Then:
He looked on, a pool of flames ravaging the land on which he stood. His vacant gaze shimmering against the crimson flames. The night sky, dark, without a moon nor stars as a black and blue fog spread across the horizon.
"It matters not. Whether or not it burns is inconsequential. I have witnessed this sight much too often." Rain fell, intensifying the already hopeless situation. It dropped vigorously, ever more spontaneously as though to extinguish conflagration that took hold of the land. "This rain—it is as though the heavens are mourning….." At the very world he created.
"You may return to me as my visit amounted to nothing." The dark fog that corrupted the night sky descended, blanketing him. The sound of drizzle echoing against his ears still. It dissolved into his flesh before he let out a sigh.
No sooner had it dissolved than his breath ran short. The sound of his beating heart drowning out the rain. Someone is still alive—even now. He began running, moving through the flaming tempest that was once a town. He flipped through the rubble, searching all the more. His throbbing heart giving way to drowsiness. Am I still not used to your influence?
He saw the droplets slow down, before walking toward the biggest pile. He began digging, moving the rubble, rock by rock before he saw a child. Roughly the same age as he, rather, as his body was. Because, time itself—had already forsaken him.
The child stared at him, trembling as its muddy clothes dragged against the ground. It coughed, gazing at him before it fell unconscious. "Who are you?" It fell, blood dyeing the mud a bright crimson.
[Was that how I met you...Nixie? You were the stain that remained on the pavement that had been wiped clean. Though, for some reason, I felt relief. Because at some point, for better or worse—unknown still. But, you became my light. The obsession that shackled me to that reality and the reason I became Formless.]
~
Now;
Hey…..
Hey...….
Hey!.....
Can you not hear a word I am saying?
The dark void that had become familiar to him felt empty, a strong loneliness lingering about. "Nixie!" He shouted, hoping for a response that never came. Again he called; over and over again, his voice echoing as his only response. He sat, thinking, you weren't joking…..
His voice quivered, his eyes reverting to their aquarium state. He fell unconscious, letting himself be lost in his thoughts.
~
"A child—why would you ever wish to keep such a leech which will eventually dry your blood clean? Look at it, it is half-dead. ______, what then can you do for it?"
[This moment—was this when I went to meet him? My name is one I can not hear yet, I feel as though I understand it completely.]
Silence took hold of the room as he offered no response. He held the child in his arms, offering not a word nor gesture to plead. He stood in silence. Defiant. Staring in the eyes of the man said to be the head of Hollow Veil. Starry, moonlit eyes.
"For one so old, you act like the body you nest in. Do as you wish." He sighed, "Do not let it interfere with your productivity. I suppose this might be for the best. You have no ambition nor purpose, you act as told. But, maybe this might change that."
".....Thank....you..." He left the room, carrying the child with him still. He headed to his host kingdom. One known as the kingdom where lightning meets darkness, the Abyssal Corona. It was host to the divine spot, Stormheart singularity. The only kingdom where the sun never shined. Where beasts nested in shadows and survivor was only ever guaranteed to those who commanded unfathomable strength. The kingdom that was said to have been forsaken by God. Where war once dominated, so much so, the screams of the dead permanently besmirched the air.
[This place—was this my birthplace? The land that became barren on account of my choice. I was the one to curse it, wasn't I?]
He patiently waited until it woke up. The child whom he knew nothing about. He watched it, patiently waiting for it to open its eyes. And like each deed imbued with patience, it woke up. Screaming, panting, sweating, and even trembling. It recalled the descent of blood from the sky. The beating heart that nested amidst the clouds and the serpent that wrapped itself around it.
"Did you have a nightmare? It is okay. I will not let anything happen to you." It grabbed him, shrieking, "What happened!" Tears rolling down it's face.
"Your town—or whatever that place was called…. was absolutely burnt to the ground. And I was the one to do it." Its eyes widened, terror playing a sonata with the pieces of its heart. "There's no way—Why!"
Will I be killed?
I will die—
Where am I?
Who are you?
His eyes widened, "No, I meant nothing by that. I will not bring you harm in any way." It shoved him, taking off running. He sat, letting out a sigh.
'Why speak such a blatant untruth as you did?'
I suppose I was arrogant for assuming I had a firm read on her emotional state. It hated that place and wished that it would one day burn to the ground. The reason, albeit based on a narrow mind, was as it could not be seen. It is a spirit born of water after all. And as it is a spirit, only those who can perceive the imaginary plane can see it. It simply assumed it was forsaken.
'What next must we do?'
Find it, of course, a weak willed spirit like that is bound to die. I doubt it is aware that it is nothing more than a being of water.
~
It ran, moving faster and faster still. The air ran thin.
I feel suffocated,
Its all dark
Dad,
Please come from me,
You will, right?
As it ran, it bumped into unflinching wall. It looked up only to see a beast staring down at it. It had the head of the lion, blood dripping from the hollows where its eyes were supposed to be. Its head hovered over its serpent body, attached to it by nothing more than a strand of blood. It had the horns of a mountain goat, black-feathered wings hovered beside its serpent body. The too, attached by strands. It roared.
No sooner had it gazed at it than it vomited from the sheer grotesque being that towered before it. It was big enough to devoured the child whole. It covered the mouth, holding back a scream. Trembling. It opened its maw, and devoured the child whole.
He let out a sigh. It was over faster than anticipated.
'Is that exasperation I hear?'
No, it is disappointment. Also, I did not let you acquire a voice so you could speak to me so condescendingly.
'Whatever do you mean?'
"Just hurry and extract it before it is assimilated."
'What of the beast?'
"Devour its essence. You like that, yes?" The black fog left his body, blitzing forward and trapping the beast. It roared as the fog surrounded it. It began shrieking as its flesh was eroded. Desperately trying to escape much to no avail. Blood splashed, dying his white top crimson. He continued walking toward it, before he too entered the fog. His flesh eroded before he emerged with the child. It regenerated, returning him to his former state.
With tears rolling down its face. "Dad," For one who lay unconscious in his arms, she spoke. It had a father.
His heart throbbed, a memory of him standing in the rain resurfacing. His hands, covered in a black fog. Right, I nearly forgot….time abandoned me on that day. The day my father died.
I will grant you a body—as you want to be loved. They will see you…and your memories will return to you. He pecked its forehead, a black feather appearing on it.
"It is time to go." The fog returned to him, dissolving into his flesh.
[You were but a weak Remnant and that was why I chose to take you —No, that is not right. It was because I saw remnants of myself in you that I chose to take you. Whimsical yet fleeting, I believed that I could weather the storm—knowing full well that I would outlive you. Yet, when the time came....Who could have guessed that I would wish to rip reality apart? That when someone forcefully took you from me, they guaranteed the deaths of so many others.]