“It was fine,” Jaxith said calmly.
“Are you sure? You were sitting with nothing behind you all night. Your back must be killing you,” Irene said worriedly, leaning back against the wall and facing Jaxith.
“I’ve been through worse,” Jaxith replied calmly, his tone returning to its usual boldness.
“Well, whatever you want. If you want to rest on the bed, go ahead. I slept well. You deserve a good sleep too, Jax. It's still early," irene said caringly.
“Don’t overthink it, girl. I told you I’m fine, really,” Jaxith said.
“So, aren’t you just saying that to make me feel better?” Irene asked seriously.
“We’ve been through similar situations before. You should know me by now,” Jaxith said. Irene looked at him for a moment before pulling her legs close to her chest.
“Fine, you’re just being Jaxith,” Irene said, looking at the ground. Jaxith smirked faintly.
“So, why don’t you tell me if you slept well or not?” Jaxith asked.
“I really did,” Irene said, glancing at the damage she had caused across the room.
“Hey, don’t zone out,” Jaxith said. Irene looked at him before looking down again.
“Listen, it happened, and you can’t change it. Just accept yourself. You can’t keep blaming yourself for everything that happens. It’s not your fault that your energy is strong and hard to control at a young age. Come on, we talked about this, and you were laughing a moment ago,” Jaxith said. It was normal to feel a bit depressed after seeing what she had done the previous night. He needed to cheer her up and then take her outside.
“Can I ask you a question, Jax?” Irene asked, looking at him seriously.
“You know that I nearly killed you last night,” Irene said.
“You’ll need more than that to kill me,” Jaxith replied, smiling.
“This is serious, Jaxith. I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but please, I’m serious about this,” Irene insisted. Jaxith decided to listen carefully.
“What if it happens again? I know you’re strong and all, but what if it really gets out of my control? You can’t imagine how hard it was,” Irene said, looking afraid.
“I can, believe me, I understand you. Maybe I still don’t know exactly what’s happening with you, but I understand your feelings, and trust me, you don’t need to act like this,” Jaxith said.
“You were nearly killed while protecting me. How do you want me to act? Be happy? What if I become the one who hurts you? What if I lose control and kill everyone around?” Irene asked. Jaxith noticed she was about to cry again, so he decided to end this quickly. He stood up and walked towards her before kneeling down. She was looking down, hiding her face.
“Remember when I told you that you are like me? I was just like you are now, but I already lost everyone. The longer I thought about it, the worse it became, until I found the solution: embrace it. Use all these negative thoughts to gain control. It’s all about controlling the flow of negative thoughts through your body. And I lived with it. We can’t change what we’ve done, Irene, but we can learn from it. I used to blame myself for every minor detail, but I found that I was making it worse. Just accept yourself and go with the flow. This is much better, believe me,” Jaxith said before raising her chin to make her look at him. She was tearing up, as expected. Again, what’s happening to her isn’t easy; he can’t rush things with her. She nodded in agreement.
“Good. Now I don’t want to see you like that again, okay?” Jaxith said, wiping her tears with the back of his hand.
“I want to see that refreshing, dumb Irene who always thinks she’s smarter than me,” Jaxith said. Irene smiled.
“Now you’re the one being dumb. You know I’m the brains,” Irene said with a faint smile, wiping her face. Jaxith smiled.
“Then we’re done here. It’s better we get out of this room. It reminds you of what happened,” Jaxith said before standing up and turning.
“I want to talk about that thing in my dreams,” Irene said confidently. Jaxith stopped and turned back to her. She looked serious.
“Listen, I didn’t mean to force you to talk. I meant that you should get over it,” Jaxith said.
“I think I need to talk about it,” Irene said with a bit of hesitation.
“I feel hesitation in your tone. If you’re not ready, then drop it,” Jaxith said.
“No. You encouraged me to talk about it. I think that if I talk about it, I’ll feel better. Maybe suppressing these thoughts is what’s making me feel afraid,” Irene said, her voice struggling slightly. She wanted to talk but was afraid of remembering what happened. But this could provide useful information for them. Maybe there was a connection between her dreams and the reason those people were after her, or even better, a connection to why he had that nightmare.
