"Why do you seven bastards look so cheerful? And why is that one alive? I ain't ever seen 'em before."
Lennon Hull's words are slightly slurred as his jaw leaks blood, just as his eyes, ears, and nose do. Nonetheless, the man still demonstrates that unfathomable level of confidence he always has, as if he is simply the best. That no one can ever beat him. Armless, severely injured, and without a weapon, he greets us without a singular worry in his tone, only feinged annoyance.
I answer the man first, not letting Aniwye or either of the two best friends get the chance to. I'm sure one of them will muck it up. Somehow.
"What do you mean? Why do you look so ragged? Did you fight Eli recently or something? And this is Otto. The other one is Marion. Old friends. You can trus... you can trust that I trust them."
Halting my promise of trust due to Lennon's raised brow, I settle for the next best thing. This ex-swordsman only believes in himself. Even Kate, the person he's with the most often, doesn't seem to bear any special privileges with the man compared to anyone else. Other than being able to follow him anywhere, which I guess is a privilege in itself.
Lennon, however, circles back to my curiosity, and so does Kate. Even Mie is bewildered as she speaks over the man. The only other Wendigo I know of exhales deep, awful breaths of air as they attempt to recover from whatever happened to them.
"The fuck? Did you not feel that God dying!? The brain-splitting pain!? Huh? You have to be shitting me. Was that just for us, Kwakiteh?"
"No way! You guys didn't get hit with that!? Aniwye, surely you did! Or did you feel something!?"
I twist my head to face my mother as she shakes her head slowly, gradually moving her palm upon her chin. As she does so, the demon Adjusts, shifting into a more diminutive, more easily hidden form. But as if to mock me, she retains a height advantage, standing a half foot above me, the tallest in the group. If only Abraham were here. He'd change that statistic.
We all look to her, including Bonfire, who doesn't care much for this kind of stuff, the serious stuff, and wait until she speaks. When she does, after several moments of investigation into the air, each word is carefully weighed and spoken with purpose.
"A God's demise, you say? Mind-pain? It could only be Mixcoatl. The Lingering Thought, The Forgotten Impulse. Interesting... The only reason I can think we didn't feel the damage is because... Isaac. We were under the shelter, the Dominion, of a Demigod. It is a worrying thought, though, that her death reached all the way down here. Hmm... We should feel the effects soon, Arca. Despite only being a soul, you should make the requirement to be enhanced by the fall. Strong Mentalists are rare. Talented and strong ones? Even more so."
Aniwye's ramble is long, but no one interrupts her, not even Lennon, with a snarky quip or rumbling ignorance. The man listens with the same focus he delivers to every battle. Locked eyes, pursed lips, and taut muscles appear and don't fade until my mother is done speaking.
When her words are over, though, Marion pipes up. The clever man spouts a series of phrases that twist all our skulls.
"So, Isaac, just being nearby protected us? Is that really how it works? That's... good to know. Does that mean that a God's death is just a massive pulse of their Dominion that reaches out into the whole world?"
My jaw hangs open as it makes sense, and Marion continues only to set it in stone for us all. Even Aniwye nods sharply, agreeing wholeheartedly.
"I mean, it adds up. Only another Dominion can counter a Dominion. But surely Gods have something special, just like each stage of Angel. Do you know what it is, Aniwye?"
My mother shakes her head, not knowing the answer and instead only knowing a few rumors. Still, I trust these rumors more than anything else, as she has lived a long, long life.
"Nothing in stone, no. I've spoken with Leviathan many times about what it might be, and she believes it has something to do with merging all the aspects of Angelhood and Ether into one. I'm unsure if that's completely accurate, but it seems like the road Desolation went down."
I scratch my head as I don't quite understand what she means. After all, I don't know any of Vincent Harvey's skills. Besides... the one...
The Endless Devours All.
A shiver runs down my spine as I recall it. The magnificence. The... everything it had. The sand converted everything it touched into more sand. No... not even sand. Into tiny insects, hellbent on devouring everything to create more of their kind. It even made Vincent turn into his own sand.
Virgil proposes the question we're all wondering to the demon as she starts to grow a bit restless. I can tell by the way her eye is moving, darting over our heads as if searching for threats. She must sense demons not too far away. We should hurry this up.
"Why do you think he combined them? What even are his three?"
Aniwye spits out a hurried answer, still doing her best to complete the request but moving on immediately afterward.
