Chapter Text
Early in the morning, the halls were as cold as usual. Not that it was chilly outside, in fact it was yet to even turn winter. The frigid air of the corridors was all due to the lifeless marble which made them up.
He could hear his footsteps ring out upon the slate-like stone ground, the sound long since deemed irrelevant by his mind. Nothing seemed real anymore, and certainly not this ornate white hall. It hadn't seemed real in a while. Ever since what happened with Void Termina, no one felt like themselves.
He didn't feel like himself. As if this body and these hands were never his in the first place.
Tensions between the four heroes were high, even though they attempted to diffuse any major arguments. Still, they could not help but bicker with each other, discord running its course through their close bond.
"Dusk," he called out, his voice even sounding emptier than usual. Then again, nothing felt like it was his own.
"What do you want, Galacta?"
It was clear something was already bothering the Twilight Hero, even so soon after dawn.
"Nothing in particular, just saying hello."
"You always say that, but always need something else."
A thick silence held up in the room, only occasionally disturbed by the sound of Galacta Knight's wings shifting.
"Must you always be so curt?"
"You have no reason to ask such a thing, I was only telling the truth."
"That is not what I meant, and you know it."
There it was again. That anger. All four of them were so close, what was wrong now? Could it be some remnant dark energy from Terminus? Were they simply just doing something wrong?
"Dusk, did I say something wrong to you?"
"When do you not."
"When do you not? I am clearly just trying to understand how you feel."
"Can you not see that I am busy?"
He turns away from him, his feathers faintly ruffling in an effort to stifle his own growing annoyance. Of course, Dusk was busy.
"Oh, I am sorry, I could not tell you were busy because you are just sitting there!"
It was the game, again. The endless game where they all pretended to still get along, even when it seemed that they all were at each other's throats. Galacta already knew that Dusk had likely already fought with Cypirrius earlier, glad to not have witnessed that.
"Hmph. Watch your tongue, Aeon Hero," Dusk spoke the name like an insult.
In all honesty, Galacta himself was never sure if he had ever heard him call him that name without having been annoyed or angry in some capacity.
"Fine." Aeon turned around again, planning to walk away, just before he could feel Dusk's gaze directed at his back.
"We can talk about this again later, whatever you need from me or anyone else," Dusk retorted harshly. He wasn't too keen on meeting up with Galacta later, but he knew it was inevitable. It would keep him quiet for now.
"You know where to find me..." An unamused, begrudged response, but a response nonetheless.
Everything felt empty again. No argument to push against, no quarrel to dispute. Just silence and the cold, sterile marble halls.
They both knew this wouldn't be the last time they would argue on this day.