Shortly after Aster leaves, he returns with Callua. The three of them talk about their time in this life. Rather, the two of them do while Zye listens. While they sit opposite each other, Zye lies across the couch. He keeps his shoes off the couch with one leg crossed over the other knee.
His head rests on Callua’s lap while her fingers idly run through his hair. She’ll make a tiny braid and then unravel it. All as she laughs with Aster over their shared troubles of having to train under the “big guns”.
Not that Zye minds. He’s happy to have her presence if nothing else. Especially since Jace is busy with Celeste before they leave.
Callua giggles. “That explains why you got the promotion. You’ve been here as long as I have.”
“I couldn’t turn it down. Orion asked me personally.”
“I would have even if Charmilla begged me. Being a Keeper sounds exhausting.”
Zye stares up at her. “Want me to promote you? I should be able to.”
“I swear to the Gods above, Zye, if you do I’ll kill you.”
Aster laughs, slapping the side of his knee as he does. “Really? Do it just to prove it. I’d love to see Callua beat your ass.”
She shoots him a playful glare next. “I’ll kill you after him.”
The door opens as Aster stands up, hoping to catch the attention of who’s entering. “Iris? Is everyone ready?”
“Mm-hm! We’re all good to go and waiting on you three.”
Wordlessly, Aster nods back to them and begins to leave. Zye takes his time sitting up. If anything because Callua is combing out the newest twist she had put into his hair. He waits for her to stand first before trailing after her.
As he does, she reaches back for his wrist. Holding onto it, they move out to the main area together. Down the hall and to the group of their allies, she never lets go. He tries not to focus on it and the way her grip is iron-clad.
Once they’re in range, Orion begins. “Jace, go ahead and take Zye. We’ll be right behind you once you let us know that Soren and the other two have left.”
The silence permeates through the circle of them as Jace opens the first portal. It’s only then that Callua lets go of Zye. She gives him a small wave when he glances back, a smile on his countenance. He wants to reassure her— to be brave and confident.
It’ll go according to plan. It has to.
Together, they step through and come out into a field of flowers. They’re beautiful, full of a range of colors, and flutter in the soft breeze. In the distance, he can see a mountain and the clouds that gather in the sky above it. At his feet, he tries not to squish too many flowers or the dark blue grass for that matter.
He doesn’t get to look around much when Jace steps in front of him. “I’ve gotten a hold of Kerse. Stay behind me, alright?”
“Yeah.”
Zye watches as another portal swirls to life across from them. It’s far enough away for them to be able to talk without yelling. Never close enough for either side to act without giving the others a chance to respond.
All four of them are there with Soren at the front. To either side of him is Ren and Ayre. Kerse is a step or two away with her crimson eyes boring past Jace and into Zye. He shifts uncomfortably as Soren speaks up.
“How nice of you to get in touch.”
“I asked for Kerse.”
“And where our friend goes, so do we.”
“I don’t believe that for one second. You want to talk to Zye, do you not?”
Soren shakes his head. “She has something she wants. As for me, I’d rather have you, in particular, out of my way.”
Displeased with the amount of talking and lack of action, Kerse steps forward. She ignores Jace and Soren both to lock eyes with Zye. Her fingers curl into tight fists as she does. “You, come here.”
“If you’re going to be a bitch, at least use my name.”
Kerse growls low and takes another step forward. “I said come here.”
“How about, no. I’d rather know how you knew where to send your dog.”
Soren gives a flick of his wrist. “I have many skills and willing followers that have even more. It’s not hard to find someone that can’t even mask their presence well.”
Before he can continue, Ayre leans over to whisper something in his ear. Zye knows what that means and it has anticipation bubbling in his stomach.
“Can I leave this to you?” he asks of Kerse. “Apparently we have some intruders. It’ll only be a moment.”
“Don’t care, do what you want.”
“And if I asked you to come with us to take care of it instead seeing as they’re your old friends?”
“Not. Going.”
Soren merely smiles and turns to the portal that Ren opens. “Then do me a favor. Bring one of them back alive. The other you can kill. You can pick.”
Even when they leave, Kerse doesn’t bat an eye. The glare only hardens further. “You get one chance to come with me or I’ll rip him into pieces in front of you.”
Jace steps forward and for the first time Zye notices that the coat isn’t on his broad shoulders. It shows off the sleeveless, high-collared shirt that’s usually hidden by it. Not to mention his arms.