"His Power and Dominion are legendary, known throughout the whole world. The former allows him to turn anything he touches into Vigor, Ether, or simply raw strength for himself, while the latter enables him to create tiny beings that can funnel his skills for him, allowing the two to work in sync. As for his Virtue, I'm unsure, but it has to be something related. As for something equally important, his Sirza, it involves duplicating those tiny beings, creating more and more of them to amplify his might. The Swarming Wastelander, the Executioner Of Dust, remember? Ultimately, he turned into those very beings, devouring a God to toss himself into the skies above. Now. We must move. Those we killed still alerted more, even if a bit slower, through their network of minds as I was tampering with their connection."
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I'm left grappling with Vincent Harvey's strength as we sprint away from the approaching demons. Lennon and Kate don't argue with Aniwye; instead, they follow closely as she leads the way. We quickly find a cave, a small indent into the Underworld's crust that we delve into.
With only a second inside, Marion covers it with some sort of film of Ether while Virgil cloaks it with a controlled form of Mask. The two working in sync should be able to hide us for a little while.
Once inside, Aniwye cracks her neck, showing some discomfort from being Adjusted to such a size. Not to mention, we're cramped to all hell inside here. Regardless, Lennon immediately enters his 'war mode' and starts spouting out madness.
"Depravity is only an hour or so journey over the mountain for... Wyatt, Virgil, and my speeds. We should attack it. They have two Dominions, and it'll be good practice for killing Eli Weiss. Wait! I'm not saying we attack them both at once. We should try and lure one out and take 'em out."
We all stare at Lennon in awe, besides Kate, who has evidently heard this plan already. She scoffs and holds her head tightly. Mie even insults the guy.
"He must think he's invincible! Don't agree! Please don't. While he's partially right, it would be a good setting to grow stronger; you mustn't forget that it's a DOMINION. A DEMIGOD. All of us together would struggle to kill one, let alone with multiple Angels protecting them, hordes of lower Sigileds, and another Demigod. I—"
I nod along with Mie's thoughts but freeze as Lennon's eyes lock onto Kate's eye. The Arca virtually petrifies, too, as the monster's gaze doesn't seem to falter at all.
A moment passes where even Kate's hands tremble, but she breaks past it.
"Leave her alone, Lennon. She's just speaking her mind. No need to terrify her."
Hull simply harrumphs and returns to his plan of attacking Depravity. I listen for many minutes, and so does everyone else, not wanting to draw his ire for something as stupid as being impatient. His entire idea hedges on the point of luring out demons bit by bit, killing whatever they can and weakening the forces brick by brick.
He seems to think that if we kill enough, a Demigod will come to investigate, wherein we can ambush and kill him together. Meanwhile, Mie and Aniwye are to scramble their connections, slowing the response times. In essence, the plan doesn't have very many flaws, but Virgil immediately picks it apart.
"What if the demon's method of communication is stronger closer to the city? What if they simply alert your strength, and then the next one to come brings enough to wipe us all out? Too risky. We should just pass it right by. We're here to kill Eli, find Killian, and save Abraham. None of those three things include clearing out a city of Motherbound."
I nod, finding it all to make sense. Yet... there is one key point that everyone seems to be missing. These Motherbound... they hound us down like deer in the winter to a game hunter.
Not just that. She hates me. The Mother Below hates and wants me so badly. I know she does. Her kids have told me. I'm positively certain she wants Lennon, too. A fight where I'm spotted won't end simply. We've probably been fine so far because we've been too far for them to be sure of who I am or who Lennon is. After all, only the Demigods could tell who I was quickly.
"I think you're all forgetting something."
Heads turn to face me. For a split second, my heartbeat increases with the attention, but it is quickly brought to bear. This isn't much—just some friends.
"They hunt us. And... we can't just hide from them. Even if we try to sneak past, I'd bet ten out of ten times we'll get caught. There is simply too much ground to cover. We are going to have to fight this city. And while we likely won't have to fight the whole thing... the Mo—She has a vendetta against me. A Demigod... I can just feel it will come after us, so we should prepare to kill one."
The first to agree with me is my mother. She nods profoundly, articulating my point even further.
"Graves attract danger. I can sense... several Powers around us, sniffing around for something. They are likely trying to confirm it is Wyatt they saw before. We should attempt to sneak past but stand and fight if we're caught. There is no running from a 9th Sigiled. For now, rest. I will keep watch. You humans need far more sleep than a demon anyway, even when Angels."
