Lee Seng moved forward through the barely lit sky. He listened to his feet crunch beneath the burnt ground, wishing he could get lost in the noise. As he continued forward, he started to hear something out of place. It sounded familiar. He slowed to a stop, scanning his surroundings. Dark blue energy fluttered in front of him in an arc. Lee Seng jerked backwards, feeling a gust of wind move in front of him. Someone had attacked him!
Ritsuka grunted as he moved forward. The large backpack would weigh him down. He swung at the person in front of him, hoping to end this before it got too dicey. Lee Seng instinctively reached his hand outwards, trying to block the blade only to catch the blade. Blood oozed from his hand as he held onto the blade, remembering he didn't have his gravity powers.
Ritsuka grunted trying to pull away, but the enemy in front of him had a very strong grip.
'I know this weapon.' Lee Seng thought as he watched the energy flare in a dark blue color. 'I know this energy!' Ritsuka screamed, letting the katana go and swung straight for Lee Seng's face. Lee Seng jerked backwards, tossing the blade as the familiar person struggled to catch up to him.
"Who are you?!?" Ritsuka shouted.
'It is him.' Lee Seng thought. He could clearly see Ritsuka in the darkness. A large backpack strapped to his back. Ritsuka flexed his hand and re-summoned Obsidian Glass. Lee Seng stuck his hand out at Ritsuka. Ritsuka rushed forward, balancing the heavy backpack with ease as he started to swing at Lee Seng.
"H-hey, it's me! It's Lee Seng!" Lee Seng shouted. Ritsuka's eyes widened and the blade stopped short of Lee Seng's fingers.
"L-Lee?" Ritsuka gasped. "I-it can't be…"
"But it is!" Lee Seng shouted. He shook his hands in front of him, letting out his aura. Silver and gold lit up the area around him, revealing the reduced Fox Spirit and his friend. Ritsuka's hand shook, dropping the blade. He muttered Lee Seng's name in shock, not knowing what to entirely do.
"Lee!" Ritsuka rushed forward, tackling Lee Seng in a hug. Ritsuka tried to keep himself together while Lee Seng squeezed the larger friend. "I thought you were dead! The whole place collapsed and we had to get out! Wh-wh-how?!?" Ritsuka pulled away, holding Lee Seng by his arms.
"It's… a long story." Lee Seng smiled weakly. "It seems like you've been through a lot. You smell."
"Oh." Ritsuka pulled his hands away and took a couple steps back. He lifted an arm and sniffed, smelling the sweat he had built up trying to get back to the camp. He caught Lee Seng scanning him. "I'm on my last pair of clothes, too…"
"Well lucky for you, you reunited with me." Lee Seng smiled.
The two moved to a small opening in the half-alive forest. They sat where a small patch of grass thrived. Ritsuka relieved himself of the large backpack, groaning as he took the time to stretch.
"You look much larger than last time. How're you able to keep muscle in this situation?" Lee Seng asked. The sun had finally peeked from beneath the sky. Ritsuka rolled his arms, wincing at the pent up pain.
"I was with my siblings for a bit." Ritsuka answered.
"Where's the others? Are they with your siblings?"
"They're still in the cabin. They've been waiting for me for about a month and I wanted to come back sooner, but Jiro nii-san wasn't having it."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Have you seen the city?" Ritsuka asked. Lee Seng shook his head. Ritsuka switched arms, slowly rolling the tension out of it. "It's gone into complete chaos. Jiro didn't want me to leave after grabbing a whole bunch of supplies and clothes. He insisted on finding our siblings first."
"I assume you found them since you're here a month later…"
"Yeah, I did… but I'm worried the others are dead. I know they found a whole bunch of water bottles, but knowing Evan and Liz… They're probably going cuckoo right now." Ritsuka stopped stretching and grabbed the backpack. "I need to get back to them."
"Where are they?" Lee Seng asked. "I can grab Manny and Calis and we can—"
"Manny's with you?" Ritsuka interjected. "A-a-and Calis? Did the mad Merman get his memories back?"
"Yes and yes. Calis found me near the lab and with some runic magic dust, I found Manny."
"Some runic magic what?" Ritsuka cocked his head, confused. Lee Seng shook his head and stood up. He turned and pointed in the direction of their cabin.
