Chapter 125: Book 3 chapter 26

The world around Amethyst seemed to blur as everyone moved around her. Apparently, the elves decided to allow the ship to dock for the night, given she could now see members of the crew making their way up the dirt path, not that she could find it in herself to care. 

Having never left her side, Himari tried to talk to her a few times but had apparently given up leaving the two to sit in silence as the sun finally made its way below the horizon; the town suddenly bathed in the darkness of night aside from the fire the crew had started on the far end of the road. The chilled night air caused Amethyst to shiver slightly.

“Hecatolite… doesn’t like the cold.” She finally said weakly looking towards the fire.

Himari bit her lip, “Amethyst,” slowly, carefully Himari spoke. “You know Hecatolite better than anyone. Do you honestly think she is in danger?”

Much to Himari’s surprise Amethyst shook her head. “Danger,” Amethyst let out a faint laugh as she spoke, “She’s probably safer than she’s ever been…”

Himari couldn’t help but feel there was something more there, something unsaid. The way the young girl sat looking off into the trees mixed with the melancholy in her tone pulled on Himari’s heart. Against her better judgment, Himari asked. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Amethyst shuddered as she took a breath. Then another, each breath growing longer as the young woman shivered. “She… she’s always getting hurt.” Her voice came as barely a whimper as Amethyst buried her face in her knees, “I… I can’t do anything. I’m always holding her back, getting in the way, every time. Hecatolite always has to protect me…” 

Himari watched as Amethyst began to quietly cry into her legs, unsure of what to do as she draped an arm around Amethyst and pulled her into a hug as the young girl broke down. With a sigh Himari closed her eyes. She wanted to tell Amethyst she was wrong, and it wasn’t her fault, but she knew it would be a futile endeavor. She could understand what Amethyst was saying, why she would think that, however, she wasn’t so ready to discard Amethyst's own achievements.

Then again. Her whole life, Hecatolite has been dragging her forward. Himari thought as she rubbed the young woman’s back. Himari knew that without Hecatolite, Amethyst wouldn’t be nearly as powerful as she was; there is no denying that she would have become a strong mage in the end, maybe even one of the most powerful but… A divine soul? A warrior clad in relics? Would Amethyst have had the drive to come this far if not for Hecatolite? Could she have? 

It was clear to Himari that Hecatolite was the one to blame for Amethyst's abnormal growth, her strange power; but why? Why would a being like Hecatolite drag another to such heights? Hecatolite was, in Himari’s mind, not just a primordial but the mad primordial that devoured entire solar systems. Bathed in the blood of all that opposed her, coveted power so greedily that the universe itself shook at the mere mention of her name. Hecatolite Lapidary, Me, the primordial of the endless abyss, the creature that had been deleted from the system itself… 

We… we never figured out why they deleted her from the system like that did we, Overseer?

Himari’s question was answered with silence.

Overseer?... Babylon?

Yes, Mother Himari? The cheerful voice of Babylon chimed in her mind.

Himari cocked her head, confused. Sure Overseer was not always with her as Babylon was, but the system had never flat out ignored her like that… “Hey, Amethyst.” Himari glanced around before whispering to the young woman in her arms. “Can you talk to Overseer?”

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Amethyst wiped her eyes before looking up at Himari in the dim light of the moons, Himari suddenly realized just how close the two were together. Nearly nose to nose Himari looked into Amethyst glimmering dark purple eyes, the light catching small tears causing them to sparkle as if they were the stars in the sky itself. Himari found herself unable to look away, something about Amethyst's eyes, the dark purple seeming to shift and move, as if it was a swirling vortex… a galaxy. Himari thought as she watched small specks of lights dance in the younger woman’s eyes. 

Amethyst blinked, breaking Himari’s trance, the older woman quickly averting her eyes as she flushed.

Mother Himari, you seem to be experiencing some discomfort. Much to Babylon’s annoyance Himari ignored the intrusive system.

What in the hell’s was that! She thought, as her heart quickened. She had looked into Amethyst's eyes before, dozens of times, but they never seemed to move. No, no one’s eyes can do that. She thought about how Amethyst's eyes didn’t “seem” to move, they were moving, swirling around like little vortexes, some kind of spell, an illusion maybe? She couldn’t help but glance at Amethyst, whose face scrunched in concentration. Then she remembered Hecatolite's eyes. 

Himari had been unfortunate enough to look into Hecatolite’s eyes on several occasions, the endless voids that that threatened to pull one in… but Amethyst eyes were different, where Hecatolite felt like a pit that one could fall into Amethyst were like a pool of calming water… 

She quickly looked away from the young girl, realizing she was staring, as she organized her thoughts. Ok deep breaths. Think for a moment, both the twins have the ability to influence people’s emotions. It is possible Amethyst is trying to draw people to her because she feels weak. That makes sense. That, and I have to admit my body is much younger now, several of the others had problems with their hormones before I left… She glanced back to Amethyst, who had a very puzzled look on her face that she had to admit was… cute. Minus the tear streaks, Himari could do without the tears. Maybe that’s why she had that reaction, she never did like seeing people cry. 

Himari was, at a time, a very conservative respectful lady. Not that she ever thought the wilder life of some people was any of her business, just not for her. She had never considered things outside of the conventional, but it could be that they were simply taboo for most of her life; sure she had a husband and she did love him deeply… he was a caring man, a good man… she thought back on her past lover, a warmth in her mind telling her that yes, she did indeed love him. But… she was pushed into marriage, a need to procreate, to preserve her family… 

“Himari?” Amethyst's voice pulled Himari from her thoughts, realizing that she had missed what Amethyst had said.

“Yes?” She answered, a little too quickly only to stop when she saw the frantic look on Amethyst's face. 

“I… I can’t talk to Overseer…” Amethyst looked around; her eyes wide as she continued. “I can talk to Babylon, but it's different… like it's just the skill… it's not talking back, just answ….” They both froze as a scream echoed throughout the camp.  

Himari’s heart sank as the scream hit her ears, something about it striking a chord deep within her. She had heard millions of screams, cries of pain, anguish, both anger and joy; but this scream was one she knew on an instinctive level. 

A primal part of her mind flaring to life as every part of her body yelled out to her, telling her to run, telling her to get as far away from that noise as possible. 

Before she could think Amethyst had all but pulled her to her feet; both of them, against Himari’s better judgment, turned towards the scream and made their way towards the camp; towards the primal howls of terror that was still going. 

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