Chapter Text
Matthew tilted his head upwards, eyes observing the amber stretches of light spanning across the evening horizon. True as always, the journey to Patcher’s Place and back on foot had absorbed the majority of the day, leaving them scaling the Goma Plateau in the last couple hours before nightfall. Sol had already begun its descent, its warm reach beginning to fade as Luna made its way to replace its brother to reign over the sky.
If it was any other day, under any other circumstances, he might have felt some sort of respite in knowing that he was back home, familiar clay and earth surrounding him to offer a sensation of solace before he retired for the night.
But it wasn’t any other day. It wasn’t any other circumstances. He knew what was to come, as much as he would like to believe otherwise. Son and father would return home, only for Tyrell to take off with the soarwing and crash it - thus propelling the three of them into a perilous journey from home that would leave several dead and many more scarred by the catastrophe that had engulfed much of Weyard.
Matthew wondered if he could change that kind of future. If his dream had been a simple foretelling of what was to come, could he do something about it? There was only one way to find out, lamentable as such a situation was. He followed his father up the rocky inclines that led to the apex of the plateaus, the weight of his satchel equivalent to a ton of bricks resting upon weary shoulders. He would have been remiss to consider allowing himself some sort of reprieve shortly, if only before Tyrell had the incredibly intelligent decision to throw himself off of the roof with nothing but a pair of oversized feathers hooked to a backpack.
His father’s words met his ears, but he didn’t perceive them in any way that would allow him to understand what he was saying. It was like wind going in one ear and out the other, and it was mostly coincidence that the younger Adept had rested his pack of freshly bought belongings against the side of the house as Isaac suggested.
He’d done that before, too. In the dream. Matthew’s gaze dipped nervously across the earthen ground before his name was called, and he forced himself to return to his father.
“You’ve gotten a lot stronger,” the old warrior began with a fond smile. “It feels like just yesterday you were struggling to hold a wooden sword properly.”
A surge of bitterness overwhelmed Matthew for nothing more than a split-second, yet it was powerful enough for his mind to ooze with venom. I’m not a child anymore. He couldn’t afford to be weak if he was meant to retrace his steps and prevent the Grave Eclipse from happening.
He must have made a face to accompany that thought, for the nostalgic glimmer in Isaac’s eyes quickly shifted into something more akin to concern. “Ah. Matthew...” The words died on his tongue as he paused with - with what? Reconsideration? “You’re just like your mother. She used to get upset whenever Garet would tell her that she was ‘pretty strong for a girl’.”
“...what?” the boy croaked in reply.
“I can tell when you think you’ve been insulted,” his father insisted, offering him a lighthearted nudge. “You’re a far cry different from the years past, when you were still learning how to write your name. I can sense that power deep inside of you.” Now, he pressed his knuckles against Matthew’s chest.
It was a familiar touch, one that was offered in times of fear and confusion; but it was a thing of the past, when Matthew had still been scared of thunderstorms and monsters under the bed. But he wasn’t afraid of those things anymore, and the gesture hadn’t been provided by his father in years since.
But whatever sense of resentfulness that had settled in was instantly eroded. Like the ocean pulling sand away from the beach. His father was nothing short of genuine, no matter what.
Matthew closed and opened his eyes slowly, gaze dropping to his father’s hand over his sternum. Even as it pulled away, he couldn’t help but think of how large it was in comparison to his own. Years of life lent Isaac a sort of toughened, worn feeling to his palm. Now all the younger Adept could think about was how, no matter what, holding his father’s hand had never failed to lift his spirits.
He would have killed to have that kind of leisure back. But he couldn’t ask for it now.
He sighed, shaking his head abruptly. “That’s a rude comparison for Mister Garet to make. But I’m not a girl. Doesn’t apply to me.”
For a moment, he worried if he had said the wrong thing when he was met with total silence. But then it was broken by heartfelt laughter that shook Isaac’s entire body. Heat burned at the tips of Matthew’s ears, but he was soon smiling as well. It felt good. For the moment.
Good things never lasted particularly long and he was no stranger to that, for soon enough the chuckles ceased and he found himself drawn to the cliffside view of Mount Aleph.
Isaac followed after him somewhat closely, caution exuding from his shoulders as he watched his son from behind. “It’s a shame the Golden Sun had to be so powerful as to decimate the mountain,” he noted, saddened. “Even from below its peak, it was always such an inspiring sight.”
Matthew nodded in understanding. He’d seen pictures of it before the devastation, beautiful portraits that his mother had carried along with her during her visits to the cabin from Kalay. He could picture the old Mount Aleph where he stood, but nothing would quite ever replace the derelict summit that existed in the present.
“I wouldn’t call it that grand.” Matthew had anticipated Garet’s voice joining his father, but hadn’t been able to time it quite right. He was certain that there were still a few good minutes ahead of that, but he’d clearly been wrong. The Mars Adept rounded from the side of the house and approached Isaac with a disgruntled look, the two of them joining Matthew along the cliffside. “It’s just a hunk of rock that got blown aside after we lit up the lighthouses. Big deal!”
The youngest among them blinked harshly. Hadn’t Garet said that about something else the last time..?
Isaac let out an exasperated breath as his eyes darted from Mount Aleph back to his old friend. “Astute as always,” he muttered dryly. “Don’t you get excited, thinking about how it used to look when we were kids?”
“The only thing I think of is days of getting hounded by Kraden,” the redhead insisted.
“That’s because you were always so keen on trying to skip out on his lessons...”
Their words quickly fell into the back of Matthew’s mind as he found himself unable to pay attention any longer, anticipation eating away at his bones. Discreet as he was to distance himself from the two adults recollecting on some golden halcyon days that he couldn’t particularly care about, it was probably some sort of miracle that neither of them noticed his sudden absence as he tried to reach the front door of the Lookout Cabin. He could stop Tyrell while he was ahead. Maybe prevent the whole future ordeal in its tracks.
Except the door was already ajar. And he could hear the hushed, urgent mutterings from the rooftop. “Give it back, Tyrell!”
Matthew’s heart sank. He shouldn’t have spent so much time with Isaac after all.
Nimble hands propelled him up the ladder with sudden resolution. There was still a chance, and if he sought to seize it, he couldn’t waste time. Dampness met his gloves as he pushed himself to stand over the clay shingles that made the top of the house, a testament to the light storm that had fallen over Goma Plateau the night before. One false step could land him fairly bruised against the ground - or, worse, hurtling off the side of the cliff in the same manner that Tyrell was doomed to.
Karis, who had arrived at the cabin some time before he had returned (true to Isaac’s word), was quick to twist her head around to greet him. Eyes wide with panic and anger met his own, and the intensity behind them stunned him for a moment even as she spoke. “Matthew! Ugh, thank the elements you’re here. Maybe you can convince Tyrell that he’s a massive blockhead!”
