ㅤㅤNeo rapped his knuckles twice on the door, opening it when he heard Quilliene's familiar voice call out for him to enter. Kyrana had just cleared her throat after saying something, sitting on the edge of the black-stained couch where Neo once laid that morning. Both of the women turned to look at him as he entered the room, and he offered a small smile.
ㅤㅤ"There he is!" Quilliene chirped. "It took you some time, is everything alright?"
ㅤㅤ"Yeah, just had to go to the loo," Neo forced a small smile.
ㅤㅤ"I'll be going then, your majesty," Kyrana said, grabbing her hat and standing. "I hope you feel better soon." She smiled at them both, but as she passed by Neo when he held the door open, she whispered something for only him to hear. "She's all yours."
ㅤㅤWhen Neo looked at her with bewilderment, she simply cracked a playful grin before leaving without another word. He paused, narrowing his brows and frowning. He tried to decipher the meaning behind them, and the only thing he could come up with as he closed the door was… she knew, and she was letting him take his shot.
ㅤㅤQuilliene watched them for a moment, curious about the words passed between them but ultimately brushing the thought away. Then, she pat the bed, signalling for Neo to sit down beside her. He obliged, seating himself on the edge of the mattress. He didn't quite look at her yet, afraid the thoughts he was thinking would be clear in his gaze.
ㅤㅤ"So," Quilliene purred. "What was it like stand-ing guard with Raemith? I hope it wasn't too stressful for you."
ㅤㅤ"Oh, it was fantastic," Neo said sarcastically, leaning back as he flashed a fake smile. "Except the part where it was, y'know, Raemith I was standing guard with."
ㅤㅤShe chuckled politely. "I can imagine just how wonderful that must have been. Raemith most certainly must be a match made in the heavens, don't you think?" She bit back another laugh.
ㅤㅤHe curled his upper lip in disgust. "Eugh! I may be open to experimentation, but I am definitely not open to it for him. He can go experiment with someone else."
ㅤㅤ"Awe, what a shame, I was secretly rooting for the two of you behind the scenes." Quilliene mused, then noticed how his eyes were darting around to avoid hers again. "Now what, pray tell, are you looking at so intently?"
ㅤㅤ"Nothing," Neo said quickly, raising his head to finally look at her. "Space. You know, mind wandering - not staring at anything but gotta look at something. Just thinking about stuff." He smiled again. "Nothing important, though."
ㅤㅤ"As long as it isn't anything bad," She sat up straighter, then frowned. "I have a small question. Well, not really small at all. I just… wanted to know how it felt. I mean, you died, quite literally, and… I just wanted to know if anything was different."
ㅤㅤNeo glanced away, taking a deep breath of contemplation. "I don't know," He responded. "I don't feel any different, but I think I should. When I woke up, it was like I had never fought all those demons. I was completely fine." He looked back at her. "And when I was dead, it was like… floating in water, but I didn't need to breathe. I didn't really have a body, but my conscious was tricking me into thinking I did."
ㅤㅤHe wanted to say something else. Something different, but he bit his tongue. He wasn't sure how she would react to those words, so he kept them under his wings, silent and forgotten. What he wanted to say, or rather explain, was that he was happy. Once he realised Quilliene was safe, and he was dead, he was fine with it. Excited, even, that he could see Fleur.
ㅤㅤQuilliene sighed and nodded. "I don't remember what happened, but I remember feeling pain. Right here," She put a hand to her chest. "It is almost stuck in my mind, like an echo. I couldn't hear or see, and it was almost like someone was whispering to me."
ㅤㅤNeo perked up at those words, remembering the voices as well. "What… What were they saying?"
ㅤㅤ"My name," She said, but then seemed unsure. "I think - and it sounded hushed and kind of like my voice, but it wasn't. As if there was some sort of malice underneath it." The more she thought, the more of a headache she received in return. "And the rest is just locked away. I've tried to remember, but it's almost like something is keeping it all away from me."
ㅤㅤNeo listened intently, but what she had heard sounded nothing like the voices he experienced. Like someone, or something, asking if he was ready to die and to move on. Then, it all got interrupted, torn away by that bright light, the rushing sensation of cold, and a strange voice saying… something he didn't remem-ber. It was almost like a fever dream.
ㅤㅤHe opened his mouth to speak, to try and explain his thoughts, but he never got the chance. A strange and sharp stabbing pain encased his skull, like ice picks tearing into his brain. He brought up his hand, to rub his temple, but was unable to as he felt a cough coming on. He covered his mouth instead with the inside of his arm, flinching.
