#Mada Aizuria

[nighttime-nyx]

The Last Ride pt. 3 (Finale)

We will face the odds against us And run into the fear we run from It has begun

Erebos found himself on the floor, slowly pulling himself up as the flames continued to rage. His robe was slowly dissipating, and he knew where it was going, but he didn’t care. He slowly stood up, stumbling a bit as he began staggering in the direction Epiales had disappeared. The flames gave him the light he needed to maneuver around with relative ease, staggering aside. How much blood had he lost already? How long could he resist Epiales this time? Before he was at his mercy, he accepted his defeat, and in the end was accepting of his death. This time, this time it was different. 

He paused in a large room, extending the flames out to get a feel for how big this room really was, but the darkness was thick here and even the light of the flames was not enough to break through it. A laugh echoed out as the white eyes appeared seemingly everywhere, all staring at the man with dancing flames on his arms. “Going to resist me.. How delightful. But it will be in vain. That pitiful light you call your life will go out.. And I won’t even give you the honor of a final word.” 

“So be it, Epiales. I’m done running. I end it here and now. Either with your death or my own.” He slowly pulled his daggers from his belt, holding them in a way he hadn’t in some time. He meant business. The demon tsk’d at him from the shadow and slowly formed around him, many copies of himself, all sneering and laughing at the man. 

And thus it began, Each copy found a dagger to their faces or chests, the ‘dance’ Erebos doing was making semi-quick work of the copies as he found his rhythm, a quick-style of fighting he had perfected himself, one that could switch on a gil to be nigh-unstoppable. The energy expended in each careful slice and swing was calculated, streamlined for less fatigue on his muscles. And yet the copies continued to come. For each one he put down, three more appeared until even Ere was beginning to wonder if he could truly win. 

He refused to give up! After all this time running and hiding behind every mask and lie he could, he was more than ready to stand and fight to the last this time. It wasn’t until one of the copies grabbed him and the rest began piling on that he realized how this would end. He no longer cared for killing the copies, so much as getting them away from him. He thrashed his arms about once they were freed, and kicked as much as he could until his legs were pinned. 

He panted heavily as the copies not pinning him stepped aside, and the true white-eyed devil showed himself, the large clawed hand pressing down on the floor so close to Ere’s head. The demon snarled at him. “I told you boy. You cannot win.�� The devil moved it’s hand to press down onto the man’s body, slowly applying pressure to his frame. The slight sound of cracking was met with yells of pain as his bones slowly gave away under the weight of the demon atop him. This was it. At least he fought back, even now. 

Yet, Ere had one last trick to do before the pressure inevitably ended him. Small bits of flame suddenly began appearing around the room, lighting up small, and growing bigger and bigger. Then came the lightning orbs, water.. Every element he had at his disposal in a final bid to end this once and for all. The orbs began raining down in such a way that it would constantly strengthen the next volley, until the flames were the final volley, lighting against the demon’s flesh and refusing to be put out, growing in intensity and heat that clung to him. 

The demon squealed in pain, pulling itself away and off the somewhat broken man who slowly leaned up, his eyes alight in a way that would be reminisce of a rainbow, but still somehow his normal beautiful emerald green. The harder and angrier he stared at the demon in pain, the more intense the flames grew until the demon was enshrouded in white flames. 

Then as quick as the flames had begun, they ceased. All that remained was a pile of ash as the darkness lifted around the archive. The only sound being the staggered breathing of Erebos as he slowly lowered himself back down onto the floor. The adrenaline rush was wearing off faster than he thought, and the pain of having his bones slowly crushed and fractured was settling in. It was hard to keep his eyes open, and harder still to breathe. He was bleeding, he could almost feel it.. But he couldn’t move anymore. How much aether had he used just for this? His vision began to swim a bit as he struggled to remain awake. Oni was right, he was always in trouble.. But this was his last ride. 

