Zio watched as Tsuna’s body flew backward, colliding against the dragon’s pillar then lifelessly hitting the floor.
Smoke drifted from the barrel of The Captain’s pistol. Shaking his head in discontent, he turned to Zio, whose outward expression only displayed anger as he studied at Tsuna’s lifeless frame. “That stubborn boy. If only you’d decided sooner, then perhaps he wouldn’t have needed to perish. Another dead because of your indecisiveness.”
“Just like those of us you could’ve saved and chose not to.” Zikel stepped forward from the circling group, swapping his pistol to his other hand as lightning surged around the barrel. “You care so much about saving lives but surrendered them to fate. You’re nothing but a hypocrite, ‘hero’.”
The Captain’s crew stared Zio down, restlessly awaiting the order to fire. Sweat streamed down Zikel’s head, hurrying his hand from wiping his face, the sweat only spreading further. A woman of the crew noticed his constant perspiration, while she rapidly tugged at her shirt and pants. They instantly recognized they were all abnormally sweating. The droplets seeping into their eyebrows and burning their eyes.
“Gods damn, it’s hot!” a woman announced. She patted her eyes with her shirt until she felt a force move through her abdomen.
A spear extended from her stomach to Zio’s hand as he raised her up and struck her into Zikel. The spear erupted into a blaze as Zio spun, seizing the end of the spear, its blade ripping through the woman and decapitating Zikel. Flames extended outwards, burning everyone who surrounded him. Over the panicked screams, he drew a breath, spinning the spear to dismiss the fire. He locked eyes with The Captain. “The act is over. I’m finished playing this game with you, Capt. Your madness ends here and now, before you take the lives of more innocents! ”
“Ha! You believe it madness, while the signs have been clear that I am the last one mad. I seek redemption for all! Before I turned my life to piracy, I was a moron of the Church. That was pure madness. Taking this gift of Light select few possess and manipulating it to heal, protect, and care for populations who didn’t deserve it. I’ve healed those that killed, be they criminal or knight. Because of their lunacy, those who brought ruin to another’s life escaped punishment in the eyes of Astraea! So, it fell to me to right that wrong. I could understand that plainly and sought to wash my sins away by giving myself to the goddess and make those men and women pay for their heresy. I’ve come so far and I must thank you, Zio, for sparing me the dissatisfaction of bloodying my hands further. You are specifically a man who must face judgement. You’ve been most helpful in me getting this far, so I will do my due diligence in offering you a premature death. Inevitable, but painless.”
“Bastard!” Zio tightened his clutch on his spear and took a stride forward, his speed evoking an exclamation from The Captain. A colorless barrier appeared before Zio, spanning from The Captain’s trained hand. He then fired his weapon from the other, his precise aim only barely missing the agile man. Sliding to a stop, Zio dove to his side and suddenly tossed his spear into the air above the barrier. The Captain’s eye shortly followed the spear, but snapped back to Zio as he dashed towards the wall and fired. Zio covered his face while he ran, black scales creeping to his fingertips. Several bullets landed, most clashing against his scales. A bullet pierced his hip, causing Zio to lose footing for a step, but he immediately recovered his posture.
A sudden jump placed Zio on the wall, another powerful jump moved him into the air above The Captain. The scales on his hands blazed as he clutched the spear, devouring it in fire as he jerked his fist backward. “Dragon’s Pride!”
Crimson red fire lashed from Zio, descending straight over The Captain. As the wave approached, The Captain swayed his palm, bringing the barrier between himself and the wildfire in time to keep it from reaching him. The Captain’s knees bent, the pressure of the attack weighing on his body. Light gathered from the ground, crawling up to his head and creating a halo and with a yell he recaptured the fortitude to rise to his feet and used his unused hand to shoot a ray of light through the center of the fire. The flames faded, as did Zio, before he appeared on The Captain’s flank. The golden compass around The Captain’s neck clicked, the exterior splitting open, exposing the pointed needle. It glided to his hand, and he instantly swung at Zio, nearly striking him across his eye.
Zio disengaged, his run shifting into a slide, suddenly swinging behind the bird pillar before two more shots of the Captain’s gun could hit him.
The Captain laughed, refilling his pistol and shouting out. “Idiot! You assumed I wouldn’t expect you to close the gap with your speed? The Goddess had her ways of preparing me for this bout! She allowed me to ransack an Elysian ship, she allowed me to find ethertech in its cabins, and she will allow me to kill you.”
