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Something was... wrong.
Staring at the warrior meeting the Kremnoan Detachment at the front steps of Ohkema... the man in front of him with gray hair and golden eyes... a wave of nausea hit Mydeimos that he almost stumbled back.
"Your highness?" Krateros had to move behind him before he could fall. "Are you alright?"
...
Mydeimos took a deep breath, holding his head for a moment before nodding and straightening up. "Yes, I'm alright."
He wasn't.
"Greetings," The man moved forward, ignoring the Ohkeman guards that were alert behind him. He held a bat over his shoulder, his grip loose and his demeanor calm, which was strange enough as it is. The reputation of the Kremnoans was well-known throughout Amphoreus, so seeing this man so confident as he met with the detachment... it felt strange. "My name is Caelus. You must be Crown Prince Mydeimos?"
Caelus.
What a strange name.
It didn't sound like any name he's heard in Amphoreus.
"Yes... I am," Mydeimos nodded, arms crossed on his chest. "You're the Deliverer that the Goldweaver and the Imperator sent, correct?"
Caelus visibly winced. Odd. Was it the mention of the Goldweaver? Or the Imperator? They were always described as cold, especially the Goldweaver, so it wouldn't be too surprising that even their fellow Chrysos Heirs are afraid of them. "Ah- yeah, that's me," His grip on his bat tightened for a moment but it loosened quickly before he plastered a smile on his face. "Follow me please. Lady Aglaea and Lady Cerdyra are waiting,"
...
That was it?
No distrusting looks?
No cautious remarks?
No typical comment about the irrational actions of the Kremnoans?
Mydeimos held his breath and shifted his glance to Krateros. They seem to share the hesitation, suspicious about the amount of trust Caelus was giving, but a glance from the rest of their detachment made him turn to follow Caelus into the city. His people are tired. Some were at the risk of dying even. He couldn't hesitate with his doubts and risk their lives.
Still.
He felt like something was wrong.
This Caelus... something in his stomach churned at his presence.
Like... he shouldn't be here.
Something was... missing.
Someone was missing.
The peace treaty was simple. Meeting up with the Goldweaver and the Imperator was less tense than Mydeimos expected. In fact, they seem more than pleased that the Kremnoans trusted them enough for a treaty. After the treaty was signed, Caelus and a short pink haired companion of his (another Chrysos Heir, perhaps?) led Krateros and the Kremnoans to their barracks. As soon as his people were settled, Mydeimos followed the pair to a group of houses within the city of Ohkema.
"This is the house Lady Aglaea assigned to you, Crown Prince Mydeimos," Caelus spoke as they stood beside a two-story house. It was larger than most of the houses in the area, though rather small compared palaces and such. "My apologies we weren't able to get a bigger one,"
"We did request," the pink-haired girl added. "but the Council of Elders were already so against having the Kremnoans here, so we couldn't push it,"
"Hmph," Mydeimos crossed his arms. Typical. The Council of Elders were known to favor the citizens of Ohkema more than any other person in Amphoreus. They were one of the reasons of his hesitance to travel here. "It's fine. I'm grateful for this much hospitality,"
The pink-haired girl beamed at the response. She then turned to the other. "I need to help Cassie with something. Can you be the one to show the Crown Prince around Ohkema?"
"Sure, Cyrene," Caelus nodded.
Cyrene chirped and did a small curtsy to Mydeimos before taking her leave. Mydeimos hummed, watching her leave. Something about her felt... familiar, but also... it wasn't. Odd... has he seen her before?
"Here, your highness,"
Something cold landed in his hands. He glanced down and found a set of keys in his palm. Caelus offered a smile. "You can settle in the house before we leave for the tour, if you wish,"
Mydeimos gripped the keys and looked up at the house. He turned to Caelus to reply but paused. His vision felt hazy... glitchy... and the surroundings suddenly looked blurry. He took a step back, swallowing a lump in his throat that he didn't realize was forming. Caelus stared at him with concern, but as he called out to him, Mydeimos watched as a white-haired man appeared, standing in the other's place, bright blue eyes staring at him. No light was present in the gaze, only the glow that gleamed in the darkness of his face.
Who...?
Shakily, he reached out to the man, but as his fingers brushed against his cheek, he felt himself thrown back. His chest tightened, and he held onto the ground, eyes wide and pupils shrunk in horror.
Wh-What...?
"Myd- Prince Mydeimos!"
Caelus was quick on his feet, holding onto his shoulders with a hiss. He fished the keys from his hands and rushed to open the door. With all of his strength, he helped Mydeimos inside and settled him down onto the couch. He quickly shut the door and ran over back to his side.