“I can still hear you!” the other Adept in question called from the end of the roof…dangerously close to falling off. “This is exactly what I’m talking about! None of you guys take me seriously!”
Matthew wondered if Karis was seeing red, just by the way her lips curled back in a silent snarl as she whipped back around to Tyrell. “Oh, I’m taking you seriously right now - seriously about to strangle you-”
“Karis.” The blonde’s objection was quiet, all that was needed for the two of them to cease their quarrel for a moment. The Venus Adept stepped forward, past the Kalayan and nearer to the edge where Tyrell stood. The trio was quiet, Matthew’s firm gaze seemingly enough to keep them in check for the time being. Finally, he spoke again, eyes drawn to the soarwing that was already hastily strapped over his friend’s shoulders. “...you should give it back to her. You won’t be able to use it.”
The indignation on the redhead’s face was clear with the crinkle of his nose and the deepening frown that seemed more affronted than genuinely angry. “What makes you say that? That’s a rhetorical question, ‘cuz I already know the answer!”
“What is the answer, then?” the shorter boy insisted, holding his ground with as much of a neutral expression as he could.
Stillness. Hesitation danced over Tyrell’s eyes, and Matthew wondered if that was because he doubted to throw the reservations he held towards Karis at his other friend, too. “...I’ve got it under control, Matt. It can’t be that hard to fly.”
Oh, stars. He really wanted to prove that true, didn’t he? Matthew fought back the urge to make his consternation visible, hand twitching at his side as he resisted against the automatic movement to pinch the bridge of his nose. There were several things he could have said in that moment - he could have told him off like Karis was evidently expecting him to, or he could try to side with Tyrell and ease him away from the roof.
The impartial approach is the one he took. “Neither of us are Jupiter Adepts like Karis. You won’t be able to manifest the proper means of maintaining altitude with it, so you’ll just drop to the bottom of the cliffs.” He could read the look of surprise on Tyrell’s face; Karis, too, when his eyes darted back to her for a moment. Whether that was because he already knew how the soarwing worked, or because he was being strangely talkative today, he wasn’t sure. “I am taking you seriously, Tyrell, because I don’t really like the idea of seeing you splattered across the plateau.”
He could only hope to think that he was getting through to the other Adept, judging by the way the malcontent cast over his features seemed to lighten with realization. Really, the only means of getting through to Tyrell was to weaponize simplicity with the immediate misfortune of his own actions.
“So...will you please move away from the edge of the roof..?” The plea was faint, more than his already muted talking voice was. Something about raising his voice didn’t sit right in the moment. It might embolden Tyrell again, which was not ideal.
“...’kay. Guess you win this one,” the redhead in front of him muttered, lighthearted in the stifled smile that he was clearly trying to suppress.
He took a single step forward. That was all he had been offered before their parents had already clambered up the ladder onto the roof and Garet’s non-existent practicality flew out the window the moment he took in the sight of his son, equipped with the soarwing and already at the perimeter of their house. “TYRELL!”
Matthew flinched in horror, craning his neck backwards in observance of the two elders standing before the scene - and then he heard a yelp that was cut off, and he just as swiftly jerked his entire body back to where Tyrell had been. He wasn’t there anymore.
He had slipped off the edge. His father’s outcry must have startled him, and the top of the cabin was still slick with the aftermath of the storm.
“Tyrell!” Panic surged over his brain and took over before his sensibilities could, and he rushed over to the end of the roof (he was lucky that he didn’t go careening over the side of the cliff just like Tyrell might have without the soarwing). Blurred mountaintops and rugged highlands clashed against the mauves of a dying evening horizon until, at last, he was able to catch sight of his friend’s silhouette making wide circles around the open space before the cliffside.
“I-I’m ok!” he shouted back, his voice distant. “I...I can’t make it back to the house! Help!”
It was happening all over again, even if the circumstances had been twisted ever so slightly. Was there really nothing that he could do to stop the dream from coming true?
Those behind were quick to approach the ledge alongside him, watching as Tyrell continued to gradually lose altitude across the sky. He definitely wouldn’t die at the speed he was falling, but one wrong move could break the soarwing and have him drop below. He was still very liable to crashing into things as well.
Karis stood next to Matthew, hands clashed in front of her chest tightly. “What should we do?” she asked of him, brows furrowed.
“At this rate, Tyrell will drop down into the forest - and we won’t be able to reach him before nightfall.” Isaac spoke in his son’s place, a clear-cut expression of thought plastered over his face. “Tanglewood Forest will have him in its clutches. And then he’ll be out on his own to fend off the monsters that arise with Luna.”
Matthew could feel the ire coming off of Garet as he, too, stepped up to the roof’s end. “Now he’s gone and done it! Tyrell might be able to swing around a sword, but he’s no chance on his own out there...”
Standing around and talking about things wasn’t going to solve the issue. The younger blonde grabbed his father by the sleeve of his coat and tugged hard, pleased only briefly when he finally caught Isaac’s attention. “Tyrell...he can fly to the abandoned Psynergy mine.”
“...how did you know about that cave?” the elder Adept questioned with surprise, looking down at his son. “Ah. I probably told you some time ago...well, nevermind that. You’re absolutely right.” His head raised back to Garet, confidence returning to those hardened eyes of blue. “You hear that? Tyrell can camp out near the old Pysnergy mine until we can breach through the forest and rescue him.”
“You’re insane!”
Isaac shook his head simply. “It’s our best bet.” He tore his gaze away, down past the overlook of their home and back to the apprentice Adept still desperately clinging to what elevation he could muster with an untrained hand wielding the soarwing Karis’ father had made. “Tyrell! Are you listening?”
“Help me, Isaac!” The plea was even fainter than it had been the first time, and Matthew felt his stomach drop a little further.
“Don’t worry, Tyrell, we’re going to come get you as soon as you can. There’s a cave near the end of the forest, and it should be high enough above the ground to see from where you are.” The warrior pointed straight ahead, presumably where the ruinous mine was located. “Do you see it?”
No answer returned to them atop the roof for a brief few seconds. Tyrell continued to try and angle the soarwing in a way that allowed him to circle the air, the silence that reached the group above an indication that he was actually listening. “...I-I see it!”
“Good. Fly over there and wait for us to make it through the woods!”
“But what if I can’t make it?!” Matthew could easily pick up on the genuine distress in the Mars Adept’s voice; it wasn’t something he heard often, yet it was harrowing all the same.
Tyrell’s own father stepped up to the spotlight, cupping his hands around his mouth as he shouted below. “Since when were you a quitter, son?! You can make it there! Now get moving, before it really is too late!”
