Darkness - Phoenix Flight

What is freedom?

Is anyone free? Are humans able to do what they want when they want? Was fate real? Did destiny control everyone? Were humans all stuck in one big story that wasn't their own, following a series of commands they couldn't even fathom?

What is freedom?

What is it really? What does it mean?

Blood trailed down Sieg's lip from how hard his teeth dug into it, and his nails pierced his palm as he balled his hand into a tight fist. Both he and Ken marched down the halls of the Shining Sentinels guild base and got several odd looks from the guild members, but they both ignored them.

Sieg could feel a troubling storm building up in his stomach, and he feared the worst.

He didn't know a lot about Evelyn Lunar, but what he did know was that she was high up in the Knights, had the ability to mind control and charm people, and lied about everything she said! Once a liar, always a liar, so any bit of information that came from her mouth should be assumed to be a total lie, yet she had a way of making people believe the utter bullshit that spewed forth from her lips.

Sieg practically kicked the door to the medical ward open and was greeted with several disapproving looks from the patients and healers, but he still ignored them and made his way over to Davi's bed.

Father was leaning against the wall, casually looking down at his nails. He didn't even raise his gaze up when Sieg stood before him.

"Where is she?" Sieg demanded. The bed Davi had been in was gone. The equipment that had been hooked up to him was scattered on the ground, being cleaned up by some healers, but Davi himself, as well as Olivia and Evelyn, was no longer in the room.

"You should watch your tone when it comes to speaking to your betters, mutant." Father hummed and still did not bother to glance at Sieg. "Some Knights might think it a sign the madness of your cursed kind is setting in and use it as a chance to put you down. Haru knows they'd be doing the world a favor by taking out a member of Phoenix Flight, so I doubt anyone would care either."

The threat was more than obvious, but Sieg didn't care and reached out his claws, digging into Father's chestplate. "Where. Is. She?" Sieg asked one more time.

This time, Father did look up, his eyes flashing with annoyance. The air around him shifted. Ken entered a stance ready to support Sieg, but it was too late. "Row Absolute-"

Before the spell could fire off and blow Sieg's head off his body, a hand shot out and gripped Father's wrist. The room was filled with even more mana that practically radiated a killing intent as Laerton stood next to Sieg. She did not look happy.

"No one would care if a member of Phoenix Flight were to die?" Laerton questioned. "I guess you forgot that I am here?"

Father's mana slowly turned calmer, and he let out a sigh before his usual smile returned. Without warning, he patted Sieg's shoulder. "I'll overlook your outburst today; tensions are high with everything going on, and mutants are known for being stupid, so I can forgive you!" He said proudly. "Don't let it happen again, though." Sieg was stunned by the blatant disregard for him and was about to yell, but Father was already facing Laerton. "Outside," he said simply. "Let's talk."

"Wait, where is Davi?" Sieg demanded.

Father waved him off. "They'll show back up, just wait."

"But-"

Father left, and Laerton followed him outside so they could have their discussion. As soon as they were gone, Sieg's fist smashed into the wall, and he growled.

"Damn it." Sieg's shoulders slumped, and he felt his arm shake. Even after all the progress he made and the strength he had cultivated, he wasn't at a level where he could force someone like Father to answer to justice. He still couldn't keep Davi safe. Just like how he failed to keep Davi safe from Adam, he failed to keep him safe from Evelyn. Even after he made a big deal and decided he would do everything on his own, he still wasn't enough. "Why am I so fucking useless…"

Ken placed a hand on his shoulder in an effort to comfort him, but she didn't have any words that came to mind, so she just silently stood there with him. The truth was, she often silently wondered the same question about herself. When she did manage to find her words, she hoped they'd at least offer a little help to Sieg.

"It'll be okay."

"Will it?" Sieg demanded, gritting his teeth hard enough to crack one. "Do you seriously think anything is going to be okay for us after all the bullshit we've already had to go through?"

Ken didn't say anything else. She quietly kept her mouth shut.

Outside of the medical ward, Laerton roughly pressed Father to a wall and glared up at him. "What?" He gave her a mocking smile. "Mad that I almost attacked your little freak? Relax, I wouldn't have done it."

"How scum like you can call yourself a hero is beyond me," Laerton muttered coldly.

"Funny, I wonder the same thing about you and your little band of misfits." Father pulled her arm off of him. "What did you find out?"

Laerton's frown didn't fade, and she turned away from the man. "How long do you think it'll be before you can look into Grampa Green's mind?"

