arius pov
"where is he?" rin said silently. if im not a vampire, i dont think i could ever hear him.
not a moment too soon, we felt a draft and the floor to ceiling white curtain bellowed in. were on the top floor and theres a little terrace in our room. we barely ever open it since were so high up and even nhu cant bear the height. if hes nowhere inside the room, dont tell me...
"NHU!" i ran to the terrace and there i saw nhu sitting on our long forgotten lounge chair. "nhu?" i said dearly to him as i crouched before him. the sun is already at its lowest giving us a red orange glow. the wind was not that strong now but when the sun disappears, the temperature will shot down to harsh cold.
"nhu?" i called again but all i could see from his opened eyes was a blank stare. glossy even. no life. no response. not even a blink.
"let me..." rin grabbed nhus hand from mine, he was stunned in his place.
------------------>>>>>
nhu pov
its dark.
not like the soft darkness when i was in limbo when i gave birth to my son.
this felt too dense... nearly suffocating.
a storm
an earthquake
a tornado came
i felt like i was being tumbled all over in a glass box.
the last thing i remembered, i tied myself on the sink and toilet bowl in order for me to stay grounded when the tornado came. i dont know what happened after that.
im confused.
im disoriented.
where am i?
im no longer tied.
i dont think im falling or even floating.
im tired.
-------------->>>>>
arius pov
"his consciousness is under an illusion." said rin wide eyed. its like, hes seeing something we dont.
"lets put him back inside first. itll be cold in a while and i dont think nhu will like it." i motioned to carry nhu bridal style and carried him back inside with rin still holding nhus hand. he dared not to break contact since hes already in.
"nhus physical body is under a curse. then his consciousness was trapped in an illusion." rin said conclusively. "what did the witch say to return him?"
"blood of kin flows down on his consciousness. itll be done by the pledged love." i answered.
"wheres his consciousness?"
i handed him the already darkened bottle. anything inside was unrecognizable but the glint of the pearl was enough to say that its still there.
"i cant open it." i said disheartened. cant i do anything for my singer?
"no you cant. i can." rin said but the shine in his eyes said that it was not him talking. his eyes glowed like that of the moon.
"aunty?" its the goddess herself channeling through rin.
"we cant let this pass over midnight. his curse lasted for a long time already its eating on his consciousness little by little to strengthen itself. im sorry that its only now that i could come. you know that i couldnt intervene unless i was in contact with him directly. get a punch in to your brother and let him do it you too as well for not thinking of rin right away."
its so awkward to hear a womans voice from rins mouth but her command was absolute, my body just bended to her will. its not that im unwilling. i... we deserved it. rins a messenger due to him being a kitsune. who can we call when a member of the family is in jeopardy and we are on a tight bind to solve this? granny gulf helped rin once before and now its nhus time.
"i will, aunty. rest assured well add a kick as well."
"just dont hurt each other too much or else ill be the one smashing your heads together." she said sternly like a mother to her child.
"oh, well. lets finish this. gulf is already antsy far too long and its not good for mews psyche. actually, its already annoying how gulf demanded this and that since we cant do anything unless our channel was connected to nhu directly." she sighed deeply.
rin... well, aunty raised the bottle and put it in between her thighs to grab hold of it. since she cant let go of nhus hand, he needs to do this one handedly.
"stay back. therell be a rebound once i open this. no matter what you see, its not nhu. his consciousness is already in the abyss. i need to fetch him myself. dont go to sleep or else itll transfer unto you. close your eyes if you have to but dont listen to it." aunty said seriously. i turned nhus father to face the wall behind us and closed our eyes. we braced ourselves for an impact and we surely did felt it.
a sudden hard push behind our backs made us smack into the wall. we should have crouched down. how stupid!
"arius..." a voice in my head called.
"my ari..." its definitely nhus voice. i felt tears fell down my face through my closed eyes. i miss his soft voice. i really really want to hold him.
