---- Nox ----
Dae wasn't doing anything.
He'd stepped out of the alcove and extended his hand, Nox saw his powers reaching out towards the armor but that's where it stopped. No bending, no crushing, nothing aside from Dae's face growing hauntingly pale.
To be fair, the armor wasn't moving either. After the initial turn towards the trio the suits went unnervingly still. This inaction was somehow just as upsetting as the small turn
Beyond the armor, around the entrance on the other side of the room, Nox could see the blood stains. Worse yet, about half way into the armors hallway, there was a body. A member of the smaller guild, the one who got the furthest. If Nox had to place a bet, he'd guess that this was their metal manipulator.
Several thoughts started swimming around Nox's mind. The most pressing of which being the revelation that they were already beyond the door the previous guild attempted and failed to breach. Which could only mean the catacombs also held the gate's core.
None of the corpses were particularly strong, just resilient and numerous. Nox looked back down the stairway and saw what was left of the corpses regrouping and clamoring over the large wooden door. The two Espers on the other hand were fully preoccupied with the armor.
"You can start anytime now, Esper Kane," Kaspar's voice was strained and annoyed. Nox turned to him, ready to reassure him or at least defend Dae. But Dae's words killed any comfort Nox had to offer.
"They're not metal."
Nox spun to look at Dae and Kaspar pushed his way out of the alcove to join Dae on the staircase, "What do you mean they're not metal? They're fucking armor! What else would they be made of?"
Dae showed no signs of offense at Kaspar's disbelief. Instead staring out across the unmoving armor with passive incredulity. He looked like he'd been hollowed out.
"It's a terracotta army…"
Nox blinked, once, twice, three times, and his mouth fell open in shock.
He'd read the reports. Mayflower's metal manipulators struggled because of the armor's sheer numbers, but they'd still be able to do damage with their ability. The main reason the armor won in the end was through targeting the metal manipulators and dispatching of them first. After that the rest of the guild didn't stand a chance.
"The glaze has silver powder." Nox and Dae turned to look at Kaspar. He simply shrugged and responded, "Ellis does pottery. Metallic glazes are expensive as hell."
Nox nodded slowly and looked back at the armor. They remained still. Another thing that didn't make sense given their reported aggression. Though as Nox considered it, they were aggressive about protecting the doorway. The doorway the three of them already lay on the other side of. It was possible they weren't programmed to attack anything coming from the other side of the door.
"Kaspar?" Nox asked. Kaspar hummed a conformation and Nox continued, "What happens to pottery if you keep applying heat to it?"
Nox could see the smirk forming on Kaspar's face as he caught on. Fire crackled in his palms and he stepped ahead of Dae who still looked like his soul was trying to liberate itself from his body.
"Cracks, shrivels, melts. Nothing good, that's for sure."
As Kaspar grew bolder, Dae withered. Nox could understand his disappointment. He'd been dragged into the field exclusively to deal with the armor, only to find himself useless. But Nox couldn't afford for him to stand on the sidelines, not with the plan slowly forming in his mind.
He stepped up behind Kaspar and wrapped his arms around him. Kaspar glanced back at Nox as Nox poured his energy between them. When Kaspar was solidly cleansed, Nox stepped back and held out a hand for Dae. Dae took it hesitantly and Nox focused on not losing himself in Dae's vessel.
"You can strip the silver in the glaze, correct?"
Dae was coming back to earth. His gaze hardened and he nodded firmly. Nox grinned at him, soft and unguarded, just for a moment. Dae returned the smile with a gentle softening behind his eyes and subtle twitch of his lips. Nox tore his gaze away from Dae and did his best to ignore the binding pain in his chest.
"I don't think they'll attack until we enter the room, unfortunately for us our only way out is through." Ahead of Nox, both Esper's nodded. Nox fought the desire to pat them both on the head. Even rabid wolves were once pups, "If I hold the dead back can you clear the room?"
"I think so…" Dae responded self consciously as Kaspar confidently replied, "Of course!"
Both Espers looked at each other judgementally. Nox bit back a laugh. Instead he put a hand on each Esper's back and gently pushed them forward, "No time like the present."
