Taken Horizon Origin, volume 1, Duality

Episode 4 ; worlds of another time

"Thorn..." my voice came out strained and tired, sounding out in the rectangular white room extremely haggard as I laid flat across the floor void of any strength. My left arm pulsated in enough pain that I began to no longer feel it as my consciousness began to fade again

A black raven hopped out of my chest and placed its wing on my sternum, "i got ya."

Feeling the flow of aether enter through my chest i suddenly felt revitalised as energy filled my three hearts making Thorn shrink down in size.

My breathing returned to normal and the screaming pain in my arm from deflecting Arthur's sword was quelled as the bleeding gash running up my arm revealing the bone faded to nothing, not even showing any scarring as the flesh and skin reconstructed to hide the bones.

As the pain subsided i questioned what I saw. It was likely just a hallucination, like always, caused from the pain this time but... it's a first for me to feel desperate to see something again.

"That was too close. What were they even doing there?" Thorn hopped off my chest after filling up half of what i could store of aether in my body, shrinking slightly in size himself.

Focusing on the present i sat up and tossed the chunk of black glowing metal off my stomach, "i don't know. But I'm garnering we went to another gods throne-world again rather than just another planet. Isn't that right, winds of regis?"

[winds of regis, apologizes for hiding the truth from you]

Resting my head against the surface of the white wall, i took a moment to breathe as a series of different messages popped up into my face

[a large number of gods are looking for your whereabouts]

[witch queen hides your tracks]

[traveler on a journey creates a false journey]

[whispering albifrons plants some whispers in the grapevine]

[deserts golden hawk laughs at your weakened state]

"...you could at least be useful like they are, golden hawk." Groaning aloud I shot my words to the god.

[deserts golden hawk says he's more of a fighter than deceiver]

[whispering albifrons affirms that point while calling deserts golden hawk stupid]

Angry messages flooded out and i chuckled tiredly.

Remembering back to the one sided smack down with Arthur i thought on his words.

<"He was... a companion of sorts.">

To think you'd actually call Cayde your friend. It feels almost romantic, I thought internally.

'I shouldn't be saying this but i admit, it does.' Thorn half-joked

Feeling rested enough and disgusted by Thorn's words i pulled the shifting metal chunk closer to my legs. Unlike what was promised i never got any information on what it really was during its... rebirth? So I'm still left confused by how its so important.

[the weapons of sorrow require a power to be fixed.]

[please infuse mana into the product]

I didn't have mana but i had something far better. As my hand rested atop the chunk i infused a steady stream of aether into the metal.

[a chaotic energy is permeating in the weapons of sorrow!]

[weapons of sorrow are evolving!]

Dark orange light enveloped the metal chunk eventually splitting it into two as sweltering heat emanated from it.