“...I...I’ll find you!” The words came out of Matthew’s mouth faster than his brain could keep the declaration in check, the hysteria of everyone else around him making it difficult for him to hold a sense of composure. He had half the mind to leap off the roof himself and gather what he needed from the house to journey out on his own - but such would be a fruitless endeavor, and one that would probably land him in the same kind of trouble that Tyrell was bound for if left out in the midst of Tanglewood Forest.
But his words proved to be encouragement enough for his childhood friend, and he watched as Tyrell shifted the soarwing with his hands and began to arc away from the Lookout Cabin. “Ok...I trust you!”
And that was the last thing that any of them heard from him.
Heavy eyelids were cast upon the chest nestled against the corner of the room, its lock undone and hinges creaking as the lid was pulled upwards to reveal its contents: a hefty longsword resting against the bottom, the flattened end broad at the bottom and tapering off towards the end with a pristinely golden metal that seemed to hold the light of the very sun itself.
Matthew bit his lip, glaring in contempt at the Sol Blade in its resting place.
If he had held any sort of doubt regarding the legitimacy of his dream, premonition, whatever it was, the sight of the artifact before him was certainly doing its job of solidifying those hesitations. The picture he had tried to form to explain what was unfolding before him had effectively been shattered like a splintered mirror, the reflections of an incomplete puzzle piece even further shrouded with mystery and confusion, scattered across the wind.
What was happening? Why was this happening? The Sol Blade had been in his possession after their departure from the Apollo Sanctum, so did that mean everything had actually occurred and he was simply redoing all of it again? What kind of force, if nothing short of a god, could - would - even do that?
He wondered, briefly, if his father’s tendencies to wring his hands and invoke the name of the Wise One truly were in vain. But that was tantamount to blasphemy, and he truly couldn’t care to question some higher beings when his friend was in danger and the future was as grim as ever.
To bring the Sol Blade along with him as his weapon companion was just as much tempting as it was terrifying to consider; to carry such power in his own hands so early in his journey might have seemed favorable initially, but he didn’t want others questioning it. At least, not the party he was set to have right before they entered Tanglewood Forest. He didn’t need his father to know. It’s better if he doesn’t know.
Instead, he left the legendary weapon where it was and pulled out the shortsword that it was stacked on top of. It was a more familiar weapon to those around him, and so it would mean less prying.
He was about to depart from his room when, after his eyes caught the writing desk and his assembly of journals flung atop it in disarray, he quickly scooped the lot of them into his pack before truly setting off. If nothing else, they might be useful. He knew that their journey was due to end only after a somewhat tedious fight with the organic monstrosity lying in wait within the mines (Matthew couldn’t explain why he knew its name: Tangle Bloom. He could only chalk it up to another perplexing phenomenon related to this whole ordeal), and he’d made sure to track their journey through Tanglewood Forest in its entirety within the first book he’d filled out.
The creature’s notable weakness for Mars Psynergy was included in the footnotes. He was certain that exploiting that would make things go along much faster.
Karis was waiting for him by the front door, the antsy pep in the way she drummed her hands against the open doorway making her impatience clear as crystal. Matthew could tell even from the entrance to his room that she was equally upset as she was worried. Upset at Tyrell from taking the soarwing in the first place, perhaps, and then worried that he’d fallen off the roof on accident
He could sympathize with that. He’d almost managed to edge Tyrell far enough away to avoid that happening.
“All ready?” she asked once he had properly approached, tugging at the hem of her gloves in a subconscious gesture. Matthew couldn’t help but feel bad at the thought of dragging her along their escapades. Especially knowing what lay ahead.
He offered her a short nod before she stepped aside, allowing him to pass through the doorway. When she followed after him, though, something shifted in the air. It was inexplicable to him, and it showered him underneath the same feeling of dread he’d experienced upon witnessing the Sol Blade resting in his personal chest not too long ago. He paused just outside of the Lookout Cabin, a tautness to his brow as he looked around and then back at Karis.
One of the first lessons that Isaac had ever taught him was that, when trained properly, Venus Adepts possessed a very innate ability to sense the very lifeforce of organic things. It was particularly easy to do this with other Adepts, for the presence of Psynergy made it easier to detect a person’s being. Each person had their own unique kind of essence that could only best be explained by colors and things of nature; for example, Tyrell was a brilliant flame that glowed with ruby hues, dangerous when left unchecked but a roaring forge that tempered the steel of a powerful blade when handled with care. Garet was a more tempered sort of ember, the heat weathered with age but one that was easily controlled by its carrier when necessary. Matthew’s own father was a brilliant gold that carried the warmth of the earth when Sol shone down upon grassy hills, solid to the core and a stone foundation that was immovable. And Karis was a brewing storm waiting to strike, leaves picked up by tumultuous winds when her temper sparked like crackling bolts of plasma - yet the peace left behind bolstered gentle winds that smelled of lavender tapered against a field of flowers.
But this did not explain how Matthew could feel the exact depth of Karis’ life and Psynergy. If he concentrated only slightly, he could tell how much Psynergy she could use before her stamina would run out and she would need to rest. The same went for her physical state of being - they could only take so many hits before dying, after all.
It was terrifying.
“...Matthew?” The Jupiter Adept’s own voice forced him to return to the present, a gentler kind of apprehension in her eyes as she regarded him. “We can’t just stand here all day. Isaac and Garet are waiting for us at the bridge, remember?”
It felt like his entire face had been lit with a match. Had he been staring at her this entire time? His head jerked back to the plateau floor as he walked ahead, trying desperately to put that momentary trance behind him. But it wouldn’t leave. The thought of being so keenly aware of how alive one of his best friends was refused to be anywhere but the forefront of his mind. The journals in his bag felt like bricks weighing him down now.
Just like before, Isaac and Garet stood beside the connecting bridge not too far from the cabin, guarding the front as they spoke among themselves quietly. He already knew what they were discussing - and what exactly they were planning as well. They didn’t have time to be dawdling over whether or not the children were capable of handling themselves. Even if they were unaware, Matthew was more than equipped to do that on his own.
Karis caught him by the arm before he could approach and interrupt them. “Wait! Don’t you wanna hear what they’re saying?”
It was easy to forget that he was the only one who knew past the present. Matthew shook his head gently, chin tilted towards the two warriors. “Karis...I’ll tell you something important later, ok? We need to get Tyrell first.”
“Something important..? W-wait!-” But he was already detached from her hand and moving onward by the time she blurted out her exclamation of surprise.
Isaac turned first, perceptive as ever when his son approached. His eyes danced over Matthew for a moment before landing on the sword tied to his back, a short nod of approval offered in return to the sight. “Just in time. Garet and I have decided to let the two of you handle your own battles for the time being. Think you can handle being the leader?”
“...I’m fine,” Matthew insisted. It had always been expected of him, really, to take on the same role that his father had. Both Tyrell and Karis had always thought the same. “Let’s go.”
