A World Without Him - Blog Posts

A World Without Him

Chapter 23

Tang doesn't know how long he was trapped for, but he knows it's been long enough, and he wants out. Turns out being stuck with only your own annoying, crazy, and self deprecating thoughts starts to grate on your nerves after a couple hours(?) of nothing but earworms and existential dread coming in regularly.

He would actually prefer some of those voices that were usually here by now, even the hands around his ankles, maybe even the stupid buzzing if it could drown out his own inner voice and get him to wake up. He just couldn't stand all these thoughts and he was just so tired of this place-

A sudden burst shut him up. It was back. The energy from before had come back, zipping around, almost frantically, around him. His eyes shot open, the whiplash from nothingness to something causing his heart rate and breathing to kick into high gear.

Tang had expected the energy to disappear, to slow its pace and fall back into obscurity like before.

This was nothing like that.

The sheer presence it held took his breath away; he could barely keep himself from shaking at the image in front of him. Lights and colors he'd never seen before danced around him, combining and dividing infinity in front of his eyes. Among them, he swore he could see shapes and images flash for a moment inside the swirling cacophony; faces, places, even still frames of what he assumed were major battles were conjured then consumed by the ever-shifting mass.

It was beautiful. It was dangerous. It was powerful. He didn't know what it was. It seemed ethereal. He didn't know what it could do.

His body moved on its own, an arm reaching out towards the mass unconsciously. A small voice in his head screamed at him to stop, to back away, but his body wouldn't listen. Everything fell into the background, his eyes focussed on his hand slowly approaching disaster.

Dread filled his gut, heavy along with anticipation. When the distance finally closed, though, his hand went right through the colorful light, a warm sensation covering his palm.

He watched, transfixed, as a bright orange came from his palm, tinting the surrounding light. It started to spread, staining more and more of the mass a glittery, shimmering orange as the energy was lulled and slowed from the shift.

When he tried to pull his hand away, a sudden weight washed over his body, something similar to a weighted blanket thrown over him, slowly dragging him down in the low gravity.

It was almost unnoticeable if you weren't paying attention, but after feeling absolutely nothing for too much time, you start to notice the little things that change.

He was shocked at the feeling, how the weight seemed to increase slowly but surely. The hand touching the colorful mass was hung above his head as he descended, stuck to the orange lightshow as he seemed to drag it down with him. Another new thing. He didn't like how many were happening at once.

He tried to lift his other hand to move, his legs to kick, to move anything, but they were once again numb to his pleas. The only thing he could feel from his limbs was the warmth on his suspended hand.

The weight on his body only continued to increase as he fell, similar to the feeling of being covered in a bucket of tar, not that he would know anything about that personally…

The heavy pressure enveloped him entirely as he sunk further and further into the void's depths. He felt his eyelids grow heavy, succumbing to the ever-present weight over them as they slowly closed.

His limbs slowly started to become responsive again, similar to when they fell asleep when he passed out at the library too many times and woke up to his head on his bicep, cutting off circulation.

The tingly feeling only grew as the weight became more intense. He felt like pins and needles were constantly stuck into his skin, like a very morbid human porcupine or pin cushion.

Tang couldn't even huff at the image he’d created in his head as everything felt too heavy to move, too uncomfortable to even try.

After a while, he could feel the mass start to glow brighter, muted orange hues shining through his eyelids. To his surprise, he could feel the sparks of energy start up again, quickly detaching from his palm and swirling through the void as it circled his body.

Because of this, he almost didn't notice when he could completely feel his limbs again, how the weight over his body stopped increasing, and when his body finally collapsed onto a hard, solid, surface. He did, though, and he jolted violently at the sudden sensation, his lethargic limbs twinging at the sharp tingling feeling when his body made contact.

He was hit with an odd sense of deja vu as he tried to pull himself up from the cold, hard surface. As soon as he started to move, however, the energy circling his presence violently dispersed, the concentrated form it held earlier fracturing and scattering into specs across the void.

Tang opened his eyes in confusion, blinking away the haze that covered them. When it cleared, the smell of smoke and ash suddenly assaulted his senses. He coughed violently into his elbow, gasping for air as the surface under him seemed to… warp.

Gone was the cool, smooth surface, replaced by rough wooden planks. He could feel ash start to pile up on his skin, the course texture shifting as he tried to sit up. A harsh bump from below jostled him back onto his elbows, sending stray ash flying into the air.

He let out a frustrated huff, coughing once again as the ash burned into his throat. Back on the floor, he could feel the vibrations of motion under his legs and palms, wooden wheels traversing uneven dirt roads. The feeling was oddly familiar, making his brows crease in confusion.

Slowly rising to his knees, he settled into muscle memory, adjusting his position while he leaned on the side of the… wooden cart. Huh. I haven't been on one of these in a while.

Looking around, Tang saw what looked like a nightmare-ish version of the Bellfield square. The buildings were all wrong, starkly different from the tents, stands, and warehouses of the current bellfield. What he remembered to be well built houses and storefronts lined the square instead, either on fire or having taken significant damage as the flames roared on.

Ashes and debris lined the road, oddly far enough away for the cart to pass on by. Holes and craters lined the ground as well, pieces of the earth jutting unnaturally towards the sky.

No…

Tang knows what this place is. He knows what's happened, and has enough common sense to know that he's most likely dreaming. But everything still seems too real.

The familiar way the buildings collapsed from the inside, the way everything from the ground, walls, people had just dented and splintered apart from something no one could register. Everything was the same, down to the minute details of where the fires burned to how the breeze blew the remnants away in sweeps of ash.

Except for something.

There wasn't any blood.

He knew that people had gotten hurt that day, back when he was a boy and was… something. Whatever. It didn't matter why he was there, because what happened regardless is something he knows all too well.

He can almost imagine the mixed smell of blood, burning flesh, and smoke all too well. He gripped the side of the cart harshly, the rough wood digging into his hand. That was another thing he noticed. Why wasn't there any smoke-

*COUGH*

*COUGH COUGH*

A cloud of darkness and heat suddenly covered the cart, blanketing the entire thing, including Tang. He ducked his head as he coughed violently, the smoke worming its way into his lungs. It was overwhelming, making his eyes water as he tried to breathe despite the black cloud of crap and the… smell of blood and burning flesh.

He covers his mouth with his scarf (which seemed bigger than usual) and shudders in a breath, his body shaking at the sudden onslaught as he quickly looks out to the square, paling at what he found. Smoke now covered the area in a thick smog, enveloping everything in its path. From what he could see through the cloud, the pure destruction had turned to a massacre.

Bodies littered the area, some caught under rubble while others bled out on the street. The smell was all too like the one he remembered, scarily so. He was glad the smoke only allowed him to see their silhouettes; he didn't know what he'd do if he recognized the tatters of clothing on the most likely charred remains.

A sudden bump in the cart made him jump and shook him back to the present. It was almost like the cart sunk into the thing blocking the road, a wet squelch sounding as they passed… I don't want to think about what that was.

He breathed slowly through his scarf, trying to reason with himself. It's not real. He thinks. I know that. It's just another one of my horrible, stress induced nightmares due to the stupid military, this stupid town, and it's STUPID WAR with whatever attacked us on the road.

But the smell of rot, burnt flesh, and blood still invaded his senses. He screamed into his scarf.

Readjusting, by then he had realized the cart was going in circles around the oddly-intact fountain in the center covered in blood and ash. Looking ahead, pulling the cart was a seemingly normal brown horse, weirdly unaffected compared to its surroundings.

Looking closer while leaning over the cart to put a hand on its back, he noticed that it wasn't blinking, and he couldn't feel it breathing, either-

A strong gust of wind pushed him back onto the cart, the smoke coalescing around him in a whirlwind of black. His scarf was blown askew as he coughed violently on the floor, eyes watering as he struggled against the wind's current.

When it finally dissipated away from the cart, Tang shoved his scarf back into his face and gulped in giant breaths of (slightly) cleaner air as he sat up.

The cart jolting to a stop brought him back to the moment as he stumbled forward, the horse coughing something horrible as it tried to keep walking, stumbling over every piece of… debris thrown into the road. The sounds of it heaving and coughing were deeply disturbing as it basically echoed through the still, gorey setting.

Tang rushed to set it free of the restraints, struggling against the thick clouds of smoke even with his scarf over his face again. He tried to find a latch, knot, anything to undo the reins trapping the poor creature here, but he couldn't find anything before the horse collapsed onto the ground.

The cart toppled with it, leaning dangerously to one side as he let out a muffled yelp in surprise, gripping the sides of the cart for dear life. He was thrown onto the road, landing on top of stray pieces of wood and stone that dug into his side.

He groaned painfully as he got to his feet. Standing on solid ground again, he noticed how his sleeves seemed longer than usual and how baggy his pants and robe had become, bunching near his loose shoes. He tripped over the fabric more than once as he dragged himself back to where the horse played on the ground, motionless.

He grimaced at the sight as he crouched down next to its head. One hand held his scarf to his face while the other hand reached out to its face, closing its eyes to offer some sort of peace. “I’m sorry.” he mumbled, the odd sense of deja vu he got slipping away as he noticed how scratchy his voice had become from the smoke and how it sounded oddly squeaky.

His eyes scrunched together in confusion, a hand reaching towards his throat. “What was that?” His voice stayed weird, still high, still younger sounding than what it should be.

He stood up, away from where the horse now lied. He walked and walked, ignoring the scent of ash, smoke, and blood as he tried to find a building with at least half of its walls and windows still intact, preferably vacant of any… former inhabitants.

Gravel and chunks of wood caved under his feet, the black flats he usually wore not doing him any favors in terms of padding, especially now that they were a size too big. The warmth of the fires around him licked at his heels and bare skin, similar to holding a fresh bowl of noodles at Pigsy's with your bare hands; nothing too bad, but you know it could become worse if you slipped up.

He's only done it once, spill a bowl of noodles, but the skin on his hand was raw for weeks, leaving him unable to write for the entire duration it was healing. This was incredibly inconvenient as this was when he had started college in Megatropolis, and Pigsy had scoffed every time he came in after class and whined about the injury, calling him a clumsy fool with his head stuck in the clouds.

Pigsy did end up leaving him some fresh bandages and burn cream one night, when the pain started to worsen along with the swelling. He had teased the chef for it, obviously, but he doesn't remember exactly what he said. All he does remember is how red in the face Pigsy had gotten, embarrassed out of his mind as he grumbled all the way back to the kitchen.

The pain didn't seem so bad with him around.

However, this warmth around him now wasn't as comforting.

A small glint of light drew his attention. Tilting his head, he could see it was a shattered mirror lying on the floor. It was inside of a collapsed bakery, counters, chairs, and ovens crumbled and covered in ash. The sight of it sent a pang of hurt to his chest, but he ignored it in favor of getting closer.

Stepping over crumbling bricks and splintered planks, he slowly approached the smoldering shell of the building, making sure he didn't stumble over the debris or his own clothing. As he got up to what used to be the doorway, he silently peered inside, making sure that there wasn't anything lingering in there.

He let out a sigh of relief when he saw nothing moving, carefully stepping in through the rough entrance. The edges of his robe caught onto some bent supports stuck into the ground, not letting him get even a step into the place before he fell forward onto his left shoulder.

Tang sighed heavily into the floor. This is starting to get old. Fast. He thought, rolling to his back onto a decently clear area of the ground. He absently looked through the non-existent ceiling as he rubbed his shoulder, seeing how smoke and ash rose into the air and disappeared into the clouds, fire glowing through the gray in hues of orange and yellow.

Tilting his head to the right, he saw what he had come in here for. It was a long, oval-shaped mirror lying directly under the center of the hole in the roof, probably falling from the bakery's second floor. It was cracked and shattered in many places, covered in large amounts of ash; however, the beautiful frame remained intact.

Before getting up and getting closer, Tang sat up and looked around the bakery more thoroughly. It had only taken one blow, the giant hole above and the small crater in the floor being the only evidence of violence proving it. He saw other items in the crater as well, peering into its depths.

A broken plant vase with burnt flowers, some trophies melted and mangled beyond recognition, pieces of clothing that might have been matching aprons at some point, and some picture frames that weren't so lucky as the mirror, with most of the frames, glass, and pictures themselves being shattered or ripped to shreds.

He slowly dragged himself over to the crater, lowering himself about a foot as he carefully avoided broken glass and the like. Despite how careful he was, however, he still managed to accidentally knee one of the broken picture frames, letting out a hiss. The glass and splinters thankfully didn't cut through the fabric, though.

Sitting back and dusting off his knee of stray grime, he looked down at what he had hit. It was a family photo, parents standing behind the kids where everyone was smiling at the camera wearing matching uniforms that seemed familiar.

He picked the photo up, brushing away the layers of ash that covered it. The old couple seemed distant, eyes clouded with other worries and thoughts with polite smiles gracing their faces. Their hair had Grey streaks, yet was well handled with a bun or a ponytail.

The eldest child, or just the tallest one, stood next to the father; a small turn of the lips is all that's given to the camera, sharp eyes crinkled, annoyed with the activity perhaps. His hair was neat, almost too neat for a child his age, probably around 16 if he had to guess.

The kid standing in front of him was most likely the youngest due to how he stood a foot shorter than any of the other people in the picture. His smile was wide and unwavering towards the camera, some missing teeth becoming noticeable.

Then the kid on the left, the only girl, stood next to the mother, no more than 15. He noticed her eyes first, hazel irises glinting with mirth at the camera as long black hair framed her face-

*CRUNCH*

The photo was crushed in his hands. He balled it up violently, throwing it towards whoever knows where. I got distracted. This is just a dream.

He sighed heavily, focussing back on what he came here for. The mirror was propped up on the crater's slope, covered in ash that he quickly swiped off, slanted not enough for a full body view but enough to see his top half when he stood up.

What he noticed first was how skinny he looked, like he was drowning in his own clothes. That wasn't surprising, but what was was that all his wrinkles were now replaced with baby fat, his hair now infinitely shorter as well.

He raised a hand to his face in shock, feeling to see if that was what he really looked like. He was a teenager again. His age back when this all happened. Back when he couldn't fight back. Back when he wasn't strong enough to protect his friends.

He didn't like that he looked like this again.

Leaning closer, he saw the bags under his eyes he still had today. That never changed, he supposed. The cracks distorted the image, though, with parts of him in all different sections of the broken mirror. He remembered when he broke his own mirror in a fit of frustration, back when he was still in Megatropolis.

That time seemed forever ago, when he sat still and carefully plucked all those shards from his knuckles. He had hit it square in the center, cracks forming and crumbling outward from his weak punch, but this mirror seemed to have a different start.

Trailing the lines of the mirror with his eyes to look for the source, he saw that the cracks led to a small hole in the mirror made by blunt force, maybe from a piece of wood or brick, making a focal point that landed perfectly on Tang’s reflection, right above his heart.

He supposed it was poetic in some way he couldn't think of, mind hazy from the carnage and smoke surrounding everything around him.

However, the little introspection didn't last long. He heard the walls creak eerily before he even knew what was going on, ash displacing from the remains of the higher floor as it started to tilt inwards. His breath caught in his throat as he slowly looked up at what could only be described as something utterly, completely, horrifying.

A figure was suspended in the air, obscured by clouds and clouds of smoke and fire that seemed to wrap around its very being. The only thing visible through the whirling grey and orange was its piercing white eyes as it stared him down through the rubble.

The supports around him creaked in displeasure as the whirlwind around it kicked up, consuming more and more smoke, ash, and blood from the surrounding area. Dust, grime, anything light enough was picked up soon enough, either crumbled or burnt to complete ashes as it joined the tornado above.

The smell of burnt flesh and blood had gotten so much worse, causing him to gag and cough even through the scarf. It got so bad that he had to fall to his knees, letting go of his scarf as he kept dry heaving into the crater now empty of any personal belongings. Only the ashes remained constant, whirling around him with the smoke only making his coughing worse.

The wind howled in his ears, thrashing his loose clothes every which way and deafening his senses. His throat felt like it was on fire, ashes and particles tearing the soft tissue apart in every breath. He had started to choke at one point, his hands clawing at his throat in a pathetic display of helplessness.

Those eyes never left him once. Staring and staring and staring and staring as he faded more and more. Never moving, never talking, never blinking. Tears fell from his eyes in waves, the droplets barely making it an inch before the winds took it away as well.

He was dying. This is what dying felt like. A slow, painful way to go in his memories. He didn't remember this. He was never near the demon who did it. This never happened.

That’s what he thought.

The pain was too real, too specific to be something his brain made up for no purpose, the feeling too familiar to discard as just another part of a wacky nightmare. The surrounding building cracking and crumbling to the clouds of smoke becoming a fixture in his brain as he trembled on the floor barely conscious as the last bit of restraint was pulled away.

Pieces of drywall, brick, and ash came down all at once. Tang closed his eyes as he trembled on the floor. The first time this happened, dread, fear, and helplessness had engulfed him, Allan’s determination being the only thing pulling him through that mess. The second time, he had Cian for support, a voice grounding him to the situation at hand so he could get his ass out of it in one piece with Zach.

Now, though, he only had himself: his weak, cowardly, pathetic self, and wasn't that just a terrifying, dreadful thought to have? That without anyone else to lean on, to rely on, to leech off of, he'd be left for dead even in his own head?

The building collapsed inward over its own weight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tang woke up with a start, an awful crick in his neck making itself known as well. He gulped in the air greedily as he reached a hand up to his throat on instinct. His throat was completely fine, no burning sensations to be felt as he kept breathing heavily.

However, he did feel stretches of raw, tender skin over his neck. Feeling a hand over his neck, it was most likely scratch marks from how thin the marks were, how they slightly burned, and how he could see some redness under his own fingernails, too. Did I do that in my sleep? That seems a bit concerning…

A smack on the side of the truck spooked him out of his stupor, making him jump in surprise and turn towards the noise. “Heya, sleeping beauty! Finally awake?” Rick jokes, leaning on the side of the truck with a piece of rope hanging over his shoulder.

Tang just blinked slowly in response, unsure of what to say. Before he could reply, however, Harrison came up to the other side of the truck with a clipboard, glaring across the vehicle towards the other.

“Step away from my assignment, Rick. I need to give instructions and you can socialize all you like after your head dismisses you back to your tent. Glasses, come with me.” He said curtly, turning away from the truck and starting towards a small tent on the outskirts of what used to be a city if Tang had to guess.

All that was left was scorch marks and rubble, he's guessing something caused by explosives based on the earlier conversation in the medical tent.

Rick rolled his eyes dramatically before walking off with a wave in Tang's general direction. Tang could only huff at the antics before scrambling to get out of the truck and running as fast as he could to catch up with Harrison.

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A World Without Him

Chapter 22

His dream held nothing memorable. The black void had apparently lost its novelty after being dragged into its depths so many times before. Tang's expression held only annoyance as his body spinned and glided through the never-ending darkness.

He didn't want to deal with what he knew would come next. The hands, the voices, the damned buzzing that came in recently.

What he wanted right now was one of those phantom things to appear in front of him, actually consider him a person worth talking to, and answer his questions.

To tell him what this void was even for, how they had access to his head since he knows the reoccurring nightmares and chatter wasn't formed from his mind alone, no matter how those things try to gaslight him into convincing himself overwise.

However, he also knew nothing would come from screaming at the void or cursing these stupid voices out in every curse word he knew, dead languages included. Maybe some of them would understand; he saw the old style of clothing the two spirits had when they showed up at the infirmary.

But it's not like they would talk to him of their own accord (besides Cian, but that thing comes and goes as it pleases and only talks to him when it's amused or wants something. It's a wildcard he doesn't want to think of the implications of), those two he saw were freaking out when he just looked at them.

From the urgency in their voices, Tang doesn't think he has a good chance at a one on one like that again, especially not here.

So, he chose to do the only thing he could: wait, like almost every time before. He crossed his arms, folded his legs, and sat still, eyes closed as the void suddenly reacted to his choice.

It seemed to come alive as he relaxed into its atmosphere, accepting him into its domain. He swore he could feel tendrils of unseen energy suddenly coil and bend around him, letting themselves be seen for the first time. He could sense it slow and accelerate based on unknown variables, how it had potential, how it could be something more if someone just gave its power shape.

It was overwhelming, yet not unfamiliar, like an overenthusiastic relative hugging you a bit too tight. But when he opened his eyes again, everything suddenly stilled, only pitch black as far as he could see.

It was silent, empty, yet again. Tang didn't know what that could mean, or even what that rush before was, but he wanted to figure at least one thing about this place out.

And because of that, he closed his eyes, ignored the warning signs, and tried to coax the energy back out. He sat in silence for a good while, waiting for the familiar energy to return.

Nothing happened for a good while. No spikes in the atmosphere, no familiar feelings, and there weren't even the usual voices or hands crowding his space. It was just quiet. He didn't move to open his eyes, though, as he liked the peace and wanted to stay a bit longer, even with a small bit of paranoia in the back of his mind saying the nightmare would begin sooner or later.

So, he focussed on what he could feel. His hair swayed behind him in the low gravity, stray wisps tickling his neck as the strands went every-which-way. He could feel his clothes do the same, the soft fabric of his sleeves and the ends of his robe billowing away from him…

...My robe?

He slowly opened his eyes once again, looking down at his body. He was no longer in the drab uniform he was given at the sleeping quarters, but instead he was back in his old red, white, and gold outfit.

The fabric seemed brand new as he took a piece between his fingers, nothing like the worn threads of his actual outfit. His shoes, scarf, and gloves were absent, though, while he still had long white socks under his maroon pants.

He calmly unwound his legs, letting them dangle in front of him. Looking closely at the fabric, he could see a small, almost unnoticeable orange sheen over the clothing. Frowning, he lifted his hands to his face seeing the same sheen over his hands, sleeves, and… the bell.

It seems like this piece of shit followed me in here. He thought bitterly, scowling at the bracelet hanging off his wrist. He raised a hand to his hair, running his fingers through the strands.

He still wasn't exactly used to the length, having had short hair for a good decade before it started growing dramatically after LBD. His hand kept trailing through the strands, ending at the middle of his back. And even before then, he'd never had it this long.

He fidgeted with the ends of his hair, lost in thought. He noticed some pieces had become lighter than the others, similar to the highlights he'd seen in Mei's signature hairstyle. However, his were closer to ashy blond than neon green.

Tang wonders if the color was natural. It fits her family’s theme, the whole white, green, and gold palette, so maybe she did it as some self expression while also sticking to her family's rules. She’s also a descendant of the Dragon of the West, so he supposes it's possible to get it naturally from those mythical being genes.

If… when he goes back to Megatropolis, he'll have to ask her himself.

He let go of the strands he was fidgeting with, letting them float in place as he sighed into his palms. Taking his head out of his hands, he glanced around the void once more, trying to see if anything changed while he was stuck in his head. The scholar couldn't see anything different, so he sunk back into himself and crossed his arms with a huff.

He wonders if the voices are gone now, stuck somewhere, unable to interact with him anymore. He saw how panicked they were in the medical tent, and he hasn't been able to hear from any other voices like them afterwards. He wonders if Cian was the person they were talking about, how someone should have blocked the connections from them? The details were fuzzy.

Still, he remembered the clear fear on their faces, how they couldn't let him die just yet. He's supposed to stay away from Cian and the monastery apparently, and Tang is more than happy to avoid both if he could. He could feel it in his gut that interacting with either of those options would not result in something good.

It's not like he can do much else at this point. His bag had most likely been confiscated by those military officials while he was unconscious, so most of that supplies is stuff he's never getting back. He groaned at the thought. All of that work is just gone in the wind now.

He misses his journal the most. All the little notes and scribbles he makes help him to focus, and reading back on them helps keep the memories fresh. Most of the stuff he writes is just about the legends and Monkie Kid's adventures, though, as he likes to portray them on paper the most.

Speaking of the legends, he wonders what is exactly going on with these spirits. The scholar doesn't remember hearing of ghosts matching the descriptions of the spirits he'd seen in any of the myths he's read, and since he is a Certified Scholar Spectacular (name given to him from a 9 year old Mk with a paper badge to match. He kept it in his journal as a bookmark. He really wants that journal back now), he knows that they've never shown up in one.

He thinks they're somehow related to the Golden Cicada and the Great Monk, with the obvious gold and orange colors along with the multiple cicadas popping up in most of his dreams. He just doesn't know how that connects with the rest of the information he’s gotten.

Flickers of memories play in his head as he tries to think of anything tying these things together. Cian had called his visions flares, and that it had his powers before him. If Cian was anything like the other voices, did that mean those two spirits also had powers like his before, too?

How do his powers work in the first place, anyways? How can they be passed down from (most likely) the Great Monk if he had already ascended like in JTTW, and had no possibility of reincarnation?

He rubs the back of his neck, lost in thought. Maybe Cian had lied to him at some point, about anything really, but then how were those voices from the medical tent related?

The truth is, Tang doesn't know.

The declaration hurts his soul, but it's true. He can't link these things to anything he's seen before. Everything is too foreign, too unpredictable where he can't wrap his head around all the stuff piling over one another.

He hates the feeling: being in the dark, not knowing what he's really dealing with. He prides himself on his knowledge, his ingenuity, as it's the only thing that really sets him apart from his friends.

So when that gets taken away from him, he's left scrambling, making situations worse than they already were in an attempt to make them better.

His teeth grind together as his hands grow tight on his arms, the unpleasant thought wriggling under his skin. Maybe I shouldn't have stayed here for so long. Nothing good has come out of this place so far, anyways. He thinks, looking out into the unchanging darkness; it's still empty.

He didn't know what he was expecting.

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A World Without Him

Chapter 21

Tang only got a few seconds to process what exactly he was stuck with before he was hauled up by the back of his uniform shirt and onto his feet. He stumbled forward at the sudden force, broken glass crunching beneath his feet.

