A/N – Warning, proceed with caution. No spoilers but the chapter is more gruesome and darker than normal.
The eruption was like that of a dying star.
For a beat, the room remained as it was. The shattered rock, the debris of wood and fabric, the swaying light and shadows. Rue's hands were still wrapped around the knife that threatened to sink deep into her jugular. And then, in the very next second, everything was utterly consumed by a torrent of blinding light.
The air seemed to rupture just as her blade punctured skin, blood bubbling from her throat. The wave of pressure slammed into everything all at once, rupturing the ground, splitting stone. An earthquake. The knife was ripped from her hands. She gasped. A deafening pressure crashed into her ears; the force felt crushing against her skull as shock waves rolled over her body. Light seemed to swallow her vision. She was blinded in the endless white, staggering backwards, forced to her ass.
In the chaos, she was screaming their names.
Kieran.
Levi.
Halcyon.
Then it finally all began to recede, and she sat blinking back tears. Halcyon stood at the very centre of the devastation. But he was now…Gold. She stared at what appeared to be rivulets of gold that poured from his skin in meandering rivers, flowing like stardust and sunshine. It was as if pure sunlight streamed beneath his skin, illuminating muscle, skin and bone.
She could see now, the strange black substance that writhed in his veins, twisting under his skin like parasites, squirming in his bloodstream. The sight turned her stomach and she fought back the gag. It was like worms boiling within their host. A strange sound tore from his throat, choked out like a groan. An almost animalistic sound of agony clawed from breaking vocal chords. He collapsed to his knees, black blood spilling from his lips, worms sprayed from his throat. Whatever the fuck it was, it was thick, viscous and fucking disgusting.
Edmund's ink.
The gold that poured from his eyes seemed to intensify. His pupils were now swallowed by a brilliant gold. His body shook violently, the force radiating from him was strong enough to crack stone. But every breath seemed pained, each movement almost unbearable. He looked tortured heaving against the ground, fingers digging into stone.
Rue's breath caught in her throat.
He screamed.
A sound so raw, so utterly guttural it had her heart clenching in pain, gooseflesh over skin. Wings burst free from his back. Golden wings that seemed to be forged by fire. It was blazing white, so bright that it hurt to look at, searing sharply into her retinas. He had feathers made of sunshine, of starlight. A phoenix, her mind reminded her. An angel. And then he seemed to choke, and she watched with utter horror as his skin began to crumble into ash. His flesh turning black, sections of his body fading into dust.
He was dying.
She stared, mouth falling open. She knew that this was not Halcyon's real body. That this was Edmund, that this was some kind of fucking puppet. But the pain on his face, the deep tortured pull in her chest, told her that this was Halcyon. That this was his pain. Her heart leapt into her throat, realisation slamming into her like a fucking blow to the face. He wasn't just killing Edmund; he was fucking sacrificing himself.
He was burning himself alive just to kick Edmund to the curb.
"HALCYON!" she screamed. Hands seized her as she scrambled forward. The artemis had a smile on his face, expression gentle as he watched her. His lips were forming words. His face was bleeding gold, ashes swirling in the air.
It's okay.
"HALCYON!"
A wail tore from her throat, but she was held back as terror pounded hard and heavy in her chest. She didn't understand. She could not understand what he had fucking done. But what she did know was that he was fading into dust, and she watched with utter fucking horror as pain stretched across his features. The agony twisting his lips into a grimace.
He was in pain.
Pain.
So much fucking pain that it had her chest squeezing tightly, fucking brutally. She could almost feel it vibrating through her bones. The deep-seated knowledge that her mate was suffering so terribly. And he was suffering, tortured, and brutally doubled over in agony. Agony that had his toes curling, nails to his skin, pawing at his throat—
A scream erupted from her again.
Around them the room was crumbling. The ceiling had vanished. Halcyon had blasted a fucking hole straight through the lighthouse and above them now stretched the open sky. Rue could see everything now. The ruined staircase, the open gaping chasm of the jagged cliff. And right before her was the nirvana that had sent her into this hell, the little spot of heaven where she had first found the green mould in the wall.
She should have never gone under the lighthouse.
