Chapter 84 - Chapter 84: Symptom Escalation

🕯️ Content Warning :

This chapter contains multiple intense themes that may be triggering to some readers:

+ Medical Distress: Depiction of seizures, convulsions, scent destabilization, and a medically-induced coma.

+ Magical Illness & Essence Poisoning: Involves metaphysical systems (Tharym, Velintra, karmic bonds) causing physical and emotional deterioration.

+Emotional Distress: Characters exhibit high levels of fear, grief, guilt, and helplessness in response to a loved one's condition.

+Parental Anxiety: The POV character (Nyota) reflects deeply on his child's suffering and fate, involving themes of destiny, helplessness, and unconditional love.

+Implied Abuse & Ethical Violations: Implications of child kidnapping, forced bond manipulation, and violation of sacred laws by the Dillard family.

+Trauma & Fate Entanglement: Exploration of karmic burdens, fate versus free will, and inherited emotional debts across lifetimes.

+Mild Violence (Implied): Mention of divine retribution and ancestral punishment for spiritual crimes.

Nyxara

The chill slid down my spine like cold water, sudden and wrong. I swallowed and adjusted my sleeves. I'm fine. This is nothing. I can handle this much. I asked Aunt Zira if we could raise the temperature a bit. Nervously, I glanced around the table to confirm no one thought my request was odd.

I kept smiling and engaging with everyone. This is fine. I can deal with chills. I can make it through this dinner. Tremors came next—fingers first. Barely noticeable unless you were looking for it. I steadied my left hand between my thighs as I ate with my right. I kept grounding myself, just like Lux had taught me. In through the nose. Out through the mouth.

Both hands and my left leg were twitching by the time we were midway through the main course of some jewel-toned fish that was very delicious, but I couldn't really enjoy it because I was scared I would bite through my tongue. I was drinking some water when I felt it.

A hand on my wrist. Not there—but there. My breath caught, but I didn't react. I couldn't. Phantom pressure lingered at my neck, familiar in the worst way, and I forced my jaw to stay relaxed even as my thoughts began to blur at the edges. I can handle this. I'm stronger now. I won't make them worry again. 

The scent of metallic herbs slowly creeping closer made me wonder why Líma was approaching the table. I didn't signal for her, did I? I can't make sense of what my body is doing, so I don't know if I did or not. 

For a brief moment, the brush of my family's auras soothed me, and I could relax for a moment. Then the fatigue hit me like a wall. It wasn't gradual. One moment I was upright, trying to focus on Uncle Hael's story about a border dispute they had to handle because it was delaying their transport of medical supplies to a town, and the next my muscles refused to cooperate. My shoulders sagged, and my vision dimmed. Oh shit. The USS Nyxara is going down…going down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moment Nyxara slumped forward, Líma stopped her from going face forward into the dessert bowl. Líma's action had everyone on their feet in moments. Líma did not heed the family's voices. Her focus was completely on her mistress. The agitated humanoids were making the situation unstable, so she picked up her mistress and took her to a nearby living room. 

"Master Aspen, my mistress requires your assessment. Please do so now." Líma gestured for Aspen to attend to her mistress. The family was a bit in shock from Líma's behavior. They had noticed that she had been acting less robotic lately, but apparently when needs must, she defaulted to her base programming to get the job done.

 Líma didn't bar them from entering, but her stance clearly managed who was allowed near Nyxara. Aspen, medical kit in hand, knelt beside the sofa, reviewed the data his tablet was giving him about his sister's current condition. 

With Líma's aid, Aspen attempted to calm Nyxara's essence network. It was violently expelling essence-toxin on top of stressing her physical and mental systems excessively. Aspen was trying to stay calm as he issued instructions quietly to Líma. 

Zira and Cornelius were trying to be helpful by offering advice. Keir and Venus were comforting the kids who were frightened and worried. Lux, Hael, Malcolm, and Davina were discussing whether they needed to prepare a helicopter to take her to the nearest clinic. 

Nyota, alone, was quietly watching everything. He felt the knot of essence in his hidden hand. He calculated the possibilities, and he knew that this was a necessary step for Nyxara's fate path. I so rarely get a glimpse of the tapestry for those close to me. For the Creators to allow this must mean I needed to be the clearheaded one to see and calculate the right plan so my precious little queen could get through this safely.

While everyone was trying to be helpful, it was clear to Nyota that it was becoming too much pressure on Aspen. Aspen, who was trying to stay in his role as a doctor, was struggling to hold himself together. It might be a bit petty, and if I felt he could do a better job, I would have Cornelius take over as he so obviously wants to, but my son can handle this, so I'm moving us to a place Aspen can do what must be done. Nyota's voice cut through the room like a blade. "Enough. You are all distracting Aspen. Not helping. Stay here. We'll report back."

The world folded, and when it was stable again, Nyota, Aspen, Líma, and Nyxara were in her bedroom. Líma and Aspen got her cleaned up, resettled her on her bed, then got back to work. Nyxara wasn't unconscious, but neither was she fully conscious. Her symptoms were cycling and stacking. Soon, Nyxara would need to be sent to a clinic if they didn't calm her down. 

