𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕤 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝔸𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔸 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟺

Trigger Warning: This Chapter Contains Minimal Violence, Slight Mention Of Blood And Pain, And Describes The Loss Of Control Over Body Movements And May Be Upsetting To Some Readers.

⊡⊟⊠

Panic seemed to be the only thing he could feel and far beneath it, immense fear. All around him, darkness arose, drowning out any light that may have attempted to make its way inside. It was a vacant, empty abyss, trying to swallow him.

He could feel himself falling at an incredibly fast rate, leaving him to anticipate just when he would fall. Leaving him to await a painful death. He desperately beat his wings, trying to take flight and regain control of his wings, but it was as if some sort of invisible force was stopping him.

"Peony?" He called out to the empty void that surrounded him. "Elude?" But the only answer he received was silence. "Dwell?" He choked out, barely more than a whisper now.

Nothing.

He felt himself jerk suddenly and he found himself blinking up at familiar and kind magenta eyes. Everything hurt. His wings ached as if he had been flying for days without taking a single break, and even his tail was sore as if it had been flung against the wall of a cave. His eyes stung, and his vision was still blurry as he tried to blink away sleep.

He winced as he tried to adjust his position in Elude's lap, trying to get a good view of his surroundings. He was still in the Nether he had gathered that much by the thick and smoky air. He was also still alive, which was surprising to him. He thought for sure he was dead as soon as the cave had detonated.

"Oh, the idiot's awake." He heard Peony say. Holding back a groan of pain, he craned his neck to look at the human. "Now, what in the three realms were you thinking? We thought you died out there! You're lucky Elude caught you before you fell to your death!"

He was about to answer her, but before he could he felt an odd sensation overwhelm him, crashing over his wings like a rough waterfall. Despite his muscles' screams of protest at his every move, he took off into the air, feeling the sudden urge to attack Peony.

He tried desperately to stop himself, to keep his wings from propelling him forward. Even if it meant taking a hard fall to the ground before he could even get the opportunity to lunge at his friend, he was willing to do so. He was willing to protect her from his deep instincts.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop himself. He couldn't keep the instinctive trance from controlling his every move. He flung himself at the human, his lips peeled back to reveal two rows of tiny sharp teeth. From deep within his throat, a growl erupted, deep and terrifying.

Peony's brown eyes widened, her face falling into pure shock. She got to her feet in one swift motion, grasping her sword and backing away from Ethereal. But she wasn't fast enough. Before he knew it, his teeth tore into flesh and he could taste the tang of blood on his tongue.

She jerked away, swatting at the phantom, and Ethereal could tell she didn't want to hurt him. He rose again, preparing to swoop at her and land another blow. He could clearly see where he had bitten her on one of her arms, a large gash that oozed bright crimson.

He was just about to glide toward his target once again when he felt something tug painfully at his tail. With a yelp he spun around, ripping away from the grasp of Elude. Dizziness overcame him as he tore away from Peony and he could feel the grip of the odd trance loosen. He felt himself skid across the rough stone surface beneath him, and he bit back a cry of agony.

"Ethereal!" Came Elude's worried call. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"No, no. That's okay." He assured her. He opened his jaws to say something else but Peony spoke up before he could even get a word out.

"What was that?" She demanded, still looking a bit scared to approach him, but worry resonated behind that fear. "Your eyes... they looked just like..." but she didn't have to finish the thought for Ethereal to understand what she was about to say next. What had happened to him was the same thing that happened to Elude when they first ran into Peony. But instead of direct eye contact, a phantom's instincts were driven by insomnia. And he must have had the same distant and glazed look to his eyes as the enderman had back in the End dimension. That moment seemed like a lifetime ago to Ethereal.

He let out a sigh, trying to regain his composure. He was worried that as long as Peony wasn't getting sleep, he could snap and attack her at any moment. And what if when it happened again, Elude and Aspect weren't there to stop him?

He shook the thought away, using his tail to lift himself into the air once again. That wouldn't happen. He wasn't going to let himself get that way again. He wasn't going to cause any more pain to his friends.

His green gaze drifted to the shimmering purple portal not far ahead of them. His eyes were still blurry from his slumber, but he squinted to try and clear up his vision. "Why did you bring me back to the portal? We still have a lot more to collect here."

"Well, that stupid council will just have to be happy with what they get." Peony retorted. "We've risked our lives enough as it is. We're going back to the Overworld."

He was about to protest, but after thinking it over for a few moments, he realized that maybe she was right. If he remembered correctly there were five biomes in total in the Nether realm. They had only been through one of those and almost got themselves killed in the process.

"Alright then," he said hesitantly, swallowing hard. He really hoped this was the right decision for them to make. "Who wants to go first?"

"I think you should go, Ethereal. You were the one who entered this fiery realm first, so it's only right that you're the first creature to return too." Peony answered, her voice much more gently now. With an appreciative nod toward the human, he dipped his wings to glide into the portal that would take him back to the Overworld.

The portal that would take him home.

His mind grew foggy as the dizziness of the portal's aura overwhelmed him and he shut his eyes to block out his swimming vision. But within a few moments, he opened them once again. He was still dizzy, and as he peered through the purple haze, his heart dropped with dread.

In front of him, he could make out a wall of obsidian that blocked off the portal. Dwell's words to him echoed in his mind. You have two days to complete your task before both portals are closed off. Had he lost track of time? Had two days passed by already?

He shook his head, wishing he were still in that terrible nightmare. They were too late.

Their time was up. And now, they would most definitely die there.