"miss... you..." it said breathlessly.
"ari... love..." its so hard. i want to hold him.
"arius..."
NO!
its not... its not him!
not him!
-------------------------------------->>>>>
nhu pov
i cant hear anything.
whats happening?
im scared.
i want
i want des
i want destan... my son... son... yes, my... my son
"nhu?"
who is it?
"nhu?"
its a woman.
"can you come to my voice, please?"
"who are you?" i asked confused.
"im a friend. arius is worried." she said lovingly.
"arius?" i twisted my way to where i can hear her voice clearly.
"you know him, right?"
"yeah. hes... hes my... boss? umn..." why am i not sure?
"youll be fine. just follow my voice. ill lead you out of here."
i dont know what to say anymore. i need my son. my...
theres something missing...
-------------->>>>>
arius pov
"a~and hes back." aunty said finally.
we slowly turned around and there i saw, even just for a moment, the goddess on the flesh. shes glowing. there beneath her and in her arms is my singer still asleep. when i pan my eyes back to her, she turned back to her plane form which is rin.
"how is he?" i slowly creep towards the bed as if afraid to startle something invisible.
"hes confused when i found him. i get that no one could pass through those layers of curses the witch laid one on top of the other. shes quite skilled actually. sad to say, witches powers still came from me. they are meant to be natures protector and balance giver to the mightiest creation but man had found a way to manipulate them to cater to their greed." she sighed. "i got a lot of explaining to do. arius..."
"yes, aunty?"
"my grandson, destan. keep him close when youre with nhu. he needs him. and you, please be understanding. he went through quite a lot in that bottle. he needs to be reminded that this is the reality and not that space. i know you love him to bits, just be patient with him."
i nodded in reply.
"hes a gentle soul. i like him. which means, youll answer to me if he cried because of you. remember that." she continued. "ill leave now. theyre calling for me. take care. i love you, son."
"i love you too aunty. send my regards to granny and granpa."
"that i will." rin face smiled and he slumped on the head rest.
"rin?" i shook rin to wake up.
"hmmm... hes back, right?" he asked groggily with a yawn.
"yes, thank you so much." i never knelt to anyone in my life aside from my mother and nhu but today, right this minute, i cant express enough my gratitude for rins help and the goddess as well.
"stand up arius. thats not like you. give me a tub of ice cream every week for a year. that would be enough." rin said sighing. i just smirked at his perkiness despite being the host of the goddess for a while. im sure her energy got sapped but here he is asking just for a tub of ice cream as compensation. ill gladly do so even way beyond that one year.
---------->>>>>
nhu pov
i felt myself turn over from where i was laying. the fabric felt so nostalgic and the glow that seeped through my eyelids is so familiar that made my eye sting as if i would cry.
i abruptly opened my eyes and scanned the room.
where am i?
this is not the hut.
its like im in a condo.
condo?
penthouse?
am i back?
i was so curious i went ahead to where the light came from. i see that its from a wide glass wall. the view was so breathtaking. its as if im seeing this for the very first time.
"mom!" a little voice called me and i abruptly turned around. a little pudgy face lightened up upon seeing me.
"destan!" i exclaimed. this is my son. my son. he ran up to me and hugged me. i lifted him up and squeezed him. it felt like years that i hugged him like this.
"mo~om!"
"baby? yes, my love?" i wiped his face from stray hairs and thats when i saw someone by the door.
"nhu?" i gasped.
that voice.
where did i ever hear that from again?
"y-yes?" i tilted my head in question.
whats his name again?
what does he want from me?
why is he with my son?
why is he running towards me?
who is he?
"nhu?!"
i felt myself crouch down bringing my son with me. my ears are ringing. its like a constant dead line noise pinging in my ear.
im covering my ears in an attempt to stop it but still it stayed. my head began to feel like its being squeezed.
"WHO!.... WHO ARE YOU!"