Chapter Text
He was in the dark space again.
The stars gleamed till he couldn’t see anymore. He was weightless. And right in front of him was THEM. Nanook. The one who took everything from him over and over again and wouldn’t just let go of him.
Phainon felt that rage again, deep in his chest. It bubbled up in his chest, the fierce flames spreading through him like he was so used to, through his arms and through his back, the wings of Khaslana.
Every single time, Nanook stared at him and wouldn’t say anything. The flames grew warmer. Why won’t THEY say something!? Phainon charged with Dawnmaker furiously, his wings propelling him forward.
“NANOOK! I’LL KILL YOU!”
Nanook didn’t respond. THEY just stared, as per usual.
The closer Phainon flew, the more his body burst into flames. His eyes turned the brilliant shade of gold Phainon hated, and his feet – could they be considered feet, when they were just fire?
Phainon raised Dawnmaker high above his head and screamed as he plunged into Nanook’s face. Just as he made contact, he felt something hard on the back of his head.
He blinked, breathing heavily, and his gaze was wild when he looked around. He was on the floor right next to his bed, with his blanket a mess, half on him and half still lying on the bed.
His dresser was on fire.
Phainon just stared at the flames licking the feet of the dresser. Distantly, he remembered that they had just been replaced a few days ago. All of Marmoreal Palace was being rebuilt after the calamity with Irontomb, and the Restoration Committee, headed by Aglaea but coined by Dan Heng and Stelle, had just gotten around to making the place somewhat liveable. Everywhere and everyone had scars of the battle, but, as Aglaea had said, It was time for dawn to set on Era Nova.
And he had made things harder for the Restoration Committee yet again.
His mind came back to him after a few moments. His dresser was on fire. He got up and started beating at the flames with his blanket. The flames weren’t that huge but they weren’t small, so he managed to quell the flames pretty fast. Once the last flame went out with a small whoosh, Phainon finally could breathe again. The damage wasn’t that bad. Just a little scorched, but he could live with that. At least he wouldn’t have to bother the Restoration Committee when they had so many more important things to do.
The back of his head hurt a little. He must have hit his head when he apparently fell off the bed after he was thrashing in his sleep. His sleep had never been the greatest at any point of his life, but it had definitely worsened after he woke to the dawn of Amphoreus, days after Irontomb’s demise. But he’d never lit something on fire in his sleep before, which, thinking about it, made Phainon frown. Hyacine said his injuries were getting better.
So why-?
His thoughts went to his dream. The bitter anger rose within him as he thought of Nanook. The wretchful Aeon didn’t grace his dreams often, but whenever THEY did, Phainon couldn’t hold back the rage. Even though everything was over now, and Amphoreus could finally become a real world independent from the whims of the Aeons, Phainon couldn’t forget the millions of cycles of pain that Amphoreus endured, the people dying over and over again and the world falling to destruction and the Black Tide. No one else may remember, but he would not forget it all. And all of it in the name of Destruction, in Nanook’s name.
If he saw THEM next time, not in a dream but in reality, he would destroy THEM. That scratch hadn’t been enough at all, even if it had caused Phainon a limb. Next time, Phainon would aim to destroy THEM entirely. He didn’t know how or when, but it would happen. Until then, he would just protect Amphoreus and help rebuild Okhema, just as the other Chrysos Heirs were doing.
Phainon stretched his arms a bit and then walked to the balcony. The morning rays were just coming in, a sight that never stopped aweing him. This single scene was proof that Amphoreus was coming into an era of peace, that all his efforts had some value to them. He took in the moment, closing his eyes against the sky’s gaze. There was a slight breeze coming in from the side, cool and refreshing against the warmth on his face. It had become a routine of sorts; every morning, he was drawn here, to the edge of the balcony, and he stood basking in the dawn. Here, he didn’t have to worry about the dreams haunting him every night, or the flashes of memory he saw in every part of the city. Here, his mind was finally quiet.
A soft ping on his teleslate roused him after a bit. He reluctantly glanced at it, finally turning away from the risen sun. It was his reminder for breakfast. He had set it up after he had once stayed in the balcony for far too long that Trinnon had come looking for him, fearing that something had happened to him. He didn’t blame her; after all, the initial weeks after he woke up after Irontomb’s demise, he had been incredibly volatile. He had apologised to Hyacine profusely after he injured her while examining him, and she had accepted it, but he had still felt horrible. Even in this new cycle, even when he wasn’t intending to hurt anyone, he still couldn’t stop why couldn’t he stop—
Phainon figured he should probably go down to breakfast now. Hopefully none of the clothes were singed, he thought, as he made his way to the dresser. A couple of his clothes smelled of smoke, but nothing seemed damaged to his eyes. That was good. He quickly dressed and left his room to meet the other Chrysos heirs for breakfast.
Marmoreal Palace was mostly empty as Phainon walked through the halls. Of course, this area within the palace was never that busy, being the residential area of the Chrysos heirs, but it was even more empty with all the damage in the market and the city. Everyone was focused on rebuilding their lives, so it made sense that they wouldn’t have reasons to come up to the baths just yet. He moved around the wreckage of a pillar that was in the way before stopping and turning back.
Phainon stared at the pillar. Somewhere among the 33 million cycles, he had finally learned Oronyx’s prayer. He wasn’t that good with turning back time for specific objects (it had never been a concern when he was hunting for the Coreflames), but he could get the job done. He focused and the pillar ruins became a pillar again. He sighed. At least that was one job less for the Restoration Committee.
“Oh, I was just about to fix that!”
Phainon turned and saw a middle aged woman with short brown hair and glasses stare at him. “I’m sorry, you are..?”