"Does anything hurt? We have a healer to help you! I'll go get her-"
"Stop!"
Caelus froze. He glanced at Mydeimos, who held his hand up as he forced himself up. "I'm... fine."
No I'm not.
"Just felt... dizzy, but it's probably from the travel,"
I saw someone out there. Someone familiar.
"No need to worry the healer. I just... need some rest."
Who was that man?
"Come now, Mydeimos! There's so much Ohkema has to offer!"
"Tsk." He scoffed. "You speak too highly of this place, Deliverer,"
"You just think lowly of it," The man laughed, white hair bouncing as he shook his head. "They even have some of my favorite fruits! Pomegranates!"
"Pomegranates are your favorite fruits?"
"Yeah! In Aedes Elysiae, we had LOTS of pomegranates, so it become one of my favorites!" The man grinned.
"Really now?" He snorted and tilted his head. "Have you tried some pomegranate juice with some goat's milk?"
"No, but I was thinking of how that would taste," The man chuckled. "Does it taste good?"
"To me, don't know if you can handle it, Deliverer." He smirked as he stepped forward before taking a sprint.
"Wha- hey! No fair, Mydei!"
He could only laugh as the pair raced off into the marketplace.
Deliverer...
Mydeimos hissed, holding onto his head as he stumbled back slightly. Caelus gasped and rushed to help him. "Woah! Are you alright, Mydei?"
"I'm... fine." Mydeimos insisted. He gripped onto the other's shoulder to keep himself on his feet. "I'm alright, Deliverer-"
...
Wait.
Wait.
That sounded... wrong.
The name came out so fluently, but the reality of who he was addressing to made his stomach churn.
His lips pursed to keep his face from shifting before he sighed. "-Caelus. I'm alright, Caelus."
The other was silent, the grip on him tightening slightly. Mydeimos's eyebrows furrowed, and he looked up to ask, but the moment their eyes met, the feeling of wrongness... it felt stronger here.
Caelus was staring at him, pupils shrunk while the light in his eyes seem to vanish. His breath was shaky as he slowly let go. Mydeimos frowned.
"Caelus?"
"Please... never call me Deliverer." Caelus shook his head. He forced out a laugh, scratching his head. "I... I don't feel comfortable with it, hehe,"
It doesn't belong to me.
It was odd. Mydeimos could hear the doubt, the inner monologue of the man through his own words.
"...sorry,"
"It's alright," Caelus chuckled, rubbing his arm. "I've never been comfortable with that title, even before I came here, haha,"
I don't deserve this title.
Mydeimos tensed. "...I see," He crossed his arms. "Well, Caelus, I-"
M̺ͦ̃̀̀ͮ͌́̄̚͠y̤̦̗̗̾͆ḑ̶̵̸̷̢͔͓̠̼̆̃ͤ͛̓ͩͫ̇ͥ͊̊̓̌̑͂̃͂̇̚͜͟͞ȩ͉̾̈́̀̐̐ͭͅi̶̷̵̴̢̥̠̣̱̪͕̫͓̫͇͌͑̅ͮ̓̀̓͑̎ͬͮ̾̎̏ͥ͌ͪ̊͘͜͞.̶̝͓̾͑̚͘.͙̲͚͈̄ͪͯ̐̋̾̔͋̀͗ͪͭͥ̀͂͡.̢̨̜̘̺͇̬͓̮̪̻ͣ̅̐̅ͫͧͥ͢m̵̺͍͈̺͉͕̝͋̀ͥ͋͛ͦ̽̄͆̽ͮͣ̒͞_̵̶̲̺͎͕̰̺̈̓͛ͣ͐̀͛̀̂͞͡õ̧̗̳̼͕̙̮͍̠̟͈̳ͪ̋͆̾ͯ̆̂̌ͦ͑̕͟͜͢͞š̵̡̧̡̛̲̖͎̣͚̅̎̓͐͑́͌̈́̉̓̕͜.̥̚͘͝.̷̡͇͎̹̜̘̯͔̝̗̒̾̿̎͊͒ͦ̈̀͆̑̏̿͡_̴̵̵̛̲̤̗̤͍͇̖̟͎͂̀̊̿̀.̴̘̪̎̾ͩ̐̅
He froze. His surroundings began to glitch blur, bile rising up his throat as he stared. Where Caelus stood now had that white-haired man from earlier, but his eyes had turned gold, and his body was filled with golden cracks.
Wh-What...?
Who...?
Mydeimos tried to step forward. He felt like he couldn't turn away from the man, whispers reaching out to him desperately. Small tears attempted to roll down the man's cheeks, but they could only evaporate into the air.