Everything felt fractured to Nyxara. Guilt surged through the Tharym bond, hot and suffocating. Everyone ignored the message, knowing there was no reason for her to feel this way. 

She didn't choose this, and they would all stand beside her regardless. Nyx's body became locked to her. The tremors became convulsions. Nyota gripped Aspen's shoulder when he faltered for a moment when the convulsions increased. Aspen gasped, taking a few deep breaths, patted his father's hand, then got back to stabilizing his sister. The bedroom's cooler, quieter air made it easier for Aspen to think and come up with a few possible plans when Nyxara's scent—sour, metallic, and flickering out of control—made it clear only one of those plans would keep her here under his watch safely. 

The room could hear Aspen swear softly as Nyxara's essence, aura, and scent spiked again. "I'm inducing a temporary coma. Let her ride this out while dreaming." he said, his voice tight but steady. Nyota signed off on this treatment. Líma prepared the patches. Aspen placed them on Nyxara's temples. Aspen engaged them, then kissed her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Little Queen. We'll keep watch. Dream peacefully."

Nyxara felt something press against the edge of her awareness, then—nothing.

After shooing Aspen and Líma away to update the others, Nyota took first watch. He pulled a big comfortable arm chair out of his pocket space then settled in beside the bed, watching the slow rise and fall of Nyxara's chest. The storm had passed, for now, but the damage lingered in the air like the echo of thunder.

 She wasn't broken but it was very clear to Nyota she wasn't the same Nyxara he watched grow up either. Her soul and essence told him a tale he couldn't completely interpret yet but it was becoming clearer.

Nyota rocked in the chair, gazing at the young woman in the bed with an indescribable expression. During this episode, Nyota observed the symptoms in a way he hadn't previously. 

"At least physically and essence network-wise, the Velintra symptoms should end after the ritual. It should bring her to 100% sync ratio." Nyota sighed while talking this out quietly to himself. "Despite that, I believe Nyxara will still have emotional and mental demons to combat. Her karmic bonds with Maeve, Xerxes, and Minette are tangled in such a way I don't know how to interpret the mess."

Nyota held his precious baby girl's hand, the other covering his eyes. The poisoning of the Tharym bond was truly insidious. It was so gradual we didn't notice how it was distorting our bond between each other. I could sense the lingering wrongness of the karmic bond between Nyx and Minette, but the poison made me second guess myself. Now I see clearly the karmic bond between Nyx and Minette is a chain that binds them in a past life and this life. Unless something drastic changes…they are destined to be on opposing sides in this life.

Her karmic bond with Koba is the one I will keep the closest eye on. Before, there was a shroud over the bond, so I assumed I couldn't view it because it was a matter the gods deemed I didn't need to know. All I could sense was a conflicting reading. They are strongly fated, but destiny was not on their side. No matter how I looked into matters, nothing I found made sense of the reading. Just as I was going to assign a team to come up with other angles to try, Nyxara's incident occurred.

Now as I gaze upon the bonds, Koba's destiny with her is shifting to align with his fate reading. Something has happened that would allow him to change his destiny. This put me into deeper contemplation upon observing this phenomenon. "I wonder if the broken Velintra backlash has possibly caused an unexpected change in Koba…I've always suspected Maeve Dillard of controlling the boy in some way but could never confirm or dismiss my suspicions."

Using essence to write all my thoughts out, I come to the conclusion that without more intel I won't be able to puzzle out the truth. I pull out my tablet to review the reports my team assigned to watch the Dillard Enclave have submitted.

According to the reports, Koba has been attending classes and hasn't been acting unusually besides spending more time with Sullivan and Azalea Dillard, his reclusive set of parents, while avoiding Minette whenever he can. Strangely the team has started making daily bets on how well he accomplishes his attempts.

He didn't succeed often at first but has been increasing his odds with help from Sullivan. Thisin itself is the biggest oddity. He used to be a doting brother to his sister while only being courteous to Sullivan and Azalea.  Curiously, I knot a few strands of essence and I see he must make a major decision soon to determine his destiny. 

Curiosity being one of my biggest flaws, I trace Koba's bond with my daughter to the person himself. With a quickness, I use a shadow to taste his essence. I'm gone before anyone would notice I had been there. I processed the taste, then had to sit stunned. How? How is this possible? Is this a trick? I would have to take a more hands-on approach to Koba's observation if what I tasted was real. I would also have to request information from home because, to my knowledge, no children had been kidnapped around the time Koba had been born.

If what I suspect is remotely true, then the Dillard enclave has violated our most sacred laws and will be dismantled, then fed to Asari to be reborn. Maybe a few life cycles as bugs or trees will purify the tar on their souls for their vile deeds.

"My senses are tingling that it is time to find answers for the questions I've been pondering over the years. I will find every skeleton Maeve is hiding in her closet."

Nyota plotted and planned while holding the precious hand of his Little Queen. "I'll protect and help you accomplish whatever you set out to do. Am I a simp for my wife and daughter? Yes, I am. Yes, I am." He softly sang to his daughter. Maybe she can hear him even in dreamland, because her lips pulled into a small, happy smile.