‘Not the time or place’, he tells himself.
“You don’t get to have him either. Back down.”
Kerse laughs— loud and hollow. “He can’t speak for himself?”
Zye places a hand on Jace’s arm. The slightest nod Jace gives in return is all the sign he needs. He figures it’s worth a try. “Kerse, I don’t know what Soren’s told you but you need to stop.”
“Hah! That’s pretty cute. You think you get an opinion? You don’t know me!”
Moving to stand beside Jace, he summons his sword into his other hand. “And you sure as hell don’t know me.”
The second his hand leaves Jace’s arm, the man is surging forward with fire dancing across his knuckles. As he does, Zye glances over his shoulders. “How’s it going?”
From a portal comes the rest of the team; Celeste, Orion, and Callua. Celeste wears a bright smile while the other two appear far more serious about the matter.
“The others are keeping Soren busy while we slipped away.”
Orion is already summoning the strings around his fingers as he moves to Zye. “It’s time we make our move.”
By doing so, Zye is able to see just what a Celestial’s full power looks like. Something hard to spot until he notices the glimmering white scales continuing up around the sides of his face. The small speckling of scales ends below his eyes.
Eyes that turn a silver color with slit pupils down their centers. He gives Zye a glance before moving closer to where Kerse and Jace are ducking and weaving around each other’s punches.
Celeste is who he notices the most when they run past him. They’re in a different outfit than usual with a dark teal cover-up over a high-necked, lighter teal shirt. One that’s tucked into their beige, knee-high pants.
Despite the rather modern high-top shoes and leg under armor they wear, Celeste’s tattoos are on display. The blue is bright against their dark skin— the little he can see of them anyway. Mixing with the tattoos are the same small scales that Orion has. Except Celeste’s are a soft shade of baby blue.
As Celeste runs by, they give him a grin that shows off the sharp extended canines. “Hang in there you two!”
Callua comes up beside him and points up at the sky. “Don’t look, it could hurt. But it’s starting.”
Zye doesn’t have to. He can see the area around them slowly becoming darker despite it being bright and sunny a second ago. The sky is turning a deep slate with a golden hue along the horizon. Little by little, it settles in as Zye’s eyes adjust.
Summoning her orb of water into her hands, she blows onto it to create tiny bubbles. They rise off the surface and float around her. She’s ready at a moment’s notice.
On the other hand, Zye takes a step in front of her to be safe. He watches the way Kerse methodically parries and strikes back at him. Seeing as Orion and Celeste are rushing in, he summons a rift behind Jace.
“Jay, behind you.”
He takes it right on time and comes out above the spot Zye stands next to. Callua’s bubbles are already going to where Jace is to give him some relief. His boots hit the ground as Celeste dashes in to take his place.
Their fans cut through the air as well as Kerse’s sleeves and shirt. Never truly finding purchase. Kerse, having donned her armored gloves, slashes, and punches Celeste in return. She’s relentless in hopes of stopping this flighty fighter from dancing around her.
Orion inches closer, waiting for Kerse to duck around one fan. When she does, he slings his strings out to catch around her forearm. The strings tighten and cut through the fabric further.
Kerse growls as she yanks her arm away. It cuts through the material and rips the sleeve away in the process. Kerse grabs the fan that comes up at her with one hand while kicking out at Celeste.
Dodging, Celeste dismisses their fans and twirls to the side before doing a backward cartwheel away. Once they’ve seemingly tagged out, Jace is running back in. He hurls an arc of fire from his hand toward Kerse.
She bats it away, not phased, only to have Jace punch her in the gut. Taking the hit, she strikes him across the face in return. The metal of her gloves scratches his skin and sends speckles of blood down his cheek.
Beginning to trade a flurry of blows, Celeste joins to try and sidetrack Kerse. The blades on her fans catch the coat every which way and rip into it. As well as the skin beneath now and then, littering the woman with scratches.
Kerse is growing agitated.
The next fist Jace throws at her, she catches and shoves him away. Spinning around, she backhands Celeste and makes a sprint for Orion.
Said man hears the message from Zye in his head and obliges it. Orion sidesteps into a rift to appear on the opposite side of where he was. Once he has and Celeste and Jace can return trading blows, Callua taps on Zye’s arm.
“Send me to Orion.”