M̶͓̠̜͓̫̥͉̯̫͕̬ͥ̈ͯ̽͗̅̽̀̎͛͛͋ͦͦ̉̚͞͡͠y̴̛͉͔̱̣ͪ̓̽ͮ̾̅͗͜d̶̢͈̳̩̫̳͔̗̻̼̖̲̓͛ͬ̈͂͂ͧ̃̈́̊̈́ȩ̞̼͔̓̕͟͟į͖̙̟̰̜̃ͮ͆͝_̴̶̪̭͍̼̯̤͒ͫ͗͐̋̍͋̚͢m͔̦̥͚̭̾̾ͫ̏́̐̔͌o̶̸̷̴̢̡̳̮̦̙͉̳̘̬̲̠̥̮̟̺̭̘ͨ̀̋ͬ̐́ͥ̾͂͆ͧ̕̚͟͢͢ş̵̮̻͇̮̣̰̬̫̻̼̱͖͎̩̯̋͑̆ͪ́̾̀̎̐ͮ̊̑̈̋̑̚͟.̷̶̷̧̨͙̹̳̘̮̟̤̠ͮ̾̿̽ͫ̾͗ͧ̍̈ͩ̐̔́͐ͥ͘͠͞͠.̴̡͓̱̫̳̳̫̜̱̹͉̉̈́ͨͤ̇ͭ̓̆ͥ̉ͩ̂ͧ̋̋ͭ̚̚͜͞͞͞.̦̠̤̲̺ͭ͂ͬ̂͊̉̓ͦ͠͞!̫̻͎̼̦̙͂͋̈́̎͂͡
M̧̖̙̝̣̯ͪ̐ͨͪͮ͞y̵̷̪̝̖͐͋̉́ͫ͜͡͠_̨̳̞̘̱͓̭͎͚̼̟̠̦̋͋́ͣ́͐͋̅ͦ̌̎̃̅ͭ̎͑̐͒͘͞d͎̬͕͍̼́ͮ_̴̡͔͍̺̗̓̊̏͒̒ͬ͠ĕ̛̥̥̮͓̻̪͇͚̹͔̖͉̩̣̪̲̳͍̥̼̮͋̇̌̌̓ͣͭͣͦ̂̇ͣ̅ͩ̈́̀̀̓͛͂̕͡͝i̩̗̣̳̝̞͈̱̤̾̏̔ͫͭ̂́̈́ͬͯ͌ͫͫ͢_̸̨͈̭͖̼̼̱̈ͯ̂̊̀̀̿̋ͨ̅́͢ͅ.̸̡̢̛͎͖̫̳̬̼̬ͧͦ̇̐̓ͩͭ̇͂͐̾̓̏̀ͣ̀͠͝.̶̤̼̪̱̀̎̉́̎̍ͬ̚͠ͅ.̢̨̱̮͖͉̲̞͚͕̲̈̒ͤ̉ͧ̄̂̀ͦ̏̈́ͥ̿̉̓́͋̂ͨ̾́͜͡͝!̳̲̮̟ͮͯ
The whispers grew louder, and Mydeimos could hear an assortment of cries, all from the same voice as they called out his name. He reached out to the man, the air in his lungs clenched from the overwhelming feeling while the weight on his head caused him to fall on his knees.
Deliverer...
He gasped for air, gripping on the ground that seemed to glitch disappear from his sight.
