Lilith stared at Aether, confused at first by the sudden terror on his face; he had never seen him have that kind of face, not even when the Rebellion had fallen, a face filled with nothing else but pure fright.
But for what reason?
He tilted his head, but then he felt something fall onto his hand, raising his hand... he saw some kind of red liquid... crimson like blood.
...
’Oh... wait, it is blood.’ But it was probably just the blood from before; after all, his hands had started to bleed from the battle, but he didn’t think he had seen it there before.
He also felt unusually weak for whatever reason.
Looking back at Aether, he followed his gaze towards his chest, where he saw a giant claw going right through him. ’Am I... imagining things?’ It didn’t feel real, or rather, he wasn’t feeling anything, no pain, so it had to just be an illusion, right?
As he was about to move his hands to touch it, he felt it move slightly inside him. Looking behind, the monster started moving to get up. ’This guy is not dead yet?’
Backing away from it, freeing himself, he charged his marks and dashed forward, striking the monster right in the face, making it fall right back to the ground, but for whatever reason, he felt as if his punch had been weaker than normal.
Raising his foot, he tried stepping forward, but when he rested his weight on it, it couldn’t hold him, making him fall to the ground near the monster. ’What the heck, what’s happening?’
Looking back, he saw Aether rushing to him, turning him on his back, which gave him a clear view of the hole inside him.
Was it his imagination... or was it that his brain had still not accepted it, and refused to make him feel any pain? Looking at Aether, he saw his mouth move, his lips opening and closing, and yet he couldn’t hear anything, and slowly he also couldn’t see him anymore.
...
...
...
Aether stared at Lilith; it was an unusual sight to see him silent, not moving. He wasn’t sure if he was dreaming, if this was all his mind playing a trick on him, or if it was real... no, rather, he knew; he was sure that this was real, but it felt easier to believe that it wasn’t.
Out of all the people in the Expedition, Lilith, as ironic as it was, since he wasn’t nearly as strong as some others, was one of the people he thought was never going to be seen in this condition...
One that he couldn’t even say the name of, since it felt wrong putting it next to his name.
...
Kneeling down, he shook his body, but he didn’t wake up.
Getting back up, he just stared at him, completely oblivious to anything around him.
He couldn’t form any words; as much as he tried, every time he tried to speak, he failed. He was still processing everything, really.
But as much as he didn’t want to, he was going to have to accept the truth.
Aether clenched his fists, his grip hard enough to make his hands bright red, as he stared with hollow eyes.
...
At Lilith’s dead body.
He had seen many dead bodies inside the Wonderland so far, whether it was their remains, or just their graves, or their active killing; they had all been people that he hadn’t known the best. He thought that he wouldn’t be able to lose someone that he actually knew, only people that weren’t important to him.
He would have never thought of this scenario.
Where the Vessel of Freedom was just standing dead in front of him, as if he was just another Reader who had his luck cut short.
It made him ask himself many questions... after all, if he thought about it, it was all his fault. If he hadn’t been curious about the palace, they would have never had to fight that beast, and Lilith would have never died.
Lilith had died because of him; if he hadn’t been around, he would never have died.
...
’Some things never change... I guess...’ He frowned. ’As hard as I try, no matter how strong I get, and how strong those around me are, they just die.’
... ’Am I a curse or something?’
He sighed, his grip loosening. ’A being forgotten by mortals and rejected by gods, it really does feel like it sometimes. As hard as I try to search for someone that I can actually get close to, without the fear of their death, they just crush my hope as if it doesn’t mean anything.’
...
’So how can I hope again? If not even the Vessel of Freedom could survive near me, then who can?
...
Maybe I really am not meant to work with others...’
...
If getting close meant that others around him died... then he was going to have to accept it and start distancing himself from others. That way, they don’t have to die, and he won’t have to deal with the guilt and dread that came after.
Even if it meant making his life a lot harder and making it harder for him to survive, he was going to have to make that sacrifice.
Taking a look at Lilith’s dead body one last time, he turned away, not even daring to stay close to his deceased figure; who knew what would happen to his dead body if he did.
He had a lot on his mind, questions that he was going to have a hard time answering, since before, he wouldn’t have ever even considered them a real possibility.
...
’How many are going to die?... How many people will lose their lives in this damn place, and how many people am I going to see without the fire burning inside of their bodies with hope?
...
And those that I considered untouchable before, are they still immune to death?"
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