The air thickened. A faint emerald haze tinted Realm 376’s sky, and Two immediately felt his throat burn as he entered the atmosphere. For a moment he stopped breathing, holes opening in his lungs, but less than a second later his regeneration kicked in. Two frowned. He was used to pain, but the continuous burning and healing was getting a bit annoying. He snapped his fingers, and a barrier formed around his lungs. That was better.
The surface of the realm approached rapidly, and now that he was closer, Two could see that it was covered in towering greenery. Vines as thick as mountains formed a wavy horizon, and dense flowers bloomed within ruined buildings, their leaves casting long shadows over cracked stone roads, split apart by roots and grasses. There were no humans or animals, only the sprawling greenery completely overtaking the surface.
It occurred to Two, as he jetted towards the earth, that he should probably slow his fall. The note had mentioned “serious damage,” but he didn’t think a giant crater in the ground was what was meant. Most immortals were at least a little attached to their home realms.
Two twisted around in the air until he was upright. Below him, a web of black mist formed. The immortal let himself fall through, and the moment his body touched the smoky web, it disintegrated, decaying into little specks that scattered across the ground. The mist vanished, and the dust particles vibrated.
It took a minute to finish reforming his body, quicker than the last time he’d done this. Two straightened and brushed off his clothes, reactivating the barrier around his lungs.
“Now, where were we…” he muttered. The immortal pulled out the note again. He looked up and raised an eyebrow.
“Big” tree indeed, he thought. It easily occupied half of the visible sky—thick, lush branches extending so high up that its top was obscured by thin yellow clouds. Two moved closer, and the trunk alone was so wide that it looked more like an unending umber wall as the immortal approached. The letter hadn’t been wrong. It was impossible to miss.
Two briefly wondered if he was expected to search those branches for his target, but to his relief, a voice sounded near the base of the trunk.
“Hey, over here!”
Seated atop rippling roots that wove in and out of the ground, a familiar man waved. Broad shouldered and with a toned physique, Two would recognize that messy black hair and olive skin anywhere. Many immortals liked to change their appearances over the years, but this one had never been one of them. The ease with which he carried himself, the casual confidence and the eyes that always looked forward—they were traits he’d had long before achieving immortality. He was the sort of immortal that the short lived aspired to.
“Silas.” Two smiled warmly in greeting. “It’s been a long time.”
His fellow immortal leapt off the roots, flipping around in midair and landing soundlessly on his feet. He grinned.
“I’ll say. I didn’t think I’d get you of all people. I figured it’d be Five or maybe Four!” He snickered. “Three. Guess I’m pretty special, huh?”
“It’s Two now,” he corrected. Silas whistled.
“Damn, really? You’re moving up in the world! What about your brother? He wasn’t mad you took his spot, right?”
At that, Two looked down. “Actually, he died.”
Silas stopped mid sentence, jaw clicking shut. His brows furrowed as he studied the other immortal, head cocked in thought. After a few moments of silence, a flash of realization passed through his face.
“Oh,” he said in a quieter voice. “I see.” Silas cleared his throat. “Well, I’m glad to see you again.”
He didn’t offer any condolences. Such things had no place among them, and they would’ve been an insult. Still, Two was relieved when the carefreeness returned to Silas’s posture, both immortals silently agreeing to move on.
“Well, come on, sit down!” Silas said. To emphasize his point, he shifted from standing to sitting so quickly that the ground shook a little beneath him. He patted the grass, and Two followed suit, albeit at a much more normal speed. The grasses, he noted, weren’t nearly as soft as they looked. Their edges were deceptively sharp.
When Two looked up again, a cup was thrust into his face. He raised an eyebrow. A strange, turquoise liquid sloshed around a simple clay mug, white foam swirling atop its surface. Two carefully took it in hand, noting that it didn’t have any discernible scent.
“What’s this?”
Silas grinned, raising his own cup. “The best drink you’ll ever have is what. Brewed it myself,” he added, puffing his chest out a little.
“I didn’t know you’d taken up brewing.”