Obediently, both men sprung into action. It was always satisfying to see high rank Espers in combat. It had been years since Nox had worked with an S-class and nearly half a year since he'd worked with an A-class. Despite their petty bickering, both of them were nearly unstoppable as a team.
Nox couldn't afford to watch them too long. He tore his gaze away and focused on the corpses struggling at the bottom of the stairs. The majority of them looked like smoldering husks, Kaspar's handiwork. They wouldn't be able to do much to Nox even if they wanted to.
Regardless, Nox realized something when fighting above ground. The corpses ignored the guides, at least they had until a guide started using their ability.
Something Dae said before when he was talking about the nature of Esper and guide's abilities had been weighing on Nox since they entered the gate. If Esper's energy was connected to the world around them then it could be sensed at any time. A constant broadcast. Nox knew he was able to track Espers even in the gates, but he'd never considered what that implied.
He certainly hadn't considered how that applied to his own abilities. Dae said a guide's energy comes from within. Add in that guiding energy must be consciously given. It all seemed to imply that a guide's energy would be invisible when not in use.
Nox was sure Dae wouldn't approve of how he was planning to test this hypothesis but it needed to be done. That understanding hadn't stopped Nox from making sure Dae was distracted before he started his little experiment.
One more glance over his shoulders. Reassurance that Dae and Kaspar were solidly locked in combat. Then he was gone, half sprinting down the stairs. When he reached the door he noticed how many corpses had been crushed under it. He stepped up and felt an unnerving level of give as the buried bodies dipped and squished under his added weight.
There were corpses along the edges of the door but none had managed to climb atop it. At least they hadn't yet. Either way, Nox continued forward. His fingers twitched against the knife strapped to his thigh but he didn't draw it yet. He inched forward more and more until he was at the edge of the door and the corpses' hands were in grabbing distance of his ankles.
He bent down and reached out towards the corpses.
Just as he'd predicted, the hands scratched and bumped him but didn't grab. They moved around him as if he were one of them. Still, Nox didn't want to test his luck too much. He pulled out his flashlight and looked around for his best opening. When he found it, a small gap created by a crushed body sticking out from under the door, he leapt.
The impact against the stone sent twinges of pain through Nox's body but he didn't have time to waste on the ache. Instead he willed himself forward, trying his best to avoid coming into contact with the bodies. Which was a feat given how they covered the ground like a particularly gruesome rug.
His flashlight swung back and forth in an arch as he looked for routes they initially ignored. As he paused at a four way cross section he noticed something white blinking in his peripheral vision. He held the flashlight still and turned toward the blinking.
Sure enough, his partner band lay clutched in the hand of a twitching body. After considering it for a moment, Nox reached out to wrestle the band away. It seemed Nox's relative invisibility didn't quite extend to proactive movements as the corpse dropped the band only to latch on to Nox's skin.
Nox swore under his breath and dropped his flashlight to pull out his knife. The effort it took to cut through the shriveled bony hand forced Nox to appreciate how easy Dae's ability made everything thus far. Had he really come to rely on it so much after less than an hour?
Once the hand was cut away its grip on Nox failed and it fell to the ground. Nox's band was snapped so he shoved it into one of his pockets, hopeful the light meant it was still working. He grabbed his flashlight and decided to head to the right.
There were shockingly few corpses along the path Nox chose. Nox discovered the reason for this about half way down the passage way. And honestly? He wished he hadn't.
When Nox first saw light ahead of him he assumed he'd somehow circled back to where they'd initially fallen in. It was only when Nox saw a staircase up that he began to comprehend what he'd stumbled upon.
Nox smelled ash and woodsmoke.
He looked up at the top of the stairs and felt his stomach flip uncomfortably. Above him were the smoldering remains of the stable. The stable they'd been able to see in the courtyard. The stable Mayflower had burned to the ground.
A body lay on the steps, confirming the fear painting tension in all of Nox's muscles. It was no reanimated corpse nor shapeless mage's robe. It wore a jacket with yellow and brown detailing, a windmill embroidered across the left breast.
Nox kneeled next to it.
