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Blood on the ground, on his skin, in his hair and under his nails. The Dao Sword Ed had transmuted for him was stained with the blood of the soul Envy had swallowed, the souls of Xerxean men, women and children. He should have felt guilty for hurting them like that, but it was not for his own gain. Envy was huge, thought not as huge as Gluttony’s stomach. The vast cavern that had endless walls and maddeningly dark shadows.
The battle was brutal, and Ling could feel the broken ribs through his own skin and muscle, his hand tightly held against the area. There were cuts and abrasions all over his body, and he held a slight limp in his right leg. It would bruise around the knee by tomorrow morning, he was certain of it. Ed was in worse shape than him, with his broken arm and head injury. Ling could withstand a few broken ribs and still fight, he’d been trained to do it.
Ling was thrown against a piece of wall by Envy’s tail, and as he fought to catch his breath and regain his vision from the impact he could see Ed on the ground, frozen.
“Ed!” He called out, reaching out with one hand only to sink to his knee in pain. He grunted as he strained to stand, pain overwhelming him, and used his sword to act as a cane to lift him from his position. His knee buckled again, and Ling wound up on his hands and knees, desperate to get to his friend.
“Open your eyes, please!” He cried out, hand pressed against his own ribs. “No! Ed!”
Envy’s stance above his friend widened, his head drooping and his wide jaw opening to reveal a long tongue bubbling with souls. It snaked to the ground, coiling around the unconscious form of his friend, and slowly began to lift him up.
No, not him. Please. Please, don’t…
His heart ached in his chest as he watched Ed rise further, engulfed in the souls of the people who once had lives. They grabbed at his body, lifting him, embracing him, until finally he was no longer visible.
It only took a second but he was thrown up into the air and swallowed whole. Envy’s jaw snapped shut, and that toothy mouth was turned to him.
Ling’s cry sounded in the very fibre f his being and continued as Envy’s jaw opened again-
The sound of pain shrouded his very being as he shot up, sheets wound around his waist. His hair was stuck to his neck and forehead, sweat acting like glue. His hands were out in front of himself, attempting to pull back the invisible form that slowly began to fade along with the memory of the dream. His heart pounded, his head hurt, and the intensity of the dream had caused him to dig his nails into the pals of his own hands.
Ling’s head fell into his palms as he attempted to bring about regulation to his breathing. One of his hands slid down to his side, gripping his ribs as if they were still broken. Reality and the dream were interchangable. The images still flashed under his eyelids, and danced to the tune of his own screams.
Ling jolted when he felt a hand on the back of his neck.
He couldn’t bring himself to remove his hand from over his eyes to see who it was, but distantly he knew.
“What happened?” The voice said, calm and steady as his fingers began to thread through his tangle of hair.
“M-My ribs are- are broken-“ Ling stuttered, and he flinched when he felt the hand move from his hair down to his side.
“Your ribs are fine, Ling.” The voice whispered, and the body it belonged to shifted closer. Ling felt metal slide against his back and an arm move around his waist.
Ling sucked in a sharp breath and removed his hand from his eyes, rubbing sweat from his forehead as he sagged into Ed’s chest. The embrace was comforting, and reality began to drift back in and fight back the dream.
He was in bed. He was in bed beside his lover, beside Ed. It had been seven years since the promised day. They were safe, they were alive, and they were happy. This was his reality.
Ed knew better than to tell him it had just been a dream. After all they’d been through, no nightmare they could conjure up could be worse than the reality they’d already had to face.