#every time my body is burnt by abrupt AGONY of not feeling right is either a nice man with facial hair and glasses (a lot like my laurence)

[katyspersonal]

Also as if this day wasn't lgbt enough while walking back home, due to how I've organised my hair and the clothes I was wearing today apparently, I swear my shadow looked like Midra. Like, I just saw it and it was so much his silhouette (minus briars of course) that it caused me pang of pain so intense I wanted to drop on my knees dsfhdfsh Oh to have a body of an old frail man.

[doom-dreaming]

Paint It Black

So here’s a...semi-combined prompt piece for both @dcxxxii (the arm) and @milkrosesberries (the nail painting). Also, @firehawkcultist had to go and question all of my decisions and suggest that maybe they’re not from Pandora, but another border planet, so I stuck ‘em on Promethea ‘cause...why not?

There is a brief mention of vomiting and some implied, uh...field surgery, but neither is graphic, just thought I’d give a heads-up.

Enjoy!

******

"Still itches sometimes."

Tyreen looks up from the map.

Across the room, Troy's prodding at the joint seam of his mechanical arm, toying with the wires. He makes a small sound that isn’t quite a laugh. "I've had it for...fuck, ten years? Twelve?”

"Somethin' like that," she murmurs.

"You'd think all that...ghost arm...shit woulda stopped by now, y'know?"

She shrugs. They'd been young when he lost it, not really kids, but not really adults, either. Young enough to be terrified by the process. Old enough to know there was no other solution. "Is it hurting?"

"Nah." He offers her a lopsided smile. "But...if you got a minute, I could use a favor."

She quirks an eyebrow.

His smile widens into a grin as he wiggles the fingers of his left hand. "Yeah?"

Tyreen rolls her eyes, but there's no real annoyance behind it. "Sure. Lemme go get it..."

"Thaa~aanks, Ty..." he sing-songs behind her as she disappears around the corner.

It takes a minute of rummaging, but she returns to her brother with a bottle of black nail polish in her hand. "You gotta promise not to fuck 'em up."

"When've I—?"

"Every time." She sits down across the table, nailing him with a glare that leaves no room for negotiation. "Gimme your hand. Stay still." He relinquishes his hand with a requisite amount of insincere grumbling. Tyreen tunes it out, focused on painting.

It’s easy to let her thoughts wander during times like these. She'd never admit it to another living soul, but painting Troy's nails is the closest she feels to being home. Sure, she loves their life, given what it is. Hearing their names shouted from a frenzied crowd, whispered with the utmost reverence... That kind of power gives a definite thrill.

But there’s still a small part of her—a part she tries hard to keep locked away—that emerges during moments like this. Tyreen would see herself as a frightened little girl, four years old, crying tears of agony over the bodies in front of her, nearly sick from the fire inside of her— She blinks herself back to the present. Troy has fallen silent, his expression blank, his eyes distant. She swallows and continues painting.

From that moment onward, he became her priority. The only person she could trust. The only person who knew her. And she protected him with her life. It wasn’t easy. They were young, they were wanted, and Troy’s health always hung in the balance. They cherished the mundane whenever they could. There wasn’t much else to keep them sane.

The first time she’d painted his nails, they’d been...eight? No younger than six, she was sure. He’d bounced over, eyes bright behind his dark hair, curious and excited. “Can you do mine?” She couldn’t say no, of course, and for the next week, they both sported messy black manicures, proud of them in a way that only children could be.

The next time... She remembered waking up to the sound of coughing. In all the years of dealing with her brother’s sickness, she’d never seen him doubled over vomiting blood. The resulting panic helped her wipe out an entire bandit camp, and she sat in the aftermath holding him, gripping his feverish skin, tattoos bright, tears prickling in her eyes. She’d stayed awake for the rest of the night, willing him to make it through until morning. He did. She remembered the thin, shaky smile. “Can you do my nails?” Of course she could.

And then...he’d lost his arm. The wilds of Promethea were inhospitable. The plants were poison, the creatures were ravenous. They barely managed to make it out alive. Tyreen was exhausted—burnt out; Troy was pale and dizzy from blood loss. She’d patched him up as best she could, but...

“Ty? ...I can’t feel my arm.”

