Chapter 113: CHAPTER 113(Lasting Scars)
Please read the author's notes. (Examples and explanation of moves and appearance+ Monster Sources)
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CHAPTER START---
Standing in a cavern, black cracked stone all around.
High walls within the large chamber, drops of molten rocks fall from the red hot ceiling that illuminates all within.
Yang doesn't feel anything, no heat, no sound, he can't even feel the air. Taking a deep breath, nothing.
He stands in the center of the room looking around, far toward the back of the room he sees a dim blue light.
With labored steps, he feels as if his body isn't even making contact with the stone floor as he walks toward the light. His instinct demanding he reaches it.
A familiar warmth within him, burning the left side of his chest. It feels, pleasant, natural, right.
He moves his sluggish body across the room toward the light.
As he approaches he sees a crystal. The size of a prison cell.
Within it he sees, a woman, her body slim and standing at maybe 5ft5.
Glowing white skin as if she were made of magic, long hair matching her skin reaches past her waist, no mouth, a hole in the middle of her chest about an inch wide. As if she were a gem and piece broke off.
He can't even think before his body reacts, placing his hand on the crystal wall, he feels warmth. For the first time here he feels something. It feels like, home.
The woman within shifts from laying asleep as her eyes open to reveal solid blue within, brimming with power.
She crawls to the wall separating them to look at him, as if she were begging and pleading with just her eyes, begging him to save her.
"Help..." his mother's voice reaches him.
His eyes go wide as he hears it, she's calling out, he needs to save her.
Reacting immediately he punches the crystal.
*CRACK*
His finger breaks, his strength is gone, no Falna, just Yang Shen.
He looks down at his bleeding hand.
'I...I can't break it,' his mind immediately begins to despair.
"Yang," his father's voice calls out, his head snaps up to look at the angel, "home," he hears the man's voice one more.
A fire lights in his soul, a roaring inferno.
With relentless fury he pounds away at the wall, for hours and hours he breaks himself against it, desperate to break it.
Ignore the pain.
Ignore the blood.
Think of them.
Remember them.
GET BACK TO THEM!
With every hit he reminds himself.
"Yng!" he hears his baby sister cry out, her accidental nickname for him, she could never say it properly even now.
With even more vigor he hammers away, until eventually.
*CRACK*
The wall gives, and he doesn't stop. Slamming his hand through the crystal, his arm shatters as he grits his teeth and lets the angel take his hand.
In a flash of bright light, he suddenly finds himself back in his small apartment home, sitting around the kitchen table with his family.
He looks around, none of them seem to know anything happened, as if nothing changed at all, as if he never left, he was back home.
"Mmm!" he hears groaning, as if echoing from the heavens, nobody reacts.
"Mmmmm!" again the noise, this time the world begins being enveloped in black.
"NO!" he cries out, desperately trying to grab anyone, only for them to be pulled away from him in a blink.
Back in the Loki Familia's main tent, holding the very much exposed Riveria's head in his hands, Yang's Elemental Wheel is brimming with purple lighting as his eyes are closed to focus on fixing her brain.
Silent tears streak down his face and reach his chin, where they fall onto Riveria's forehead, causing her to stir.
"Mmm!" She groans in her sleep before opening her eyes to see him above her.
She immediately feels her lack of clothes under a thin blanket as he holds her head in place, her thoughts race, faster than ever, she feels as if she couldn't slow them down.
'What's he doing?
Why am I naked?
Why is he crying?
What's going on?'
All the questions flood her mind as he slowly opens his eyes to look down at her, his eyes bloodshot from crying for who knows how long as he meets her Jade eyes.
All the thoughts leave her mind as she sees his look of...pain? Despair? Anguish?
"Are you ok?" her throat was dry, every word felt like she was swallowing razors.
"I'm not the patient here," he deflects the question, forming a sphere of water and floating it over her mouth, allowing her to take a drink. She doesn't complain, thankful for the drink. Her body ached, everything felt painful.
Releasing her head and placing it onto a soft pillow, he moves beside her as she tracks him with her eyes.
"How are you feeling?" his first question to her.
"I can't move...everything hurts...why am I naked?"
"You almost died and I had to play doctor, I had to fix your brain from all the lighting damage you took from Rajang," his explanation immediately draws her memories of that fight to the surface, a scowl forms on her face.
"Why am I naked?"
"You could hurt yourself if you had a seizure in those tough adventuring clothes, this was safer," he answered in a bored tone, conveying that this was purely professional before she got the wrong idea.
"D-did you fix me?" she was hesitant to ask.
"Your mind yeah, now it's just for Airmid to get you into surgery."
"Surgery for what?" She was confused, she felt fine other than some slight aches on her left side.
"I'll get Finn," Yang immediately begins to get up.
"Stop, just...tell me," she wasn't even sure she wanted to know, but she had to know.
"I...I'll just show you."
He slowly takes the blanket off her, exposing her completely naked body as she lays flat staring up at the ceiling, unable to even crane her neck down.
With a wave of his hand a disc of water forms above them, large enough and reflective enough for her to see the state she's in.
Staring wide-eyed at the mirror, silent tears flow out of the corners of her eyes.
Her shock stopping her from even making a sound as she cries for the person in the mirror.
From her hip up to her neck, the entire left side of her body looked...broken, cracked.