Again, Jaxith stepped forward and knelt in front of her. He patted her shoulder.
“Then be brave. You decided to get over it, so don’t hesitate. Believe me, you’re much stronger than you think. If anyone were in your place, they would have surrendered by now. So say whatever you’ve seen and make sure you’re done with it,” Jaxith said encouragingly. Irene gained confidence and took a deep breath.
“Okay, you may think I’m an idiot, but I think that this thing isn’t trying to harm me,” Irene said.
“All of that isn’t harmful?” Jaxith asked.
“I know it sounds weird. Whenever I hear those strange words in its horrifying voice, I feel great pain, like something is moving inside my head through my left eye and keeps pulling it. The voices are even intolerable, like someone is screaming inside your head, but you can’t understand or do anything except endure that pain until I wish someone would end my life at once. It’s torture, Jaxith, but no, it's trying to say something,” Irene said, a hint of fear in her voice. Jaxith knew that this pain was really hard on her. Her screams weren’t just overreacting; the bloody tears and how her body tensed weren’t easy to witness. It made him want to help her even more than before. It’s not her fault that she was born with something different, even from normal hybrids. And yes, after what Jaxith heard from Emelia, he was now sure that he would discover even more abnormal things about her. He had dealt with hybrids before, and this was the first time he had seen something like what she did last night.
“Don’t stop. You’ve made it this far. Consume that fear from the pain and the things you’ve seen. It’s important for you,” Jaxith said seriously, shaking Irene’s head slightly to make her even more confident.
“I think it helped me with the Onohly,” Irene said.
“How?” Jaxith asked. He knew that something had awakened in her that day.
“You said that the Onohly keeps you in this fake dream until it absorbs all the divine energy from your soul until it’s diminished, right?” Irene asked.
“Yeah,” Jaxith replied.
“And I told you that he was the reason I woke up, and not just that, I woke up with the ability to see through the mist better than you and hear through it also. I even now think that the strange vapor I created last night was the same thing that made the Onohly afraid to get near me. Maybe he wanted to protect me from it,” Irene said. Jaxith looked at her, narrowing his eyes. She might actually be right about it; that was a good lead.
“But that doesn’t mean he’s real. He may just be an embodiment of your strength in your mind or something like that,” Jaxith said.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“No, it really feels real. I think that he wants something, yet I don’t understand it,” Irene said. Jaxith removed his hands from Irene’s face and looked to his left, thinking.
“If she’s right, then the nightmare she had last night may be important. She must say what she saw, but since she panicked because of what she has seen, it may be hard,” Jaxith thought before looking back at Irene.
“Listen, we need to understand the connection between these visions, so I think that telling me what you saw last night will help us,” Jaxith said. Irene’s breath became heavier at once and she started moving her legs right and left in tension. She felt tension just at the thought of it; she had said that she saw him dead. He needed to proceed with caution, or she might panic.
“Listen, if you don’t want to talk about it, then we can drop it. I thought you were ready, so I decided to try and understand what’s happening with you more,” Jaxith said, patting her shoulder again. She looked at him worriedly at first, then her look became serious.
“I need to get over it. You’re right. I can’t stop now,” Irene said confidently.
“Nice. Regulate your breath and keep calm,” Jaxith said.