She wasn’t sure she’d heard him right, at first. But as he peeled away the bloodsoaked bandages, it was clear. They argued about it, both of them more scared than anything else. The infection was too aggressive and they were days, maybe even weeks, away from a safe settlement.

His screams echoed through the moors. They used their blankets to staunch the bleeding and the rest of their medical supplies to sterilize and wrap his shoulder. Once he’d slept off the shock, it went without saying. Tyreen’s hands were shaky and she could barely see through her tears. It was another messy manicure. It felt incomplete on only one hand.

“...you done?”

The abrupt question jolts her out of her thoughts. “Uh.”

“You got some on the table.”

She follows his eyes. Yeah, sure enough. “Doesn’t matter,” she sighs, screwing the cap back onto the bottle. “This table’s a piece of shit anyway.”

He hums in what she assumes to be agreement and leans back, kicking his feet up. She almost misses the soft smile that crosses his lips as he inspects his nails. She’s glad she doesn’t. “Thanks, Ty.”

“Anything for you, bro,” she assures as she returns to her room.

And she means it.

[nebula-starlight]

Corrupt (Part 16 - Union)

He saw the trail of burnt out lights and heard the staticky hum that followed Narssia’s abrupt exit, torn between his interest in the project and concern over her. Void was back and quite furious too if he felt the hint of her presence correctly. Sighing, he let his gaze drop to the floor, hands twitching slightly as flickers of red darted over the pale skin.

Knowing she had returned left him uneasy for a change. He had to protect the two humans... especially since neither had allowed their respective demon out since arriving at the empty warehouse. While Anti and Dark could take care of themselves, Nether wasn’t sure Void would be so particular in choosing her target. She tended to lash out blindly whenever she had control and cared little about who got hurt in the process.

He looked up, using one hand to push back the hood of his jacket as he heard the faint hum of static grow louder seconds before either Jack or Mark did. Once one of them called for a brief break - to figure out what was going on no doubt - he slowly approached with the intent of providing any aid he could. It was only when he reached them that the power suddenly cut out, plunging the whole building into darkness.

Nether couldn’t quite see at first but he heard one of the men reach for their phone, only recognizing which one it was when, seconds later, several curses tinged with an Irish accent graced his hearing. Void was learning, he realized as his eyes glowed a dull red to provide what little light he could without too much risk of backlash. It was a trait he’d kept from his life as a spirit, now suddenly useful in the wake of the power outage.

“Mind telling your girlfriend there to cut it out with the theatrics? We didn’t have much time to get this shot anyway and now she decides to-“

His patience wearing thin, Nether’s low growl was all it took to silence Mark, letting his aura briefly manifest for added emphasis to be silent. He would deal with any recoil there was for using his abilities later. If he knew Void as well as he thought though, then she had something big in mind to be expending so much energy. Then again, she had likely just escaped from Dark and probably needed to let off some steam. Either way, a part of him was eager to see what she had planned.

Several seconds passed before he heard it - a chuckle that started soft, hiccuping every so often with a slight glitch as the sound made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Void wasn’t like this normally... She was never one to plan out anything, often acting in the spur of the moment. It was truly a trait he both adored and equally despised in her. Glitching or not, he preferred a more direct confrontation.

It seemed like an eternity passed before the sound faded away, only for an eerily familiar wheeze to brush against his ear, one Nether had only heard once before from her. It had been back when she was starting to take over Narssia - right after he dropped Geer mid-flight if he remembered correctly. Thinking back on the event, he probably shouldn’t have blindly trusted that Void’s emerging presence would make her host more determined to save the only drake she trusted. It was a careless risk... but it had paid off tremendously well in the end.

Mildly concerned that she wasn’t alright, he almost started to go look for her but decided it would be better to stay with the humans as static buzzed fiercely above their heads. He glared down the dark hallway that he knew Narssia had fled into, silently hoping he wasn’t walking right into another impossible choice. Doing what he did to Versi all those years ago had scarred him deeply and yet, being around Geer had somehow started to soften the shell of apathy he had ultimately constructed around his heart after ending her life. It had been the only way to stop the corruption... At least he thought so at the time, believing those lies back then. Now he knew he would have found a different way.

“She’s here, isn’t she? The one you call the other half of your soul.” Jack whispered questioningly, glancing off in the direction of the corridor nervously before his eyes returned to Nether.