“Careful with being too hasty, son. The road ahead might be fairly easy, but things will change once we enter the forest.” Isaac’s head swiveled to the side as his eyes watched Sol’s descent. The sky was no longer mostly orange, violet and deep blue beginning to set in. “You’ve heard the stories of Tanglewood.”
Cold that clung, darkness that prevailed ceaselessly. Indeed, he had heard the stories - but more importantly, he’d endured it before...real or not. “I don’t want to make Tyrell wait.”
Garet snorted at that, turned away to observe beyond the cliffside and towards their destination. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell your father, but he seems to think that making sure you and Karis can keep up is more important.”
“...Tyrell is a Mars Adept like you,” Matthew pointed out, voice soft behind the fabric of his scarf as his mouth dipped behind it. “I think he’ll be ok. The forest...it probably hates fire.”
“He’s right.” Karis had taken up to the blonde’s side, hand on her hip as the other clutched her wooden staff tightly. “A dark place like Tanglewood would have a serious aversion to fire, hot and bright as it is. But even then, that’s no excuse to keep wasting time! We need to make sure the soarwing isn’t broken.”
Matthew hid his frown carefully. “Tyrell’s life is more important than the soarwing, Karis...”
The Jupiter Adept exhaled sharply, turning away. “I-I know that! But my father worked really hard on the soarwing, and I’d hate for his efforts to go wasted.” The tenseness of her shoulders slackened, but only a little. “...I am worried about Tyrell, though. So let’s go.”
The two children bounded ahead, footsteps landing on wooden planks knitted tightly together to allow them safe passage over the gap. It felt good to be in the lead once again, with their elders safely following behind, but the constant feeling of unease gripped Matthew tightly by the neck. He doubted that it would leave any time soon.
Restlessness carried his feet across the marmalade clay plateau fast enough so that the cavern leading further down arrived to him in the blink of an eye. Karis must have picked up on his sudden urgency, because she stuck by his side like glue. The pair stepped past the alcove, the overwhelming presence of monsters lurking closeby filling Matthew’s senses as they began their trek inside, guided only by the dim lights of glowing mushrooms.
A dot of cavern water that had coalesced from a hanging stalactite hit Karis on the nose, and she grimaced with force. “Ew...”
“Be careful,” Matthew warned as he drew his shortsword. “There are monsters...Dad and Garet won’t help us for now.”
“Figures,” his friend muttered under her breath, taking a single step forward as if to test the waters.
Sure enough, a small puddle of cerulean goo slithered across the raised overpass they stood on. A Slime, completely unthreatening and yet aggravatingly persistent all the while. Rounded eyes locked onto them as they approached.
“...ladies first?” Matthew offered, raising an eyebrow at the creature in front of them. It wasn’t a substantial threat to him in a long shot, but this was Karis’ first time truly out on the field. She’d only ever waved a stick at Tyrell when he was up to nonsense.
A nonplussed look crossed over the other Adept’s face before she turned back to the Slime. She leapt forward like a gust of rushing wind, raising her staff and slamming the monster headfirst with all of her might. A thin shriek bounced off the walls of the cave before she did it a second time, and the sticky amalgamation disintegrated into a pile of mush that slid off into the inky depths below.
Karis grinned proudly, turning to Matthew. “Hah! That was easy!”
“They’ll probably start appearing in groups by now,” the blonde beside her pointed out with a thin smile. “They know we’re strong enough to warrant it.”
“Well, we can both take them on, can’t we? But...you can still take the lead when that happens. I trust your intuition. I’ll follow what you think is smartest.”
The proclamation made him feel all fuzzy inside, and so he elected to continue before making himself look even more foolish than he probably already did. Isaac and Garet remained several decent paces away as they maneuvered through the cave, watching their battles closely. Although, really, there wasn’t much to see; most of the enemies were either just flat out immediately killable or weak to Karis’ Psynergy, and she was fast enough to take them out before Matthew needed to lift a finger. He just hoped Isaac wasn’t disappointed in the fact that he wasn’t doing much to assist.
As if cracking open his skull to peer inside, Karis was quick to point out the predicament. “Hey, why don’t you try fighting with me, too? I mean, it’s not fair that you’re making a girl do all the hard work.”
An amused smile cracked his otherwise austere expression. “But you keep killing all of them before I can do anything.”
“Oh, don’t think you can get away so easily! This next fight, I’m gonna make you do it all by yourself!”
Matthew laughed under his breath, taking the slope down to the lower cavern floor with care before the Wind Seer chased after him with slightly less grace. “Alright, fine. But you have to watch my back, alright? You won’t have healing Psynergy for a while.”
The air stopped, and so, too, did his breath. He stood where he was for a moment as the implications of what he’d just uttered caught up to his brain with the force of a mace swung directly for the back of his head. He wasn’t supposed to know that. He wasn’t supposed to know that, after some experience, she’d gain access to Pysnergy like Fresh Breeze to become the designated party healer until later on. He knew only because of whatever time traveling nonsense he was being put through; Karis didn’t.
The Jupiter Adept looked at him with nothing short of total confusion, an eyebrow quirked upwards as she regarded him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He had to find a way out, fast. “I...d-don’t you remember?” he began, somewhat out of wind. “Jupiter Adepts can have healing Psynergy as well. I’m pretty sure Ivan taught us that when we were over at your house once...” He could only hope that her insightfulness didn’t go so far as to read entirely through his fib.
She didn’t. The bewilderment faded away within a second. “Huh. Guess you remembered something I forgot this time,” she mumbled, turning away to follow the path once more. A massive boulder prevented them from journeying too far, set directly over the ledge that they could jump onto.
It was one that Isaac had deliberately placed there in order to test them.
Matthew wasn’t sure how his father had been able to accomplish that ahead of them, considering they were still some ways behind the pair. If he had to hazard a guess, it must have been while they were busy fighting (despite how short lived those fights tended to be). Either way, the solution was simple enough. He stepped up past Karis, right next to the edge of the dropoff. A simple spell of Move was enough to shove the obstacle off of the floor and send it tumbling down below. The deafened thud that came afterward signaled the end of its descent.
They couldn’t have thought of something more challenging..? It was a silly thought, really, but Matthew hardly possessed the wherewithal to chide himself for it. He watched as Isaac and Garet mirrored the route the pair of apprentices had taken, at least somewhat uplifted at the pleased expression in his father’s irises.
“Nice job, Matthew. Although that was probably a lot easier than Garet likes to think.”
Karis blinked harshly, gaze darting between the two adults. “Wait, what? Did you two deliberately set that there?!”
The younger blonde cut it before anyone else could. “That was easier than easy. I’m pretty sure I could have kicked that off with my foot, let alone smacked it aside with Move.”
