The Sight Beyond The Haze

Chapter 28: Bloody Plural of Angels

A lot happened at once.

My eyes, after seeing that the truck was still coming towards my direction and there was no way that I would be able to avoid it, sought Deo who seemed to be frozen at place on where they were. I thought then that Deo would definitely save me, as they have for countless of times, but within those precious little seconds did Deo only moved.

I could not tell what expression they have under their mask, what I only felt then was that I was actually scared.

I have not learned of everything yet. I just got told that I still had a family out there. I have only learned that my mind together with my memories were altered, I still yet to gather all of my real memories.

In an instant, I felt the truck making impact on the car and hitting my back. I did not saw how the truck crashed into the car since after sensing it would not stop, I immediately started to run away. I was not fast enough though.

I was panting and my feet still wanted to make another step, one more then another just to get away. Just then, robes fluttering in the wind and through my blurry vision, I saw Deo finally moving towards me. Their feet were not touching the ground and, finally, I saw their face when they came too quickly that the wind knock off their mask.

It was not even when the mask fell to the ground that I felt something.

"Deo—!" Before I could even finish saying their name, the impact of the crash between the car and the truck have thrown me somewhere. I rolled a couple of times, my mind was black and my face was grazed in the ground.

Each of my limbs ached terribly, my mouth was not able to make any sound, not even of pain. After only a second of being thrown away, I heard a loud boom in the distant and there was the shadow of a great fire. My ears were ringing from the explosion, I felt it splitting my head in to two pieces or maybe that was because my head was indeed split into two that was why it was hurting too much.

I tried to move, there was something stuck on my shoulder that was preventing me from doing so though. Since my face was directly placed on the asphalt road, I thought I saw a rather ominous scene. Blood pouring on the ground ceaselessly, it reached my outstretched hand and it smelled metallic, salty. That scared me, the fact that I was lying on my own blood and maybe, somewhere on my body, there was an irrevocable injury that I could die from.

I do not want to die yet.

I have so much to do.

And I have only seen their face for the first time.

Only once.

It was never fair, I thought then. Even with the explosion, birds tweeted and they flew to the sky, free from any chains from this world. Why was it that I never get to be peaceful? When I have only learned just a fraction.

I coughed and coughed again. I tasted the disgusting metallic taste of blood on the roof of my mouth. My chest tightened and I gritted my teeth while I tried to heave air into my mouth since there must be something wrong with how my nose just completely shut down on me.

Every breath was painful, choking the air out of me, and it made me want to vomit, much more so with the taste of blood on my mouth.

"Seraphin!" I heard a familiar voice then shoes came into my view. It was not the white boots that Deo wore, but instead the leather ones of Zachriel. "Oh, you're awake! You're awake! I'll get help, hang in here!"

My eyes groggily looked up to the guy, he was holding his cellphone and he paced back and forth first before kneeling down to where I was lying. Gently lifting one side of me, he tore at my uniform and the wind touched my still clothed breasts.

"She has pneumothorax," he muttered to his phone. "I am speaking English, Haziel! Well, her lung has been puntured by a broken rib. She won't have long if I don't—"

Then I saw again those ridiculously long golden sticks. With the sun's light, both glinted dangerously sharp. Zachriel tucked one of those two on the inside of his black coat before bringing the one that he held on his hand to my chest.

By this time, I cannot do anything much but close my eyes. I was aching all over, but it was not like I always cry out of pain. Pain might sometimes be good, I thought, my eyes were closing on their own thought I still wanted to seek someone else.

But they were not here. Still, there was one thing that dominated me.

It hurts.

It hurts so much.

I was like a candle whose light was still on in its wick, but then, the wind was too strong, blowing on the little flicker of light left. I could not breathe, even when I forced myself to breathe, only tasting the salty blood that was being forced out of my mouth.

"D-deo..." I managed to say before Zachriel lifted that golden stick, that was actually made out of some kind of metal, and brought it down to my chest. "Ugh—!" I groaned out loud.

"You'll be okay, Lady Alaric," I heard someone say on my ears, "you'll be okay. Cocytus! Helped me get her up!"

My eyes widened for a second and tried to look at what he did, stabbing me straight through the chest. His face that turned my dreams to nightmares was the last thing I saw before my eyes's lids finally went down.

I was not sure how much of the time has passed already when I woke up. I was expecting nothing really. I was not a strong believer of religion, even with my ridiculous name, thus, hell and heaven might probably both closed for me. I also do not have a strong faith to anything so it might also be a probable thing to say that nothing really awaits me in the afterlife.

When I opened my eyes for the first time since the accident, I was expecting myself to be dead. Then fate actually wanted me to live. It also mildly surprised me when I saw butterflies flying around the room I was in. It seemed that it was night or maybe it was only too dark because there were thick curtains hanging over the windows, there was not even a single clock to tell me the time.

