Alma 38 Welcome Home

"What a goddamned mess..."

If not for the fact that he was covered head to toe in blood and most importantly, the blurred glimpses of carnage he witnessed during his delirium, he would have never believed it. That he caused this... gnarled destruction.

He'd felt a similar reaction during the debrief, but not to this extent. The rush of madness felt, unlike anything he'd ever experienced in his life. As if raging hot lava had been poured into his veins and it had set him free from his pesky inhibitions.

Reed couldn't stop himself from tearing them apart and even derived joy from the cruel act of violence. Unrelenting pleasure suffused with blood and screams...

"H-Hey, are you all right, man? You.."

Esparon's concerned voice dragged Reed out of his reverie and he turned around. The trembling boy had seen everything from beginning to the end; that was troubling, but it couldn't be undone. It looked like he would never look at him the same way ever again.

His eyes spoke for him, even if he would never speak the words aloud. Fear clouded Esparon's eyes. The poor bastard couldn't even look at him as he stared at the dirty ground.

Who could blame for acting this way? Certainly not Reed, in any case. He'd been given a front-row seat and saw a scene straight out of hell. If anything, Reed respected him more because of it. Most would have spilled out their lunch after seeing what he'd done to the Infested.

"I'm good. Thanks for asking, bud," Reed said. He conjured a sphere of water and used it to wash his hands and face. "Looks like they didn't have any more friends, so the coast should be clear."

Reed lightly coughed and said, "We should get going. There's a good chance our fight probably alerted those sons of bitches. Don't want to meet 'em again if possible, right?" Esparon flinched and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

And so, the two left on their own terms, not quite the same as when they had first met. One left with more questions than he had answers for; the other walked away with a renewed sense of joy for life, albeit through the worst means possible — joy born out of terror.

Fate always handed out different gifts for her children — in many a form and design, each with their unique purpose. Reed and Esparon would not consider the Infested a gift, but in Lady Fate's grand scheme nothing was off the table...

The pair quickly left the area and continued their trek in silence for several hours. They passed through a faded, bleak environment of the city as the duo ventured deeper into the heart of the metropolis.

Magnificent buildings composed of beautiful silver and off-white stone that pierced into the heavens far above, now covered in dust, dirt, and ash. An expansive mural was created on the main street itself, unlike anything either of them had seen in their entire lives.

Artistry they had never seen before moved their hearts as they gazed upon the destroyed and abandoned work. It was a representation of who they were and what they stood for until the very end; a final snapshot of their culture.

All of heaven and earth lay bare before the gentle warmth of the Sun. The stars up above shone brilliantly, forming a map of their achievements and virtues. The tale of their creation and their tragic demise.

Even now, although damaged and incomplete, the mural still spoke of the long-forgotten glory and radiance of what once was...

The broken record remained for all who would still walk the damned earth, as proof of the brilliance that the Mulians possessed, and of the hubris born from it.

Every step Reed took felt like a million-mile journey as he stared at the winding mural. A forlorn expression formed on his face the longer he walked down the ruined street. There was something here that called to him from another time and place.

Around him, the stifling, dreary air vanished and heavy fog spilled out of the street itself and the buildings. The pair took notice and prepared for the worst as they shifted themselves onto each other's back. Reed glared at the blanket of haze cautiously as he channeled Anima...

Eventually, he could not see more than a foot away; it was pointless. The thick, milky fog made it impossible to see anything past his arm's reach. Reed cursed his luck and said, "Esparon, I'm gonna make a break for it. Follow my lead and stick close to me, all right?"

Reed received a silent response, and he immediately craned his head over to where his partner was supposed to be. Beside him, Esparon was not. He was gone. Reed clenched his fists furiously and roared out, "God-fucking-dammit. Esparon, where are you?! Sound off if you can hear me!!"

How!? It'd only been half a minute and he'd already disappeared! Reed couldn't fathom how someone could get lost, especially when they were only a foot away from their companion. Was Esparon blind or genuinely stupid? Perhaps both?

It was a hopeless situation, given the current situation. He could probably clear the fog if he could gather enough Anima, but something was chaining his ability to gather it down. It felt like he was being restricted by a greater power than himself, which shocked him.

Very few things could hold him down, aside from the likes of conquerors. Whatever lay within the fog had strength equivalent to one, at the very least. Otherwise, this would not have been possible.

Esparon would have to fend for himself this time — an extremely unpleasant thought. The poor guy barely had his marbles together after the first fight...

The fog slowly churned and Reed heard footsteps in the distance. A faint shadows formed around him, figures of what seemed to be people. They stood in place and waited in silence as the footsteps from afar grew louder by the second.