Aniwye volunteers to be on watch duty as the rest of us sleep, but Virgil clears his throat. I already know what he's about to say before he does so.
"I only require sleep an hour a week, and I slept a wink yesterday. Rest up yourself, Aniwye. You're one of the strongest here, if not the strongest. We need you at your best."
The Ogre grins with a profound smile of pointed teeth, but it is not composed of malice. Instead, it is joy and gratitude.
"Wonderful. I shall nap then."
Aniwye's eye closes, and she snores instantly, not waiting for a second to do so. Such control prevents the chuckle that would otherwise emerge from my throat at such a sign. It doesn't halt Bonfire's, though. He bursts into cackling, infectious laughter that spreads to the rest of us.
Even Virgil and Lennon join in on the fun of listening to Aniwye sleep. I smile as a wave of Ether washes over me, making me mind-bendingly tired. Something pulls me to dreamland as I remember Aniwye's many skills.
"Little one. You really shouldn't be laughing at me."
A thunderous, booming voice amongst a valley of lilies emerges and shocks me. I'm asleep already? Looking around, I find my mother staring down at me, bearing her usual height, but we aren't alone. There is another with us.
After all, this dream is neither Aniwye's nor mine. I haven't had my own dream in... a long time. They are all shared with someone else.
A little girl with an abyssal-stained skirt and a bloody dress laughs joyfully at having another finally join her mindscape. I turn to find her sprinting at Aniwye with open arms, giggling all the way like a demented spirit.
"ANIWYE! I've heard so much about you!"
"What? Who are—"
Aniywe shifts to face Lily as the tiny girl slams into the far larger woman, but it is the Ogre that reels from the impact, not the Colt. Aniwye releases a shocked gasp, falling to a single knee while Lily backsteps with a giggle. Aniwye's crashing knee shakes the lilies along the grass, vibrating this whole realm.
Despite the attack, my mother doesn't retaliate. She simply stares at Lily as the girl hugs her leg and knee, the demon far too large for her. A few seconds pass in awkward silence, something I know Lily doesn't even notice with her lack of interpersonal communication. I'm the only one she talks to, and we often go hours without a single word in spite of being inches away. Within these seconds, I worry that Aniwye will attack Lily or do something far worse.
But all I can do is wait as my mother's lone eye trails the tiny girl.
After those seconds pass, Aniwye's body begins to Adjust, shifting to meet a more typical size. As she shifts, the demon speaks aloud to the Colt.
"You are truly grand, Lily, the Blooming Spider Lily. The Othershore Flower is growing up to be an unparalleled jewel, aren't you? I'd expect nothing less from his second and final creation."
Lily bursts into tears a second later, wailing about missing Killian. Her words are almost illegible, and I've never seen her even so remotely emotional. Through it all, though, I can decipher that Aniwye references me as my father's first creation. It feels weird to be hinted at like that, but it is even more bizarre to watch an Arca cry.
Not even Aniwye knows what to do. I suppose I should expect that, though. She's only started to be motherly. And now this?
Her hands are stone cold, frozen, hovering around Lily but not touching her as the small girl falls to the ground, crying even more. Sighing, I reach up and scratch my head, walking toward Lily.
I crouch down to her, hugging her tightly while glancing up at Aniwye. She raises an eyebrow at me while I mouth some words at her.
"Hug her. It'll make her feel better."
Aniwye tilts her head, not fully understanding, and because she doesn't understand, she won't listen to me. Instead, she has to know first what is occurring. To comprehend better, she initiates a mental pathway for us to speak.
"What is wrong with her?"
Patting Lily, I urge her again, not taking no for an answer, nor am I allowing ignorance to slide.
"She is lonely. Hug her. And when we leave this place, talk to her. If you can enter this, you can speak to her."
Aniwye's single eye widens as I think she finally grasps the issue. But that thought only lasts for a second. All the while, Lily furthers her breakdown while I try to make her feel better. Gradually, I get frustrated with this nonsense.
"Lonely? What is that?"
"You know what it is even if you've never felt it. Now stop deflecting. Hug her."
My mother's hands tremble and her knees shake harrowingly before she finally relents, falling to the ground. Only, she doesn't hug the kid like I asked. She places a palm against Lily's back.
"Here. This is my last memory with him."
I don't know what Aniwye does, but a second later, Lily stops crying, and instead, the Colt releases a warm smile with closed eyes as if asleep. I peer back up at Aniwye, utterly bewildered by her act. Maybe she's not so bad at this after all.