"I-Its huge!"
I ripped my clothes off, throwing them into the grass.
"We found a lake!"
"Y-Y-YOU IDIOT."
Sy stared at the lake, eyes glistening as his fingers twitched in excitement.
I could swear even some drool ran down the corner of his mouth.
"This isn't just some ordinary lake, Simon!"
"It's filled to the absolute brim with creativity!"
I planted my foot into the grass and leaped into the air—diving in the lake.
Rising to the surface I spewed water from my mouth.
"Ahh, this must be what heaven feels like."
My feet were kinda sore from walking but now…
Sy emerged from the lake, floaties on his arms as he rested on the water.
"Feels good, doesn't it."
"This lake's high concentration of creativity gives it healing properties far greater than the human body."
"A—ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING IDIOT!"
I stared into my reflection. "It'll be 3 months soon, Sy."
Sy stuttered, sinking deeper into the water.
"Y-You miss them… don't you."
I smiled. "Yeah… I do."
He leaned over my shoulder. "Even him?"
My eyes narrowed.
Chest tightening.
Taking a rough inhale I dove into the water.
By him he means…
Marcel.
I don't hate him.
I don't think I could ever genuinely hate him, we've been through too much.
But… I wouldn't call my feelings towards him…
Love.
Erupting from the water I looked to Sy. "Hey, what's your favorite color?"
"You can tell me that much, yeah?"
He sighed, soon followed by a smile. "What a terrible way to change the subject."
"Hmm, if I had to say…"
"It'd be yellow."
My face scrunched in confusion. "Huh?"
"Don't look at me like that you idiot."
I couldn't help but grin, holding onto my laughter. "Sorry, it's just that I'd expect a black or grey. Purple maybe?"
I placed my hand on my chin. "You know, blue would fit you pretty well."
"So, why yellow?"
Sy shrugged. "Who knows, I don't remember."
Silence followed.
"Can I ask you a question, Simon?"
His face…
I quickly nodded.
"How did you know?"
"Know what."
"That I—"
"I just knew. I don't know how to explain it but… just the way you felt to me…"
"Like something inside me has been yearning for you."
"It's a feeling I've never felt before, not Ms. Valeria, not Runi."
"It's deeper than just… love."
I turned. "Sy?"
"Ha, there you go being all shy again."
**
"Woo! That was great!"
"I haven't felt this good since back then."
Grabbing the sack I stared inside, my smile slowly inching down.
"They went bad."
I sighed, dumping the spoiled meat.
"Looks like there's more fighting in our future, Sy."
"We'll be more prepared this time."
I grabbed the empty sack and continued down the riverbank.
**
"Ughhh Sy!"
"What."
"I'm hungryyy!"
"Well stop whining and get us some nutrition, idiot!"
I paused. "Ew, did you say nutrition?"
"T-That's literally what food gives you!"
His face straightened. "Simon, you feel that?"
I reached for my paintbrush. "Yeah."
"There's something big ahead."
We continued on past the riverbank going deeper into the forest.
Something isn't right…
The creativity we felt earlier.
It's gone.
Something containing so much creativity… died?
The grass beneath me rippled, my head quickly dropping.
"Blood?"
I kneeled, running my fingers through the stained grass.
Tapping my bloodied finger and thumb I stood straight.
"This just happened."
Could this possibly be…
I dashed forward, following the blood trail.
Coming to a sliding halt my jaw dropped.
"N-No way!"
Multiple bodies laid scattered throughout the forest.
Sy crossed his arms. "Looks like someone—or something, went on a bastard killing spree."
I marched forward, glancing at each beast carcass. "Who… why?"
Sy turned to me as he kicked at a beast's back, hands pocketed.
"Stay alert."
"We're dealing with a different typa messed up."
I don't know why… but my fist clinched on its own.
"Why? Their bodies are fully intact… all of this, for sport?"
I turned to Sy. "What's the point!"
He scratched at the back of his head. "Well it definitely couldn't have been for survival, like our case."
"Even with this many of them, they all have the same neck wound… no signs of struggle."
Sy looked at me with dejection. "They tried to run."
I grit my teeth.
Why… Why am I so angry?
I killed one myself, I have no right.
But this? This isn't a fight for survival.
It's a straight up massacre.
I squeezed my paintbrush.
"Sy."
"Yeah."
"Let's find out what did this."
"Yeah."
I marched forward, each passing carcass fueling my emotions.
"Simon."
I didn't turn.
"What're we gonna do when we find out?"