“I woke up in here, on the bed I was sleeping on. I felt heat around me, and when I started to realize what was happening, I found myself surrounded by flames. The room was burning, and I was alone. You weren’t in your bed. I thought that something had happened that made you leave the room, then the fire burst out, and you were trapped by something or needed help, so I decided to get out. I didn’t find you outside the room. Some of the wooden logs started falling from the ceiling due to the high temperature, but I managed to run out of the inn. There, I found fire everywhere in the village. I didn’t know when all of this happened. I wasn’t understanding that this was a dream, just how all this fire was created, and I wasn’t aware. There were no people; I was alone there too and started worrying about you. I walked a bit until the strange headache got me down again and disappeared as fast as it appeared. But the strange thing is that after I opened my eyes, I realized that I wasn’t in the village anymore. I wasn’t in Ebonmere, Jaxith. I was in a large field covered with sand, like a desert, and there were a lot of dead bodies of strange creatures that I didn’t recognize. I only recognized the scarlet giant. There were also swords and strange weapons that I wasn’t able to identify, too, a lot of blood and angry roars mixed with pain screams and clinking of swords. It was like I stepped into a battlefield that I knew nothing about. I even found your sword, but it was broken. Suddenly, the wind became stronger, and I saw an area where the sand was circling as if a sandstorm was starting. I decided to move towards it, and after some time, I was inside the storm. I kept moving until I noticed him standing, but he wasn’t alone. There were large creatures behind him. I can’t remember how many, but there were about four or five. Their red glowing eyes were distinctive within the storm. The strange thing stretched his hand out for me. I gathered my courage and walked towards him. I was lost and kept calling you, but there was no answer, and just when I was close to him, I saw….” Irene said before she stopped and looked at the floor in fear. Jaxith deduced what she wanted to say.
“That’s where you find me dead, right?” Jaxith asked. Irene looked at him in fear.
“Come on, I’m here, and that’s what matters. Did you really think that your dreams could harm me? Or worse, did you think there’s something that can break the Obsidian Titan?” Jaxith said sarcastically. Irene looked at him strangely; she couldn’t believe how easily he dealt with the situation.
“Jaxith, I’m not kidding. I saw you dead, and your blood was all around you,” Irene said, looking a bit annoyed.
“So what?” Jaxith replied.
“Well, if you’re not afraid, then I am. What if he’s trying to tell me something? What if you stick with me further, you’ll die? Or worse, what if I become something that I don’t want to be and blindly kill you?” Irene asked, the tone of grief returning to her voice.
“I won’t be able to forgive myself if that happened, Jaxith. Maybe he’s trying to tell me that you should stop helping me, or you’ll die,” Irene said in fear, but she wasn’t crying.
“Irene, if he’s trying to protect you, then he wouldn’t want me to leave you. You won’t be able to get anywhere with those people after you,” Jaxith said.
“Then what if he can protect me just like with the Onohly? Maybe that’s what he wants to do,” Irene said.
“Then why didn’t he help you with the assassin?” Jaxith asked. Irene remained silent for a moment.
“I-I think you’re right, but I can’t easily dismiss that this is some sort of message, or a future vision,” Irene said worriedly.
“No, don’t worry,” Jaxith said.
“Why not? What if he’s trying to warn me about something horrible, and you wi—,” Irene said in fear before Jaxith interrupted her.
“Enough, girl. I’ve heard enough. Just don’t think of it as a vision. Probably your fear was embodied through that nightmare. We will go out of this room, and once you walk through that door, I want you to forget what happened here. I want the Irene that I know back, and those sad expressions shall be wiped away, okay?” Jaxith said confidently. Irene looked surprised, then nodded positively.
“Then come on,” Jaxith said before he stood up and turned around, walking a bit. But he didn’t feel that Irene had moved.
“You aren’t hungry or what?” Jaxith asked without turning. Irene looked at him and decided to say what she really wanted to tell him since the moment she saw him dead.
“Jax, I have a request from you,” Irene said.
“What is it?” Jaxith asked. He didn’t turn around and was expecting that she was still worried about something. Guess that nothing is easy.
“If I ever lose control again like last night, but this time I wasn’t able to hold it back, what will you do?” Irene asked.
“I will do the same until you snap out of it,” Jaxith said.
“But what if it was worthless? You are wise, Jax. Don’t you think that this one called Blamore may be right? Maybe I’ll eventually die. Better to die without hurting more people than hurting even the one helping me,” Irene said. Her mental state was literally broken; she might try to hide it with smiling, but she needed help. She needed to understand that she wasn’t alone. Irene was already making it harder. Jaxith was trying everything, but she quickly returned to the miserable state once she remembered, so he decided to change his tone—Jaxith’s own tone, not the tone he used with her, the tone of the hunter.
“Do you really want to hear it from me?” Jaxith said boldly, without even turning his head.