He’d miss them, he thought. He’d miss them all. Especially those who trusted him.. He slowly closed his eyes, feeling the soft weight of a specific necklace pressing into his hand. The now slightly charred visage of a Phoenix fell from his fingers as he relaxed, the string barely between his index and middle. 

Erebos woke with a start in an infirmary. Mada’s perfume lingered on his wrappings as he looked around. It wasn’t the Order’s ward... He chanced to look down at his hand to find the phoenix still there, and slowly a semi-familiar voice slowly became distinct in his waking moments. 

“...lucky Yumiko knew what time you were in...” Mada sighed, shaking her head. “ If not for her finding you, you’d have died.. But I’m afraid your hair..” He stared at her, the rest of her voice faded off as he tried to get up, slowly being pushed back into the bed. Even the gentlest of touches made him groan in annoyance. 

“Rest.. You’re not leaving here for a good bell or two when I transfer you back to the Order. You’re on the strongest healing tonics, spells.. Yumiko did extensive work on you. You’ll be sore as hells for a few days.. And don’t you dare think you’re going to be using magic any time soon. One little spell.. And you’re a goner.” Ere blinked a bit and moved his lips, but they were so dry. He lipped out he wanted a mirror. He wanted to see. 

Mada moved a bit and pulled a mirror over, holding it up above him so he could see. His hair had been cut and styled so he wouldn’t have to worry about taking care of it, but it was white as snow. No silver lingered in the locks this time. Even his eyes seemed a bit duller from the vibrant green.. Mada gave a reassuring smile at the expression on his face. “It’ll come back.. The vibrancy to your eyes at least. We’ll dye your hair a sandy blonde so they don’t ask questions. We found Ceres too.. But I’m afraid he was a bit...” She bit her lip and shook her head. 

“If anyone asks, you went out on a ride on Ceres, who bucked you off near a long hill or cliff, you rolled a long way or something, and couldn’t find Ceres to get back home. Not a word about whatever you did. That’s wrong on so many levels..”

Erebos narrowed his eyes. “I’m a trouble magnet, they won’t believe that.”

Mada shrugged a bit and put the mirror away. “Look. I don’t care. You want them to ask you, again, if you really want to stay in their company? You faced that asshole and won. If you wanna tell them that by all means... But for now I think you shouldn’t. I’m sure someone will be upset you didn’t tell them anything.”

“Where is BonBon.”

“Okay, so it’s still technically the same evening you rode off. About three hours later, so he’s asleep on that pillow you let him have.”

“Good.. Now let me get up so I can go home.”

Mada hesitated a bit and then nodded. “Alright.. “ She only moved a bit to help him get up, and then left. Erebos slowly pulled his robe on, looking to the slightly charred little phoenix with a smile. 

“And like the phoenix, I was reborn in ash... How right you were, Anata. How right you were.. I’m not going to accept things as they are anymore.. No longer will I suffer with my head down.” He slowly strung the necklace back around his neck, letting it rest outside of his robe as he limped out. “I will resist everything that goes against our duty.” 

And with that, Erebos returned to the Hall only five hours after he had left, and slowly he entered and smiled to the familiar place. It wasn’t a mansion, it wasn’t an archive. It was home.

[nighttime-nyx]

Exodus

But all my threads couldn't stop the bleeding There's nothing left, but I'm not leaving When all I know is you

Erebos stared down at the lifeless body of Nyx, shaking slightly as his madness subsided, reality setting in in a way that terrified him. The reality of his actions set in as he stumbled backwards, tripping over a cushion and falling backwards, landing hard on his ass as his eyes never left her body. The blood.. The blood on his hands... 

He stayed seated for a long time, just staring as he realized he was the one, all along, that killed them. Now he was alone... Mada wouldn’t arrive for a few bells, no one ever checked his apartment because of his paranoia in locking and securing it. His mistake, his madness, caused this. Epiales’ lasting effect on his psyche caused this. How long was he in his delusion of being a failure that it had to come to this? The others he didn’t care much for but Nyx? Ever kind, ever smiling Nyx?

