Chapter 24 - Questions, Answers? (1/2)
Lydis continued to swing at the dark figure. Her arm feeling heavier and heavier with each swing. After a few more desperate attempts Lydis slumped over, her back heaving up and down.
”Hey hey. What's wrong? Tired already?” The dark figure hovered over Lydis like an insect. Appearing on her left then her right. ”Have you finally given up? Huh? Now do you realize that it's futile no matter what you do?” The dark figure's smile wobbled up and down, almost like it was laughing. It continued to make inaudible sounds as Lydis's senses suddenly became heightened. She could see the black sludge slowly creeping up her legs. The way that the sludge on the dark figure changed direction before moving. The small, almost unrecognizable, strange lump near the middle of it's chest that pulsed ever so slightly. As the dark figured continued it's frenzy of verbal insults Lydis suddenly charged at it, throwing her entire weight at it. Caught a bit off guard the dark figure was pushed to the ground, it's body splattering black ooze in all directions like blood. Lydis rammed her hand into the chest of the dark figure. It started screaming so loud it almost shattered Lydis's eardrums.
”Get off! Get off! Get off!” The dark figure wiggled and thrashed wildly trying to fling Lydis off. Her hand scrapped the hard core and sensing this, the dark figure's almost solid body, slowly began to turn into a mush. Moving away from Lydis. She scrambled after the hard core and dived after it. Her body sliding on the slick goo, in a last attempt to grab the core Lydis reached out her hand and grabbed at whatever was there. Her hand closed around a small, hard object. Not even thinking about whether she succeeded or not Lydis brought her hand closer and rolled away from the dark figure. She rolled to a stop and used her legs to stand, her left hand firmly gripping the core. The dark figure had assembled itself but seemed a little off. It's head bigger than usual, hands that looked like they belonged to a giant and a gaping hole in it's chest.
”You! YOUuuu! You little B***H! Give it back! Give it baaack!” It's voice no longer resembled Lydis's but was instead a gurgling mess of high and low tones. It dragged out the sound of the last word till it became nothing but a wild howl.
”Oh, you mean this?” Lydis opened her hand and revealed a dark core that seemed to emit a black mist. Against the red of the world around her the black core shined like a gem. She tapped it with one finger and the dark figure wiggled in pain. It's screeches lost in gurgles as it folded into itself again and again, seeming to never get smaller. Lydis watched with joy as she tried different combinations. The dark figure responded well. When she dropped the core on the red road the dark figure collapsed and flattened itself against the road. It extended a wearily arm with a wobbling hand and tried to reach for the core. It's process was slow but Lydis wouldn't let it have the chance to get close. She raised her foot and placed it on the core, pushing it into the road slightly, while moving her foot back and forth. Rubbing the core against the road. The dark figure instantly took back it's hand and continued to writhe on the road in agony.
”M-meerrrcy! I…b…eegg…uu!” The dark figure looked a bit smaller than it had originally. Lydis was still not satisfied. Having insulted her mother and father it couldn't be allowed to live, no matter what 'it' was. As Lydis was still torturing the dark figure another horrid face entered the red world. His steps were loud and heavy, seemingly making the red world shake. Lydis stopped tapping the core and turned around, her face instantly filled with rage and disgust. From a black portal a tall man with flowing black hair, draped in a red cape with a color darker than the red world and golden eyes that seemed to pierce her mind. As the man glanced around him he smiled when he saw Lydis.
”Ah, finally. We meet again little wolf.” Upon hearing those words, like a trigger, memories flooded into her mind. Another world, another life. Reina, blood, Katos, swords, death, Reina. Images of a bloodied classroom, a happy family, a dead mother. Suddenly a searing pain in the side of her head caused a new gush of blood to trickle down her eyes. She wiped them away but found that it was never ending.
*tsk tsk* ”Look what you did to yourself. Don't you know what that is?” The man pointed at the black core in Lydis's hands. The pain had increased and felt like a drill was making a hole in the side of her head. A small pool of blood was already formed around her head. She stared weakly at the man who looked so familiar. Seeing as she couldn't speak the man sighed. He took two steps and was next to Lydis in an instant. Bending over his long fingers pried the black core from Lydis's grip. She stared at the man's back as he approached the squirming puddle of dark ooze. Without a care he let the core drop into the puddle and, just like that, the dark figure was back. It's morbid head was still donned it's creepy smile while the features on it's head became more and more like a face. Indents for the eyes, a bridge for the nose and little flaps for the ears.