But it was the crumbling rocks that alarmed her, the collapsing structure, the black ocean that leapt in, the waves were surging and flooding the space. The sea swept into the room now like liquid night, crashing against her knees, cold against her flesh. Cetus, her mind reminded as her eyes widened, stared at the fucking ocean. With the waves lapping at her ankles, it was a sure sign that the monstrous fish was coming.
"LEAVE," Halcyon's roared, too strained, doubled as if another spoke his tongue, echoes of sound layered into a shivery wail. She was frightened then, terror gripping at her throat. But not because she feared him, it was because his weakness was a representation of the cost.
The cost he had to bear for what he had done.
He raised his head then, slowly and almost painfully, his gaze searched for hers. And for a moment the destruction seemed to vanish, the world seemed to cave in. A smile was hooked to the corner of his lips, small, gentle. His eyes crinkling at the corners as if he were looking at something precious. The agony had vanished replaced by a smile that seemed to represent something else, something that broke her heart. Her lips parted. Her heart seemed to squeeze. The understanding was crashing into her, panting heavy on her tongue. He'd done something irreversible. She knew it. Something fucking unforgivable, something he could not take back. She reached for him, eyes watering, chest growing heavy with impending doom. His smile only grew.
Rue.
Her name on his tongue.
Then his body dissolved, ashes swirling, dust motes into the air. The sunlight dimmed. She must have screamed because arms were now around her waist, yanking her backwards before she could touch the drifting ash. She fought almost immediately, water splashing, twisting hard, screaming. Someone shouted her name. She stopped, looked up now with wild tears. Levi was shaking her. Levi who was far too pale. Levi, who had dark smoke pouring from his lips with every breath he took. Levi, who had embers glowing under translucent skin. There was something wrong with his eyes.
She stopped and stared.
"Are you in pain?" he barked, more smoke poured from his throat as he spoke. His fingers were pressed to her throat, she realised now that he'd spent this entire time with his hands to her wound, stopping the blood. She trembled. A wince erupted over his face. Pain.
"What happened to Halcyon?" she whimpered. The words seemed to slur on her tongue. But Levi did not answer, instead his gaze shifted elsewhere, holding her tightly. A strange look stretched across his face.
"Kieran," he snapped.
The name came out sharply from his lips. Her head turned, stomach dropping the moment she saw it. Steam poured from Kieran's skin, light shards leaking from the cracks of his flesh. The sight was beautiful yet grotesque, like a strange fracture in reality. It was as if he were breaking apart. Her jaw dropped open, eyes drew from Levi to Kieran.
No. No. No. No. No—
"How far?" Levi snapped. The waves were rising. It lapped at her knees.
Kieran's jaw tightened, his gaze darting upwards towards the sky. "As far as the light touches," he answered but his words were wheezed out from his throat. It was as if his lungs struggled for air. Rue stared at them both. She felt like screaming.
She clutched Levi's arm. "What's wrong?"
Neither answered her. Panic surged through her veins, hard and heavy. They exchanged glances, but it was enough for her to understand that the situation was dire.
"W-What's wrong with you—"
Levi coughed, blood and smoke spat from his tongue, dribbled from the corner of his lips. Another hacked wheeze and a wad of blood was spat into the ocean. This time the horror that erupted in her was indescribable. Halcyon had been false, a puppet corrupted by ink. There was still hope in her that he was somewhere, alive and well. But Levi and Kieran were real. Real flesh. Real bone. And they were supposed to be Gods—
"Can you?" Levi muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Kieran nodded. "I can try." He stepped forward and light flickered around him. His beams pulsed to the beat of his heart, but it seemed weakened, flickering. She'd never seen them like this, ever. Levi nodded, swallowed hard as his grip tightened on her skin. Her eyes were burning. She didn't know what to do—
"Just her," Levi murmured.
No. Kieran's lips twitched, gaze wavering. He did not speak. The understanding slammed into her as her head snapped towards Levi. She could see now the exhaustion on his face, the weak swell of shadows that frothed from his skin. The acceptance in his eyes. The acceptance fucking terrified her the most. Her heart pounded hard. What the fuck? What the fuck—
"You don't have strength for two," Levi reminded Kieran harshly. "You know that."
"Shadows?" Kieran asked quietly.
Levi smiled. It was a heartbreaking smile. It felt like something was clawing in her chest. "I'm too weak."