Behind the pillar, Zio placed his hand over his bullet wound, applying his fire to cauterize it. His eyes roamed the chamber. The spear he used now burned to a crisp like the individuals at the entrance. He glanced back towards The Captain who was now calmly strolling towards him. Noticing something was off, his eyes snapped to the dragon’s pedestal, its crimson glow missing and Tsuna’s body no longer on the ground and standing on top of it. The Captain caught attention of the silent observer above him, watching the man leaning forward, his foot on the dragon’s wing and his arm resting on his knee with a knuckle holding his head up.
“You’re alive!?” The Captain said. “Did Astraea save you? I shot you in the head. That’s the only way you could have survived! Why would she save you!”
The query prompted a crimson glow to Tsuna’s eyes. In an instant, Tsuna landed in front of the man before he could react and booted his knee. The Captain yelled, Tsuna grabbing him by his head before he could drop. He dragged his fist back and swung up, fist crashing into the captain’s jaw with fire cascading down his forearm, quelling his wails. Tsuna watched as the Light dimmed from the man’s frame. The halo vanished as his body slapped the floor. For a minute, Tsuna stared at the floor as if something had taken place within, swaying from side to side over the corpse. Suddenly, his body shuddered and shook about. He dropped to his knees, panting and gasping for air.
“What… happened? Where am I?”
Zio stepped from behind the pillar, awe in his eyes and a tightened fist. “Dragon.”
Tsuna rolled over to his side, reaching a hand out to Zio. “Zio, it’s… hard to breathe.”
His attention lingered on Tsuna’s eyes. The color in them had switched to a bright crimson. Caressing the straggly red hairs on his face, Zio breathed through his teeth. A beep echoed from his pocket. Without breaking eye contact, he removed a small device from his pocket and settled it near his ear. “Rylen? Just in time, we have a situation.”
Tsuna turned on his back, examining as the swirl of colors reentering the chamber as they oozed through the ceiling. Did I die? A throbbing on his forehead had him reach there, a touch of it sending a shock around his skull, but there was no wound. I should’ve died, but… He recognized The Captain’s body lying beside him and shrieked in panic as he twisted to his feet. “His jaw! How did he die? Where’s the rest of the crew?”
The sudden questions pulled Zio’s attention. “Shut up!” His stare remained. He angled his head towards the exit. “Go on Rylen. I’ll make my path back ASAP. Is our escape ready?… Good. About the boy, he’s alive, but the dragon’s influence has corrupted him… How the hell am I supposed to know!?” Zio grit his teeth and growled. “But he- I- Damn it! You’re right. I’ll explain further once we regroup. I’ll see you shortly.” His concern swung to Tsuna. “We’re getting out of here, before something happens—!.”
The Crossing trembled. A distorted screech echoing from within its chamber. The noise came from the tower itself as the walls shifted, their way out closing.
“Get out of here! Run!”
The two fled for the exit, passing through with enough time to view a glimmering wave cutting through the towers aurora. The wave rapidly neared the Twin Sea, carving a piece of the waves as it passed.
“Never seen The Crossing do that.” Zio said as he took out his communicator out. “Rylen, are you looking at the sky right now?” Static answered his question. “And it punched out communications. What a climax.” He peered over his shoulder, an irritated expression forming. “Hey, kid. If you want to get off of this island, you’ll listen to everything I say from here on. Got it?”
A warmth ran in the center of Tsuna’s chest that spiraled up when he started running and calmed down when he stopped. Something was unusual about himself, but that didn’t matter right now. “Don’t call me kid.” He sounds hostile now. Did I do something?
“Just keep up!”
Tsuna ran beside him. “Wait!” Zio shuffled to maintain his distance, then sneered. “What’s your problem? You kill the room of people and decide to have an attitude?”
Zio’s tense shoulders relaxed as he sighed. “I did. Most of them, but I didn’t kill one of them. You did.”
“I did!? Bu—!” Tsuna’s chest burned, making him to choke on his words. “Can you at least tell me… What’s happening to me!”
Zio looked at him with an almost pathetic expression, keeping his confident demeanor as he crossed his arms. “You’re tainted by the ether of one of the five deities. The Dragon, Infernus. Those who fall prey to his ether turn into mindless slaves, simply satisfied by their inclination to wiping out the world of man as he once did. It’s only a matter of time.”
Tsuna slowly stepped aside, gulping as he held his chest.
