I do not know how long I have been awake, just staring at the ceiling. A part of me wants to curl up into a ball, but another does not want me to move a muscle to confirm that my hand isn't really there; I feel… heavy.
This ceiling-I think they stuck me in the same room as before, here in Fallen's clinic. Strangely comforting, if it wasn't so quiet.
Nobody seems to be around.
In my mind, I keep passing the last... Has it only been twenty-four hours?
How long have I been bleeding out for?
How long have I been in pain?
How long have I been without a fucking-!
The door creaks open, Fallen peeking through the crack.
"Oh good, I thought you'd want to see this."
He opens the door fully, letting in Father and-
"It seems like the church of light decided today, of all days, to make a pilgrimage to the Glistening Keep. Luckily, we got a replacement with Victor over here."
His smile is still that same intoxicating sweetness
"So let's get that hand back, ya? Victor, you have the floor," Fallen says, dramatically motioning Victor towards me
Father looks away as he says that... Or at least, I think he does? His eyes are hidden by his pitch-black glasses... Since when has he had shades?!
"Lord Bell," Victor starts, "I will need some help from you. Though God has given me the knowledge, I grieve that I alone do not bear the strength to do it alone. Shall we?"
"Right."
Father places his hand on Victor's shoulder
Fallen, grabbing my arm, props it up towards Victor
It's whiter than I thought- the bandage, I mean. I thought I did not feel anything from it anymore
"This might hurt a little. You want anything?" Fallen asks
"No, I'm Fine"
"Suit yourself." he turns to Victor. "All yours."
Victor holds his own bandaged hands out, placing them just around... it
Surprisingly, my father is the one to start
"Link: bring out the connection between all things, share from one to another, heart to hand."
Then Victor begins to chant.
"The first sin was to be declared: "The abomination of death, to eradicate the unclean and those with its stench. With heresy-"
His hands vibrate, emanating golden-orange light, warmth accompanying it.
"-sewn throughout these lands, the one-true god shall spread his love to the pure; heal with the hands of faith to quench the rot-"
The bandage unfolds, drifting towards the ground, revealing it
The skin is black, charred into carbon; licks of black reach down from my wrist, past the black stump
The longer I stare at it, the more I start to lose track of his verses, amazed at what I see. The light seems to hold it, caress it. It is a morbid beauty
The flecks of flesh lift off, evaporating in the golden light. Red tendrils climb into the air, branching off in every direction, twisting and turning. White bone protrudes from the stump, being held back by the red veins. Red and White fight each other on and on
Muscles burst out and contain the chaos, gripping it tightly in a vaguely familiar shape
Finally, pale skin creeps from the rest of my arm, finishing off the shape of the hand
Its... back
There is nothing at first, then comes the buzzing and twitching. I am only just able to move it, but like everything, it begins to die down, motion returning to my hand.
Then nothing, or probably more accurately, a normal-nothing
I hold it still, not daring to move it
"-And to him we say what was first said to us: Vitihati"
The golden-orange light drains from the air, seemingly falling heavily on the ground
Victor's hands started to glow at some point; faint etchings illuminating from under the bandages begin to die out
I bring my hand closer to my face, and observe it without moving
It... looks the same, though noticeably paler than before, or I guess I have become tanner than I thought
"Jason?-"
It is Father
"-Are you alright?"
"Where's? Where's Rider, Kienan? Where's Mary? Is she ok!?"
My voice cracks at the last part as I raise my pitch
"Mary's alright; Cass is with her. We were finalizing the papers when-"
"Right!" Fallen shouts, jolting up. "I had to take stock of my medicines; come help me, Victor."
"I do apologize, Lord Fallen, but medicine is not a-"
Fallen quickly strides over to the door, flinging it open, motioning for Victor to leave
It does not take very long for them to leave the room, leaving Father and me alone.
"Jace, are you-?"
"I'm fine"
The silence returns for a long time. Father's hands wrestle with each other in the meantime.
I feel almost empty
"Have I ever told you about my work? Outside of what I do for Seraphs, I mean."
"..."
"When I was in school, I took an elective about the use of magic in carpentry. My professor was lecturing us on the use of wind magic to help lighten the load of materials, and even carry it using the spell telekinesis, which was already impressive, being high-end wind magic. But telekinesis alone! Such an ancient incantation! Was originally thought of as something akin to the cathonic parasites' psionics, but there was evidence of-!"
He stops mid-sentence as he looks to me, taking in a breath. There is a faint glow behind his "shades"
"To me, the magic behind telekinesis looked strange; I even succed the wind out of a room to test it. There was something else moving it. The different magics already appear different when compared ot each other, but this looked different."
He is about to continue talking, but he stops himself, looking down at the ground. He takes off his glasses, rubbing them with his hand.
Finally, some quiet
"There are some things in this world that I can not explain, things that exceed our understanding of the world. I always knew this, because it gave me the ability to see it."
Father lifts his head, without his glasses for what I think is the first time.
His right eye is staring at me, red and bloodshot.
His... What used to be his left eye, at least, is nothing but a dark void. The socket is clean and empty, like he has never had one to begin with
But as I look, faint ethereal-green sparks begin to crackle
A pale skin begins to form, creating the peaks and valleys of a cornea, until it is staring right at me
"I was born with a name, one that neither of my parents ever gave me: 'The Gloam-Eyed."
It is a bit unsettling. It gives off a faint glow, which helps to light up the rest of the socket. I can see some faint etchings that seem to be at the back of his head.
