Chapter 10

???

She felt the body of her soulmate against hers, her breathing, her heartbeat, her tears along her cheeks. She herself was also crying. She felt the arms of her sweetheart loosening, her fingers slipping from her grasp and she heard...

“NOOOOOOOO !” Her wail that resounded in the air as she was seeing her loved one going away, disappearing in the rift while sorrowfully smiling back at her.

“Shhht.” She said, putting a finger on her mouth, before being swallowed by the body of light.

“AAAAAAH !” She screamed, yelled and cried, tearing her eyes and ripping her face with grief, blood mingling with tears, the eternal pain…

She opened her eyes full of tears, alone, hanged in the void by innumerable chains, soaked in absolute silence.

A dream… just a dream. She said to herself while getting rid of her tears, trying to forget them as if they never existed.

“Let’s see where are the newbies, so I can go back to sleep…”

...And just stop to remember…

Mikael

“Clang ! Clang ! Clang-Clang-CLANG !” Impacts were filling the air, steel against steel, violent, explosive, relentless.

Mikael was pushed tens of meters away, sent back by the powerful bloody red shockwave the last hit he took had created.

“AAAAAH !” The shrieks pierced the white space, sharp like a banshee’s howl, multiple voice seemingly overlapping to create it.

The murderous light had nearly entirely devoured Lauryne, making her skin glow with an unholy color, her now red eyes gazing at the young man. The knife she used to skewer her brother rested, concrete, in her right palm.

“I want BLOOD ! I WANT THEM TO SUFFER !” She furiously roared, the shreds of darkness covering her taking growing more and more as she spoke, stretching behind her back like wide wings of pain.

She threw herself at Mikael once again, dragging him for the umpteenth time in this deadly dance. Exhausted, he stopped moving, finally losing the hope to do anything for the young girl. He spread his arms and let his own white spectral blade go, ready to go back to reality but waiting to see what Lauryne would do to him before going back. He shut his eyes, gambling his last piece of hope in her.

“Ffff…” He felt a breeze, then a breathing near him, and opened his eyes.

“I w-want blood… but not yours. No, not you.” She said with a voice as shaky as her knife, that she let finally go when she jumped on Mikael, burrowing her head in his white gown.

“Shhht, you’re with me now. It’s all right.” He whispered gently while patting her head.

“Girl, look at me.” He said while raising her head, looking her in the eyes.

“It is my world here, nobody can harm you, understood ?”

The young girl whistood the gaze of Mikael, not fully convinced, finally lowering her eyes and hiding back in his cloth.

“ Alright.”

“...Good…”

***

He opened his eyes, once again woken up by his assigned nurse.

“Well, you didn’t sleep enough the last two month ?” She pointed out, concerned.

“Yeah, definitely, but do not be worried if I fall asleep. It is normal, if some sort of condition that make me fall asleep, it’s from before… well, all of this.” He said while swiping the room with his hand, a reassuring smile on the face.

She frowned, not convinced, but let it go.

“A rehabilitation specialist will soon be here, don’t fall asleep again please.”

“Copy.” He said while nodding.

A handful of minutes later a woman clad in a white coat entered the room, exhausted and in her fifties. She found Mikael sitting on the only chair facing the window to enjoy the sun, whistling a sad lullaby.

“Good day to you, sir. I’m Eva Greenwood, Priestess of the Healer and specialist in rehabilitation.” She said very professionally while reaching him out with a gloved hand.

“Delighted to meet you, I am Mikael.” He answered while taking the hand.

“I’ll start by a full check up of your body. Can I ?”

“You are the doc, doc.” Said Mikael naturally.

“What ?!” Exclaimed the priestess while frowning.

“What do you mean i’m the doc ? I’m not a doctor, nor am I a fraud !” She said while trying to control herself.

“Sorry-sorry-sorry, I forgot that here the doctor had a bad reputation.” Said Mikael, waving his hands .

“...Forget it. Go back in your bed please.” She proceeded to say coldly, helping him to lie down.

Once done, she put her hand above him, like he already saw Roger do with Lauryne.

“Stay calm, please, try to not think about anything, empty your mind.” Intervened Greenwood, feeling turmoil growing in her patient.

Stop thinking about Lauryne. She is safe for now, you while eventually find a way to help her, now stay calm. He admonished himself.

Once peaceful again, he saw her slowly creating light on her palms, gently bathing her patient with a soft green glow, making it flow on his body before making it soak in his skin. Even Mikael, a neophyte, could see her maestria at doing so. He felt exhaustion crept in his mind, and his eyes closed against his will.