“Eh, you gotta get new hobbies. You know how it is.” Silas shrugged and tipped the mug all the way back, draining its contents in a flash. He was still for a second, then sighed in satisfaction and tossed the empty cup aside. It dissipated in a swirl of glowing blue lights an inch before it hit the ground. “Took me ages to get this combo right. Tested every damn plant in this place. I’m telling you, this stuff’ll probably blow up and get sold for, like, tons of money or whatever.”
376 did seem like a good realm for this sort of thing, Two thought. He carefully tipped his own cup back and took a small sip.
The first thing Two noticed was the taste, layered flavors that wove seamlessly together into a symphony. Sharp and smooth, sweet and bitter. There was just enough contrast to be interesting while still remaining cohesive.
The next thing he noticed was his heart stopping.
It was rather impressive, how quickly the muscle seized. It started beating again a few seconds later, courtesy of his regeneration, and Two leveled Silas with a flat stare once he’d revived. He pointed silently at his chest and then at the liquid.
Silas winced. “Whoops, sorry man. Forgot about that part.” He scratched his head and took another sip, and now Two recognized the brief pause afterwards for what it was. The other immortal kept talking with the casual ease that only someone well used to dying and resurrecting could. “I, uh, kinda got used to it. It’s just normal to me, you know?”
Two did know, and Silas looked sheepish enough that he believed the poisoning was unintentional. He raised an eyebrow.
“I do think the instant death might make it hard to market.”
Silas smacked his shoulder good naturedly. “Hey, it was an honest mistake! Besides, it does taste pretty good, right?”
“It does,” Two admitted. Silas grinned smugly and knocked back another drink with zero hesitation. The other immortal simply watched, setting his own cup down.
“I’ll admit I’m a bit surprised to see you here,” he remarked. “I thought you’d settled down in 149.”
149 was one of the largest and most densely populated worlds. For someone like Silas, who he remembered being so extroverted that he got antsy at the mere thought of being alone, it suited him well. It was nothing like his own home realm, with its quiet hill and isolated buildings. In that sense, Two supposed Silas was the exact opposite of him.
“Oh I did.” Silas scowled. “Then this other immortal showed up. Right bastard he was.” He shuddered with disgust. “Anyway, I got the fuck out and ended up drifting for a bit, found my way here.”
His features softened. “It was nice. Real friendly people here. You wouldn’t think so, with the big cities and all, but it was a good place. You would’ve liked it.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
Two studied the man’s face. A distant, nostalgic look had entered his gaze, the sort of look that all immortals were familiar with. He stayed quiet, letting Silas reminisce. The other immortal silently filled his cup again, draining it in one long, slow sip. His muscles seized in temporary death, and it took a little longer this time for him to resurrect.
When he did, Silas shook his head as though waking from a dream and waved his hand. The cups and drink disappeared in a thin mist. He rose, not bothering to dust off the dirt and pollen now sitting in a thin layer atop his clothes.
“Anyway, might as well get this show started.” He cracked his shoulder, and Two stood as well.
“You wanted a fight, correct?”
“Yep.” Silas perked up again, some of his earlier energy returning. “I’m thinking big. Super flashy, super destructive.” He gestured vaguely. “That shouldn’t be too hard for you, right? Fire’s pretty flashy.”
Two stilled.
Crackling flames that bled into the scarlet sky. Coiling smoke. A soft smile.
“I don’t use fire anymore.”
“Huh, why not? I thought that was your thing.”
The smell was the worst part. Even after the erratic glow was done, when sprayed sparks settled, the scent lingered long after the light died and the body fell still. It was a smell that poisoned the air, acrid and with a hint of sweetness that made him shudder with revulsion. It seemed a reminder of how insignificant the body was and could become.
Two’s eyes shifted back over to Silas again, and he responded simply.
“I don’t like the smell of it.”
He waited for another question, prepared to change the subject, but Silas simply gave him a long look. Two wondered if the man’s eyes had always been so keen. The Silas he’d known could never stand to be silent for so long.
Finally, the other immortal shrugged. “Okay,” he said, and that was it. “As long as you don’t hold back on me.”
Two felt his lips curl upwards.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Stolen story; please report.
—
They walked further down the hill, caught between the massive tree and the city of greenery lying at the bottom of the slope. Tall grasses waved around them, and perhaps it was Two’s imagination, but the realm’s green haze seemed thicker than ever.