"It'll be a while," Father admitted. "His mind is layered with dozens of spells. The old bastard was paranoid and made it difficult for anyone to enter his mind. I am sure the king could do it, but he'd accidentally fry his brain just as he did to that one Spell Sword your guild brought us. Long Nose? I think that was his name? The poor bastard couldn't handle the weight, and I was told his head popped. Unlike him, we don't want Grampa Green dying, so it'll take some time. We need a mage that has mental magic or memory magic who isn't weak but not too strong. Someone like that doesn't just show up, you know."

Laerton gave a hesitant nod and rubbed her forehead, trying to ease the headache that was coming on. "Right now, my theory is that there are seven people that the group is looking for. I'm guessing the attack on those cities led to the death of some of the seven."

"It would fit with what Green said and some of the reports of civilians that overheard the group talking about that number a lot. I'm guessing you got more info out of that girl? One of Myth's Knights was taken. It's possible she was part of the seven. If we assume the cities destroyed all had one of these 'seven' in them, then we can assume that at least three or four are already dead. Now that I think about it, that brat Evelyn wanted to talk to, one of yours, he was attacked also, wasn't he?"

Laerton gave a sigh. "We don't know fully what the seven are, but it did seem like Davi was a target of theirs."

Father grunted and rubbed the back of his neck. "If it makes you feel better, the staff didn't detect anything weird about his body. We have no idea what these 'seven' are, but it doesn't seem to be a physical thing. I also doubt he knows anything about it either, since the king would have already stepped within his mind during the exams and didn't notice any flaws, so it doesn't seem to be a secret either." Father shook his head. "I don't like this."

"Neither do I." Laerton glanced back at him. "What happens to the girl and Davi? Is he able to stay in my guild?"

"Sure. You can have the girl also."

"Huh?"

Father snickered. "Let me be blunt. I don't want to keep her any longer than I have to. Whatever she and that little squire of yours are, they're dangerous enough to attract forces that can level an entire city. Those guys are even working with the Lord of Threads. None of the guilds will want anything to do with a person who has that much of a risk on them, especially as they can seemingly teleport and appear out of nowhere. If the threat were lesser, I'm sure the guilds would want to hoard your little squire to use as bait, but the risk of that Adam man showing up and killing our Knights is far too great."

"So then why should I keep him?"

"Because you're expendable." Father clapped her on the back and then leaned down to whisper into her ear. "Besides, you know how Phoenix Flight works. It's about time your little guild was wiped out. The curse you bear will soon require the destruction of the entire guild. Maybe it's a gamble, but I'm willing to bet if you keep Davi and that other girl, eventually those guys will come for you. We'll monitor you the best we can, and the moment they show their heads, all of the other captains will arrive. Of course, your guild will die yet again, but we'll avenge you and ensure that peace falls upon the kingdom." Father patted her shoulder. "It'll be an honorable death. Serve with pride."

Laerton didn't say anything. She just stood there, her knuckles so white a blood vessel might pop as Father finally stalked away from her.

Phoenix Flight finally had a good use…

***

Evelyn Lunar inherited the power of the voice after she had a run-in with the Great Dragon of Roads. The mighty beast knew that she alone had what it took to reach the path that needed to be walked and blessed her with a gift.

His voice was loud and booming, and being the Great Dragon of Roads, he was naturally able to weave tales as old as time, for he had traveled a lot and done even more. This voice was pure, and it was perfect, as if Haru herself was singing, and it radiated off a very special type of mana that was just as perfect and pure as the one who spoke, allowing weak minds to bend to the owner's will and placing layers upon layers of enchantments onto their minds.

With the power of the voice, Evelyn learned at a young age that she could place a series of suggestions into the minds of others. Depending on how much mana she wanted to use would determine how well it went, but typically, she could weave an idea into someone's head, and it would be up to them if they wanted to follow through with it or not. If she wanted to completely control someone, she'd need to battle their very will and weigh it against her pure mana.

It wasn't a perfect skill, and it wouldn't last forever, but it did have some uses. Another thing she discovered was that her voice could become pure mana and weave its way into the cores of others. Usually, this was a useless skill, but it did allow her to fill someone's mana up with hers to help them recover, or in the rare event they had something connected to their mana, such as an Enchantment layered into them, like, say, a magical sword that could control a person's will, her mana could fuel or drain that object.

Right now, she rested on the bed next to Davi and placed his head into her lap. Leaning down, she breathed into his ear and whispered for him to wake up, using the power she inherited and her mana to weave a series of suggestions that would worm their way into his very soul and allow whatever was plaguing him to wake up.

This wasn't the first time that he had fallen into a deep slumber like this. She had witnessed him enter a state like this twice before. The first time, she had gone into a deep panic and was scared she broke him. It took her days of research to figure out how to get him back, and what she discovered was something known as a "Heart Demon".