“Are you sure?”
“Mm-hm. You can always get me out.”
He trusts her despite the nervous tingle at the back of his neck. Zye watches Callua step through a rift to appear beside Orion. She kneels down and rolls her orb across the flowers to the three tousling through the grass.
Once it’s near, it bursts and sends water beneath their feet. It slicks the grass and has Kerse slipping ever-so-slightly. In response, Jace drops down to try and kick her feet out from beneath her. Celeste swings their fans down at Kerse at the same time.
Kerse jumps up and back. She barely holds steady as she skins on the wet grass. Instead of falling forward, she turns it into the momentum she needs to lunge for Jace.
Inches away, Jace touches the ground and burns it. Doing so has steam from the water and smoke from the burning grass getting in her way.
The only problem is when she moves away, she moves closer to Zye. Jace can’t calm the after-effects of using his fire to regain her attention. Celeste hesitates when she sees the look on Kerse’s face, unsure if they should get in the middle or not.
Anger—no. Fury.
Zye doesn’t back down from it. He stares right back into those ruby-red eyes. He trusts in himself to know when to activate his magic. He won’t be a burden.
“They wouldn’t want you to do this, Kerse. You really think Soren is your friend? What has he actually done for you?”
“What the hell would you know?”
“That they loved you more than you probably realize. Hax wants you to chill the fuck out and listen to us.”
“Don’t you talk like you know him!”
“Like you did?”
Those eyes gain a glint to the dark hue they’ve taken on. Whether it’s a good sign or not, Zye isn’t sure.
“I’ll kill you!” she screams.
Kerse lunges for him with poison dripping from the curved tips of her gloves. An attack that will never land.
Zye calls a rift in front of him as Orion’s strings wrap around Kerse’s ankles. Something he’d only be able to manage with his full power. The very thing that he knows he doesn’t have long to use at this strength.
Kerse roars in anger and tugs at the strings. More circles around her thighs and wrists.
Jace steps out of the rift Zye had called and runs at her. In hopes of pincering her, Celeste comes from the other side. Jace throws up a ring of fire around them the second they’re both close enough. It cuts everyone else off.
At least, almost everyone. Orion steps through one of Zye’s rifts, as mentally requested, to join the fray. One that he quickly takes to his advantage. He sends out his strings like before in an attempt to hold Kerse still.
They only need a few moments. Wear her down— tie her down if he must.
Celeste prepares a strike to Kerse’s back when there’s a crackle in the air. They can’t dodge fast enough as the bolt of lightning hits the ground. It arcs from the ground and up Celeste’s leg, sending them backward onto the flowers.
The scream they let out is barely audible over Kerse’s shriek.
More and more lightning rains down upon them as the clouds in the sky grow dark overhead. Jace sidesteps a few bolts while running to Celeste. He’s barely able to scoop them up into his arms before another hits behind him.
Jace can feel the heat on his back from it. It spurs him to hurry while Orion continues to throw his strings around her. His brow is furrowed as he focuses, more and more each time she pries at them.
Running to meet up with him, Jace calls out to Kerse. “They wouldn’t want you to do this! We’re trying to help you, Kerse!”
Orion grits his teeth as he draws all of the strings taut, believing he can hinder her. “Soren is feeding you lies. Not cleansing will kill you. You know better!”
“No! You betrayed me first! He’s the only one that’s been there for me!” She squirms at how Orion has tied her up. She can’t cut through it with her arms bound to her sides. She can only let out a blood-curdling scream.
Eyes going wide, he dismisses his strings so that he can leap to the side. Jace skids to a halt, nearly getting hit by the arc of bluish-purple that cuts through the air. The ground where Orion had been is left scorched.
Jace nears the fire, creates an opening, and sets Celeste outside of it. Not that it matters, he can’t keep it up much longer. He only hopes Callua or Zye sees Celeste and helps them.
He spins back around and takes a deep breath. He’s trained with Charmilla. It means he knows better than anyone what kind of lightning Kerse is using. It’s fast yet doesn’t hit as hard. All he has to do is dodge.
It singes across his arms and legs as he approaches her with relentless determination. He nears her just as another bolt comes down. It ripples through the air, its target unknown.
Jace isn’t fast enough. The bolt hits Orion in the back just as his fist makes contact with her gut. Kerse stands there, unmoving, for a moment. She glares down her nose at him.
