It all came in waves.
First was the pain; sharp, aching, burning hot, telling him he was alive even if that message was unwanted.
Then came the ripples that washed over his submerged body, bringing a coolness that eased the warmth of his injuries. Cradled by its rhythm and cool touch, it felt natural to sink deeper into this serenity.
And like that, a wave of awareness crashed into him like a tsunami. Suddenly, he knew where he was and what had happened.
'GET UP!' His thoughts screamed, waking him up from his short respite.
He burst out of the water without care for his current condition, eliciting protests from his body, telling him not to move. He wiped the water from his eyes and assessed himself and his surroundings.
Looking at himself, he was still riddled with the same wounds from the Ruin Carrions' talons and the cuts from the baselard's curse, but when his eyes landed on his forearms, he squirmed at the sight. His skin was charred and crackled in ways that made his head swirl. On his left arm, metal had been loosely fused into his skin.
Gulping down the panic rising in his chest, he looked around to take stock of the situation.
Everything was bathed in orange and yellow light; the dome of leaves above him was alight in flame. With each passing minute, a tree branch could be heard splashing into the water below. Fire also danced on the brown waters of the swamp, and in the centre of those flames, the Stone Saint struggled to pick itself up.
Cracks riddled its stony body, and parts of its armour and body were falling off the nightmare creature. Its helm was broken, revealing its ruby eyes and short grey hair.
Nyiko moved quickly, his eyes scanning for something he could use to end the defenceless statue. By a stroke of divine luck, he caught the familiar sight of the saint's sword in arm's reach. He grabbed and waded through the warm waters as fast as he could.
The creature tried to push itself up as it noticed Nyiko approaching, but its left arm broke apart, causing it to fall back into the water.
Nyiko trotted through the fiery waves, flames licked his exposed flesh, coaxing sharp hisses and gritted teeth. By the time he reached the Stone Saint, it had just managed to lift its, his head out of the water. He saw his own blade fall on his own head.
[You have slain Awakened Monster, Stone Saint]
Nyiko crumpled to his knees; his breathing was laboured as his vision blurred. The water beneath turned red as ruby dust spilt from the Stone Saint's split head.
'Stay awake. We're not safe.' He tried to collect himself, but he could feel his body failing him. His knees wouldn't listen to his pleas, and his vision refused to clear.
[You have received a Memory]
The whisper of the spell was overshadowed by a voice that was much more relieving.
"Nyiko!" He heard Hectre call to him.
He weakly raised his hand to signal his position to her, and not long after, he was leaning heavily on Hectre, his arm slung over her shoulder as they trudged out of the wetter parts of the swamp.
Nyiko didn't bother summoning any more Memories; taking a glance at his runes, it seemed that the ones he already had were still whole. He dismissed them; there was no point in having them out in the state he was in.
"L-left" the word barely left his lips, but Hectre still reacted to the sound of his voice, jerking her head to him.
"I know you have been through a lot today, but that doesn't give you the right to be vague right now." She teased in a low voice that still held her characteristic charm.
All it elicited was a groan before he gripped onto the torn rags that were his robes and produced a proper reply.
"I don't know how, but I feel… something there. It has to be the temple!"
He strained himself to look into Hectre's eyes, barely visible in the darkness.
"Keep moving, I'll be your compass"
She paused to look at him before a large grin sprouted from her lips.
"And here I thought I was carrying a wounded slave, not a magical compass!"
Nyiko cringed at that, which racked him with pain.
"Please, in the name of Asterion. Just go"
They spent some time treading carefully through the more solid parts of the swamp, Nyiko guiding them to their destination while Hectre hid them both from the sight of any hunting Carrion. Eventually, when Hectre deemed safe enough, they stopped to tend to their wounds.
They didn't have much; most of their supplies were on the horse they had abandoned. Hectre made it work, using most of what she had on Nyiko. Nyiko didn't have much on him either, nothing he could share with Hectre anyway.
When she was done, the two of them sat in silence, letting the minutes pass as they enjoyed the respite. Nyiko hung his head low and noticing that Hectre playfully jostled him, getting him to look at her.
"What's got you so down, my dear tutor? We're almost there."
Nyiko looked at her with sunken eyes, his face lacking its colour or his usual wide eyes. They looked dead now.
"I can't be sure if I'll really make it out of here alive." He admitted, his voice hoarse and quiet now.
"I've been fighting to survive out of instinct, but I can't keep going like this. I want it to end, and yet I am terrified to try to end it. Gods… What end do I even want?" He questioned as his hands began to shake. Clenching them till his nails cut his palm did nothing to stop the tremors.
He stared down at his hands, the ruined skin bringing back flashes of recent battles.
"Shouldn't it have ended when I killed the Stone Saint? Or when I left the Fourth Frontier and killed my captors?"
Shouldn't this trial be over by now? Hadn't he proved capable enough to be free? That he deserved to live? He had survived all of this after.
"What hell was I supposed to do? Fight that horror in the city? Throw my life away against a creature that could turn me into a puddle with a single step!" His voice grew sharp with accusations, but to whom they were directed to, Hectre didn't know.
So she held his trembling fists with soft hands, not to hold them in place but to remind him where he was.
"Listen, I can't act like I understand what you are going through, Nyiko." Her grip over his hands tightened possessively as she spoke. He could hear her as she kneeled in front of him, looking him in the eye before she spoke any further.
"But I can't imagine you ever not being a part of my life, not after all of this. I know this life has been hard on you, but it is thanks to it that we ever met, isn't that a great thing?" She pleaded.
