Daichi's world seems to stop. Remembering every detail about his life on earth. Mori's smile, his laughter, his obscure demands and questions. And then he felt it. The ice shard, finally reaching his neck.
Looking up at the hooded man, who's grinning ear to ear, despite the stab wounds, and the blade lodged in his side. This man was...unhinged. Relishing in the pain.
Daichi closed his eyes. His hand loosening its grip on the flip knife.
"THUD!"
Daichi heard. The sound of something heavy making an impact.
Warm blood splashed on his face, and the weight above him lifted.
And another thud is heard next to him, like a body falling.
His eyes snapped open. The rain sprinkled away the blood on his face, knife and hands. Before he could even take a breath.
The hooded man yelled!
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!"
"YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING LITTL-"
"THUD!!"
It happens again, this time with a gruesome splash and the sound of something crunching.
Daichi used all his strength to prop himself up on his elbows. Still slightly disoriented from the onslaught of punches, his eyes finally focused.
Then he turned his head, to where he heard the repeated impacts.
Rhea Attacks again!
"THUD!"
"SPLASH!"
The hooded man beneath her, his face bashed in. Rhea's hands are covered with his blood as her grip on the wet, bloody slab tightens.
Her teeth gritted, and her eyes governed a feral look beneath the anger and fear.
"YOUMONSTER!!"
She raised her hands again. Her hold on the slab tightens even more. Her finger slipped from the blood. And again.
"THUD!!!!"
"CRUNCH!!"
She crashed the slab down into his face again. The hooded man's face slowly became unrecognizable, as his blood splatted up on her face.
He was breathing shallow...his blood choking him.
Daichi saw it all...and was horrified. But he tried to stand up to stop her. Slipping again, but getting back up.
Rhea raised the slab again, even higher this time...as she's about to slam it down again. Daichi held her hand. Stopping her. Rhea struggles against Daichi's hold on her hand.
"Release me..."
Her voice is low and raspy. Her eyes never leave the hooded man's bashed-in face....his breath shallow, his hair disheveled and bloody.
Rhea struggles against Daichi's hold once more, wanting to make sure this guy pays the price....especially for killing her little brother, The elder, and every other person he killed from her village.
"He's not surviving this..."
"You don't need to...do that"
Daichi said. trying to calm her down, barely standing, trying to hold her with all his strength. But she was spiraling. Her thoughts got more violent by the second.
Die...die die die die die die.
Her thoughts repeated. Over and over and over. And a flicker of flame appeared above her head, as the rain snuffed it out, turning it to vapor.
Daichi noticed. And realized. She was only getting angrier.
The hooded man's hand flinched. Both Daichi and Rhea noticed. And in that short window of distraction. Rhea pulled her hand away. And with all her strength.
"THUD!!!"
She slammed the slab down in the hooded man's face again, surprising Daichi as her flaming halo reappeared, creating vapor with every drop of the rain.
The hooded man's whole body relaxed.
Daichi grabbed Rhea and forcefully lifted her from atop the hooded man.
She was resistant, but she couldn't fight against Daichi's strength. She weakly threw the slab at the hooded man's face, but her fingers slipped. Causing it to drop on his chest.
She was flailing wildly as Daichi held her. Who slipped against the blood mixed with the rain on the ground.
"CRACK!"
The process began...Daichi looks at the hooded man's body. Remembering again...the little boy. The elder. And knowing what happened to the rest of the dried, scorched, deformed bodies around them.
"CRACK"
"CRACK CRACK CRACK"
The hooded man's body started deforming. Rhea calms slightly...looking at the whole process unfold. Looking down at her bloody hands.
"I"
"I...killed"
"Him..."
Her voice cracked as she looked at the hooded man's body, going through the same process as every deformed, lifeless body around.
Each crack reminds her of another face. Another laugh. Another smile. All gone. Rhea was silent. Daichi's hold on her relaxed as he felt a warm drop of water on his hand.
Much different from the rain trickling down. And then another as Rhea whimpered softly. Crying.
Looking at the hooded man's body deforming, crack, after crack. His blood fading away like ash in the rain. Purple mist oozing after each crack.
