Happy smiles, bright faces. Warm, warm faces. Her auburn hair slipped low and she laughed as the man beside her told a joke. His smile was just as infectious and bright.
She sang a tune, held the note beautifully as the corner of her eyes crinkled. The man caught my eye through the rear-view mirror and winked.
His song held none of the poise and beauty, but the woman welcomed the off-key ballad and called my name.
"Come on Cyrus! Sing with us! Oh, to the val-"
Blood. Bones. Pain. White lights burning my eyes! Escape the fire!
It hurts. It hurts! IT HURTS!
My eyes shot open and I screamed.
Have to stand! Have to get up!
Legs carried me to the edge of the bed, my feet slammed into the tile. As I tried to flee, cold bindings held me back.
"Get off!" I shouted.
My tail lashed out, and something ripped. I tumbled forward but in my confusion I smashed into a wall. My horns carved lines across the stone sending jolts of itchy vibrations into my skull.
As I sat up, I examined my surroundings while weaving my mana. Something attacked! I had to-
Ding!
Nothing. I had to do nothing. The mental echo blasted away the rising panic. Slowly, I took in the surroundings. It was only after a couple of seconds of blank inspection did I realize there was fire.
I shot to my feet and rushed toward the bed where the rainbow-flames continued to flicker into existence. They had spread over the pillows and onto the frame itself. Burning yet not burning.
Upon further inspection, the flames left no mark in the physical world outside of being half-corporeal. My fingers inquisitively reached out and found the flames without heat.
But as I pulled away, a smaller, thinner echo in my head that reminded me of a distant bell rang. The flames faded leaving an untouched bed.
"What the hell was that?" I asked out loud.
As if in response, the door to my room slammed open and Isaac rushed in in a cloud of shadows. His daggers sliced the air as he raised them into position, but he stopped once he noticed me standing.
"Isaac? What's going on?" I asked.
His daggers trembled, and his hand vibrated as it extended forward. He was without his mask, so I saw the fury in his face and the tears in the corner of his eyes.
"You!" he yelled. Isaac brandished the dagger like a spear and stabbed forward. "Stop! Stop doing this! It fucking hurts, you bastard!"
What? What the hell is he on about?
Before I could raise my voice, Isaac summoned a necklace into his hand and slipped it on. Tension left his face, but not the anger.
His dagger came perilously close to cutting into my cheek.
"Knock it off," I growled, pushing his hand away.
But he didn't stop, and only leaned further in, pressing his weight into mine.
"You knock it off! Do you know what it's like being around you? Stop fucking with my head!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
He lowered his dagger but traded the barb for his finger and dug into my chest. "That's the problem! If it was one emotion, I could deal with it. But you're radiating enough mental whiplash to make a mind eater scream."
"Is this your skill? How about you wear the necklace to turn it off and stop blaming me," I countered, slapping his hand away for the second time.
Isaac pressed forward.
"Misery. Pain. Sorrow, and fury!" he spat. His finger pushed into my chest once more, and my tail wrapped around his wrist, yanking it away. But he continued until his face was inches from mine. "Back to sorrow then to fury. Slide into excitement, and then more misery! Pick a damn emotion and stick to it."
He glared, and the little gremlin rattled its cage. Every bone in my tail wanted nothing more than to break his wrist and launch him into the wall.
Mana rose to my command and weaved into threads that slammed into my skill. Isaac must have felt it, his eyes narrowing but he stood his ground.
Galarion popped into existence and he floated before me before I reached out and slid him into my head. Without prompting, my familiar dug his tentacles deep and devoured.
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The headache I didn't know I had, faded along with the rising anger. Seconds went by, and I breathed deep. When I opened my eyes, Isaac stared, anger still on his face.
I let him go.
"Happy? Are you satisfied?"
For a moment, he looked ready to punch me but he lowered his arm and slammed his daggers back into their sheaths.
"After the tournament. We're talking about this. Me, you, Teddy. All of Broken Tower. We're locking you in a room and you're not coming out until we fix this."
Fury dug its claws back in and I grabbed Isaac's collar. "How about I deal with my shit and you deal with yours."
His fist raised and I braced. But the hit didn't come. Instead he grabbed my face and forced me to look into his eyes.
"Friends don't let friends neuter themselves because they've decided keeping a mental time-bomb is healthier than dealing with shit. Don't insult me, Cyrus. Don't insult the others. Especially not Teddy, or Celenae. We care about you, them especially. And while I'm happy to laugh at your expense time-to-time..." His words trailed off and his voice dropped into cold steel. "If you didn't want friends worrying about you, then you should have never agreed to come with us back in Edolus. Deal with it or leave. And if you're even remotely as smart as I know you are, then you'll agree to sit and talk."
Isaac released me and pulled my hand away. He didn't bother turning around, instead his legs slipped into the floor as he sank into the shadows.
Before his chin faded from view, he paused and raised a tendril and curved it backwards toward the door. "Get a breath mint. No more aura shit, we got a visitor. And they're waiting for you."
Isaac dipped, and I stared at the spot. Part of me wanted to yell at something, but even that impulse slipped away as Galarion helped regulate things.
"Galarion. Pull back for now. I think I'm good," I said.