The only thing that disappointed me was that the owner of the golden light butterflies was not here to greet me. I contented myself with the light butterflies' brilliance though and they seemed to have missed me with how they cling to my body.

I could not move even an inch. Every part of my body still rather hurt too much. Different apparatuses were connected to my body, and there was even that faint beep beep by my side. It was irritating to hear, because of it though, I was able to forced myself to sleep again.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was blinded by the harshness of the sun's light and the windows were opened now. There was only an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth helping me to breath properly and a single IV drip was on the back of my hand with a roller clamp on my index finger.

"I had them take the heavy equipments on you when the doctors said you're stable." There was a voice that echoed through the whole room which smelled heavily of disinfectant and sickness.

Hope did not rose in my chest with the evident lack of golden butterflies around the room. The person's presence in attendance though rather surprised me however.

"Mr. Tharraleos," I said hoarsely, my hand with the roller clamp taking off the oxygen mask. "W-what... what are you—"

"Hush now, child," he said gently, he rose elegantly from where he sat but his expression was serious. "How are you feeling? The mortal way if healing is rather slow, I gather, so I opted to call on to healers."

"I'm fine, Sir," I said, my throat also hurt and my lips were dried to the point that I can feel the peeling of the skin of its surface. "How long was I out?" I asked yet again.

"Two full weeks," he answered. Mr. Tharraleos was now walking towards the foot of my bed. His youthful face was still as handsome as ever even though it was quite tainted with anxiety and exhaustion.

I looked around the room. It was spacious which, admittedly, I ignored the first time I woke up. In my defense, the surroundings were quite dark and I could hardly saw anything before.

The wind blew and the curtains danced with the rhythm of it.

Mr. Tharraleos' eyes directed at me, it was so dark to the point it was almost emitting a red shade. That pair of eyes of his were still the same as before, distant but not really cold.

"I am only able to get custody over you since you are registered as Amara, a fake employee, of mine is working for me," he stated. A sigh passed through his lips, with the sigh I could feel his exhaustion and there was a glint of impatience too. "The Eirini almost damned those though, insisting against the legal proceedings. They wanted to take you back, but he wouldn't. Said he had enough of this charade."

"Who is that 'he' you are talking about?" I asked curiously, my brows furrowing with confusion.

"Deo," he responded, it was such a simple sentence that it took me a minute to process it.

Maybe I hit my head hard enough to become so disoriented that I was seeing illusions and hearing words from people. Mr. Tharraleos just said Deo's name, he just said it. Didn't he?

"How do you know them?" I asked incredulously. For the first time since waking up, I felt blood rushing up to my face.

I was not dead.

I am not dead.

And the exhilaration I felt was enough to remind me of that. I looked at Mr. Tharraleos expectantly, waiting for an answer. It was rather hard to keep my eyes pointed at him since I need my eyes at the corners of my eyes, it made me kind of dizzy.

"Deo's the one who begged me to take you in as my own ward," Mr. Tharraleos explained, "I guess he understands that even if he is quite powerful enough to conquer the world, it takes a lot of money to support a studying girl like you."

I could not keep my neutral face, and I felt that my tears were running on the side of my face, soaking some of my hair strands. I closed my eyes and felt that they stung, tears were still rolling and running; making my eyes blurry. I looked up at the ceiling.

"Why would he do this?" I asked in a whisper.

"The Middle Ground is the only place he knew you'd be safe," Mr. Tharraleos explained yet again. He looked out of the window, his gaze was distant and far away. When he turned his face like that, the youthfulness of his countenance faded and it was replaced by maturity of age. "From Paris, he flew the bloody body of yours thousand of miles to the Americas just so you can have a change of life. He never asked for help before, you know?"

I shook my head, my brows were still furrowed and his answers still felt distant to me.

"Why would he do this?" I repeated again but my tone lack the conviction of the desire to learn of the truth.

"Should I?" he asked in return. I was certain that the question was not meant for me, it was for himself, asking whether to tell or not. I just continued to watch him. "He never told me," he finally settled with that reason. "I'm supposed to say an enigmatic answer, I think you are expecting yourself that I give you one."

He was not wrong, I actually did expect him to give me some riddle to solve.

"He is adamant though," Mr. Tharraleos said, his face was still not facing mine and his gaze was directed to some faraway distance— mysterious yet cunning. "That you be let alone. He didn't want to tamper your memories any further, thus, the whole orchestrated play house."

"So you do not know," I surmised and my tears have finally calmed down.

"I'm wondering actually if you are the one who would tell me instead." I heard a sigh escaped from his lips again then Mr. Tharraleos stood up from where he was sitting lightly on the foot of my bed. "When he showed up with you, I knew at some point that this would happen. I have heard of what happened in Paris. The m******e over there."

