Beloved looked up at the already darkened sky, her eyes burning with each tear. It must hurt so much… her poor, poor Nix. No one singing for him, no one sharing their love, using him over, and over, and over again… demanding more and more. Filling his heart with greed, desperation, demands, taint. Every time he gave out his heart… yet they still wouldn't love him.
Beloved turned her head to the current heart bearer; she used his heart like a mana source… crushing down his emotions rather than sooth them. Beloved held out one hand and Nix's shattered, damaged heart flew to her. Beloved cupped it in her palms, Ru had gathered as many pieces as he could find, wrapping them in his own solidified fire. Beloved's tears continued to fall as she choked on a suppressed sob. There was so much darkness, Nix was drowning… and they still demanded more.
Ashton stopped playing as he hugged Beloved, ahh how she wept… his poor, broken Beloved… not even a whole. Still, she was more than he had ever hoped for. All that he had wished in the flesh… if only… Ashton closed his eyes. Not yet. Not until… she was whole. Still, his eyes burned as he refused to continue the thought. Tonight, they would grieve and reminisce. Decisions could be made tomorrow.
Ashton felt her resolve, her anguish, her love… with a half smile Ashton started to play the piano again.
Beloved prepared to show them, Nix belonged to her. Nix had always belonged to her, even when he didn't remember
Loving and fighting, accusing, denying. (Hold On Chord Overstreet)
Zane stilled, these were no figures of fire… he turned a full circle. They were in… a dungeon? There was a table, mana crystal jars holding… severed body parts. The sound of chains rattling drew his attention. Everyone's attention. A man held up by a chain collar, and chain around his left wrist. Zane had honestly thought the man was dead… because there wasn't even a third of his body left.
His right eye gouged out, right arm from the shoulder a bloody mess. Zane could see… a brilliant red mana core where his heart should have been. It was like someone had… sliced away everything under the core. There were no organs, the exposed ribs broken in half… but the man… still breathed.
Zane looked past the dirty red hair, into the one red eye. There should have been agony, tears, screams… but the man wore a placid smile as masked men entered with saws on a rolling table.
The four men quickly pulled the man up by his neck… they roughly grabbed at the exposed ribs half tossing him onto the table… as they tried to remove his core. Still the man only tilted his head, as if he were watching a mildly interesting play.
Their view shifted, they seemed to be looking from inside one of the crystal mana jars.
Can you hear me screaming, "Please don't leave me!"
The man was back on the wall, even more flesh around his heart missing, his spine now exposed but he looked startled, seeming to look directly at them. He stared at the jar, as if willing it to do… something. Then, the tiniest sound, no louder than a feather landing on water called out.
Hu…rts.
The man's eye started to glow, but the look of devastation, heartbreak, horror… as if whatever he saw… was worse than he could ever imagine. Worse than all he had endured. The man burst into flames as the wall and chains melted away. The flames coalesced into the man's missing legs, arm, stomach, eye as he half crawled to the jar. Zane desperately tried to see what was in the jar… but it was as if he were seeing through its eyes.
Zane watched as the fingers melted the top of the jar away. Then carefully, oh so carefully, the hand reached inside, as if careful he would shatter into a million pieces, scooped him up in his palms. Zane noticed masked men bursting into the room, but their eyes were horrified, terrified, desperate as the soundlessly screamed at the man's back. Zane looked up, the man was trembling as he caressed the being in his palm, the same, barely audible voice repeated itself.
Hu…rts.
Tears as large as boulders fell as the man screamed, clutching the voice to his chest. Zane winced as red and silver fire burst from the man's body. Incinerating everything in its path. Only outlines of what used to be remained on the wall.
Hold on, I still want you.
The scene shifted and the man was holding out his hand. He and the man were standing on a branch of an enormous tree. The man was grinning in delight as he showed off the sunrise. Zane felt as if he were now also in a body, but he could only see a snow-white hand taking the mans. The man had healed somehow, arms, legs, his eye, all if back, though several shades paler than what had been chained up.
The scene constantly shifted, the man with long red hair showing Zane the world, food, beasts, buildings, people, one red one white bird flying through the sky, singing… until the last scene took on another air… there were hundreds of mages, beasts, soldiers flooding towards the man's back. But he just smiled, the love in that smile broke something in Zane as he realized what was going to happen.
Zane felt himself being lifted up by strong arms, carried over someone's shoulder. But he heard the voice screaming for the man, reaching out. Zane looked around…they were boarding a boat? Trees were being trampled or blasted away as the swarm continued closer.
Many of the mages already casting restriction spells, but the man ignored them, eyes still watching him, refusing to blink. As if no matter what, the man's last sight would be of Zane. Then the man mouthed something that tore at Zane's soul.
My Beloved.
Suddenly, Zane felt as if he couldn't breathe. The man… his body started to crumble away like sand as a magnificent bird of red and silver fire took shape. It grew until it covered the sky, then it crashed into the land, setting everything ablaze. The boat shook violently as people screamed, until the boat was wrapped up, then carried out to sea. Zane watched the bird turn the once lush vegetation into nothing but ash… and it didn't stop. It kept burning until nothing remained.
I just wanna hear you, saying "Birdie, let's go home"
Zane felt like he waited a lifetime… from being treated with love and respect, to locked up underground, waiting… waiting, waiting, until a door opened. Past a white gauzy curtain, Zane saw a smaller figure holding out his arms, calling to him.
Zane leapt up, and the face was younger, smaller. The hair was different, the voice more youthful, the body more slender… but those eyes… that smile.
Come back, I still need you.
Zane crashed into that familiar embrace and wanted to weep out his grievances.
Neolani pulled herself out of the illusion… beast gods above… she knew of that land… for the last 400 years… nothing had been able to survive on that entire continent… Ash did that? For his Beloved? Not to mention… those people who had butchered him… why hadn't he resisted until she called out?
Caius shook himself free of the illusion… she had pulled him into an illusion… and he hadn't noticed until it ended. Meeting his kins eyes, they had all been the same. So, very strong, realistic illusions… several of the humans were weeping like children on their knees.
Ashton smiled, she gave him far too much credit in her memories. He had never been so tall. Beloved lightly squeezed him, ahh, their soul fires still mingled so she could understand his thoughts.
Beloved held Nix's heart, even with all this effort… there was still so much darkness trying to engulf him. She could spend the next hundred years trying to clear out the filth this way… did she really have to… become whole? What would that even be like… was she not enough as she was?
Ashton rubbed his cheek along her head, his Beloved was perfection. It was because of his own weakness, he didn't dare let her in deeper… because despite all his control, he was human enough for the thought. The thought alone was more than he was willing to risk.