Kerse stops down on his foot and throws her arm back for a punch. One that Jace catches with his fire daring to try and burn through her gloves. He wishes he could— maybe if he puts a little more into it. All the while, she’s grinning at him.
Able to feel what’s generating, Orion stands on unsteady legs. He slings out a handful of strings that wrap around Jace’s middle. The precision is all he needs.
Orion yanks Jace back toward him in the nick of time. He throws up all of his strings, exhausting a terribly large bit of power, to encase them both in a ball of string.
The large bolt of white lightning crashes down onto it. Orion stares up where he knows it made an impact and focuses, trying to push even more string to block it. Make them sturdy— anything to keep the attack from hitting.
Even still, it manages to begin to cut and burn through.
The lightning dissipates at the same time that Jace’s fire burns out. Suddenly, they’re privy to all the information around them. Especially where Zye stands before Celeste. Off to the side is still the ball of string that’s slowly beginning to unravel.
Callua is kneeling down beside them, guiding water to the wound. She smiles softly at Celeste. “If you hadn’t used your scales to protect yourself that could have been worse.”
“Cal.”
She looks up at Zye.
“You can move Celeste if you need to, right?”
“Yes?”
He doesn’t wait for anything more. He’s walking forward to put as much distance between him and them as possible. The sight before him is hardly what he wants to see.
Kerse stands there in all her unleashed power. Glowing pink horns curl around the sides of her head. The white and black tresses are tousled and knocked from their ties. Her eyes glimmer and glow as she glares at him, beckoning him.
She pulls her arms back as he dashes forward.
Zye dips slightly to the right to dodge most of the poison. Very little splatters onto his left arm. Both hands gripping the hilt, he slashes up at her.
Kerse steps back. Even so, the tip cuts across her thigh.
Moving back to him, she punches at his shoulder. Unable to bring his sword back up fast enough, the heel of her shoe slams against his wrist. He lets go with one of his hands.
If only to grab her wrist. The very one connected to the hand that grabs his throat. Her armored fingertips begin to pinch into his skin.
Zye mentally shoves the memories away. He doesn’t need them right now. All he needs is his free hand to sling up and land a punch against her cheek. It has her stunned enough for him to begin prying her hand away.
Bloodied spit hits his face as she yells at him. “It’s all your fault!”
He can feel the tingle her poison is leaving as she scratches at his neck. He wants to itch the burn crawling up his throat. It hurts so bad.
“No, it’s everyone’s!”
“Shut up!”
Zye punches her in the shoulder while dismissing his sword. His right hand now free, he knocks against her elbow to make her fumble. The grip loosens and he’s free.
Stepping back into a rift, he appears beside her before she can turn. Zye grabs her wrist and twists it behind her back. Leaning over her, he grabs for the hand that tries to hit him.
“Listen to me. Hax and Charm were the idiots. They shouldn’t have left you alone.”
That tiny moment of hesitation is all Jace needs to sprint away from the completely dissolved defense tactic Orion set up. He can’t get there before Kerse screams once more.
Zye has to let go.
No. Even releasing his hold on her doesn’t stop the shock from erupting through his body. He’s never been hit by a taser and yet he wonders if that’s how it feels. Stumbling back a few steps, his knees hit the ground hard.
Kerse spins around and slings more poison from her fingers. A large string of it splatters across Jace’s chest as he gets close. The intensity of the burn has him pinching an eye shut and pivoting on his heel to dodge the rest. On the other side from where Celeste is, with Kerse between them, he calls out.
“Celeste, now!”
Generating a ball of fire in his hands, he throws it over Kerse’s head. It confuses her until she watches where it goes. Straight to Celeste as they stand up, summoning one of their fans into their grasp.
At the same time, they bat it back toward Kerse, and Callua throws her orb of water that she’s regenerated. Both hurl toward Kerse with no way to stop them. She chooses to focus all of her power on knocking the small ball of fire down at her feet.
It burns across the ground as Callua’s orb bursts. It was sent much higher and sends a spray of bubbles down that cover both Jace and Kerse.
While she’s distracted, Zye opens a rift to trade places with Orion. He throws his strings all over her; around her waist, over her shoulders, across her torso, her thighs, ankles, and neck. Everywhere he can wrap them around and tighten.