Body recovery was not his field of expertise. But there would be no time to send someone for this poor lost soul once Nox got his hands on the core. So Nox carefully peeled the jacket off and tied it around his own waist. He also undid the Espers watch and shoved it into his pocket.
When his fingers brushed along his partner band as he deposited the watch he realized that the Esper was also wearing his own partner band. It pointed back towards the armor room. Blinking softly, a final declaration of the Esper's connection with the other abandoned body.
Nox let out a heavy breath and hoped Kaspar and Dae would think to retrieve the other body's watch.
As Nox turned back towards the depths of the catacombs he tried his best not to consider what it meant that Mayflower made it into the catacombs yet never mentioned it in their brief.
Of course there was a possibility that this lone Esper had stumbled down here just like Dae and Nox. But the chances were slim given that they had a partner band and could have been located easily. There was only one reasonable assumption Nox could make.
Mayflower knew about the catacombs.
Mayflower lied to Titan.
Guild politics never interested Nox in the past. For someone who planned to spend his whole career in the public sector, petty disagreements between wealthy guilds felt worlds away. Still, even as a disinterested bystander, Nox had picked up on some general themes in these disagreements.
Titan's ownership of Dae's energy well technology was controversial at best. Especially given that Dae created it before signing with Titan. Dae's old guild threw a lawsuit level tantrum only to lose miserably when it came to light that they had been selling a counterfeit version of Dae's design behind his back.
Similar accusations had been made about Titan at first. Dae was painted as a wayward victim just trying to make the world a better place and Titan as a money hungry conglomerate looking to take advantage of him.
Upon joining Titan Nox could confidently say that it was the other way around. The power Dae, the youngest S-class with little field experience, had over his entire life was remarkable. Nox himself had been hired because Dae offhandedly told the guild to 'give him anything he wanted.' Titan knew their place, and it was under Dae's thumb. Whether he admitted it or not.
That didn't stop those outside Titan viewing their copyright on Dae's energy well as a monopolization. Dae's somber explanations and overworking suggested to Nox that it was more a precautionary than profit driven.
Nox was a first responder at ground zero of the first energy well failure. While the general public had been quick to dissociate the event with the energy well itself-- due in no small part to Titan's publicity team --Nox would never forget it.
The burst of energy overloaded every Esper in a 50km radius and the sudden surge leveled everything within three hundred meters of the gate. Nox had never guided so many Espers before. Or been forced to end so many of their lives.
Some guilds saw it as Titan's fault. Nox overheard victims screaming for the dissolution of Titan. Even when the guild using the well was exposed for ignoring safety measures, plenty still blamed Titan. Not to mention their sunny pseudonym 'the reaper guild.' A name born from missions exactly like the one Nox was on now.
All of that could explain other guilds' desire for the chance to sabotage Titan. But it couldn't explain a small guild sacrificing so many of its own to get that chance. Nox tried his best not to dwell too much as he crept around the catacombs.
A second body was the only warning Nox had to get out of his head before a trap went off. Nox processed the human nature of the body a split second before a clicking sound signified the dropping of a heavy metal latticework of spikes.
Nox fell back on his ass and his flashlight rolled out away from him, only to be shattered as the metal contraption came down on it. Nox's pulse raced as the mechanism slowly reset, sliding back up into the shadows of the ceiling.
In the absence of the flashlight Nox was nearly blind. Darkness pressed in all around him as he tried to regain his breath. The soft glow from his watch was the only light but it wasn't enough for Nox to navigate by.
After collecting himself for a second, Nox pulled out his partner band. The white light lit up the space better than his watch and gave Nox enough clarity to notice the pressure plate he'd stepped on moments ago.
Nox swore at his own carelessness and stood, carefully examining the ground by the light of his band. There were several other pressure plates below the metal grate. If Nox had been the slightest bit more distracted he would look similar to the pitifully minced body in the middle of the path.
Nox patted the pockets of the jacket he'd stolen and grinned to himself as he found a flashlight. Only to be sorely disappointed when he clicked it on and nothing happened. He let it fall from his hands and strained to see the other corpse more clearly.