He could practically feel the trio of eyes set on him now. He was often likened to his mother when it came to the snark department, but it wasn’t very often that he actually expressed his dry wit; now was one of those times.
And it was apparently a grand enough feat to be stared at for. “...what? I’m serious.”
“...we just want to make sure that you and Karis will actually be able to handle yourselves,” Isaac eventually spoke up. “Having the strength to take down monsters will be meaningless if your intuition can’t guide you outside of your battles.”
Matthew pouted. “At least be creative next time.”
“Hopefully there won’t be a next time,” Garet cut in pointedly. “We don’t have the luxury to think of something more out of the box, nor would we have the time to actually do that! Nightfall is getting pretty close…and both of you know what that means when it comes to Tanglewood.”
The two teenagers nodded, sharing fleeting glances with each other before Karis allowed Matthew to take the lead once more. The blonde elected to ignore the Psynergy Stone that had formed nearby atop one of the small heights, considering that neither of them had really used much to begin with. Instead, they cut the journey short by skipping over the platforms they would have needed to hop across in order to reach it and made it to the opposite end of the damp cave.
Another roadblock met them in the form of a gap across the open plateaus. It was too far to jump across, and every other direction to Tanglewood Forest was blocked off in some way.
“Stay here,” Matthew instructed Karis before the aperture, leaping down the ledge at a fairly safe height before approaching another detached spire of earth. The familiar apparition of a human hand appeared as he summoned another cast of Move, pulling the piece of rock in between the open route so they could reach the other side without falling. A part of Matthew wondered if Karis’ Whirlwind Psynergy might be enough to propel them across the open space, but Garet was right - they didn’t have the kind of time to fool around with right now.
The entrance to Tanglewood came just as quickly as the cavern they’d just departed from. Thorned branches swallowed up patches of the ground like eager snakes, dark streaks of purples and blues painting the leaves of the trees that seemed to curl in around them as they approached the inner workings of the malicious forest. Sol’s warmth was sorely missed as a frigid cold bit into Matthew’s hands, even through thickly padded gloves. He could feel the negative energy that worked its way through the area, heavy and oppressive, the light of the sun far out of their grasp now. Luna ruled this place in full, and it would only be many hours later until Tanglewood reverted back to slightly less dangerous. Until then, they were under constant threat of being jumped by the monsters that were prowling around within the darkness.
He might have been worried. A little scared, even. But he’d been through this forest before, and he knew every exploit that could be taken to cross through its depths.
He could hear Isaac sigh from behind as they walked. “It’s already dark enough for this place to have transformed...the cave is still a trek away. Garet, I think it’ll be a good idea for us to start helping out the kids now.”
They all stopped around a collection of brightly lit flowers, a sparse source of illumination in a place where eclipsing shadows seemed to prevail. Matthew could already tell what they were about to discuss: whether or not he should continue to lead. They would conclude the session by offering them some of their Djinn and allow Matthew to continue acting as party leader before being off on their merry way.
He decided to cut straight to the chase. “Dad. Are you worried about me being the leader?”
His father regarded him carefully. “...hm. Insightful as ever. Of course, it’s not an issue of whether or not I believe you’re truly capable. I’m more concerned about the speed of things...”
The apprentice Adept nodded in understanding. It was somewhat difficult, trying to think of a way to push things along the way he wanted in a manner that wasn’t completely overt. “...um, maybe we could...borrow one of your Djinn?”
Garet’s eyes widened towards him. “Huh. Kid might have a point, honestly.”
“Matthew...handling Djinn is a very delicate manner,” the other warrior began slowly, holding his son’s gaze. “They do more than offer their powers in the heat of battle. They give us strength in other ways, too, elevating parts of our capabilities higher than what they might normally be. We can’t just throw them willy-nilly at people.”
“I know,” Matthew insisted, chewing the inside of his mouth as he bit back an I already know all of this, “but me and Karis will be careful. It’s just until we can rescue Tyrell.” He looked over at the green-haired Adept with a silent plea for her to chime in.
She perked up somewhat upon realizing what the gesture meant. “Oh! Of course Matthew and I understand the responsibility of managing a Djinni! Don’t we?” A shared nod, and she turned back to Isaac with expectancy.
“...alright. We’ll give you three to start with.” The old hero placed his hand on his son’s shoulder, comforting in the way it was tight. “As the leader, that puts you in charge of managing them between you and Karis. Try not to go overboard with them.”
Matthew held up his hand in a silent vow, letting his hand drop as the older Adepts carefully allowed the manifestations of the elements to depart from their own being. Three brown, three red. The spirits each passed into their individual essences with ease, and he soon knew all of their names - not only with foresight but also because that was simply how they worked.
He made sure to swap them around accordingly, offering Karis one of the Venus Djinn (Ground in particular, because he had a gut feeling that he was going to do a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to fights soon and it was good for her to have some utility under her sleeve this early on) while he took Torch from her.
When they were through tossing around their Djinn, Matthew turned to his father with a short nod before pushing further into the woods, his mind honed in on their singular goal once more. Find Tyrell, get back home. Find Tyrell, get back home...figure out what the hell is going on. Hopefully. He wanted nothing more than for his face to hit his pillow with all of his weight, but such was a reward that he could treat himself to after their task’s completion.
A Wild Wolf darted out from the tangling bushes, head lopsided as it jerked around without aim. Matthew tightened his grip over the hilt of his blade out of instinct more than actual fear, irritation causing one of his eyebrows to twitch downward.
“Well, mister hotshot? Let’s see you take a crack at it this time,” Karis smirked behind him, nudging him forward with a gentle push of her staff.
The creature’s head raised at the sound of her voice, teeth gnashing over a snarl as it charged headfirst towards them. Matthew grounded himself where he was in front of the other apprentice, shortsword raised before he took a running start to meet the wolf halfway.
The expectation was to knock the wolf onto his back before killing it. When the flat of his weapon made contact with it, though, the sheer force behind the swing was enough to send the Wild Wolf hurtling into the closest tree so fast that he only needed to blink once. A thunderous snap split apart the silence of Tanglewood Forest as the monster’s body wrapped around the bulk of the trunk and dropped to the ground, motionless.
He stepped back in disbelief, eyes the size of dinner plates as he continued to stare squarely at the corpse turning cold against the grass. A morbid part of his mind noted that this probably hadn’t been what Karis meant when she’d encouraged him to “take a crack at it”.
The others, at least, carried the wisdom to continue the disquiet as well. Matthew wasn’t sure if he could handle being bombarded with questions after a turn of events like that. He stepped forward, grip shaking and the tremor traveling down to his own sword as he approached the Wild Wolf. There was no question about it. He had killed it. He had brutalized it, with as little as a flick of his wrist.