M̞̦̥̞̙͂̌ͬ͌̋_̷̵̢̨̘̮̼͍̤͎̱̜̜̙̗̭͊͊ͦ͂͑͂͜͟Ẏ̴̢̡̨̛͖̣̙̱̭͚̰̳ͭ̒͂ͣ̃̋̐̔ͯ̓̚͢͢͟͢͜_͉͓̥̖̳͂̈ͥ͂̀̓͑̚͢͜D̵̢̪̗͖̲Ẻ̮̹̳̫̂̔̅̂̚͜I̷̬̝̼͖̮̮̮̫̗͈ͬ̍ͫ̌ͭͧͯͭͨ͜, M̞̦̥̞̙͂̌ͬ͌̋_̷̵̢̨̘̮̼͍̤͎̱̜̜̙̗̭͊͊ͦ͂͑͂͜͟Ẏ̴̢̡̨̛͖̣̙̱̭͚̰̳ͭ̒͂ͣ̃̋̐̔ͯ̓̚͢͢͟͢͜_͉͓̥̖̳͂̈ͥ͂̀̓͑̚͢͜D̵̢̪̗͖̲Ẻ̮̹̳̫̂̔̅̂̚͜I̷̬̝̼͖̮̮̮̫̗͈ͬ̍ͫ̌ͭͧͯͭͨ͜, M̞̦̥̞̙͂̌ͬ͌̋_̷̵̢̨̘̮̼͍̤͎̱̜̜̙̗̭͊͊ͦ͂͑͂͜͟Ẏ̴̢̡̨̛͖̣̙̱̭͚̰̳ͭ̒͂ͣ̃̋̐̔ͯ̓̚͢͢͟͢͜_͉͓̥̖̳͂̈ͥ͂̀̓͑̚͢͜D̵̢̪̗͖̲Ẻ̮̹̳̫̂̔̅̂̚͜I̷̬̝̼͖̮̮̮̫̗͈ͬ̍ͫ̌ͭͧͯͭͨ͜, M̞̦̥̞̙͂̌ͬ͌̋_̷̵̢̨̘̮̼͍̤͎̱̜̜̙̗̭͊͊ͦ͂͑͂͜͟Ẏ̴̢̡̨̛͖̣̙̱̭͚̰̳ͭ̒͂ͣ̃̋̐̔ͯ̓̚͢͢͟͢͜_͉͓̥̖̳͂̈ͥ͂̀̓͑̚͢͜D̵̢̪̗͖̲Ẻ̮̹̳̫̂̔̅̂̚͜I̷̬̝̼͖̮̮̮̫̗͈ͬ̍ͫ̌ͭͧͯͭͨ͜, M̞̦̥̞̙͂̌ͬ͌̋_̷̵̢̨̘̮̼͍̤͎̱̜̜̙̗̭͊͊ͦ͂͑͂͜͟Ẏ̴̢̡̨̛͖̣̙̱̭͚̰̳ͭ̒͂ͣ̃̋̐̔ͯ̓̚͢͢͟͢͜_͉͓̥̖̳͂̈ͥ͂̀̓͑̚͢͜D̵̢̪̗͖̲Ẻ̮̹̳̫̂̔̅̂̚͜I̷̬̝̼͖̮̮̮̫̗͈ͬ̍ͫ̌ͭͧͯͭͨ͜, M̞̦̥̞̙͂̌ͬ͌̋_̷̵̢̨̘̮̼͍̤͎̱̜̜̙̗̭͊͊ͦ͂͑͂͜͟Ẏ̴̢̡̨̛͖̣̙̱̭͚̰̳ͭ̒͂ͣ̃̋̐̔ͯ̓̚͢͢͟͢͜_͉͓̥̖̳͂̈ͥ͂̀̓͑̚͢͜D̵̢̪̗͖̲Ẻ̮̹̳̫̂̔̅̂̚͜I̷̬̝̼͖̮̮̮̫̗͈ͬ̍ͫ̌ͭͧͯͭͨ͜, M̞̦̥̞̙͂̌ͬ͌̋_̷̵̢̨̘̮̼͍̤͎̱̜̜̙̗̭͊͊ͦ͂͑͂͜͟Ẏ̴̢̡̨̛͖̣̙̱̭͚̰̳ͭ̒͂ͣ̃̋̐̔ͯ̓̚͢͢͟͢͜_͉͓̥̖̳͂̈ͥ͂̀̓͑̚͢͜D̵̢̪̗͖̲Ẻ̮̹̳̫̂̔̅̂̚͜I̷̬̝̼͖̮̮̮̫̗͈ͬ̍ͫ̌ͭͧͯͭͨ͜ !
He hissed at the screaming voice of the other, ringing sharply in his ears. He forced himself to look up, teeth gritting.
Deliverer...!
He felt himself sprint forward, no matter how much weight ached his head and trying to knock him down. He shook his head, knuckles turning white at how much he was clenching his fists.
DELIVERER...!
He was close.
So, so close.
His hand was out and open, skin brushing against the man's, but just as he did...
Everything went black.
"MYDEI!"
"..."
Cyrene glanced at the Kremnoan laying on the couch. She looked up at the other. "His memories... I can sense them."
"His...?" Caelus's eyes widened. "You mean?"
"I'm not sure if he has... all of his memories, but..." Cyrene folded her arms. "It's strange. I don't know how he knows, but..." She scratched her head. "Could it be a glitch?"
A glitch?
Caelus hummed.
A glitch... or a virus?
If Amphoreus was a simulation, and Mydei was starting to remember... and he was seeing Phainon too...
Phainon...
...
Caelus tensed, grip on his feather pen tightening. He gritted his teeth and shook his head. "This Deliverer thing is much harder than I thought..."
"Hey, it's okay," Cyrene sighed. "We can figure this out... maybe the other fairies in Membrance Maze can help?"
"Maybe," Caelus hissed. He glanced down at the Kremnoan and crossed his arms.
He hoped Lygus doesn't catch up to this soon.