ㅤㅤQuilliene looked up quickly, parting her lips as she saw Neo begin to cough in a hectic manner. Strangely enough, the sound of him hacking was not all she heard - it was the whispers which made her wince in surprise. Like before, when she brought Neo back. Except, these were darker, harsher, and she could have sworn she saw black wisps encase his hand on the sheets.
ㅤㅤ"Neo!" Quilliene called.
ㅤㅤShe reached forward, touching his shoulder but pulling away when she felt the burning sensation envelope her hand. Wincing, she heard something crack - glass from her mirror. Only sending it a glance, she threw off her covers and scrambled to her feet, circling around to stand in front of Neo. She called his name again, purple energy encasing her hands as she shook his shoulders.
ㅤㅤNeo could only hear the ringing in his ears, struggling to calm down, unable to breathe as he tried to stop coughing. Finally, after a few moments, it just… disappeared. The urge to cough, gone. He took in shaking gasps, the black tendrils dissipating, leaving only burn marks in remains. Lowering his arm, he could see Quilliene hovering over him with worry in her eyes.
ㅤㅤ"I-I'm fine," He said, still panting. "Sorry…"
ㅤㅤShe frowned, staring at him. "Fine?" Letting go of him, she started to glare. "How do you call that fine?!"
ㅤㅤNeo was surprised by her anger, unsure of what to make of it. "What?" He asked quietly.
ㅤㅤ"You don't nearly die on my bed and call it fine!" Quilliene yelled, the temperature in the room dropping. "You even burned my sheets - through your gloves!"
ㅤㅤ"I…" He paused, then got to his feet. "I'll go get a maid-"
ㅤㅤAs he started walking, though, her grip wrapped around his wrist. Burning like fire, he ripped away, gasping. Quilliene heard a whistling sound, glancing at the door - the knob was steaming red. Neo looked back at her, and she struggled to take deep breaths, her eyes darting around. He quickly realised what was happening - she was panicking.
ㅤㅤ"Hey," He said soothingly, coming forward and touching her shoulders. "Hey, it's fine - I'm fine, you're fine, we're all fine. Look at me." She struggled for a moment to focus, but eventually locked eyes. "Deep breaths. In, and out."
ㅤㅤAs he demonstrated what to do, she slowly fell into an even pace with his breathing. After a few minutes of the practice, she started to calm down, and the temperature in the room returned to normal, along with the whistling having stopped. Neo led her to the bed to sit down, and she closed her eyes for a moment.
ㅤㅤ"Are you alright?" He asked.
ㅤㅤQuilliene swallowed. "I'm sorry… I'm not sure what came over me."
ㅤㅤNeo paused. "Did I upset you?"
ㅤㅤ"No, no," She shook her head. "Or… I don't know, but please don't think I'm upset - it was just a hiccup. My body and head haven't felt the same since that night, and I've been… hearing voices in my dreams. Plus, despite sleeping so much, I still feel exhausted."
ㅤㅤNeo frowned. "Did you-?"
ㅤㅤBoth of them were interrupted when a puff of lime green dust appeared in front of Neo's face and a tiny voice screamed at him. "Neo!"
ㅤㅤ"Woah!" Neo yelped, leaning away from the pixie. "What the-"
ㅤㅤ"Neo, it's Chris!" Daileth zipped around frantically and ran his fingers through his brown hair. "He's in trouble! He was with Those Who Shall Not Be Named, and he was talking to them - I don't know what about but then he said something weird and now he's in a lot of pain and-"
ㅤㅤ"The Nameless?" Quilliene looked nervous. "He doesn't speak with them unless the matter is urgent…" She turned to her bodyguard. "Neo, go - now. Help him. I don't like the sound of this and if he is in pain then he needs assistance. They are not dangerous to us, but… they probably won't enjoy you after what happened with One Who Stood With Their Head High."
ㅤㅤNeo glanced at her, hesitating at the thought. He had helped Quilliene with the matter of a Nameless who called themselves that - a Nameless who was close to the brink of death.
ㅤㅤThen he looked at Daileth. "Take me to him."
ㅤㅤThe pixie stopped flying about and froze, turning to him before nodding bravely and shooting towards the door. Neo followed in pursuit, opening the entrance for the pixie as they both sped down the hall. He hurried down the steps, passing a confused demonic servant as Daileth flew out in front of him. When they made it to the marble staircase, Neo shot down it quickly.