***

He was hovering in his space of light, the core of his world hanging in the void behind him. Lauryne was already at his side, peaceful this time, fascinated even, her eyes raised toward the sky. Mikael followed her gaze and was likewise intrigued by the spectacle taking place there. Gigantic auroras borealis were coursing through the sky, akin to fish leisurely swimming in the ocean, dyeing the place with their magnificent emerald green.

“It’s pretty. What is it ?” Asked the little girl while grabbing the hand of Mikael, putting strength in her grasp.

“Those are auroras borealis, natural marvel generally produced by the breathing of the Sun meeting the sky of the Earth. But I don't know what could produce them here." He answered, taking her in his arms.

"Do you think we could get close?" She asked then. "... Actually, yes. Anyway, we float here." He said to himself as much as to Lauryne.

He began to move forward, the little one still in his arms, flying faster and faster towards the green glows. The closer they got, the darker the sky became, until they had a world of light under their feet and a world of darkness above their heads.The green lights seemed to slide along an invisible wall that seemed to prevent them from entering the side where the two souls were. Lauryne held out her hand, pressing it against the transparent barrier. “It’s hot.” She said softly, the red light devouring her arm seemed to diminish slightly, and Michael did the same, placing his hand next to that of the little girl.

“That’s right. It’s nice.” He nodded.

“Lauryne, I’m going to have to go back, I have things to do on the other side.”

“All right.” She said, giving her a big hug, slowly falling asleep in her arms, he let her go, letting her float gently, putting a strand of hair in place.

“See you later, kid.” He whispered and closed his eyes.

Send me back in my body.

***

“Sir? Wake up.” Said the priestess coldly by removing her hands, a few bits of light still clinging slightly to the young man’s body like pieces of cloth floating in the wind.

“Sorry, I tend to fall asleep for nothing.” he said in a contrite tone to apologize.

“Okay.” She said while shrugging it.

“The nurse did a good job, your muscles didn’t atrophy too much. Now that I know what we’re going to have to do, you have two major solutions. Either you undergo a complete rehabilitation with a light amount of theurgical support, and within three weeks you will be back on your feet, or you choose to do an accelerated re-education with a significant amount of theurgical support, and within three days you will be back on your feet.”

“... What is the disadvantage of the second method?” Mikael suspiciously asked.

“The second method is very painful. Basically, you will go through an exercise battery that will force your muscles to work again, injuring them and strengthening them quickly and painfully by constantly regenerating them through our theurgery.” She replied, giving Mikael time to think, the young man breaking the silence quite quickly.

“Well, the choice is made, let’s go for accelerated rehabilitation.”

“Are you sure? You can try a day and notify when evening comes if you want to continue.’

“All right, let’s do this, please.”

“Good, rehab will start tomorrow. Until then, rest.” She said as she walked to the door, stopping to say one last thing.

“Your loved ones have been informed of your wake-up call and will be coming to visit you shortly. see you tomorrow.”

***

About 15 minutes later, the door opened again, letting in Helianthine, Nana and Roger. They smiled when they saw him sitting in his bed.

Evilyn

They were walking through the empty and sumptuous corridors, their voices the only thing giving life to the places.

“Wait. You come from another world ?” cried Tysbae almost with disbelief.

Evilyn stopped and looked at her frowning.

“It’s so hard to believe ?” she asked her in return.

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The girl having answered her immediate questions and being honest in her exchanges, she had allowed her to ask her some questions, just asking to already start moving towards the room she wanted to go in, the room of the fire where she had woken up.

Tysbae had asked her who she was, where she came from, that kind of thing, which led to this situation.

“Yes. Very difficult. By the gods, the implications are… vertiginous.” The teenager replied with her eyes lost far away from here.

“Yes. Glad to see you have a brain in working order, most aren’t.” She commented, thinking back to all the nearsighted peoples who had voted for a certain president with a head as yellow as he was stupid.

Bleach. Motherfucking bleach as a cure.

“Come on, let's get back walking.” She asked, nodding towards the corridor ahead of them.

“Huh? Ah, yes, sorry.” Tysbae replied, lost in her thoughts.

The teenager suddenly stopped, bending her knees to lower her center of gravity, ready to fight. Evilyn looked at her, surprised, before, a few seconds later, shapes appeared.