My legs didn't stop.
"We're gonna kill them."
The bodies stretched for minutes.
There was a clearing in the forest, a large cave embedded in the ground.
"Let's go, Sy."
"Yeah…"
I placed my hand on his head. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to scare you."
Sy nodded. "I know."
He faded into my arm as I stepped into the cave's entrance.
I gagged from the smell, quickly covering my nose and mouth.
"What the…"
Walking deeper into the cave, complete darkness enveloped my vision.
I looked around, words muffled by my hand.
"I can feel the death in here."
With a sigh I placed both of my hands onto the ground beneath me.
I closed my eyes with a sharp exhale, sending out waves of creativity through the cave.
There, now I don't need to see.
My creativity outlined every inch of the cave.
"I don't sense any other creativity."
I dropped my guard with a sigh.
What a pain.
There's nothing here.
Sy grabbed my forearm. "Maybe exploring this cave will cheer you up!"
"Whatever killed those poor bastards is probably long gone by now…"
I smiled. "Sure."
Sy let out a breath of relief before placing a hand on his hip, pointing forward with the other.
"Lets find treasure!"
I continued forward. "I don't know if we'll find treasure but, it'll be fun for a quick change of pace."
**
Sy kneeled on the ground, hunched over—slamming his fist into the stone.
"Not a single bit of treasure."
I reached to pat Sy on the back.
"Don't wor—"
Huh?
My eyes spun to my hand.
The tips of my index and middle fingers.
They're gone.
I gripped my hand, grimacing as I fell to a knee.
"H-HOW, MY CREATIVITY IS ALL OVER THIS PLACE!"
I have to call it all back, NOW!
"Too slow."
Pain rang out from my heel, dropping me to the ground.
A human!?
No, I'd be able to sense them!
"You smell different… you aren't from here, are you."
My cheek pushed into the ground.
"What the hell are you talking about!?"
A jolt of pain struck through my palm as a ragged hand covered my mouth.
"Who are you?"
He twisted the knife in my palm, my screeches muffled by his hand.
"Did they send you here to kill me!?"
I bit a chunk of his finger off as he stumbled back in pain.
Spitting it out I wiped the edges of my mouth. "Disgusting."
"I understood when you touched me, the reason I couldn't sense you."
"You don't have creativity."
The man disappeared into the shadows.
I grabbed my paintbrush, holding it in front of me.
"How's that possible? Maybe you actually aren't a human."
The man danced around in the cave's darkness. "You really aren't here to kill me…"
"You're not even from Empryeon."
My eyes shifted to the left, trying to follow the sound of his voice.
"Emp— what?"
His voice called out again.
"It doesn't matter to a dead person."
My right?
"I'll be killing you now, just like I did those hideous monsters outside."
My body tensed.
Behind me?
"I'm sure you saw them, yet you still entered my cave."
"It's clear you thought you were alone, but either way."
"You're one stupid guy for throwing your life away."
He's not talking anymore…
Where is he!
My eyes widened, a smirk growing on my face before pointing my brush to the skies.
Bingo!
A yellow beam blasted from the tip of my brush, bursting through the cave's ceiling.
"What is he!?"
The ceiling began to cave in, rocks and boulders slamming onto the ground.
"If I can't see you!"
"Then I'll lighten this place up!"
He stumbled. "Y-You're cra—"
I blitzed to the man in the now dim light, gripping his face.
"There you are."
I slammed his skull into the stone, blood gushing from his head.
Raising his head I whispered in his ear.
"Bye-bye."
"Wait."
I stopped a second before the man's head touched the ground.
"Yes, Sy?"
He slid his hands into his pockets. "I'm one trillion percent sure this is a human."
I hesitated. "How do you know?"
Sy poked at the man's head. "His creativity might be disastrously low, but it's there."
"W-Who are you talking to!"
I glanced at the man, releasing my grip on his head. "My other half, he thinks you—"
Huh?
He passed out.
I winced in pain as I stood straight, looking down to my ankle.
"Hey, the cuts still here."
Grabbing Sy's shoulders I shook him back and forth.
"Sy! Heal me!"
"YOU IDIOT I CANT JUST—"
He perked up, quickly looking at me. "Oh yeah I forgot."
"We don't have Dahlia's healing anymore."
. . .
"Huh?"
Sy groaned. "When we copy another's gate ability we can only use it once before it's gone for good."
I collapsed to my knees. "I'm gonna die now."
"NO YOU'RE NOT!"
