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Cyno charged at yet another Eremite, trying to defend himself from the waves of enemies. At this point he couldn’t hold back. There were just so many enemies that it wasn’t possible to keep himself alive without using lethal force. They were mostly Eremites but he could also spot a few Fatui. If only he hadn’t been so stupid, he might’ve noticed that the ‘abandoned’ Eremite camp wasn’t really abandoned. He wouldn’t have walked into an ambush.
He had no choice but to use his elemental burst. “Through me, justice is served!” His Electro Vision glowed brightly as he unleashed the divine spirit and let it take control of his body.
The next few minutes were a blur. When Cyno regained control, he found himself standing shakily as dead bodies of Eremites and Fatui lay on the grass. He sighed. The divine spirit often cared only about winning the battle, not preserving the lives of enemies, so Cyno tried not to unleash it unless it was an emergency situation—like this one. He took a step forward and something twisted in his gut. He looked down to see an Eremite’s knife buried in his stomach. The wound was trickling blood and hurt like hell, but Cyno wasn’t stupid enough to remove the knife just yet. He ripped the sleeve off of one of the dead Eremites and then sat down. He steeled himself and pulled out the knife with a wince of pain, then bandaged the wound with the sleeve. Immediately the white fabric stained red, not a good sign.
Cyno grimaced at the thought of walking back to civilisation in his condition, but he didn’t exactly have a choice if he wanted to live. Fortunately for him, Collei was on a camping trip with a few other Forest Rangers. If his memory served him right, the campsite was pretty near. He stood up, leaning on his spear for support, and began to search the surrounding forest for the campsite.
~~~~~
Collei was busy gathering firewood for the campfire when she heard a familiar voice call her name about a dozen metres away.
“Collei! Thank the Archons. I need help…” Of all the people to call her name in need of help, Collei never expected Cyno to be one of them. However, when she pushed aside the bushes and went over to him, she immediately understood why he needed her help. A bandage that clearly used to be an Eremite’s sleeve (Collei knew better than to ask what happened to said Eremite) was wrapped around his torso. The white cloth was already stained crimson with blood, and judging by Cyno’s pained expression, the blood was his.
“Oh my Archons, Cyno, what happened?” Collei asked, worried. “Let me have a look. I’m no healer but I have knowledge of first aid.”
Cyno nodded. “Thank you, Collei.” The way he readily agreed to be helped was rather worrying, since Cyno wasn’t exactly one to accept help. Collei got one of the villagers to fetch medical supplies as she brought Cyno to the campsite she was using. She helped him sit on the sleeping roll, careful not to jostle him, then unwrapped the makeshift bandage.
She inhaled sharply at the sight of the wound in his stomach. It was clearly from a stab, and while it wasn’t too long, it was fairly wide and very deep. She used the water from her canteen to wet a soft cloth and started to clean the wound, trying not to feel too bad when Cyno winced in pain. “Cyno, how did this happen?” Cyno didn’t respond. “…Cyno? It’s fine if you don’t want to say…”
“I…don’t feel so good…” Cyno said slowly.
Collei’s eyes widened. She anxiously asked, “What do you mean? I… Hold on, Cyno. I’ll get you to Gandharva Ville, it’s not too far from here.” Cyno nodded, then suddenly his eyes slid shut and he fell back. Collei quickly caught him, though she struggled a bit due to Cyno being older and heavier. “Please go get a Sumpter Beast, and hurry. I have to get help for Cyno,” Collei told one of the Forest Rangers who were with her on the camp. She nodded and went off to fetch one of the Sumpter Beasts for Collei, who sighed. She could only hope that Cyno would survive the trip to Gandharva Ville, where there would be a much better chance of survival for him.
~~~~~
Cyno was standing in the Sanctuary of Surasthana. It was devoid of life, as it had been since the coup against the sages, but pristine all the same. The air smelled like flowers and the massive space was filled with clouds of heavy mist that shimmered with something ethereal, perhaps divine. Cyno found that he could barely even see his hand in front of him, due to how heavy the mist was. “Hello? Is anyone there?” he called. He noticed some movement and slowly walked towards it. He couldn’t completely make out what it was, but he glimpsed figures in the mist. On instinct, he tried to summon his spear to defend himself, only to realise he was unable to do so. He found that he was also incapable of using his Vision. “What the…”
A soft feminine adult voice chuckled. “Ah-ah-ah, no violence here. This is supposed to be a place of peace and calmness. …You didn’t tell me he’d be this violent.” Her voice was like that of someone talking about a feisty pet. Cyno shuddered at the thought of being treated as such.
There was a deep scoff. “I explicitly told you that he’s the Mahamatra, so you should have been prepared for him to have some…tendencies.” The voice, presumably an adult man, sounded annoyed but fond—slightly similar to how Tighnari would sound when talking to him.
“Cease your bickering, he’s right here.” Another voice, that of an adult woman, spoke in an admonishing tone. “Anyways, hello Cyno.” Her tone became more polite when addressing Cyno.
Cyno blinked. “Who are you? How do you know my name? Why am I here?” he asked apprehensively. Being in a secluded place with at least three strangers with no way of defending himself except his bare hands, he was justified to feel uneasy, at least in his opinion.
The second voice said, “Our identity is not a matter of your concern. It is also unimportant how we know your name. As for why you are here…” It trailed off, then spoke. “By the way, address me using he/him pronouns and the other two using she/her. Do not use it/its in reference to us. Understand?” It- His voice was firm and commanding.
“Understood. …Wait, did you read my mind?” Cyno asked. He really hoped the answer was no.
The first voice chuckled. “Of course we did. It’s-”
“Something that he doesn’t have to know, Rukkha,” the third voice interrupted the first, who was presumably this ‘Rukkha’. The name sounded familiar, but where had Cyno heard it?