“I just want to make sure that you won’t do something foolish. You’re helping someone that you know nothing about and would even risk your life for it. That would be selfish of me. You may be right about the part that it’s not my fault that I was born different, but also it’s not right for all those people to sacrifice their lives for me. No one deserves that, Jaxith. I won’t rest until I hear it from you. Please don’t make it harder,” Irene said, looking at Jaxith’s back. He was completely silent.
“Fine. I will kill that fuckin thing affecting you before that thought even crosses your mind, young girl. Do I make myself clear? And if you bring this exact topic up again, I won’t be lenient,” Jaxith said in a very cold tone before he paused.
“TOUGHEN UP!” Jaxith shouted in an angry tone. Irene’s eyes widened. It was like Jaxith became a completely different person; he had something fearful behind his voice. But somehow, she started understanding. Her fear turned into confidence, for real this time. She started getting it—controlling her thoughts. He didn’t want to say that he would kill her; he really cared about her. So instead, he used that fear of her life ending and used it to create this bold moment, the same she should do.
“There’s always something that makes us afraid, Jaxith, right?” Irene said.
“Fear is an integral part of the human soul. You can’t live without fear from something or of losing something, but also you won’t be able to live when this fear controls your thoughts and decisions. When you control your fear, you’ll control your negative emotions, then your fear will push you forward,” Jaxith said in his cold, menacing tone.
“So what are you afraid of?” Irene asked.
“I used to be afraid of something nearly all my life, but now there’s another important one that I’m afraid to lose,” Jaxith said, still in the same position.
“Who is that?” Irene asked.
“You already know the answer to that,” Jaxith said. Irene looked at him hopefully. She really knew who he was talking about. She smiled delightedly, feeling the same feelings she had before toward him, even remembering what she called him in her nightmare: elder brother. Even Lance didn’t understand her like Jaxith did, and it had only been a couple of weeks. It was like he had the right keys for everything she needed. She was always easy to manipulate due to her rashness and easy to provoke, but now she was learning from him, and he came at the perfect time.
“Are we done here? Because I don’t want us to have this conversation again. You will be nothing but fine,” Jaxith said. He noticed that Irene didn’t reply.
“Are we clear, young girl?” Jaxith asked before Irene suddenly hugged him from behind. Jaxith didn’t expect it, but it looked like he had done it.
“Now what?” Jaxith asked, but now he was back to his usual tone with her.
“Just a thank you. Your talk really helped me,” Irene said, looking at the ground. Her forehead was resting on Jaxith’s back.
“I thought you weren’t a hugger. You hug a lot for a person who hates hugs,” Jaxith said, smiling. He turned his head to look at her from behind, but she immediately kicked his leg gently.
“Stop being an idiot,” Irene said, smiling.
“So I guess you’re fine now,” Jaxith said.
“Yeah, really thanks, Jax. I know that I told you before that I don’t say thanks a lot, but it seems like you always find a way to help me, so thanks is the least I could do,” Irene said. Jaxith smiled.
After a moment, Irene broke her hug and went in front of Jaxith.
“Now let’s go out. I need to get out of this room. You were right about it,” Irene said joyfully before opening the door and walking out. Jaxith followed her out, finding Emelia sitting on a nearby chair. Irene left the inn, looking for Senka.
“Did you enjoy your time behind the door?” Jaxith asked. Emelia suddenly coughed before looking at Jaxith.
“Excuse me,” Emelia said, surprised by Jaxith’s words.
“You heard me,” Jaxith said boldly.
“You’re not right. Well, maybe you are,” Emelia said hesitantly. Jaxith’s serious look was scary enough.
“Okay, you got me, and I don’t know how, but I really wanted to understand your relationship with her. And now I really understand why she needs you—not just need you; the girl is looking up to you. You’re like her brother. But also, I sensed something from you,” Emelia said before Jaxith narrowed his eyes slightly.
“You really care about her, Jaxith, although you didn’t even meet her before,” Emelia said. Jaxith thought for a moment while he watched Irene opening the stable where Senka was sleeping.
“She reminds me of someone precious to me,” Jaxith said calmly, smiling.