There was a chance, however slim, that their flashlight was still functioning. While Nox technically could navigate by the light of his band, it was more than likely to have him following in the body's fate. He took a shaky breath and began inching along the ground towards the body.
He barely started leaning down next to it when something small and hard fell on his head. He swore and his free hand shot up to soothe over where it hit. Only for them to meet something metal and come back sticky. In a panic he pulled the item away from his head and held it out in front of the light of his band.
It was a metal pin. Nox didn't recognize the logo, some sort of sharp beaked orange and blue bird, on it but it seemed man made. The prongs had sliced open a small cut in Nox's scalp. A cut that was now oozing blood that dripped along Nox's nose. Head wounds always bled heavily, but it probably wasn't concerning beyond that.
The thing that should have been concerning Nox was where it had come from. He realized several seconds too late that if it had fallen down other things could as well. Right about when a heavy thud followed by a familiar click sounded from behind him.
His instincts were just enough to have him throwing himself out of the way in the nick of time. The teeth of the mechanism tore into Nox's calf and his cry of pain echoed off the bone covered walls.
As he clutched at his torn calf he briefly considered the SOS function on his watch. Now that he knew about the stairs there was no reason for Dae and Kaspar to fight through the clay soldiers. But the fear that Dae would come alone, leave Kaspar to fight the armor by himself and get all three of them killed stayed Nox's hand.
He gave himself a few beats to wallow in agony before forcing himself to his feet again. Traps meant he was getting closer to the core. At least that's what he told himself as he limped forward, hand steadying him on the rows of skull adjacent decorations.
The next trap was something fire inspired. At least that's what the melted corpses in guild jackets told Nox. When he hobbled past something clicked but nothing actually happened. Nox had seen it before. Some resources were limited in gates. Fuel being one of them. Something Nox was infinitely grateful for.
After several other traps, all of which indicated by fallen members of Mayflower, Nox finally spotted something glimmering around the corner. His eyes had gotten so used to the faint light from his partner band that when he turned the corner to the sparkling light of the core he had to shield his eyes as they adjusted.
It sat on the ground next to a pedestal. Nox assumed it used to take residence on said pedestal but it was currently occupied by yet another fallen Mayflower Esper. Nox's eyes fluttered closed and he whispered a prayer of thanks to the Esper whose body was currently holding the final trap at bay.
His initial promise to collect the watches from the bodies had gone out the window right about when the first trap had crushed the body already mangled from multiple impacts. He was sure that if he so much as touched the body in front of him it would trigger the final trap so he hissed out a sorry and shakily bent down to retrieve the core.
It stung in his hand, the energy somehow antithetical to his own. Discordant and uncomfortable. Nox had never held a core before. It was the Esper's duty to destroy the core, or as was more often the case, it fell to the energy well. The ache grew and grew, out shining the pain in Nox's skull and leg quickly.
Nox gritted his teeth and set it back down carefully. He looked around for a few moments before rolling his eyes and stripping off his armored jacket to serve as a makeshift sack for the core. It's closeness still stung but it didn't build like it had against his bare skin.
If Nox were in even slightly better shape he would crush the core now and just make a run for it. But as it stood, it would be best to wait until he could reconvene with Dae. He leaned against the wall and took several shaky breaths, considering his options.
Dae had probably already realized that he was missing. There was a chance he'd notice that Nox's partner band was on the move again but even if he did he would probably assume it was with a corpse not Nox himself. The core put off a strong energy signature so Nox was nearly certain his invisibility would be out the window. The only remaining solution was an SOS.
With his watch hand he clutched the core and with the other he began to type out a short message before startling as the coms device in his ear crackled to life.
"Lost him… somewhere below…" It was Dae's voice, drifting in and out with Nox's shitty signal. Nox pressed his eyes closed and prayed to the spirits of every Esper that might be listening before pressing on his coms unit.
"I've got the core, sending out an SOS."
--- Dae ---
Dae was going to hyperventilate. The second the last clay soldier fell he'd spun around eagerly, hoping for some of Nox's gentle praises, only to find his guide wholly absent. Kaspar noticed simultaneously. Dae sprung into action first. He sprinted to the mouth of the stairway and slammed a hand against the wall.