The scholar blinked indignantly at the rough handling, but he couldn't even get a huff of displeasure in before the soldier was already walking out of the curtained area and gunning for the front exit. Tang couldn't hide his annoyance as he groaned loudly into his hands and started to go after the guy, wiping his face with his sleeve while he tried to follow.

Every one of his steps crunched on the stone floor, somehow powering over all the other noises in the medical tent as he tried to pursue the guy, glass shards almost definitely embedded into the soles of his boots now.

It was uncomfortable, but the growing sense of exhaustion quickly drew more attention. He’d already been drained from that ghost intervention, but he didn't realize how badly he was affected until he couldn’t even take two steps without his lungs burning up. Tang knew that this was a losing battle.

He leaned on one of the empty beds when his head started pounding and looked ahead with bleary eyes. Squinting, he only saw a glimpse of how the soldier seamlessly passed by the staff and wandering patients, seemingly dead focussed on getting out as fast as possible with practiced ease.

The scholar could only grit his teeth as he pushed himself back onto his feet as the body's silhouette got smaller and smaller. As he tried to move forward, his body became more slow and lethargic; he felt disconnected to his limbs, almost numb.

I guess there just had to be side effects for anything giving me a boon here. He thought bitterly, pushing himself forward. He could barely keep the guy in focus as he was already so far ahead while he tried to dodge and swerve to get to the exit himself, noticing the feeling was achingly similar to the streets back in Megatropolis.

Pushing the small feeling to the back of his mind, Tang saw that the soldier was no longer in his line of sight, most likely frolicking outside in the grass while getting further and further away from his tag-along.

Tang clenched his fists at the thought and if you were to ask anyone in the vicinity, they would have said that smoke was billowing out of his ears. Tang silently prayed that he would make the trip to wherever he's being forced without his legs giving up and moving to the Bahamas because of unsafe working conditions.

He huffed a bit at the thought as his legs started to twinge even worse, almost as if they were dignifying his thoughts with a response. Tang just frowned, pushing himself past one more staff member before he was finally in front of the exit. He took no hesitation in pushing the tent flap open and stepping outside, the dirt cushioning the glass in his soles.

A breeze kicked up at his exit, blowing wisps of hair behind him as he quickly walked a few feet before plopping himself down onto the ground, relishing in the feeling of his legs not giving in their two weeks notice. This, along with the nostalgic feeling of grass swaying in the wind, helped him relax.

He squinted up at the darkening sky af6er a moment, seeing how rish blue started to fade into vibrant hues of magenta and navy. As the sun was no longer visible beyond the treeline, electric torches started being lit all across the clearing pathways, giving everything a soft yellow glow as the area began to darken.

Tang just sat still at the view, taking in the scenery as fragments of memories flooded into his mind. A glance at the willow tree showed its hanging branches swaying in the wind, a single torch laying under it for some light amongst the grass. He put his elbow onto his knee and leaned into his hand for a better position, even if he knew there was nothing stopping the pain he would feel from his hunched position.

Behind him, a surprisingly soft voice knocked him out of his trance. “It's almost beautiful by itself, isn't it? If you can ignore the lake filled with mush and the tents covering every inch of solid ground with patrolling officers.”

Tang sucked in a breath and snapped his head to the voice, half-expecting it to have come from his own head and for nothing to be behind him. Instead, he saw Harrison leaning against the monastery wall, a blank look in his eyes as he looked over the clearing.

Tang didn't know how to react, giving the guy a blank stare as he tried reasoning in his head. Did he wait for me here? I thought he really didn't like me. That’s surprisingly nice considering he looked seconds away from maiming someone a couple of minutes ago…

He didn't know what to respond with, only opening and closing his mouth as no words actually came out. He eventually decided not to say anything and looked back towards the clearing, his eyes trailing back to the willow tree. He heard footsteps approaching after a minute, stopping right next to him as Harrison spoke up yet again.

“We need to get moving. Make sure to keep up this time.” He mumbled, reaching a hand down for Tang to grab. The scholar hesitated for a moment before grabbing the offered hand and being hoisted up again, much more smooth and comfortable than the first time.

Harrison quickly let go as Tang got to his feet, brushing past him and heading towards the dirt stairs now illuminated with torch light. The scholar blew a piece of hair out of his face before following right behind, his hands unconsciously starting to fidget with the bell on his wrist.

He tried his best to keep close behind this time, never letting the guy more than 2 feet away from him lest he lose his next guide and get lost in the labyrinth of white fabric. He did trip more than once on the uneven ground trying to keep up, but if Harrison noticed it, he didn't care to mention it as he only kept his head forward.

As the walk went on, the talk with those voices(? Spirits? Ghosts? He didn't exactly know what they were still) pushed to the front of his mind as he got more used to the white noise of the camp, replaying the conversation over and over as he tried to find anything useful he didn't already know.

All he could remember in detail was not to go to the Monastery, avoid Cian as much as he could, and basically nothing else. He frowns at the memory, millions of questions flying through his mind at what was going on.

He did know they had some sort of master, though, maybe a higher up who also put them in charge of watching over him. But why did he need watching over in the first place? (The job itself seemed like a punishment, though, considering those voices were obviously displeased with the work.) What deities are they most likely working with, and who exactly is the master they were referring to?

He doesn't have much to go on. Maybe that's the point, though, as those beings seemed shocked that he could hear and see them while all the info they did reveal was mostly slipped out by the younger looking one in a panic.

The more he tries to think about those things, his powers, Cian’s whole deal, and the apparent upcoming demonic war going on at his hometown if the vague (and straight up) threats from human military with whole towns being blown up are anything to go by… he really just wants to go back to Megatropolis, sit down at Pigsy’s and talk that grumpy cook’s ear off with Sandy, Mei, and Mk while scarfing as many noodles as he can down his throat.

However, he knows he needed to go somewhere other than there; that staying any longer would either break him, or cause trouble to the people around him. He knows what's been going on is most likely highly dangerous with the burn marks, strange dreams, and magic voices floating around his head among other (terrible) things giving some indicators.

He really wishes that it could all go away, that one morning the voices, dreams, and stupid bell would all just disappear. But it can't, not really, unless Mk's mentor has been storing up some magical cure or curse that could cancel out the presumed magic in that cave somewhere.

He wishes that he could go straight to his friends, ask for help, get all the support he could ever want, and end up ok. But it's not like that would happen. They would definitely try to help, of course, they're his friends. However, what could they really do for this? What could they do for the voices? The outbursts? He doesn't even recognize what's happening himself, and he's the certified scholar of the group who's read every legend and story he could get his hands on!

Another problem is that he still doesn't know the extent of how bad his magical episodes can get, if he can even control them, if he could stop them from happening, if he could actually hurt his friends during one of them.

Mk would probably be alright, he's got a good amount of Monkey King's powers with decent durability and is on an all time high right now after LBD got put into the ground. But he can't exactly be that sure for the others, or the city, for that matter.

He remembered what happened during one of his episodes, the foggy memory bubbling to the surface; glass scattered all over the streets and sidewalks. The shards silently crashed onto the unforgiving floor. Did anyone get hurt from that? Did that actually happen?

Tang couldn't remember. No faces came to mind, no news report on the TV or gossip overheard on the street were talking about it. But he can't be too sure, as almost everything after the Megatropolis Library fell was shaky at best and he wasn't exactly focussing on his surroundings.

The Library still hangs heavy in his mind. The screams, the crumbling ceiling, Allan, the poor kid, Mk… he still doesn't know exactly how to feel about that, either. He's seen Mk be reckless before. Hell, he's seen entire buildings go up in smoke trying to destroy one villain, but he never batted an eye. Never really thought about the “collateral damage”.

Until he experienced it. The fear, not even from the fight itself, but from the careless swings that could send tons of rubble towards them at any moment. The fighting style solely focussed on the opponent, uncaring if the missed shots or flying bodies caused damage to the city as long as the enemy stayed down.

That was something so different from the fear he's experienced before. Something so different compared to facing a common foe. Those are straight up. You know what you're getting into, that these guys will try and take you down however they see fit. You know they're trying to stop you, that you have to stop them in turn. You can run, hide, fight, do whatever in combat, adrenaline keeping you standing until you can get away or win at least.

But that moment in the library was something so raw, from not knowing what could happen next, that powers beyond your control could send something crashing down at you at any second, and you couldn't do anything to stop it. That powerlessness, that feeling of dread growing bigger and bigger every time a piece of the ceiling or wall crashed to the ground, was eating him alive from the inside out.

Tang wouldn't want that to happen again, especially not because of him. That was a big factor in why he left, the faint feeling of hopelessness eating at his insides when he's alone with his thoughts for too long.

He frowns at the depressing thoughts, feeling his eyes start to burn again. He knows he should take more time to take these thoughts in, to take them seriously and pick them apart, but he's not exactly in the right environment to do so at the moment as he looks up and notices they’re nearing the edge of the clearing.

He rubs his eyes before focussing back into his surroundings. The glass in his soles still grate onto the floor uncomfortably, but it's lessened by the softer dirt path he's currently walking on. Looking past Harrison, Tang can make out a few vehicles lined up next to each other, most likely trucks based on the cargo beds full of people in each of them.

When they finally get close enough, Harrison leads him to a half empty truck and gestures half-heartedly for him to get in. He walks away quickly after and starts to talk with a different soldier in the driver's seat of the first truck, leaving Tang to awkwardly hoist himself up and onto the cargo bed.

He doesn't recognize anyone in the truck, and he’s silently grateful for that as he doesn't think he can take any social interaction at this point in time. He sits down a decent amount away from the other passengers as he sags in relief at finally getting a longer break.

He does jump slightly as the tailgate of his truck gets slammed shut almost immediately after he gets comfortable, but he quickly relaxes again from the utter exhaustion creeping back into his body.

As the trucks get started and slowly start moving forward, Tang can barely keep his eyes open any longer as he starts to succumb to his fatigue. His eyelids droop as he lazily watches the trees swish by and the torches from the clearing get duller and duller until they're fully covered by the foliage.

He wraps his arms around himself as the breeze comes by again, causing a chill to run up his spine. But that's not enough to stop his eyelids from closing completely and his mind to finally take a rest from the day's events, drawing him into a deep, deep slumber as more trees roll on by, branches and leaves shaking in the wind almost like a lullaby.

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A World Without Him

Chapter 20

They stared. Stared and stared and stared and stared. They seemed frozen in shock, almost as if they had finally succumbed to the surrounding area's influence.

Tang didn't know what to do. Should he run? Shout? Try to blink this place away like it came to him in the first place? He didn't know. He couldn't figure out what to do. He should know what to do. But he didn't know anything.

What are they gonna do to me!? Oh my god oh my god oh mY GOD OH MY GOD- Can they touch me, take over me, KILL me?! AUUUUGH, I DON'T KNOW!

Cold sweat dripped down his neck, seemingly unaffected by the area as Tang took in short, raspy breaths. His throat felt as if it were on fire, and his eyelids begged him to shut, but he couldn't risk moving. He didn't want to trigger a response from whatever these things were. He didn't know what they could do.

This silent stand-off only continued. No one moved for what seemed like an eternity, the surroundings actually showing change from how long this had gone on for. The curtains parting behind the figures as a small syringe fell through a gap, slowly falling towards the hard, unforgiving floor.

Yet Tang stayed still, meeting the harsh gazes as if he was worried they would disappear out of view with the slightest coverage. His body started to shake as his hands gripped together so tight he would have been worried for blocked blood flow if not for this staring contest. The pain kept him focussed.

The syringe continued its descent as Tang started to waver. His jaw clenched as he tried to stay focussed, keeping him from changing the scene once again. His eyelids still started to fall, though, slowly encompassing more and more of his vision until he could no longer hold out. He was only human, after all.

As soon as he closed his eyes he shot them open once again, scared out of his mind now that the figures were out of his sight. The figures were gone, leaving empty air in their wake. His eyes immediately locked onto the syringe that kept its descent, still falling ever so slowly.

He wasn't out of the clear yet.

His breathing became more exasperated and frustrated as his eyes scoured the room, trying to find where those bastards hid now. He started standing up when his eyes failed him, his eyebrows pinching together in stressed concentration.

This finally brought them back out. Orange suddenly filled his vision as he tried to stand up, causing him to yelp and fall back into his chair. His limbs felt heavier than before, but he was too focussed on the blaring face of fear in front of him as the syringe continued to fall indoors the commotion.

“Oh fuck, he can definitely see us. Do you know what this means!? HE, CAN, SEE, US. That means our predictions all came to shit, and we wasted our time out here for all those years we could've been- UGHHHHH, we are so FUCKED when the Master hears of this!”

The face turned back and forth from focussing on Tang to focussing on the other figure, getting more hysterical as its mouth kept pouring out nonsense.

What are they going on about!? Masters, predictions, what even are these guys!?

However, through the sporadic jumble coming from the first one to the concerned expression on the other, they didn't seem hostile. They brought an odd sense of warmth now that they're closer to him. Tang was still weary, though, so he continued to stay put on his chair and tried to make out what this thing was saying. The syringe spun and flipped through the air, now only a foot above the ground as it seemed to fall faster.

“... and we thought the first time he was taken over that he had no aptitude! Master had to guide this doormat himself to even defeat that ice queen bitch, and even then it was just a combination circle! Is this why that bastard in the Between wanted this guy so badly!? What should we even do-”

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH. He isn't deaf, you know!” The older one shouted suddenly as he gestured to Tang, causing them both to look back at him while the poor scholar froze on the spot. “Now stop that running river of a mouth, and let's fix our mistakes. It clearly doesn't have a strong hold over him yet since he can see us now. You.” He suddenly addressed, looking at Tang with conviction as he pointed a finger straight to his face.

The scholar’s brows pinched together in worry. “Me???” He answered hysterically. The older figure moved quickly to crouch face to face with Tang. “We don't have much time here. I can't explain everything going on inside your head,” He started, quickly pointing at Tang’s forehead with a bony finger.

In the scholar’s peripheral vision, the blacks and whites started to fade, leaving small amounts of color. That can't be good. “But you must know that Thing that you're bound with cannot be trusted. It takes, it harms, it consumes everything it can get ahold of. We've had many like you before, trying to harness its power for mortal gain, but it never ends well.”

The tattered clothing of the older figure suddenly rammed into Tang's mind again, how this figure seemed to have almost been torn completely apart, similar to the cracks throughout the skin of the other figure.

“You must stay awake for all of our sakes. Don't let that menace back into your body, no matter what hellscape you might find yourself in.” It had a look of pure rage as it spat the warnings out, this emotion being the most prominent that Tang’s seen of it this entire time. The syringe is only a few inches off the ground, the blue liquid contained within it gaining back its hue.

“Don't let that thing manipulate you, control you, TALK TO YOU.” The other interjected, pushing the older one aside as the surroundings started to gain color rapidly.

“You need to make sure that it doesn't sink its teeth into you further.”

Indignation filled Tang as these warnings only gave more questions, more of the unknown that he couldn't predict. “THEN WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?! YOU SAID I'M STUCK WITH IT BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!? HOW DO I GET IT TO GO AWAY!? IS IT THIS STUPID SCRAP OF METAL?!” He stands up harshly, waving the wrist with the bell in front of the figure's faces. The syringe falls and falls and falls as Tang’s legs refuse to cooperate, buckling underneath him.

“No, no, NO. We need more time-”

“Stay in the village and avoid the monastery at all costs! WE NEED YOU ALIVE-”

*CRASH*

The syringe connects with the floor as Tang hits the ground, pieces of glass quickly covering the ground. He looks up wildly, seeing all the eyes look towards his hunched figure. Red Hair is back in her seat, her clipboard nowhere in sight as Manex hovers over his form from behind.

His eyes water so much that streaks flow down his face in waves, his knees aching from the collapse as his ears ring from the sudden influx of sounds. Through blurry vision, Tang sees Zach asleep in the bed. A voice knocks him back into this reality.

“Why is the staff rushing outside?” The old man asks, slowly standing up and pushing the glass shards away with his cane without a care as he looks outside. Manex quickly walks up to join him, having to dodge another staff member when he barreled out of the tent with numbers of supplies in his arms.

Now that Tang is focussing again, he hears shouting all across the tent from medical staff, heavy footsteps drowning out most of the current patients groans or cries. Aggressive Guy shoots his head up with a concerned look, a hand hovering over his M17 pistol cautiously while Red Hair does the same.

One staff member slowed down in front of the tent after a few more ran out in a panic, focussing only on the old man. Fear was clearly painted on her face. “A second surprise attack was issued after the initial attack on the Waning District which took out most of the cleaners and remaining soldiers on site. We need all hands on deck as there may be even more casualties under the rubble that the cleaners hadn't gotten to yet.”

She gave a slight bow of her head before she rushed off with the others. Manex bit her lip as the old man sighed. “Why can't they just let us have this? What more can they take from me?” He leans on his cane and rubs his nose bridge in frustration.

Red Hair and Aggressive Guy both stand up quickly, their stature secure and ready for orders. “Harrison and Smith, you both go and survey the damage while protecting the medical staff and remaining cleaners from anymore attacks. Manex, you come with me to the HHC.”

The old man then looks down at Tang’s pitiful form, a cold and curious look crossing over his face as he narrows his eyes. “And you, lucky prisoner, will join the cleanup mission. They may need someone to look out for triggers, be an extra pair of hands, or scream when the next attack might come. Now go along with Harrison. I promise he doesn't bite. Much.”

The old man then exited the tent with Manex following close behind and Smith along with them. Now it was only Tang and Harrison still in the room, and this guy's face is the complete opposite of happy. A single tear ran down the scholar’s face. I’m so screwed.

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A World Without Him

Chapter 19

The air around them stilled, heavy with anticipation. Tang just held his hands together and bowed his head, trying to avoid the stares from everyone around him. When the silence from these people started to go on for a bit too long, he took a chance and glanced up at the bed, seeing Zach staring right back at him. The kid's face was contorted into some sort of grimace.

Aggressive Guy spoke up first. “Are we gonna start this thing, or are we just gonna sit around with our heads up our asses?”

A glare was shot at him from Red Hair, but the old man across from Tang just gave a small chuckle at the outburst. “Alright. I suppose everyone here must have a lot on their mind as we haven't had to do this sort of thing before. Why don't you give us a start, Ms. Manex?” The man asked with a small smile, both his hands settled on the wooden cane in front of him.

The soldier next to Tang stiffened and blinked a few times at the statement. Regaining herself quickly after, she gave a quick nod to the man and gestured to Red Hair. Once Red Hair gave the clipboard away, Manex stepped slowly up to the bed, staring intently at the papers in her hands.

She gave a quick cough before starting her questions. “Ahem. To start off, I want you to confirm the information given to our medical staff to stave off any misunderstandings. Your name is Zach Song, correct?”

The kid answered with what sounded more like a wheeze than anything, his eyes squinting at her as he did so. Manex bit her lip and kept her eyes glued onto the clipboard. “Uhm, I'm sorry, but could you repeat that for me?”

He wheezed again, louder and more scratchy than before as he turned his head to the side to face her, revealing bloody bandages lining his neck and chest. Tang grimaced at the sound, still staring at the floor himself while squeezing his hands tighter together.

Manex, however, seemed to be frozen in place. Her lip was close to bleeding with how much force she was using as she only stared at her clipboard, motionless.

The old man observed as Red Hair carefully stood up and turned Manex away from the bed. She took the clipboard back into her own hands and positioned Manex back at her place next to Tang, turning back to the bed herself as Aggressive Guy scoffed in the background.

Red Hair glanced at the old guy, her silent question acknowledged with a slow nod from him. At the confirmation, she carefully leaned down next to Zach's head and whispered something into his ear. A quieter wheeze was what she got, but she seemed to understand it as she wrote something down onto the clipboard.

‘Oh… oh this is not good.’

‘I think you'll need to specify exactly what fucked up situation you're talking about here big guy.’

The whispered questions and scribbling from Red Hair were immediately turned into background noise as Tang heard the first word from them. Good thing his face was locked towards the stone floor or else he would've probably been jumped for the pure exasperation stuck on his face.

‘What do you think? We're already in some deep trouble for letting that monster make contact with this supposed “waste of time” like you said.’

Tang rubs his eyes under the glasses, content in letting the voices run their course like usual. But still. The buzz of the voices, cries from patients, and the scribbling on that clipboard were all overlapping and starting to become too much for him and his head.

Or at least, that's what he assumed when his hearing started to shorten in and out and when his surroundings started to blur into monochrome blobs. He sighed internally as he continued to rub his eyes, hoping it would anchor his mind.

Blinking once again, he looks ahead at the foot of the bed. Everything has come back into focus now, but it seemed like the colors around them had been dulled, almost into grayscale. His eyes shoot open at the sight. This was all too familiar.

The room had turned almost eerily silent; it was especially noticeable with the background noise vanishing along with the scribbling. Everyone around him seemed stuck in slow motion, like Red Hair’s ponytail staying frayed out from a previous swish of her head and some staff running outside that were stuck mid-air through the crack in the curtains.

However, this was also different as there was still one thing he could hear properly. The two voices were still arguing at the same intensity, but now they didn't seem like they were stuck in his head. No, they echoed over the layout, and he could guess where they were as wisps of orange light swayed at the edge of his vision, painfully obvious now that world turned monochrome.

Tang didn't want to look up. He didn't want to see what was lingering in front of him. Do they see me? Do they even notice what's happening? What if they discover I can hear them!? They already seem pretty peeved at each other. Maybe they're too invested in the argument to see anything else. Maybe they wouldn't notice if I took a quick look?...

He was heavily tempted by the idea. Finally being able to see the two voices who were lingering near him since the beginning of his power surges? Now that might finally give him some answers on who these guys were and what they're doing in his head.

Cian itself could only really yank his bracelet really hard physically while keeping most apparent secrets to itself, and he would rather risk just a glance at the two voices for potential information than continue under the pressure of the medical tent for how much longer.

Gaining the courage, Tang steeled himself and slowly lifted his eyes off the floor. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't what he saw.

Both voices were seemingly floating in front of Tang, still fighting animatedly floating above the bed while thankfully not paying attention to Tang himself. Their figures seemed very similar to Cian’s, translucent orange skin and white eyes matching its appearance to a tee. There were some stark differences, though.

The one on the left had relatively simple clothing, loose pants and a matching traditional button down shirt with straw sandals as its choice of dress along with medium length messy hair. It seemed to have cracks along its skin like porcelain, almost as if its body had been dropped too hard onto a hard surface. It also raised its voice louder than the other with clear aggression on its face even without irises or pupils.

The one on the right had more elaborate yet messy clothing, with a tattered embroidered robe, ripped silk pants, and dirty cloth black boots along with longer, thinner hair waving behind it freely along with its long beard. It gave a gaze of contempt towards the other, while interjecting snide remarks with its shrill voice.

Tang didn't know how to react other than staring blankly at the two. This is what they looked like all this time? He didn't imagine them to look so… human. Cian had an almost ethereal and familiar atmosphere to it, wavy hair and loose untouched clothing to match the flowey speech it used.

In contrast, these two seemed to have come drunk from some type of costume party. They didn't even seem all that familiar other than the recognition from their voices, the faces unfamiliar to Tang before this moment

Now he really wanted his sketchbook. He wanted to draw them and jot down notes and theories of what they could be and why they're in his head.

He didn't even realize one of the voices had gone silent as he focussed on the other subconsciously and tried to engrave all of these details into his head, occasionally clocking back into the argument they were still having to see if they would give any less vague answers.

“... and now we're stuck HERE. Literally the worst place someone like him could be in when we're trying to- UGH. Nothing even matters anymore! We already failed, do we still need to be stationed here when he can't even connect with us now due to that prick’s influence?” The one on the left was still speaking, seemingly not stopping anytime soon.

“It’s like they're punishing us specifically for not anticipating the break. And we're not even- hey. Hey, why are you ignoring me?! I have some issues I need to vent out right now, and if you're going to give me that stupid self-righteous silent treatment again-”

Then it suddenly fell silent; the absence of the noise made the ringing in Tang’s ears more prominent. Its body immediately tensed when it noticed something to its side. Tang found out why as he focussed back into the full picture.

The one on the right had turned its head, fully making eye contact with Tang with an expression of shock and slight fear frozen on its face. Its colorless eyes bored into him as the other slowly turned its head to do the same.

They became entirely still, almost as if the monochrome world around finally took effect.

Now, Tang had caught their undivided attention.

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A World Without Him

Chapter 18

Tang barely had any time to process what the soldier said before she started moving away, managing to get further and further out of reach before he could even respond. He scrambled to catch up, tripping more times than he could count from the bumps and potholes in the road.

She said Zach woke up. If it was that fast, his injury must not have been that serious. I'm glad he's ok. Hopefully he'll be well enough to speak. Thoughts like this filled his head as he caught up to her. He was being taken down the main road, and the soldier, thankfully giving Tang's ankles and psyche some semblance of rest, eventually slowed her pace for him and didn't say anything else.

He took a minute to catch his breath next to her, holding a hand over his chest as they went past many people working for the day. He saw patrolling guards chatting with each other, workers transporting goods in wooden crates, and many other people cleaning buildings or reinforcing the barricade set up between the trees.

Wait, there's a barricade? Tang did a double take, staring at the giant wooden configuration behind all the greenhouses and work buildings. He… never noticed it before. It's no wonder why those officials were so uptight at my arrival. How did I get past that thing unnoticed?...

Squinting his eyes and looking closer beyond the camp, he could see the outline of a huge, wooden wall situated in the surrounding forest. It had almost twice the amount of soldiers patrolling it compared to the main area, and all of them wore strange masks on their faces unlike everyone inside. Each one had the exact same pattern: bright neon coloring with a complex symbol repeated over the dark fabric.