He nodded, too distracted by his thoughts to respond at first. When he did, however, there was no compassion in the low growl that rumbled in the base of his throat. “Aye, the hollow, corrupted, broken form of mine beloved Versi. I do believe Mark knows of her by a different name though. Or is it Dark that has met Void? Either way, I’m certain she won’t keep us waiting long. She has little patience after all.”

“Were you expecting something grander?”

Her mocking voice echoed around them, each syllable left hanging in the air as Void still evaded their vision but made her presence undeniably known. Static crackled in her wake, far too loud for the two humans as they cringed, hands desperately rising in an attempt to protect their hearing. Nether, while mildly annoyed, wasn’t affected by her ploy, instead taking a step forward to draw her attention.

“Come now, you want your chance to get back at me. What are you waiting for, dearest? I’m right here.”

He felt Geer try to move in the back of his mind, imagining how the drake would likely lecture him on how his taunt would only infuriate her further, but quickly silenced the unwanted criticism before it began with barely any effort. Why should he have to listen to the worthless creature who only existed to safely harbor his spirit? It had been nearly two years since he took over for the first time and he still allowed the true owner of the body to live for what purpose other than to constantly distract him.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll get your turn in due time but first...” She paused, her words sliding into a soft hiss that sent chills down his spine. Nether couldn’t ignore her strange behavior any longer. Void was completely out of her mind now! It did continue to interest him though - no doubt a byproduct of half of his core being her own.

Mark suddenly stumbled, falling to one knee as his hands went to his leg in panic. Several sickly greenish-black spots appeared and begun to spread across the once healthy flesh, devouring even the material of his pants. At the same time, Nether watched as a faint mist appeared around Jack’s hands that seemed to drain away what color they did have until they turned gray. It was only when he heard the telltale crack of bones breaking that he realized in horror what the corrupt spirit was doing. Swarm the body with traumatic agony to immobilize the mind, effectively freezing the person in place while they tried to make sense of why and where exactly the pain was coming from. Ironically enough, he had done nearly the same thing when he confronted her.

“Void, stop it! Jack and Mark are innocent in all this!” He spread his arms out, hoping to draw in her focus so the two could escape. “Break every bone in my body if you want but leave them alone.”

The sound of her amused chuckle reverberated throughout the room, effectively silencing his plea. “Now what fun would that be to only have one toy? You know... your begging is becoming tiresome. How about I give you a choice? If you don’t shut your mouth I’ll gut one of them right now.” Her voice fell to a soft whisper, more mocking than anything as her next words breathed quietly into Nether’s ear, “Then again, I could always use a new puppet to break.”

He repressed the urge to shudder, barely managing to keep his expression neutral before a single light flickered on at the opposite end of the hall. Although the bulb was threatening to go out as it precariously flickered, the meager amount of illumination it provided was still enough to shine down on the frail looking human standing underneath as she lifted her head, one glowing green iris visible through the curtain of dark, tangled hair. Nether took a step back, still shielding the two Youtubers from her as a concerned growl rumbled in the back of his throat. She had never used innocents to trap him before - even after her very first appearance nearly ended in bloodshed. It concerned him to see her so... damaged. What had Dark done to her?

“Choose wisely, Red.”

He flinched at the words, knowing instantly they weren’t coming from a mentally sound spirit at all. She only called him that when she didn’t remember his name and even then she’d usually make some kind of attempt to coax it out of her shattered mind before resorting to the degrading term. Glancing briefly at Mark and Jack, he quickly realized that he would have to do this alone. Neither of them were in any condition to aid him or even try to run. Had she planned it from the very beginning? If so, he wasn’t sure he liked what else she had in store for them...

“For once you listen. Not that you did much of that before,” she snarled, taking a step forward as she all but disappeared back into the shadows. The glow of her eye was all he could see, noticing how the faintest hint of a wispy trail started to develop before she seemed to reign herself back in and continue. “Oh, did I hurt your feelings? You know better than anyone what to do with emotions you don’t want, am I right?”

Nether stood his ground, gaze flickering briefly in indecision before he sighed and let his arms fall by his side. Every word she said was true. He’d pushed her away all those years ago and then paid the terrible price...

“Go ahead, take a stab at me. Pity you don’t have those claws anymore though. I bet this neck would open up even quicker than what you had to cut through the first time.” She giggled, one finger quickly tracing along her throat as the sound sent a chill down his spine.