“By the request of Rylen, you’re joining us. He has confidence that you’re an abnormality in this. But if I see the slimmest of bloodlust or a smear of malicious intent coming from your direction, I will kill you without hesitation, even if you’re still human. Now, let’s quit wasting time. The camp’s under assault by the beasts and we’ll waste our only chance of freedom if we don’t hurry. Let’s go.”
***
Keeping up with Zio proved troublesome as he advanced through the trees, though he remained in sight for Tsuna to continue on his trail. Tsuna panted, the whirring in his chest warming his neck. The guy can’t just run like a normal person? He noticed Zio stopped to oversee him, then put hands over his eyes and searched the area. “Do you know where you’re going?”
The land trembled again, the distorted wailing of The Crossing howled in the air as another wave emitted from the tower and soared across the light filled sky.
“A second one? That can’t be good.” Zio said.
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As the wave passed over the forest, the refractive trees reflected its glare in a direction different from their heading.
Zio lowered his hands and quietly watched the sky. “The light was last heading towards the Twin Sea, if that one’s doing the same then…” Abruptly, he hopped in the wave’s direction and peered back at Tsuna. “This way!”
Surprise invaded Tsuna’s face as he yelled after Zio. “Oh, so you were lost!”
The further Zio traveled along the trees, the clearer the echoes of pistols and shouting came. He dropped from the tree, overlooking the area as a giant, worm-like creature scooped a man into its mouth. Birds made of glass swooped from the trees, pricking and bursting within their victims. The white-furred prime apes attacked a crew member, striking them as they went down.
An exhale escaped through Zio’s teeth. “The crew won’t last. Their two most notable members are dead.” He glanced over the crippled ship, spotting someone operating at the top of it. “Is that a… mortar?”
Tsuna caught up to him, freezing as Zio’s paralyzing gaze latched onto him. He held his distance and peered over his shoulder towards the battleground where people were scattered and creatures ran rampant in their assault. More death… I’ve seen so much already. What kind of sick world am I in?
“We need to get there.” Zio said as he pointed. “Both Rylen and our escape should be inside of that ship. There won’t be sufficient time to slip by, so we’ll have to force a straight break for it.”
Upon hearing Zio, the warmth inside of Tsuna rose again. “N-No way! I’m not going out there. That’s certain death!”
“The longer we sit here, the more pirates die, and that’s less of a diversion. I can’t believe I have to explain this to you. Just do what I’m telling you to do!”
“And what if they catch me? I can’t fight back, unlike the man who massacred nearly twenty people!” A small flame escaped his mouth as he yelled, instantly covering it with his palm.
His retort provoked Zio, who quickly had him by the collar of his shirt. “You’ll either die out there with a chance at freedom or you die here, on an island full of beasts! There is no choice to make, you coward—!” Zio blinked as if he had just realized what he was doing and released his shirt. “I’ll cover you as you run. I’m not asking you to believe in me, but this is for your sake.” His eyes caught sight of Tsuna’s tight fist, but his outward emotion remained apathetic.
“Gather here! Make three rows up front!” A voice yelled from behind the tents.
Zio’s attention pulled towards the ship, where Saria rallied the surviving crew members. Most of them armed with rifles, while a few carried swords. The mortar at the top of the wrecked ship shined in The Crossings eerie light as crew members affixed it toward the battleground.
“Blades, make sure none of those monkeys reach our guns. Guns, make sure you’re blasting those pidges out of the sky before they get the mortar up top. We‘ll hold out until The Captain and first mate return, so rain bullets on the bastards!” Her voice alerted the surrounding beasts to their presence, and they charged over to them. “Fire those guns, make it a sight for The Captain to see! Now, fire!”
A mortar launched at the gathering prime apes, sending their bodies into the air on impact. The bird creatures rushed for the men up top through the sand filled sky. As they came closer, a volley of bullets swarmed them, shattering most of them, but a few continued flying.
“Front row, reload!” At Saria’s command, the men and women kneeled down and began reloading their rifles. “Second row, fire!”
Another volley of bullets rained, breaking up the rest of the crystal birds.
That strategy… It looks familiar.
The men atop the ship drew a pair of binoculars from his hip, looking toward the edge of the forest. “More of them are coming from the forest! The apes are more spread!”
Saria nodded, then unsheathed her sword from her hip. “It’s time for our blades to dine! Keep them away from the guns!”
Battle ensued, both sides quickly losing casualties.
Zio bolted off towards the ship. “It’s now or never!”