”Y-you bastard…” Lydis had just gotten the core out and now this random man had taken it and given it back to that ghoulish ooze. ”F**K!” Lydis slammed her hand against the red road. All her hard work for nothing! The impact of the memories was fading with only a few snippets of her childhood as Reina remaining.
”Listen, if I didn't interfere now you would've killed yourself. I'm only this nice once so you better be grateful.” The man turned to face Lydis, his golden eyes seeming to glow against his black hair. ”That 'thing' is a part of you. Especially the core you were playing with. Should that core break you will no longer be able to use slyphir. Not now nor in the future. It is your embodiment of slyphir.” Lydis wasn't sure what the man was saying but she could feel herself getting better. Did it have something to do with him giving the ooze back it's core? The idea seemed too farfetched for Lydis to believe.
”Why are you here Katos?” Lydis had to spit the words out. Her hatred for him had been reignited since she recovered parts of her memories. Especially the ones from before she got transported here. Katos seemed a bit surprised at hearing his name.
”You remember me? That shouldn't be possible, unless…” Katos mumbled to himself. His mind raced as he though about who could've interfered with his plans and only one candidate came to mind. Having found a possible culprit Katos smiled to himself. Lydis was watching as Katos tapped his chin, seeming to be thinking about something deeply.
”Katos, why, are you, here?” Although still weak she could feel herself getting stronger bit by bit. This time Lydis was getting impatient. The first time she had met Katos he had taken her to this world against her will. And that wasn't even counting what he made her class do to each other.
”I'm just here to make sure you don't try anything stupid like this again,” He pointed at the wobbling black ooze that was becoming more and more humanlike as time passed. ”and to give you some advice.”
”Who needs your advice!”
”Oh, I'm sure you'll want to hear this.” Katos opened his palms and shrugged his shoulders. ”But, if you really, really, don't want it then I guess I can't force you?” His mocking voice made Lydis's face twitch in anger. A few moments passed before Lydis finally gave in, this being in front of her has no need to lie when he could easily kill her with a snap of his fingers, literally.
*sigh* ”So, what is your advice?”
”Good girl.” Katos was treating Lydis a bit like a dog. Seeing this she almost lashed out at him but instead bit the inside of her mouth to keep calm. It wouldn't do any good to her to lose a chance at information. Katos's eyes gleamed with victory.
”Since you insisted so much I guess I have to…” Katos's face became serious. ”Lydis, this 'thing' behind me is the very source of your power in this world. Since your soul is not part of this world's soul cycle it hasn't been blessed by the goddess Sylphina. I had to implant a part of my own slyphir into your soul. Since you didn't have any in the first place it was safe. What took forty years while you were slumbering was your soul fully absorbing and mutating to accept this slyphir, although, looks like your mind has yet to believe me.” Lydis was cautious of Katos. His words seemed true but there was something he wasn't telling her. Something he was deliberately keeping avoiding.
”How would killing that 'thing' kill me?”
”Since that slyphir has already combined with your soul, destroying it would be like destroying half of your soul. People can't live with half a soul, so you'd end up dying. Simple as that.”
”Why'd you come tell me this?” Lydis was still feeling skeptical of Katos coming here just because he was 'worried'. He always moved with the next couple of steps in mind.
”Can't I be worried? Didn't you miss me?” Katos leaned over Lydis, a smirk on his face.
”Never. Is that all you came for?”
”Yup. And now I must bid you adieu, little wolf.” Katos did a slight bow and snapped his fingers, a black portal appearing behind him. ”And get along with 'it'.” As he said that Katos fell backwards into the portal. It disappeared after him, almost like he was never there. The moment he left, the black ooze began to shift towards Lydis.
”What? You wanna go another round?” Lydis put her arms up and bent her knees slightly, prepared for any attacks.
”No you idiot. I've come to talk about the future.”
”Future?”