Dae watched a line of fire spread from Kaspar's hand across the wall and illuminate the stairs from top to bottom. It revealed a congested tangle of living corpses milling about the bottom but no sign of Nox.
Dae couldn't hear anything but his own blood pulsing in his ears. Kaspar looked back at him with a similar blind panic. Kaspar's panic forced Dae to get a hold of himself. Kaspar was at least five years younger than him, Dae needed to take charge of the situation before both of them overloaded from stress alone.
"We- he- ah, fuck," Off to a good start. Dae ran a hand over his face and took a few steps towards the stairs. The gears in his mind started turning and he glanced back to the now clay dusted hallway behind him then back to the stairs, "The core's down there somewhere."
Kaspar's eyes went wide and he started down the stairs. Dae caught his harness and pulled him back. Kaspar looked at him indignantly. Some biting remark clearly forming on his lips but Dae cut him off.
"I know. Trust me, I know how reckless he is."
Kaspar looked away from Dae, back down the stairs at the throng of corpses, clearly visualizing something similar to the images racing in the back of Dae's mind. Nox suffocating under a mound of corpses. Nox being torn to shreds by their bony claws. Nox dragged away by a gate beast containing the core. That and a thousand other horrible fates Nox could be facing.
Dae pressed on his coms device, "We cleared the armor."
"Fuck!" Jin-Won's voice crackled through to Dae, impressed, "Already? Well damn, do you have the core?"
"No," Dae sighed and rubbed a hand over his face before pressing the device again, "Nox got separated. We lost him. He's somewhere below us in the catacombs."
"There're fucking catacombs!" Jin-won sounded panicked. Dae saw her distress begin to infect Kaspar, but before he could even begin to take hold of the situation a familiar voice crossed the coms.
"...the core…sending-"
Dae and Kaspar stared at each other in shock as a notification flashed on their watches.
Guide Nox Levi requesting immediate extraction
"Guide Nox! What's your condition," Jin-won commanded. Composing herself as Dae and Kaspar tried their best not to fall to pieces. They waited breathlessly for a reply that never came.
"Shit," Jin-won swore softly, "Kane, Smith, commence extraction. We'll start on our side too. Keep your wits about you, you can't help Nox if you're dead."
Dae nodded, "Yes ma'am."
Kaspar looked like he'd take off the moment Dae released his harness. Dae felt the same way. But he forced himself to pause. He pulled Kaspar back towards him and hissed in his ear, "Don't get reckless," Then let him go with a less than gentle shove.
Kaspar flew down the stairs, with Dae on his heels. As Dae climbed atop the door he realized his partner band had moved- No, it was moving. Actively. As in currently. As in someone had it, and that someone might be Nox
"Smith!" Dae yelled out, causing Kaspar to turn towards him with anxious annoyance. Dae pointed down to his band, "Look!"
Kaspar considered it for a moment then looked back towards the dark hallways ahead of him, "A corpse could have grabbed it. We can't bet his safety on something like that."
He wasn't wrong. But the SOS wasn't broadcasting a location and Dae had no way of knowing how complex the catacombs were. Following it had as much a chance of leading them away from Nox as it did leading them to him. But the same was true of any path they took. Dae would rather bet on one of his creations than luck.
"You don't have to come with me." Dae spoke with confidence he hadn't known he was capable of. He almost sounded like Jin-won. The borrowed authority did its job. Kaspar relented.
"Don't put words in my mouth," Kaspar paused to allow Dae to move ahead of him.
Dae looked down at his band then up at the bone covered walls. He walked quickly but carefully, constantly glancing down at his band. When they hit the first fork Dae paused. He took several steps forward, as if he were continuing straight. Just as he'd predicted, the blinking light shifted. It pointed down the left passageway, and hopefully, towards Nox.
Making a motion to communicate his discovery to Kaspar, Dae began moving down the new path. His movements became more hurried as the tightness he always associated with Nox started to burn in his chest.