Several feet away, Silas was doing a few practice stretches, bouncing around on the balls of his feet. Two doubted he really needed the warmup, but as they said, old habits died hard.
On Two’s part, he studied the landscape around them, humming in consideration. “Do you want me to create a barrier? I should be able to cover most of the realm.”
“No.”
The abrupt response made Two pause, and he glanced back. Silas had stopped, and his eyes were hard, jaw clenched as he stared at the distant city drowned in flora.
“Break as much shit as you want.”
Two must have made some sort of expression at that, because the other immortal scoffed, the sound half amused, half bitter. He gestured at the tree looming behind him, its shadow a permanent stain on the ground.
“What, you didn’t think I planted this thing, did you?” He shook his head. “Whatever, let’s just get this show on the road.”
Silas didn’t give Two a chance to respond, striding forward a few steps and cracking his knuckles. A confident, ingrained ease overtook his movements as he got into a fighting stance, one born from countless years of practice. “It’s been what, a century since we sparred?”
“Two centuries,” Two corrected. Silas blinked.
“Two. Ha. Funny how that works.”
The other immortal smiled wryly. “Indeed.” He removed his coat, and with a flash of violet light, the fabric folded and flew into his open palm, absorbed into his gloves and vanishing from sight. He rolled his wrists, stretching them out. Then, after some consideration, he removed the gloves, too, before facing Silas.
They didn’t say another word, didn’t establish any rules, didn’t count down. There was no need.
One moment they were unmoving, hard silhouettes against a hazy sky.
The next, the two immortals burst into action.
Silas moved in a blur, faster than a mortal eye could see, and Two raised his arms to block a kick aimed squarely at his head.
The ground trembled beneath them, and Two heard the crack of earth giving way from the impact. He ignored it, eyes trained on Silas’s grinning face. He grabbed the outstretched leg, gripping it between his fingers and hurling the other immortal straight into the overgrown city.
As Silas was launched into the air, he raised a finger, jerking it upwards, and Two felt the air yanked out of his lungs. His chest heaved and he stumbled forward just as he heard the other immortal crash through a row of dilapidated homes.
Two gripped his chest, his senses temporarily blacking out before, with a great heave, he was able to breathe again. First death of the fight. In the distance, he heard concrete rubble shifting as Silas tossed pieces away and dug himself out of the mess. The skin and bones of one of his arms grew back as he moved, and Two saw his ribs pop back out after being crushed from the force of the throw.
Their eyes met, and Silas grinned. Two found himself doing the same.
Cracking his fingers, inky smoke swirled around his spread hand. Two leapt into the city with a single jump, flinging a web of rotting mist down over the buildings.
Blossoms wilted where the smoke touched, green leaves blackening and rapidly drying until they were so weak that the wind alone could disintegrate them with a single gust.
Silas wove around the tangled strands of smoke, and a sharp blade of wind nearly took Two’s arm off. The blast was immediately followed by a punch, and Two put up a barrier just as Silas swung.
The immortal’s fist smashed into the hard barrier, but that didn’t stop the man. His other hand glowed, and with a quick jab at the invisible shield, the magic cracked and shattered into uneven shards.
Silas’s fist met Two’s stomach. The second the punch connected, the immortal sent out another blade of wind from his knuckles.
A stinging pain ran up Two’s nerves as his body was bisected in half. He could see organs and blood spilling out in his peripheral vision, but he was more focused on grabbing Silas’s arm with his mist-covered hand. As his upper torso fell down to the earth, the smoke coiled around the other immortal’s limb, clinging tight despite his thrashing.
Two’s consciousness faded, and the last image he saw was one of Silas, rapidly aging and twitching as his body decayed to dust.
Both immortals hit the ground. Around them, the buildings lay in a heap of sharp rubble, shattered glass, and bent metal, and the flowering vines and massive trees were half withered away, leaves and branches scattered like snow across the earth.
Two’s eyes opened first, and he stumbled back to his feet. Newly grown limbs always took a little time to get used to. He could still see his bisected half lying a few feet away, the cut clean and precise. He’d forgotten how good Silas was at precision attacks, what with his personality being so bold. Two cracked his neck, humming to himself. His best chance, then, would be to keep the fight to a large scale where Silas couldn’t get in close.
