Polly

I look down at Roko, now nervously looking at his arms and hands, black spiderwebs spreading across his skin as his body is starved for blood. His heart had stopped, yet he retained full consciousness. Apparently that was a thing you could do with Sananku.

“What are you doing?” He asks in an unusually polite tone as he gets dragged across the stony floor.

His reaction to losing his protection against Torika was too calm, if only he’d acted a bit better we’d probably just kill him and move on, but…

Torika turns to me and beckons for my attention.

Polly, I want to talk to him for a bit, can you translate for me? She signs at me.

I nod in response. She then continues her signs.

“Roko, you’re going to die tonight.” I relay her signs for her.

Roko hesitates for a couple seconds before responding. “If you think you can do it, then try it.”

“I want to tell you two stories about myself.” Torika hands me the leather binding she was dragging Roko with, I take a hold of it with my one arm and keep dragging him along.

“First of all. I was not spending most of my time away researching the same things Yeluh does. I suspect his knowledge of the human body has long surpassed mine.” Torika shows her thumb, a small gash opening across it without any action from Torika herself, something that normally should be impossible.

“After all, there’s only so many ways you can kill someone or alter their mental state before it becomes redundant.” She throws her thumb outwards, whipping a tiny line of blood across the walls, getting a bit of it on Roko’s arm, before making a slicing motion with her fingers.

A sizable cut then appears on Roko’s face, blood gushing downwards off his cheek.

He dabs some of the blood on his fingertip, sticking his tongue out to taste it. “Not bad, I have to admit. You know I read your paper on external Anku without the usage of blood, to think you’ve managed to even make tangible effects on your surroundings is impressive.”

She closes her fist, squeezing it tightly.

I jump as a large crack assaults my senses, stone shattering, rocks crumbling, as a deep rend suddenly slices across the tunnel, right across the arc of blood Torika threw.

“Eee- YAHHHH!” Alongside it came off Roko’s arm, dropping off to the ground. It was his left arm as well, which was the one I lost. I stare at it for a couple seconds, then give a small nod of appreciation.

“No, that was more something on the side I managed to figure out. The second story is about Yeluh and I.”

Torika wipes the blood off her finger, now completely sealed shut as if she’d never cut it in the first place. She leans down and grabs his arm.

He and I worked on a way to resuscitate people post mortem, no matter how severe their wounds or condition might be.

…

Polly?

I blink a couple times, “Why haven’t you ever told me?” I blink confusingly.

Because the process becomes impossible after an hour has passed, I understand what you’ve been through, but I wouldn’t have been able to do anything for your brother.

“Oh…” I look down dejectedly, Torika looks on me kindly, but pats my shoulder telling me to refocus.

I nod as I continue to translate for her.

“I think you already know what it is, so I’ll skip to the point. You think you’ll be able to continue living on after I kill you, even if I mangle your current body beyond recognition, destroy your heart, brain, lungs, ground your organs into dust, Yeluh will be able to transfer your Anku onto an intact body, allowing you to continue your consciousness. After all, Anku doesn’t dissipate upon death, it stays in the flesh forever, just losing its individuality quickly, so even if you try transferring the Anku it fails.”

Roko suddenly stiffens after hearing that. “Yea, what are you going to do about it then? Try to guard my body after I die? That’d be suicide with Yeluh tracking me.” His voice was still strained after losing his arm.

“I understand that.”

Torika opens a door off to the side of the tunnel, sunlight poked through, blinding me as we stepped outside, next to a small bridge.

In front of us was the Oliviand river in all its surging glory, it was raining right now making the currents especially violent and slick.

“What are we doing out here…” I murmur, looking around. I stop as soon as my gaze meets Torika’s.

The smile on her face… It was ugly, even going so far as to call it manic.

“Tori- ka?” I step back a pace.

Give me the rope. She beckons me with her body language.

I hand the rope off to her and step back.

Torika drags him down right next to the raging river and leans her face in close. Roko’s eyes were now darting around erratically, clearly in a state of panic. I couldn’t blame him either. Even I felt unnerved right now.

