"El… are you okay? El… EL! EL!" Ariana tried her best to snap him back to reality, but it was futile.
The strangest thing was, just a few seconds ago his expression was that of pure rage, right at the peak of snapping altogether, but then suddenly he blanked out.
He stared hollowly at the chair Eloisa had been seated in, staring as though someone was still there.
"What happened to him?" Ariana asked in frustration, a growing dread settling in as she recognized that look on his face. She had only seen it once before, and that was right before he underwent a drastic change, transforming into someone else entirely overnight.
"I don't know," Rizel responded, staring at Ryan's hollowed-out eyes, his expression completely blank.
At this point, no one had noticed Silver's absence.
"El… are you okay… El," she reached forward to touch him, but just then Selena stepped in, blocking her off. Ariana realized what she was about to do and halted.
"Don't touch him. I'll take care of him," Selena said, then smiled, glancing between Ariana and Rizel before hooking her arm with Ryan's. "Let's go," she said, and suddenly Ryan stood.
They both began walking out.
Ariana felt a tight feeling in her chest. It was like four years ago when he suddenly changed, she knew something was wrong with him back then, she knew he was in pain, yet she couldn't do a thing, she couldn't help him. Now it was repeating itself, that look as though he was nothing more than a hollow shell. She had seen it before, she dreaded it so much.
She bit her lip, conflicted.
Though part of her hated him to the core, there was still a part that cared, a part that no matter how much she tried to deny its existence, resurfaced the moment she saw him like that again after so many years.
Rizel, on the other hand, had been fed too little information with too many scattered pieces of the puzzle. No matter how hard her brain tried to piece together the conversation she just heard, or make sense of his sudden reaction, she couldn't figure it out, it only made things worse. She was becoming more curious.
Ryan walked through the corridor quietly with Selena, his movements bordering on robotic, because that was actually what was happening. He wasn't the one moving. If anyone looked closely enough, it was Selena's telekinesis doing the work, her ability subtle enough that it looked almost natural.
Within a few minutes of walking, they arrived.
She tapped his meta-watch, a whirring sound followed, the door clicked open. She walked in with him, and after a few steps he collapsed onto the bed. She didn't go for the bed though, she landed directly on top of him instead, then looked down at his hollowed-out, ash-colored eyes, devoid of anything.
"Tsk. To think she could break you with mere words," she clicked her tongue, touching his cheek, "but I guess I can't blame you. You don't even know how much you're playing right into 'her' hands." She shook her head, then leaned forward, studying his face.
"You know," she said, glancing up at the top bunk, "you really are one big idiot." She smiled, shook her head. "For love you rejected her, and for that same love you've become her slave. Ironic, isn't it?" She cupped his cheek. "I wonder what you'll do when you realize who the woman you were made to fall so madly in love with really is."
Her finger traced down to his lips, dragging slowly until it stopped at his chest.
"Your greatest fortune was making me interested in you, but how long will that last?" Her expression shifted, something colder replacing the smile.
"Come out, Asmodeus. I know you can hear me."
The cheerful look was gone.
Those ash eyes turned bright gold, a voice that wasn't his own leaving his lips, "Who are you?" The entity couldn't fathom how she knew, how she was aware of secrets buried that deep, the existence of the primordial goddess, his true name.
Selena smiled.
"You can call me… the villainess."