"Our cabin's over there. We'll get the others and go find our friends." Lee Seng suggested.
"I don't know about that… They've been waiting a month. I'm sure they think I left them with my brother and would never return."
"How long did you say you'd be gone?" Lee Seng asked.
"About… maybe a month…?" Ritsuka shrank and looked away. "Maybe three weeks best?" Lee Seng returned his attention to Ritsuka. He sighed, shaking his head.
"Alright, let's make this quick then. Follow me." Lee Seng turned and started towards the cabin.
"You aren't going to whisk us away to save time?" Ritsuka asked, following after Lee Seng. He studied Lee Seng's form and realized his nine tails weren't there anymore either. "And what happened to your tails?!?"
"You just now noticed?" Lee Seng asked. "It's a long story, but after I got whisked away by the Eyes guy, I sorta died."
"You what?!?" Ritsuka stopped, shouting much louder than anticipated. Lee Seng turned to witness Ritsuka's utter shock. "Y-you died?!? B-but how are you— Is Keng alright then?" Lee Seng slowly shook his head and dread filled Lee Seng's chest as he watched Ritsuka try to process everything.
"Keng was pulled to our Soul world… where he used himself and our tails to restart everything. He revived me after…" Lee Seng grew quiet. His eyes wandered away from Ritsuka, trying to hide the hurt that was still very much there. "After a Failed Experiment broke out of my body."
Ritsuka's eyes widened. He didn't think things could get worse, but here Lee Seng was looking dejected and on the verge of tears. He wanted to say something but nothing would come out. He took a step forward, starting to reach out for Lee Seng, but stopped himself. It was a lot to process. Lee SEng pulled his baggy tank top up and revealed the large scar from his chest and stomach.
"Holy…" Ritsuka's voice shook. Lee Seng dropped his tank top and nodded. "W-where's Keng now? I-is he gone…?"
"If he was gone, I'd be gone, too." Lee Seng answered. He tapped his heart. "He's inside asleep. I lost my powers because the Failed One, 'Son,' took everything when he burst out of me. The only thing I have left is runic magic and my Blessing… It's the reason why this entire place became a desert… I caused it. In my fury, in my grieving… I burnt everything around me to a crisp… I hoped that would be the end to the Failed Ones, but the powerful ones with their Deimon lackeys ran away… They're somewhere out there and I don't know what to do. Do I run away? Do I accept that the Failed 001 killed my father - the Creator - and me? Do I vanish from this Realm?
"But I couldn't really accept that right away." Lee Seng sighed. He looked up at Ritsuka, who was intently listening. "I couldn't abandon everything. I thought I wouldn't care after that, but… I still do. I couldn't - no. I can't leave you guys to fend for yourselves. My Dad went crazy thinking that this so-called 'Mother' of mine would be reunited with her son and lover and live out their lives peacefully. It didn't. She ate my Dad. She summoned the monster inside of me and left me for dead.
"When I didn't die, her Son retaliated in protecting his mother and left with everything I earned…!" Lee Seng's fist squeezed tightly. "I can't even sync with Keng. I tried to meditate but I couldn't do it. Calis only came back because he was worried about Keng. The face he gave me when I told him he was inside me and wouldn't come out because he saved me from death…! What do I do with that? I told my brother's lover that and he-he—"
"It's alright." Ritsuka moved forward and hugged Lee Seng. Lee Seng broke into tears, shaking his head. "Everything will be alright."
"It isn't." Lee Seng sobbed. "I was foolish to think I didn't give a damn about this world and now we're all living like this because I fucked up!" Lee Seng started to push Ritsuka away, but desperately wanted to be comforted. "I-I— I'm a monster."
"You're not a monster. You were never a monster. You are you."
"I'm nobody! I should've just stayed quiet. Out of sight. Out of mind! I should've followed my Dad's orders and just taken the easy way out!" Lee Seng pushed Ritsuka away. Ritsuka stumbled backwards, landing on the floor like a turtle flipped over. "I deserve death… for doing this."
Lee Seng summoned Diminished Sun. The burning blade glowed brightly as Lee Seng pointed it at himself.
"I don't deserve to live. I don't deserve to live. I don't deserve to—"
"NO!" Ritsuka shouted.
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