Chasing Dreams (Discontinued)

Chapter 255: Fractured

"Have you done this before?" Colette asked. She looked very nervous.

Ren was perfectly calm. He had no other choice but to be. He was the oldest in their group by a small margin. He felt inclined to position himself as the leader.

"I'm a phoenix, so what do you think?" Ren said jokingly.

"Don't be a dick." Colette frowned.

"I wasn't trying to be." Ren forced a mummer's smile. "I've healed a few people. It isn't as complicated as you'd think."

"Obviously." Colette then pointed at Arthur. He had turned the color of spoiled milk. "I know how to use reiki-healing. I've just never healed someone with severe injuries only small wounds like cuts or bruises."

"I can teach you." Ren offered. He put his hand over Arthur's chest. "Just put your hand here."

Colette looked shocked. She kneeled down and placed her hand out. "Like this?"

"Your hands are tense. Try to relax." Ren put his hands on top of hers. "You want the energy to flow out of you and into him. It's not the same as forcing out an energy blast."

Colette tried to calm herself down. "Would a smaller output help?"

"Maybe." Ren wasn't too sure. It was harder to manipulate Reiki than play with fire. "It couldn't hurt to give it a try."

Colette condensed her power to the small part of her palm. She channeled it in waves and made it flow into Arthur's body. She didn't get a reaction at first. He looked disturbingly dead.

"It isn't working." Colette whimpered. Her voice threatened to crack.

"Keep going." Ren urged. He couldn't let Arthur die. He owed Arthur everything. Arthur stood up for Ren when no one else had and vouched for Natsumi when everyone lost faith in their cause. If it wasn't for Arthur's determination Ren and his friends wouldn't have made it so far.

"Help me then! Coaching isn't enough to keep him alive!" Colette raising her voice, took Ren by surprise.

"I want to, but I-" Ren couldn't explain it. Deep down, something told him he lacked the power to fix Arthur.

Don't. Ren heard Parvati hiss from the back of his mind. Let him rot along with the rest.

Ren touched his face. Whenever Parvati spoke, it hurt. Her shrill voice was talons that clawed at his brain. He pushed Parvati back to the corner of his mind to ignore her.

The God did not take kindly to that. In return, Parvati punished him with visions.

Ren saw Fujiwara warriors sprawled on the ground in building-sized piles. The bodies were stacked in uncomfortable positions and bent in ways human bodies shouldn't be bent.

Ren felt sick. He forced the rising bile back down his throat and swallowed.

Sawyer and Ryuto ran across the battlefield, spreading death everywhere they swung. Ryuto mercilessly impaled his enemies with Shigure. Their crimson blood was hardly visible on the red blade.

Whenever a devil came in contact with Ryuto's sword, they writhed. Their bodies rotted at the end of the blade, and wails pierce the air like a dying song.

Ryuto always laughed. He was unbothered. It was clear he enjoyed war. Better yet, he thrived on it. Killing the Fujiwara made him feel alive, so he spread his enjoyment across the battlefield for everyone to see.

"Violate them," Ryuto commanded. It was his only order, and no one rebelled.

In waves, Fumiko soldiers scattered. They moved in thousands of directions like scampering rats. The Fumiko Clan raided Fujiwara villages and pillaged. They plunged their swords into every red-eyed person that they came across. Man, woman, child, it didn't matter.