It was a term commonly used in Rossum more than any other and was first coined when the Ebony Knight ran his blade through Haru's heart, creating demons. Heart Demon didn't actually mean to create demons; it was more of a metaphor for someone who was struggling a lot. Maybe mentally or emotionally, these things would cause a great deal of stress to befall them and pile up, forming tightly into their chest and causing a great deal of pain to their heart.

Sometimes when Davi pushed himself too far or went on for too long, he'd have a collapse like this. All the stress, guilt, and failures of his life would pile up, and he'd go into a state where he just wanted to give up, but of course, he couldn't because the little shard inside of his body gave him orders, and like a good little puppet, he had to obey.

Now, for a third time, Davi had entered into a slumber, his chest tight and heavy, as regret became the shackles to a prison deep in his mind.

A demon of the heart had taken root within him.

The heart was a very important organ. It was, in fact, linked to a person's very soul, and the soul was linked to the Core, the Core being a human's inner world that created an infinite plane representing their existence.

Evelyn smiled as she felt her voice enter Davi's ear, travel through his blood, pierce his heart and soul, and reach his Core. Her magic enveloped him gently as if hugging him, and he stirred slightly before his eyes weakly opened.

"Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead." Evelyn leaned down, about to kiss him, but stopped when Davi spoke.

It was only one word.

"No."

"Huh-" Evelyn blinked when she felt her throat suddenly burn, and the mana that had entered Davi was forcefully blasted out of his Core. It surged through his soul and his heart and came back out, forming into a ball of white and black energy, creating one of his miniature orbs, this time out of Evelyn's own mana, and it launched at her, carried by an unseen force, but she easily cocked her head to the side and dodged it. "W-What the fuck was that? Since when can he do that? What even was that? Why is he asleep again?!"

Davi's eyes were closed again, and he was breathing softly, drifting back into a slumber.

"I'm guessing that didn't go as you expected?" Olivia asked awkwardly.

Evelyn stared down in stunned shock at Davi. "I don't get it. My mana has always managed to reach him, yet he was able to reject it this time? Why? He woke up for a moment, but what could cause him to fall back into this slumber? Is the Heart Demon that is now holding onto him that strong?" She glanced down at her hand. "Or has my power faded?"

"Can you try again?" Olivia winced.

Evelyn glanced back at her, and her throat and eyes once again glowed. "Act like a dog."

Olivia gave a confused look for only a moment before her eyes lit up with the same blue glow as Davi's. In the next instant, she dropped to all fours. "Arf!"

"No?" Evelyn rubbed her chin, even more confused. "My voice still works. Oh, be normal again, by the way." The glow in Olivia's eyes suddenly switched off, and she blinked in confusion at the fact that she was on her hands and knees.

"What just happened?"

"Nothing, I was just trying something." Evelyn glanced back at Davi. "Wake up-" This time, when her mana tried to enter, it didn't even reach his heart before a force grabbed onto it and twisted it into a spiraling orb, launching it back at her. Evelyn lazily slapped the orb away, which exploded. "Damn it. It seems like he made some new trait that lets him twist mana into those orbs. You shouldn't be able to do that unless you have a Golden Core, and I know for a fact his isn't in him anymore, so what is that?"

"Ms. Evelyn?"

Evelyn turned to glance back at Olivia. "Yes, cutie?"

Olivia ignored the last remark the best she could. "Is the issue that your mana is being rejected by his body?"

"There is a little more to it than that, but yes, I can't seem to reach his Core." Evelyn ran a finger through Davi's hair. "This Heart Demon won't let him go. What in Haru's name could you be dreaming about?"

Olivia hesitated for a moment, then managed to gain the courage she needed. "Can I try something?"

Meanwhile, deep within Davi's mind, he once again felt a creeping cold crawl up his skin as his feet sank into the snow and ice. He was back in his village, a sea of crimson pouring out of him, for while his body might have been healed, his spirit wasn't, and all the damage he had taken in his endless dreams still had yet to fade away.

He was tired. He felt like death. Just the mere act of standing was taking everything he had, yet he came back to this hell.

"Fool." Curled up and giving him a mocking glare was the dragon. Davi stared at his injured form in its glowing blue eye. "Why would you return? Your spirit has grown unstable and damaged after allowing your sins to eat away at you, yet you didn't crawl away and instead came back. You know, if you die enough in here, that form of yours will truly shatter and break, and then you'll be nothing but a brain-dead husk. You're allowing your guilt and despair to win. What brought you back to this darkness?"

Struggling even to breathe, Davi turned his head to stare at the people behind him. His villagers. Those who had died an endless number of times in this cycle just as he had. They were all fearing and cowering away from the dragon.

As if sensing his desires and thoughts, the blue-eyed beast growled. "You came back for them? They're not even real." Fire began to drip down his maw. "You willingly crawled back into hell to save some memories?"