As if the lighting tattooed itself into her flesh as red lines. The same pattern extends down her left hand halfway down the bicep where it ends with a stump, the remainder of her arm missing.
She didn't recognize the woman in the mirror.
"That's enough," her trembling voice said, he immediately pulls the water aside and begins to evaporate it.
"Sorry," it felt like the right thing for him to say.
"This isn't your fault, you saved me, my mind," he would agree.
"I'll go get Finn," he tries to get out of there again.
"No," she stops him," not yet please, just... not yet..." she wasn't ready to face them, she didn't want them to see her like this, she didn't want Ais to see her like this. She wasn't ready to deal with that yet.
After a rather awkward half-hour sitting beside Riveria, she finally speaks.
"Did they save my arm?" a reasonable question.
"Yeah, I froze it good enough, you should be able to use it still with some magic and surgery from Airmid..."
"Good..."
Another awkward silence.
"Why were you crying?" she couldn't help but be concerned, even in her current situation, she thought him untouchable, but seeing him cry....she remembered that he's just a person.
"When I use my Elemental Wheel, it demands I calm my mind... I remembered my family," he gave a small lie, he couldn't explain that he saw the Angel that brought him here after all.
"And that hurts, I see..." she leaves it at that, she knew a sore subject when she saw it.
Looking around the tent, she didn't see signs of anyone else being here in a while.
"Did you take care of me yourself?"
"Mostly, they aren't exactly able to treat your mind with lightning after all."
"And, did you undress me yourself?" her voice had a hint of uncertainty, as if she wasn't even sure what answer she wanted.
"Wasn't much to take off, under your main equipment everything was burnt, basically fell off, but Finn was here for that part at least."
"Ahh, and are you ready to deal with the consequences?" her voice was a mix of concern and teasing as she gauged his reaction, he only gave an exasperated sigh.
"What?"
"You defiled my chastity."
"So?"
"So you must make this right, we must be wed immediately," she spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Hmm," he lifts a finger to his chin pondering the idea before responding," does that make me king of the Elves?"
".... teasing you really is no fun, Tiona was right," she almost whined.
"Or you just suck at it, and maybe don't threaten me with a kingdom and beautiful wife," he gives her a playful smile.
"Mhm, I was serious however, as a Royal Elf and heir to the throne, I'm supposed to stay pure in all ways until I take the throne, you've ruined that..."
"So? Not my problem."
"You could claim the title of king with this, even if you'd have no real power as an outsider, it's a risk to my people,"
"Trust me, more responsibility is the last thing I want, besides, Finn saw everything too so go bother him," he gives her a bored shrug.
"I... everyone has a preference," she mutters quietly, as if he wouldn't hear it sitting this close.
"Uh-huh, thanks? Look, as much as I'd love to get myself a stunning Elf queen, my adventure can't stop for anything, so don't worry about it."
"Beggars can't be choosers," she bites out.
Glaring harshly at her, Yang can feel his patience running out, "I'm not a beggar, when it comes to beautiful women you aren't the only one I could have," he points out defensively.
"I wasn't talking about you..." his eyes widen slightly at this, "I'm expected to be perfect, beautiful, flawless, and pure, did that THING in the mirror look like a queen to you?"
"Jeez," he gently turns her head so their eyes meet," what's with you women and perfection, there is no beauty in perfection, so I think you're far better now than the porcelain doll you were before, this you is much better, and if whatever stupid royal they try to engage you with can't see that he's a moron," he gives her a small smile before turning her head back to the ceiling.
She was taken back by his words, he sounded genuine," if only everyone saw things like that, but Elves have higher standards, the royal family even more so..."
"Everyone chases perfection, but beauty is in the chase, guess you elves aren't so smart if you haven't figured out how boring perfection is huh."
"But you figured it out, is that what makes you special, the 'chase'?"
"Maybe, now stop worrying about how beautiful you are and I'll go get Finn, I expected this from some of the annoying girls running around but not you, dungeon mom," he teases while finally getting out of the tent to find Finn, leaving Riveria with dozens of colliding thoughts.
Seeing Finn sitting with Gareth and Tione in front of one of the other tents, Yang quietly approaches them.
"She's awake," their heads immediately snap to him, eyes wide as if they expected anything else, "what?"
"You've been in there for two days," Finn points out, completely catching Yang off guard.
"Uh, right, that explains why I'm hungry, but go check on her, we can start moving when she's feeling a little better maybe... I really wanna get back to Babel... also one more thing," Yang says.
"Anything," Finn says, completely serious, he couldn't think of anything he wouldn't do as thanks for saving Riveria.
"I don't need your familia stalling me anymore, don't get in the way of my adventure alright," a reasonable request considering how much they owe him.
"Consider it done..."
END CHAPTER---
Back to the surface next chapter...Volume 2 is over :)
The temptation for Riveria X Yang is there, I can taste it. Thoughts?
Favourite Loki Familia members: Finn>Riveria>Bete>Gareth>Tiona>Raul>Aki>Tione
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
keanu_eugene
keanu_eugene Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
---Some serious consequences for adventuring, still gotta deal with Ais after this.
---Arc over now we're in the aftermath.
---She didn't die, she is my 2nd favorite Loki familia member after all, but if I'm willing to do this to my favorites >.>
Favourite Loki Familia members: Finn>Riveria>Bete>Gareth>Tiona>Raul>Aki>Tione
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