The woman’s eyes widened. “Oh I’m Cera from the Restoration Committee. I just came here to survey the damages. Thanks for fixing that pillar, Lord Phainon.”
Phainon nodded with understanding. “Ah, I see. It was no problem. I didn’t know the Restoration Committee was coming here today.”
Cera smiled kindly. “I’m just here to look around right now. Have a great day, Lord Phainon!”
Phainon smiled and repeated the same before heading on his way again. He didn’t remember seeing Cera before, but the Restoration Committee had volunteers from all over Amphoreus. He wondered briefly if he should go back to help her, but decided against it. Aglaea and the Tribios sisters would be waiting for him.
And they were indeed waiting at the breakfast table. A large spread of fruits and other foods were already set out, but Aglaea and Tribbie seemed to be in deep discussion and hadn’t started eating yet. Phainon didn’t see Trinnon or Trianne anywhere though, were they not coming? he wondered.
Tribbie beamed as she saw him. “Snowy! Here, come sit!”
Phainon gave a small laugh. “A good morning to you too, Teacher. And you too, Aglaea.”
Aglaea smiled at Phainon as he took a seat across from the duo. She looked remarkably well rested as she usually did, even during the old times of war. “Did you sleep well?”
Phainon’s smile wavered but he quickly held it back up again. “Hmm, yeah. And you?” He was deflecting but he didn’t care. He had no interest in talking about his night. He was sure Aglaea could tell but she didn’t push it further.
Aglaea ended up turning away to put a couple fruits on her plate. “I did sleep well, yes. Teacher and I were just talking about the Restoration Committee. They mentioned they’ll start work on the upper levels of Marmoreal Palace today.”
Phainon was grateful for the change in topic. “I actually did know that. I saw one of the members around the residential area as I came here. Is this why I don’t see Trinnon and Trianne?”
Tribbie nodded.“They’re helping the volunteers out. They’ll be here in a bit!”
The discussion flowed well around the breakfast. Phainon enjoyed talking to Tribbie and Aglaea about the rebuilding of Amphoreus, and got quite invested. He honestly wasn’t that hungry, he never was these days, but he made the effort to eat a few grapes.
Aglaea soon mentioned, “There was actually something that Madam Herta brought up to me yesterday. It’s not an immediate concern, but she wanted to let us know.”
“Oh?” Tribbie tilted her head at Aglaea questioningly. “Is there a problem?” Phainon listened carefully as he took another grape from the basket.
Aglaea said, “I’m not sure. Madam Herta mentioned that there was an unusually large amount of Destruction energy levels remaining within Amphoreus. It was kind of off hand, but—”
Phainon froze. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
Aglaea looked confused. “Large levels of Destruction energy? Madam Herta said it could just be from Irontomb’s fall. ‘The Aeon of Destruction probably looked your way,’ she said.”
Phainon felt as if ice dumped down his back. The Aeon of Destruction….
Nanook.
He couldn’t breathe.
“Snowy, what happened?” Tribbie asked, her gaze holding a question.
“It’s nothing,” Phainon pushed the plate away from him gently. He looked up at Aglaea as he started to get up from his seat. “I think I’ll be heading out now.”
Tribbie looked crestfallen. “Snowy, but you barely ate anything at all!”
Phainon knew Tribbie meant well. But he couldn’t eat now, when all he could think of was THEIR gaze. His arms trembled and he felt the air get warmer around him. He stumbled away from the table. He needed to get away away away.
“Phainon, is everything alright?” Aglaea started.
Phainon nodded and plastered a smile. “Oh yeah! Everything is good. I’m feeling a bit full, so I’m going to head out now.”
Aglaea didn’t look convinced. “Phainon, wait—”
The heat in his chest intensified. Why wouldn’t they just let him be!?
“I’m fine, Aglaea,” he snarled out, unintentionally.
Tribbie took his hand just as Phainon was about to leave and he turned to look at her face. She looked worried, her eyes wide. “Snowy…”
“Khaslana, you don’t have to do this.” Tribbie looked at him, eyes wide with worry. “We need to help people with the Coreflame.”
“Holy Maiden, I will get the Coreflame one way or another. How you choose to give it is up to you,” he said, right before he plunged Dawnbreaker into—
“Phainon!”
He heard Aglaea shout, and he looked at her, and she was in the pool of lava, he had pushed her in.
“Teacher, get back!”
Aglaea drowning, Aglaea bleeding out, Tribbie pleading with him, Tribbie dead at his feet.
“Get some water!”
He smelled smoke distantly. Was it coming from him? He couldn’t tell. Someone was calling his name from somewhere, but all he could see was death at his feet, his fault his fault his fault.
“You can not escape your destiny, Lord Ravager.”
“HERE!!”
A bucketload of water hit his face. It was cold and was a huge shock to him, with how sudden it was. Aglaea and Tribbie, and was that Cipher? were all right next to him. Cipher had a large empty bucket in her hand, water dripping from in onto the floor.
They were alive.
And worried.
“Phainon, you’re okay. We’re safe. Amphoreus is safe,” Aglaea said as Phainon wiped the water from his face.
“What… happened..?” he managed to say as he looked down at himself. His clothes were singed quite a bit, he noticed with a bit of shock.
“You were burning up. Quite a lot actually. I think your head was on fire, Lil’ Phai,” Cipher replied. “Seamstress over here was yelling for water and I was delightfully in the area.”
Phainon touched his hair gently. Sure enough, he could feel the remnants of a burning heat coming from it. “I… see.”
He looked at the group again. Aglaea’s worry was quite evident in her face, her face creasing. Tribbie looked like she was on the verge of tears. Cipher looked more relaxed, but Phainon could see the worry hidden behind her eyes.
He couldn’t do this right now.
“Snowy, wait!”
But Phainon was already out the door.