The slightest squeeze begins to cut into her skin and nothing she can do will cut them. And yet she manages to begin to move and turn. The pain is nothing to her. Nothing but an incentive to keep fighting.
Orion loosens the strings to try and get away from her. As he does, she punches him in the solar plexus. She towers over him with a screech that rips through the heavens much like her lightning.
“You weak little twerp! It’s your fault he’s gone!”
Celeste dashes in with Zye’s helpful rift. The fans cut across Kerse’s arms to knock her away. Behind Kerse is Jace grabbing at her coat. She stumbles while calling forth lightning to rip through what keeps Jace tethered to her.
The sound of tearing fabric preludes her lunge forward. Another streak of lightning crashes next to Celeste, drawing their attention. Standing at their side, Orion shoves Celeste away when Kerse gets close.
The intent is to save Celeste if nothing else.
Kerse grabs Orion’s wrist with one hand and forces him back to her. The other hand slams down and claws at his chest.
His scales can’t move fast enough and reappear on his chest. The silver of his eyes flickers back to green for a split second. Fighting to keep control of his power, he knows he still has time before the eclipse is over.
So he goes limp.
Deep gouges rip into his chest— the purple of the poison mixes with the blue blood. Yet he doesn’t make a sound. He stares up at her as she lets him go, dropping the trembling body to the ground.
Celeste shouts for Orion. Jace, on the other hand, is back behind Kerse and grabbing at her arms. He locks his arms around hers to hold her steady. She thrashes relentlessly until the next second, Zye is before her.
“Hold her, okay?”
“Trying. Hurry up with whatever you’re going to try.”
“Kerse?”
She glares up at him. Even more so when he reaches out for her face with both hands. Kerse bites at the fingers that get close. Frustrated, Zye comes in from the sides. A light slap to each cheek as he holds her face in his hands.
It’s a split-second decision. He’s not even sure if it can work like it does for Lucile or those other Nether.
He stares into her eyes as he concentrates. Focusing on imagining the light in his body flowing into her, he’s not sure if it succeeds. All he knows is that it’s a slight drag to his body to do. A subtle bout of exhaustion that he pushes past.
Kerse finally stops moving. She stares back at him and there, for a brief moment, he sees something else. It’s not anger or frustration. It’s the slightest twinge of her brows drawing up into something that looks like hurt. The dark red of her eyes lightens as this happens.
The next thing he knows, it’s gone.
Replaced by Kerse drawing up her leg and kicking him in the stomach as best she can. Zye staggers back, partially bent over.
Kerse leans her head forward, gives a small hop, and then slams it back to headbutt Jace. The force has him letting her go— something he’d rather not do. He stumbles long enough for Kerse to move once more.
She spins on her heel and races for Callua. She was taught to always take out the supporting enemies first, after all. Charmilla would have her head if she didn’t proceed according to plan.
Lightning strikes all around her.
It throws off Orion’s attempt to restrain her. It deters Celeste from getting close enough to grab her.
“Jay!”
Zye’s voice has Jace darting into the rift that appears before him. There’s no hesitation as he comes out in front of Callua. He knocks one of Kerse’s attacks away. The other fist comes down to wail on him until Jace catches her wrist.
She glares at him as he holds her back, daring to put weight behind it and try and push her away.
From behind them both, Zye is already hurrying over. Panic laces through his voice when he yells at her. “Stop! Please, Keke!”
Kerse freezes.
Slowly, she turns her head to look at him over her shoulder. She stares at him long and hard. Everything is burnt and a mess around them. He’s running at her with his sword limp in his grasp, obviously not intending to actually use it for what it’s made for.
Celeste is rising on shaky legs to try and get to Orion. Callua is backing up, afraid to stay too close to Jace should something happen.
And there’s no sound for her.
There’s no sound for Zye.
They’re both tumbling through the emotions rushing through their bodies and neither can stand it. They want it to stop.
Kerse finds her solution in turning away from Zye. She raises her legs and kicks hard at Jace’s chest. To the point where he lets go and tumbles back into Callua. The green-haired woman clings to Jace’s shoulders and keeps him sitting upright as she drops to her knees. Her magic is already settling over his body to heal him.
Finally, Kerse turns to watch Zye slow to a trot. As he nears her, he drops his sword. It remains on the ground, a hint to the others, as he keeps an arm’s length between them. The whole charade confuses Kerse.
“Pick it up!”