As soon as he saw them, Tang noticed his gut start to sink subconsciously. A feeling of something being just out of place burrowed into his head as he continued to stare at the masks. He just couldn't take his eyes off of them, and yet, looking at those things for too long was starting to make his skin crawl uncontrollably.

This feeling got so intense that he didn't even realize he had stopped walking. His eyes were hollow as his surroundings blurred, the initial fatigue and mission forgotten in the huge surge of unease. He probably would've stayed that way, too, if not for a hand landing violently onto his shoulder, bringing him back to reality.

He spun away sharply from the wooden border and toward the hand's source, blinking dumbly when he and the guide were face to face again. Her eyes narrowed at him, the strong grip on his shoulder grounding him in place.

“What are you doing?” She asked suspiciously, glancing to where he was staring so intently at.

Tang waved his hands in surrender, quickly trying to come up with an excuse. “Oh! Well, erm, I was just looking at all the new places and people here. Never a dull moment when everyone is constantly moving and doing something around this place. This is really the first time I've seen more of the area after all that lifeless busy work, so I guess I got a bit overwhelmed at the-”

“Ok, ok. Let's just get going. He doesn't like when people are late.” She interrupted, letting his shoulder go and turning back to the road. Tang decided to ignore that very ominous comment at the end for his own (fickle) sanity, now focussing on anything other than the barricade or whatever would be close to it. This apprehension eventually led him back to his guide.

Small details filled his brain as he observed, hands itching for his sketchbook to let his hands do something. From a quick once-over, the woman seemed to be no older than 30, with her silky black hair tied into a tight bun and her gray eyes filled with trained apathy, any of her thoughts or emotions hidden away from onlookers.

He also noticed she seemed highly ranked. She had a hat like the Head Soldier, and it was one that had more badges and stripes on it as well.

Looking away from the soldier in front of him, Tang let his legs rest while taking slow, careful steps. The soldier then stayed with his rhythm, never letting him get too far behind in his fluctuating pace. After a while of walking, he startled to fiddle with the bell on his wrist as his mind drifted from the guide, getting distracted by the surrounding area again. He didn't look past the buildings now.

Anyways, he saw in real time how the developed buildings thinned out as tents or dirt training grounds overtook the leftover space. The other soldiers on these grounds seem to have just started their afternoon drills, running laps, shooting guns at targets, and holding planks as the duo walked past.

They never did stop for any of these new settlements, though, just calmly walking further and further past them, with all of those places also eventually thinning out leaving only the forest and wooden barrier. Only after even the hum of shouted drills and stomping feet faded into the background, did the guide finally stop her pace and turn to face Tang.

“We're going to an undisclosed location for the meeting with your companion. Since it is located outside of this base, I'll need you to wear a blindfold for the rest of our trek. This is just a safety precaution, so please try not to struggle.” She said curtly while leading him aside and right onto the edge of the surrounding forest.

She then pulled a long piece of navy cloth out of one of her many pockets while Tang nervously took off his glasses and hung them on his uniform collar. He couldn't see anything clearly without them, and it wasn't like he could memorize the entire layout of the woods from one trip, but he was betting that the soldier wouldn't trust his words as far as she could throw him. (Well, he might have to rephrase that as from her arms alone, as she looks like she could definitely throw him at least a few feet if needed)

She quickly wrapped the cloth around his head, tying a knot in the back so tight that Tang couldn't see even the tiniest slivers of light coming through it. “Thank you for your cooperation. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but we don't have any leniency for leaks. I'll try my best to keep you from tripping or hitting anything on our way there.”

Her voice had the barest hint of emotion as she apologized. It was noticeable compared to her cold demeanor from when she first walked up to him: a small pang of sympathy in her tone. Tang just nodded his head, hopefully in her direction as he guessed from her previous apology.

She then, slowly and gently, grabbed his wrist and started to walk into the forest brush. It was a strong hold, but one that wasn't bruising or harsh against his raw skin. Tang was grateful for the small mercy as they continued.

They had a small stop at what Tang assumed was the barrier, his guide whispering with what was probably a guard before said guard opened up what sounded like a heavy door, based on how it dragged on the dirt floor, and let them through.

The sounds of the rustling leaves and the small chirps of birds were the only things Tang could make out clearly. The breeze that made the sound ruffled his clothes, blew dead leaves through the air, (with some smacking Tang straight in the face due to his loss of sight. One leaf even made it down his throat and he had to cough for a solid minute, hunched against a tree with the soldier patting his back hard to get it out) and left his loose wisps of hair to wave in the wind as he walked.

The guide didn't say or do much other than lead him through the forest, but she did mutter small warnings for roots to step over or branches to duck under (which he would be grateful for if not for her lack of warning for the flying leaves of all things. Maybe that was on him for almost dying to something as stupid as that, though). He didn't want another face full of dirt or whatever else there was in here.

But it's not like he's in a place where he can complain.

After being made to take too many nonsensical detours and sometimes even backtracking more times than he could count, the scenery around them finally started to change. The ground of dead leaves and dirt smoothed out into plain grass as he was apparently led out of the forest.

The guide then put a hand on his chest, signaling him to stop, and let go of his wrist, leaving Tang for a second before speaking up, now behind him. “We've arrived.” Was the only thing she said as she undid the blindfold.

His eyes were immediately overwhelmed at the harsh sunlight, leaving Tang squinting hard and blinking out the spots. Once his eyes adjusted, he reached for the glasses on his collar and put them on, readying himself for what he was about to see.

Tang's reaction was immediate. His eyes, initially slightly curious and tired, were now high sprung and alert, flicking from place to place as he looked over what was before him.

The area seemed as if it was flattened out, most of the ground being only flat grass with the trees circling around the cutout. That was except for two hills, one straight ahead and the other to Tang's left, and a lake, or what was left of it with the water being less than a foot deep, to the right.

On the left hill stood a dead willow tree, a bizarre sight as the surrounding wood was mostly pine. However, the center hill is what really caught his eye. It was big, at least 5 feet tall, and was more of a slope down as it took up half the cutout.

On top of it was a giant stone monastery with cracks, vines, and other signs of wear scattered around showing its age. It had a wide arch as an entrance, with dirt steps carved out of the hill it was atop leading up to it.

Oh no. Was Tang’s only thought. It repeated over and over in his head as he was grabbed by his wrist yet again and was led toward the huge building. There were other smaller setups next to the building, but he didn't pay attention to them. The huge stone menace burned into his brain, invoking emotions deep down in his gut he thought he had long forgotten.

They had reached the dirt stairs in no time. Each step put a load onto Tang’s shoulders as he couldn't stop his emotions and thoughts from overflowing and filling his head with jumbled garbage he couldn't make any sense of. They just kept getting closer and closer, and he didn't want to know what would happen to him when he went past that entrance if this was his reaction to merely looking at it.

His stomach dropped as they reached the top. He craned his neck up to look at the intricate detailing lining the archway, moving his head away from what was past this point. He braced himself for what was to come, his hands clammy as he clenched his fists in anticipation.

They walked forward…

And then turned to the right.

Tang’s whiplash from deep dread to straight up confusion caused him to blink hard a few times to regain his bearings. Looking back up, they were still walking along the side of the monastery, not going inside as he had thought. He turned his head back behind him, seeing the archway getting farther and farther away.

A huge feeling of what seemed to be relief filled his senses, letting him focus back onto where they were actually going. Twisting his head back to the front, he saw that up ahead was one of the biggest tents he had ever seen in this camp.

It was almost triple the normal size compared to where he was being monitored, and had more workers surrounding as they ran in and out rapidly, delivering or taking many things at once. One even ran past them, almost bumping into him, and towards the entrance of the monastery with what seemed like a pile of used needles.

Tang already had a good idea of what this place was supposed to be even before being ushered into the tent. The inside was even crazier than the outside. Rows of beds lined the interior as people dressed in white ran around either preparing equipment or checking up on a current patient.

Countless grounds and cries echoed through the tent, though this noise was something Tang was used to by now. This didn't seem like the case for his guide, though, as she scrunched her brow and held onto his wrist a bit tight as she pulled him through the chaos.

Many different patients and injuries flew by him as they ran through. Burns, amputation, concussions, and major lacerations were the main things he could catch glimpses of through all the medical personnel. This made him wonder why these people were in such bad shape in the first place.

But he wasn't able to ask before he was suddenly pulled away and into a section near the back closed off by multiple white curtains. Soldiers were also situated right outside of the closed off area, giving away who was probably in the bed in front of him.

Zach looked worse for wear. His eyes were tired as he was surrounded by many more personnel, checking his vitals and IV as they asked him questions. Tang could barely hear his answers from how quiet they were, almost being drowned out from the other commotion surrounding them.

But almost as soon as he sat down next to the bed, all the personnel seemed to quicken up their pace, hushing each other as each one sprinted out of there in record time. The only people left by then were him, his guide standing next to him, and Zach, not including the soldiers stationed outside.

And awkward silence was cast among them. Tang really didn't know what to do here, as he's only known Zach for a day at most and didn't know how to comfort the kid. Luckily, he was saved the trouble as loud footsteps came close to the area, causing the guide to perk up and walk over to the entrance.

Hushed words were exchanged with whoever was on the other side, their body being obscured by the white curtains. The conversation seemed to go sour almost immediately, though, with his guide getting cut off at just one harsh command, leaving her quiet.

She came back in with her face schooled again, regaining her place next to Tang and putting her hands behind her back. Then the curtains parted yet again, revealing whoever she had been talking with.

To Tang's surprise, it was an elderly man, one who was wearing tan robes and held a wooden cane. He had a full head of white and gray hair, eyes a dark brown as he glanced at the guide. Looking away, he slowly walked over to an empty chair and plopped himself down across from Tang with Zach between them on the bed.

The old man kept his head down as he only glanced up, staring Tang down with a harsh look the scholar couldn't quite make sense of. He didn't really need to, as two other soldiers came in, one with a clipboard in hand.

Tang recognized the two as the ones from his own interrogation, Red Hair and Aggressive Guy whispering some nonsense to each other as he stared them down. Aggressive Guy then huffed and sat down as Red Hair walked up to Zach, exchanged a few words with the taxi driver, and then stood up next to the bed, readying her clipboard.

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A World Without Him

Chapter 17

Tang's shift went on routinely.

Grab from the basket. Try to scrub out the stains or top layers of grime. Throw the piece into the machine. Let it run along once it's full. Go until the baskets empty. Ignore the worker taking and refilling the basket. Rinse and repeat.

That's how everything went; no pleasant chatter or white noise to cover the rumbles of machinery or the whispers of the actual workers. Oh, yeah, he forgot to mention that apparently they weren't considered actual workers as they were under “tent arrest”, which was just a polite way of saying they were slaving away under the “official” workers’ scrutiny.

He was lucky to even be allowed his own station instead of being an errand boy, though, as he saw some running around delivering soap or baking soda to whatever worker yelled out the loudest. Maybe it was because he wasn't making a scene and seemed to be mild-mannered with just a little intimidation. It's not like they're wrong, though.

The staring had also gotten a bit worse from there, as they seemed to get over the shock of his presence and start to test his limits. After a bit, the soldiers patrolling and workers coming for the baskets were not very subtle with their discomfort around him anymore. They seemed to be waiting for him to slip up and make some kind of mistake as he continued those tedious patterns of scrubbing, throwing, and silently screaming in his head.

It was easier to zone out when Tang didn't have constant looks directed at him 24/7. His mind and body were tired from the constant stress now, and he thinks his ankles would give out any minute from how long he's been standing and shuffling in place.

He wanted nothing more than to yell screw you to this place, and fall asleep back in his apartment; he wanted to sink away from all these prying eyes.

Maybe this was why he started to disassociate more, letting the piercing stares and scrutiny fall into the background as he let muscle memory do most of the work. Maybe this was when his mind started to blank with his head then trying to fill in the space, subconsciously bringing back some old friends to fill the void.

‘Everything is going wrong. What are we even supposed to do against that thing!?’

Tang sighed internally as he was brought back to reality. He thought, since he now had Cian yapping into his ears whenever it wanted, he would be free from the other annoying voices. There was no such luck to be had, though.

‘______ is already on the problem. The setup is going through and ____ get everything back __ the way it was. ____ whining.’

‘Well I'm so _____ for being a bit worried that it's got some grubby mitts on ____ now. How ___ we even going to get the _______ back up again?’

‘Ughhhhh…’

They didn't stay for long and faded out soon after he noticed them. Tang relaxed a bit at their departure, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

He knew they had something to do with what was happening with his head (as Cian used to also be “just a voice”, and it turned out to be something way more than something like that) but he didn't want to try interacting with them yet. He knew they didn't look too kindly to him, and seemed anxious when he seemed to notice their existence.

He didn't want to know what would happen if they figured out he could hear them the entire time. It's especially risky to try and interact with them now since he knows they might be able to interact with the world like Cian did, maybe to even more serious degrees if they were more powerful.

Thinking this much about everything was starting to hurt his head. I don't even know where these stupid voices are coming from in the first place, less so why they're messing with my life! He thought, accidently ripping a piece off of a tent in his stupor.

He cringed at that, and then carefully put it into the wash for someone else to deal with. He really needed a nap, and maybe a good story to fill his mind with distractions. But almost no breaks are allowed in here. He had learned just how harsh this place was when there was a big commotion two rows down in front of him.

One of the other workers (the one who refused to get up from the ground near the start of the day. Tang recognized the guy from the burn marks up the side of his face) was forcefully dragged out of the building when he tried to sleep on the floor. Wherever they were taking him, it didn't seem good as the guy knocked over baskets and other cleaning supplies, and Tang really didn't want to find out for himself.

He quickly woke himself up by slapping his cheeks and went back to his work after that instead of gawking any more at the scene. His body probably couldn't take another harrowing experience like that this week lest he collapse onto the ground. Maybe I would be brought to where they were keeping Zach if I collapsed.

Anyways, after what felt like hours of scrubbing and washing after that incident, the loud sound of a bell rang throughout the camp, signaling what Tang assumed was the lunch break. He was probably right based on the looks of relief that came over all the other peoples’ faces as they started moving away from their stations.

Tang quickly went with the crowd, moving with the wave of people trying to squeeze through the entrance doors with everyone else. His stomach had started growling an hour ago, and after he almost ate a detergent pod thinking it was another one of those gross breakfast bars, he really didn't want to wait any longer.

But before he could even get close to those doors, he was pulled out of the crowd by his sleeve and almost landed onto another station at the force. Looking up and about to argue with whoever stopped him, he realized it was the Head Soldier from earlier, and quickly bit back his retort.

The guy was gruff, obviously. He had a buzz cut and a 5 o'clock shadow that didn't help hide any of the guy’s wrinkles. He also had a branded military cap unlike anyone else in the building. Tang didn't look that closely at anything else though, mainly because the guy looked down at him with a snarl and furrowed brows before speaking up, too loudly in Tang’s opinion.

“Don't go wandering off now. You and the other low-lives eat in your tent away from the workers and soldiers. Wouldn't want you all to conspire or have fights to break out, would we?”

Tang didn't answer the rhetorical question, yanking his sleeve out of the guy’s hold as he looked away from his gaze. Seeing a small commune of people near the back of the building, he quickly walked away and started going towards them, seeing Carlson near the back which solidified that this was probably his group.

The Head Soldier slowly walked behind him until he was back with all of them near the back, and then clapped loudly to get everyone's attention.

“Go with your assigned team back to the tent and take your lunch break. Remember that it's only 25 minutes, and if you're late you'll have to report to me for appropriate punishment. Now shoo.” He waved a hand before walking out of the building's back door, leaving the group alone with the 3 chaperone soldiers.

They were almost immediately ushered out of the room by said soldiers, many of them having to speed walk back to the tent from how fast these guys were going. Tang quickly looked around the place, trying to see everything in a new light compared to yesterday.

All he could were groups of people sitting at picnic tables further away, digging into their bowls like dogs who haven't been fed in weeks. Their faces held many scars and bruises, but no emotion as they ate, scarfing down all the brown stuff they could around a fire before the next bell would ring out. One seemed to lock gazes with him, crazed eyes looking into ones of apprehension. But that was all he could see before getting forced back into the tent with a shove along with the others.

Many grunts of disapproval were let out before everyone slowly went back to their own devices. Tang swallowed heavily, standing in place for a bit after the rush, and then quietly went back to his bed while swerving away from the other inhabitants.

He just sat back down onto his cot after that, letting the white noise distract his head from anything else. He only stares at the ceiling, if you could call it that, not bothering to move even when hearing the tent flap open and the clinking of metal signaling the food is here. He didn't feel that hungry anymore.

He stayed that way for a bit, letting his situation finally sink in after the hectic time he's already had, and it's not even 1 o'clock yet. He squints his eyes, letting the world blur and refocus at his will. He flinched as a hand landed onto his shoulder, and it quickly retracted at his reaction. It was Rick, holding two bowls of whatever this place was serving to them.

Rick didn't seem that deterred by the reaction. “Woah there, didn't mean to scare you that badly, heh. You seemed all out of it, and your slop was getting cold, so I brought you a bowl.” He explained, setting down a bowl onto Tang's cot next to his hand.

Rick continued his speech as Tang took the bowl, smelling it carefully before taking small sips bit by bit. “I get why you're so high-strung. No one likes being put into time out, doing all these dumb errands while we get ordered around by those damned workers who think they're better than us. You were probably also interrogated, which is no one's favorite thing, and you seem to not know anything about this place or why everyone here is so weird. So scared and alone, I reckon.”

Tang slightly squinted his eyes at the last part, but he just nodded along anyway, finishing the bland soup(? all he knew was that sludge was in a bowl, but it might just be its own ecosystem by now judging by the weird slimy chunks here and there) and setting the bowl back onto the cot.

Rick sat a hand onto Tang's shoulder again after the scholar was finished, letting the lack of flinch be the acceptance he needed as he gripped the shoulder harder. “So~, I have decided to be your guiding light, your navigator, or whatever you want to call me throughout your camp experience! We'll never really be in the direct line of fire, by the way, as we're most likely going to be running around for the people working in the background. So I was thinking I could fill you in on this total mess we call an HQ, and you could stick by me when I need it! So, what do you think?”

Rick stared into Tang’s eyes, a sharp grin on his face as he waited for a response. Tang got a feeling of deja vu yet again. Why do I seem to be involved with more dubious deals than usual? This is starting to become a pattern. A very concerning pattern…

But before Tang could even try to think of a response, a hand dragged Rick’s own off of Tang’s shoulder.

“I think you should stop harassing us new guys. Nothing good will come from forcing us to be your personal errand boys like the workers do to us. A bit hypocritical, don't you think?” An unfamiliar voice spoke out. It seemed familiar to Tang, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint where he'd heard it from. He didn't think too hard about it anyway as Rick's eye twitched annoyance before he started to retort loudly.

“Hah! Please, I was just being friendly to our new member. He would obviously be eaten alive in here unless he had some help from a pro. I was just offering my help, like a good samaritan. Gotta get outta this tent someday, ya know?” He narrowed his eyes as his grin fell slightly.

“It's not like you can talk, either. I haven't seen you around before, so you don't know this place very well. Are you trying to act all heroic in a “noobs stick together” sort of way? ‘Cause that won't end well for you or him in this place, trust me.” Rick spoke with venom, his laid-back tone with Tang vanishing in an instant as he spat at the newcomer.

Now that Tang thinks about it, he hasn't seen this guy in the camp either. He definitely would have remembered this guy, mainly with how bright his eyes were. They were a light yellow, bordering white in some areas, with some wisps of pure black hair falling in front of them from his short, messy hairstyle. His voice was smooth, almost comparable to Cian with how he spoke. He held a grin like Rick, but it didn't seem as sharp as the other's was.

Maybe this guy was one that he had just missed in the chaos of the morning and last night? That was probably it, as Tang didn't remember Rick from the tent until he introduced himself in the bathrooms. Tang just shook his head at that and focussed back into the present when another bell went off throughout the camp, signaling the end of lunch and stopping the two's argument for now.

Rick laughed, but it was one without humor. “Well, I guess it's time for us to go back, huh? I'll let you have this one today, as I really don't want to be put back in the Pound when someone intriguing finally shows up in this tent. You better get moving though, those soldiers really don't like when they're put on Guard Duty, especially when it's just for bums like us.”

Rick waved a hand beside his head as he walked away and took his untouched bowl with him to dump into a trash can outside the tent, shoving the now empty bowl to whichever unsuspecting soldier was closest.

Tang looked away from where Rick had gone and looked to the guy beside him. The cold guy glanced at him for a second, something gleaming in his eyes the scholar couldn't decipher, before silently ignoring his presence and stepping out of the tent himself.

That was weird. What Tang’s only thought before readjusting his cracked glasses and carrying his bowl to the front. The guy with greasy hair stared at him from his own cot as the scholar walked out, his own bowl halfway finished and halfway on the floor. Tang just ignored him, again, and gave his bowl to the soldier beside the trash can.

But before he could actually enter the building again, a soldier grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around so they were face to face. “Are you Tang?” The woman deadpanned.

“Oh, uh, yes I am. What's the problem?” He answered, nervous he'd already done something to warrant this place’s wrath.

“Your friend finally woke up in the infirmary, and we have some questions we'd like to ask you when we arrive. Now, follow me, and don't go wandering off like some others in your tent; remember that we have eyes everywhere, so keep your hands and feet to yourself. Let's go.”

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A World Without Him

Chapter 16

Tang couldn't feel his legs. Or his arms. Or even his torso, for that matter. He couldn't feel anything. It felt wrong, like he wasn't connected to the world anymore. Like he couldn't even try to scream or yell or shout at his troubles when there isn't anything to hold onto in the first place… where did my throat go…?

He continued to float(? he couldn't really describe what he was feeling). Nothing changed; nothing burned his eyes out of his skull, nothing overloaded his hearing with whispers, nothing grabbed or scratched with such desperation. For some reason, this didn't feel like his void. It couldn't be. It just felt wrong…

But before he could ponder anymore, he felt a slight pull. It was yanking at what he assumed was his wrist, dragging his arm (which he could now feel, even if it was mainly just static) towards somewhere unknown.

He didn't react, though. Well, it was more like he couldn't. Everything just felt numb. Nothing he could try would affect anything here, even his differing emotions. And so he just silently swayed with little apprehension; the pull grew stronger and stronger, enveloping his body with heavy pressure that seemed to swallow him whole.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He could feel his body again. Scratchy blood, thin sheets, a hard mattress, and a pounding headache all came in a rush, forcing Tang to stir at the sudden feeling. He sat up slowly, rubbing his temples as his ratty hair hung on his neck. He felt like he hadn't slept at all.

Blinking spots out of his eyes, he noticed he didn't seem to be the only one up at this time. He could hear someone mumbling to themself rapidly, someone chatting with another about boring topics such as supply routes and drills, and one that seemed to be meditating as they breathed loudly while sitting perfectly still on their bed.

He couldn't really see any of these people, though, as his glasses were still under his bed. Well, hopefully, that is. He had just started to lean over and under his bed when loud feedback drowned out any other noise and caused him to flinch, alerting everyone at the camp of an announcement.

“Attention all soldiers and workers! This is your daily wake up call! Soldiers, go to your respective training facilities and check in with your superiors. Workers, you should head out to your assigned buildings immediately! You have 30 minutes for hygiene before your time is up, and any late participants will be punished accordingly! That is all.”

The speakers clicked off and everyone around Tang started to rise, quickly gathering what seemed to be uniforms by the matching colors. They all left the beds messy and carelessly pushed the tent flaps aside as they walked out. Tang scrambled to grab his glasses, and when he had them on there were only 2 people still in the tent.

He quickly looked for his own uniform, finding it under his rickety bedside table. It was just a dark blue outfit of a t-shirt and long pants. He grabbed them and his boots harshly before sprinting to the front of the tent, which wasn't that fast considering his exhaustion.

Oddly, there was someone still in the tent when he got to the flaps. Through his harbored breath Tang saw that he was probably a punished soldier by the slight tanning and the ramrod posture the guy had. He was kind of skinny, with short brown hair that was greased back and piercing brown eyes as he stared him down.

Tang didn't know what the guy’s problem was, and he didn't want to find out as he threw the flaps out of the way and hurried to what he assumed was his group. They were standing together in front of the fountain, surrounded by other soldiers in their own green and brown uniforms.

He walked over nervously, shuffling to the back of the group as one of the soldiers around them spoke up. “Welcome back malingerers. Today you're doing something fairly simple: manual labor in building 6. You can thank the fresh meat for that one. He could barely stand syraight for more than half a second on arrival.” The soldier seemed smug as all the group turned to stare at him, causing Tang to start fidgeting nervously.

It was like they were seeing an interesting bug on the ground. Noticing how he moved, looked like, and seeing if he could be a threat or should just leave him be for natural selection to take its course. They seemed to deem him uninteresting, thankfully, with most of them turning their heads back to the front except one.

That one had greasy black hair going in all directions. His eyes seemed crazed as they were wide and bloodshot while he stared into the back of Tang’s head. Tang tried to ignore the clear wacko, turning his head back with the others. Of course I'm already being targeted by the insane character.

“You’ll start working with supervision from 8 AM until the soldier in charge, ME, signs you off and walks you back to your tent. The bathrooms are near the entrance, and is where I'll be leaving you all to change and shower if need be. Now follow along.” The soldier smirked as he started to walk back and towards a one-story brick building.

They all followed without much hassle, except for two of the guys near the front which everyone had to pass by. One was laying on the ground and refusing to move, even with threats of violence by the chaperones, and the other started to wander off and had to be dragged back multiple times. Both were being heavily chastised, but everything said to them seemed to go in one ear and then out the other.