Roko

My memories of Torika come flooding back to me, her boundlessly cruel proclivities, her untouchable fearsomeness, and more importantly, her devastating intellect. Oh how I regret everything, I’d assumed she grown soft in her time apart back when she didn’t kill me immediately after getting blood on me, but in truth, I was the one that grew soft.

”Your hubris will be your downfall, but I’ll lend you my support regardless. Maybe you’ll surprise me.” Yeluh’s former words strike a tone within me. This was after I’d told him of my plan to get back at these two after my first fight against them in The Eye.

”No-“ I whimper as I shuffle backwards, but Torika continues nudging me off the bank, further into the river, before suddenly pausing.

She grabs my chin and turns my face towards hers.

”Hu- Agh-“ Blood wells up in my mouth, but I don’t have time to register what happened before I’m violently shoved into the quickly running water.

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I float in the cold darkness as water seeps into every crevice in my body. Blood boils within my system, raging oceans of red crashing and descending, expanding, opening, and shutting into every corner of my body.

The hell’s wrong with all the women in my life.

Polly

I shut my eyes, too queasy to handle what was about to happen.

A wait a couple seconds, a sickening squish pierces through the air before I open them again.

The water churns red for a couple seconds before being swept away into the vast nothingness.

Literally disintegrated, Torika’s plan was to dissolve him into the waters itself. Something only she could do with her cleaving abilities, spreading the remnants of his Anku out so thin that there would be no hope of revival.

I turn to Torika after hearing her gag.

“What’s wrong!”

She gags again, spitting out blood, bent over with a hand over her mouth.

“Are you—“ I move closer trying to figure out what was going on before she stands up straight with a stinky expression on her face.

She throws some small object back into the river, destroying it soon after as well.

I thought that was going to be the one for sure. She wipes her hands off in the river.

“What do you mean?”

His tongue, I thought I finally had the right idea, but it seems it was a bit off… She begins staring off into space, probably mentally noting down the outcome of her experiment.

“Hey, we need to get going before Yeluh arrives.” I shrug her shoulder.

Torika stirs and then nods at me. Yes, let’s do that. We still need to find your friends after all.

Taiga

A couple drops of rain flit my head, as I was frozen in place, unable to think or move.

“Who are you?” I say for a second time, nothing else coming to mind.

Wait, I forgot about a certain someone. I run forward out the door, pushing him along with me.

“Ahhh!” He screams as we launch out into the outside, barrelling through the streets at obscene speeds.

“Put me down this instant!” He smacks my back violently, although I could barely feel anything from it.

“Tell me who you are first!” I snarl back at him.

“Just put me down! I’ll tell you.”

I slow down as we push through into a concealed alleyway, where no bystanders were around.

“Okay, now who the hell are you?”

The man looks at me cautiously, then looks left, then looks right.

“HELP, ME! I’M BEING ASSAULTED BY A BOY WEARING A MASK. HE’S RIGHT HERE, IN THIS—“ I immediately rush forward and cover his mouth, squeezing uncomfortably hard.

”You want to fucking die!?” I say angrily before hearing the pounding sound of footsteps nearby. Wait what? Why are there so many of them already around!

I click my tongue as the first set of guards appear almost immediately.

I turn back to stare at him for a couple seconds before throwing his head roughly against the wall, jumping away.

Fuck! What was that? I think angrily as I jump through the rooftops. I shake my head. Whatever, my top priority right now is making sure Avery is safe then reconvening with Polly. Apparently Torika was with Polly as well, so that’s neat. I also have to check back on Yumie and…

I look back to the plume of smoke drifting into the clouds above, the raging fire from earlier had yet to subside. That was where the man named Saen was.

I got a bit distracted didn’t I? Is it even worth it? Unlike all the situations I was just in. It wasn’t something I was personally connected to, and I didn’t feel much of a reason to do anything about it.

Well… I slow to a stop, closing my eyes as I try to rationalize things. My relationship with the others was already thorny enough, I don’t want any unneeded tension with Avery as well.

I change directions.