He scrambled to get up, quickly rushing to begin scrubbing the blood from his hands. Ladon, Gaia, Aeros, Hestia... And now Nyx.  If they ever found out about this.. No. He’d have to tell them. He’d have to, in time. He was sure they’d understand. They always have before. The excuses wouldn’t come to his head as he mindlessly scrubbed at his hands, still visualizing the blood even if it wasn’t there. There was no excuse this time. He went insane, off the deep end after what Epiales did to him.. He killed those he loved and pretended it never happened, like it was all a bad accident. 

Slowly, he turned around from the sink, looking to the open door where her hand rest in the way. A constant reminder. He looked down and just barely touched his nose, pulling his hand away as his own blood was coursing it’s way down. His first nosebleed he’d ever had and it was.. a terrifying thing to see. He closed his eyes, blindly fumbling around for the blindfold he remembered he still had. He slowly put it on, keeping the last vision of Nyx burned into the darkness. Her smile, the way she was so nice to him before he revealed the ugly monster of paranoia and fear. The way his sister had always been.

As he was blindfolded, he moved around his apartment with difficulty, moving to clean up the blood and the entire floor around, moving his sister’s lifeless body around as he needed to. Even as his hands made the motions to clean up, his vision was only of her smile. He paused only when he heard Mada’s voice behind him. 

“Erebos.. What have you done?” Her voice brought him crashing back down as he was building himself back up. He paused and slowly turned to look at her, or in her direction, as he managed a small smile, one that quivered at the edges as he spoke, his voice betraying the guilt he was feeling. 

“Mada... I’m so sorry.” He said after a moment, then felt hands on him, making him sit as the same gloved hands checked his face, and a light pinch of his nose meant she was taking care of his nosebleed. “Why.. Are you still here? I killed so many... I killed you even.. Once the Order finds out I’ll.. Never be allowed back..” 

“Stop that.. I’m sure they’re all nice people from how you talk about them. A little blood on your hands after that fiasco with a demon? I think they’ll understand. They might even offer some hugs and cookies and try and you know, help you through it. You weren’t yourself, after all.” She spoke softly as she tended him, but every attempt to remove his blindfold was met with a stubborn pull of his head. 

“Leave it on.. I want to see her smile no matter what I do.. Even if I should run into every bloody thing from here ‘til I die.. I want to at least see her smile forever.” He finally said after pulling away and hitting his head on the wall behind him. Mada paused a moment and sighed, shaking her head but he wouldn’t see it. 

“You know.. If you cared that much for others you’d be one hell of a lover..” She then glanced over to Nyx and sighed. “Not everyone can come back when you kill them, Ere. I’ll arrange for her to be given all the rights.. An accident, I’ll call it, so you won’t be thrown under the suspicion. You don’t need that.” 

“I want to go home, Mada.. I want to go back to the one place I know they won’t look at me and see the monster I see myself as now.. Mada.” He paused, taking a shaking breath. “Take me back to the Order of the Sword and Rose. Take me back to Master Oni, Anata.. All of them.. Take me back to my friends. The only family I have left.” 

Mada hesitated slightly and smiled a bit. “Boat just started boarding this morning. Won’t leave for another bell. We’ll be back home in no time, Erebos. I won’t leave you, and hopefully they won’t either.. But.. Let’s just keep the whole ‘I killed my sister’ thing down low..? If they ask, you found her dead in your apartment.. You can choose to tell them privately of what happened, but in public.. I think that would be better to explain, wouldn’t it?”

“..A-Aye.. You’re right.. I just walked in and--” He finally broke down, the material of the blindfold becoming shiny from tears that slowly tried to stream down his burnt cheeks. Mada sighed and pulled the man into a hug. 