Walking past those two while holding his clothes tightly to his chest, Tang hurried through the double glass doors. He was struck with the violent glow of fluorescent lights as he stumbled in, accidently knocking into the guy in front of him. The guy had no reaction other than staring ahead with a blank expression.

Mumbling out a short apology, Tang stepped back and looked up at his surroundings. It wasn't as big as he’d expected, but that's probably because of the washing machines lining the left and right walls. Foldable tables were scattered on the empty floor, with people in that same blue uniform milling about and scrubbing those brown and green uniforms.

This is depressing. He thought, seeing how everyone seemed dead inside or completely up in the clouds. After these short observations, he saw everyone headed towards the bathrooms, and he decided to do the same. This was mainly to clean himself up after that attack: the dried blood with the assorted dirt and leaves on him was starting to become unbearable.

Walking through the door with everyone else, Tang booked it towards the nearest sink. He set down his clothes between his feet and rolled up his dirty sleeves, taking off the guaz above his elbow and starting to scrub the hell out of his arms with the cheap hand soap provided. Ignoring the odd absence of the cut from the interrogation, he focussed on how the flakes of red and black slowly swirled down the drain. After that water finally became clear of either color, he grabbed an old wash cloth to dry off.

He heard some start to take showers, with the sounds of running water filling the bathroom. He thought of doing the same, but he wouldn't know where anything would be, probably leaving him naked in the middle of these people. Quickly discarding that idea, he turned to the mirror above his sink.

He saw the small scrapes and smudges that dotted across his face first, most likely from when he was “passed out” and Cian did whatever it did. The second Thing he noticed was his hair. It easily passed his shoulders now, and has some streaks that were lighter than the rest. It was matted from sleep and filled with grime from when he got here. He could only groan. This'll take at least most of the next paragraph to take care of.

He started picking out the big stuff, like dead grass, and brushing out what he could with his fingers. It hurt, obviously, but now it was only slightly bad to look at. He looked around and saw a small cupboard between a few sinks down, hopefully holding a hair brush. But then, when shuffling his feet, he caused his pile of clothes to fall over and the roll of gauze he got last night to roll a good couple of feet before bumping into a wall and falling pathetically.

Tang looked at it confused. He didn't remember picking it up. However, he doesn't remember much of anything to begin with, and he probably just packed it between the uniform by mistake. He picked his stuff up and walked over to the roll, picking it up too and heading to the cupboard. When he looked in it, all he could find was air freshener and some toilet paper packed into a corner.

Closing the cupboard, he turned around and almost immediately bumped into another person, causing Tang to stumble back and the guy to fall onto his butt. “Dang it… hey, are you okay?” Tang spoke slowly, holding onto his clothes a bit tighter.

The guy just nodded, pushing himself up and dusting off his clothes. He had medium length gray hair with messy bangs that covered his eyes. He looked pale, but Tang guessed that was how he normally looked based on how the guy wasn't thin in any way you put it. He looked like he could probably snap Tang’s neck in 5 seconds if he truly wanted to, which made it weird how easily he fell.

Awkward silence engulfed them, with Tang averting eye contact and the guy fidgeting his his hands. Suddenly, the guy went to pull something out of the cupboard behind Tang, making the scholar flinch away as the guy retrieved… a brush?

To be fair, it wasn't anything high quality, but a brush was a brush. Tang only had some shreds of dignity left, and he really didn't want to waste them begging some trouble maker for a pink plastic hair brush. But, thankfully, before he could give it up, the guy silently shoved the brush into Tang's chest.

After some slight shock at it being easily handed over, he noticed he notion felt oddly familiar. “Hey wait, weren't you the guy who gave me gauze last night?”

The guy nodded. “Oh. Thanks for that, I guess. There isn't even any scarring… Uhm, anyways, what's your name?”

The guy pointed to a name tag on his shirt. Well, the term name tag is being generous. It was really just a piece of duct tape on his chest. It read “Carlson F”.

“Well, n-nice to meet you. Thanks for the brush, by the way. How did you even find that? I didn't see anything other than-”

“It's ‘cause he stole it from the women's bathroom and hid it behind the toilet paper.” A cocky voice interrupted. Tang swerved his head towards the source; the guy was leaning against the wall with a small grin. He had short black hair, with small purple highlights throughout.

He took some steps forward towards the two. “You can call me Rick.” Rick held a hand out for Tang, and he shook it nervously. Rick raised an eyebrow at that.

“C'mon~ there's no reason to be so tense here! Is it because Carry here showed you you're stuck with a bunch of “lunatics”?” Rick’s grin grew sharp at the final word, staring Carlson down. Carlson responded with a glare back.

“Well, no. I, uh-” Tang tried fumbling for a coherent answer, but was saved the effort by a shout near the entrance of the bathroom.

“5 minutes, people! Every minute of work skipped is a lap around the camp!” The soldier in charge yelled out. Rick just rolled his eyes and let Tang's hand go, and Carlson left them both to head out of the bathroom.

Rick threw an arm around Tang's shoulders. “A word of advice. Carry only acts in his own self interest. He's in here because he tried to desert his post near where you popped up. He'll probably use you as a scape-goat if he tries to escape again, since you're the talk of the town right now. Don't trust him, or anyone here, for that matter; other than me of course.” Rick whispered with a wink before walking out of the bathroom himself.

Tang just grimaced, looking down at the hair brush he was given. He was obviously suspicious, and didn't know who he could rely on here. Pushing that problem off for another time, Tang quickly changed into his uniform with the combat boots.

He had wrangled his hair best he could, but there's only so much he could do in 3 minutes. His hair stuck out awkwardly in the braid he made, but he was happy with it and tied the end with some of the gauze he got from Carlson. He rushed to the door after he was finished, getting out only seconds before the head soldier blew his whistle.

“Alright. Y’all already know the drill down here. One of you, go help pipsqueak operate the machines correctly.” The soldier said absent-mindedly waving a hand at the group.

Tang got offended at the blatant insult. “I know how to work a washing machine-”

“No one here cares, noodle arms. Now, is anyone gonna volunteer, or do I have to- oh, Carlson. Didn't expect the lazy grunt to be up for more work. Well, that works for me I guess. Go to your stations and start doing something useful.” The soldier shoos away the group, leaving Carl and Tang standing next to each other.

And then, before the scholar could ask anything, Carl took Tang's arm and started to drag him between the tables, leading him to what he assumed would be his work station with all the other poor souls working for less than minimum wage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a bit difficult learning which button does what and how to get rid of stains of all kinds with someone who doesn't talk, but it worked out in the end. Everyone here basically had to wash and dry uniforms, sheets, tents, etc, for a good chunk of the camp.

It's good that Tang is the best at zoning out during tedious work, or else he probably would've become brain dead at the repeating tasks. No one caused any trouble surprisingly, which Tang was thankful for, but he also wished that he wasn't even here. That he had free reign to read and discuss things with his old friends like he wanted to do in the first place.

His stomach cramped at the thought of having tea with his colleagues. They had breakfast bars handed out to them near the start of his work, but they were as bland and unfilling as soaked cardboard. He sighs, thinking back to Pigsy’s noodles and how he would probably kill just to taste them again, even if he was still stuck here.

He had just finished cleaning mud off some pants when he was knocked out of his thoughts by a slight tug on his wrist. Looking up, he saw Cian sitting on his table and looking at him with its head tilted in question.

‘What exactly are you doing?’

After throwing the pants into the machine to his left, he picked up a shirt with blood on the sleeves and started working on that. Manual labor. Stuff they make prisoners do while they're stuck.

Cian observed Tang’s expression, seeing the stress in the creases of the scholar's forehead. ‘I scoped the area out last night. The place we came in is now heavily guarded with at least 4 people actively patrolling around it.’

Tang finished scrubbing the blood on one sleeve, moving to the other. So we really can't leave?

‘I never said that. I just need time to recharge after getting you away from the earlier attack.’

He finished the other sleeves, chucking the shirt into the machine and picking up another shirt, but now covered in what seemed to be ketchup. And this is why I need to learn my own abilities. I have bubble shields I've used before! Can you show me how to enhance that, or at least use it on command?

‘That power is one I'm… unfamiliar with. I never seemed to have needed a shield in my life, so I never needed to activate it. I can't help you with that one.’

The ketchup on the shirt refused to go away, no matter how much scrubbing or chemicals Tang threw at it. He grumbled angrily and shoved it harshly into the machine, adding detergent before closing the door and starting it up. ...How long do you need?

‘At least a week. I'm sorry, but you'll have to be stuck in this place for a good long while.’

Tang just yelled into the air, smashing his head against his station table. Many people looked in his direction before going back to their own jobs, pitying the new soul trapped in the same cycle as them all.

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Update

Sorry for another late update. I wanted to get it done by tonight, but I was kept away from my writing for longer than I thought I would be. I'll update tomorrow as I have most of it done. Thank you for your patience!

A World Without Him

Chapter 15

The ground was covered in dust and dead grass; it scratched against Tang's face as he tried to block everything out. I just had to get attacked back there. Just had to be the only one conscious. I just had to stumble back to this place after all of my efforts.

His hair had been released from the hair tie for a while now, which made his hair cascade in front of his face and back. It worked like a buffer from him and the crowd, but it was uncomfortable to have it get tangled with the dead brush beneath him. He groaned as he banged his head into the ground with what little strength he had left, causing guns to clink together as the crowd flinched.

After a few seconds, the whispers and steps of the crowd suddenly started to get louder, like they were parting for something to get through. Although, Tang could care less at the moment as he was completely exhausted from basically everything. The blood on his arms and upper lip have dried to a point where it started to flake and crack on his skin. He really didn't like the feeling.

He couldn't even lift his head as heavy footsteps approached him and Zach’s bodies, the crowd of people around them quieting down as they grew closer to them. A large, calloused hand hauled him off the ground by his left arm, forcing Tang onto his wobbly feet.

His legs almost immediately gave out from beneath him, but the guy who picked him up quickly caught him by the shoulders. With his head falling forward, Tang’s hair fell in front of his face, full of dust and dead grass as it obscured his vision along with his cracked lense. It seemed longer than he remembered…

“This is gonna cause something awful…” The guy holding him up grumbled to himself before carefully grabbing Tang’s wrists and tying a long piece of rough rope around them. He left a long piece of rope between Tang’s wrists, maybe for better mobility or something to grab onto if he tried to run (he doubted he would get even 2 feet in his current state, even without the rope). It scratched against the dried blood uncomfortably.

Tang almost collapsed again after the ordeal was over, but he was caught yet again and had his right arm thrown over the guy’s back as they started to move. Tang's feet dragged across the ground as the guy walked slowly to somewhere he couldn't guess. He heard someone else walk over and presumably grab Zach as he heard the dead grass rustle and more heavy steps join and start to walk beside them.

Looking out of the small slivers of light between his hair, he could see Zach's head facing the sky as he was held princess style by a built soldier, if he were to guess by the heavily defined arms and uniform the person was wearing. However, he couldn't look long as the campfires around them died down and left most of the area in darkness.

Tang closed his eyes, letting his head drop fully, hoping that wherever these people were taking him would be far, far away from that demon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Orange filled his vision; a familiar color from his last dream. But now he no longer floated, laying face first on a cold hard floor similar to concrete. He sighed heavily.

‘What have you gotten yourself into already, little cicada?’

Tang didn't bother looking up. “Cian…” He mumbled with distaste. Silence overcame the void. Then, a small hum was all he heard before soft footsteps approached him. A thin hand soon grabbed his shirt and lifted him up with ease, making them face to face. It held a cocky grin as it looked down on him.

‘Now what’s with that tone? I think I deserve some recognition for getting you out safe and sound.’ It said as its grin grew wider.

It seemed taller than him now, at least a good couple of inches. Tang ignored this and pushed its hand away, stumbling only slightly as he landed. “W-What's happening? Why am I here again? Why did you save us? Probably to get something from me. What did you do while I was out?” He rambled on accusingly, pointing his index finger into its chest.

Its expression never wavered. ‘And to think I thought you would have been thankful, groveling at my feet for saving your cowardly self and the dead weight you brought along.’ It sarcastically replied, grabbing Tang's hand off its chest and pulling him closer by the wrist with the bell.

A cold sweat went down Tang’s neck. “I-I know you have ulterior motives! Just w-what do you want with me to make a deal for? And how did we even get away from that demon in the first place?” He lost a bit of steam as he continued, pushing himself away from Cian as he grit his teeth nervously.

This got a reaction, with Cian's eye twitching in annoyance. ‘Don't worry about the semantics. All that matters is that this deal we made has me protecting your feeble body to the best of my ability.’

This didn't comfort him one bit. Tang nervously picked at the end of his stained scarf. “And what does that exactly entail? I've read enough stories with the warnings and consequences of taking those types of vague deals at face value. N-Now I ask again, what do you want with me, really?” He asked, a bit unsure of himself.

It only sighed, letting its grin finally fall as its voice started to grate. ‘Why are you still questioning me? I explained our deal. It's not like I can hurt you in any meaningful way.’ It started to walk closer, the color underneath them rippling from its steps.

‘I know you need me. You know you need me. And now that you've been dragged back into this place? You'll need my assistance now more than ever.’ Now it's only a foot away from him, yet it didn't feel overwhelming. Like it was purposely keeping itself in check.

Tang's brow creased in thought, thinking over what he should say next. “Well, y-your right. I do need your help here, especially since I don't have my friends around to protect me anymore… Maybe that's a good thing. Uh… hey wait!” He suddenly shouted, stars appearing in his eyes as he tried to push down his dread.

“Can't you teach me how to harness my powers like what you did back in the forest? I don't exactly know what you did in the first place, but some protection while your not around would be-”

‘NO.' It growled immediately, squinting its eyes as the ground shook and its clothes and hair flew in all sorts of directions. 'The pure power that's inside you would tear your body to shreds before you could even try to cast anything useful. Even if you now possess my abilities like they're your own, you’d have to face over 15 years of body conditioning to harness even a tenth of it effectively.’

It spoke with wavering conviction, turning its head to the side as if to avoid Tang's gaze. The sudden reaction from Cian shook him up a bit, but he couldn't even reply before Cian decided to speak up again.

‘Our deal is set. I'll do everything I can to protect your body, so I'll try my best to strengthen myself now that we're bound. I will be there to protect you from anything coming your way, so you don't need to give away years of your life for something as simple as glamor or similar cowardly tricks.’ It leaned down over him as it spoke, making sure Tang couldn't ignore what it said.

He could only nod quickly at Cian's words, letting it lean away from him once more. Tang let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, then looked back to Cian, too tired for anymore banter. “Can you at least tell me when you're going to show up, or basically do whatever you did back at the road? I would just like some clarification-”

All of a sudden, the air felt like it was knocked out of his lungs. He clutched his stomach as he dropped to his knees, trying to gulp for air as Cian gasped at his display. He coughed as slivers of air were finally gifted to him before being drawn back out by an unknown force, his vision blinking in and out from his dream.

‘What the hell are those mortals doing!? Th__ m__t be g__ng ___!’ He could barely hear Cian's shocked remarks as the cycle continued. Bits of air entered his lungs before they were taken away violently, taking longer and longer in giving him release. He could barely hold himself up before he fell to the ground with Cian standing over him as the last thing he saw before blacking out… weird that this could happen in a dream…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His eyes shot open. Gray walls, metal table and chair with his wrists tied to a ring on the table, a hand holding his head harshly. Those were the things he could make out before starting to violently cough over everything, heaving as he bent over his stomach and gasped in all the air he could.

His top half was soaked with what he hoped was water and his face and arms felt sore as he continued to cough; the hand on his head never moved, as to make sure he couldn't even move on his own. After what seemed like hours, Tang could finally breathe again, his body shaking as he tried to make sure he didn't hyperventilate or throw up.

“Good. You're finally awake filth.” A harsh voice sounded from behind him, most likely male from how deep it was. His hair was soaked as it hung over his eyes and obscured his vision, so he couldn't look at the guy as he let go of his head and walked to the other side of the table.

After another moment to catch his breath, Tang slowly brought his hands to his face, parting the hair and throwing it over his shoulders. A dim room met him, with two people sitting in front of him across the table. He couldn't Make much out of them, but he could see a bucket of water on the table. He's interrupted before he could see any more.

“Now, let's let go of the pleasantries. You are in Human territory, and we don't know how our blind spots have been leaked to someone like you. If you tell us your source, we will keep you prisoner and won't execute you after this interrogation.” A different voice, one more feminine but holds more authority and wrath than the other.

“W… what?” Tang asked slowly, tilting his head to one side to make sure it didn't fall forward from his exhaustion. A very bright light suddenly shot into his eyes, causing him to flinch back.

“We know this place is secure on all sides. How did you enter camp without our scouts detecting you? Tell us how your side got this information and we won't put your head on a spike out in town square. Those demon bastards really thought they could send a spy into our camp? HA! Do they really think that low of the Bellfield troop!?” The guy cackles out, clearly not in the best head space if Tang had to guess.

“Calm down, lieutenant. We still need what it has to offer. Now, who gave you the information on how to sneak in here? Even if you did a rather shoddy job at the stuff after the infiltration, you must be pretty high up the food chain if you got delivered this kind of info.”

Tang suddenly shot up in his chair. “Wait what?! Who do you think I am!? Me and Zach got attacked on the way here by a demon with red eyes a-and this was the closest place I could remember to go!”

The light tilted away from his eyes, letting him see the faces of his captors. One had long, straight red hair tied in a ponytail and sat right across from Tang. She had sharp eyes and was probably the one who’s in charge. The other was a guy with short loss and a big snarl on his face. He seemed aggressive towards Tang for whatever they think he is and stood next to Red Hair, leaning on one hand over the table.

“And why do you think we'll believe you? You showed up out of nowhere, got past all of our defenses, have an unconscious body over you and are covered in demon blood.” Red Hair said in a cool tone, staring into Tang's eyes as he shrunk back.

“Then why would I put in all that work just to get captured?! That’s not even my blood anyways! I don't know who you people are, but if I really was whatever you say I am, why would I let myself be taken? That would just be a big waste of time and energy on your part. I couldn't even stand!” Tang was starting to get annoyed at how little they seemed to trust him. He leaned back in his chair and started looking away from those people to steel his nerves and control how much he was already shaking.

They shared a look before Aggressive Guy stood up straight and took a pocket knife out of his uniform pocket. Tang paled at the notion as the guy walked towards him. “WAIT! Hey, I'm innocent! Just check my story with Zach’s and it'll all make sense since I don't have anything on me and Zach is just a guy I met today on complete accident! Please you gotta believe me I'm not who you think I am and OW!”

The guy aggressively took Tang’s arm, rolled up the sleeve and sliced just above the elbow. Tang screamed at the attack, seeing the blood drip out and onto the floor. Red Hair brought over a cup of something to gather the blood, shining UV light over the mix before sitting back down with Aggressive Guy following.

“You're not a demon.” She said matter-of-factly.

“Yes?! I told you we got attacked on the back road by a demon!” He answered incredulously.

The two across from shared another look. “We will have to talk with the other person you brought here to confirm. We have had human spies before, and it's a bit too convenient for you to have wandered in here effortlessly like that, especially covered in demon blood.” Aggressive Guy spoke up, walking up next to Tang again, making the scholar brace for whatever the guy would do next.

“But, you don't seem to be a threat at the moment, given you are unarmed, dehydrated, and sleep deprived. You probably couldn't lift a water bottle if we asked you to right now. So, we'll have to keep an eye on you.” Aggressive Guy leaned down and untied the rope against his wrists, letting them fall to Tang's sides.

Red Hair spoke up after the guy finished and went back to her side. “We will put you with the cleaners near the river. You will work in the laundry tent for the food and bed that we will assign you. You aren't allowed to go anywhere without a chaperone, and we will summon you whenever we need your presence and after your friend wakes up. Remember that if you are lying about anything, you will have your cold body be thrown to the livestock. We have eyes everywhere.”

Tang felt as if he was drowning in the tension; he nodded quickly after Red Hair finished talking. She gestured for him to stand, and after he did, Aggressive Guy harshly grabbed his shoulder and led him out of the interrogation room behind Red Hair.

Outside, it was early dawn as the sun started to rise over the trees, giving Tang a better view than when he was dragged through here before. The houses all seemed rough on the outside, with big vehicles and tents scattered around every corner.

Red Hair led them through the main road they were on, going towards what seemed to be the heart of the town as they passed more and more people whispering as they got close. Looking closer, she and Aggressive Guy both wore the same brown and green uniforms, along with combat boots and guns plus knives strapped all over their bodies.

He was glad they didn't resort to using those on him, even if the place above his elbow still hurt and he could feel it start to scab.

They stopped in front of an empty fountain surrounded by supply stands, greenhouses and other buildings with people setting up for the new day. Red Hair turned to him. “Your sleeping quarters will be right behind me in tent 12. This is where we keep low level safety hazards or misbehaving soldiers. It is guarded 24/7, so don't try to think you can get out of this like how you got in. Wake up at the bell and head to building 6 beside greenhouse 2. This is where you'll work while we investigate your claims. You’ll be given a longer briefing tomorrow, as I have better things to do than list everything off to a prisoner.”

Tang’s eye twitched at that, with Aggressive Guy finally letting go of his shoulder. He was about to walk right into the tent to get away from them, but he hesitated before turning back to Red Hair. “Where is Zach being kept then? I assume he hasn't woken up yet based on what you said. Is he alright?”

Red Hair seemed annoyed at the question. “Yes, yes, your friend is fine. He's in infirmary 3 as he's recovering from some bruised ribs and other stuff. Happy?”

“Yep. Thank you.” Tang replied with a dry tone. He started to walk to his tent after that, lifting the flap and stepping inside and away from those crazies. There were about 10 single beds in there with one table each, and it seemed like no one woke up as he stepped inside. Four beds were empty, but there was one with undone sheets, so he whittled the available beds to 3.

He took the one farthest right in the back and laid down after taking his boots, scarf, and coat off. He tried to scratch the dried blood off his arms, but that only irritated his skin. He sighed quietly, putting his excess clothing and glasses under his bed in case someone tried to take them while he was asleep.

He stiffened when he heard someone sit up in their bed. They continued as they stood up from their bed and seemed to walk over to Tang from what he could hear and barely see. They stopped in front of him, silently handing him what seemed to be… a roll of gauze? Tang took it and rolled it in his hands. Yep. This is definitely gauze.

He mumbled out a thank you to the stranger, and they silently went back to bed and left Tang to his own devices. That was a little weird, but the scholar wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He quickly wrapped a bit of it over his new cut and then thought about what happened to his forearm from that demon.

He ran a hand over his right forearm, but he couldn't feel anything wrong, not even a scab. He grimaced at this. I know the slash was real from the hole in my jacket, so why can't I feel it?

He could only sigh again, knowing that he wouldn't get anywhere stewing by himself at dawn. So, he finally laid down on his bed and looked at the tent ceiling. He could hear the snores of his tent-mates and cicadas chirping from the nearby forest. The small talk of people outside and the wind blowing through the branches outside. He let the white noise guide him into sleep and then finally let himself succumb to unconsciousness as all the noise floated away.

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Update for A World Without Him:

Im sorry for the late chapter this week. I've been slumped with school and extracurriculars recently, which hasn't really given me much free time to write. I'll try to get the chapter in on Sunday at the latest, as I already have what I want planned out. Again, I apologize for the late update.

A World Without Him

Chapter 14

Tang was uncomfortable in the taxi. The sun was barely above the horizon now, and he just felt plain awful from his apparently non-hallucinated “ghost of debatable deals”. He also noticed how Zach gave him nervous glances through the mirror, probably noticing how he had talked to himself and gave a wide variety of meaningless expressions to the empty seat.

The tension, for Tang at least, was so thick he could probably cut it with a butter knife. Zach had tried to make everything less weird; putting on music, rolling down the windows, and making small talk to name a few examples. Nothing really lifted the atmosphere though, leaving Tang to stew as Zach continued on that third option to fill the awkward silence.

“... but yeah, I don't get why her sister would up and leave with a guy she didn't know, right? I would obviously be pissed too if someone I cared about, even if we didn't talk much-” The car hitched up, causing the passengers to jump in their seats.

“OOF! Dang, another pothole. Gotta watch the road Zach… anyways, as I was saying, I don't blame Elsie for freaking out at her sister for what she did-” He had been going on for about half an hour at this point, rambling about some movie by a corporate overlord rat Tang didn't bother remembering the name of. He had been shocked out of his trance by the bump, making him refocus onto his surroundings as he started to hear the driver's talk again.

But as soon as he came out of it, he tried going back into that dull state of mind immediately. He hadn't been paying that much attention in the first place anyway, zoning in and out the entire ride as he tried to get his mind to blank. Zach didn't seem to mind. Tang just didn't like how many thoughts were swirling around his head at the moment.

Then his hands had started to twitch as he tried to zone out, needing something to do as a mindless distraction. He went to the bell around his wrist, examining it closely to see if it was still solid (and how maybe he was just imagining it all of this… a baseless wish).

It seemed to be made of some sort of metal based on the signs of rust inside of it. On a closer look, he saw there were intricate designs carved into the outside, so thin Tang wondered how it was even possible.

The images were mainly shapes; circles, diamonds, and waves were all around the outside. It seemed to have a dark color highlighting the markings, making them noticeable compared to the color of the bell.

He felt it in his hands; it was rough, chipped, and definitely aged from the amount of wear on its sides. He rolled it in his palm, unconsciously tuning back into what Zach was saying.

“... which is the most pointless reveal ever! There was almost no buildup, and nothing we could've seen to clue in that he was a villain! I know they probably wanted a twist villain to finally be impactful and unseen, but some clues in his behavior or what people could say about him with Anne would have been nice to clue in that he's not who he exactly seems!” Zach took a breath, readjusting his mirror, slowing down for a sharp turn, then going back to his rant.