I do not understand what he was saying, but there was a particular heaviness and gravity with his voice that I could not help to think that even though I do not understand a thing he was saying then it was probably important.

"He held you and, for the first time, I heard a trace of humanity in his voice. Take her with you, he said then he proceeded on creating the illusion while healing your extremely butchered body. No one cares whether you're going to be insane, but he does actually out of all the beings."

Mr. Tharraleos suddenly looked at me, his head slightly tilting to my direction.

"Those matters not; your state, your mind, even if your body is quite broken, but for him, it mattered. You are simply the personifaction of both thrones of Eirini and Haefen, to get you to their side is to get the fate's favor for them. For him though..."

His voice faltered and faded into silence. I saw him squinted his eyes to me, regarding me with interest.

"You might probably be something more than a throne between two opposing sides of the war," Mr. Tharraleos ended.

"He is not human, is he?" I the asked him.

"Who knows really?" His shoulders both shrugged. "Maybe he gained his humanity through you, but I thought you'd gather that kind of sense with him."

"I never cared for his humanity," I declared to this guy who was still scrutinizing me with an odd interest, his almost reddish irises became more evident with sun's light invading the room through the transparent windows. "I know Deo as he is, therefore, it never mattered."

"But he cares for yours though," another voice sounded, the creaking of the door echoed in the silent room. Miss Eris, pretty as always, entered the room and closed the door behind her quietly. "Else you would not be here."

"You shouldn't be here," Mr. Tharraleos warned her with a rather pointed glare, "Deo still hasn't forgotten what you did, and he also hasn't forgiven you yet."

"You know I can never interfere with certain things," Miss Eris responded to him with a slight shrug of her small shoulders. "I'm glad you're fine now, Seraphin."

Miss Eris walked towards me, just opposite of the side where Mr. Tharraleos was standing, still gazing outside of the window. She smiled sweetly at me and sat on the little space that was left beside me on the bed. Gentle hands and a delicate smile, she reached towards one of my hands and squeezed it firmly, seemingly comforting me.

"Besides," she continued, her eyes were now directed to the other person who had his back on her, "I knew she would not die."

"So you have seen," Mr. Tharraleos uttered, "of what would happen."

"Of course, I did!" Miss Eris chided, her beautiful face making quite a face, then she smiled again to me. "Don't worry, everything would be fine now."

"I still do not know what is happening?" I said uncertainly. "You, I mean the two of you, why would you help Deo? Why would Deo help me even?" I asked, even I could hear the imploring laced on my tone.

Tell me please were the words that were hidden behind my words and I hoped that they heard it.

"There must be a reason," I muttered again.

Mr. Tharraleos would not look at my eyes directly so I switched from him to Miss Eris beside me who was caught off her guard and jumped that made her fall from where she sat on my bed.

"You've only just recovered, Seraphin," Miss Eris reasoned to me and held my hand tighter than before. "Rest first, don't stress yourself. Leigh!" Miss Eris called to Mister Tharraleos who only turned his head lazily. "You're supposed to be the one doing the pep talk to her."

"You can do it, Eris," he only said and started to walk towards the door. "It's nice to see you getting better, my granddaughter. Deo would probably visit you later on, and when he does—" he turned his reddish black eyes to the lady beside me who was still holding my hand "—you better not be here or he will kill you."

Miss Eris laughed heartily at that before waving goodbye to Mr. Tharraleos.

"I hate it that I'm always a few steps behind everytime," I told Miss Eris as soon as Mr. Tharraleos vanished from sight. "A few steps behind everyone. I'm always the last one to know."

"Your mother," Miss Eris told me, "Lady Erina Alaric is Leigh's goddaughter actually. So you're now his granddaughter."

I still do not get anything with her explanation.

"That would make Mr. Tharraleos around thrity to forty years old," I stated.

Or maybe more.

And he only looked like a seventeen year old teen, I thought internally. It cannot be that Mr. Tharraleos time travelled because laws of time and space does not allow and permit anyone to do time travel. Not unless if Mr. Tharraleos did not age for the past twenty or so years, maybe more since I was certain that my mother would be on her mid-thirties. Besides that fact, Mr. Tharraleos cannot just be on his thirties if he was indeed around that age, since as Miss Eris said, he is my mother's godfather.

Which would make Mr. Tharraleos older than my estimation.

"He is not just thirty years old, is he?" I asked Miss Eris. "How old exactly is Mr. Tharraleos to become my grandfather?"

My eyes stayed at Miss Eris who only smiled awkwardly, her bright smile made me squint as though I was actually looking at the sun directly.

"Deo has told me that while he was with you inside the Middle Ground," Miss Eris started, "he taught you some things. Such as magic, magician's categories, and technique like seals, isn't that right?" I waited for her to get to her point. "Did he ever told you about Dalcanoraz?"

I stiffened.

The land of magic.