Across the cracked road, Silas’s body swayed upwards, first bones then muscles then skin rapidly reforming. His chest was lurching, and as the skin around his face grew back on, Two saw that the man was laughing.
“Damn, I can see why you got promoted,” he teased.
“You’ve improved quite a bit yourself,” Two replied with a grin. He’d forgotten how fun it was to fight Silas. Some immortals pursued everlasting life from the beginning with a single minded purpose. Others, like Silas, worked for power first and simply stumbled into immortality as a byproduct of strength. Perhaps it was this difference that made the fight with Silas feel so different from the many others Two had encountered. There was a carefree joy there, a sense of life and passion so rarely found among others like them. Silas enjoyed fighting, and in turn, Two enjoyed fighting him.
Silas sighed as the last of his body reformed. He rolled his shoulder a few times, stretching the joint. “We really should’ve sparred more. Would’ve made these last few years a lot less shitty.”
Two sobered at that. He’d been so caught up in the fight that he’d nearly forgotten its purpose.
Eyeing the other immortal, he noted how casual Silas looked, how lax and at ease. “If you wanted,” Two said carefully, "We could spar more after this.” The other immortal snorted at that.
“You trying to get me to back out or something? Pretty sure that’s against your organization rules.” He moved into a ready stance. “Besides, you know doing it too much would take all the fun out of it.”
The last words carried a trace of bitterness that Two understood all too well. Nothing that lasted forever could remain sacred. It was a lesson that every immortal knew intimately.
“Anyway, that’s enough of a break, I’d say.” Silas grinned, and perhaps it was Two’s imagination, but the expression seemed a little tighter than before. “Let’s end this.”
Slowly, Two shifted position as well. The emerald atmosphere hummed around them, swaying slightly as though in anticipation. And then, when the next breeze passed, they charged.
Two yanked his arms upwards, and a wall of dark smoke rose, cloaking the sky. He heard a cracking sound, then a second one just behind him. He aimed a kick backwards, and he felt it meet hard muscle.
Spinning around, Two snapped his fingers, and barriers appeared across the sky like platforms, allowing him to run up them as he pursued Silas.
The other immortal didn’t pause either, righting himself in the air and thrusting an arm out.
More branches snapped, leaves and petals torn from their stems and coalescing into a crashing wave of flora that barrelled towards Two. He leapt over, propelling himself off a platform. Silas jerked his head, and the wave swerved and snaked back around.
Two crossed his arms, and just as the attack pummelled into him, he flared his magic.
From within that wave of blossoms and leaves, dark rot spread like a growing stain, overtaking everything until the greens and violets and whites and pinks were rendered into dust. The scattered remains whipped wildly in the wind, falling across the ruined city like ashes snowing over the last few bits of green remaining. Marking the death and decay of the realm.
A shadow fell over them, and Two realized they’d made it back to the tree. Silas didn’t slow down, skidding across the ground as he landed. Dirt sprayed, and the momentum left a deep scar across the earth. The immortal lunged. Two blocked and aimed a punch that Silas ducked under.
The two of them continued to trade blows, both hyper focused and neither giving way. Two saw Silas’s eyes narrow, and he felt the air shift as the other immortal pulled his arm back.
At the last second, Two vaulted over Silas just as he surged forward. Fist and whipping wind met the hard tree trunk, and an ear splitting crack resounded around the realm.
Bark split and cracked from the impact, fissures running all the way up the trunk and into the thick canopy. Two heard the earth shake, and slowly, with a screeching creak and rough lurches, the massive tree fell.
From behind Silas, Two watched as roots were ripped from the earth, watched as the towering silhouette gave way to a wide sky. In front of him, he saw Silas still, all movements stopping as the other man’s eyes honed in on the sight of that tree crashing to the ground. His pupils were blown wide and fixed in place, mesmerized by that sight.
A whirlwind of emotions passed through Silas’s eyes, too complicated for Two to untangle. He inhaled and clasped his hands together, muttering below his breath and building up his magic while Silas was turned away. In the end, he had a job to do, and this always took some time to prepare.
