38 Welcome Home (1/2)
Eventually, his blood-lust faded into obscurity and a bit of clarity returned to the boy. Reed looked around; A slew of mangled corpses and blood painted his surroundings. An impressive display of savagery, if he had to describe it.
”What a goddamned mess...”
If not for the fact that he was covered head to toe in blood and most importantly, the blurred glimpses of carnage he witnessed during his delirium, he would have never believed it. That he caused this... gnarled destruction.
He'd felt a similar reaction during the debrief, but not to this extent. The rush of madness felt, unlike anything he'd ever experienced in his life. As if raging hot lava had been poured into his veins and it had set him free from his pesky inhibitions.
Reed couldn't stop himself from tearing them apart and even derived joy from the cruel act of violence. Unrelenting pleasure suffused with blood and screams...
”H-Hey, are you all right, man? You..”
Esparon's concerned voice dragged Reed out of his reverie and he turned around. The trembling boy had seen everything from beginning to the end; that was troubling, but it couldn't be undone. It looked like he would never look at him the same way ever again.
His eyes spoke for him, even if he would never speak the words aloud. Fear clouded Esparon's eyes. The poor bastard couldn't even look at him as he stared at the dirty ground.
Who could blame for acting this way? Certainly not Reed, in any case. He'd been given a front-row seat and saw a scene straight out of hell. If anything, Reed respected him more because of it. Most would have spilled out their lunch after seeing what he'd done to the Infested.
”I'm good. Thanks for asking, bud,” Reed said. He conjured a sphere of water and used it to wash his hands and face. ”Looks like they didn't have any more friends, so the coast should be clear.”
Reed lightly coughed and said, ”We should get going. There's a good chance our fight probably alerted those sons of bitches. Don't want to meet 'em again if possible, right?” Esparon flinched and hurriedly nodded in agreement.
And so, the two left on their own terms, not quite the same as when they had first met. One left with more questions than he had answers for; the other walked away with a renewed sense of joy for life, albeit through the worst means possible — joy born out of terror.
Fate always handed out different gifts for her children — in many a form and design, each with their unique purpose. Reed and Esparon would not consider the Infested a gift, but in Lady Fate's grand scheme nothing was off the table...
Magnificent buildings composed of beautiful silver and off-white stone that pierced into the heavens far above, now covered in dust, dirt, and ash. An expansive mural was created on the main street itself, unlike anything either of them had seen in their entire lives.
Artistry they had never seen before moved their hearts as they gazed upon the destroyed and abandoned work. It was a representation of who they were and what they stood for until the very end; a final snapshot of their culture.
All of heaven and earth lay bare before the gentle warmth of the Sun. The stars up above shone brilliantly, forming a map of their achievements and virtues. The tale of their creation and their tragic demise.
Even now, although damaged and incomplete, the mural still spoke of the long-forgotten glory and radiance of what once was...
The broken record remained for all who would still walk the damned earth, as proof of the brilliance that the Mulians possessed, and of the hubris born from it.
Every step Reed took felt like a million-mile journey as he stared at the winding mural. A forlorn expression formed on his face the longer he walked down the ruined street. There was something here that called to him from another time and place.
Around him, the stifling, dreary air vanished and heavy fog spilled out of the street itself and the buildings. The pair took notice and prepared for the worst as they shifted themselves onto each other's back. Reed glared at the blanket of haze cautiously as he channeled Anima...
Eventually, he could not see more than a foot away; it was pointless. The thick, milky fog made it impossible to see anything past his arm's reach. Reed cursed his luck and said, ”Esparon, I'm gonna make a break for it. Follow my lead and stick close to me, all right?”
Reed received a silent response, and he immediately craned his head over to where his partner was supposed to be. Beside him, Esparon was not. He was gone. Reed clenched his fists furiously and roared out, ”God-fucking-dammit. Esparon, where are you?! Sound off if you can hear me!!”
How!? It'd only been half a minute and he'd already disappeared! Reed couldn't fathom how someone could get lost, especially when they were only a foot away from their companion. Was Esparon blind or genuinely stupid? Perhaps both?
It was a hopeless situation, given the current situation. He could probably clear the fog if he could gather enough Anima, but something was chaining his ability to gather it down. It felt like he was being restricted by a greater power than himself, which shocked him.
Very few things could hold him down, aside from the likes of conquerors. Whatever lay within the fog had strength equivalent to one, at the very least. Otherwise, this would not have been possible.
Esparon would have to fend for himself this time — an extremely unpleasant thought. The poor guy barely had his marbles together after the first fight...
The fog slowly churned and Reed heard footsteps in the distance. A faint shadows formed around him, figures of what seemed to be people. They stood in place and waited in silence as the footsteps from afar grew louder by the second.
They surrounded him; His partner was gone. Reed let out a deep sigh as he kept his guard up. Trouble always had a way of finding him to his great consternation. ”Why must it always be like this?”
Reed backed up slowly as the shadowy figure continued to approach, but a certain voice stopped him dead in his tracks.