He took a step back, breath quickening as he heard Jack beside him trying to stifle a scream as the bones of his forearms started to splinter. How was she doing this? He was the one with illusionary magic so how...? The static. She was using it to infiltrate into their heads and corrupt what they saw. Then how did that account for him being able to see it as well?

“Choices, choices. Do you save the mortals or do you sacrifice yourself like the hero you thought you once were? Time to make your decision.”

Nether shook his head, a desperate growl rising from his throat in dismay. This wasn’t right at all! Void... Something had happened to her during the time they had been apart. He just didn’t know what and it frustrated him.

Shadows suddenly seemed to spin around him, the entire fury of her white noise slamming down on him as he stumbled back before falling to his knees. Pain... so much pain. Deep dark down - soul cracking under strain. He had to hold it- no, hold himself together. Keep Geer confined... keep the nausea at bay...

Fingers trembled as he buried one hand into his hair, hoping some measure of self-inflicted pain would ground him as his eyes squeezed shut. He could already feel his left hand twitching, the first of several symptoms he had fervently hoped would not appear. With Void’s reappearance, he wondered just how bad things would become. No doubt what he suffered through was a result of his controlling of the body without release for months. While he could survive on energy alone, the frail form he inhabited required more effort to maintain and his presence already put a strain on it to begin with.

Void said nothing, the only sound filling the room being the crackle of her subconsciously emitted static. He knew she had something planned but her methods weren’t normal at all. Almost as if there was a reversal of personality... unpredictably becoming calculated and composed. That wasn’t her normal strategy, if she even had one at times.

An unexpected wave of dizziness suddenly washed over him, nearly making him pass out as he started to fall back. The only thing that kept him upright, though, was a slim hand slipping around his wrist as a soft, higher pitched growl rose in warning.

“Show some resistance here, won’t you? It’s not like I plan to kill you with witnesses present after all. No, I have more I want to do and for that... Well, why don’t we make this a bit more private?”

Her words brushed against his ear in a soft hiss, soon followed by a familiar rush of energy not unlike his own aural flares. The surge passed harmlessly through Nether, only briefly pining him in place before he heard two definitively loud thumps in the distance. He wanted to check on the two Youtubers, almost certain they’d been the target but she refused to let go even as the dizziness passed.

He glared up at her, noticing the wispy trail of aura leak from her eye as the energy she expended faded away into a comfortable silence. The hand that wasn’t around his wrist was trembling, sparks of green dripping from her palm before she snarled and jerked away. The noise had left, likely pulled back into her being after giving him a taste of what she constantly felt on a daily basis.

“You normally aren’t this quiet.” He remarked, cautiously rising to his feet as her outstretched arm fell back by her side. “The last time I remember you being like-“

“How do you stand it?”

The hushed question caught him off guard, causing whatever words he had been planning to say to fall silent on his tongue in shock as he stared at her. Void refused to meet his gaze, however, staring down at the floor as she wrapped a fraying string from her dark tunic around a finger mindlessly. Her shoulders were hunched, posture no longer in the pristine stance he’d seen earlier upon her initial reveal.

“What?”

Void looked up in confusion at first, the one green iris he could see strangely dark as the wispy aural trail faded. “You heard me. How do you stand hearing His thoughts over and over like a broken record?”

Nether hesitated, unsure at first about who she was referring to with her rather cryptic question. He wanted to ask for more details but feared he’d throw her shaky sanity completely off the rails. Yet if he did nothing, he firmly expected she’d lash out at him for taking his time dissecting a simple inquiry. It had happened before after all and he knew answer or not that there was a part of her that still wanted revenge on him.

Almost as if he’d predicted it, she turned and grabbed at his throat with a single hand. Her fingernails dug into the soft flesh as he made no attempt to resist and struggled for a full breath, the hiss of her static returning in the background. The anger was something he expected from her, familiar even by the sheer number of times Void had lashed out.

“You had your chance!” She spat, pulling him closer before a brief tremor caused her to momentarily glitch in place. Her form distorted, scattering several images of her broken and equally twisted before she composed herself with a frustrated huff. “You had ample opportunities to fix what went wrong but you didn’t. Even when I first awoke in that draconian... You did nothing! Is this all just some twisted game of yours?”