Finally, with one last snap, the final branch crashed into the ground, and the tree was rendered into a limp corpse strewn about the broken earth. At a distance, it looked no different from the city ruins.
Two stepped forward. The sound of his footstep was enough to pull Silas out of his trance, and just as he turned around, Two thrust his magic covered hand into the other immortal’s chest.
Silas froze. His breath caught, muscles tensing as the smoky magic bloomed outward.
Two yanked his hand out, and the other immortal stumbled backwards, eyeing the hole in his chest with a strange sense of awe. One of his hands landed on it, feeling the blood soaking his shirt. He coughed and took another step back. His foot hit one of the fallen tree’s branches, and he crashed onto the ground.
Two hurried over to where Silas now lay collapsed on his back, moving to help him up, but Silas waved him away. Two stayed close by, brows furrowed, but now he saw that Silas was laughing, though the sound was ragged and strained.
“Damn, I didn’t think it’d hurt so much.” He winced, gritting his teeth and cursing as the movement pulled on the hole in his chest. “Fuck, that stings.”
Two carefully sat down next to Silas’s fallen form.
“The magic is stripping away your immortality.” His voice was steady and dull, the words rehearsed. “The process is inherently painful.”
Silas barked a laugh. “Guess I did sign up for this, huh?” By now his breathing had settled into a more consistent, albeit shallow rhythm. “You know, it’s kind of a relief. I guess even people like us can still feel pain.”
Two’s features softened at that. “Of course we can.”
Silas hummed, and Two watched the magic spread. The man’s veins were changing color, dark lines visible beneath his skin, and with every breath and blink, his movements slowed. It looked especially wrong on someone like Silas, someone who had always seemed in constant motion.
Two resisted the urge to look away. He always hated this part, but it was his duty to stay, no matter how thick the smell of rot, no matter how unrecognizable the body became. He couldn’t tell if it was better or worse that Silas could still speak.
“I’m sorry.” The words tumbled out, quiet and easily pulled away by the breeze. Silas smiled.
“Nothing to feel bad about. You know how it is.”
“Even so, I’m still sorry all the same.”
By now, Silas’s chest was barely moving. A haze had overtaken his dark eyes, fixed up above on the sky and the emerald green haze hanging in the air. When he spoke, his voice was so low that Two had to lean closer to hear.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
The response was immediate. “Of course.”
Silas’s gaze shifted in the other immortal’s direction. No, not at him, Two realized. He was looking past him, looking at the destroyed buildings and rubble under a layer of rotted fauna. Even in the wake of their fight, a few of the massive plants had managed to survive, coiled stubbornly around concrete and stone.
For a brief moment, Silas’s eyes blazed at the sight, and he sucked in a ragged breath. “I know you said you don’t use fire anymore,” he said hoarsely, “but before you leave, could you do me a favor?”
The immortal turned his head, the movement laden with effort, until he was staring up at the sky again. By now, the black veins had reached his neck, and the rest of his body had gone completely still.
“Burn this place to the ground.”
Two’s eyes widened. Silas’s expression remained hard, more intense than he’d ever seen.
Finally, the other immortal slowly nodded his head. Silas smiled, all lingering tension dissipating from his body.
“Thank you.”
The words were barely above a whisper.
With a final, shaking breath, the immortal’s chest went completely still. Two remained in place, staring down at Silas, but there was no movement left. His eyes were still open, staring above, his mouth still pulled into a smile.
Slowly, Two rose back to his feet. He exhaled, turning away from Silas’s corpse to gaze out into the landscape. He closed his eyes.
He could still remember the smell of burning flesh, could easily see the blinding brightness and feel the heat and dryness on his skin.
Two opened his eyes again. He strode forward and didn’t look back, raising a hand.
His fingers burst into flames.
A few hours later, Realm 376 was nothing more than a pile of ash.
—
When Two stumbled back into his home, he found two letters waiting for him under the door. One was a lengthier note addressed to “all members ranked above four,” and it listed a realm, a date, and a familiar name in the signature.
The other paper was blank, no sender or message in sight, but Two understood the unspoken reply.
Yes.