He took in a ragged breath before turning away and sheathing his sword, leaving it behind. The others followed, said nothing, and he was glad. It remained like that for quite some time before something finally disturbed it.
“Matthew.” Karis reached out, tentatively, before snatching his hand with her own. He twisted his head just enough to watch in his peripheral vision, noting the look of anxiety marring her face. She tried to pull him back, but his strength outmatched her and forced her to continue following his footsteps. “Matthew, please.”
“...what is it?”
“Wha-you-Matthew, are you ok? Like, I know that killing animal monsters like that wolf might have been more difficult than something like a Slime...”
He shook his head. “I’m fine. It’s...nothing.” Playing it off like this was easier than trying to explain why he was so scared. Why the strength he carried wasn’t normal, wasn’t natural for either of them. Things were beginning to slot together to create a concise picture of what was happening to him, and he was not enjoying it; he was repeating an entire course of his life, except nothing had changed from the end. All of the power he had acclimated across their journey across Angara to stop the Grave Eclipse was still in his very bones, waiting to be unleashed. Everything made sense now.
In the back of his mind, the Sol Blade glittered with taunting menace in the chest of his room. The universe, in some capacity, expected him to go through everything all over again. But this time, he didn’t have the gift of being unaware.
Karis was persistent, though. She didn’t let go. “You are clearly not ok. Do you want to talk about it? It’s fine, really, I promise.”
“No. I want to find Tyrell.” It came out sharper than he had intended. He wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings. But he was tired, and he’d just snapped a wolf in half against a tree, and he hated this stupid forest and its stupid contrivances and he really just wanted to go home.
It did its job in making the Jupiter Adept back off, at least. She reluctantly parted ways with his hand before filing back in line with him, following along as they broke into a clearing where the canopy parted just enough to see the moon dotting the sky a pale yellow. The roots of the forest were thicker here, dense and wide enough to block pathways for them. Matthew watched as Isaac and Garet detached themselves from the makeshift group to look around with stern gazes, two steps behind what he already knew to be the solution.
“Is it just me, or have the roads suddenly gotten sparse..?” Garet began as Matthew guided Karis over to the central tree in the area. His and Isaac’s voices soon fell to the back of his hearing.
The two apprentices gathered around the shifting flower that breathed menacing life at the foot of the biggest tree, Karis’ eyes hardened. “This place sure does live up to its name.”
“Karis. I want you to do something for me,” Matthew began, observing the crimson petals of the floret before them. “Cast a Fireball onto this flower.”
His friend tilted her head slightly, perplexed. “What for?”
“...remember what Dad used to tell us about this forest? About how it thrives in the cold darkness. If you cast a Fireball...I think it’ll react negatively to that. It might help,” he explained with vigilance. “Heat and light are its opposites, but killing the source might be more effective than trying to get rid of the roots individually.”
“Hmm. Good point.” She scratched her jawline in thought as her eyes swept over the flower and the roots it was connected to, following them along the pathways that were blocked. The light behind violets brightened, a self-evident internalization of a eureka, and she held out a hand towards the plant with renewed concentration. Sparks of fire ignited against her palm as a decently sized orb of fire manifested with the power of her Djinn, and she released it with a satisfying pop. The flower caught on fire instantly with a grating screech of protest, and soon the roots fell to the same fate, collapsing lifelessly against the ground and withering away under the smoldering flames.
Matthew looked over at the two Warriors of Vale as they returned with baffled expressions on their faces. It took every ounce of willpower within him to avoid looking too smug about his achievement. “Fixed it.”
“Who knew throwing around Fireballs was actually the right solution for once?” Garet laughed half-heartedly, restlessness found in his twitching hands as he watched bloom in front of the two teenagers smoldering with the spell of fire Karis had struck it with. Ironically, it formed a sort of makeshift candle amidst the woods.
The other warrior murmured his agreement. “The roots must carry too much concentrated negativity to be affected by our Psynergy. Good thinking, Matthew.”
The younger Venus Adept nodded silently, picking up the forefront of the group as they traversed the newly opened pathways deeper into Tanglewood. Monsters steered clear of them, and he was thankful for that. He’d rather not have to handle a fight in front of Isaac and Garet after witnessing just what exactly he was capable of. Having to explain things was too convoluted, and he had a feeling that it wouldn’t benefit him in any way if he tried to rope them into their future journey.
Discreetly, he pulled Karis ahead so that he could trade Djinn with her once more. “Change of plans,” he whispered as he willed Torch out from his being once more. The little Mars Djinni made a disgruntled squeak, but eventually traded places with Ground.
“And what is your plan, exactly?” the shorter apprentice asked as Torch passed into her hand and disappeared.
“The monsters here are weak to fire. Since you’re faster and have more stamina than me when it comes to casting Psynergy, it’ll be more practical for you to have access to Mars Psynergy. I can just...hit things with my sword.” Considering how that went last time, Matthew was fairly sure that Karis wouldn’t question the strategy.
She considered him with gentle eyes. “Ok. Just...be careful.”
“Of course.” And back onto the forest trail they returned. Now that Karis could fully point and aim Fireball Psynergy with clear instructions, burning away the corrupted roots of Tanglewood and proceeding deeper within was a far easier task. Soon enough, they were crossing over the bubbling lilac waters near the foot of the cave, which rested on a cliffside above. Matthew wafted aside the fog that was permeating his immediate vision so that he could actually see where he was going. He didn’t want to find out if the lake was actually acidic in some capacity by tripping and falling in.
Similar to the Goma Plateaus behind them, there existed a lengthy gap between the closest root traveling over the waters and solid ground right beneath the cliff. There was a boulder that rested close to the edge, and he used Move to pull it into the pond, thus shortening the space between. Something about being detached from the earth, teetering over unstable waters that threatened to swallow him whole, made him feel uneasy. It was good to stand on dirt and clay once again.
Karis closed the distance between them with a well-placed jump, landing beside him. She looked up the length of the precipice in front of them with a narrowed gaze. “How are we going to get up there?”
Matthew gestured towards a tiny sprout parting the dirt beneath their feet, and then drew a line in the air with his finger that reached the ledge of the overhang. A simple spell of Grow was enough for the tiny bud to shoot upwards, long vines crawling against the side of the cliff before digging back into the earth as if to secure their intentions of using it as rope.
He held out his arm towards it, a silent invitation for her to try it first. Karis snorted, smacking him over the arm playfully before she grabbed ahold of the trailing plant. She tugged on it lightly, as if to make sure it really was fixed, before using it to scale the flattened wall of elevated ground. Matthew followed after her much quicker, and they were given a clear view of the cave that loomed over them - as well as the secondary incline that held the pitiful sight of the soarwing’s splintered parts scattered across it.
“...he totally destroyed it,” Karis said flatly, massaging the bridge of her nose. “What did he even do, drop to the ground on his back? Stars, my dad is going to be pissed.”