"I won't let such a great thing go to waste, Nyiko. You are mine, and I refuse to let you go like this. We will survive this and live out the rest of our lives, together!"
That claim hung heavily between them, filling the silence that it made.
"Ok," Nyiko said.
It sounded like Hectre accepted this, hearing her rise to her feet effortlessly.
"Good, stay here and stay silent, my Scholar Sage. I'll scout ahead."
In a few heartbeats, he could no longer sense her presence. Nyiko looked down at his pitiful form, a body he was forced into for three months. He sighed and grabbed onto something.
***
Hectre treaded lightly and quickly through the swamp, using the environment as best she could to hide from the gaze of any wandering predators. However, something told her that now that she was Awakened, nothing could hide from her sight. Maybe it was overconfidence brought on by her recent awakening or the fact she had bested her seniors in rank and survived an encounter with a mighty awakened creature…
'Wow! Not bad for someone who Awakened two weeks ago.'
Not that it mattered anyway, those accomplishments came second to her true goal – making sure that she and Nyiko escaped this cataclysm that was all around them.
'All I have to do is get Nyiko into the temple, talk to the druid and deal with her nonsense, then escape this accursed swamp,'
After that, she would be free to start again with Nyiko. They'd have all the freedom to explore this realm and maybe the realms beyond as well. They could climb the path of Ascension together, create a powerful army together, claim their own place within the empire…
'Would he… would he even choose to stay with me after all this?' Her steps slowed as the unwelcome thought crept in.
'Ridiculous,' she muttered.
'Why would he not? I am the only thing he has left.'
She paused for just a moment, allowing her time to collect herself. There was no way she would let a little doubt muddle a conviction, and definitely not now, of all times.
With a single prayer to War, she continued her stride towards Nyiko.
She returned to where she had left Nyiko after a quick check of the perimeter. Thankfully, there was no danger nearby, and since the way ahead seemed to be safe as well, Hectre had a little pep in her step.
"Nyiko!" she breathed, her voice tight with suppressed excitement.
"I've found the temple, it's only…" Her words trailed off as she noticed Nyiko's gaze.
The way he looked at her - the way he looked at her - the direction her voice was coming from was very different from how he'd usually look at her. He would often sheepishly glance at her, and when he was tasked with giving her his full attention, she felt something was always missing in his eyes.
But now he looked at her with an emotion she had silently wanted to see from him. Longing. The heat in his eyes evoked deep yearning, a deep yearning for what, she wondered.
'Is he… no, he couldn't be! Unless… No, no no!'
Hectre was slightly grateful that she was the only one of the two who could see better in the dark.
She stepped over to Nyiko and kneeled in front of him.
"Is something the matter, scholar sage? You are looking at me like I'm some honey cake on display." She tilted her head, a smirk that tried to disguise apprehension.
Nyiko's gaze didn't falter; in fact, he did something Hectre never thought he was capable of doing. His hand gradually made its way to cup her cheek, his touch melting away her inhibitions.
His scarred, kind face was closer to hers now. In the darkness, his skin seemed to radiate the only warm colour. His dark brown eyes told her all she needed to know. He was begging for her lips on his, and who was she to deny something they both wanted?
Their lips found each other quickly, but their meeting wasn't rushed. Kissing him was a slow and exploratory experience, his lips soft and pliant, whispering against her own with promises of desires that they could fulfill.
She pried his mouth open with her own and out came a sweet nectar that poured into her mouth. Slightly surprised but too into the throes of their quiet passion, she gladly drank of the strange liquid.
Then pain struck her, deep and sharp and constant. It emanated from deep inside her,
'My soul core?' She thought through the pain.
She pushed herself away from the eunuch and collapsed onto the ground, convulsing in pain.
'The essence poison!' She realised too late.
And telling by the fact she could feel her essence burn away at such a frightening rate, this poison was undiluted, explaining why the effects seemed so much worse compared to when Pike and Celsa were poisoned.
'Why?' she questioned as her teeth ground against each other and hot tears threatened to spill out of her eyes.
'Why do this, Nyiko?'
Her thoughts were not answered as the traitor stood above, the strange white sparks slightly illuminating his silent figure before forming into something wide and angular on his arms.
Then he slammed it down on her.
***
The thrum of memory guided his way forward. He tripped over protruding roots, bumped into trees and slipped more times than he cared to admit, but none of that stopped him. The end was so close after all.
Blood that once dripped off the edge of his newest Memory had long dried. He was lucky to receive a shield from the Stone Saint; it proved… effective.
Nyiko followed the strange thrum in silence, his head empty, and the voices that had grown increasingly loud over the months had gone quiet as well. There wasn't any need for them, thoughts and voices. He had done it, and he felt nothing afterwards.
And if someone asked him why he did, he would simply tell them he didn't know why.
Eventually, the thrumming became more substantial. It felt like it held a physical presence in the world, as if he could touch it. He felt the space open to him, and suddenly the world wasn't as dark as it was before.
There in front of him stood a temple carved into a large willow tree, its entrance a hollowed-out archway marked by swirling patterns. Other than those features, the temple could be easily overlooked as any old tree, if you ignored the tree's prodigious size.
Shambling to the entrance, Nyiko stopped under the archway and stared into a wall of darkness. He closed his eyes, let out a deep, shaky exhale and opened them again to stare into the pitch black, a now familiar sight. Without any ceremony, he entered into the unknown, only hoping that what met him on the other side of it was the end.