The sound of crackling smoke fills the air, a dark shadow hangs over my face.

A man carrying the corpses of two women on his back, one young, one old, raggedly breathing, looking down at the ground.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” He feverently whispers under his breath, he hadn’t even noticed my presence yet. “I didn’t want to, please…”

How was this my problem? It wasn’t. I didn’t even understand the situation, but I couldn’t seem to look away, nor could I stand to interrupt him.

Why did a fire suddenly start? Who did it? Was it my carelessness that resulted in this? If I’d gone directly back like Avery asked, would this not have happened?

… Ahhh, I’m just wasting time. I scratch my head awkwardly. I have to move at some point, I can't just watch him forever. “Hey you.” I walk up next to him. “We gotta get out of here.”

He doesn’t acknowledge my presence.

I look behind me. “Come on, lotta guards are about to come.” There was an intense atmosphere of sorrow, but I couldn’t really find any words in me to comfort him. In fact, the only emotion I felt was nonplussed, situations like these were completely foreign to me, unable to relate or understand.

“I feel like an asshole.” I murmur as I tug on his shoulder. His wounds had been roughly sealed up; he was no longer dripping blood from his back. Meaning he probably woke up by himself while we were gone and fixed himself up.

…

Am I really the only one who doesn’t know how to do that? I couldn’t help but think, an inappropriate thought at the present.

…

Saen finally turns his attention towards me, lifting his arm.

Huh? The skin on my face breathes the open air as my mask leaves my head, firelight filters through, reflecting off the dark pupils of my eyes, my long hair, dropping down low.

!?— I reflexively dip back, but it’s too late as he reaches forward and rips the mask straight off my face.

What did he just? How?

I trip backwards onto my butt, a large wave of nausea and blurriness washing over me as the world turns back to a mass of colors and indistinct sounds.

Can’t see, can’t hear. Where am I? Disorientation, confusion, daze, the world spins confusingly. The added effects of both the mask and sensory impairments left untreated crash down in me at once.

I reach my arms out, swinging, desperate for some tangible sensation.

There! I firmly grasp a piece of wood. Only for a searing sensation to quickly crawl out onto my skin.

AGH! I drop the flaming chunk, that even hurt more than usual. Without my mask I’m nothing, an unprotected fruit, in a savannah of hungry predators.

“Give that back!” I shout in desperation. If I don’t… None of us will reunite. Polly and Torika don’t know where Avery and Shaz are; they can’t risk entering broad daylight anymore… Everything will be….

Ah, maybe it’s for the best that none of us see each other again. None of our goals ever even aligned in the first place... Didn’t you want to separate from them to do your own thing? Remember why you came in the first place, to discover yourself.

I scream. “GIVE ME BACK MY MASK!” The sensation continued to grow even stronger, that sensation of confusion.

“Here.” A voice pierces through the darkness. “Now stop crying, Jesus Christ.”

Suddenly, the world returns to color, sharpening back to full focus. As the mask returns to my face.

I look to my side. I was getting dragged somewhere, my arms bound up with metal.

Then the sound returns, footsteps marching, fire crackling, metal clinking.

Oh, I’m getting arrested. The guards had shown up as I was having my meltdown.

I look backwards. Two of the bodies had been covered over by blankets as people clad in armor inspected the surrounding area, and Saen… Laid motionless on the ground, a blanket slowly draped over him as well.

He died then… But what did he just do? How did he take off my mask?

Doesn’t matter, I shake my head and try to collect my bearings as I look at the soldiers surrounding me. Two on my right, one holding a rope attached to my bindings. I quickly test the stability of the metal. No problem, can break it with ease. Now I just need to—

“AHHHHH!!!!!” I lose all strength in my body, the guards all look back, surprised at my sudden outburst.

I’m split from head to toe from a mind-shattering headache, falling to my knees.

Don’t tell me… He put the mask on, and then… He…

Trapped in my body like a statue, unable to form any more independent thought, I close my eyes as a cascade of foreign memories flood into my mind.

“Father… Why did you do it! … Why? Why?! … It’s all your fault!”