The words landed like a fucking knife. He was giving up—
"Levi, what?" she snapped. "What the fuck?" Her eyes widened then, shifting to the helios. But his skin was fracturing. "What's happening?" she cried. "Why are you both so badly hurt—" She turned to Levi, Levi who cupped her cheek with a gentle hand. A smile flickered on his lips. His beautiful face was stained with blood.
"Goodbye, my love," he murmured. The words shattered her, fucking destroyed her. His forehead rested against hers; a sigh escaped him. The rumble of it had gooseflesh popping over her skin. There was smoke and ash and dust. And blood. Blood. Blood. Blood.
"What?" she choked out. She could do nothing but question them. "What are you saying?" The panic in her voice seemed to climb higher. It peaked. "What the fuck are you doing—"
And Kieran yanked her hard.
The world disappeared beneath them, the ground vanished. Rue screamed. They were soaring into the air then, shooting into the sky like a fucking comet. Wind tore through her hair and she gasped violently as the teleportation twisted through her stomach. And then they were in the sky and she could see everything.
Everything.
The lighthouse collapsing into itself, stones folding inwards. The entire structure disappearing as tentacles slapped in the waves, dark oily, pearlescent. Cetus writhed in the ocean. The black sea was consuming the island. And Levi was still there. Levi was still in there—Her screams dissolved into dry sobs. She watched as her jail cell collapsed, vanishing into the waves.
Gone.
Gone.
Gone.
He had been alive a second ago, standing before her. How could he be gone? Her cries were choked now as she stared at nothing but the inky, fucking sea. Where was Levi? The wind whistled in her ears. She clutched at Kieran, despair turning into insanity. She could not do anything but scream and demand. Her mind was just breaking apart. She was desperate, fucking frantic.
What the fuck was going on?
What the fuck had they done?
"We need to go back!" she screamed at Kieran. Kieran who was torpedoing through the air, light flashing. One spark. Two. "We need to go back!" she roared again in the wind. "Levi's still there! He's still there—"
But when her hand touched his arm, she froze. The flesh beneath her fingertips was soft, a brush of her hands and it…It fucking sloughed away. Her stomach lurched. Skin was peeling from muscle. She stared now, at the hands that held onto her abdomen. Muscle slowly melting into bone. A violent crimson and gold blood stained her frock. The sight was so fucking alarming, so fucking grotesque, vomit crept up her throat. She wailed.
"Kieran!"
"Don't look at me," was the whispered word of warning in her ear, too gentle, too soft. "I'm okay."
Liar.
Liar, liar, fucking pants on fire.
"Kieran," she whimpered out. "Kieran, what's happening?" His body was melting. He continued flying now, hurtling through the air. Her mind was working; she had never seen him fly. Kieran travelled through light; he went from portal to portal. He travelled at light speed. Why was he flying— "Kieran!" her cry was sobbed out, horror bubbled through tears. He was dying. It was Cetus. Cetus who was burning him. Cetus who was killing him. Had Cetus killed Levi—
"We're almost there," Kieran promised. It should have comforted her, but instead it fucking terrified her. Because she could hear the lie in it, the trembling fucking lie of someone dying, of someone who only said that shit to comfort her. He didn't know if he could make it. He didn't know if he could do it.
The clouds had long disappeared beneath them and they were hurtling out of the atmosphere. They were higher now than the storms, higher than the clouds. Space stretched above them like a black ocean scattered with a million stars. He had an arm raised, some kind of light barrier erected so that she would be protected, so that her fragile human body could withstand the impossible conditions. But the barrier flickered like a heartbeat, cracks all over. A groan roared from his throat. She was alarmed, her heart ricocheting from the fear.
He was dying, dying from what she could barely understand—He was slowing now as he tried to flee from the planet, barely covering distance. They weren't moving fast enough, and his muscles were dissolving into drifting ash. Gods, his hands were almost completely bone. His entire body shook with effort as he tried to outrun the monster beneath them. And he was dying, dying as he tried to save them both. He had to leave this planet to survive. He had to.
A thunderous roar erupted from beneath them.
