Flickering flames escaped his skin and illuminated their surroundings while he lay in the hands of Icarus who was followed by the girl who slightly held onto Icarus's clothes with a reluctant expression.
Her pale face was now paler than before, but Hildebrant's gaze did not remain on her for long and turned to Icarus whose hand grasped him tightly.
Flames escaping his body grazed Icarus but none of them harmed him and contrary to his belief, being held in his hands was a satisfying experience.
In his embrace, the blood that was before like a calm lake surged through his body, healing any damage done by escaping flames. His hands, which he mangled on the ship also began to heal and skin was already cowering half of his fingers.
The other half remained the same, fleshly and almost gone if not for his flames that instead of just making them explode vaporized any blood, stopping it from escaping from his body.
"Is this normal?"
Gazing down at his finger from which fresh blood began to flow out he leaned more on Icarus's chest and kept enduring harrowing pain that kept passing through his body. It was endless and he wished to end it but lifting his head all he met was a wide smile.
"No not at all. Not many people try it in the first place, none are so brave as you dear boy…"
"Hildebrant, it’s nice to meet you, Uncle Icarus."
"Uncle?"
The smile on his face became awkward but his legs did not stop moving.
"I didn’t know that, but I am more interested if it was normal for people to kill each other."
Icarus lowered his head to him and then chuckled.
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"I don’t kill, I refine and transform and if it was so easy to kill him no one would call him Guide."
His smile then turned sinister.
"Especially with me around."
Hildebrant then lowered his gaze and closed his eyes to rest while harrowing pain continued to flow through his body. Pain that came from having his skin continuously burned and then reformed back to its original shape forcefully by his blood.
The power Icarus used was handy but also brought much suffering, but it was nothing he was unable to bear.
"I am more interested in how you get here."
Opening his eyes Hildebrant met darkness face to face and stared into it until darkness began to flow like water and shift like a living being.
"I got here on the ship. It was not mine of course."
He said and noticed darkness swimming around his fragile dome of light created by his flickering flames.
Icarus noticed it too and an animalistic growl escaped his lips making darkness tremble when crimson light began to escape his body and expand already creating a dome of light.
"I see…."
Was all he said before his brows furrowed and his eyes scanned his surroundings until crimson light coming from his body was retracted back into his being. What it was Hildebrant did not know but it looked like condensed blood that was set ablaze.
Then Icarus's face softened as he looked down on him.
"It must be rough."
Hildebrant kept his eyes closed and let himself be lost in his thoughts while continuing his talking.
"It wasn’t so…"
"Bad?"
Icarus chuckled.
"That’s what most people say before going crazy."
Hildebrant again lowered his head and blood began to pour out of his eyes and then it evaporated after contacting his skin.
"With pain comes strength and with strength comes suffering. It's something my mother repeated to me every day from the moment I could remember."
He said.
"Maybe I just got something from it."
Taking a deep breath Hildebrant closed his eyes again but then almost immediately he opened them when he heard a shaky voice coming from Icarus's mouth.
"What is your mother doing? Is she…alright?"
Body releasing and enduring being burned and reanimated froze and then Hildebrant burrowed his head deeper into the man's chest while the girl behind him got on her toes to watch him.
"She death."
Was all that came out of him.
Icarus slightly trembled as he repeated his words.
"She death?"
His voice shook and when Hildebrant lifted his gaze Icarus was already cleaning his face from something wet.
"Did he cry?"
Hildebrant was unsure if he would know the answer in his lifetime but felt obligated to answer and so he nodded.
"Yes, she died seven years ago. The sun killed her."