‘Rukkha’ chuckled again. “Very well. Cyno, my companions disapprove of me divulging more secrets to you. In any case, our time here is ending soon.” Her voice then turned more serious as she said, “For your sake, I hope we do not meet again for a very long time. Goodbye, Cyno.”
The figures in the mist, presumably that of ‘Rukkha’ and her companions, started to disappear. “Wait!” Cyno called desperately, reaching towards the spot where the figures were. “What do you mean? Why can’t we meet again?” He started running towards them, hoping to get answers.
There was no response as the figures disappeared completely just before Cyno could reach them. Suddenly, the Sanctuary of Surasthana started to fall apart. The ground beneath Cyno crumbled and with a yelp, he fell down into endless darkness.
~~~~~
After what felt like an eternity, Cyno slowly opened his eyes. He saw the ceiling of Tighnari’s hut in Gandharva Ville. He moved to sit up, and startled when he saw none other than Dori sitting there quietly, reading a book on economics and finance. She looked up when she heard him, grinning.
“Oh, hello Cyno! You’re awake!” she said with a giggle.
“What happened? Why am I…” Cyno trailed off as he remembered the prior events. He looked down at his torso and sure enough, there was a bandage wrapped around it. A real bandage this time, not a makeshift one made from a dead Eremite’s sleeve. “…Oh. But in that case, why are you here?”
Dori’s expression turned slightly more serious. “Well… Ah, how do I put this… You almost died. Your heart stopped as Collei was bringing you here to Gandharva Ville. Luckily, I happened to be taking a walk in Avidya Forest and Collei got me to use my Electro Vision to restart your heart. If I hadn’t decided to tag along afterwards, you probably would’ve died when your heart stopped a second time! Hehe, I imagine the fright of your furry friend and his apprentice almost gave them heart attacks of their own.” Dori chuckled.
Cyno rolled his eyes, annoyed by Dori’s antics. “Firstly, Tighnari is not an actual fennec fox, and therefore should not be referred to as a ‘furry friend’. Secondly, I don’t see what’s amusing about Tighnari and Collei almost dying of fright.” As much as it warmed Cyno’s heart that Tighnari and Collei cared that much about him, he didn’t want them dead.
“I was just making a joke to lighten the mood! It’s not like your sense of humour is any better!” Dori huffed indignantly, then sighed. “…They really were scared, though. I wasn’t joking when I said they had a real fright. Even after returning to Gandharva Ville, Collei couldn’t concentrate on her writing practices because she was so worried that you’d be gone if she looked away for even a minute. Tighnari wouldn’t stop pacing in anxiety, not until I told him he’d wear out the floorboards and he’d have to buy new ones from me. Hehe, looks like even a recluse like him has money sense. …Anyways, I’m not lying. They were very worried for you.” Dori adjusted her glasses, though everyone knew they were more for aesthetics than actual vision correction, and went back to reading her book. She most likely was unaware of how Cyno’s expression dropped due to the guilt he felt at having worried his friends so much. If only he’d been more careful, he wouldn’t have caused so much trouble to them.
Cyno was about to speak up when the door opened. Tighnari’s drooping ears immediately perked up when he saw that Cyno was awake. Tighnari rushed over to the bedside. “Archons above, Cyno, you’re finally awake!” Tighnari said as he gently squeezed Cyno’s hand. Knowing how clingy Tighnari could get when he was worried, he probably would have given Cyno a tight hug, but of course he wouldn’t do that given that Cyno currently had a deep wound in his torso. Tighnari’s eyes then narrowed, and Cyno knew was coming next. He’d witnessed it several times, and this wasn’t exactly his first time being on the receiving end of it. “…Cyno… You are an idiot. An utter idiot. Do you know how scared I was when Collei carried your unconscious body here? How anxious I was when you wouldn’t wake up? I was this close to pulling out my fur, for Archons’ sake!” The fur on Tighnari’s fluffy tail was bristling in anger. Cyno couldn’t help but notice how Tighnari’s golden earring glinted in the sunlight from the window as the fennec fox hybrid’s ears twitched.
Cyno paused to think carefully about what he would say next. He contemplated commenting on how nice Tighnari looked, but decided that now wasn’t the time. “…How long was I out?” He asked after a moment.
Tighnari sighed, “One and a half days. One and a half days of fearing that you’d never wake up, that your heart would stop beating and wouldn’t restart. …One and a half days of being scared that I’d lose you. Anyways, here. I made this, since I guessed you’d be hungry.” Tighnari took out a small sandwich and passed it to Cyno, who ate it slowly. “…Do you feel okay? No pain in your abdominal area? I’m pretty sure the stab didn’t puncture your stomach, but you can never be too sure when it comes to things like this…”
Cyno finished the last of the sandwich before answering. “…I feel fine. A little aching, but I mean, I literally got stabbed so that’s to be expected. …Lettuce not worry too much.” He smiled at Tighnari. “…Get it? Because ‘lettuce’ sounds like ‘let us’ and you have a Dendro Vision so-”
“Stop, Cyno, I get the joke!” Tighnari groaned, rolling his eyes.
“But you didn’t laugh, so clearly you needed an explanation,” Cyno replied with a smirk.
Tighnari huffed in annoyance, then sighed and grew more serious. He gently patted Cyno’s back, looking the older in the eyes with an indecipherable expression. “…Whatever. Just rest for now, regain your strength. Okay? Everything’s gonna be okay. I’ll stay here until you fall asleep,” he said.
Cyno nodded and lay down. His mind wandered to his strange dream, then to Dori who was still sitting there watching him (who knows, maybe she’d been watching him since he was brought here), then to Tighnari. Yes, everything would turn out fine. Before long, he had dozed off.
~~~~~