"Are you sure? Tasty memories, but..." he bubbled softly.
His tentacles loosened and he spilled from my forehead and into my hands. I raised him up and noticed the dimmer-than-usual colors along his skin.
"I'm sure. Thanks for the help. And I'm sorry for the abrupt summons."
Galarion brightened and he tickled my face before flipping upside down and rocketing into my chest.
I swept my hair back and stared down at the silk bed sheets. The flames were gone, leaving the material untouched from the heat. Unlike the fire, my tail had separated a sizable chunk of the fabric.
Silk bindings, Cyrus?
I shook my head, but stopped as I replayed what Isaac had said.
My door was still open so I raised a hand to my mouth and shouted. "You bastard! My breath doesn't stink!"
No response.
Well, at least get cleaned up and then we find out just who wants to see me. Maybe they're someone normal?
I snorted and started my morning ablutions.
***
"Right this way, sir," Walter directed.
"Thanks, Walter. What's for breakfast?" I said.
"Candied ham, more pancakes. And I believe there is a tray of scones in both chocolate and blueberries. I say this tentatively. Sir Igas has taken a liking to the chocolate ones, and I'm sad to say that the candy you have given has been consumed in order to fulfill his appetite."
I laughed and summoned three more bars of chocolate I had saved up. "I'll try to give you more when I can. The treat bag is a little stubborn when it comes to full bars."
Walter accepted the chocolate and made it disappear in one motion. "I will make do. Enjoy your breakfast, sir."
With a blink, Walter disappeared and I stared at the door. It was tempting to pull Galarion out and enjoy the net of comfort he provided but I relaxed enough during the shower.
Before I regret my decision, I pushed the door of the dining room open and slipped inside.
Eodyne and Teddy paused their conversation and waved. Bright smiles, and relaxed faces. That would have been fine, expected even, but not from Eodyne.
I'm going to kill you, Isaac.
Speaking of the rogue, he ignored me in favor of battling Igas for the last scone, the two playing keep-away with their mana.
I smiled at the big oni who snagged the baked good at the last second and tossed it into his mouth. But my eyes felt the presence of another, something familiar.
"Khrem? What are you doing here?" I asked.
Khrem swallowed the last of his sausage and stood up. He reached a hand to shake but paused as he realized they were covered in oil and syrup. He snapped and a wave of water scrubbed his hands clean in a thin film before fading into motes.
"Cyrus, it's good to see you," he said.
I shook his hand and slid into the chair beside his. Even with my attention focused on the unexpected guest, I felt the others staring discreetly.
In favor of ignoring them, I grabbed a plate and shoveled food, pausing at the sight of the Anastasia and Nathan-shaped pancakes.
Eh. Not the first time I've eaten his parents.
After plating my food, I waited and observed Khrem. He seemed excited, and his fingers rubbed together. Something in his eyes gave me the impression of something but I didn't know what that something was.
"Well, out with it. What brought you out of the waters, Khrem? Last time I saw you-you were playing creepy doctor to a bunch of mummified idiots."
Khrem froze. He slowly turned, eyes narrowed. "How did you see that?"
Oopsy.
I summoned one of the pouches containing golem parts and tossed it to him. "Huh, would you look at that? New loot! Mind identifying some stuff for me?"
He caught the pouch and briefly looked ready to activate a skill, but he stopped and cocked his head. "Were you scrying on me? Is that a new skill?"
"Not exactly. I didn't scry on you, but a certain goddess told me you and your mentor were doing some shady things."
This time, his freeze revealed a look of horror and disbelief. I laughed and gobbled down some of the pancakes.
"I see..." Khrem sat up straight and opened the pouch. He carefully pulled the contents free, revealing metal parts along with the spools of thread and some dust. "Where did you acquire these?"
"From the local dungeon. I'm pretty sure its all golem parts. I even got a core, but eh. Not exactly useful to me. Oh! I do have some more tentacle stuff I need identified."
Celenae leaned across the table. "You have more abyssal materials? Where? When?"
"From the mind eaters?" I said sheepishly. I sighed and pulled out the jars of gross stuff and plopped them onto the table. "If you don't mind. I need these identified so I can consume them."
"You consume them? I'm a fan of squid myself, but that doesn't look healthy. What is a mind eater?"
"Mmmmm. Do you know Eraztis?"
"The god of rebirth and souls?"
"Yep, that's him. Mind eaters are his race, or old race. I'm not entirely sure if divinity puts you into a different category but basically what Eraztis looks like is what they looked like. Nasty dungeon bastards, spawns from an old god and all that. Psychic powers and a hunger for our brains."
"Wha-" he shook his head. "Nevermind. But before I identify these. I have a request, one beneficial to the both of us and Broken Tower."
His words drew everybody's attention. And I motioned for him to continue.
"If you need money, I'll pay for your services."
Khrem shook his head. "While I appreciate that, it's not what I mean."
"Alright, what is it?"
He pushed back his hood, and revealed the rows of triangular teeth. The something that I noticed in his eyes practically blazed in tune with his mana.
I didn't need Galarion to tell me that Khrem radiated excitement and determination.
"Simple. I want to join your party."
Would you take an empathy passive like Isaac's?
