Constellations

19. Narcissus

Thunder was relaxing for the coyote. The flashes of light that preceded the gentle rumble of the angels bowling. Clouds that spoke more wise words than the blue skies. Yes, this was relaxing. Well, it could be.

Enigma finally turned their gaze from the storms to their rival who was silently tending to the four Chao next to them. He watched the little creatures struggle in their sleep, fidgeting and whimpering from their unconscious dreams.

"Will they be ok?" The coyote asked, gently propping the little critters up so that they were resting on the backpack.

"Dunno, they aren't waking up. Its almost like they're trapped in some sort of nightmare." Silver responded as he gave a sad look at the Chao. "Probably from all this stupid weird rain. It... feels so mind-numbing; it's almost like--"

"White noise," Enigma spoke up, cutting Silver off as they looked out to the rain. "A loud yet silent persistent screaming that kills your nerves, twisting your psyche together until you lay on the ground in a tangled heap of limbs and immobilization."

Several seconds of silence passed before anything else was said.

"Heh, kinda broody don't ya think?" Silver gave an innocent grin that quickly faded when they noticed Enigma's distant stare.

"You're such an idiot."
"Well pardon me for trying to lighten the mood."
"You're still an idiot."

Silver sighed in indignation as he crossed his arms. Silence fell upon the two once more. Just the two of them in a makeshift viney shelter as corrupted 'rain' poured down.

"But you aren't affected by it, En." The hedgehog spoke up as they observed the bright crystal shard of the Astrum that was intricately wrapped in vines around the coyote's neck.

"What do you mean? I feel that mind-numbing pain just like you do."

"No, I mean, back there with the Crystalback and now with this strange rain, there's something weird about it." He gestured to the crystal.

"How so?" The older teen tilted their head ever so slightly as the instinctively began to feel the smooth side of said crystal.

"Well, you... you kinda give off a weird aura. It's white and kinda looks iridescent? I mean, I think it does? I don't know how it happens but it's almost as if something possesses you."

Needless to say, Enigma was never aware of any change. They just felt an overwhelming desire to try and get answers to Noise's betrayal.

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them, prompting Silver to change the subject.

"Who's 'Noise'?" The question came to him suddenly and quite out of nowhere.

"Noise is..." Enigma paused, closing their eyes for a couple of moments before sighing heavily, "something that I can't explain."

They already spoke about Noise too much, what was the point of concealing anything else from Silver at this point? Better question was: how do you describe something that is so otherworldly that even you can't make it out? Noise, Spatium, that artifact... what did it all mean? What was it all?

Confused, Silver tilted his head as he rested his arms on his knees.

"What do you mean?"

There was a long pause before the coyote spoke up once more, "What I mean is Noise is someone--something that can't be explained." The older teen gave a heavy sigh and continued, "It is an entity which exists in this place that... for years I thought only existed in my mind. It is called Spatium and it..."

They exhaled sharply, tightly shutting their eyes at the memory of Spatium.

"It feels like it doesn't exist, that everything that happens within it is some sort of dreamish hell you're stuck in."

The coyote cleared their throat as they began, "being in Spatium is unlike any sort of time traveling you've done. It... it makes you question yourself, your concept of reality." Enigma tightly shut their eyes, clutching at their arms at the memory.

"Every weightless second you spend within that place, it feels as if there are all these hands. Hands with long sharp claws, groping around your skull, consuming everything you once knew about reality, the known world, everything." They spoke, seemingly in a trance as they hung their head in shame. "I can't believe I became apart of that..."

Enigma began to shake, "Looking at Noise, the illusions it makes, it's like a damn mirror. It's almost like Noise, or Spatium, or whatever the hell it is, staring at me isn't really me. It's like they're just an imitator and--"

The coyote stopped their rambling as they felt arms wrap around them.

"You don't have to keep talking about it. I understand." Silver spoke in a calm tone. Gentle. Comforting...

Enigma hesitated before eventually hugging their friend back. Feeling the comfort and kindness of the one they perceived as a threat just a few weeks ago... it was an odd feeling.

After a while, the two released one another and began to speak about the Astrum, Noise, and Spatium. Then the topic that made them both divide in opinion.

"There is a way to save her, right?"

Enigma gave a laugh at his rival's stupid question.

"You can't just jump out there, do yer psycho-mumbo-jumbo, and expect her to be back to normal."
"Hey, look, don't start with me! I can save her from this Noise guy no matter how mysterious or edgy they are!"

"Have you even been listening to a damn word I've been saying?!" Enigma snapped back at Silver, hands clenched into fists as he grit his teeth. "You can't just stop Noise! They can shut off any sort of ability you throw at them! You're an idiot if you actually try to fight them."

"Oh, then what's your idea of stopping then?" Silver asked, his anger getting the better of him as his golden eyes glared daggers at the older teen. "Just letting her suffer under the Astrum?!"

"I could care less about her, I just want my answers." Their tone was cold.

"Are you kidding me?! All this time you just want some dumb answers about what, taking over the world?!"

"No you dense fern-head! Answers as to why I couldn't fix this chaos-forsaken world!"

Things went dead silent between the two teens. Enigma seemed to have reached the peak of his patience with Silver's questions. Something about him--possibly his complete innocence and unawareness of the kind of power that artifact held-- made the older teen quite envious. If only they didn't know as much as Silver... if only...

"Remaking the world? What do you mean by that?"

"... With the Astrum, you..."

For some reason, it was difficult to explain. Yet, this wasn't surprising. Everything lately was hard to explain.

They couldn't finish answering, as there was a sudden bright light that radiated from the shard. The two teens were temporarily blinded by the brightness, shielding their eyes.

The white pure light released warm and comforting energy as it morphed into something unexpected.

A thin delicate being with large wings akin to that of a Luna Moth's took form. Fuzzy antennae placed so perfectly upon their head, six thin arms that held out to their sides in an open gesture. Pastel rainbow cycling compound eyes that were soft and kind.

The body was a beautiful mix of pure white, moonlight blue, and shining iridescence. The crystal shard disconnected itself from Enigma's neck and was placed in the middle of the pure creature's forehead.

As the light died down, the two teens slowly looked to the being. their eyes widened as they were both left speechless. They only had one question.

In unison, they asked, "Who are you?"

With a soft noiseless flap of their giant grand wings, they spoke in a motherly tone, "му иαмє ιѕ αχισм."