unforgiven ➽ a Halilintar-centric fic

25 | a trickling hourglass

Standing alone among debris and unmoving bodies, Cahaya realized with a chill that he didn't know what to do.

Gempa laid unconscious in the far corner of the room, the lower half of his body crushed by metal plates and machinery. He'd taken a particularly nasty blow protecting Daun, who had been paralyzed by both fear and pain to dodge.

Taufan groaned behind him, twitching and struggling to move as several jagged pipes protruded from his body and limbs, pinning him to the ground and rendering him motionless. Even now he was struggling against the promise of blissful sleep, hardly coherent as he mumbled nonsensical things under his shallow breaths.

Api and Daun were pinned against the wall, metal beams keeping them in place. They were completely knocked out cold from the hard hit they took. They suffered significantly less injuries than their mentors, if only for their lack of contribution in this impossible scenario.

Air—Air was directly lying by his feet. A pool of crimson liquid gathered beneath his limp form, and Cahaya could only deduce that as human blood. From what he knew, it was supposed to be inside their bodies, not leaking out like a broken faucet. Taufan and Gempa didn't bleed, Api only sustained surface injuries and blunt trauma, and Daun's species were notorious for resilience.

Air?

Air, wake up...

Vargoba zeroed in on him, the last one standing.

Cahaya's body froze in place, like a deer in headlights.

Everything became fuzzy. The edges of his vision darkened. First he saw Vargoba storming towards him, then he blinked and saw himself being held up by the villain. Another blink later, and he was suddenly floating in space, his back searing with heat and a dull ache that spread throughout his entire nervous system.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew his body was going into shock. The pain was so overwhelming that his nerves weren't capable of registering damage of that degree, his system overloading and leaving him in a state of paralysis.

He had no weight. He was no better than a speck of dust, a molecule of air.

He tried to move his arms, but all he grasped was a handful of starlight.

The sun was a perfect backdrop for his inevitable demise. Light flooded all corners of his vision and the only question left in his mind was—

Why was it so cold?

Once they were out of any immediate danger, Air allowed himself to sit down and regain his bearings.

With Taufan as a mentor, running away from danger wasn't new to them. Taufan, unlike Gempa, was carefree and tended to spice things up by random even at the expense of his own safety. If Api and Daun had learned how to face their issues and challenge themselves under Gempa, then Cahaya and Air picked up the masterful art of turning the other direction and running away as fast as their legs could carry them.

They were far away enough now, where the explosions were only a faint backdrop in the back of their minds. Halilintar and Taufan were forces to be reckoned with, where they could lay waste to anything or anyone unfortunate to stand in their paths. They were every bit like the element that ran through their veins, both in combat and person.

Nevertheless, it was their laser-like focus that unknowingly spared both Air and Cahaya from a wake of devastation. With their attention fully occupied by the other, it was only a matter of maneuvering and evasive measures to completely escape their sights. If they were their target of hatred, it would be a different story – but they were only bystanders in their eyes, unimportant and insignificant.