ㅤㅤOnce he reached the bottom, he saw the long aisle of dark stone, lines of bars on each side of individual cages. Creatures of different shapes and sizes stood in each - braying, cawing, screeching. So many noises of echoes filled his ears that it gave him a headache. He looked around at each, searching for Christopher, desperate to find him. The monsters were like mixes of multiple species, some being birds with mammal parts and others reptiles with feathers.
ㅤㅤFinally, though, he found him. There was Christopher, knees to the ground, covering his ears and struggling to remain upright - obvious by his swaying form. Neo called to him, running forward, but once the Nameless spotted him they seemed to grow even more upset. Daileth stayed behind for a moment before rushing forward and swirling about anxiously.
ㅤㅤ"Chris," Neo said again, kneeling next to him before the voices started to fill his head.
ㅤㅤHe is here.
ㅤㅤHe has come!
ㅤㅤThe Tainted!
ㅤㅤHe must leave.
ㅤㅤHe is not welcome here!
ㅤㅤHow dare he carry such filth?
ㅤㅤChristopher groaned, his eyes closed and sweat at his brow. "I'm… fine," He struggled to speak. "You need to leave. They… The Nameless don't like you. You are Tainted."
ㅤㅤ"Yeah, whatever that means," Neo said sarcas-tically. "Come on, Daileth said you were in trouble and Liene told me to come help you."
ㅤㅤ"Hurry!" Daileth squeaked as the agitated noises grew louder.
ㅤㅤ"Calm down!" Christopher finally called, taking Neo's hand to help himself up. "Please… let us pass and he will leave."
ㅤㅤHe held up a hand to the Nameless and Neo helped him back to the staircase. The creatures seemed to be conversing among themselves - that, or to Christopher specifically. Christopher muttered some-thing under his breath in presumably Latin before a mist seeped from his mouth, spreading across the room. He hummed as the chirping and growling of the Nameless began to calm down, and he gently ushered the three of them towards the stairs.
ㅤㅤYet, as they reached the stairs, a question popped into Neo's head. "What the hells is a Tainted?" He noticed Daileth flinched at the word, but he continued up the spiralling steps. "I've heard people call me cursed before, but I never took it literally."
ㅤㅤWhen they reached the top, Christopher closed the door behind them, shutting off the braying and whining. He shook his head and turned towards Neo. "Tainted are those who have been touched by a devil, referring to those destructive, ah… abilities of yours. The Nameless do not approve of you, and neither do demons."
ㅤㅤ"Aren't demons and devils the same thing?" He asked, following as Christopher headed for the stairs.
ㅤㅤHe laughed dryly. "No, far from it. Demons are much less powerful and do not usually have wings, for one. They are calmer and enjoy the company of humans far more than devils do."
ㅤㅤ"And what are devils exactly?" Neo pushed for more information.
ㅤㅤ"Well," Christopher sighed. "They are treach-erous, evil, conniving. They like to play games that mess with your head. While demons serve, devils are more like partners with those they make deals with." He started up the steps, and Neo followed. "The Gods hate devils, but they do not hate demons."
ㅤㅤ"Gods?" He asked again.
ㅤㅤ"Yes. Didn't Liene teach you any of this?" Christopher glared at him over his shoulder, and the bodyguard shrugged. "Yes, they are gods. The gods. All other gods exist, but these were the ones that first roamed the world, before years were even counted. Long ago, there was a war between humans and the Nameless. The Nameless chose champions to fight for them, since they are forever sworn to peace. Those champions were the Ravenheart family, who were taught magick by the Nameless."
ㅤㅤ"So… why were you down there in the first place?" Neo changed the subject, not really under-standing the lesson.
ㅤㅤ"I was alerted that there was a problem with the Nameless," He said. "They spoke of darkness yet to come, and…"
ㅤㅤ"And?" He urged.
ㅤㅤChristopher huffed. "Nothing. Forget it. I'm sure it's fine."
ㅤㅤNeo glared at him as they reached Christopher's office. "Chris-"
ㅤㅤ"It's fine," The prince said sharply, opening his door. "Go back to your duties."
ㅤㅤBefore he could say any more, Christopher slammed the entrance shut in Neo's face. He frowned slightly, turning to look around for Daileth. The little pixie stared at him with wide, anxious eyes. Neo glowered and opened his mouth to speak, about to ask about the whole tainted thing, but he squeaked and disappeared. Neo groaned, looking up at the ceiling. Why wouldn't anyone tell him what was going on?