Tsuna's eyes glazed over before he snapped back to reality and pursued him. The heat surged every inch of his body. “I… Can’t… Breathe!” Taking a gasp of air, he screamed.
Are you not fed up with the pointless actions of those around you? Do you honestly think your life would be better if the answers you search for were made clear? A boy who moves to the will of another, yet looks for better. Your sorrow will be more profound than theirs.
The deep voice invaded Tsuna’s mind, echoing several times over. He stopped in place and screamed. Clutching onto the front of his head, he fell to his knees.
Zio glanced back towards Tsuna after his scream, sliding across the sand and turning, bolting back in his direction. Several bird creatures were already diving towards Tsuna. Zio pointed a finger towards them, shooting slings of flame. “I should’ve just knocked him out and carried him!”
From the battle, a prime ape noticed the downed Tsuna as he struggled for breath. It split off from the group, charging in his direction. It bounced into the air, both hands raised as it came down, when abruptly it saw a flicker in Tsuna’s eyes. An explosion of fire from his shoes burned them to a crisp as his body flew towards the ape. He drove his knee into its stomach, then seized hold of its arm, tearing it off. The severed arm went ablaze as Tsuna swung it down on the monster, hurling it back to the ground. He landed atop it, repeatedly slamming its arm into the battered body until a blue flame enveloped him.
***
Is this what they call an out-of-body experience? Tsuna saw himself attacking the creature, though he was not the one in control of the actions. This is probably what Zio mentioned. How… I killed someone. I’d think about it, but I need to be ready for when I get my body back.
“Understand that your body is taking care of itself right now.” The voice reentered his head. “In the beginning, I considered it was my influence that was guiding your decisions. That turned out to be untrue. Logically, who else would control the body if not the person themselves? But, seeing as you’re here, it’s evident you’re not in control either.”
In a blink of an eye, Tsuna was standing in a white room as shards of glass levitated around him. A shard passed in front of him, a clear image of Emiko adjusting her glasses appearing in the frame. As the shard passed, a robed man appeared a few feet ahead of him. Numbness ran through his body, not a feeling occurred to him as his thoughts ran wild. More weird shit is going on!? Something had to have happened in that tower, but what happened is the question.
The man’s black mane tumbled to his shoulders as he removed the robe he wore. “That is very much the question.” He caught the surprise in Tsuna’s eyes. “The Crossing has and will invariably be a mystery, however, this is not it. That spire you entered earlier is a false idol and pales compared to The True Crossing.” The robe dropped to the ground, the man having a seat on it the moment it settled.
“You can hear my thoughts, huh?” Tsuna said, pacing around the man. “That would suggest you’re some kind of powerful guy around here, right? People like you know everything in fantasies like that shit I’ve been dreaming up.”
“Ah, so you fear for your life and now you’ve convinced it’s all a dream.”
“Well, what else could it be?! I fall from the fucking sky, get captured by pirates, watch my girlfrie- Emiko! What happened to Emiko! I need to wake up!” A swing of his hand struck his cheek, jerking his head, but he felt no pain. “I need to find mom too! What happened to them!? Where am I!? Tell me!” Tsuna reached out to the man, a wall of fire erecting between them before he could touch him.
The man crossed his legs and settled his elbow on his knee to create a rest for his head. “Those people are your reason for what?”
“They’re the reason I have to keep going!”
“You’re more simple than I expected. No goals, no ambition, or some grandiose dream of becoming a king? Undoubtedly the worst human that I’ve ever come across.”
Tsuna recoiled in anger. “And just who the hell are you? You look like a man too!”
“Names are unimportant because you are whatever you’re labeled as. If you’re seen as ‘boy’, then you’re simply a ‘boy’. Why would it matter if one called you by your birth name if you answered to anything else, boy? As for my appearance…” He took a concise look at himself, staring as scales replaced his skin and his body grew exponentially in size. “Deity of Fire, Infernus, the name does not matter. I am fire itself.” His form changed altogether, into a creature with wings broad and frayed along the bottoms, where a silvery fur lined around. A smoke gathered along its sharp snout, blocking Tsuna from looking at its face. The crimson eyes of the creature snapped towards a glass shard behind Tsuna, a blue fire extending over his hands and body. “We will return to this exchange in time. Along with a request I have of you. Rest for now, boy.”
