeblood and power.
“Are they a fraud?” they asked, hugging Caro closer to them when a woman attempted to take the child. The child belonged with them, for the moment. Perhaps it would end in both of their deaths, perhaps not. Letting the child leave would certainly result in Caro’s death, however. Caro stayed with them, and with a sharp glance at the woman—the one Hyr reserved for sy who were getting too uppity—she backed away, then ran off.
Ridiculous. They weren’t that scary.
⸂No,⸃ Boundary spat out, tossing the head of the aged woman to the floor.
⸂Oh!⸃ Caro cheered as the head rotated their way. ⸂I know her! She was my babysitter when I was with you guys. She wasn’t very nice.⸃
⸂Do you recognize her?⸃ another voice asked, a young girl who Hyr assumed was Rin, the former-Risen Guard who no longer knew what to think or where she belonged.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
That was how Emilia had described her friend, when she had told them about her own travels within the raid. Hyr agreed: the flow of energy around her was confused, even the universe itself seemingly undecided about where to put her while her mind remained so volatile.
People, even those who grew up alongside the synat in Nur’tha, often assumed that the future was set—that it knew every perfect move in the giant game of life. Hyr did not hold much of an opinion on it, but certainly, there were synat members who believed different things, the pyr often stepping into their debates in an attempt to force the loose organization to pick a side.
There was no meaning to picking a side, as far as Hyr was concerned. Perhaps the universe knew all possible futures and chose to only reveal some of its divine knowledge to the eyes of the synat and others, perhaps it knew only the most likely future, perhaps it knew the exact future, choosing to allow the illusion of free will. Those were the most common beliefs of various synat members, some constantly arguing for one path or another, meaningless as it likely was.
Without a way to dig into the universe and force more information out of it, what was the use of knowing whether it was playing with them or not? Mostly, it was just the cynics who believed there was a point to determining the true meaning of what they saw, the sharp edge of, “If the future is set, we should just stop trying. What will come will come, regardless of what we do.”
True, but what a sad world to live in. Hyr would much rather believe the universe was benevolent or at least watching them with amusement, giving them a false sense of free will in order to soothe their aches and worries, because the cynics were right: if the future were revealed to be a solid block of facts, it would take few generations for the world to fall to laziness and a lack of care for the world—as the actions of the syna Vurn had shown, believing in the solidity of the future could easily turn into an excuse for truly terrible behaviour.
Hyr’s jaw clenched, just a little, as they listened to Emilia’s friends discuss what to do, talking over them and Caro as though they did not even exist. That didn’t bother them—this group had been working together for many hours, it was understandable that newcomers would be second thought. No, what angered them was Zyrex. Zyrex and his horrible teacher, who had refused to address the syna Vurn’s actions in her teachings on tolerance, always wiping away the bloodshed on behalf of the syna Vurn and changing the topic with such fluid ease that Hyr—and every other synat member—were convinced they were aether blessed. Perhaps not an outright ECC dyad, nor someone raised the way the synat raised its own members, but close enough that it sent a prickle of concern through each of them, especially as her words created more and more division among the tribes—especially when they all knew it was just a matter of them before her teaching shifted, pressing into the minds of her followers that they could not tolerate people who did not tolerate them.
It took so little to shift the minds of the young into ones willing to do terrible things.
A tug on their collar drew Hyr’s attention back to the child in their arms. Their energy flowed so wildly, and everything Emilia had told them about her missing friends had implied this one was full of boundless energy. Yet, they were quiet in Hyr’s arms, peeking through the {Blood Glass} occasionally, their little core vibrating with effort as they reached their energy out, dragging it over the scars of the aether.
Hyr followed their gaze, glued onto a far off doorway, the {Blood Glass} appearing before their eye, showing them the future the universe had already gifted Caro with.
Ignored as they were, it was easy to leave the group to their arguments and slip through the crowd, Hyr’s energy naturally digging into the fabric of the universe, leaving pinprick scars as it was dragged around their bodies. It wasn’t a true stealth ability—only syna were taught such things, and only when they had a natural affinity for hiding their presence, due to the danger of such techniques—but it was enough that if anyone looked their way, they would be met with a portion of the universe’s do not look vibes.
Some people could look. No one in this room could. The man waiting down a short hallway and just outside the building the group was hiding within, sorting through the residents of the city system, could look—could see.
Carne looked their way, a different being inhabiting their body than when Hyr had briefly seen with them before. So, this was the creature of the heartcores, then?
⸂Carne…⸃ Caro whispered, tucking themself further into Hyr’s neck.
Strange. The child and this… thing were quite similar, each touched by the universe in a way that connected them more deeply to it than most. Yet, there was clearly a tension between them…or, at least, Caro felt a tension. When Carne’s eyes slid to Caro, however, they widened—saw.
Apparently, whatever had changed the child—offered them a connection to the aethernet that would become terrifying and mind destroying, unless it was brought under control—was new. Emilia had mentioned first meeting Carne a week or so previous—although she had willingly admitted her sense of time was shot, due to too many naps and nightmares—and in the presence of most of the Livery children. So, something had occurred in the time between.
Hyr reached, just for a moment, to see the past. It wasn’t their specialty, but within a world where the power of the universe had been amplified, looking for a moment of fate altering power in a single being’s past, it took little for the universe to offer it to them.
A moment, small and precise, and barely more than a few hours previous. Very new then—so new that Hyr was surprised the child was standing, so to speak. No wonder they had reached for them so easily, when the small princess had suggested they go with the northerners rather than Emilia and the local teenager. Caro’s exploding soul was seeking comfort, finding it within Hyr’s own pinpoint core control and permanent connection to the aether.
Carne’s eyes continued to rove over Caro, gluttonous. A monster, wishing to consume a child for its own game.
Wonderful. Just what they needed at the moment.
Hyr’s own energy rippled. Not a threat, but a definite message that the strange monster was not to touch Caro—at least not while the child was within their protection.
As for the after… Hyr would send a message off to the group chat, once they were wherever this monster was meant to take them. Someone would need to protect this child, from themself and this creature alike.
Unfortunately, Hyr knew how difficult protecting those touched by the aether could be, even in a perfect world—one that hadn’t been ripped apart by centuries of conflict.
⸂Shall we?⸃ Carne asked, extending a hand to Hyr.
The aether rippled, telling them to come. According to the universe, this was the path to take.
Hopefully, it wasn’t playing games with them, the system itself not tugging at their instinct to follow the universe’s lead in order to drag them into a trap.
Their hand met Carne’s, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes spreading over the man’s face. Then the world exploded, falling away into a mist of blood and sinew, before their feet landed back on the ground, Hyr’s heart squeezing as they realized the thing within this man was even more monstrous than people realized.