“But noooooo. They had to resort to almost no clues whatsoever because the writing team couldn't think up anything clever or interesting!”

Tang nodded along to what Zach was talking about, even though he didn't understand much of it. He looked back out the window as Zach started to go on about unnecessary sequels, tuning the driver's voice out as he saw the last bit of orange trying to fight off the coming night. Tall pine trees covered the light's effort, gifting the road with long, fading shadows.

He closes his eyes again, letting the white noise lull him into a sense of peace as the bumpy road comforted him. He was actually going. Leaving and going to figure out how to fix himself.

The diminishing light covered the car in a soft golden hue. Zach paused his blabbering as he noticed the movement in the back seat ceased, then looking back and seeing Tang dozing off with his face squished against the window. A look of concern flitted across Zach's face briefly, but he only shook his head before looking back at the empty dirt road.

With the new silence, Zach looked around the back road and found he could see the mountain ranges around them: how they towered in the distance with trees all over until the top, which glistened with pure white snow. Fog had started to appear after Tang went to sleep, refracting the remaining light in all sorts of directions as it obscured the tops of the trees.

Zach didn't pay the thin fog much mind, turning on the headlights and continuing down the dirt road. This part of the Golden South province didn't have many towns or man-made settlements, mainly because of disputes with the unresponsive locals and zoning issues which in turn, let nature take its own course on the place most of the time.

Today, only some original settlements from before these disputes were littered near the middle of the place, making them basically shut out from the outside world except for each other. Zach couldn't remember what the names were as he didn't drive in the area often, but those quaint towns seemed to be doing alright as he’d seen people from those places more often lately. They seemed happy enough.

Zach smiles at the oncoming memory. I hope they’re doing alright. They seemed like a nice family. That girl ran all over the place with that poor man trying to run after her through the grocery aisles. I guess that's where the guy’s gray hairs came from. The old woman next to them kept talking with me until the other two came back and then they had left together. They looked at peace with each other.

He glanced back to Tang’s sleeping form leaning against the taxi window. Zach wondered if Tang had that same type of support, remembering how the guy seemed exhausted, falling over and mumbling stuff to himself. He probably needs that rest.

Looking back to the road, a deer suddenly jumped in front of the taxi, displacing the fog and staring the headlights down-

*SCREEEEEEEEECH*

The driver slammed on the brakes, his heart beating rapidly into his ears as his chest was slammed into his seat belt. The deer just continued to stare into the lights, almost looking Zach Right in the eyes. He quickly honked the horn once, startling the thing as it jumped back into the trees.

Looking to the back seat to check on his passenger, Zach saw how Tang was still fast asleep, just leaning forward onto his seat belt from the sudden stop. He saw the guy was breathing just fine, snoring quietly as he continued to hang over the seat belt. Zach sighed and decided not to do anything with that: now he knew the guy really needed that sleep.

He took a deep breath before continuing down the road, trying to get his heart to stop beating so fast. Zach saw how the fog had thickened quite a bit as he went deeper into the woods, the barest hint of light only creating shadows through the branches.

After he got his bearings, Zach realized he hadn't been on one of these back roads this late at night before. That deer was weird. It was unsettling him, and he started to drive a bit slower. The fog seemed to settle onto the floor, causing the ground to be shrouded in the cloud-like cover.

Only the headlights could help them see where to go now; the road was barely recognizable under the fog and the sun had finally set, leaving the woods in complete darkness. Cell service was basically non-existent out here, which is why he couldn't use any GPS in the first place, relying on his memory. Zach tightened his grip on the steering wheel as an uncomfortable feeling welled in his gut.

Tang only then started to stir as he pushed himself off of the taxi window, wiping the drool off of his mouth and sitting up straight. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, putting them back on a blinking a few times to refocus.

He looks at Zach. “How long was I asleep?” He asked, his voice heavy with exhaustion.

“Just about half an hour. I haven't been out here this late before, and I think all this fog is pretty neat, along with all those deer! If a bit creepy, heh…” Zach awkwardly replied, nervously sweating and avoiding eye contact.

“Uh huh.” Tang said with disinterest, looking back to his wrist and seeing the bell still securely stuck to it. He grimaced at his hand heavily.

A sudden stutter in the car has him snapping his head back up, seeing how the headlights began to flicker through the road, and eventually go out entirely. The inside lights were still on, with the engine running fine; only the headlights had shorted out.

Tang anxiously spoke up. “What just happened?”

Zach looked worried, sweat forming above his brow. “I don't know. This hasn't happened before. I'll get a flashlight and go check it out. You can stay in the car.”

Tang just nodded, a bit tense as Zach unbuckled and reached for the glove box, grabbing a small flashlight and getting out of the car. His steps displaced the thick fog on the floor, making a ghostly trail behind him as he looked at the front of the car.

Shining a flashlight onto the bulbs showed they were shattered; pieces of glass were rattling behind the plastic covers. A cold sweat ran down Zach's neck as he walked back and opened the driver's door, leaning his head in.

“The bulbs are shattered. Can't replace them unless you have any extra light bulbs in that backpack of yours.” He said lightly, trying to make sure Tang wouldn't freak out.

He reacted better than Zach expected. “Heh, just great. Well, these things happen, I guess. Is there anywhere nearby to pick up more; we can't go on without them, right?” Tang asked, wringing his hands together nervously.

Zach nodded. “Yeah, we kind of need them to get through the fog. Moonlight can't get through, so we're stuck here until we can get new bulbs or the fog clears. Now I'm totally gonna be late…” He mumbled. He started moving to get inside, hand on the door handle.

“But yeah, there isn't anywhere modern that close by, but there's one of those remote places past some of the trees that way. I think it was called something starting with a B-”

A shrill scream echoed through the woods as Zach was pulled violently out of the car, leaving the door he was about to close wide open. Tang quickly unbuckled his seat belt, scrambling to duck under the back seats on the floor next to his backpack.

The outside was unnaturally silent as Tang covered his mouth with his hands, trying to quiet down his erratic breathing. He was hunched over trying to hear anything else happening outside. The lights in the car went out after a few seconds, the car shutting off as it left Tang in the dark.

Then long, heavy footsteps sounded from the side of the car. Slow and deliberate, as if whatever was making them was looking for something- trying to find its prey. Tang continued his attempt at silencing his breathing, digging his nails into his cheeks in a panic.

Whatever was out there sniffed the air, growling something deep that shook Tang's resolve. The footsteps trailed off in his ears, almost like they were leaving… He carefully took his hands off of his face, looking up at a nearby window.

Fast steps suddenly bombarded his ears, growing louder as they got closer and closer. He had barely any time to react as something rammed into the side of the car, making it flip towards the wooded area.

He screamed as he was thrown about, his voice burning as it was already raw from before. His head hit the ceiling, then he landed on his right shoulder as he rolled and got thrown onto his back. It flipped again as he got his nose slammed into the side door, and then landed harshly onto his stomach as the car finally came to a stop, causing him to cough violently.

His glasses were hanging off of one ear, with his bag on top of one of his legs. He groaned in pain as he tried to push himself up by his elbows, making it to his knees before the thing ran into the car again, crumbling the two front seats as Tang stared in horror.

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD, I CAN'T STAY IN HERE THAT MUCH LONGER-

He heard the thing start to back up again, leaving the area in complete, utter silence. Tang knew what would happen next as he scrambled to open his side door that was luckily unblocked from the crash. The door clicked and swung open after a few pulls; Tang quickly tried to run out but his leg got caught onto his backpack strap, making him tumble face first into the floor of fog, grass, and pine needles with his bag still hanging off his foot.

He was just in time too, as almost right after he fell he heard the fast footsteps again, and a deafening crash behind him from what he assumed was the rest of the taxi he was in. All he could hear was ringing in his ears as he grabbed his bag strap and his behind a nearby tree, begging to whoever listened that he wouldn't be found so fast.

He heard the thing's steps slow, stalking the area again presumably looking for him. His breathing was heavy and he felt something drip from his nose but he couldn't really think about those things right now. What is that thing!? Why am I being attacked!? How do I get out of here!? Is Zach okay?! Oh no oh no oh no-

He heard sniffing again, then heavy steps coming towards his hiding place. This stopped his spiraling as the world seemed to stop. The steps got closer as Tang's heart beat faster, trying to break out of his ribcage if he had to guess.

It crushed the dead leaves on the forest floor, walking through the trees loudly, as if to taunt him. Suddenly, he heard the steps grow a bit faster, heading in his direction. He was panicking as the sounds got closer and closer, not knowing what that thing would do if it found him.

He could feel the tremors coming from its direction, and he knew that he didn't have much time left to make a decision. He quickly rubbed his nose, blood now covering his scarf and hand as he saw his blood flow through the crevices of the bell on his wrist-

*Ding*

A small chime rang out, echoing through the trees. The bell started to glow as a huge gust of wind blew around him, picking up the fog and displacing it everywhere creating a smokescreen. Tang could only shield himself with his arms, scared of what was happening.

‘I see you've already gotten yourself into trouble’

Tang's head shot up (getting a bit dizzy in the process). “What the hell…?”

Cian stood in front of him, in all its golden glowing glory, leaning over Tang in a mocking manner. It stared into his eyes.

‘You don't have that much time. I have done what I could, but I can't help you anymore unless I lend you my strength.’ It explained briefly, grabbing Tang’s bell and lifting him up to his feet with ease.

Tang quickly spoke up in defense, shock and fear clearly on his face. “What?! I can't do that! I know that-”

A loud, furious growl interrupted him. It sounded dangerously close, as if it would jump out at him at any moment. He was right, yet again, as the fog suddenly parted. All he could catch were red eyes and black fur before it pounced. Tang dodged, tumbling out of the way as its claws got embedded into the tree he was hiding behind, struggling to get them out.

‘You know you won't make it out of this alive without me.’

Tang shook his head as he got up and started to run. He weaved through trees and fog as he heard a crunch from behind. Out of instinct, he looked back and only paled at what was looking straight back at him.

It stood on two legs. Long black hair cascaded from its head to its back as its red eyes stared Tang down, locking onto him as it flicked the remaining bark out of its claws.

Tang ran faster. His legs felt strained and his ankles felt like they were about to collapse but he had to run. Hide. Do anything to get away from that demon.

Cian just floated with Tang’s vision, hovering in front of him as he ran. ‘Just let me help you. You need to make it back to those friends of yours, right?’

He grunted angrily at Cian as he made it back to the road somehow, running across it, going into the opposite piece of woods and sliding to a stop back against another tree.

Putting a hand on his chest, his legs wobble as he doesn't think he can take anymore running on his ankles. The ringing in his ears hasn't stopped. He doesn't think he'll make it out of here in one piece.

He focussed back into reality as loud steps came closer and closer yet again, making Tang freeze in his hiding spot. The steps thankfully passed behind him, going further away as he slumped down for the moment, resting his legs.

“*cough**cough* Ugh…”

This isn't something from the demon. He quickly looked towards the noise, glancing anxiously past the tree to a nearby one. The fog obscured most of it, but he could see a vaguely human body slumped on a tree a few feet down.

It was Zach. It had to be Zach. Who else could it be? Tang didn't know what to do. Zach could be dead. Should he help? Will that get them both killed…?

He decides to risk it, trying to run over to Zach’s (hopefully) unconscious body. The demon immediately knew what he was doing, locking its eyes onto him and starting to run at full speed towards the open shot. It was faster than before, with Tang stumbling back as it caught up to him in seconds and aimed for his neck.

He raised his arms subconsciously, fortunately only costing him only some skin on a forearm instead of his limb as he fell back. The gash was still deep, though, causing blood to slowly drip through the ripped cloth as he landed on his side into the thick fog.

Tears ran hot down his face. He looked around frantically for a way out before the demon's next strike, seeing how it rolled its shoulders back, as if preparing a final blow before taking slow, heavy steps towards him.

‘You know this won't end well.’

Shut up.

Pure red looked deeply into his eyes as he scrambled backwards.

‘Just agree to my offer. I can help you break this pathetic worm in no time.’

No, no, stop talking.

Its slow steps echoed in the silence, continuing its pursuit even when its prey was already cornered.

‘LISTEN. If you die here, what was the point? In making your bonds, maintaining everything you have, trying to fix yourself?’

I can't change anything…

It started to move faster. A brisk pace as it snarled and dragged its claws through the fog. Agitation started to build in Tang’s gut.

‘You would leave everything behind without showing everyone who you could’ve become from this feeble failure that you insist on dying as.’

His breathing was too shallow. It was coming at him fast. 12 feet, 8 feet, 3 feet-

‘You could have been someone special. They could have DEPENDED on you, had you not selfishly given up. You could finally be someone worth living for.’

“FINE!” Tang screamed, shaking the trees and parting the fog around him.

This seemed to shock the demon out of its reverence, making it step back at the sudden noise and hold its ears in pain. It narrowed its eyes at Tang, who couldn't care less at the moment.

Blood and tears mixed onto Tang's scarf as he continued. “I accept! I will take this fucking deal if that's what you want! Just do whatever you like, because what's the point anyway! I'm a lost cause, MIGHT AS WELL DIE KICKING AND SCREAMING!”

The wind started to pick up as Tang's words became more heated, with the trees bending in all sorts of ways at the force and the fog colliding and becoming some sort of tornado around him, forcing the demon to stumble away further.

Orange light started to build up in the middle, growing brighter and brighter until it became blinding to anyone witnessing it. A beam of orange light shot into the sky, parting any fog, trees, or clouds in its way.

Then the light thinned almost immediately, clearing out the remaining fog as Tang's body fell to its knees. His hair was wild as it blew in the harsh winds whipping through the forest. Both the demon and Tang had regained their composure, Tang standing up tall as the demon went defensive, a sliver of fear in its eyes.

Rolling up his sleeves, Tang ran a hand through his hair, sporting an unnatural grin on his face as his forearm glowed orange in the wound. He laughed, cracking his knuckles before staring the demon down, now dawning pure white eyes.

“Now, let's finally get this started!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tang woke up sitting against a tree. His head was killing him, with his hands feeling like they were thrown into a blender overnight. He rubbed his temples and lazily looked to his side, seeing Zach in a similar position as him, with the crushed taxi in the distance.

Seeing those sprung Tang into action as he stumbled over to Zach, feeling that his pulse and breaths were steady. He did see a big bruise on the guy's back peeking through the shirt, but he couldn't really help with something like that at the moment.

He fell back against the tree in relief, seeing the moon high in the sky as it graced everything in soft shades of gray. Looking back at his hands through his dirty glasses, he saw the knuckles were bloody, with dirt and black blood covering his arms and hands.

He also saw the bell was still on his wrist, maybe it was a part of whatever deal he made… oh no.

He groaned heavily into his hands, remembering that he had made a deal with that pest he's still 15% sure is a hallucination. “Awwgh… just great.” He groaned, crossing his legs and leaning back. He is alive though, and that has to count for something, he guesses.

All he remembers was yelling at Cian, then agreeing panicked to that offer, then… nothing. He decides not to think too much about it, as Cian isn't here, that demon isn't here, and he has an unconscious body to take care of plus find somewhere to crash for the both of them.

He readjusted the backpack on his back before trying to wake Zach up. He yelled, hit, and shook the guy with everything he had. Apparently, that wasn't enough as Zach was still unconscious after all that effort. Sighing internally, Tang decided to lift him onto his shoulder, and start dragging.

As you probably expected, this wore him out. By a lot. He had to take breaks every 2 minutes just to be able to carry the guy again. But he still did so, as he didn't want that demon coming after him again and staying in the same place he was attacked was not good for that sort of thing.

He remembered Zach saying there was a place past a few trees over… that way, he guessed. So, now with direction, Tang began to drag this guy's body through the woods, hopefully going to find some help.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After what felt like hours maneuvering through the forest, getting lost, and then yelling at the sky that Zach was still unconscious, Tang finally found something other than trees and weird deer. It was a billboard next to a small dirt path. The writing was so faded that he couldn't make much out, but anything man-made here was a good sign.

Quickly taking a breath before throwing Zach over his shoulder again, he started going along the dirt trail, hoping to find literally anyone with something to at least wake the driver up.

After a couple of minutes, Tang saw smoke rising in the distance. He immediately brightened, going faster than his usual pace. His face was definitely red with exertion at this point, but he really didn't care as he got closer and closer to the smoke, seeing light through the branches.

When he finally emerged, he saw houses, people, and campfires littered everywhere. He collapsed almost immediately after getting there, with his ankles and upper body strength suffering at the sudden use. He could hear people stand up and crowd around them, but farther than Tang would usually think of crowding. Raising his head, he saw everyone there was at least 6 feet away from him, whispering to each other.

When he tried to sit up after a few seconds, everyone went deathly silent, he only got to his knees when every single person drew a gun on him and Zach, some with lasers even aiming at their heads.

He was shocked at the response, looking around the area trying to make sense of the harsh treatment when he saw a wooden sign behind some of the crowd. A very familiar sign, he might add. it said “Welcome to Bellfield: part of the 4TA!” in a loopy font.

His face dropped immediately, shooting daggers at the sign as fell (slowly, don't wanna get shot here) back onto the floor, trying to erase that stupid sign from memory.

“Of course, it had to be Bellfield…”

Previous | Next | Start

A World Without Him

Chapter 13

He's back yet again. You must already know what he's talking about. His void, his dreamscape, his personal hell hole. Call it what you want.

Although, it hasn't changed from the last time he remembered coming here. He can still feel the warmth that encompassed him when he was caught. How the tension the original place held seemed to melt into the new atmosphere.

It was kind of overwhelming; the drastic change probably overcompensates for something else he was worried to even think about.

So, he pushes those paranoid thoughts to the back of his mind, embracing the surroundings. He even feels nice enough to open his eyes, still wincing at the bold, solid color. However, it was dimmed compared to his first time here: manageable.

He lets his eyes adjust before looking around, only seeing a burnt orange as far as his eyes could show him.

He could move his limbs, too, almost like swimming through water, but he didn't really need to go anywhere at the moment. Everything stayed that simple color no matter where he looked.

So he waited, slowly spinning in the weightlessness that filled this place. Tang had almost become bored at the endless silence. Everything was just so quiet. He couldn't even hear himself… he didn't know if that was a good thing.

Something saved him the chance to ponder on it longer, though, as the sound of grating metal reached his ears. It made him jump, the sudden sound raging through the original silence.

He couldn't tell where it was coming from, the noise seemingly coming from all over. He couldn't even tell which way was up at this point; everything stayed the same exact color.

It grew more intense as he frantically looked around the endless space, finding nothing as the sound only grew closer.

Then the grating stopped abruptly, letting the dreamscape fall back into complete silence. Tang was sure if he could hear himself at the moment, his erratic breathing would have been enough to drown out the whole void.

The new bout of silence didn't last long.

‘Hello again.’

The smooth voice sounded from behind. Tang could suddenly hear himself again, his breaths heavy with grinding teeth and a fast heartbeat drowning out the sudden noise. Tang whipped his head around to the foreign sounds source.

It was a person. Or, well, something that looked like one. It had an average human-ish figure, along with the right amount of arms, heads, and legs to assume.

But that was where most similarities ended. It glowed a faint orange hue all over its body, highlighting its translucent, golden skin. The limbs he could see were covered in many undecipherable symbols, with what seemed like steel rings on its wrists and ankles.

It had light, loose clothing covering its body, baggy pants and half of a robe to name some, with multiple pieces of hanging jewelry all over. Its hair was short with bright highlights and a wavy texture, floating around its head as the hair seemingly went by its own rules. Its eyes were pure white, giving away little to what it was thinking.

It smiled, huffing out a laugh that echoed in the void. ‘My apologies. I didn't expect you to be this… jumpy. I even made all of this more digestible for you.” It sounded out, almost condescendingly.

Tang stared wide-eyed at the newcomer, staying strikingly still even as he floated. “Wh-who are you!?” He nervously shouted at the unknown threat.

The being lolled its head to one side, looking Tang up and down. After a second, it seemed satisfied with what it found, giving Tang a wolfish grin. ‘You may call me Cian.’

Tang seemed shocked at getting an answer. He hasn't had an actual conversation in his dreams for months, so he expected to be thrown away or woken up by now.

Okay. This is weird. It seems familiar… But this is fine. It's just a dream. Everything here is your head mashing together memories. Tang weakly thought as he curled in on himself. His stomach flipped uncomfortably as he tried to reason with what was happening.

The being- erm, Cian, frowned. ‘I expected better than those foolish excuses. Is this not enough for you?’

Tang quickly looked back at it, surprise clearly on his face. It only sighed at the reaction, seemingly annoyed with its predicament.

Its body then seemed to adhere to gravity, landing on a platform Tang couldn't see, and walking towards the scholar with a new tactic in mind.

‘I know how much you’ve struggled. Pain, suffering, loss: those are things you have wanted to avoid so badly, yet keep finding throughout your life.’

Tang tried to back away, but he couldn't seem to find a grip as he kept floating in place, the feeling around him changing from being underwater to something more like being stuck in space.

‘You are WEAK. You have been thrown around from birth, treated as less than based on what you have failed to provide. How you failed to do anything meaningful.’

Cian’s voice shook the area, making sure that Tang couldn't ignore it as it drew closer.

‘But it doesn't have to stay that way. I can help you, little cicada. I can gift your body the strength to give back what those demons have done to you and those you cared about.’

It's right in front of him now; its eyes seem to stare into his soul as it talks. Tang tries to look away, but it grabs his chin and roughly turns his head to face it.

‘Just let me in; I have what you need. Stop fighting what you know you’ve been searching for.’

Tang didn't know what it was talking about. It looked sharply into his eyes, and it looked for a long time, trying to see something Tang couldn't fathom.

Small hairline fractures appeared in the colorful void in Tang's peripheral vision, but Cian didn't seem to care at the moment. It frowned in the end, letting Tang's face go as it stepped back, wisps of hair floating into its face.

‘I suppose this isn't working. I'll give you a token for now.’ It grumbled, yanking off a string around its neck that held a small bell as its charm.

Tang froze at Cian's actions, feeling uneasy at the behavior as he was worried the figure would snap at any moment. He stayed that way even as it walked closer, reaching towards his wrist to tie the bell around it.

‘There.’ It said softly, stepping back in front of Tang after finishing the knot. Tang lifted the hand to his face, trying to inspect what he was just given.

A sudden shake interrupts the moment, causing larger cracks to form in the color surrounding them. Cian looked up at the fractures, glaring at them as its body seemed to flicker in and out of existence.

“What's happening?!” Tang gasped, seeing the cracks grow larger and Cian’s body starting to fade away.

‘Those damned snakes.’ It spat to itself, turning slowly to Tang's panicked form as its body kept fading more and more.

‘We will see each other again. Keep that bell on you at all times. Just wait for me…’ Its voice faded out, becoming background noise as its body finally disappeared and the cracks overcame the color.

Pieces of color began to crumble down, revealing a familiar black void underneath. Tang couldn't hear himself after Cian vanished, so he could only feel himself screaming as he was sucked downwards by a sudden pull, taking him away from the warmth and stability.

Now everything was cold. Pieces of the former void changed to blend into the new one, giving Tang only darkness as he slowly started to lose himself. He closed his eyes and he continued to fall. He flailed his limbs as he did so, screaming at the top of his lungs to no result except silence; nothing caught him this time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tang wakes up on the hardwood floor. His limbs felt numb to sensation, as he could only feel prickles as he came to realize he was awake. He couldn't remember much from his dream…

After staying in place for a good couple of minutes, he regained some feeling, but only the soreness in his arms and legs. It felt like the time he tried training with Sandy: like his muscles would fall off at any attempt to move them.

Still, he groans as he raises his head, trying to look at where he ended up this time. He was on his bedroom floor (again. Maybe that's why he felt so sore) near the open window, one arm hanging outside, almost as if he was trying to climb out in his sleep. The sky was dim, and he could feel the early breeze outside, causing a shiver to run up his spine.

He quickly pulled his arm out of the window, letting it fall to the floor when the prickly sensation became too much to continue. Staring at the ceiling was the only thing he could do at the moment when his body was out of commission, so he did just that.

Waiting for the exhaustion in his limbs to go away seemed to take forever. He could hear how more and more people began to go outside as it turned from dawn to morning. He saw how sunlight entered his bedroom, shining onto his torso as he laid still. The warmth was nice, he supposed.

He only tried to move after he saw his whole room lit up with the sun's rays, with a shadow suddenly blocking some of the light, most likely a cloud, then moving out of the way for light to come back with a vengeance on his face. He squinted, annoyed at the light now trying to blind his already crap eyes.

Moving forward, he pulled his arms in and pushed himself onto his elbows, then taking a knee as he pushed off from there. After grabbing the window ledge for stability, Tang was now fully standing!

That only helped so much as his limbs still felt like lead with everything else giving off prickling sensations, and his vision was blurry without his glasses. He sighed heavily, knowing he would have to get to his bedside table to have his sight back.

Slowly but surely, he wobbly stepped up to his bed, flopped on top of it, and rolled on his side, leading himself to the side table.

Mentally cringing that he had to do that, he quickly reached to where he put his glasses, and then put them on. He felt more secure when his vision returned.

Now with more stability, Tang slowly sat up, raising his hands to rub the drowsiness from his eyes. However, something snagged on his scarf as he did so, making him look down as his wrist confused.

It was a bell. A small, golden bell attached to a thin bracelet that was tied with a bow.

Wh-what… He thought, shocked at the piece of jewelry around his wrist. It was in my dream, how did it get here!? HOW IS IT REAL!?!?

In his panicked state, he tried everything to get rid of the thing. Pulling it off didn't work unless he wanted to dislocate his thumb. Ripping it off didn't work, as it only hurt his wrist in the process (it ripped off so easily earlier…).

