Seclusion Chapter 8
By Aujang Abadi
Kain hung his head wearily, massaging his wrists. The shackles had been very tight, disturbingly so, and had cut off most of his circulation. Not that anyone really cared. It was the least of their worries.
Rydia voiced the thoughts racing through every mind in the room. "Then why is Kain here, and not fighting Wyvern?" Kain chuckled bitterly, as if it were so simple as to merely fight Wyvern. He wondered if she'd forgotten how he'd nearly killed them the first time around.
"Because he didn't know he was Wyvern's son until after Mount Ordeals. And he was spared, for reasons I can't understand. If he's Interstellan, he should have been killed. Up to that point, I was the only man ever spared by Mount Ordeals." Cecil ran a hand through his hair, his face fraught with worry.
"How do we know he didn't kidnap Rosa? He's back-stabbed us before. He may be lying about Ordeals." Edge glared at Kain, ever since the initial betrayals, he'd never quite trusted them.
"One, the moon is back, and shifted." Kain stared back at Edge emotionlessly. "Two, Wyvern has brown hair."
"And? So does half the world." Edge snorted. Wordlessly, Kain removed his helmet for the second time that day.
"And the other half has blond. Which I happen to be a part of." Long, sparkling blond hair framed his chiseled features. "I am half Lunaran, Edge."
Edge's jaw dropped, and he probably would have fell had not Cecil come to his side and steadied him. "We'll have time for explanations later, Edge. Right now, we need to figure out how to get Rosa back. Wyvern smashed through my sentry force and kidnapped Rosa from my own damned chamber. All those precautions for naught."
"They weren't for naught. He simply needs to kill me." Kain looked away, disgusted. "Rape or kill, that's all we ever seem to be good for. I'm following right in his footsteps."
"What are you talking about, Kain?" Rydia's eyes flickered with concern. "You're not like him. You're no monster."
"None of you understand... but you shall. Not yet. Not while I still need you." Kain clenched his jaw, closing his eyes for a moment, and then rose. "Edge, I hear you cleared out Bab-il recently. Looks like we'll need to use it.
"Cecil, bring the Crystal blade and the Excalibur. You won't be leaving with both. To which, you can guess. Rydia... please call Asura. I think I may be dying." Kain's grim statement drew a horrified gasp from her.
"Kain, don't speak of such things! We've already lost so many..."
"We may yet lose more. We're going to the Moon, my friends. And we're not using Mount Ordeals or the Big Whale to get there. So be ready for a good, long trek across the Crystal Caverns." Cecil raised a brow to Kain's declaration.
"And why can't we use Mount Ordeals? Or the Big Whale? And besides, why are we coming along, when you are the only one who can kill Wyvern?"
"Chances are I won't kill him. If I step foot on Mount Ordeals again, I'm a dead man. That I'm sure of. The Big Whale is currently harbored under around 30 million gallons of salt water. If you want to stand and wait for someone to pray it up, be my guest. Rosa isn't going to live for very long unless we get there fast. Wyvern will be back for another hostage if she dies, its a matter of time. And its time we don't have."
"She's coming, Kain. Sit down and relax... you look like hell." Rydia gently placed him back in his former seat.
"Probably because I've been frequenting the place." He sighed and placed his head in his hands. "Damn you, Wyvern... of all people, it was her you had to take."
"Its alright, man, calm down. We're all feelin' the pain here." Edge added in. Kain chuckled sardonically at that. They still didn't know.
Asura appeared in a bright shower of sparks designed to impress, but to the somber party, it made no difference. Her heads quickly rotated along the room, coming to rest on Kain. "Well, someone's been playing a bit too rough... let's have a look at you." She began weaving strands of magic alongside him, snaking them through his body and erasing the impurities and wounds left by Ordeal's mental spears. "Kain... I am sorry. This will... hurt."
Kain's screams were louder than the battle horns as she wrenched out the pestilence growing in him, from weeks of exhaustion and Wyvern's taint. He fell to the ground, unconscious. It seemed to be becoming a habit.
Cecil watched him, their old friendship shown clearly in his eyes. "Asura... he's suffering from something far greater than the physical wounds. He's not telling us something. And I don't know what it is, but its something that he seems sure will destroy whatever friendships he's formed with us."
Asura looked sadly from the fallen Kain to the other three. "My dears... he is probably right." With that, she disappeared into the air, leaving two confused men, a bewildered woman, and an unconscious body.
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