Kids, again. The youngest had to be eight years old, the oldest around the age of Tysbae, all having red eyes and face without an ounce of humanity. They were a hunting pack. With one arm, Tysbae powerfully brought back Evilyn against herself, starting to snarl like an angry cat.

The alpha of the group, a 14-year-old girl with blond hair and blue eyes, stopped and looked at her, sniffing the air once or twice before slowly backing away, also snarling, her group quickly disappearing through a door leading to a transverse corridor.

Tysbae remained in the same position for a few seconds, her face distorted by a thirst for blood and an aggressiveness that made her look like an animal whose the territory was wrongly invaded. The expression faded little by little until it left only the sweet face of the young teenager.

“... What was that ?” asked Evilyn, the young teenager still holding it with a firm grip.

“Wild vampires are no better than animals. They recognize strength and danger. These felt a prey, you, but as they approached they realized that you already belonged to another predator, me. And they’re scared of me, I’m older than them, I drank more blood and I’m soaked with it right now , I’m stronger and dangerous and they feel it. Their alpha could also have tried her luck, but I would have put her back in her place, demonstrate my dominance. You can see it a bit like wolves.” She explained.

Evilyn frowned at her.

“I do not belong to you, let me be clear, little girl.” She then said, with a voice of which she herself was not accustomed, a cold, almost venomous voice. The mere idea of belonging to someone repulsed her.

“I know, you don’t belong to anyone. No one belongs to anyone, but that’s not how these wild vampires see things.” She replied by finally releasing her grip on her.

Evilyn’s features softened when she heard the words of Tysbae.

“Let’s continue.”

“Yes !” the teenager replied with enthusiasm, wanting to get away from the vampire pack.

***

“We shouldn’t be able to go through here.” Said Tysbae, surprised and confused, pointing something over the door that they had just crossed.

A kind of painting, or perhaps an engraving, was placed in this place, blackened like stalactites in a cave that one would have explored too much with oil lamps.

“The runes are corroded. As I was thinking, I thought it was odd that you could move freely, but it seems that the enchantments that are supposed to fulfill this role are damaged. From here to find out why, I cannot say, but I can tell you that it is supernatural. It takes some power to destroy the runes laid down by my Mistress, after all she is a vampire and a powerful magician.” She commented for Evilyn.

“What about runes?”

“... A form of painted or engraved structure that, if provided with magic, produces a particular effect. One of the best known is a rune that allows to heat water or pots, very efficient, quite inexpensive to produce and usable by almost any mage. Even some peasants have them, so they’re really cheap.” she explained.

“Thank you.” Evilyn replied before waving a signal to get back on the road.

As she walked, she realized the distance she had travelled.

I really ran for a long time. She thought.

Another twenty minutes turning in corridors finally brought them to their destination. They knew that they were approaching because of the increasing heat, the atmosphere giving Evilyn that smothering impression again. They finally arrived in the large circular room, the brazier-prison still heated to red.

“You came back !” Cried the creature who, in his haste, crashed against the bars of his cell, reaching out to her like a thirsty facing an oasis.

Tysbae grimaced a little by seeing the behavior of the creature and recoiled naturally, not appreciating the fire by her status of vampire. Evilyn almost did the same to but managed to stay there, her feet anchored in the ground.

“You will free me now ? Please !”

“... Okay. But I want things in exchange.”

“Anything you want !” he replied with as much hope as heated fervour.

“How can I know that you will keep your word ?” she asked.

The demonic fire was silenced for the first time, looking at it with confusion before a glimmer of understanding lit up in what he had seen.

“Normally I would create a contract that would bind us, your soul in exchange for something. Not this time though. I don’t want your soul, I want to get out of here. And to do that, you and I are gonna have to bond. It’s stronger than a contract, much stronger. I will be obliged to stay with you until your death, honouring the terms that have been decided now. Come on, tell me what you want !” He replied, exclaiming powerfully, eager to be released.

...a risk...but I don’t really have any other choice.

“What can you offer me, exactly?”

'Everything ! Ask, and I give you!'

“Um… I want a body that doesn’t need to drink or eat.”

“I can do it !”

“I want a body that can regenerate quickly and continuously and, in particular, produce a lot of blood if necessary.” She asked, glancing at Tysbae, who opened her eyes a little.

"I can do that too !"

“I don’t want you to hurt me or my loved ones.”

“... Okay, I can do that too,” he says, less enthusiastic.

“You have no right to harm anyone or destroy anything without first asking for my permission, and you must obey me when I ask you directly to do it.”