“I don’t want to. Stop.”
“No….No. If you won’t, I’ll kill you!”
The first punch he takes with ease. It radiates pain through his stomach as she pulls away. Worse yet because of the armor that leaves digs across his skin. Another cross his jaw has his ears ringing. Zye staggers back and spits the blood onto the ground.
What he doesn’t realize is the sight of the orange smeared down his chin has Kerse’s fingers twitching. A memory she dared to lock away wants to resurface.
It’s not until he steps forward and tries to punch her back that she snaps out of it. She catches his fist. “Stay down!” she snarls at him.
“He’s been lying to you. Charm and Hax, they’d never want to hurt you. But they ended up doing it anyway. Didn’t they?”
“You’re lying to me!”
She shoves him away and kicks him right below the knee. A spot that has him dropping to the very one she hit. He catches her wrist as her fingers curl into his hair. His other hand hurries to grab the fist that’s coming from the other side. It doesn’t matter that the armor cuts into his hand, only that it doesn’t hit.
Even if the poison dripping down his wrist burns like acid, he keeps his grip on her.
“You know I’m not.”
Zye glances out of the corner of his eye to see Orion stand up. He’s moving for the sword Zye dropped and he knows…he just has to trust the Celestial to pull this off. He calls a rift over there for Orion while keeping Kerse’s attention on him.
“They loved you, you know.”
Red-painted lips tremble. She stares down at him with something between anger and sadness. Letting go of him slightly, he sinks comfortably down onto his knee and slouches. Releasing her hand, he knows it’s fine.
Behind her, he sees the rift flourish. The purple magic vanishes as Orion appears, the sword in his hands.
He plunges it into her back with eyes focused on something Zye can’t see. Didn’t choose to see it.
The tip of the blade comes out of her chest at an angle. Blood drips off of it and down onto Zye’s face. It rolls over the bridge of his nose and down his cheek. Kerse’s eyes follow the path it makes until it drips off his chin.
Only then does her grip go lax. The horns begin to fade and her shoulders tremble.
Zye dismisses the blade and immediately she drops to her knees. The armored gloves vanish as she grasps at her chest, gasping. The pain through her body stuns her and renders her still while Zye glares up at Orion.
“I swear to God if you—”
“I found the core. She’s unstable but should be fine. That was a nice plan.”
Unsure if he should retort or get away from Kerse, he can’t help the curiosity. He doesn’t want to leave her. Not when he doesn’t know what losing a ‘core’ could do to someone. He wasn’t around when it happened to Orion.
At least, it’s not the one that keeps her alive.
“Hey…Kerse?”
She gradually raises her head.
The moment their eyes meet, she lunges forward and tackles him to the ground.
“You losers! You tiny weaklings!”
Kerse sits on his stomach and grabs at the front of his shirt. As she’s raising her other fist, Celeste is over to them in no time. Their arms wrap around Kerse’s shoulders with their face burrowing against Kerse’s hair.
“Keke, it’s okay. You don’t have to fight alone anymore. I’m so sorry, please…please stop!”
To the side, Jace rises to his feet and begins to amble over to them. He intends to pull Kerse off of Zye until he sees Orion about to fall over. The front of his shirt is eaten away by the acid to show the gruesome wound left behind.
The fact that the poison is still eating into his body tells him just how intense Kerse’s magic can be if honed. The only way to stop it is to heal and heal faster than it destroys.
Jace rushes to his side and scoops him up into his arms. Orion winces as he’s cradled, silent, and not willing to fight back.
“Celeste, I need a portal to Noctis.”
Sparing a glance, Celeste calls forth a portal that Jace sprints into without another word. No one argues with him. Not while Celeste is still pulling Kerse off of Zye until she’s sitting on the ground in front of him.
Zye huffs as he stands up, brushing flowers off his pants. He’s not as tired as the rest of them must be. It certainly helps that Callua is by his side with her orb of water. She begins to flick and guide it from the orb to touch his wounds.
“You’re as tough as Hax made you out to be.”
Realizing he’s talking to her, Kerse looks up. There’s a glistening in her eyes. If he believes she’s going to cry, he’s dead wrong. All he can manage is to gently push Callua away.
Kerse is up on her feet, shaky and unstable, but stumbling toward him with fists clenched. He bites the inside of his cheek as he watches her stagger to him. He comes to the conclusion that she’s not going to go on her own and Jace isn’t here.
