on my door, I only assumed I'd be greeted by my family. That they would be waiting for me before a massive golden gate and encouraging me to take the last steps towards the light.
My expectations were no more than dreams because as my consciousness began to trickle away, all I could grasp was the frigid cold of the world.
There was no one here. No warmth of light or pastel colors to greet my vision. No world of utopia to nestle me as I embarked on the next journey of my soul's essence.
It was just me and the darkness, and for once in my existence, I was okay with that conclusion. The fear went away, like the rest of my hopes and dreams. All that was left was that image of Brianne, and that was what I put my attention on until that too was stolen from me.
Just me, my memory, and the world of oblivion.
10
Hopelessness To The Key Of Protection Part One
~KAITO~
* * *
No...
Why hadn't I seen it earlier? Why did it all unfold when I was so far away?
These were just specks of the thoughtful regrets that plagued my mind as I darted forward to catch Finnick as he fell back. The intense tornado of magic that prevented any of us from going near him until the deed of destroying our cloaked enemy was complete had finally granted us freedom, but I knew right away that it wasn't enough to pause the inevitable.
"Finnick!" Brianne's scream seemed to make time tick into motion as she rushed to us. I caught him and quickly lowered him onto the ground.
"Fuck," Connor cursed in pain, and I was sure his senses were being assaulted with the shift of emotions thrumming around us like a whirlpool.
Brianne swiftly took my place as I moved to quickly assess how I could help. A few seconds’ scan already told me something was wrong. Something worse than that fact Finnick was bleeding far faster than normal.
"Something's accelerating the damage," I announced, which got everyone's attention.
"Finnick, hang on," Brianne encouraged, but the look in Finnick's eyes as he struggled to breathe made my whole body tremble with fear.
"What do you mean?" Jax was next to me as he clapped his hands to ignite a golden flame that was charged with healing elements. He immediately directed it to gently move along Finnick's body, as if forming a protective veil.
It had been a long time since I'd witnessed him using his healing flames, and I could immediately tell the strain of its summoning on Jax's face as his brow was furrowed in complete concentration.
I wasn't able to reply as his eyes projected his brief confusion before they swarmed with a looming danger. "It's not working."
"What do you mean it's not working?" Connor breathed as he struggled to even stand. I think his ability to sense emotion was still intense from the day we arrived at the council office after our exam, and this wasn't helping it heal at all.
I was surprised he was even conscious at this point.
"I'm healing as fast as I can," Jax grunted, "but it's like something is undoing what I'm attempting to do."
"Shit," I cursed as I recalled something Katsume had talked about long ago during dinner.
* * *
"What do you mean it was an odd case?" I inquired as I used my chopsticks to give myself another serving of kimchi.
"The victim of the bullet almost died in a mere minute."
"Hmm?" Father seemed intrigued by the conversation as Mother arched an eyebrow at my older sister. "Didn't you say the victim was an extremely fast healer?"
"Ya," I voiced. "Like the classic Wolverine with his crazy regeneration abilities."
Katsume bobbed her head as she paused in eating her rice.
"You're correct. And that's why he's normally bait when it comes to side missions and stuff, but in this case, it was like our criminals were purposely targeting him."
"Purposely," Father repeated the single word. "Experimentation?" It seemed to easily make sense to him while Mother and I looked to Katsume for more information.
"I think that's exactly what it was. The bullet held some sort of component that triggers some sort of liquid that spreads like wildfire in the blood system. Even if it was a mere fragment from the bullet, it was attacking this guy's body like an aggressive disease," she deciphered as her expression grew serious. "His body literally dropped to the floor and suddenly he was gasping like he'd been down for minutes fighting against death."
"So...did he die?"