“We can fix it,” Matthew promised, “...even if that’s a whole adventure on its own. We’ll figure it out.” It wasn’t a matter of “if” to him, though; it was a matter of how. And how he might avoid the position that they might find themselves at the end.
Isaac, never too far behind the pair of apprentices, was swift to assess the damage for himself once he’d made it to the surface. “Well. At least he made it out relatively unharmed.”
“Relatively?!” the fellow warrior demanded before he had even reached the top of the vines - yet Matthew could still hear Garet’s voice as his head popped up beyond the edge with nothing short of panic dominating his expression.
“Calm down. I just meant that we haven’t quite found him yet. He’s alive, that’s for certain.” Which was true. Matthew could feel Tyrell’s presence not too far away as well, deep within the abandoned mine. “Still, Karis is right. The soarwing is completely wrecked. It’s not going to see much use for a while.”
The Jupiter Adept next to him could only shake her head in disbelief, turning back to Matthew. “Let’s hurry up and find Tyrell so we can at least try to scrounge up the mess. I’m going to give him such an earful!”
“He didn’t mean to fall off the roof,” her friend responded firmly before leading them into the entrance of the mines.
The darkness of Tanglewood didn’t quite reach the interior of the mineshaft, mostly due in part to the Psynergy Stones that glittered brightly within and offered them a sense of comforting light to guide them. The place was teeming with magic and elemental power, a temporary spot of respite from the rest of the forest’s overpowering sense of malice. The only monsters brave enough to actually try and attack them were ghastly Willowisps that Karis was able to dispatch easily due to their weakness to her natural Psynergy. Again, Matthew hardly needed to participate in the battles - again, that was a good thing.
He knew they were close to the end when the Psynergy Stones began to lose their glow and painted the mines with dark, inky colors. He also knew why that was as well; there was a Psynergy Vortex lying in wait at the very core of the pit, most likely summoned by the sheer congregation of energy in order to suck the crystals dry.
His hand grazed one of the ashen gems that were jutting out from the wall, watching as the lightest kind of touch was capable of rendering it to a crumpled powder next to his feet.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Garet offered as he and Isaac suddenly took the lead into the back end of the mineshaft. The sudden loss of violet incandescence made it impossible to see very far ahead, pitch black overcoming the group of four. Matthew could barely see his hand when he held it out as far as it would go.
“Tyrell is close by. The roots of Tanglewood seem to be infecting this place as well...I saw them earlier when we first entered the mines. Try casting a few Fireballs and see if something might catch on fire for us to see with.”
He didn’t need to ask twice before elder ginger snapped his fingers and summoned a spell of concentrated Mars energy over the flat of his hand. The new source of light only reached a few paces ahead and hardly served enough to simply carry around while they looked for Tyrell. His aim was disorganized, borderline completely random, but the first Fireball that Garet threw struck one of the roots close enough to systematically catch the flower growing over it by the petal. In a matter of mere seconds, the blossom was smoldering consistently enough to be a lightsource for them.
“Let me try!” Karis piped up, hurling her own before any of them could interject. It was well-placed enough to strike the very Psynergy Vortex that Matthew had dreaded seeing, swallowing the orb of elemental power whole within its magenta-tinted abyss. A hollow sound echoed across the room in its wake.
“Wh-what the hell is a Psynergy Vortex doing all the way out here?!” Garet quickly ushered the teenagers behind him, the blade of his axe almost hitting the cavern floor as he gripped it properly in one hand.
Isaac ran ahead without a word, crossing over the stiff plank bridge to the side and prompting the rest to chase after him. “We need to find Tyrell, now.”
Matthew took Karis’ hand and tugged her back a few paces behind the two scrambling adults, holding up her arm towards where he instinctively knew was another flower that could be lit. “Cast a Fireball,” he whispered, ragged.
The other apprentice blinked rapidly at him, the terror in her eyes more than palpable. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then turned to the way he was holding her arm and did as she was told with a shaking hand. Flames burst erratically from her fingertips, the panic of the situation throwing off her concentration and making the spell of Fireball far less consistent in shape even after she released it from her psychic hold and allowed it to shoot forward. It collided with the flower closest to the staircase near the back exit of the mineshaft.
“H-how did you...” Karis began before Matthew pulled her along in silence. He could always explain at a later time, when things were less pressing.
With their view now vividly brighter, all four Adepts made their way across the scattered platforms that made up the heart of the mineshaft. Their newfound vision meant that, like all things that had occurred thus far, someone eventually found out where Tyrell was.
It just so happened to be Karis herself. “Oh gods !” she gasped, skidding to a halt in front of the roots that obstructed the immediate pathway to the young Mars Adept. He was visible only by a margin from where the two children were, miniature gaps forming where the ends of the tree rhizomes failed to meet. “Tyrell is right next to it!”
“Don’t worry. He’s still alive, and that’s what’s important!” Isaac called ahead as he tried to find a way to reach the platform where the unconscious apprentice was located. He found the small sprout budding near the unfinished flyover near the exit before Matthew, who had already known of its existence, could point it out. He seemed at a loss for what to do with it, though. “Shit,” he hissed with anger, eyes scanning the massive plant that was growning against the wall close to the Psynergy Vortex. Tangle Bloom. “That flower is in the way...Garet, throw a Fireball at this thing!”
No, this was too soon, Matthew wasn’t prepared for the fight that was to come at all. He turned Karis to face her abruptly, eyebrows knitted together as he thought of what to say to her. “Karis, I...um.” This was not the time to be floundering to speak. “Listen, put all of your Djinn on standby.”
“W-what are you talking about?” she asked, clearly taken aback.
“I promised I would explain later, right? Just, for now...I need you to trust me. Like you said you would.” He was gripping her shoulders too hard, too tightly, and he gently eased his hold on her. “Put all your Djinn on standby and follow my lead.”
The fear in her eyes was deep. She nodded slowly, watching his hands as he finally let go of her.
Their conversation ended just in time for Garet to strike, unawarely, the core of Tangle Bloom. The mutated creature roared in protest as what could be equated to its face was briefly lit on fire, tapered claws at the end of its roots rising off of the cavern wall in order to brush off the lingering wisps of burning orange from its petals. It was awake and poised to kill.
“C’mon,” Matthew managed, hoarse, before practically throwing himself down the stairs and across the mines to join Garet and his father. The island the warriors stood upon was wide enough for a battle to take place, thankfully - he wasn’t sure if he’d be comfortable trying to throw hands with a monstrous plant surrounded by endless depths if the ground it surrounded was smaller. He could feel the shift in Karis’ presence, the smoke of her previously active Djinn wafting away as she presumably put the three of them on standby.