He heard the pleading in her voice as it broke, knowing for certain that wasn’t normal. She hadn’t expressed any form of sorrow around him for years, usually either rage or blissful innocence. It was unfortunate that she hid her instability so much to the point of it causing her emotional and even mental pain on top of what she already endured. The torture she’d suffered because of Dark had weakened her no doubt, but also curiously aroused the limited magic she had.

The familiar warmth of his aura brought Nether out of his thoughts, eyes flickering down towards his palm to see the crimson glow crackle like a flame. He noticed Void watching, scowling in an obvious attempt to mask her underlying fear of his abilities before she shoved him away. Stumbling back, he tried to conceal the tremor that made his hands shake but heard in her low hiss that she’d seen the sign of his prolonged control. Whether she actually knew what it meant, he wasn’t sure.

“You actually did it. Shut him out, I mean.” She sighed, the sound more than proving to him that she was aware of what was happening. “And now it’s destroying you from the inside, isn’t it? The tremors and nausea, even the frequent paralyzing nightmares...”

Nether scowled, eyes flashing a bright red in equal parts embarrassment and irritation that she would dare to calmly lay out every symptom he’d experienced over the last few months. Just what gave her the right to openly expose that part of his daily life? He’d tried to hide the evidence as best he could while feeling like he was in a barely functioning state of limbo between sleeplessness and starvation. Rest hadn’t come naturally in months and eating, well... that was only reserved for when he felt like he was about to pass out. Even then sometimes it was a struggle to get a few bites of food down before he had to rush off to the bathroom.

Standing together with her in the darkness, Void’s eyes suddenly seemed too bright, too much like the yellow his beloved Versi’s had originally been. Nether coughed, trying to clear his throat but the action didn’t help how rough his voice sounded.

“How... how long have you known?”

“Long enough.” He watched as she looked away, one hand clenching into a fist before she violently glitched in place again. “I spent several days free before I ever made my reappearance known... Lucky for you, you got to see it first hand.” She chuckled softly, shaking her head before finally meeting his concerned gaze. “I too had secrets to hide from those around me. You see, Dark persuaded me to aid him back on Valentine’s Day with crashing what Mark had planned. I agreed to help and before I knew it he was forcing Naris to choose. Either shoot Mark or... myself.”

Nether was drawn into the story she told, completely unaware at first of the severity of the situation but still found himself starting forward the minute he noticed her wobble unsteadily before starting to collapse. He caught her gently by the shoulders, steadying her close to him before looking around in a desperate search for help. Remembering that they were now alone, he sighed and ultimately settled his gaze back on Void to watch as her fingers slowly lifted away from the side of her head. He hadn’t a clue as to when she’d found the time to move her hand into that position but decided it didn’t matter as he saw the blood dripping down from the now visible bullethole in her temple.

“She shot you.”

Nether hesitated, still in shock as his voice barely rose above a whisper in dread at the thought of what damage the bullet could have done with it lodged in her brain for months. It made sense... all the changes to her personality quirks at least. Why hadn’t she told anyone?! Even more pressing though, how much had it ricocheted onto Narssia? Had she been affected in any way by the bullet or had the corrupt spirit held the severity of the grave wound back for once?

A weak nod was all the respond he got at first, his hands quivering so much he feared he would drop her. They were both dying. He’d come to the acceptance now that Geer’s body was finally giving out - no matter how hard he tried to pour energy into it. Now he learned Void had taken a gunshot wound to the head months ago and hidden it under multiple layers of her static interference to conceal any negative side effects...

“Don’t do this to me,” he snarled, aura flaring out brightly around him before she jerked and spasmed uncontrollably in his arms. Her weak cry afterwards left him numb, bringing to the surface too many memories that he had tried countless times to forget.

“I... I didn’t plan on saying anything but when I... When I took control her head smacked against the counter and... The bullet must have been jostled.” She barely got the words out, her voice breaking every so often as she stuttered frequently. There had been more damage than he expected and now he was seeing firsthand how the light was fading from her eyes.

Holding her tighter, he gently hushed her, blowing some of her hair back with a soft huff to quickly see both eyes. Her left, which had been hidden during her reappearance, was cloudy... the murky greenish-yellow orb trying and failing to focus on him. Nether let the dark, messy curtain of hair fall back over it without a word, suddenly finding himself unable to meet her one working eye in guilt. He should have realized sooner that something was wrong. Why hadn’t he seen the signs?