Finally, cutting it off didn't work either, as Tang forced himself up to the kitchen, leaning on the counter, and then tried every sharp item he could grab to get it off. An assortment of knives: nope, but he did cut himself a few times, bleeding a bit onto the counter. Scissors: became crooked and useless after the attempt. Pizza cutter: couldn't even scratch the band.

Now tired and with a hurting wrist, he wobbled over to the living room, took off his glasses, now holding them in his hand, and flopped onto the couch face first. After a few seconds, he screamed into the cushions.

He wanted nothing to do with this. Whatever was messing with his dreams, and probably sanity, could go suck on a lemon for all he cared. He didn't want to put up with this anymore.

I want to leave. I'm going to leave. I'm going to go so far that whatever is affecting me can't chase me this time. So I can finally figure out what’s wrong with me. So I can get rid of it. So I can see my friends again…

He tilted his head to the side as he put on his glasses, seeing how his apartment looked like a hailstorm had run through it from his previous episode. All of his stuff was still thrown about; he could easily see everything that he had trashed around the room.

‘I can't ____ __em at ___.’

Tang quickly sat up, grabbing his head in frustration. Adrenaline rushed through his body as he stood up, grabbed the previously discarded backpack near his front door and started to rush around the apartment, grabbing anything useful. He's going to put this into action. He's not going to chicken out again.

A thermos left on the counter from his previous search along with a plastic water bottle and a small water filter get thrown in first. All of these items have signs of wear from continuous usage.

Then he walks towards a fallen pile, taking a pair of baggy black shorts and some t-shirt advertising a random acting troupe, extra socks and underwear, and a well worn sun hat from it and throwing most of the clothing into the front pocket, letting the sun hat hang from his neck.

‘Som___ing isn't _____ here, he ________ b_ ____.’

The voice was muffled, being drowned out by Tang's erratic movements, digging through the piles of junk looking for specific items.

He came up with one of his old journals, the leather binding making it seem older than it really was. He picked it up harshly, opening the strap and looking through the pages.

There was a big number 3 circled at the start of it. Tang used to number his journals when he just started writing, but he let up with it when he started to mainly doodle instead of write.

He looked further through the writing. It was his travel journal; it was something he kept as he went from place to place, writing about his days and interesting events that he saw or was involved in.

There were a good couple of pages left in the journal. He remembered he stopped writing in it when he came to Metrapolis in his 20's, getting an apartment and settling down in one place.

After a moment of thought, he took the journal and packed it into the main part of his backpack with the water bottle and thermos. He then grabbed a small umbrella on the floor near the pile, putting it into one of the water bottle pockets on the side.

He then walked briskly to the bathroom, ignoring the mirror and looking under the sink. He grabbed a small zipped up bag containing first aid equipment. Things like bandaids, antibacterial packets, tweezers, a small pack of sunscreen, bug bite patches, and other small aids were inside.

‘Why is __ __ing so ____ like th__?’

He ignored the voice again, harshly putting the first aid pouch in front of his backpack next to the clothes. He quickly goes back to the kitchen after leaving the bathroom, taking out as many non-perishables that he can fit into his bag. Things like chip bags, canned food, and some fruit strips plus granola bars.

After he finished, he seemed to just stare at the bag. Looking through its seams, almost like he was trying to reason something from the backpack. His breathing slowed as he did so, becoming deep and rhythmic as he continued to stare, letting his adrenaline drop.

He took the plastic water bottle out, then zipped up the bag. He quickly filled it up with water before putting it in the other pocket on the bag's side, matching the umbrella.

Taking some time to rest, he left the backpack on the counter and walked to his living room window, looking down at the people below.

Down on the street, he saw the grannies on their way to class together, walking past people in uniform serving the outside tables of a popular chain restaurant. Kids walked with their parents, and a hoverbike raced by above traffic causing some napkins to fly up and away in the daylight.

He felt the warmth of the sun through the window. This was all regular. This was all normal. No shocks, no loud noises, no orange. It helped him relax, letting the tension bleed from his limbs and shoulders.

Leaving the living room, he went back into his bedroom for his phone. Its screen was cracked like his glasses; he grabbed it off the bedside table (he tried to turn it on, but it was dead again) and put it into his pants back pocket.

He then opened the drawer under it, taking out a solar powered battery bank and his wallet. After wrapping the battery cord in his hands, he looked to the floor, seeing The Origins of JTTW open on the ground.

After a bit of hesitation, he crouched down and picked up the book. It was open to the page of the Great Monk, how he was involved in the original story and how he differed from the legends based on what remnants archeologists could find of him.

The Great Monk took up a few more pages after that, most of it being clear pictures of the scrolls and other items recovered proving his existence. Tang closed the book and tucked it under his arm, walking back to the kitchen and packing the book, letting the solar battery hang on a zipper like a keychain to charge as he walked.

He didn't really have anything else to do now. He leaned on the counter, glaring at the backpack, like it was the one who made him crazy. After a few moments, he bowed his head and sighed, walking back to the living room and looking at the mess.

There was nothing else he needed; nothing else jumped out at him to take it along with him. Well, that was until he saw something reflecting the sunlight from the window, buried under ripped paper and post-its.

Walking to the small pile, he brushed aside the pieces of paper, finding his old combat boots underneath. He didn't need to use them much when he first got them, as he mostly stayed in place as he read at his station.

They looked like they would still fit him; he deflated a bit as he noticed that he hasn't grown much since then. Slowly pulling them out of the scraps, he took them to the couch. As he changed from his new-ish flats to thin socks and his old combat boots, he thought how nice it was that he didn't have to shave his head to wear these again.

After tying up the laces and tucking the top of the boots under his embroidered pant cuffs, he stood to grab the bag from the counter and reached for his key ring near the door.

Leaving his apartment, he closed and locked the door softly, making sure he wouldn't be heard leaving. Putting his key ring in his other pants pocket, he went down the stairs towards the building entrance.

Standing in front of the double doors, Tang hesitated. Will this be alright? I'm not even sure that leaving will get rid of these voices… But what if I can find some answers? What if I can finally get better? I might as well try.

He steps out the doors determined. The white noise washes over him; discussions, multiple vehicles passing by, and nature blurred together in the community.

Tang starts to walk. He walks past familiar spots like Lazy Susan's, unfamiliar people that walk by just the same, and the new visuals popping up as all of this keeps changing with the times.

He walks, and walks, and walks. His ankles feel like you would give out, but he needed to keep walking to get away from the familiarity and sameness of Metrapolis. He won't find closure here: he needs to find answers elsewhere, and on his own.

Zoning back into his surroundings, he sees that his muscle memory has led him somewhere he recognized. He was right in front of Pigsy's Noodles, in all its glory.

He saw how the metal blinds were drawn and the sign signified it was closed. The entrance wasn't the same as the window, though, still open for anyone to waltz in if they like.

Sighing to himself, Tang checks inside the restaurant to make sure no one was looting the place, then reaches up and pulls down the metal entrance cover with a bit of effort, locking it at the bottom for Pigsy.

After shaking his arm at the slight effort (the bell on his wrist never rang out), he figured that he should probably let someone know where he was going so he wasn't plastered on a missing poster or something.

Remembering his dead phone, he grumbled as he reached into his bag, pulling out his journal and first aid kit, then ripping out a page and some medical tape. After putting the materials back in the bag, he took a small pen off of his key ring and wrote out a note for Pigsy.

Hey Pigsy, this is from Tang. I'm just letting you know that I'll be out of town for a bit. I probably won't have any cell service most of the time, so I'll message you when I can. Also, I closed the restaurant entrance for you, protecting it from any potential thieves! I think that my actions deserve a free bowl of noodles when I get back.

—Warm regards, Tang ♡

After finishing the note, he used the medical tape to secure it to the metal blinds over the window, mainly under its awning to protect the message from the elements.

Now someone knows I'm leaving. Maybe people will actually listen if he's the one to tell them. Tang thought as he walked away from the shop, not thinking about it too much longer for his remaining sanity.

He continued to walk, seeing the neon on the skyscrapers and tall buildings thin out to smaller houses next to small Mom and Pop shops. He sits on the edge of a cleaner sidewalk to take a small break, taking the solar battery off the zipper and plugging in his phone.

He checked the time on it when it was charged enough, seeing it was about 2:37 PM at the moment. That's probably why the sun is glaring down at him right now, making him put on the sun hat and take a drink from his water bottle.

After putting everything back into his bag, he rolled up his sleeves, put his phone into his pocket and continued his walk to the outskirts of Metrapolis.

The buildings seemed to dwindle as he went farther and farther out, only seeing a few houses spread across grassy fields as he came closer and closer to the exit.

After he walked for a few more minutes, he could see the exit sign (more like a billboard) in full. It said, “Now leaving Metrapolis, we hope to see you again soon!” In bright yellow, pink, and blue.

Tang huffed at the bright colors, looking past the sign at the road leading out of the city. No buildings filled the sides, no signs lit up the road, and no one seemed to be walking along its side like he was. Only a flat road led out of the city, showing how different the inside compared to the flat plains ahead.

This was it. He only needed to walk a bit further to be out of the Metrapolis. Away from his city and friends. He could finally start to figure out what was happening to him.

He took a deep breath, focussing on the path ahead, and stepped past the sign.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun had barely started to set when Tang arrived at his first destination. It was a small gas station, a piece of the city between the rolling hills and fields around them.

A car that looked like a taxi was parked near one of the pumps, with a person no older than 25 seeming to be having trouble with it as he kept kicking the pump near the taxi.

Ignoring the person, Tang walked inside the gas station to refill his water bottle. He exchanged pleasantries with the cashier before exiting again, seeing the presumed taxi driver still going ham on the pump, seemingly not letting up since Tang saw him last.

Sighing internally, Tang tried to walk past the unfortunate driver, but was stopped when the kid started to shout at him. “Hey! Hey you! Can you help me out here? This stulid pump ate my card, and I have a time limit to make it back!”

Tang looked back suspiciously, trying to see if he was about to get kidnapped or not. The person looked decent, short shaggy brown hair with a navy button down along with gray leggings and white tennis shoes with a panicked expression: not that suspicious. He also saw the cashier had a clear view of this specific pump, and some cameras were sprinkled around the gas station, so Tang was willing to risk it.

As he got closer, he saw the card was too far in the reader to get it out with your fingers. Tang nodded his head in sympathy. “Erm, sure. Just give me a second.” He pulled out his first aid kit and took the tweezers out, starting to try and pull the thing out of the reader.

The driver talked his ear off as he did so. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I tried to do a long drive for someone down at the Golden South province all the way to Metrapolis, but I ran out of gas on my way back. I got a lot of tip money from it, but now I might not make it back in time to turn in the taxi. I don't want to have to pay the late fee again: my boss racks it up depending on how many times it's been turned in late, and I've already been late 6 official times-”

“Here you go.” Tang interrupts, shoving the now free card into the driver's face. The driver lit up at receiving his card back, pocketing it and unlocking the taxi, getting in after pulling the pump out. Tang goes to wipe the tweezers down before putting them back in his bag.

Then before Tang could leave, the driver rolled down the taxi window, poking his head out. “By the way, do you need to go anywhere? I'm just going back to Open Border, but I can drop you off anywhere along the way, free of charge! I can even take a shortcut for you if need be.”

Tang debated his options. He did need to get to Golden South as it had one of his old colleagues there that he could consult with, and getting there purely on foot would take a while. It was also that Tang didn't really want to waste any time in getting rid of his problem. The driver seemed nice enough, no big dents or scratches on the car and no oddities as far as Tang could see.

He decided to accept on a whim. It's not like there were any nearby hotels anyways, and he didn't want to sleep outside this time, especially with what's been going on. “Oh, sure. Just drop me when you stop in Golden South; I'll find my way from there.” Tang accepted, opening the door and getting into the back seat.

“That sounds good to me! I'll let you out before I turn in the taxi. By the way, my name is Zach.” Zach introduced after getting back into the driver's seat and rolling up the window.

“Nice to meet you. You can call me Tang” Tang replied from the back seat, quickly taking off his backpack and putting it on the car floor.

“Will do Tang!” Zach then put the car out of park and into drive, pulling out of the gas Station, and then driving down the smooth road away from Metrapolis.

Tang looked out the back window,seeing more and more of the city fading from view. He looked away after some moments, going to look out his side window, out at the grass and setting sun. He closes his eyes.

‘Are you done?’

Tang shoots his eyes open, trying not to freak out when someone else is currently in the car. He attempts to look around discreetly, but he already knows it won't result in anything meaningful.

Just ignore it. It's not like it'll talk to you again. Just let it babble along and fade away. He reasoned, going back to looking out the window.

‘Are we really doing this?’

Tang didn't react, ignoring the voice and letting himself disassociate.

‘You are making this difficult.’

Tang didn't reply. The hands on his lap held onto his pants with a death grip.

The voice sighed heavily, then let the car ride fall into silence yet again. Tang sighed in relief, sagging into his seat…

A huge flash of light suddenly came from the seat beside Tang, causing him to jump at the blast. “You okay back there?” Zach asked concerned, stopped at a traffic light.

Tang took a second to respond. “Oh! Oh, yeah, I'm completely fine. Don't worry about it!” Zach looked unconvinced, but returned his eyes to the road when the traffic light turned green.

Tang quickly looked to the empty seat beside him, jaw dropping at the figure now sitting there, jogging the foggy memory from his dreams. It was Cian.

‘Will you converse with me now?’ Cian asked, a bit smug.

Wh-what the hell?! How is this happening?! Tang thought, panicking internally.

Cian scoffed at the question. ‘Do I have to spell everything out for you? I’m projecting my body through the token I gave you. Only you can see and hear me as you're the one wearing it.’

Tang started to spiral. Token? Does it mean the stuped bell?! Have I finally snapped…

Cian seemed like it was about to snap itself, deeply frowning at Tang. Suddenly, it reached out to grab Tang's wrist, physically pulling on the bell he woke up with. Tang fell onto his side at the sudden pull, alerting Zach again. “Are you sure you're okay? You're completely fine if you have motion sickness! I can pull over if you want.”

Tang quickly refutes. “No, no, it's alright. I just dropped something.” He sat up slowly, rubbing the now sore wrist from the pull.

‘Will you acknowledge me now?’

Tang grimaced, staring at his feet as he scooted as far away from Cian as he could. You're real. How are you real? Were you the one messing with my dreams for some sort of sick amusement?

Cian sighed, getting closer and lifting Tang's wrist up by the bracelet. ‘To answer the last question, no. How I'm here is because I'm connected with you through our shared abilities. I was once able to harness the same power you used against the Lady Bone Demon.’

Cian then let his wrist go, letting it fall onto the car seat. ‘But now you have them. So I think it's only my duty to help you before those flares get out of control. They mainly affect your perception of reality, which is why you've been experiencing more and more visions as time went on.’

Tang took a deep breath, still staring at his feet. Then how can I get rid of them? The visions, voices, whatever's affecting me.

Cian leaned back and looked out the window. ‘They stop once you get control over your powers. However, you're too weak at the moment to even try overcoming anything by your own will.’

Tang laughed bitterly to himself as he ran a hand through his messy hair, dislodging his sunhat. That figures.

Cian grinned widely out of Tang's view at the scholars's response. ‘I do have a solution to help, though. I can offer my previous strength to help you overcome your weaknesses.’

Tang looked up to Cian, a condescending smile on his face. And why should I trust you? For all I know, you could be the one giving me these hellish visions in the first place, or I'm still hallucinating! It's not like I'm being coerced by a random voice that only I can see and speak to in my mind at the moment.

Cian didn't take the sarcasm lightly; loose dust and other debris floated up from the floor as it looked Tang in the eyes. ‘I can easily let you keep living your days alone and paranoid, plagued by visions. I am trying to give you an escape and some way to fight back. And you're judging me this quickly? What would those so-called friends of yours think when they find you huddled in your trashed apartment, trapped within the confines of your mind and reliving the worst moments of your life over and over? You would become useless to them. They wouldn't give you a second glance before leaving you in your filth.’

Tang didn't grace Cian with an answer, keeping a white-knuckled grip on his pants.

Before either could break the new silence, Zach spoke ahead. “I'm going to take a small back road if that's okay. Be warned, it's a little bumpy as it's mainly gravel and dirt.”

Tang just gave a hum of affirmation, looking back out his window at the dimming sky and the trees now blocking his view as the car detoured to the back road.

Cian didn't speak again after that, disappearing from view. The dust dropped abruptly as it did so, letting Tang continue his car ride with some semblance of peace.

Previous | Next | Start

A World Without Him

Chapter 12

-The day before, at 10:30 AM-

Pigsy’s Noodles was just opening shop, with the owner of said restaurant hauling up the metal door and blinds, then lighting up the store's sign to show it was in business.

Then he walked back into the kitchen to check all the appliances and heat up the broth, going into a sort of trance as he checked over everything in his kitchen. A friendly face came by a couple minutes after the official opening, helping to take down the chairs and putting them in the correct spots. After finishing up, the friend went over to the bar and started to chat with the chef.

“Hello Pigsy!” He offered with a grin, sitting down a bit uncomfortably onto one of the nearby stools. “Hey there, Sandy.” Pigsy answered absent-mindedly, focussing on his prep before finishing and walking towards the bar. This was the bit of free time Pigsy had before orders started showing up, so he had some time to talk.

“Do you think Mk will come by today?” Sandy asked, looking around the shop as if he expected Mk to pop out at any moment.

“Not exactly.” Pigsy grumbled. “He hasn't been by here for the past three days, not like he was even pretending to deliver noodles before.”

“Aw, don't be like that Pigsy! I know Mk has been out and about for the past few weeks, but it's only because he's been stopping demons left and right! We're his friends, so he wouldn't just leave without a reason to.” Sandy offered, leaning over the bar as if to make a point.

“I know, I know Sandy.” Pigsy says, waving off the blue giant before staring out onto the street, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

Sandy noticed the change in tone immediately. “What's on your mind, Pigsy? It's never good to bottle up your thoughts or emotions. You seem a little tense. Is this about Mk, or something else?”

Pigsy paused for a moment, thinking it over before sighing heavily. “It's about Tang” “What about him exactly?” Sandy asked.

“Well, ugh. It's just that he's worrying me. He's been cooped up in that apartment of his for the past couple weeks, which you know he only does when he's trying to ride something out on his own, and he's been especially weird after the whole library fight!

“You saw how he didn't answer his phone that day. When I went up to get him, I… his entire apartment was trashed. Things broken and thrown around the room sort of thing. He also looked like a complete mess, with his hair all over the place along with dust and other stuff covering his clothes. His glasses were even cracked!

“Then he brushed me off when I tried to get him to talk, saying how he'd been through a lot that day, dropping a bomb on how he was stuck under a building for hours, and then how he just needed some time alone. I let it go at the time, but staying alone after an event like that happened to him is worrying me about what actually happened at the library. 

Pigsy pauses for a second before continuing, now a bit more solemn in his tone. “If he thought what happened at the library was something he could handle by himself, then I'm concerned for all the other stuff he thinks is better going through alone. I'm just wondering if there's something he's not telling me: something that he's been harboring at his apartment all this time.”

Sandy nodded along with Pigsy’s words, growing more and more concerned as Pigsy went on. “Have you tried asking him about this? Maybe checking in on him, too?”

Pigsy huffed, looking at the ground before turning back to Sandy. “I didn't know it had gotten this bad until I saw him yesterday. But I did tell him to come here at noon to talk about it, and that I would drag him here myself if he were late. I'm just hoping he'll actually come by himself instead of staying inside again.”

Sandy nodded, still looking concerned at what Pigsy had told him. “Does anyone else know this is going on?”

Pigsy looked to the side, a bit ashamed. “No one else needs to know the specifics yet. I wouldn't want to overwhelm Tang with that many people knowing. It's not like I have that many people I could tell anyways.”

Sandy looked like he wanted to say something, but he never got the chance when the bell on the shop door rang, taking Pigsy's attention away from the conversation.

“I'd better get to that order. We'll continue this later, Sandy.” Pigsy said, leaving Sandy at the bar to attend to the growing crowd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pigsy was spread thin throughout his restaurant. He had to stop offering delivery at the moment when no one acceptable would apply for the job in Mk's stead, which definitely put a dent into his profits.

At the start, it was fine. People would often order out through his window instead of delivery, and all he needed to do was throw the noodles onto the shelf for people to grab.

Then more people would start to line up, and the pressure of making everything on time became overwhelming along with the struggle of waiting on everyone eating in.

All of this combined started to grate on Pigsy's nerves as more and more people started to complain about the wait time. 

If they want their freaking noodles in 5 minutes, then why don't they COME IN AND MAKE IT THEMSELVES. 

Pigsy might actually kiss Tang if he came by so he could finally get a break from all the complaints and passive aggressive comments, even if Tang is already way too late just for a slap on the wrist. Pigsy would go out there and drag him down himself if Tang didn't show up in the next few minutes-

*CRASH*

The sudden noise dragged Pigsy's focus away from the noodles he was preparing. He looked up rapidly and saw a mop of brown hair coming towards him at an alarming speed, knocking some chairs over in the process.

“Kid, what are you doing here?!” Pigsy yelled out, but it fell on deaf ears as he was grabbed by his elbow and pulled out of the kitchen.

“No time Pigsy. Something's up with Monkey King, the island has become a bit overwhelming and I need your guys's help stat!” The kid replied, going over to where Sandy was sitting and yanking him out of his stool. Sandy had to contort his body almost inhumanely just to keep the tea in his hands from spilling out.

But that work was for naught as the kid was suddenly getting ready to fly off again, only giving Pigsy a second to cut off the sign and drag down the blinds before the kid jumped off towards Flower Fruit Mountain. Sandy dropped his cup somewhere on the way.

When they landed in front of the waterfall entrance, they only had seconds to recover before all the duo could hear were the kid's ramblings. “I'm not sure what's wrong but he hasn't come out of the waterfall for a week and the sigil on it has been acting weird and I don't know what to do- wait, where's Mr Tang? I thought I grabbed everyone at the bar.”

The kid looked at them both, searching for a certain scholar, yet coming up with nothing other than the small monkeys hanging around the waterfall coming a bit closer to inspect the new visitors.

Pigsy, after recovering from the whiplash, cleared his throat. “Mk, Tang is probably at his apartment. He's going to be at the shop any minute to talk with me though, so I need to get back pretty soon.”

“Oh, I can wait for Mr Tang to get there for you! I just needed to get you all here to figure out how to get Monkey King out and ask him about the island. It wont take too long, right?” Mk asked with a nervous grin.

Pigsy sighed as he pinched his nose bridge. “I wanted to have some time to have a serious talk with Tang. Alone. I can't exactly put that off for whatever Monkey King has gotten himself into this time.”

Mk wouldn't back down at Pigsy's protest, though. “You can just have it here, then! Mei's already inside and all I need Tang to do is sort through all the mystic junk for anything useful and ask him what he thinks is wrong with the island and Monkey King. After that, all I need him to do is sit back and watch as we help Monkey King fix everything up-”

The ground suddenly shakes as the sigil on the waterfall started to glow, cracks in the surrounding stone growing before loose rock fell into the dense forest, knocking down some trees in the process. The monkeys around them jumped and started to run at the sounds, huddling together in fear.

Mei came running out of the waterfall at the commotion. “Another one already!? AUUUUGH, THIS BLOWS!” She yelled as she took a stance in front of the waterfall and shot up towards its sigil, using her family sword to stab it infused with the Samadhi Fire.

The sigil glowed sporadically, the shaking becoming more severe before it finally cracked under the pressure and started to dull, slightly softening the shaking.

Mk's expression became more tense as he yelled to Sandy and Pigsy. “Do you guys see what's happening now!? I need you to keep us safe from the falling rocks while I help Mei.”

Mk ran off before either of them could respond, leaving them in the path of all the debris with a job to do.

Sandy immediately jumped up and started to punch the rocks into bits before they could hit the ground and cause more damage, and after a few seconds of hesitation, Pigsy joined him.

This went on for what seemed like forever: the continuous tasks becoming tiresome for the both of them. But then, long after their knuckles became bloody and numb, the rocks finally stopped falling and the island became silent. When Pigsy and Sandy made it back to the waterfall entrance, they saw how the sigil had gained more small cracks compared to when they saw it before.

Then, looking towards the floor, they could see Mei and Mk laid out on the ground, both breathing heavily as Pigsy and Sandy approached. 

“Are you both alright?” Sandy asked, crouching down near the duo to see if they were hurt.

“Nah, *huff* we're both *huff* fine. Just tired from the *huff* overuse.” Mei answered from the floor.

Pigsy sat down next to them. “What just happened back there? Is this why you snatched us out of the shop?”

Mk took a few moments to breathe, and then he finally answered after sitting up. “Yeah, this is why I went and got you. I just figured out this was happening after I hadn't heard from Monkey King in a while and went to check on him.”

Mk looked around the waterfall entrance, a pensive look forming on his face. “I'll tell you more inside. It'll be easier to show you there.” Mk said, standing up with some difficulty along with Mei before walking to the entrance.

Standing in front of the seal with everyone behind him, Mk put his palm up and onto the seal and waited.

It flickered, the image shorting in and out of everyone's view, before it dulled completely. Mk sighed in relief at that before stepping in. Mei, Sandy, and Pigsy followed in his stead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They walked through hills of weapons, scrolls, and other junk Monkey King had piled in here over the years. Sandy knocked some of the stuff over in the process, and everyone almost tripped over the junk more than once.

They eventually made it to a clearing with a small, wooden hut in the middle of it. Mk looked past it and went towards some logs on the floor, sitting on the one with moss covering half of its side.

Mei sat beside him with Sandy and Pigsy choosing their own logs, looking at Mk expectantly.