Dae's excitement got the best of him. Kaspar noticed the first trap. He reached out and snagged Dae's harness just as Dae heard the click. Then Dae was falling back onto Kaspar's lap as a metal grate fell from the ceiling.
"I've been meaning to ask this," Kaspar stood up, dusting his pants off and offering a hand out to Dae, "Are you even field certified?"
Dae flushed and focused on the ground. He saw the trail of pressure plates and followed them towards a wall with one skull smaller than the others. He carefully weaved through the pressure plates over to the smaller skull and pressed it in. There was another click, Kaspar flinched but nothing else happened.
"All S-class have to be," Dae muttered as he stuck a foot out to activate a pressure plate. Nothing happened. Dae looked up at Kaspar glumly. Kaspar looked mildly impressed.
"Completing mandatory hours and required testing isn't the same as being field ready."
Dae couldn't argue with that. Nor did he care to. He pointed his flashlight forward and noticed a smearing of shockingly fresh blood. When Kaspar noticed it he made a pained gasping sound.
"He couldn't have gotten that far." Dae left 'losing that much blood' unsaid.
The blood trail, as unnerving as it was, served as a useful tool not only for tracking Nox but for avoiding traps as well. Each trap they spotted, Dae deactivated. When they arrived at a bend in the hallway both Dae and Kaspar broke into a sprint as they heard ragged breathing up ahead.
They rounded the corner to find Nox, sitting on the floor but conscious. Any relief Dae might have felt dissolved as he took in Nox's condition. Blood covered his face and stained his hair. One of his legs was extended awkwardly. His pants leg was torn, revealing the brutalized flesh underneath. His armored jacket was balled up and clutched against his chest.
In a display that Dae was coming to understand as quintessentially Nox, he was grinning. His eyes flashed over both of them analytically and twinkled with unbridled relief, "Defying the gates, you're in one piece."
Kaspar whimpered. Dae was once again reminded just how young he was. Against his instincts to focus on Nox, Dae glanced at the younger Esper. His face was gaunt and drawn up in abject horror. His hands twitched forward, as if offering help, before falling back to his side.
When Dae looked back at Nox he was holding out his bundled jacket to Dae. Dae clutched the material. Nox took his wrist and repositioned his hands so they cradled the bundle. The weight and vibrating energy answered any questions Dae had. He slowly unwrapped the jacket to reveal the sparkling core.
Core's were Dae's field of expertise. Most of his research revolved around them. Harnessing their energy, quantifying their stability, defining and documenting. The stinging thrum against his skin was as familiar as breathing.
Refocusing on Nox, Dae handed the core off to Kaspar then bent down to Nox's level. He reached out to part Nox's hair. The wound on his head was superficial. But blood matted his hair and dripped into his left eye, forcing it shut.
The leg wound was even worse than Dae thought. The gashes were deep enough to expose muscle fibers. The blood trail they followed must have come from this wound. The blood loss was clearly taking a toll on Nox. His skin was paler than usual and damp with sweat. And cold to the touch as Dae put his hand on Nox's shoulder.
"We can't move you like this."
Nox opened his mouth to argue but his eyes fell on his leg. It seemed he hadn't yet processed the severity of the wound. The hazy look on Nox's face made Dae's chest uncomfortably tight. Dae put a gentle hand on Nox's face and turned him away from his leg. Nox met his gaze with a glazed expression. Whatever adrenalyn had gotten him this far was wearing off.
"There're stairs…" Nox's lips began to take on a concerning purple tint as he spoke, "Opposite end of the path you came from."
Dae surged forward to catch Nox as he began slumping forward. Dae glanced up at Kaspar as he cradled Nox's head against his chest.
"Stables," Nox murmured one last word before going limp in Dae's arms.
"We need to stop his bleeding." Dae couldn't recognize his own voice. He felt detached from his body, a spectator to the crisis unfolding before him.
"How? We don't have any-"
Dae's apologetic expression cut Kaspar off. Kaspar's eyes flashed wide and he began shaking his head.
"It's the safest option until we get to the healers. They can undo any damage you cause but they can't do anything for him if he dies before we get there."
Still, Kaspar shook his head frantically. He took a few steps away from Dae, stumbling along the uneven stone floor.