“Void, I- No, no, you don’t deserve to hear me make excuses now. My dearest Versi listen to me.” His grip on her shoulders tightened, making sure they were at eye level with each other. She hissed softly in protest but he ignored her discomfort, knowing he had to say this before she passed out or worse.

“I still love you, no matter how you’ve changed. Glitching or not, you hold half of my soul and that is not a light matter. We are forever bonded, together as one by the Ancients. A soul’s decay affects both and if one goes well...” Nether paused for a moment, chuckling softly to himself. “I used to think both would die but you proved all those rules wrong. Do it again, my beloved. I know someone who can help you and I can keep you sedated with illusions if you like. It doesn’t have to end like this for either of us.”

“I appreciate the thought but... I think we should consider what would happen. Brain damage doesn’t... doesn’t heal overnight.”

Nether frowned, having hoped Void would take him up on the offer. He hadn’t seen much of the German doctor who hung around Jack but he had at least heard about him. Funny how the man shared his native tongue though.

“Nein, it doesn’t but we promised each other neimals allen.”

Void twitched again, having to make an effort to keep her gaze on him. “I’ve told you before to stop spouting off words I don’t know!”

“You knew it once, dearest.” He corrected her, aura shimmering slightly against his skin. “We’d spend hours watching the sunset together with the promise that we would never be alone.”

“That was a different time. We weren’t so damaged back then.” She hissed softly under her breath, her one good eye flickering in exhaustion. “Just accept it. Let me go.”

Nether shook his head in refusal, moving her so that one of her arms was across his shoulder so he could stroke her cheek. He couldn’t change her mind. Void had made her decision a while ago he suspected and yet it still hurt him to obey her request. It wasn’t supposed to end like this!

“If that’s what you want,” he muttered softly, refusing to meet her gaze as her body quivered slightly.

“It is. Naris won’t survive - no matter what I do. I kept it hidden to protect her. But now I- I can’t feel it.” Void shook her head gently, leaning more against Nether to continue standing. “When I held it with my magic I could feel the cold steel. Even if I try to keep it from her now, we do share a mind. What affects one also impacts-“

“Impacts the other,” Nether finished for her as she grimaced and tried to reach for her head with the hand that wasn’t over his shoulder. He knew the expression she fought to hide, knowing how much she hated being in pain. It was his fault after all. He’d left her alone so often when they were alive and then she became Corrupted...

He tried to force a smile, tipping her head up with the gentlest push on her chin he could manage. They would make it out of this. He spent centuries thinking she was dead and she, in that same amount of time, had lost herself to the pain that became her existence. Void was his creation... Versi’s broken mind fixating on nothing more than getting revenge. That was why she attacked him so viciously the first time she ever took control over Narssia. She’d never said so but he’d seen the look in her eyes as she pinned him against a wall with a surge of static. Even her first audible words had been directed at him - ‘You did this.’

“Love blinded you.”

He heard her soft murmur but thought nothing of it, only noticing when something sharp pierced his stomach. His breath came out as a gasping croak, too shocked to see the small upturn of her lips as Void’s gaze stayed firmly on him even though the small dagger she’d summoned was currently embedded up to the hilt in his body.

“Too trusting... Too easy to manipulate even at the end.” Her grin spread, baring her teeth as she twisted the blade to further his misery before angrily ripping it out. “Do say hello to Geer for me though. I’m sure Naris will join him soon enough.”

He stumbled back, one hand going to the wound in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding while his other reached out to her in confusion. Why would she use what dwindling strength she had to stab him? While it was true that revenge had been her goal at first, he honestly thought she’d gotten past that... Narssia should have been a good influence on her unless... unless Void’s presence had overwhelmed her host.

He remembered reading the letters Geer had received at first, marveling at how she described her life falling apart around her as something clawed away at her brain. It wasn’t too far off from the truth to be honest... He remembered well trying to break his host, conjuring illusions whenever he could to distort what the drake saw. Even then, all it took was a promise of flight to a crippled beast to worm his way in.

Nether grimaced, falling to his knees as his aura swelled and expanded around him. She hadn’t... Void hadn’t used his devotion to her against him, had she? This wasn’t supposed to be how it ended!