Her flaming halo stopped struggling against the rain, and it finally went out.
"I killed him..."
she said even softer than before, holding Daichi's forearm for emotional anchor, as they both looked at the hooded man's body.
Daichi, still shaken by the process, he's horrified. Seeing this for the third time, he's mentally shaken. Struggling not to vomit again.
Both were silent. The ambient sound of rain trickling down filled the atmosphere with the unavoidable sound of deformation.
The purple mist settled above the hooded man's carcass. Gathering every bit of life-fog he had. Daichi looked at it. Only ever seeing blue life-fog, or a gentle mix of both colors.
And without warning, it flew toward them. Daichi stumbled back, releasing his hold on Rhea.
The purple mist crashed into her.
Her eyes snapped open, watering as her pupils dilated. She fell on the ground, bruising her knees. Her teeth gritted painfully. Her mouth was foaming slightly. The purple life-fog slowly seeped in.
Daichi was startled by what's happening. Looking at her on the ground, he didn't know what to do. Rhea screamed as she thrashed on the ground. Barely holding onto her sanity.
The feeling of absorbing life-fog far above her current level felt like needles trying to infiltrate her skin from every pore.
"NGHHH!!!"
"Aaaaaa!!"
Tears of agony spilled from her eyes. But the process continued.
Daichi stepped closer, still struggling to even stand steady. Is horrified, confused, and disturbed. He's forced to watch, not knowing what to do.
Daichi watched the brutally painful process of life-fog absorption. Rhea thrashed, screamed, and rolled. And there's nothing Daichi can do to help.
10 minutes passed of Rhea's torment. The rain stopped as the afternoon's sun peeked through the clouds. Rhea's left panting on the ground. Laying on her back looking up at the sky.
She props herself up on her elbow, looking at Daichi.
"we'll need to leave soon"
She said as she wiped the foam away from her mouth.
Is this...normal for her?.
Daichi thought to himself, looking at her, still confused, and shaken as he's leaning on a piece of debris.
"I'll explain it later okay...we just really need to leave."
"We've been here far too long for our safety."
Rhea said, noticing the soft black mist emanating from the carcasses. She struggled to stand on both her feet.
Daichi's even more confused. Looking around the ruined village. Homes made to dust. And deformed carcasses lay at every step.
How is it....dangerous here?
He thought to himself, as Rhea began walking.
"We're dead too if we don't hurry and get out of here."
Rhea said as she got further. Daichi's hand gently rubbing over the spot the ice shard almost pierced. Looking at her as she's walking away.
"And where will we go?"
Daichi asked, following her hesitantly.
"Anywhere but here."
Rhea responded. Stumbling over something as she fell. She got up hastily, looking at what she stumbled over.
Only to see a bow with half of it covered in rubble. Daichi caught up to her, looking at the revealed end.
"that's a bow"
"right?."
He asked, as Rhea nodded. Standing up and looking at it.
"It's not from my village"
"Not the kind of weapon my people used."
She said as she dragged it up from beneath the rubble. Looking at the material it's made from. But started walking again without appraising it much. There wasn't time for that.
"That's not wood, aluminum or carbon fiber..."
"Do you know what it's made of?"
Daichi asked. Following her. Slowly getting his sense of balance back.
"No.."
"But it's not regular materials."
Rhea responded. Moving more frantically. As if in a hurry. Jumping and climbing over debris, and trying her best to not step on one of the deformed bodies of the dead villagers around.
Daichi tried not to step on them either. And as he carefully maneuvers his way through the dead, He can't help but notice the soft black mist emanating from some of them. But he hurried after Rhea, noticing her increasing pace.
Life-fog?
But...they're already dead.
Right?
Could be life-fog that didn't leave.
This is all so confusing...
Daichi thought to himself, but the thought got interrupted as he noticed that they're at the edge of the village, staring into a vast forest.
"Follow me closely okay."
"We need to hurry and get away from here."
Rhea said, as she stared into the familiar environment, took a deep breath. And dashed in. Forced to keep up. Daichi has no choice but to sprint in behind her.