Dae's sympathy for his junior had run its course. His gaze hardened and his voice grew stern, "Esper Smith, I'm not asking."
Indignation snapped Kaspar out of his spiral. He glared at Dae bitterly but the gravity of the situation seemed to hit him. He dropped to his knees next to Nox and held out a shaking hand towards Nox's calf. Dae was reminded of himself reaching out for guides, knowing he would hurt them but not being able to do anything about it.
"He won't remember," Dae's voice softened again. A grateful smile graced Kaspar's face for a moment, illuminated by the fire flickering around his hand.
"How do I- I don't kn-"
"Don't worry about doing it right, just get it done."
Kaspar nodded and let out a shaky breath as he pressed his blazing palm against Nox's wound. The smell of burning flesh made Espers gag.
Nox, pulled back to consciousness by pain, went rigid in Dae's hold. Dae pinned his arms against his sides and held him in place. He moaned low and shaky, devastation and fear eked out like a particularly pitiful chord drawn across a violin. His head shifted and Dae felt the guide bite down on his skin, hard.
Dae swore under his breath. Which had Kaspar pulling his hand away in panic. Still, it seemed to have done the job. At least Nox wasn't actively bleeding out. That did little to soften the sight of Nox's flesh bubbling and twisted by heat.
"I'll carry him," Kaspar was more than agreeable to this. Happy to distance himself from Nox as much as possible. Dae couldn't blame him. Dae leaned down and braced Nox's chest against his shoulders. He wrapped a hand under Nox's thigh and hoisted him up.
Nox let out a strained puff of air but showed no other signs of distress as Dae held him across his shoulders. It was difficult but Dae couldn't feel the strain in his muscles with the smell of Nox's burning flesh monopolizing his senses.
"Don't forget the traps," Nox muttered against Dae's shoulder.
"They're all deactivated," Dae soothed, starting down the path Nox had indicated.
"The Beyond must've made this one just for you," Nox laughed weakly and shook his head against Dae's shoulder.
In any other situation Dae would laugh along with Nox, content knowing he was happy. But Dae couldn't be content until Nox was safely on the other side of the gate.
The stairs were exactly where Nox had said they'd be. Kaspar had no trouble pushing back the corpses, even with the core strapped in the carrier on his leg. Dae's eyes went to it every once in a while. Shifting up from the ground as he carefully navigated the uneven floors lit by Kaspar's flames. It bounced along, restrained in leather straps.
Nox had it wrapped in his jacket. Had he been unable to touch it? It may have been unstable but Dae hadn't experienced any adverse side effects. If Kaspar was struggling he didn't voice it or let it impact his control on his abilities.
If anything Kaspar had grown more fierce. His flames burned brighter and hotter. They licked out from him and struck down whatever stood in his way. Dae began to understand how talented he was. Would Dae have had this kind of power if he hadn't hidden in his workshop all these years? Could he have kept Nox safe?
A group of healers met them in the courtyard. They carefully took Nox from Dae's shoulders and got to work. There were piles of smoking corpses around them. As well as piles of disrupted earth that told Dae the team lead did NOT listen to Nox's advice. But Dae hardly noticed any of it. His eyes were on Nox, laying on his side, calf in the lap of a healer who was focusing intently.
Their energy glowed yellow as it soothed boils, knit muscle fibers, and renewed flesh. As the wound closed Dae was surprised to see a bite scar regrow with the new skin.
"Esper Kane can you stop him from trying to guide us, he's going to exhaust himself." One of the healers yanked their hand away from Nox who'd been lightly pinching their wrist. Dae dropped down next to Nox's face and flicked him in the forehead, just like Nox had when Kaspar was drunk on guiding.
Nox slowly brought his hand up against his forehead and scowled at Dae. As much as he could with one eye crusted shut with dried blood.
"You gotta take care of yourself. What would I do if my guide died?" Dae meant it light heartedly. He smiled awkwardly and tried his best not to think about Kaspar's proposed double date. But then Nox was beaming at him and reaching out to cup his face and everything else faded to the background.
"Your guide," It was spoken softly, a sigh of relief.