Tears filled his eyes, barely able to look at her as he let out a shuddering breath. The pain was worse now, only added to by the presence of his magic as it tore away at his core. He never imagined she would actually get the revenge he knew she had longed for while being trapped in the space between life and death.

She glared at him, her one good eye glowing brightly as she approached, bloody knife still in her hand. He looked up, searching her gaze desperately with hope that there was even just a shred of the good spirit that she had been. The soft hiss of static filled his ears as she vanished in a flurry of glitches before his world went dark for the final time.

The blade fell from her grasp as she finished carving it across his neck after aggressively stabbing into his breastbone several times to ensure she ruined both soul and body. Neither Geer or Nether would be able to recover from this - a fact that made her smile as she silently watched him topple to the floor lifeless. She had no remorse for what had been done, hearing Narssia scream out in rage and grief from the back of her mind. A soft snicker escaped her as she bent to retrieve the weapon, admiring the blood splattered steel as she causally spun it around in her hand. Revenge had always been her goal from the start but she hid it from his prying eyes, knowing she’d one day get her chance.

Her chuckle gradually turned into full blown laughter at the realization she was free. Finally after countless centuries of always fearing he’d track her down and finish the job, now she no longer had to worry about what lurked behind her. All those nightmares that kept her awake for hours at a time...

How... How could you do that?! You heartless monster!

Void grinned, continuing to twirl her knife mindlessly as she reigned herself back in. How disappointing she wasn’t alone any longer. It had been rather pleasant considering the circumstances. Well... look who decided to wake up after all the fun was over. I’m not the monster here, Naris. Tell me this - Whose body do I have possession of? Whose hand drew the knife across his throat? Her one working eye narrowed, wispy trails of green mist appearing as she stopped toying with the blade and gestured towards the corpse laying before her. You are the one responsible for killing them, not I.

Narssia whimpered, seeming to retreat further away into their shared head as Void looked down at the knife expectantly. She knew what option she would have taken years ago before she became her glitchy self but did Naris have the guts to do what was right?

No... I... I can’t...

You said that last time but guess who shot me- us rather. Sweet little innocent Naris isn’t as pure as everyone thinks now is she? You know what will await you otherwise so do it already! Or is a slow painful death stuck in a padded cell with only me for company more to your liking?

Her patience running thin, Void squeezed the hilt of the weapon, threatening to break it in half or even carry out the deed herself. That naive host of hers just needed to accept what had happened and end their suffering. In fact, why shouldn’t she let Narssia feel every second of pain she endured while under Dark’s torture. That would speed up the process even quicker...

Void had only just closed her eyes when she felt it, the slight tremor of metal moving in her hand that hadn’t been caused by her. She smirked, deciding to act like she hadn’t noticed it as the knife rattled more with Naris trying to break free long enough to grab hold of it.

You can’t bare to be without him, she remarked, hoping to infuriate her host enough to force the blade into her heart. He’s your lifeblood in a sense. Geer kept you from going under when I first appeared and we both know you’re blaming yourself deep down for even accepting my presence.

No, I... I don’t hate you for the monster you are, Void. Nether did that to you and you were determined enough to make him bleed the same way you had. I only wish Geer had been able to see me one last time.

She rolled her shoulders, kicking the corpse before her with a huff. That can be arranged.

Void, NO!

As she started to kneel down the knife twitched again before she jerked back, eye going wide at the glimmer of blood-coated steel sticking out of her throat. Narssia had actually done it! Of course the aim had been rather off but to think that all she had to do was pick away at the feeble resolve and the task would be done for her. She stumbled back, falling to the ground as she started to reach for the weapon. Already her breathing was becoming more difficult, a sick gurgling filling the quiet space as air mixed with the blood that oozed down her neck.

Why? She tried to growl but ended up gasping for breath, doubling over from lack of sufficient oxygen intake.

You took him away from me. Narssia remarked coldly as Void managed to pull the knife out of her throat but almost immediately dropped it. As much as I said I don’t hate you, I truly hope there’s a hell for spirits like you.