Her gaze fell, and the sight stole breath from her lungs. No. No, no, no, no. The clouds had parted, revealing the world, revealing the countless tentacles that rose from beneath them, large enough to destroy mountains and planets, large enough to consume the planet. And this was the first time she saw Cetus in all its glory. Her scream died before it could leave her throat. It was…Her eyes widened, scream choked. A creature so vast, so wide, she struggled to comprehend its existence.
It was a whale.
A tentacled monster whale.
Cetus true and final form was a fucking whale.
Its body stretched across the horizon like a flying island, countless tentacles erupting from its flesh, writhing under its skin like living mountains. They burst free from under its flesh like something from a horror movie, piercing the sky, twisting endlessly towards them. Its mouth was open. Its eyes, its fucking eyes were filled with more tentacles, like worms, like fucking parasitic worms. Its jaw unhinged, mouth open. The darkness within seemed almost bottomless, an endless abyss that swallowed wind, cloud and sky. It was trying to eat them. And inside that fucking chasm of a mouth, were the sharpest rings of teeth that snapped and spun like a drill.
The pull slammed into them, the force dragging Kieran backwards. The monster did not bother to chase them; it was sucking the world itself. Tentacles surged faster, closer, reaching, hunting. They couldn't escape, not at this speed. It was impossible. It was going to be impossible.
Her eyes moved to Kieran, Kieran who was melting so quickly she could see his skull peaking in the corner of his flesh. She could see more light under his skin, the peeling interior of a helios. A broken sound escaped her throat. Yet somehow despite it all he was still flying, still carrying her, still fucking trying. Her eyes frothed with tears from grief, from fear or from loss she did not know.
He was trying to save her.
For the first time in her life, she could feel it. The bond. The connection that danced weakly in her chest, amplifying every ounce of agony. Halcyon's sacrifice. Levi's despair. Kieran's pain. The whispering call of four other mates who were light years away. It echoed through her, heavy on her shoulders and she felt as if she might shatter from the weight of it all. And suddenly the grief became unbearable, the terror unspeakable.
She loved them.
"I'm sorry," Kieran whispered.
And she stared up at him, up at the helios who'd she first met in that dormitory. The cocky bastard that had fucking flashed her. The moment that changed her life. His eyes softened, peace in melting orbs. And that fucking terrified her because people were not supposed to look at peace, not in this situation, not—She knew instantly when a broken thumb brushed her cheek. Tender, warm—He threw her into the air, hard.
Rue screamed.
"KIERAN!"
The force launched her up into the sky. One moment, she was wrapped in his arms, and the next she was hurtling through space. Weightless and alone. A cry erupted from her lungs as she reached towards the man growing smaller beneath her. A man she would never reach as weak and as fucking useless she was. He sank backwards, falling.
Falling into the belly of a monster.
"NO!"
Her voice was useless in the soundless void. Below him, Cetus surged upwards, mouth widened tentacles erupting. Kieran was still smiling as death reached for him, as tentacles pierced into his chest completely, as his flesh dissolved. The sight broke her completely, she could not hear her own scream but it tore from her, raw and animalistic. It was so fucking brutal.
He was a God.
How could Gods die?
He was supposed to be capable of regeneration. He was an SSS-class Esper. They never died. They could survive anything. She tried to struggle, kicked, reached and twisted. But she was just a useless human, just a useless fucking human. Useless. Weak. Human. Omega. She couldn't save her mates. Her three fucking mates who had died trying to save her from this hell, who had died trying to give her a chance to survive—And suddenly she was falling as the gravity of the world reclaimed her, pulling her towards the planet, towards the monster, towards Cetus.
Kieran's death had been pointless.
Levi's death had been pointless.
Halcyon's death had been pointless.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
She reached for them as if reaching could do anything, as if desperation alone could rewrite reality. They needed to be safe. They had to. They must. They must be safe. The insanity of it all pulsed in her mind. A plea roared through her as the tentacles surged towards her. A cry emerged from her lips as a prayer, as a plea. Please. Please. Please. They had to survive. They had to live. The need exploded through her, larger than anything, larger than her own will to live. A command hurled into the world. They must live. They must. How could she survive like this? How could they be dead? They must live. It was an almost lunatic demand that she roared towards reality. The seven stages of grief, and she was fucking bargaining. They must survive or she would just fucking die—
The first tentacle struck her.
And the world went dark again.
A/N - Read ahead on
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