I'm not a victim. I'm the villain. The bad guy that killed millions. Controlled and manipulated thousands. I stained my own hands with blood of innocents. I may have become one of Morgiana's puppets... but that doesn't give me a pass.
Even if she sa...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"What just...?"
Amawa-na trails off, locking onto me, and she grows deathly still, as does Tamir. It's Cressa-la who speaks first, opening her eyes as she rubs the base of her hand against her brow bone as if to relieve a headache.
Damian-sai? Is that you?
For a moment, I don't want to answer. I don't understand this pull. I don't know if I want to. Sure, after the eclipse I felt a bit of a pull to her, but... it was never this strong. Maybe it was just the entity helping me find them. Maybe it's my paranoia. Or maybe it has something to do with the 'bonds and ties' I formed with all three of them and I can feel all three of them pulling me...
But I know that's a lie.
Yes, I say, watching her.
"It's Damian," Cressa-la says, furrowing her brow as she misses the last part of my name.
There's a sniffle to my left. I turn my head to see Amawa-na wiping tears from her face, looking at them incredulously.
"Why... why am I crying?" She whispers as a sob slips out. Tamir reaches across the sand, shifting his weight over to her from the other side of me and taking her hand as she squeezes it. "Why do... why am I aching?"
My body begins to transform back into a human, bells chiming. It only takes a few seconds, all eyes falling on me.
I stand before the three of them, my heart racing. Amawa-na stands, as does Cressa-la, and Amawa-na throws her arms around me, absolutely sobbing. If this has anything to do with the bonds and ties the entity was talking about... if their consciousnesses were placed back into each body, including Dametria's... then the way we left each other...
I slowly embraced her, her head just under my nose. It's still weird to feel so short, but... it doesn't matter right now.
"Why do I feel so sad for you?" she whispers. I can feel her breath brush my chest. "Why does it hurt to see you?"
Tamir stares at me for the longest time, his irises storming. Cressa-la too, one hand lifted to her face, a finger placed loosely on her chin, lost in her mind. Amawa-na squeezes me once and then releases me, wiping her cheeks with her palms. I watch her as silence falls upon us, save for the sniffling from Amawa-na as she regains control of herself. Cressa-la's eyes flick up and meet mine.
And that's when I feel it.
The pull I'd felt doubles, nearly forcing me forward. What... is this?
"Hey."
Tamir's voice is his stern version of gentle. One that tells me he has no idea what's going on and he wants some answers, but won't really force them out of me. It pulls my focus away from Cressa-la, the pull dissipating and almost completely disappearing.