***
As Tsuna succumbed to the blue fire that crept around his skin, Zio took action at the impending threat. Several apes approached Tsuna’s slumped body, slowing down when Zio intercepted them, but turned him into their target instead. “So they’ll attack him now? Things were different in the forest.” Zio threw the jacket on his shoulders over Tsuna, the flames being consumed by it. “Come on!” An ape lunged at him, quickly knocked aside by Zio’s foot lashing across its head. He whirled around, using the same foot to kick high into the mouth of the next ape, then with a shove sent it flying into the onrushing crowd. “Easy!”
A groan from Tsuna turned his concern back to him.
“No time to lose.” Lifting him over his shoulder, Zio took off towards the Black Crow. Leaps over rusted weapons and flips over corpses urged Zio to look over the battlefield. More has happened here than I realized. Near his foot was a man’s body with several bullet holes. Was there a mutiny? With the amount of shit that’s happened, Rylen’s certain to have noticed, right? Unless he got caught in the crossfire of things, but there’s no way these wannabes could take him out. None of them would win that trade. The close sound of a gunshot sounded near him. Zio dodged right, eyes tracking the bullet, watching as it barely missed his chest. He glanced in the shooter’s direction while balancing Tsuna.
Zio’s face relaxed as an arrogant grin took the place of his tense look. “Ah, Saria. It’s turned to this, has it? I’d always known your Captain wanted to shoot me in the back, but you too? Talk about a lack of individuality.”
The barrel of a rifle raised for his head, smoke exiting as the spring pulled backward. “I do whatever the Captain orders. And if you’re here, with no trace of The Captain or Zikel.” She quickly loaded a bullet. “I will kill you in their place. We should’ve never trusted someone like you! Disobeying orders, being nothing more than a detriment to our plans! But who am I kidding? I don’t give a shit about any of that. Tell me where Zikel is!”
“Put the gun down, Saria. You know what will happen if you don’t.”
“Where is he?” she shouted, a vein popping on her forehead. The cries of her companions in the distance failed to swing her focus. Even as they called her name, she didn’t waver. “The love of my life, the only man who treated me like a person! Not some minion or some tool to be used!”
Silence passed as the tension rose, Saria’s finger wrapping around the trigger. Zio turned sideways, so that Tsuna was facing away from her. A flicker of fire kindled at the tip of his finger. A closer look at Saria’s face and he could see that she was crying. The surge of tears burning her eyes showed through her constant blinking.
“You’ll die today!”
Saria let out a yell, and a gunshot went off. Her eyes fluttered, the numbness flowing from her fingers to her trembling fists. Eyes drifting towards the ground, she spotted the rifle that had once been in her hands. A sigh pulled her attention to her right, meeting the emerald eyes of a man who scratched his long ear as he walked toward her.
“While I can’t contend with the point that you should’ve never trusted us, it’s not unthinkable that simple pirates would turn away a few volunteer rejects. Especially if those rejects have skillful reputations.”
The fire on Zio’s finger vanished. “Rylen. It’s about time you showed up. Is everything really—?”
Rylen lifted a finger toward him, waving it as he let out a yawn. “Bear with me, I’m still groggy. I probably won’t remember what you mention for the next two to three minutes.”
“Groggy!? We talked an hour ago!” Zio said with an explosive yell. “Look around at the corpses and guns lying around! You’ve been dozing the entire time!?”
“Not the entire time.” Rylen said, casually sauntering by Saria and booting the rifle aside. “I finished the job hours ago, so I’d been catching up on lost sleep here and there. The mere problem I came across was delaying the pirates from going through the ship for whatever they forgot. Had to pull the ‘Elves that leave Yggdrasil sleep longer than others’ card and it served better than I thought. I’m probably giving these people too much credit, honestly, but I call that a success regardless!” Rylen leaned to get a better glimpse at Zio’s turned shoulder. “Is he alive? He’s no use to us dead, you know.”
Visible fumes shot out of Zio’s ears. “Of course he’s alive! Did you forget we’re amid a battleground? The pirates are dying and we’ll be next if we don’t get moving!”
A cheeky smile broke from Rylen as he rose straight up. “You’re right. Let’s get out of here first.” Rylen turned to Saria, granting her a swift nod. “It’s the least you deserve for your choices and you’re only getting that because I don’t have any mints with me. I am genuinely sorry for your loss. This is the road you walked.”
Saria stood helpless as she watched the two of them run towards the Black Crow. She twisted around, watching a larger flock of bird creatures rising from the forests before The Crossing. The men and women she fought with fell one at a time, the creatures overrunning them. The radiance of the tower burned her eyes, overflowing her pupils with bright white.
“My love…”