“You’re supposed to be older than me you big dork.. But, let it all out.. I’ll lead you to the boat and set your bracelet to your home point when we get close to Eorzea.. Hopefully you can feel your way in.. “ She gently patted the man on his back, holding him for what felt like forever before she pulled away, helping him to his feet. She glanced back to Nyx with a small look of guilt, herself, and led the emotionally fragile man out of his apartment.

[nighttime-nyx]

... Leads to a New Beginning

,I don't know much about your life beyond these walls The fleeting sense of love within these God-forsaken halls And I can hear it in his voice, in every call This girl who's slept a hundred years has something after all

It was bright.. that much she was sure of. The sounds of the ocean filled her ears as she slowly leaned up, looking around. She didn’t remember coming here, a tiny island in the middle of nowhere... and yet she wasn’t panicked. Somehow she knew what this place was and it was a calming thought.She sat on the sand a moment, listening to the waves as she watched the horizon. 

It was not long before she stood and turned, looking at a few familiar figures. They spoke in unison to her, and it was not ominous or foreboding at all.. If anything, it was complimentary. As if they were proud of her. 

  “We have seen your deeds, your struggle in life from the time you were born to the time that you passed.. This is not your end. You still have much to do. We can give you everything you ever wanted back. Your old form, your family. Even the friends who left you behind. Everything as you wish it, along with your life as well...” 

Erebos held up her hands with a smile, stopping them there. 

“I don’t want it back. My time as the prodigal son of Mom and Dad are over.. For the better I’d say. I learned more as a woman than I ever could as a man... I wasn’t ashamed to ask, or to be told I was wrong. As a man I felt like I had some weird image to uphold, and I did some bad stuff to keep it up.” Ere sighed softly and shook her head. “If it isn’t my time, fine... Put me back in for this grand scheme of yours.. But I don’t want the world catered to me.. I don’t learn anything that way.”

The figures were silent for a time, and Ere briefly wondered if she messed up, but somehow deep down she knew she spoke what she thought was true. 

“Then you deny your chance to be as you once were? You deny the splendor of the world to return to the body of whence you came? The broken, battered flesh of a woman who has bad history, instead of the man who had none?”

“I Deny your gift.. I’d rather have a bad history to learn from, than no history at all.” 

Erebos gasped softly as she woke in a bed, now panicked as she looked around. It wasn’t familiar to her at all, it smelled funny too. She flailed a bit before managing to roll off the side of the bed with a loud thump. Oh, she was naked. Wonderful. She slowly pulled herself up thanks to a conveniently placed chair and looked around, tugging weakly at the blanket of the bed to wrap around herself. 

She stumbled her way out of the odd room and slammed against the cold metal wall opposite the weird room, blinking in a daze at the sudden shift. She used this wall for support as she slowly walked along it, occasionally stumbling over the blanket before finally tripping, landing with a rather loud thud. 

She woke up again in the room and groaned loudly in frustration, flopping out of the bed again to do the same trip.. and after waking up in the bed a few more times finally gave up. 

“.. You know.. Maybe if you cared to look behind you, you’d see a person here fully ready to help you out, Erebos..” The voice seemed to come out of nowhere, but it was very familiar. She turned and saw Mada casually waving at her.. and shrugged. 

“Eh.. You know me, Doc... Stubborn and I refuse to look behind me..” 

The red-haired doctor shook her head and walked over, plopping a bag of clothes down. “We found you in these.. Dunno why you’d be sitting in a ruined house but hey, whatever floats your boat.. Got some new ones coming for you.. Oh and you need to check in at work, they’re going crazy wanting to know where you are.... well not really. Apparently you’re good at hiding in plain sight..” She shrugs and walks out..

She looked into the bag at the bloody, torn clothes and sighed. “.. This is why I chose this.. Yep.. No one knows how awesome I was.. Except me.” 

((Lyrics Used: Sad Machine - Porter Robinson  ))