“Be careful, Matthew!” Isaac warned, dodging the monster’s thick limb as it slammed against the ground. The earth shook, momentary, and his father eased himself away from the edge he so perilously approached against his will. One wrong move could have either of them dead at the bottom of the mines, unreachable.
Matthew pushed himself over one of the roots in his way and jumped over the vacancy between floors, landing clumsily next to Isaac just in time to nearly be struck in the face by Tangle Bloom’s incessant flailing before the elder blonde shoved his son against the ground. Fear claws over his heart with icy fingernails, foreboding him from acting even as Isaac held him propped up in his arms.
“Matthew. Matthew! You have to get up!”
He’d never felt the need to cry so badly. This was too much. He wanted to go home.
But he couldn’t. Tyrell was still in danger, and they couldn’t let this transmogrified abomination continue its rampage in these mines...regardless of the fact that it was, true to its name, abandoned. Heroes didn’t let the monsters win.
Hands that should have carried an entire adventure’s worth of callus grabbed at the denim trench coat his father wore, a clutch that turned Matthew’s knuckles bone white. If he didn’t get a hold of himself, someone could die. He pushed himself up with Isaac’s help, pulling his sword out from the strap over his back as he steeled his nerves. “Ok. I’m ok. I-I can do it.”
The other Venus Adept nodded shortly before turning away to help Garet hold off the overgrown plant. He was buying Matthew time.
“M-Matthew!” Karis rushed up to him the moment she was able to cross the cavern gap, holding him by the face to make sure he wasn’t injured. “Are you alright?! What is that thing?”
“It’s fine, I’m not hurt,” he breathed, finally calming the rattle in his lungs. “Listen. That thing is a creature of Tanglewood, which means that it must be weak to Mars Psynergy. That’s why I told you to set all of your Djinn on standby. I’m going to use Ground to stun it temporarily. When I do that, I want you to summon Tiamat.”
The Wind Seer dropped her hand with an incredulous look. “Are you crazy? We can’t perform a summon like that down here, there’s no room!-”
He interrupted her. “You said you would trust my judgment.”
“...that’s not fair,” the other teenager protested, wringing her staff with visible distress. “You could put Isaac and Garet in danger. Or Tyrell.”
“It’ll be fine. I’ll distract it and move it away from them. I just need you to perform the summon. Tiamat should be strong enough to kill it immediately with her fire. Do you understand?”
“...ok,” she sniffed. “Ok. I will.”
With that settled, Matthew approached Tangle Bloom with a running start just as it shifted and lashed out once again. He rolled underneath its sweeping arm, using the tip of his blade to puncture through the fused roots. The creature of the forest fizzled angrily, its attention focused entirely on him now. He took advantage of that and ran across the platform, backtracking the way he had come. It had been a wild guess that turned out to work in his favor as the monstrosity twisted across the wall it was perched on to give chase.
When he was confident that the half-rooted flora was far enough away from the Warriors of Vale for Karis to help, he summoned forth Ground with a wave of his hand. The Djinni burst forth in a stria of earthen energy, using its powers over Venus to hold Tangle Bloom stiff in place. “Now, Karis!”
He watched with bated breath as the Jupiter Adept raced across the same platforms he had taken, distancing herself from Isaac and Garet before spinning around holding out her wooden staff. An inferno swirled around her boots as she put all of her focus into summoning the power of the queen of dragons, a blurred visage of the draconic entity herself rising from where her shadow was cast upon the ground. Karis was correct in saying that there wasn’t enough room for Tiamat to appropriately manifest inside of the mineshaft, but the power of her azure flames nonetheless crackled around the group as proof of her existence. As soon as one of them so much as grazed one of Tangle Bloom’s roots, the entire plant was caught ablaze. The sound of crackling leaves and bark filled Matthew’s ears as he watched the creature literally burn alive, turning crisp greys and blacks and screaming up at the ceiling before, in due time, it fell off the wall and dropped into the chasms below with a punctuated thud that cut off its shrill cries.
He felt considerably less bad about its death than anything else thus far.
Heavy breaths escaped his lungs as he heaved against the exertion he’d put himself through. It was over, but they weren’t out of the clear just yet. He twisted his weary head towards the Psynergy Vortex, watching as it shrunk in diameter with another kinetic motion that could be felt across the entire cave. Rescuing Tyrell was just a few steps away…
He and Karis met up together over the former battleplace while following after the elder Adepts, who had already moved past the ominous maelstrom of void to take care of Tyrell and imbue his lost Psynergy. “I...I can’t believe that worked...” she wheezed in exasperation. Summoning Tiamat must have taken all of the strength she could muster.
In a less tense situation, he might have been proud of his accomplishments. But this was a tense situation, and he was more than ready to leave this gods forsaken forest behind him with a night of sleep. He made one final vault over the gap separating him from the adults, to which Karis followed after.
“Is...is he going to be alright?” the Jupiter Adept asked, watching as Isaac and Garet continued their efforts to wake up Tyrell.
The latter of the two grunted in effort. “He’ll be fine. Poor kid might as well have fallen into the damn thing for how much Psynergy this is taking. But he’s alive, and that means we can fix it.”
Soon enough, the Guard apprentice against the floor shifted, face contorting with a pinched countenance as he slowly came to. Karis knelt down and shoved him by the shoulder roughly, her efforts not going to waste as Tyrell blinked awake. “...my head fucking hurts,” was the first thing he decided to complain about with a squint of his eyes.
“Language,” his father warned, easing him up just enough for him to sit against the raised earth behind him. “Anything broken?”
“Ugh...other than the soarwing?” the younger Adept attempted with a hesitant smile. “Nah, I’m fine. Just really tired...”
The mention of the mechanism caused Karis’ demeanor to shift, and Matthew knew right away that she’d entered lecture mode. “Tyrell, when we get home, I’m going to give you the most serious verbal beatdown that you’ll ever face in your entire life,” she threatened with venom dripping from her tone, visibly restraining herself from grabbing him by the goggles tied around his neck to shake him around silly.
The redhead stood to his feet, bracing himself against the wall. “I wasn’t even going to use it..!”
“You shouldn’t have taken it from me in the first place!-”
Matthew laughed. Hard. The stress tensing his shoulders dissipated with the suddenness of a balloon being popped with a needle, the overwhelming anxiety of the fight and the peace that came with its aftermath cracking the precarious shell that had been shielding his sense of emotion. He was nothing but totally, utterly relieved that his friends were safe and that their parents had remained unharmed, the dark future he found himself seeking to prevent momentarily forgotten as he surged forward and grabbed Tyrell in an impossibly tight hug. The joy was seemingly infectious as Karis soon joined in on the verge of hysterical giggling, and Tyrell spun the two of them around off of the ground with a wide grin on his face.
In the moment, just for now, Matthew could afford to be brought to tears.