"Goodness Simon, what am I gonna do with you."
"Looks like we gotta do this old fashioned, rip your sleeves and wrap your leg and hand."
I looked at Sy, tears in my eyes. "But, but, but."
"JUST DO IT!"
**
"Ahh, you're awake."
"Ugh, w-what!? Get off—"
I placed my finger on his lips. "Shh."
"The more you talk the worse it'll get."
His face went stoned.
I couldn't hold my laughter in. "Oh man, I always wanted to do that!"
The man stuttered. "S-S-So you won't kill me!?"
Looking to the sky I tapped at my chin. "Well, I'm probably still gonna kill you."
"There's just something I want to know first."
"How did you mask your creativity so well… after you passed out it started leaking everywhere so."
"How'd ya do it."
The man gargled in his mouth before spitting on my face.
"Like hell I'd tell you anything!"
I wiped my cheek.
"You know Sy, I used to joke around with Luther about stuff like this when we were kids.
"Cleo would always run to Ms. Valeria the second he heard us."
"Let's see…"
Grabbing my paintbrush I made a yellow line on the man's foot.
"Is this too much? Ahh, whatever."
In an instant the man's foot tumbled down the boulders we sat upon.
I held his body down as he shrieked and squirmed.
"Hey, hey, no. Cut that out."
"After what you did… this is mercy."
I looked the man up and down.
"You have another foot, but maybe I go for the toes to maximize pain… oh the fingers too!"
"I hear nail pulling is pretty popular."
Tears poured down the man's face, his eyes filled with fear.
"OKAY, OKAY I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU WANT I SWEAR!"
I smiled. "Great!"
Taking off the remainder of my shirt I wrapped the man's ankle.
"Now that that's over with, let's chat."
"How did you perfectly conceal your creativity?"
"And also… What's Empryeon?"
The man nervously chuckled. "Lucky for you both of those questions are intertwined."
"There's a village out here… in these forests."
My eyes widened.
**
"But that's enough about the forest, let's talk about what's inside—a village I stumbled upon while first traversing Zytra."
**
Ms. Valeria…
I tapped at my chin. "Ahh I get it now."
"I've heard about that village."
I can finally put a name to it.
Empryeon.
**
"This will probably be the last story I tell you Simon, so make sure to listen up."
**
My fist tightened.
"Let's get going, Sy."
"What about the—"
"It doesn't matter."
I poked the man's forehead. "One last question for you mister."
He put on a smile. "Y-Yes, anything!"
My expression grew dark. "Why did you kill all of those beasts?"
The man grinned. "Because that's exactly what they are! Beasts!"
"They are below us humans, they live to die for us."
I grit my teeth. "You killed them for sport?"
The man laughed. "Of course I did!"
"Those bastards at Empryeon… they abandoned me."
"You know it too don't you, I can see it in your eyes."
"In this world, it's survival of the fittest!"
I attempted to reach for my paintbrush.
Why…
Why am I hesitating!
"Simon."
"It's okay… you don't have to force yourself."
I turned. "But Sy!"
"No buts."
"You wanna get to that village don't you? Empryeon? I can see it on your face."
"This isn't something you wanna rush."
"When you take a human life…"
"There's no going back."
My fingers trembled.
**
"Simon?"
…
"I love you."
**
With a sigh I raised my hands, smacking both of my cheeks.
"Alright, let's find Empryeon!"
"Wait!" The man called out.
"You're just gonna leave me here!? Come on, kill me!"
I smiled. "No thank you."
Turning to leave I skid down the large hill of rubble.
The man's maniacal laughter echoed through the cave.
"You can't do it can you, you can't kill another human!"
"I thought you were like me, but I was wrong!"
"You aren't fit to survive in this world!"
"You're…"
"YOU'RE JUST A COWARD!"
**
"When Ms. Valeria fell… you just stood there and did nothing! You didn't help her, you got scared like the coward you are!"
**
I raised my paintbrush.
"Simon no!"
A flash of yellow erupted from the brush's tip.
A large beam of pure creativity burrowed through the air, ripping through rock and crystal.
The beam completely exploded the hill of rubble, painting the dim walls of the cave a bright yellow.
I paused for a moment before sliding my paintbrush into my pocket.
Not a word was spoken as we exited the cave.
I inhaled deeply.
**
"I love you too. Goodnight, Ms. Valeria."
**
Slow exhale.
"Sy."
He looked at me, face uncertain.
"I want…"
Sniffling, tears streamed down my cheeks.
"I want to go back."