There’s no way Callua or Celeste can carry her. Still, she needs to cleanse or this won’t ever end.
Once she’s close, he bends down and hoists her up over his shoulder. The slight momentum she has helps pull it off. He grumbles as he steadies her with one hand and wraps his arms around the back of her legs.
“That’s enough of that. And he left knowing I might not be able to make a portal.”
“Let me go!” she yells and slaps him on the back.
Grunting, Zye looks between Celeste and Callua. “Suggestions?”
Callua shakes her head and dismisses her water. “I can but only if you want everyone in the main hall to see this.”
“Eh…no, probably not a good introduction.”
“Put. Me. Down!” Each word is accented by another hit to his back. “I’ll kill you for this!”
Frustrated and not wanting to carry her in the first place, he rolls his eyes. “Shut up so I can think, you brat, or I’ll drop you.”
“I dare you.”
He doesn’t hesitate. Zye lets her slip off his shoulder to where her feet touch the ground. Her legs immediately buckle and her ass hits the ground. She shoots Celeste a glare when they giggle and kneel down next to her.
Celeste holds her shoulder to keep her from falling over. “Zye, focus on Hax. His room should still be there and you should be able to access it seeing as he’s still with you.”
“Fine, give me a minute.”
Zye closes his eyes and concentrates. It’s not hard to think about Hax. It is when Kerse scoffs at him.
“Don’t deserve to go there.”
When he opens his eyes he’s surprised to see a portal behind Celeste. Maybe it did help? He huffs at her and squats down. “Are you going to walk or do I have to carry your Highness home?”
“Fuck you.”
“Alright, trouble child it is.”
Zye grabs around her elbows and hoists her up with him. She wobbles ever-so-slightly, trying her best not to seem like she’s weak in front of him. Not that he cares. He’s merely grateful that Callua is by his side as he picks Kerse up. One arm is around her waist with the other holding onto her arm that’s over his shoulders.
Gritting his teeth, he takes a step and is glad when he doesn’t tip over. “Alright, hurry, go through.”
Callua grins as she follows Celeste through the portal. “What? Too heavy?”
“I’m not Jace, shut up and walk.”
Zye ambles forward. He’s happy to leave the ruined flowers behind as the sun begins to come back out. Practically dragging Kerse into the room that awaits them only gets worse when she sees it. Kerse stares at everything.
To Zye, it’s no different than what he saw in his dreams. A large room showered in a yellow-white light. From his memory, he knows that the dark curtains are what he needs to head for. Kerse slows him down while Celeste and Callua wait patiently before them.
Once he gets close, they pull them apart to allow him to slip past unhindered. As he does, Kerse remains silent even still. Something he’s grateful for. Little does he know that the nostalgia hitting her is what has her dragging her feet more than the exhaustion of losing such a wealth of power.
Celeste speaks up once they’re inside the cleansing room. A bright and warm circular room with a large pool of water in the middle. In theory, it could hold all of them comfortably. They amble alongside Zye.
“I’ve already informed Aster to withdraw.”
Callua glances around Zye’s height. “Did he report anything back?”
“No, not yet. I did let him know that Jace is in Noctis with Orion. If they’d like to come here to ask him.”
Zye huffs as he gets to the edge. The water is still and crystal clear all the way to the bottom. A glimmering dark color that stares back up at him. Before it, Kerse seems to be shaking out of whatever reverie has a hold on her. She squirms in his hold with brows furrowing and eyes narrowing.
“Put me down!”
“I’m trying, shut up.”
“No, I’m not going in there!”
Celeste leans next to Zye so that Kerse can see her. “Keke, please, you’re not thinking straight. You need—”
“You know what, no.” Zye shuffles forward and to the side, to which Celeste moves well out of the way. “We’re getting this brat in the water now.”
Her hands push at him as she tries to pull away. Except when she does, he catches one of her hands. It’s not the smartest thing to do. Then again, he’s about to be in the water therefore he doesn’t see any harm.
Focusing hard, he tries to give her more of the ‘light’. The brilliant energy he passes to her has her stilling. While no one can see the transfer, they all can witness how Kerse’s face falls. The realization of what’s happening crosses her face at the same time that Zye tries not to crumble. To him, it’s worth it if the fog is fading from those eyes. No matter how bad his knees tremble, he smirks at her.