“... Grmf...agreed.”

“And I want to be able to use all your power by myself and at will.” She concluded.

“...ha...haha... HAHAHA ! By the gods, but what a voracious human, almost worthy of my old pal Gluttony ! I am willing to accede to this request, but pay attention to what you desire, child, we don’t say backflaming for nothing!” He exclaimed while laughing, showing with his fingers the furnace he was creating.

“On the other hand, you will not be able to use all of my powers at first glance, and even the few abilities already within your reach will be greatly diminished in your hands. But still, I accept.” He said, holding out one of his fiery hands.

Evilyn hesitated a little before preparing to shake hands, intercepted by Tysbae’s firm grip.

“Are you sure you want to do this? He is a demon, a vicious and corrupt, manipulative being.” She asked her.

“... Do you see an alternative? In three days I will be dead of thirst, in fifteen days of hunger, and all the reserves are contaminated, as you told me.” She replied, he said.

Tysbae looked at the demon and Evilyn in turn.

“Let’s take two of those three days to look for the castle and see if I’m wrong or right, he...” She said, pointing her fingers at the demon.

“...should be the last resort.”

Evilyn thought for a second, before she took her hand off.

“You’re right. Let’s not be impulsive.”

“No! No no no, don’t listen to her ! Accept, please !” Howled the demon in his cage.

Evilyn turned his eyes to him again.

“I will come back in two days. If I have not found a solution, we will be bound. If not, I will see.” She told him before leaving the room, followed by Tysbae and pursued by the cries of the devil and, despite her repulsion, they could still  weighs on the young woman’s heart.

Eleonor

The Dyson’s sphere floated peacefully in dark space, orbiting around a red giant that bathed the synthetic metal surface with a dying orange. Blue and gold structures floated a few kilometres from the surface, causing a barrage of bluish rays and crystalline missiles to rain on the incessant waves of creatures emerging from the wells dotting the pseudo-metallic planet.

“Why are the Sauriottes so agitated ?” She asked the strategists filling the room from her throne, the generals and admirals of this purifying fleet.

“No one knows. Their behaviour is illogical.” Zraclass, the Admiral-in-Chief, replied.

“No, I recognize this pattern.”said Ilea, his second.

“They’re running from a few things, trying to evacuate the planet, Matriarch.” She continued to say, the rest of the staff nodding their heads and starting to talk, manipulate maps and process information according to this new paradigm.

“Pardon ? Run from what ?” Matriarch, descended from her throne, asked.

“We are already search…” Ilea was cut off in the middle of her sentence by the main map which appeared in three dimensions in the middle of the room, representing the Dyson sphere. A red dot was flashing in the center of it, with an alarm.

“Ezakien c-crystal detected! He is a-armed and in the absorption phase!” said a strategic officer with a trembling voice.

The blood withdrew from the matriarch’s face, giving her normally bright blue skin a bluish hue.

“Those fanatical fucking terrorist!” Zraclass exclaimed while punching one of his consoles.

The matriarch closed her eyes for a second and opened them, a new determination burning in her pupils.

“Activate the Main Transfer Matrix and prepare to retreat. Everyone immediately disconnects from the network to avoid getting infected.”

All her officers turned to her, a deep sadness in their eyes, apprehending the next words of their matriarch.

“I will stay back to contain the Ezakien.” Her words resounded in the room for a few seconds before her crew knelt down, their hand against their heart and their head lowered as a sign of respect.

She connected herself to the network, teleporting to the main orbital platform and submerging in the gigantic crystal floating in the centre of it. From her point of view, she saw corruption spreading through the crystalline nodes, a dirty red submerging the beautiful blue that normally dyed the healthy crystals, cracking them, stirring them up unstable. Behind her, she could see her fleet gathering around the mothership. The transfer reactor was in charge, almost ready, but the corruption devoured all the networks at such a speed that they would not be able to escape before it caught up with them. The matriarch then realigned all the bridges of light so that they converged where she was, thus standing between the corrupt network and her compatriots. The mental burden that such an act required was already unimaginable, the suffering too, but it was nothing compared to what beset it when the red tried to cross her. She felt her mind break into a thousand pieces, overwhelmed by the spiritual illness that now gnawed at the crystals, trying to make her mad, to pervert her, giving her distorted desires, killing, raping, looting, to unleash her rage on the world until it burns around her. Slowly, the titanic crystal which contained her passed from blue to red, the rift going more and more deeply into it, her spirit however not letting the corruption pass, absorbing it all to allow her fleet to escape. The agony seemed to have lasted an eternity when a flash went through the dark space. Feeling her companions in a safe place, she let go of reality, letting herself be devoured by the unhealthy thoughts that were now drowning this false planet. All around her, the armament went mad, firing in all directions, destroying, burning, shredding the Sauriots who tried to escape as much as they could...

