Chapter Text
Azure knew they were dead, even before the knife plunged into their chest, there was no way anyone could survive a stab wound like that. Two Time knew this too, after the dagger was lodged into Azure’s chest, he looked up at Two Time, not with hatred like one would expect from the anger-issued patient, but with understanding.
Azure understood that Amarah forced Two Time into this. Azure reached out to hold their lover’s hand one last time before whispering, “I don’t blame you, Timey.” to the other cultist. Two Time was already on the verge of losing their mind.
Two Time quickly got up and left Azure there, sure their heartbeat was still strong enough, but the cultist was confident that they would bleed out soon.
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Azure awoke in the same forest that they were “killed” in. Except, they weren’t dead, not yet at least. Everything hurt, Azure ripped his sleeve off and pressed it against the wound caused by their ex-lover.
The sting of the cloth against their wound hurt more than anything Azure had previously been feeling. They winced and tried to get up. Keyword: Tried. Azure fell right back down on the soil and knocked themself back unconscious, the grass getting tangled up in their hair.
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Garroth thought he heard some odd noises, and assuming that it could be an enemy attack, took Zenix with him for a sneak to see what it was. They were not expecting to see a weirdly dressed man, bleeding out from his abdomen in the middle of a clearing, however.
The deadly nightshades surrounded Azure, almost like a warning sign to anyone who came near. When did they grow? Azure was unsure, must have been while he was unconscious. Garroth and Zenix had a quiet discussion whether or not to take the man, which ended up with the result as Azure being carried in Zenix’s cape, just in case the flowers’ poison had spread to Azure by any means.
They poked and prodded at Azure before deciding that he was actually unconscious. Once picked up, Garroth could hear the faint breathing of the man. A clear sign that he was in fact, still alive and not dead.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to bring an outsider into the village? Especially after everyone’s still blaming you for the death of our lord.”
“We will not leave this man out to die. I did everything I could to protect him, I WILL not let another life end because I fail to protect it. Now let’s get him to the village.”
Zenix could tell Garroth was in no mood to be arguing right now, and left it at that. He was still sulking about his cape now being contaminated whenever he heard a cough come from the now conscious Azure.
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Azure awoke to the feeling of being carried, something that they seldom got to feel. They let out a cough and could feel the blood coming out of their throat before they tasted it.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe for now.”
Azure heard a strong voice say, he assumed it was of the person that was carrying them. The blood leaking from their abdomen was slowed slightly with the addition of his sleeve, however Azure wasn’t sure how much longer he could truly hold on.
“Are you sure you should be promising him that? I mean, he is bleeding out.”
He heard a slightly younger voice say.
“Yes. He will be okay.”
Azure opened his eyes slowly, then immediately brought his hands up to cover them. The sun had reflected off the guard carrying hims’ armour, effectively convincing Azure to keep his eyes closed until the time that he was put down.
“Sorry.” The guard apologized for Azure’s eyes.
“.. N-no, I’m so-sorry for making you carry me..” Azure’s voice was weak, and could barely be heard over the clomping of boots brushing against grass.
The rest of the walk to the village was quiet, save for the ramblings between Garroth and Zenix about guard things, they didn’t try to interact with Azure, and probably didn’t want to try to get him to talk until the blood he was coughing up stopped.
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The village didn’t have a proper healer, since their lord died.. So Garroth called over the next best person, Donna. Thankfully, Azure seemed to be quite docile compared to others. Or he was just really in pain right now, and didn’t want to make it worse.
“Poor guy, looks like his cult attacked him, considering the blade, and this.” Donna gestured to the spawnism necklace, and Two Time’s dagger.
“Yeah, I wonder what he did to earn their wrath, though.”
“Hm, perhaps we could ask him once he’s better.”
Azure sat in the medical bay for a week, villagers were very curious about this newcomer, and some were even scared, knowing he was a spawnist. Azure hadn’t said anything since he apologized to Garroth.
“He’s practically dead now, just blame the lord’s death on him!”
“No.”
“You know they're just going to keep blaming you…”
“I know, and I’m willing to accept that, but we will not just throw this poor man under the bus!”
Azure awoke to himself being in some strange place, laying on a cot that was not his own. He sat up with a groan, realizing that he was still injured from his “sacrifice”. Azure reached over for the roll of bandages and looked down at his chest, he hadn’t touched it since he had been “killed.”
With small noises of pain, and a whole lot of effort, Azure wrestled his robes off, now being left in his trousers. He visibly cringed at the amount of dried blood staining his skin around the deep velvet hole stabbed in him.
Azure finished wrapping his wound and made a small hum of satisfaction before he heard something. He heard stairs creaking, and could see a faint glint of a man in armour coming up the stairs to this wooden home.
“Oh, you’re awake now,” The guard said, his voice deep enough for Azure to tell he was a man. Azure nodded to the man, feeling slightly exposed without his robes on.
Azure had gotten exceedingly thin over the week he was unconscious, seeing as he couldn’t eat anything because he was not awake. His stomach ached for something, Azure didn’t even care if it was garbage, though that probably would not help at all.
“..Where am I?”
“The village of Pheonix Drop, of course!”
Azure’s eyes widened, his breathing hitched, and time seemed to stop. Amarah had always said that Pheonix Drop was an evil town, one that ruthlessly killed any cultists. And while Amarah could have been trying to scare Azure and the others, he was not going to take the risk.
Azure stood up slowly and grabbed the sharpest thing nearby, which so happened to be Two Time’s knife. He then made a run for it, his head spinning after he sprinted down the stairs. At the same time, a woman came through the door talking about some new book.
Azure saw this as an opportunity, and used her as a hostage, putting the knife to her throat and taking the book from her. The blonde thrashed beneath Azure for a moment before realizing her attempt was futile. Azure was way stronger than her, even at his lowest.
“Hey! Let her go!” The guard shouted, following after Azure.
“Say you won’t kill me.”
“Hey! W- HUH?”
A drunkard had also entered the home, and Azure was getting overwhelmed. He looked down and saw the knife in his hand, he recoiled, throwing the book in an open fire, and making a run for it while the lady was sobbing over the loss.
“BRENDAN! STOP THEM!”
A farmer standing by was very confused, but somehow understood what the guard meant and stuck out his shovel, the impact on Azure making a loud clanking noise. Azure fell to the ground, unconscious.
“Hey! I did it! I actually did it!” The farmer was then beaten up by two women telling him that he can’t hit a “lady” (they only saw that Azure's chest was covered up.)