"The only other beings with anything like this are the gods, and those on their way to become ones. If, in their divine knowledge, they know about what I am looking for, they have kept it to themselves. Who knows what this could be; what else is unknown? Could the Astral Sea span farther than we could ever imagine? Are there others past the planes? Could there even be a completely other world!" His voice rises in excitement
Another world? The thought is painful to think of. If he does find a way back, could I go home?
He looks at me with both eyes as he says the last part
"I'm sorry, I know it can all seem daunting to think of."
He reaches out to wipe at my face, but I brush his hand away with my right hand. My cheeks feel wet. Was it the thought of going home? Or the thought of going back?
"I... uh... I'm sorry, Jace, I probably should have told you about my work at another time."
He reaches into a pocket, revealing what I thought was a white marble before he puts it to his face, shoving it into his empty, ethereal socket.
Father mutters under his breath, "Cass hates it when I take it out." he smiles at me. "You think you can keep that between us, Jace?"
I give him an uneasy nod, which he returns with one of his own
We are quiet once more
I can see him shift uneasily, poking and prodding at his eye, getting it comfortable, I am assuming, but what do I know?
It is unnerving once again. I can feel my own breaths; they feel unnatural, my whole body feels unnatural, ready to jump out of a window.w
Why? Just why?
I...
However long we had been sitting there, the creaking of the door breaks our penance.ce
Mom pokes her head through the doorway before flinging it open fully. She is standing there with a tainted grin, a front, no doubt. She is holding Mary in her arms.
"Big Brother!" Mary squeals
"Jace, it's good to see you awake. Nap long enough?" she says, her face turning into a painful smile as she does.
"Is Mary ok?"
Mother walks over to my bed and sits on the edge. "She's doing great, aren't you?" She pokes at Mary's belly, who lets out a giggle
"Oh god, I'm glad everyone's ok," I say, surprising myself with another sniffle.
I sit up and reach out to give the two of them a hug, as tightly as I can
"It's alright, you're all safe."
Mother releases me from her own grasp, which I reluctantly follow. Mary grabs me at the last second, pulling herself out of Mother's grip.
"We thought it would be good for you to hear the good news." She looks to Father in agreement.
"For the past few months now," Father continues, "we have been trying to give you a sibling-"
I don't even need to look in a mirror to see the face I am probably making right .now
"Aw, geez, you really are horrible at giving news, honey." Mother interrupts.
She turns to me with a wide smile
"Jason, meet your new sister, Mary Bell!"
"I have big brother's name!"
"Yes, you do. And we are your new Mommy and Daddy. How about that, Jace? Jace?"
Warm trickles stream down my face. God, I don't think I have cried this much in my .life
Mary looks to me with a smile on her face
I reach out to her with my new hand, but stop halfway
Is any of this real?
Finally, I reach out and gingerly brush a hair out of her face
"Why cry, boy? This is a joyous occasion." Ms. Misha says as she appears in the doorway. "There are others that would like to see you; get up and meet them."
"Misha, I don't think-" My Father tries to say
"I... I can do it, it's fine, Father."
Reluctantly, I slide my legs groggily off the side of the bed. Mary jumps off towards the corner of the room, retrieving the crutch for me.
"Thank you, thank you so much, Mary"
Mary responds with a grin, grabbing my hand as I put the crutch under my other arm.
We make it out to the main part of the clinic. Rider and Kienan, along with Ms. Rhea and the remaining orphan boy, are sitting in chairs, watching us leave the room.
Rider is the first to speak, a strange smile on his face. "Welcome back from the dead!"
He stands up from his chair and waltzes over to me, putting an arm around me.
He and Kienan look patched up, though Kienan is considerably rougher. Rider's arm looks perfectly normal, no marks, but I guess that's what happens when magic can heal you.
"We can take a break for a little bit, but be ready for our next grand adventure!" He tells me
"Quiet, boy!" Ms. Misha snaps from behind us. There is no reaction from Ms. Rhea
"It's alright, Ms. Misha." I look towards Kienan. "You're coming with us next time, right?"
Kienan hastily stands up, seemingly limping a little towards us. "Right, yes, I will."
"But that won't be for a while,e Rider." Ms. Rhe finally speaks. "You will be cleaning your Father's boat when he needs it."
"But Mom, I don't want to!"
"If you still want to see your friends, you will do it without any more complaints, do you hear me?"
Rider slumps a little, putting more of his weight onto me as he does
I wince a little at how mundane this interaction feels
But I do not get too long to think about this. I can hear a voice raising outside
Brushing Rider's arm aside, I waddle towards the door, Mary opening the door for me as I do, Rider and Kienan following me as I do
Outside, Ms. Eve is on the ground, desperately clinging to "Our great lord's" coat, a slight grimace on his face as she does
"-My fault that I hadn't noticed you and your wards for all this time, let alone the parasites burrowing into our home. If anything, I should be thanking you for finally coming to me for help. A home will be given to you and your remaining two wards, along with food, drink, and clothes; I can even help you find a job here in town if you want."
Ms. Eve sniffles a wail. "Oh, thank you,u great man, grand lord. I will repay you with my life! I will give you anything you desire, Anything!"
"Alright, alright. Then give those two boys a life they can smile for. And enough with this lord crap, please."
Connor finally notices .us
"Oh!" Connor Exclaims, reaching down to help Ms. Eve up. She looks at him with red eyes. "Just the boys I was looking for. I hear you three had quite the adventure; I wanted to check in quickly before I have to steal your parents away."
"What? Why?" I ask, confused
I had just woken up! now?!
"Sorry, but we couldn't hold the execution back any longer."
"But-?"
"I really am sorry, Jason, but people are getting restless; I'm afraid someone might take the dirty business into their own hands if we wait any longer."
"What?"
"Jace," Kienan says to me, "They found them, all together, at least the ones that survived, at least."