Once the boy was no longer moving, the being moved its hand, touching the boy's cheek as his skin began decaying. "What an interesting form of life…" Its twisted voice suddenly emerged once again, before calling loudly, "Valerith."
In the blink of an eye, another entity appeared, bowing its head as it stood away before speaking. The skin on his face suddenly shifted, ripping apart as the words came out, "My lord…".
It was the same being that met the eyes of Aksa in the carriage the day before. However, Valerith's words were met with silence, leaving him no choice but to glance over at the body of the boy before adding, "I see you have found the reason I summoned you here…"
"This boy… His anger... His hatred… It is beautiful," finally, its voice erupted, answering Valerith's words.
The moon shard cracked, slowly disintegrating into dust before the being lifted Aksa with its arms. "I can't feel any essence flowing through his body. This child is perfection living in this cruel world. It is as if he was being prepared for this fateful day. For the day I finally meet him. I haven't felt this happy ever since I was born…" It added, touching the boy's forehead with its head.
"You know… I was born with one purpose. A purpose that I could only hope to achieve one fateful day, and to think that this day has arrived so soon…" The being spoke as it slowly marched over to where Valerith was standing, lifting its head to look at the blood moon hanging in the sky.
"For hundreds of years, I was merely a way to cause destruction, awaiting the failure of this world's life forms to wake me from my slumber, but now… now, everything changes…"
"My purpose is to let this world experience terror for eternity, and through this child, I could finally reach it. This is truly wonderful," with every step it took, the world around seemed to crack. The ground was fighting the terrifying pressure that was trying to rip it apart.
The being gestured for Valerith to stretch his arms before laying the motionless body of Aksa on them. "You know what to do, correct? Do not let anything disturb my time with this child, and do so no matter what it takes."
Without hesitation, Valerith nodded in understanding, watching the being as it touched Aksa's forehead with its hand before its body began expanding, coating Aksa completely.
***
"Greetings… My child…"
As the words echoed throughout the place, Aksa's jaw dropped. His body was trembling, and his breath became heavy as he found himself mumbling, his mouth moving on its own, "Who… Are you?"
The eye seemed to shift, bending slightly to show deep hurt as the words emerged once again, "You already forgot about me? This truly saddens me". However, seeing as the boy was still frozen in shock, frightened by the sight before him, the eye returned to normal, before adding, "I am Zephyr, the sin of wrath, and the one you met earlier…"
Once those words reached the ears of Aksa, his breath hitched as he felt an immense fear overtaking his body. His body immediately moved, instinctively standing up before starting to run. His movement was sluggish as his legs struggled to navigate the flooded ground.
"There is nowhere to run, my child…" No matter where he headed, the eye kept appearing before him. Aksa tried to switch directions multiple times, but to no avail. He felt as if his body was stuck in the same place, no matter how much he pushed himself. "I am everywhere…" Zephyr added, his voice sending shivers down the boy's spine.
After a while, his body collapsed. Aksa no longer could move, as if he was running for days on end. Maybe he was, or maybe not; he didn't know anymore
"Did you finally calm down?" Zephyr spoke. Aksa didn't hear his voice for a while. Even with his body refusing to stop moving, he had already forgotten that Zephyr was the reason he was running. Fear was the only thing moving his body, with the sole thought of staying alive filling his mind.
"Now then, it seems that you are ready to listen to my words," Said Zephyr, "as I said, I am the sin of wrath. I was born from the anger of this world's life forms, and I am here to help you."
"Huh?" Aksa's head shot up, his eyes filled with puzzlement as he looked at the eye staring him down.
"Don't you want to see this world in ruins?" Zephyr asked a question that lingered in the air like spears ready to stab the boy's heart at any moment.
"N-no! That would be horrible!" Without hesitation, Aksa answered, although not confident that his words sounded genuine.
"Why don't you stop lying to yourself now, my child?" The eye suddenly disappeared, with Aksa feeling a gentle hand holding his shoulder from behind. Once he turned his head around, he saw Zephyr standing behind him, his otherworldly form now even more chaotic.
"Deep down, you know that you wish this world would face the same suffering you felt your entire life." Zephyr moved his head closer to Aksa before whispering in his ear.
"Your eyes say it all. You want people to feel your pain. You want them to suffer the same way that you did. You want them to feel the desperation that you felt your entire life, don't you?" Zephyr added
"No, that's not true…" Aksa quickly responded, but Zephyr tilted his head slightly before replying, "Are you sure?"
Aksa opened his mouth to speak again, but his mouth quickly closed. He remained silent as he looked at the darkness beneath him, knowing well that he had no argument against Zephyr's words, as they were nothing but the truth.
Amidst the silence, a wide, distorted smile appeared, filling Zephyr's face as he got closer to the boy.
"I can help you with that…" Zephyr spoke loudly as he moved his hand, patting Aksa's head, "With my help, you can show people the life you've always lived. And, you can finally live the life that you've always wanted."
"And you can finally save the people you love this time around," Zephyr added.
Aksa remained silent for a bit before suddenly asking, "Why would you do that?"
"Hmmm?"
"Why would you help me? I'm weak. I'm nobody. You don't need me," Aksa added, his voice cracking in desperation, "You look more powerful than any other being, so why would you help me?"
"Why would I help you, huh? Because by helping you, I can achieve my purpose," Zephyr answered.
"Your purpose?" Aksa asked with a frown appearing on his face
"Yes, but it's not important right now," Zephyr answered before appearing in front of Aksa and extending his arm forward, "So, what do you think, my child?"
Aksa remained silent as he looked down. He didn't move for a while, thinking about whether he really wanted this or not, but soon enough, a question that distracted him from his thought surfaced in his mind, "How are you even going to do that? I'm already dead. You killed me, remember?"
"No, you are still not dead," Zephyr answered, "But you are not alive either"
"W-what are you talking about?" Aksa's eyes narrowed as his head flinched backwards, "How am I not dead after that huge—Rock? pierced my body?"
"The blood moon has stranded you into a state where you are neither dead nor trully alive," Zephyr calmly answered.
"H-huh? Th-then what is this place?" Aksa asked.
"This is your inner conscience," Said Zephyr, "Even without me interfering, you would've surfaced eventually."
"W-what about the hole in my body?"
"I'll explain everything to you later, but for now, please answer me," Zephyr added, "Will you let me help you, my child?"
Aksa remained silent, staring directly at Zephyr with his lips pressing together in a slight grimace, tapping his index finger against the ground. After a long pause, Aksa finally spoke up, "Fine, but if you think that I'm just going to go around and cause chaos, then just leave me alone."
"That's fine, my child. As long as you are content, that alone satisfies me," Zephyr said, his earlier grin now appearing a slight smile. "Now, will you please hold my hand?"
Although still conflicted, Aksa hesitantly lifted his hand, reaching for Zephyr's. Once he touched it, the surrounding darkness faded away, replaced by a bright white light that filled the place.
"H-huh? What is happening?" Aksa questioned, his voice loud in confusion. However, his vision became blurry, and he felt as if his body was weak, swiftly giving up on him.
"I will see you soon, my child," Zephyr muttered calmly as he laid Aksa on the ground.
"Zephyr, wait!…" Panicking, Aksa tried to scream. He didn't seem to notice the iron of him calling for Zephyr, whom he was terrified of just some moments ago. Yet, the words never came out. His mouth remained shut as his eyes slowly closed.