“Bet-better?”
When she doesn’t move, he moves his hand up to grab her wrist instead. One solid tug is all it takes to send them both crashing over the edge and into the water. He’s moved them well away from the stairs that lead in and further to the side. A safe way to force her to cleanse.
Water splashes up along the edges and washes up to the tips of Celeste and Callua’s shoes as they hurry over. The small waves settle down as Zye breaks through the surface first. He stands there with the water coming up to his chest. Brushing his hair back, he waits patiently for Kerse to come up next.
Seeing that she’s taking some time to do so doesn’t surprise him. In fact, he’d rather she do so. The longer she’s in the water, the more she’ll heal and come back to her right mind.
A second later, Kerse breaks through as well with her hands grabbing for his shirt. “You shit!”
“I’m not here to fight you. Cleanse all that crap away and then we can talk.”
“Duh, you can’t beat me.”
“I know that. I don’t need to.”
“Oh really? Jace isn’t here. Maybe he betrayed you, too.”
Zye closes the distance between them for her. He grabs the front of her shirt that’s sticking to her skin while lifting her a bit out of the water. He brings their faces close and drops the volume of his voice.
“Jace isn’t like that, you hear me? He’s worked his ass off to protect me and help you. Keep it to yourself or I’ll hit you and won’t feel bad.”
Gritting her teeth, she sends a punch that he bats away. Considering how weak and slow she is at the moment, it’s easy. A fact that Kerse detests with her whole being. She wades back away from him before slamming her fists into the water.
The tantrum grows worse as she repeats the movement four more times until she’s panting. Finally, her fists crash through the water and don’t come back up. She merely stares at them beneath the surface.
She cups her hands into the water as she lifts them. Bringing them up to her face, she watches as the water trickles away until there’s only a small bit in her hands. Kerse stares at it with Zye watching her the entire time. In case she makes a move to run, he wants to be close.
Kerse pants heavily as she watches the stark white on her fingers begin to return to their original color. Her voice is vacant of any anger when she begins to speak once more.
“He…didn’t come when I called for help…”
Callua is the one that moves out of the three of them. She makes her way around the side to where she’s closest to Kerse. She sits down, where it’s dry, and lets her boots dip into the water.
“Soren doesn’t care about anyone. You were a pawn. Trust me. I was at his side long enough.”
“I knew him as well,” adds Celeste. “He’s the one that managed to wound me to the point I can’t heal it.”
Kerse’s head snaps up to look at Celeste. The emotion in her gaze is immeasurable and the range unfathomable. Her hands sink back under the water.
“He…did that…If I’d known I…”
“Kerse, it’s alright. I’m still here.”
Her gaze shifts from Celeste to Zye. “Is he really still with you?”
Zye, comfortable to move away from her, settles on leaning against the side with his arms balancing on the edge. “Yeah. He’s kinda annoying if I’m honest.”
“He’s an ass, too,” scoffs Kerse.
“So are you calming down now that you’re cleansing?”
Kerse slowly nods.
“Then tell me what it was like.”
“You watch yourself stay in a blind rage. You can’t think about anything other than what’s most important. I…realized it too late. At that point even looking at blessed water will through you into a fit.”
Shrugging out of her jacket, she throws it out of the water. Except as she does she sees it. The tattoos on her arm are vanishing. The fear in her eyes has them all tensing up.
“I—no. No! I can’t go! I won’t! Not until I kill that piece of shit for what he’s done!”
Zye shoves away from the edge. Even so, he’s still not fast enough. Celeste jumps past him and lands in the water. It wades up to their chin as they rush to Kerse’s side.
“Shh, Kerse, it’s okay. You won’t disappear. It’s fine.”
“You don’t know that! It’s…it’s going away.”
“Does it hurt, dear?”
“…No.”
“And tell me, what are you feeling?”
“Tired. Weak…Like when we were first made.”
Celeste glances back at Zye as he waits anxiously for their response. A portal of purple and blue swirling energy appears behind him. The presence of it has him looking between it and Celeste.
“Orion said he needs someone to come get Jace, now. Stay with Kerse—”
They don’t get a chance to finish. Zye lifts himself out of the pool and stumbles, trying not to slide as his wet shoes hit the ground. The sound of the water hitting the tile is all that he leaves behind before he sprints through the portal.