They surrounded him; His partner was gone. Reed let out a deep sigh as he kept his guard up. Trouble always had a way of finding him to his great consternation. "Why must it always be like this?"

Reed backed up slowly as the shadowy figure continued to approach, but a certain voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Greetings, Noble One — Ka'an. We have been waiting for this day, this very moment..." The voice was young and feminine.

A girl stepped out from the fog who looked no older than thirteen or fourteen, adorned in a beautiful robe of glimmering white silk and gold. She wore a necklace made of amber stone that shone like a star, fashioned in the sun's shape.

As she walked closer to Reed, the long, maroon feather she had pinned on her head swung back and forth like a pendulum as if it had a life of its own. The girl looked at Reed square in the eye as she approached him and said, "When her holiness spoke of your arrival, Noble One, we immediately set out to reach you."

Her pure eyes reflected nothing but the truth as she bowed in front of Reed. The surrounding shadows knelt in response, startling him as he blanked out in confusion.

"It was most unfortunate that we met the Unclean Ones as soon as we set out for you. Because of our blunder, we forced you to deal with them yourself, Noble One. I have shamed the All-Mother by even letting those vile, wretched worms even gaze upon your image..."

She bit her lips in fury as she kept her head down, feeling that she was unworthy of looking at Reed's face. The shadows followed suit and prostrated themselves in silence, and Reed felt a headache coming on.

Reed looked at the ridiculous scene and raised his hands in defeat; he couldn't handle the situation anymore. "Look, how about we back this conversation up for my sake, all right? I don't even know who you are... You need not kneel; it's creeping me out." Reed interjected.

"Huh?" A short yelp escaped the girl's lips and she said, "O-Oh, her holiness warned us about this and I still forgot. Once again, I have made myself a fool in your presence, Noble One. I cannot even find the words to describe my shame..." The poor girl looked like she was the verge of tears as she trembled slightly on the ground.

Why do I look like the villain in this scenario?! Oh, for the love of...

"Now, now, don't cry, okay?! It's fine, I forgive you for whatever you did, so don't start up with the waterworks!" He had to comfort the girl for a solid five minutes until she finally calmed down.
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The girl rubbed her watery eyes and said, "O Noble One, you are most merciful and benevolent, just as I imagined you would be. I will never forget this gracious act of kindness. You bless me with your-"

Reed quickly interjected said, "I get it so stop it with flattery and explain to me who you are already." If he hadn't stopped her there, he was confident that she would have gone on prattling until hell froze over.

"Ah, yes, yes, Noble One, forgive me. I am Itotia, a priestess of the Great Flame, and her holiness sent here me to escort you to Citlai, the last fragment of paradise. Our home, far away from the filth and corruption of the Unclean Ones."

An invitation? This wasn't the time for an unexpected adventure; he had to meet up with his friends first. Reed hadn't forgotten about the fact that he still had to save Esparon. As much as Reed wanted to go off on some wild trip into uncharted lands and forsake his responsibilities, he couldn't.

"I'm sorry, Itotia but I can't go with you right now; I'm on an important mission and I can't jus-"

"…But it's already too late, Noble One," Itotia said in a small mumble as she bashfully twirled her thumbs.

The hazy fog around them began to fade and when it finally dissipated, the truth was revealed to Reed. He'd been hoodwinked from the start.

Faint shapes formed out of the fog; a dark and dusty room with a single exit. Cracks of light squeezed through the room's cracked ceiling, giving Reed a small glimpse of his surroundings. Indecipherable glyphs of an unknown origin marked the walls, emblazoned in a massive mural painting that covered the entire room.

"Let us be off, Noble One. Her holiness — no, we've all been expecting you," Itotia said. She gestured towards the exit and waited for Reed to follow.

There was a scent peculiar scent that seemed to be dragging him outside. Sweeter than an angel's kiss and more tempting than a princess's invitation. It was so...

Before Reed even realized it, he'd already put one foot in front of the other as he walked towards the exit with increasing speed, almost as if he were afraid of losing the scent. Itotia knowingly gigged as she ran after Reed, delighted that it had worked.

When Reed reached the exit, he felt as if something had tugged his hand and he looked back. No one was there, aside from Itotia who had still not caught up to him in the distance. Her protests finally reached his ears and he waited for her to catch up.

She huffed laboriously as she whined in between breaths about this and that, but Reed didn't pay her any mind. He walked out of the exit into the light and closed his eyes when a sudden gust of wind smacked him square in the face.

He rubbed his weary eyes and opened them.

Itotia watched the young boy and wanted to say something to him, but couldn't. It tore her to pieces, but she couldn't do it. Instead, she stood beside him and waited. As always.

And then...

And then...

And...

Chapter end