Mk sighed heavily before speaking. “The seal has been acting completely overkill since I got here. I don't know what affected it, it's just been going crazy at random times and doing that to the surrounding area.”

Pigsy looked towards the wooden hut, and then back to Mk. “Then where's Monkey King? Shouldn't he be able to fix all this, as it’s his own waterfall seal or whatever?”

Mk grumbled to the floor, so Mei answered instead. “Mk's already looked into the shack with his golden vision. He now knows for sure Monkey King is in that hut right now, but no matter what we do, that monkey won't come out: I even played the Nyan Cat theme for an hour and a half straight! Nothing we do can even scratch what that shack is made of anyway, so breaking it open won't work either.”

This only made Pigsy more annoyed with the king. “So he won't even come out when his island is going to crap? Why is he hiding in the first place anyway?” Pigsy spat, clearly fed up with how Wukong had been handling everything.

Sandy gives Pigsy a pat on the shoulder. “I'm sure Monkey King has a reason for shutting himself away, and now that me and Pigsy are here, we can try and help as much as we can to get him out.” Sandy offered, trying to lessen the growing tension.

Pigsy stood up quickly, shrugging off Sandy’s hand as he marched towards the hut. “If nothing you tried was able to get that stupid monkey to come out, then I'll have to resort to my Special Recipe to get him out of that stupid shack.” He mumbled with a sadistic grin, marching up the stairs to the hut’s main door.

Sandy just sighed and Mk winced in sympathy. “What's the big deal about it?” Mei asked curiously.

“You remember that one time I passed in my room from training for a day straight and was late for my job at Pigsy’s the next day?” Mk asked Mei, seeing Pigsy grab a whole thing of pots and pans out of somewhere.

“Yeah?” Mei responded, a bit more confused than before.

“Apparently, I was sleeping like a rock, and Pigsy couldn't shake me awake or do anything to get me conscious. So, instead, he grabbed the strongest smelling ingredients he had at the time, cooked them together, and shoved the finished product in my face. I was shocked awake so badly that I almost made a hole in my ceiling.” Mk laughed slightly at the end, looking back at Pigsy and seeing the chef giggling to himself as he added what seemed to be garlic and chilies.

“Ohhhhh! That's why you kept taking my scented hand sanitizer for like, a whole week that one time!” Mei remembered, poking at Mk’s cheek.

“Yeah, yeah. I wasn't even allowed to taste the dang thing he made either!” Mk complained a bit, shaking his hand in the air to Mei’s amusement as she chuckled with Sandy.

The story had lightened the mood, lifting a bit of stress off of everyone's shoulders. A few moments after, Pigsy finally finished whatever he was doing near the door and gestured rapidly for them to come up near the hut.

With a bit of hesitation, they walked towards the door and almost immediately gagged at the strong smell. Even Pigsy had a cloth over his face as he picked up the bowl emitting what they were smelling.

“Are we even sure that's gonna work? I don't want that lingering here longer than it has to.” Mei said, a bit muffled under the sleeve she used to block out the smell.

“Did I wave you over here to critique my methods? No, I got you over here to help me get Monkey King outside.” Pigsy rebutted.

“How are we even going to get that stuff inside piggy? Like I said, this shack is basically indestructible!” Mei complained, leaning on one of the wooden rails near the stairs as Pigsy covered the bowl from the complaint.

A moment of silence passed…

Sandy spoke up in a small voice, pointing somewhere at the hut. “Uh, maybe we could do something with that cracked window?”

Everyone followed Sandy's hand to a busted up, dirty looking window that had about an inch of a gap underneath it from being pushed to one side. 

Mk spoke up in a chipper tone. “Oh! I didn't see that before… that could work!”

After all of them used almost too many attempts at lifting the window, (Mei trying to leverage it with her sword with Pigsy plus Sandy trying to lift it bare handed), Mk was able to open it by shrinking down his staff, putting it in the gap, and growing it big enough to shove the window open. 

The staff went flying at the extra force, but it was luckily caught by Mk before it could hit Sandy square in the nose.

After everyone settled down, Mk volunteered to get the monkey as no one knew what Monkey King would do when he woke up if someone like Mk almost put a hole in his ceiling. Mk also had the highest chance of surviving whatever the king threw out at him.

“Okay, just be careful in there, kid.” Pigsy stated, handing the bowl (now with a cloth over the top) over for Mk to carry.

“Don't worry Pigsy, I'll be in and out no problem!” Mk then slinked in through the window, careful not to spill anything, before standing up in what seemed to be Monkey King's living room.

“Do you see him anywhere?” Sandy yelled through the window.

“Nah, just a bunch of Monkey King merch so far!” Mk yelled back, balancing the bowl in one hand as he lifted blankets with the king's face on it and looked through piles of video tapes.

When he put the bowl back in both hands, he finally activated his golden vision, looking through the walls for the king. He finally saw Monkey King at the end of the hallway, huddled up on a pile of blankets on the floor.

“Monkey King!” Mk called out, rushing over to the monkey's side.

The king looked worse-for-wear, fur matted and dirty along with how his brows were creased and sweaty. He looked like he was in a deep sleep: like he was having a nightmare.

Mk took no time in leaning down, taking off the cloth and shoving the bowl into Monkey King's face. The monkey's eyes shot open as he punched the nearest wall behind, causing a hole 2 feet leading outside wide to splinter into existence. The king also yanked to bowl out of Mk's hands and drank the whole thing as footsteps approached.

“WOAH- What was that?!” Pigsy yelled out, running to the punch site with Mei and Sandy in tow.

“It's ok, it's ok! Monkey King just woke up.” Mk reassured. Said Monkey was still on the ground, his breathing slowing down yet not becoming any less heavy.

Pigsy was about to say something else, but Monkey King quickly raised his hand to quiet him down. After a few more moments of catching his breath, Monkey King put down the bowl, finally stood up, and turned to Mk. “What are you doing here bud?”

Mk looked at Monkey King confused. “What do you mean “Why am I here”? I'm here because I haven't seen you all week and when I got here, the island was going crazy!”

Monkey King furrowed his brow, looking out of the hole he made. His eyes widened with a look of shock. Suddenly, gold mist filled the area as the king transformed into a bird and flew out of the house towards the waterfall entrance.

“Where is he going?!” Mei yelled, the rush of wind following the king making it hard to hear.

“I don't know, but we should probably follow him!” Mk shouted back, already speeding after the golden trail the monkey left behind with his own transformation.

Then everyone started running back through the junk piles and tunnels, trying to catch up to Monkey King and Mk as they sped off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monkey King flew over the island, staring down at the lines of fallen trees, the jagged rocks jutting out of the ground, and the cracks on his mountain he could clearly see below him.

He quickly de-transformed on one of the surrounding beaches, seeing everything in perspective with rocks double his size littering the sands.

He also noticed the sun had already set by the time he landed. The stars shone down onto the shore he stopped at, the waters uncharacteristically calm as they reflected the starlight.

He didn't know how all of this happened while he was… incapacitated. What got by him?

Mk finally caught up to him pretty quickly after his landing, going back into his regular form and running up to where the king was standing in the sand.

“Monkey King! *huff* Why'd you run off!?” Mk shouted out, still a good couple yards away.

“Oh, Mk! I'm sorry, I just… didn't expect everything to have gotten this bad. I had to check for myself, y'know” Monkey King answered nonchalantly, giving Mk a small grin.

Mk huffed at him when they finally stood side by side. “Well, you could've told us that before you ran off to who-knows-where. Everyone else is probably still behind-”

Right on cue, Mei, Sandy, and Pigsy came tumbling out of some of the nearby trees, clearly roughed up from trying to keep up with Mk and Monkey King.

“Did he finally stop???” Mei asked tiredly, immediately sitting down on the sand as Sandy sat with her and Pigsy moved past her.

“Oh hey guys! Yeah, I just needed to look over the damages. You didn't need to follow me though.” Monkey King stated with a shrug. Both Mei and Pigsy, obviously annoyed, were about to speak up before getting shushed by Monkey King.

“Shushushush, don't worry! I'll just bring you guys back to the entrance so you don't have to complain. Easy peasy!” He said cheerfully, grabbing them by the arms, even taking Mk by his tail, and summoning his cloud to ride back up to the waterfall.

“AHHHHHHH-” Everyone’s screams blurred together as Monkey King laughed and flew the cloud higher and higher.

When they finally arrived, he immediately poofed the cloud and let everyone fall to the floor. He casually walked up to the seal while everyone had to get their bearings, again, and looked over the dull image on the waterfall.

His grin fell a bit as he continued to look it over, turning to Mk, who was still on the floor. “So this is what’s making my island go crazy?” 

“Oh? Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty sure. It glows whenever the mountain shakes, and when we attack it, it causes the tremors to stop.” Mk answered, a bit shakily as he stood up again, helping Mei and Pigsy up afterward with Sandy’s help.

“Huh… Well luckily, I know how to fix this! Probably.” Monkey King boasted, mumbling the last part under his breath.

“Wait REALLY?!” Everyone shouted in surprise. 

“Well, yes, but I actually need a certain item to fix this, and it's inside.” Monkey King replied, kicking a pebble around while he did so.

Multiple groans sounded throughout the group. No one wanted to do more work after the day they all had.

Pigsy spoke up for the group, a bit exasperated. “Let's just do this tomorrow. The tremors aren't super often, right?”

“Yeah, they happen pretty randomly, and the latest one was the worst one so far. It usually just takes a hit from my staff to stop them completely, anyways.” Mk answers absent-mindedly, Mei nodding along.

“So let's just call it. Nothing good will come from doing all this now.” Pigsy continued, crossing his arms to make his stance clear.

“I agree with Pigsy. We've already exerted a lot of our energy, and trying to use any of our powers at the moment might not end well for us.” Sandy replied with a serious expression.

Monkey King looked pensive, but agreed nonetheless. “You guys are right. I have some extra blankets and stuff for you guys since getting back safely right now isn't exactly possible. Follow me.” 

After waiting for the seal to unlock, Monkey King led the group back to the wood hut and went inside, leaving them standing outside.

And then, after a few minutes, he came back out with what seemed to be an excessive amount of sleeping bags, pillows and blankets stuffed in his hands.

“Here you are! I'm sorry this is the best I can do: there isn't much space in here now considering the hole in my wall. This space is protected from outside elements though, so don't worry about being rained on or something. Goodnight!” Monkey King said, throwing the items at the group and going back inside almost immediately.

Grumbling under his breath, Pigsy grabbed a Hello Kitty sleeping bag from the pile. Don't judge him too quickly, it was one of the only sleeping bags that didn't have Monkey King’s colors or face on it.

Sandy took most of the blankets and layered them on the floor for a more comfortable place to sleep. Mk took a sleeping bag with a yellow and red palette, thanked Sandy, and fell asleep almost immediately on the floor.

Mei followed soon after, taking a blanket with some lime patterns all over it with a matching pillow and falling asleep right next to Mk.

Then Sandy went a few minutes after her, taking his time to find the biggest blanket in the pile, a white blanket with a blue and yellow trim that couldn't reach Sandy's feet, before laying down near the edge of the softened ground.

And now Pigsy was the last on up, staring at some of the stars he could see past the configuration of the mountain. He couldn't fall asleep that easily, even though he was practically exhausted from the day like everyone else.

It took a couple more minutes, but he did end up falling asleep eventually, finally nodding off in his bright pink sleeping bag.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The shaking woke them up again. The sigil had apparently thought it was the best time to activate as everyone got a very violent wake up call, slightly throwing them around on the floor. 

Mk got up first, rubbing his eyes as he walked up to the hut to get Monkey King to help. He knocked once: no one answered. He knocked twice: no answer again.

Mk was too tired to continue knocking, so he just decided to deal with it himself. “Hey everyone, *yawn* ehh, I'm just gonna deal with that real quick. I dont think it's too serious right now.”

Everyone gave various noises of agreement as Mk went to deal with the sigil.

Pigsy noticed some light was peaking through the ceiling, but he saw how everyone still felt tired to the core.

Sandy tried to go back to sleep, and Mei went on her phone. Pigsy heard short curses when she did so, so he assumed it didn't have much battery left.

Pigsy decided to do the same as he pulled out his own phone, a considerably older model than Mei's but still functional. 

He checked the time and saw it was near 10:40 AM, which was a lot later than Pigsy had thought. Ignoring that for now, he checked on everything else on his phone, which wasn't much other than his messages and some social media that he scrolled for inspiration sometimes and to promote Pigsy's Noodles at Mei's request.

After looking through some mediocre recipes for pot pie and some weird throwback gelatin dinners, he goes and looks at his messages from the past few days.

The one at the top was Sandy, which wasn't a surprise as Sandy almost always sent him photos of the therapy cat's every day. The photo from yesterday was a calico cat curled up on Sandy's sofa, sucking in the sun from a nearby window.

Pigsy smiled at it before looking at his other messages, skipping a lot of spam he had built up, and then seeing a name that made his stomach drop a bit.

He saw his texts to Tang from that night under everything. This finally kicked in Pigsy's memory as he realized he had totally blown Tang off and how he had even threatened Tang to come by or else he would drag him there…

But before he could go and type out a huge apology text, he noticed how Tang hasn't texted him at all since that day at the library. There weren't any missed calls either, which put Pigsy a bit on edge. Maybe Tang didn't even know they were gone yet.

And now he was debating telling Tang everything that happened. He's wondering if Tang is okay, that if he dumped everything that happened at the mountain on Tang that it would put too much pressure on the scholar, and what he should text to make sure Tang wouldn't freak out and to show that him and everyone were ok and didn't just disappear. 

He debated with himself for a long time, typing out words and then deleting them almost right away. He couldn't make up his mind as he didn't know what to say in the end.

Mk came back soon after, yawning and going straight back to sleep in his bag, encouraging Mei to do the same.

Now Pigsy was the last one up again, overthinking over what to text to reassure Tang everything is okay and that Pigsy wouldn't put him off again.

He just decided to wing it after his eyes started to become heavy, trying very hard not to give the scholar another thing to worry about. He already had enough on his plate.

Freeloader 📖🤎

10:46 AM

You: Hey Tang

Previous | Next | Start

Chapter 11 has been posted! This is the last one I can paste over, so the writing might take longer to post now.

Chapter 10 has been posted!

Chapter 9 is now posted!

I forgot to post the chapters after chapter 4, so I'll just put the latest one here.

Update!!!

I'm sorry for not posting anything on here or ao3 for the past week. I was in an area with little to no internet, so I couldn't update even if I wanted to, and I forgot to inform you guys of this before leaving for the 4th. I'll try to get stuff back up and running this week, and I hope it wasn't too much of a wait!

Chapter 4 on ao3!

Chapter Announcement!

I have been struggling to get the motivation to write something for the next chapter. Like I have said before, I have many ideas for what should happen, I just don't really know how to put them into words. To make up for this, I'll try to update the existing chapters onto ao3 a bit faster than I would usually post a chapter here on Tumblr. This will be easier because I copy and paste along with touch-ups, which I dont have to write new plot points for. I hope this won't be too inconvenient for people who actually want a new chapter, but these rewrites will most likely have new info as I flesh out scenes or add more character to have a situation play out better! This will also help ao3 catch up to the Tumblr amount of chapters. With this announcement, I hope you all have a good day and will enjoy the chapters on ao3! (Ps, I will also upload the new ao3 chapter links here for anyone who wants them)

I want to know if I should keep posting my chapters on Tumblr or if should I just post them on ao3.

I FINALLY GOT AN AO3 ACCOUNT!!!!!

I have made the first chapter in ao3 now, and I'll post all of my other chapters up there soon!

A World Without Him

Chapter 11

(TW some strong language and minor blood)

Tang could feel himself wake from unconsciousness. His body became solid as he was pulled from the void that made up his dreams.

His eyes and limbs felt heavy, as if he was buried beneath the ground. Still, he could barely feel a cold breeze flow over his forehead as he listened to the sounds around him.

The rustling of curtains, birds chirping outside, distant voices of people on the street, and his own breathing flow into his ears. The sounds distant, yet too loud as they rushed into his head.

Then he tried to focus on his surroundings instead of losing himself in the white noise, as that wouldn't help him move any time soon.

Now Tang felt the smooth and cold surface he was laying on. The grooves of age in what seemed to be hardwood flooring gave him an idea of where he'd been placed after he collapsed outside...

How did I even get back inside, in my bedroom, no less? My apartment's on the 5th floor...

The hard floor dug into his side as he felt his clothes and hair had layers of grime on them. It gave an uncomfortable weight to his clothes. Then he remembered this was what he had on while at the library.

Don't think about that.

The point being, he was covered from head to toe in dust and other debris. He must have looked crazy yesterday when he ran panicked through the streets.

I shouldn't have left.

With a sigh and with his eyes still heavy, he planned to start pushing himself off the floor to stop the stabbing pain in his side.

However, he could barely sit up straight before he felt two hands grab harshly onto his shoulders. His eyes flung open as he was pushed up into a standing position by the hands, stumbling forwards from the excess force like a rag doll.

He snapped his head around to look behind him, but he couldn't see anything because of his damaged vision. A blurry silhouette was all he could barely see before it seemed to dissipate back into thin air.

Tang froze in place, waiting for the thing to make another move. Yet, he didn't hear or feel anything else for the minutes he stood completely still.

A small chuckle broke out from his short, silent breaths. He then broke into manic laughter as tears ran down his face and onto the hardwood floor. He could barely breathe as the laughter kept getting louder and louder as he doubled over.

'...Geeze, has he already gone insane?'

'From our efforts in stopping the big guy, I don't really blame him.'

Tang's laughter abruptly stops, his vocal cords stinging from continuous use. He shoots up, grasps his glasses, and looks around his room frantically for the source of the voices. He finds nothing other than a breeze from the open window.

The laughter returns, now louder than before. "I'm going insane!" He runs a hand through his hair, ruffling strands into his face. "I just wanted everything to go back to normal! I JUST WANTED TO BE FREE OF THESE FUCKING VOICES! I never wanted any of this!"

Smoke started to rise from where Tang stood on the hardwood floor as tears started to run down his face once again. "But no! I have to almost die! I have to see someone I care about LOSE A FUCKING LEG! I have to be tortured every night through my nightmares and have them FOLLOW ME THROUGHOUT THE DAMN DAY!"

Everything was suddenly too quiet for Tang as his labored breathing echoed through the bedroom. Tear streaks ran rapidly down his cheeks and onto the steaming floor.

He stared as the drops fell and dispersed among the ground. He could hear more whispers enter his mind, but he couldn't care less at the moment.

A small chuckle was the only warning before he bolted out of the bedroom, through the complete mess of a living room, and into the bathroom.

He wanted to be free of the filth covering his body. The dust and debris that killed maimed Allan when those monsters attacked the library...

Monsters?

Don't go farther down that road.

Tang only sighed at his thoughts before stripping and seeing the scorched handprints on the back of his overcoat. He grimaced before dropping it onto the ground, putting his glasses onto the edge of the sink and throwing himself into the shower. The scalding hot water turned his skin red as the stinging replaced the grime that used to cover his body.

Still, he scrubbed and scrubbed at his skin and hair until he was sure there was no more filth stuck to his body. Afterward, he let the water flow over him as he stood unmoving. Closing his eyes, he relished over the burning feeling.

He only opened them again when the water started to turn cold: the heat no longer being supported from his overuse. He slowly turned the knob to stop the water before stepping out and grabbing a towel off of the door handle.

After ruffling his hair with the towel and wrapping it around his waist, he sat down onto the toilet seat to take a breather. The cold air from the door left ajar helped him to cool down and think.

Am I really going insane? He thought. This has happened too many times to write off by now. Why is this even happening to me?

Why can't everything just end?

He choked up quiet sobs, putting his head into his arms. The lights above him flickered, and yet he just couldn't care anymore. He looked up blankly at the light bulb before rubbing his eyes and standing up to walk to the mirror.

He took his glasses off of the sinks edge and leveled them onto his face. He noticed the left side was cracked as he looked into the fogged up mirror, seeing the left side in pieces.

Tang grumbled as he wiped the mirror to uncover his eyes so he could see the damage done.

The lights flickered. He gasped as he saw his eyes suddenly turn blinding orange with blood splatter caked over his face in the mirror-

*CRACK*

Pieces of the mirror fell to the floor. His knuckles barely stung from the force he put into the punch. The mirror was now cracked and scattered onto the tiled bathroom floor.

With his heartbeat steady, Tang slowly pulled his fist from the reflective remnants. A hole through and mirror and into the back wall was now shown, some blood speckled in from his cut hand.

Holding his curled up hand, he saw the small shards now embedded into his knuckles: small trails of blood running down his arm.

He stared blankly at the cuts before rummaging into his cabinets and taking out a nail kit. It took some effort, but he was able to wrangle out tweezers from the case eventually.

He washed the hand with warm, soapy water before taking the tweezers and slowly pulling out each shard. His face was blank the entire time as he took each chunk out of his skin, even when washing his hand again and wrapping it up in bandages.

The whole debacle was over in a few minutes, even though it felt like hours to him. He looked back at the mirror. I guess I have to put another thing onto the to-do list.

Brushing the shards off the ground and clothes he left on the bathroom tile, he threw them into the bin and walked back into the living room.

In the messy state that it was, he could see many random pieces of clothing all over the floor and broken furniture. He could see leather jackets, old headbands, and even a Pigsy's shirt from when he used to work there.

Yet the thing that caught his eye was his matching jacket and pants he used to wear for special occasions. The soft navy fabric of the jacket and gray fabric of the pants Tang remembered helping calm him in those high tension situations.

The overcoat was long and had silver floral designs at the bottom near the calves and on the cuffs of the sleeves. The pants were similar, having those same floral designs at the pant cuffs. They were both hung over what was left of the coffee table.

He barely had to think before putting them on with underwear, a tan turtle neck, black flats, and the maroon scarf he snagged from his old clothes pile. It had the least debris on it.

Now feeling snug against multiple layers, which made him feel less cold and empty, he could finally do, erm...

Why did he dress up anyway?

He really didn't know why he put in this much effort, but now he supposes he might as well go out and do something other than being cooped up in his apartment.

Walking into his bedroom, he noticed the window was still open from the night before. The breeze barely bothered him as he shut the window yet again.

Now, hopping onto his bed, Tang reaches for his cracked phone to see if anyone messaged him for something. The only things in his notifications were a text from Pigsy and some ads about manga sales and new releases.

He then suddenly remembered how he had promised to see Pigsy. Yesterday morning, where he basically had a mental breakdown the entire day...

I am going to get so much crap for this.

He sat up and out of bed before turning off his phone. Maybe if he got there quick enough today, Pigsy would be a bit more forgiving? Who is he kidding, but maybe it was better to get it over with and a good distraction from what happened yesterday.

With that plan set in his mind, Tang took quick strides out of his apartment after locking it, of course, and started to walk the regular path to Pigsy's noodles.

The day was cloudy, yet no rain was supposed to come down today. With the sun blocked out, everything seemed a bit less vibrant than usual, which he was glad for as it would be a bit overwhelming otherwise with all the neon to go with the sun's rays.

The walk was quiet up to Pigsy's, putting him on edge as he looked back, on top of roofs and into alleys to see if anyone was following more times than he could count. Yet when he got to the shop door, there was something wrong with it: it was closed. Pigsy's was closed, on a weekday, during rush hour.

Oh no, did something happen to him?!

Tang quickly took out his phone to text Pigsy and realized he still had a message from him he hadn't read yet. Sitting on one of the outside benches, he opened the text from Pigsy

Pigsy 🍜🩷

10:46 AM

Pigsy: Hey

Pigsy: Just letting you know Mk dragged us onto a trip to Flower Fruit Mountain to help wrangle some Monkeys for Monkey King or something, might be gone for a few days.

Pigsy: I couldn't tell you earlier because Mk just grabbed me and Sandy out of the shop and I could barely close it in time.

Pigsy: I tried to tell them what we had planned but Mk and Mei were too energetic to reason with

10:47 AM

Pigsy: I'm sorry for ditching you yesterday, but we're still having that talk when I get back. No excuses.

Tang just stared at the message, trying to reason with what it said.

Mk took Pigsy and Sandy without me? I know they haven't talked to me much lately, but they still would've dragged me along to whatever stunt they were going to pull. Even if not, they would have told me before doing anything! There wasn't even a text...

That left a gross feeling in Tang's chest.

And what if I had shown up yesterday? I wouldn't have even known if they were okay until this mornings text! Did they not even think about how worried I would've been? Did they even consider how I could have felt at all?

He only shook his head at the thoughts, trying to drive away the bad feelings that came with them. He knows he and Mk haven't talked much lately; the same goes for Sandy and Mei, but he still knows what's going on with them! He still talks and tells them what's happening through the group chat to show he's still there!

Yet why does it feel as though I've been forgotten about? Why do I feel a sense of doubt now? He thinks as he leans back onto the bench.

He thinks back to the library, an unwanted thought crossing his mind. Mk didn't even try to keep the damages to a minimum as he redirected the strikes to the roof instead of blocking them with his staff.

And he looked so carefree and happy after the incident! Did Mk even know Tang was there? Did he even think about the possible damages he had caused? And he just leaves afterward, posing with tea and smiling!

Do they ignore or filter everything he says?

...Does Mk even care about him anymore?

...

...

I should stop.

All this self-loathing is getting him nowhere. It's not as if he was hurt during the battle. He doesn't have a right to be angry about a lack of care when someone got it worse than him.

Now, his thoughts were back to Allan. He didn't deserve anything that happened to him that day. He had gotten it so much worse than him, so why is Tang complaining?

Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind. He could check all the hospitals near the library to see if Allan was registered anywhere! It's not a full proof plan, but it was something worthwhile he could do while he was already out of a slump.