The dream was resorbed, or was it a memory ? In any case not one of her own, she was sure of it. Another thing she was sure of, however, was the pain that pierced her body, causing her to roll into fetal position.

Pain, always pain, aaaAAAAAH! She screamed in her head, as much from anger than agony.

She felt things moving in her body, cracking to put themself back in place, constantly torturing her. Something was planted in her heart, she felt it, as if she was constantly about to die. Things cut her veins, her arteries, her muscles, rose from her lungs or her belly, lining up in her body in a symmetrical way. At a certain point, the pain was such that she sank again into the dark ocean of unconsciousness, her mind withdrawing from her body, unable to endure this torment any longer.

She awoke much later, lying on a soft, warm surface, similar to flesh. She tried to open her eyes, in vain, her eyelids not wanting to move. She touched her eyes, feeling an important burn spread all over her face. Worse, she felt it only with one hand, the other being still missing. She rolled around in a ball, lying on the ground shaking, trying as she could to cope with the shock of her amputation and blindness. She couldn’t even cry, her tear glands were damaged, she just stood there, lonely prisoner of darkness…

Interesting, is this some kind of trauma management mechanism ? Then asked a deep, feminine voice, the same voice she had heard in the robot. The robot…

Her memories returned to her like a ten-ton truck. The infiltration, the explosion, the voice, the escape…

She clung to this question like a shipwrecked its lifebuoy, trying to distract herself from her condition.

It’s a way of looking at it. She responded softly to the voice.

FinaLly AwakENed ? Tonitrua then the dragon in her head, presenting a manifest lack of finesse.

How did you guess ? She replied sarcastically.

ChaRActer I sEe, LiTTLE oNe. Said the dragon with a whistle that, Eleonore understood later, was his laugh.

Where am I ? What happened ? She asked as she sat down, trying to distract herself from reality.

YOU’rE iN MY lAiR, LITTlE onE, Do YOU wAnt ME tO shOW YOU ?

With pleasure. She replied, tired of the dark that she was surrounded by.

The spirit of the dragon slipped again against hers, waiting for her permission to enter, which she gave quickly, letting him slip into her. An imaginary noise suddenly resounded in her head, as if an unstoppable force just met an immovable object. The mental collision was echoed through Eleonore’s entire body, seeming to run through invisible nodes in her arms, legs, torso. Once more she collapsed to the ground convulsing, the young woman again carried away in a fight that was not hers. Her mind was transformed into a battlefield where two souls turned around like cats ready to gut each other, waiting for the other to make a mistake to jump at his throat. The dragon was more powerful but less belligerent, and wounded, too, by the first assault which had taken him by surprise. The other soul was weaker, but oozed rage, anger, and a thirst for blood akin to purulent wounds on its surface.

Get out of here ! She shouted, and Eleonore recognized the deep and feminine voice that had spoken to her a few moments earlier, though distorted and corrupt.

WhAt iS THis HoRRor, LiTTle onE ? Asked the dragon to the young woman, continuing to keep the tormented soul in respect.

I don’t really know. When I was in the robot, she approached me and offered to give me my sight back if I accepted it in me… She saved my life, and she’s the reason I got away.

Hum… ThIS Explains OnE oR tW… Tried to say the dragon, interrupted by a new roar of the corrupted soul.

GET OUT OF HERE, SAURIOT ! At these words, a light of understanding was lit in the metaphorical eyes of the dragon, who quickly turned to Eleanor.

I”ll GeT OuT oF HEre, YOU sHOUld bE AblE To CalM HeR DOwn AFTer I lEft. ShE iS An HETAXEARK, ShE THinKS Of ME As aN EneMy. I’ll cOme bACk tO YOU wHen shE’s mOrE PeaCeFuL.

Understood. Answered the young woman, ready to do anything not to think of the outside world.

Her right hand hurt her, a phantom pain, as if her body was trying to impose reality on her, but she had a goal to achieve here, distracting her from her missing limb. The spirit of the dragon withdrew, leaving her alone facing the soul she had accepted into her…