Davi placed a hand over his chest and was reassured to feel his beating heart. "My dad told me to help people. They need help."

"They're not real!"

"My memories are real. My life is real. My existence has meaning."

"I hate you. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you."

The images around Davi began to flicker, and the blizzard began to merge with his Vault, which opened on its own. He felt the blades of his sword nest slash into his legs as he was placed into it, and the dragon glared at him, the sword of the Ebony Knight resting beneath it.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you."

The voice of the Ebony Knight began to grow, for that was what this was. This dream, this endless cycle of death and rebirth, all of it was the Ebony Knight's will, or maybe his mother's will; he wasn't sure it mattered anymore, constantly putting him through hardships so his spirit would break and he'd be unable to stop himself from drawing the sword, finally letting the Knight shackled within free.

The Ebony Knight simply couldn't comprehend Davi's own madness, however. Davi, even knowing that he was going to suffer, came back to do it all over again, knowing the risks, so that he could save fake people?

It made no sense. It was an idiotic choice. One created by a madman. One that a heartless monster like the Ebony Knight could never fathom.

Davi's heart was something the Ebony Knight simply couldn't get.

"There's no use in explaining it. I'm just the way that I am because of the events that all led to this point."

"Your spirit won't last forever, surely even a fool like you must know that." The voice of the Knight on the throne boomed around him. "Despair will eat away at you. You'll crumble, you'll break, you'll fall. Just as everyone has done. Just as I have done. You're nothing more than a slave to destiny. A slave to me. I own you. I own your fate. I am the one who will live."

"No," Davi said coldly.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" The vault began to shake and twist. "You're a slave thousands of years in the making! I created your story! You belong to me! I'll break you! I'll shatter you! Face despair! Face annihilation at the hands of your God!"

Davi winced as suddenly a dark aura began to fill the vault. Blue fire buzzed out in all directions, yet it was cold. Colder than anything he had ever felt before. Like a blanket of ice, the pure raw despair began to slither over his body. Emotions were shoved through his skin, entering his lungs and heart.

A voice began to enter his mind. One that was not his own. Then he began to see something. Memories that weren't his.

He saw a tree. One that reached up to the clouds above and went even further, reaching out toward the sun itself.

He saw a dragon. One that was not the Great Dragon of Roads. It had scales the color of blood and wings that casted a shadow down upon a village down below.

He saw kingdoms older than Esteria. Humans who existed before Haru herself. Lands untouched by humanity.

He saw a woman. One with a body made of metal who had hair the color of the sun and wielded a sword of light. She forged the world that he now knew. Created the people he knew.

He saw his father. A man who had failed so much, again and again. Someone who suffered so much but still managed to smile for the sake of his kids.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you,"

He saw monsters he had never seen before. Beings with grey skin, twisting limbs that only had three fingers and toes. Round heads with inky black eyes. They came on metal that soared through the skies.

He saw the planet. The one that he lived upon. A stretch of land as flat as paper that stretched out through their dimension, infinite in size, trumping even his endless vault. It crumbled. It cracked. It shriveled up and broke, and the stars began to detonate.

He saw and felt despair. A world that was made to make him suffer. A story of blood.

He saw the Ebony Knight. A being who had seen the very same things he had seen. One who suffered even more than he had and had been defeated and broken. A shattered man who had long since given up on the world around him and no longer played to win the game but just played to destroy the game itself. The world.

He saw the end. He saw the beginning.

And then he saw Olivia. He saw Ken. He saw Sieg and the rest of his guild. All his friends who helped him get so far. He saw his own life, one that didn't have a lot of good in it but still had people who helped him and needed him.

Davi sighed as a never-ending sea of despair began to pulse out. "Are you done yet?" Davi asked.

"I hate you!" The despair kept trying to wash over him, but Davi raised his hand and swatted it away, replacing those negative emotions that weren't his own with his very being.

"Can we get this over with? Or are you going to yap some more, saying the same three words over and over again?"

"I hate you!"

"I hate me too. Far more than you. Far more than anyone else. Your words do nothing because I've already come to grow tired of who I am and the life I lived. All you've done is tick me off. You hate me? I hate you. And unlike you, my hate is real. My hate is now. I am not a being of the past. I am one of today. A slave to destiny and the story that you have forged, and I'll make sure that it is a story of despair for all those who are here to harm the people that I care about! Now come on. Let's see if this nightmare can become a dream."

With the last of his strength, Davi raised his sword and got ready to fight.

He ran out of reasons to just give up a while ago. At least, this is what he kept telling himself, but how long could that tiny bit of hope last? Could he survive alone in the empty void of hate?

Soon, he would crumble. But he'd do what he needed to do first.

What is freedom?

Chapter 181 - Darkness