So he started to walk to the library, or what was left of it, to see if he could start there. When he arrived, he could barely believe what he could see. The entire roof is gone, save the few glass panels still stuck on the back, the walls were seemingly about to crumble at a slight breeze, and different holes ranging from sizes were stuck throughout the building, making it dangerous if most of it weren't already crumbled onto the ground.

Yellow tape covering the premises swayed back and forth as Tang walked onto the parking lot sidewalk, not daring to get closer lest something were to fall again.

He already had a bad feeling when he arrived, and it almost got doubly worse when he stopped at the sidewalk. Nevertheless, he had wanted to see what the remains looked like, and now he knew. Taking a deep breath and looking away from the building, he checked his phone for the nearest hospitals.

Among the list was one that looked eerily familiar. MSH was listed near the top, and it seemed like a fever dream to be seeing it here.

Now, along with this feeling of familiarity, he felt compelled to follow this lead. Maybe to help the new bad feeling in his stomach from those letters, but he'll try anyways.

The walk isn't that far; it's about the same length it takes to get to the docks from his apartment. When he arrives in front of the hospital, he suddenly gets a sense of deja vu, like he's been here before.

Ignoring the feeling, he steps through the doors and heads up to the receptionist at the desk. "Hey there." Tang greeted a bit awkwardly. The receptionist just smiled. "Hello there, how can I help you today?"

Tang seemed to lose vigor as he continued to speak. "Erm, I was wondering if you had any teenage admitants named Allan? I-I was just wondering since I was his colleague at the library when it got attacked, and I know it's probably personal information but-"

The receptionist held her hand up halfway through his ramble. "I understand your concern, and if he is permitted here and allows friends to visit, you're welcome to see him. I'll just have to see if he's registered in our care, so please give me a moment."

Tang sheepishly sat down at one of the lobby seats as the receptionist went back to typing on her computer. After about 10 minutes, she called him back up to the desk. "We do have an Allan Bentley in room 1225. He's in for an injured leg, is allowing visitors, and he came from the library attack. Is he who you're looking for?"

He knew it was Allan from the leg injury; he saw him get wheeled away himself. He quickly affirmed the receptionist and thanked her before moving towards the elevator.

Following the signs on the walls with little difficulty, he was able to find room 1225. Yet, Tang hesitated in front of the door. Did Allan even want to see him? Did Allan blame him for what happened? He wouldn't put it past the kid if he did.

But he wanted to see if he was alright. Wanted to see Allan breathing and alive, even if that was a bit selfish of him since he's the one who slowed him down in the first place.

So before he can back out of it, he opens the door. The room is steril and white, with the acception of some window stickers from previous patients, most likely.

He walked slowly up the bed and gasped at what he saw. Allan seemed more thin and pale than he remembered. His brows were creased even in his sleep as he breathed slowly in a rhythm.

Tang thought Allan would be awake since visiting hours were still open, but he must be lucky to catch him right after he fell asleep.

Looking at the bedside table, he could see comics of some kind, with the first addition of Monkey Cop at the top. It seemed like Allan was able to keep it, even through the whole debacle.

This lifted a weight off of Tang's shoulders. Seeing how Allan kept the comic must mean he doesn't completely hate him now and is coherent enough to read already, as it seems to have more wear than when he first gave the comic to him.

He gives a small smile as he slowly puts his hand on Allan's head, comforting the kid to uncrease his brows just a bit and feel his chest rise and fall.

He left quickly after that. He couldn't stay in that room much longer when he knew how much pain Allan was in right now. He could see the void where his left leg used to be under the blanket.

The feeling of regret only got worse as the sky started to dim on his way back. Why did Allan have to suffer like that? Why couldn't I save him? Why wasn't he able to make it out okay like everyone else?

It was the fight.

Tang was now in front of his apartment door. He had stopped in front of it as the voice spoke from behind.

That child took to fight too recklessly. He directed the strikes to the ceiling, causing it to fall onto you and Allan.

No, no, it wasn't Mk's fault. There was a lot going on, and everything was just chaos-

Yet the child seemed to deny those stakes. You saw how he moved on so quickly, how he smiled and joked about it afterward, taking nothing about it seriously.

Tang looked to the ground, a gross feeling climbing up his throat.

But he did care! He even reached out to me after he found out I was there!

And that is the problem. He only cared about the companion he could have lost, not for the other lives he'd endangered. Heck, he only started to care when someone else showed him you were there.

The voice spoke with certainty, venom apparent in its tone.

Do you think he would have worried were it not for that reminder? Do you really think he would have looked twice if you were someone unrelated to him?

But Mk is a good kid! He didn't look only because he thought everyone had made it into the shelter.

He started to shake with rage as the voice kept going with its remarks.

Yet he knew you were there, and he didn't even stay to check if you were alright? Did he even know you were there? Did he not give you the simplest time of day that he completely forgot about your existence.

Stop.

Do you really think you matter to him anymore? It's not like he even bothered to tell you about the trip yesterday, where he left you completely alone with no contact. Do you think someone like that is worthy of having those powers?

Stop it.

Someone like that shouldn't be worthy of anything, nonetheless powers to destroy whole cities. You know what happened, and you couldn't save Allan that way. That boy doesn't deserve the abilities he has, and takes them for granted.

Why are you doing this?

Tears roll down Tang's face yet again.

Why should he get these powers? Why should he be the chosen one when you are much more deserving? Why does he get to take power for granted when you struggle every day to keep people safe and survive? Why does he get to feel happy and live without worry while you have to lie down and suffer from how many people you have had to watch die?

"JUST GO AWAY!" Tang's voice cracks as he yells into the open air. Silence is the only thing that greets him as he numbly stares at the door in front of him, still unopened.

His face is now blank. The tear streaks on his face have dried to the point they're stuck on his face. He slowly brings his key to the door and numbly walks inside, seeing the mess of his living room and bathroom of the doorway.

He only ignores the mess, stopping briefly where The Origins of JTTW had been left open before grabbing it and beelining to the bedroom, shutting the door behind him and walking towards the window. He lifts the window up and lets the breeze blow through the room, ruffling the sheets and blanket on the bed.

The cool breeze doesn't bother Tang, though, as he only turns towards the bed and bats the loose strands out of his face from the down hair he didn't bother to put up.

He doesn't lay down on the bed. He instead kicks off his shoes to the side, takes off his cracked glasses, and puts them on the side table with his matching phone.

Then he stares out the open window, looking towards the blurry figures of stars and planets as he lifts up the barely decipherable book showing Golden Cicada.

I can't keep going like this. I need to leave. Maybe that's what these horrible dreams have been trying to tell me. I just want to get away from it all.

He roughly shuts the book and throws it into the wall. Whatever he's dealing with, he's not gonna put up with it anymore starting tomorrow. He's going to leave, and he's going to get better.

That's what he thinks as he falls back into his bed and looks back to the blurry lights once again before blacking out, hopefully for the last time.

Previous | Next | Start

Have an Allan doodle!

Testing week sucks, especially since people keep assigning end-of-the-year assignments one on top of the other, adding on to the SOLs I already have to take. Because of this, I'll be working most of today and this weekend. I will try to update Monday because of this, and I already have the outline of Chapter 11 ready for fleshing out. Thank you for reading, and I hope you all have a great day!

Hello! I'm sorry for not posting this week. I've had so many ideas just no motivation to go with it. I'll try to post next week or earlier if I can.

Also, I found this amazing Cicada charm yesterday, and I now feel compelled to add it to my Tang designs.

Some more Doodles pages!

This one is about my main story this time! I really liked how his clothes turned out and his side profiles.

A World Without Him

Chapter 10

Oh my goodness, what was I thinking?!

Tang had gotten over his shock when he finally walked far enough to actually think about what just happened. But in his haste, he had already walked a couple of blocks when he had been lost in the moment.

Now, though, he's stopped at that bakery with the make-it-yourself type deal that he remembered opening a couple of days ago. The only reason he could recognize it was because he was currently pacing past its window.

He had been freaking out ever since he got over his grogginess from the previous haze. He hasn't been out since last night, he doesn't have any supplies with him (including his dead phone left on the bedside table) other than a nearly empty backpack, and now he's walking aimlessly towards something he doesn't even know exists or not because of a random dream!

I should just go home. I dont know what to look for or what I'm doing. Tang thought, stopping his continuous pacing.

Now he was right in front of the store window, seeing his tired reflection looking right back at him with the sun highlighting his face from behind. He could only sigh before sitting on one of the outside tables in front of said window. Then he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, releasing the tension from between them. The colors around blended together as his vision distorted and stretched.

It was only after he opened and refocussed his eyes agin, that he noticed the deathly silence around him. His surroundings now seemed blurry without his glasses, but he could still feel the lifelessness his surroundings now held.

The street looked dark and colorless, almost as if the color had been faded out of a photograph. The blurry shapes around him never moved, never made a sound. The only thing in his ears was his heartbeat, which steadily kept rising against his will.

He hastily grabbed his glasses, his eyes widening when the surroundings seemed to warp with his vision.

The street was now in full gray-scale, with the shadows being pitch black against the light gray buildings. Everything seemed frozen in time, with the people around him gaining soft, colorful outlines while frozen in place.

Tang didn't know what was going on, and didn't want to know what was going on. Maybe he finally snapped. Maybe he's full on hallucinating now. All he could think about now was getting back home.

So he violently stood up from the table and started to speed walk back home. The still, almost completely colorless figures of the civillians unnerved him to no end.

From closer inspection, they seemed to be in slow motion; it was just enough to where they seems like statues at a first glance. Tang didn't notice this until he saw one guy's drink slowly spread onto the sidewalk from a supposedly clumsy passerby.

I'm going insane.

He side-stepped another civillian on the street with their bright purple hue overpowering the soft sky blue of the person beside them. He tried not to pay too much attention to these strange details.

The one time I try to find some answers about my recent episodes and now I'm back into a worse version of one!

With an irritated grunt, Tang kicks a stray can on the street, now a block away from the start of this limbo type place. The can only went up about a foot before slowing down to the speed of its surroundings.

A small breeze pucks up through his street, not affected by the slowing time. Yet he didn't acknowledge the change, only focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

Why am I so unlucky to have this happen right after yesterday?

He yet again speeds up his pace, now almost a complete sprint past all the still moments around him. He needs to get home. He needs to be sane to actually know what's going on.

Is any of this even happening? I'm an idiot: of course this isn't real. I'm just having another episode, after another horrible dream, after another person died in my arms-

...Why can't I just get over it already. I can't change anything.

The breeze picked up suddenly, whipping past Tang's grimaced face. The intense force of the wind didn't seem to affect him, though, as it swerved around him and through his hair.

Wisps of messy hair flowed in front of his face as he continued on his way home.

Why do I always let something like this happen? When can this finally just stop? I can't keep helplessly watching from the sidelines as people like Allan risk their lives for cowards like me.

He could feel wet tears roll down his face. They dropped to the still ground in waves as he continued to walk. He couldn't waste any more time in this nightmare world unless he wanted his brain to snap.

He walked past many construction sites over the next couple of blocks. He didn't remember walking this far out, but he didn't want to think about the connotations of what that could mean.

He could see the foundations crushed to bits from the empty sidewalk; the concrete walls and floor were all cracked or completely torn through by what Tang could only assume was one of Mk's many battles.

His thoughts carried on to the library, with the sunken roof and the crumblibg walls, but he quickly shut down whatever he was about to think next. Mk was always reckless; it's just who he is. A bad feeling always seemed to overwhelm his stomach when he thought about Mk after yesterday.

Oh please, it's not like you would be any better in his position.

The wind kicks up again, slightly pushing him forward.

Do you think you're any different from the demons he fights every day? How you've probably done worse things than what those bastards could ever dream of?

The tears continue down his face as he walks by the many windows of the street. The shop fronts seem just as lifeless as the rest of the street. He stares as his feet when he walks, avoiding looking at the shops while creating a trail behind him as the waterworks don't seem to stop.

Harina would've left you there to die if she knew what you would become.

Tang's breathes were heavy as he slowed down his steps, almost stopping entirely in front of a stores window. He noticed it had sunflower motifs as he raised his head up to look in the window.

He could only see himself looking back. His hair messy and unkempt, his body highlited in a soft orange glow, his eyes puffy from sobbing all the way here, and his suddenly pale face as he noticed the figure standing beside him.

A tall, young woman stood behind him, staring into his eyes over his shoulder. Her eyes were hollow and blood dripped slowly from her mouth and he long black hair swayed with the breeze.

You were, and still are a pathetic, worthless piece of shit that doesn't even try to live on in her memory as you just lounge over their hundreds of sacrifices-

"JUST LEAVE, ME, ALONE." Tang had shouted, grabbing his own head and crouching down onto the ground. The wind howled in his ears and started to harshly whip the street, shattering every window as far as the eye could see.

Glass rained down over him and the street as he looked up, not caring if he was struck with the shimmering downpour. The glass slowly fell onto the surrounding area, and eventually slowing to a stop like the rest of this hellish place.

He could only stare at the moment frozen in time. The reflections in them proved irksome as they seemed to drown in the orange glow from behind him.

He was yet again tired of this place. How many times does he have to go through this? Enough to please whatever God he had pissed off probably. He laughed bitterly to himself.

He didn't turn around. He closed his eyes. He didn't want to give whatever those monsters wanted out of him; he just wanted to go home.

So only when the whispers from behind finally faded, and the piercing eyes slowly disappeared, was when Tang opened his eyes again.

Now everything was truly quiet. No buzzing, no whispers in the back of his mind, just silence.

He slowly tilted his head up from his perch on the sidewalk, taking everything in slowly. A tall building was in front of him. He could already feel how it was steril, blank, and full of mixed emotions.

The doors in front of him show many different signs, but one caught his eyes immeadietly, "Metrapolis Springs Hospital: First Responder volunteers needed!"

The golden lettering was all it took for his eyes to widen from the initial numbness. Those letters important, he knew. It's just that he didn't know why.

And he would never find out at this moment, as looking too hard at the building caused his vision to blur once again, causing him to lean on a nearby electrical pole for balance.

It getting hard to keep his eyes open as his eyelids became heavy and the whispers started up again. However, there was only one this time. It talked smoothly through his head as his conscious slipped away from his grasp, leaving him up against the pole.

When he woke up again, the world suddenly gained more colors than before, causing Tang's eyes to hurt from the brightness. When he refocussed again, he could tell that the sky had darkened and the sun was about to set.

Where am I?...

He slowly looked around in his grogginess, coming to realize he was right outside of his apartment. He had been sat down on the outside electrical pole with all the posters. He could even see the one for the Metrapolis Library still up with some new tears...

He needed to go back home. Getting inside where it was safe was his top priority. He grabbed the side of the splintered pole to pull himself up and steady his unstable stance, letting him stand up after some struggle.

His mind knew he needed to do something today, something that was important enough to make him feel uneasy, yet his body didn't cooperate as it lead him through the double doors of his apartment building.

The golden letters repeated over and over in his mind as he walked up the steps. They were ingrained into his brain as he reached his final floor.

And then, yet again, Tang could only open the door and slam it behind him as he slid down on the other side. He put his head between his knees as he closed his eyes once again.

I can't keep living like this: these, these horrible trances everyday just kept getting worse and worse as I continue to stay here. I need to leave. I just need to... get away from it all...

And finally, he could only succumb to sleep at the end of it all. His body went limp, and he passed out even before his body hit the floor.

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I made some small rewrites in the ending of the latest chapter. The vibe was a bit too hopeful, in my opinion. In my defense, I finished this in one sitting with no beta reader. Hope this version reads better!

A World Without Him

Chapter 9

(TW a lot of blood, slight suicidal thoughts, and unsettling imagery)

Tang knew he was no longer in his bed. The calm darkness was replaced with an atmosphere of suffocation: like if he were to move even an inch, he would trigger something to happen. Everything just felt wrong.

He already knew this wouldn't end well for him. Every time he ended up in this dreamlike state, it always ended up in him getting dragged some way or another. He didn't think he could handle something like that again. Not right now.

But he also knew whatever was in store for him would always begin eventually; no matter what he did, something always happened to him. So, he decided instead of sitting still with his eyes closed like a sitting duck, he would try to figure out where he was first, at least.

So then, he slowly opened his eyes to a strikingly blank room. A very different start to most of his dreams. A steril, white space greeted him; the room had no windows and yellow fluorescent lights. The bland seats and decor didn't take away from the emptiness he felt from this place.

The room felt suffocating. He didn't know if he could keep still. He couldn't breathe.

Suddenly, a door opened to his right, and a tall man with a white coat walked out steddily. His footsteps were silent, and his badge was weirdly in focus with the letters MSH spread across its side in golden ink. Was there a door there before? I didn't think...

But before he could continue his train of thought, the doctor(?) spoke to him curtly. "I'm afraid he had lost too much blood. We couldn't find the rest of his leg, so we couldn't even try reattachment without a donor. We tried our best to keep him stable, but we weren't able to save him." The voice was muffled: as if it were underwater.

"...What?" Tang asked hesitantly. He really didn't know what he's doing here in the first place. Also, he didn't even know anyone who was in the hospital to dream about! The last thing he remembers was his quiet walk to the library and...

Barely anything had happened after that, with the norm of setting up shop at the library, and then lounging around with a few people checking out the occasional book. Everything was fine! The last thing he even remembered from work was rambling and sharing comics with... Allan.

Allan, Allan.... what happened? I dont know why I keep thinking about him...

Something horrible suddenly hit Tang's nose, causing him to cough a few times. A sickening smell of copper and rot started coming from the door. He shot his head towards the source and saw how it was now mangled and covered in red splotches. Blood gushed out from under it as the crimson liquid encompassed the entire checkered floor.

Tang was all but frozen in place as all he could do was stare in horror. Then everything came rushing back like a punch to the gut. Blood had slowly dripped down onto the parking lot and stained its path a striking red. The blank look in his eyes as he was rolled away to who knows where-

Oh my god, ALLAN!

Tang then sprung out of his chair and rushed past where the doctor used to be, splashing the red onto his pant legs as he ran without care. As soon as he made it to the rotting door, he slammed it open and saw many nurses standing eerily still, parting for him and making a straight path ahead down the long hallway. Their eyes were blank as they stared into his head.

But he didnt notice. All he could think about was running. Getting there in time before something happened. Getting there before they were gone. Getting there before they STOPPED BREATHING-

He could feel the red slowly creep up his ankles. As he kept running faster and faster, the blood slowly rose higher and higher with him. The nurses surrounding him began to wane as the walls got closer and closer. They seemed almost like statues.

That was until Tang saw it at the end of the long hallway. A hospital bed holding a thin figure with a slowing heart rate. The slow beeps echoed throughout the hall. The remaining nurses around him then started to melt into crimson mush as their eyes pierced into his back.

Tangs eyes widened, and he somehow forced himself to go faster. "Allan! Allan, please respond!" He pleaded, continuing his sprint to the still figure. The shapes of its body remained eerily still and unresponsive to the noise.

No. No, no, no. Not again. I can't have this happen again. No. You have to get up. Please.

"Please get up, Allan! I know you're in there! Just wake up!" Tang yelled as he got closer and closer. The red on the floor was now rushing against his legs while rising faster and faster.

Up and up it got as Tang kept running for what seemed like an endless hallway. The blood was up to his calves at this point, but nothing was hindering his descent in the slightest.

That was until something tried to grab onto his pant cuff from under all the red. Tang didn't notice the slight tug at first, too busy putting one foot in front of another.

That was until more tried to do the same.

FUCK. Why now why now why now!?!?!? He had finally noticed after the hands lifted above the murky crimson surface that were trying to grab onto more than just a pant cuff.

The hospital bed was now nowhere in sight; it had faded from view. Now it's just an endless hallway full of blood and shining red hands grabbing at him from under the bloody floor.

His stress levels had hightened as the blood began to rush against his legs, causing more force to push him back into the hands. Even through his hysteria, Tang knew he couldn't keep the pace for much longer. More and more hands kept slinking up from the crimson depths that he doubted if he could even make it to the next step.

And he was right.

A sudden burst from the ground threw Tang and a wave of red back towards the now hundreds of shining hands. He landed on his back as he was blinded by the crimson liquid. The shockwave of red flew over him and he was submerged; he choked on the metalic substance as he was thrown further and further back.

When he was finally dropped harshly onto the bloody concrete floor, the hands had disappeared, and all that was left was him, the red hallway, and the thing in front of him. Blood dripped from his brow as he looked up to what had thrown him back.

And now he wishes he had kept his eyes closed. He didn't know what he was looking at, but he knew that it was dangerous. The humanoid figure stood floating above the gap in the ground with a continuous buzzing, which was the only thing he could hear.

The area where it came from was now stretched beyond recognition; the floor had been splintered badly where the thing stood. The red now rushed forward instead of against him, slowly pouring into the new hole that goes to... somewhere he doesn't want to know.

Tang could feel it rush past him and lulling forward, though the force never moved him even an inch. It felt more like a familiar breeze than gallons of blood rushing forward into some vacant void. His breaths were slow and deliberate as they echoed in his ears.

He could've collapsed right then and there if he could. The red ran out through the hole, and all that was left were puddles instead of the hulking mass it used to be.

But something just always took away any peace he had. Before he could even think of closing his eyes, the figure in front of him burst open with a loud bang. "AHHH!" Tang had yelled in surprise as the pieces flew over him.

Wait, flew?

He quickly looked back to where the body had been before. The top half is completely gone and buzzing loudly with something crawling around the figure.

You have got to be kidding me... he thought, exasperated. He could see each and every individual bug on the body; everything glowed a soft orange that burned into his gaze.

Tang was tired. Tired of these stupid dream sequences, tired of whatever God decided to make his real life hell, and tired of how he wasn't able to stop any of it. Everything went on without him. Nothing would change if he were gone. Nothing would be different now than if he had just disappeared under that rubble.

A sudden woosh from in front of him was all the warning he got before swarms and swarms of orange surrounded him. They crawled along his clothes, whispered into his ears, pulled him up and forward.

His heartbeat echoes through his head as he suddenly knows he had moved. Now he was falling. Falling and falling through the endless void under his dreams. Nothing would stop his descent. Nothing would be there for his two fall onto. No one was coming for him. He closed his eyes.

...

...

...

He suddenly felt warmth surround him. A solid surface under his weight. Something had caught him.

Tang could feel the surface move, bringing him up and out of wherever he had been before. The air felt lighter, almost as if the world was encompassed in the suns rays.

Yet everything still felt restless. An anticipation so great is glowered on the prison itself.

Prison?....

Suddenly, an unwelcome voice entered his head.

Yes. Why don't you open your eyes for me? I've been waiting for something like this, you know.

And Tang didn't know why he followed along. Why he felt compelled to open his eyes and look forward. Yet he did so without hesitation.

He was in the palm of its hand. The orange, glowing hand that held him like a delicate flower. Dark shackles were attached to its wrists, slowing its movements.

Yet that didn't stop it from looking down onto him with its big, beady eyes. It seemingly looked into his soul, seeing through him with an almost smug air around it. The cicada head and the multitude of wings behind it just added to the unrealness of the situation.

But then it just smiled, or what could even be considered a smile for something like that.

You're perfect.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the first time in a month, Tang felt well rested. He eyes were glued shut with exhaustion, yet his mind felt clear. His memories if the dream felt foggy, yet calming and nostalgic.

He had checked the time on his dying phone and even found out that he had gotten up at a reasonable tike for once! Given, it was only 7:00 AM, but this was better than usual.

Then that peace, his so fragile peace that seemed to always get broken every chapter, got shattered when the smell of smoke entered his nose.

That got him up and out of bed as he quickly threw off the sheets and saw how the edges of his blanket had been burned slightly. The wisps of ash flew up and out the open window; a slight breeze flowed through the room, taking them away.

He could only try to pat the charred edges with his hand to put the small flames out. The window had been opened again, and he swore he had closed it yesterday. But then again, almost everything from yesterday was hazy.

After he made sure his blanket wasn't going to burn his bedroom down, he slinked out of bed and threw the blanket into trash beside the kitchen. It bunched up over the already overflowing can, but stayed in place.

Tang carefully maneuvered around his ruined living room, dodging any stray pieces of glass or splinters sticking out of the carpet. He jumped straight onto his couch and reached for a random book on his messy floor.

The one he had picked up was one of his favorites: The Origins of JTTW. This had always been the most accurate in a sense of real archeology used in the sources along with many scholarly accounts backing the piece up.

It was also his first book in his collection. Something from a long time ago that someone else definitely would have kept in a box or charity.

He absent-mindedly flipped through the pages: seeing the same images and the same words in the same order over and over again tends to give you a sense of what to expect.

Then, a familiar face came into view. Something that jolted his foggy memory. A bipedal, golden cicada in long robes stood as the focus of this page. The many limbs and wings attached to its body couldn't be mistaken for anything else as the rest of his dream faded away into his mind.

Tang's eyes shot wide as he continued down the page. The power of resurrection. A disciple of Buddha. A being of chaos. A sign of transition and renewal.

Things kept getting more complicated as he finished reading the page. He knew that dreams were random: that they didn't have any special meaning behind them. And yet, why did this feel so important?

He didn't want to think too much about it. But now that he's... got more free time, he wants to figure out what's going on: why he keeps having these dreams, how he was able to split that table in half, and the voices he kept hearing after LBD's defeat (that had gone silent recently). He wanted answers.

I don't know what's going on. Heck, I don't even know if I'm going insane or not, but I'm going to find more. I need to figure out what's wrong with me.

And with that new stack of determination, Tang prepared a small backpack (where did his messanger bag go?) and headed off back outside with a new goal I mind.

Hopefully, this trip will be the first of his kind to go somewhat smoothly.

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