She tried to retaliate with a snarky remark once she had her breath back but before she could her form violently glitched, slowly scattering before coming back together more stable with her eyes closed. Gradually the softer irises opened, letting out pale light tinged with green accents as she wondered why there was blood on her neck and why her head-

Her agonized screech caused a fresh surge of static to engulf the space around her, panic briefly bringing her back to awareness of the situation. Nether was dead, she killed him the same way he’d taken care of her back when she was but a lowly healer. How? Why had she claimed his life? She wasn’t a monster... She wouldn’t hurt anyone!

Void... The sudden timid voice coming from inside her head that definitely wasn’t her own startled her, making her shrink back as she clamped one hand around her throat.

Assess the damage, stop the bleeding, disinfect the wound and wrap it in cloth... 

Her medical training came back to her in spurts, leading her to rip open the shirt she had on and take it off to leave her sleeveless in a simple grey tank top that was slowly getting stained darker. She could tell the wound was deep, dark red drops of her life force getting on her hands whenever she tried to inspect the injury by feel. How had she been stabbed? There was no one around her except a corpse... Had she killed the other inhabitant of the room?!

No, no, no.... This was all a dream! She would wake up soon enough. Just had to focus on patching up her neck right now. Nothing could distract her...

Void? It’s okay, calm down. You’re confused right now. Just let me explain and everything will make sense.

That voice again! She shook her head, air gurgling in her throat as she tried to speak but couldn’t. Not now when she had to stop the bleeding! She could figure out what was going on later once her head stopped pounding.

Her hands shook as she tied the makeshift bandage across her throat, the green top immediately starting to darken into a bloody black as her continued panic only made the bleeding worse. At this rate she was going she’d pass out from loss of blood before too much longer.

Who are you? She forcefully searched for the strange voice in her mind, sitting down next to the body she didn’t know.

I am or rather was the original owner of the body you currently inhabit. You took control and- Narssia hesitantly began only to stop mid-explanation as she realized that who she spoke to was no longer just the bitter revenge-driven spirit. You... You’re Versi, aren’t you?

A tiny smile blossomed on her face in recognition of the name, eyes lighting up to a more visibly vibrant yellow. Indeed but alas I can also feel that no longer am I merely one. How did I end up in this place?

It’s a long story. I see you found Net- I mean I see you found Geer’s body. Terrible tragedy that was. The killer ran off just before you came.

Versi frowned, her head tilting to the side in an action that made Narssia shudder slightly at how similar it was to Nether. While lying wasn’t right, she had a feeling that telling the healer the truth would do more harm than good.

‘Tis odd, there were no footprints. The knife had blood on it as well... Versi’s words slurred, much to Narssia’s dismay as she tried to reach out to the dying spirit in comfort. Death was coming quicker than expected and yet she, at least, welcomed it.

Just rest, okay. I’m sure Nether will be coming soon. It hurt her to address the manipulative spirit as though he was a caring creature when she had never seen any indication of him being anything other than a monster specializing in illusions. Then again, she knew every being had numerous quirks to their personality. Perhaps he’d only become bitter after hurting Void- or Versi rather. Oh, before I forget, he had a message to pass along to you. Neimals allen, I believe. I don’t speak his tongue well but...

Versi chuckled softly, breaking off to cough after a moment as blood continued to ooze from her neck wound. Always the suave charmer he is... It’s one of the few phrases that I know in his tongue actually, thanks to him. Never alone... It was our anthem of affirmation, that no matter what trials came we would face them together.

How sweet. He seemed like a good fit for you, Versi.

Indeed he was. I trusted him with my life and we were going to- Versi stopped, eyes flickering with the faintest shimmer of green as Narssia started to slip back into the deep recesses of their shared mind. He took it from me! He selfishly robbed me of that chance to be happy for once. I- I know I killed him. You stopped me- no, her- no, us from taking more innocent lives.

The healer timidly lifted the knife once more, turning it around and holding it right over the top of her breastbone where her soul resided. She was so tired... Why couldn’t this creature calling itself Narssia go away so she could sleep? Then again, exhaustion was a sign of too much blood loss.

Now I see no other option but to finish this myself. I survived because of my hatred the first time and look whether that got me - it turned me into a monster. Versi hesitated, glancing over at Geer’s body in recognition of who had once resided within it. Peace, Nethreis, my love, I shall join thee shortly. Bare no ill will towards this vessel of mine for she did naught wrong.

Jamais seul, mon amour. Her breath shuddered, shoulders tensed as she brought the steel down...