TBATE: Djinn's Theatre

Re-254: Hello Darkness

The screen lit up and the words "Hello Darkness" appeared on the screen in white against black. The words faded away, leaving only a black screen and Arthur's voice began.

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Darkness. Complete, utter darkness.

I was floating, hovering in a field of reflectionless black.

There was nothing else—no sound, taste, smell, touch...

It was peaceful at first. I felt like I was both nothing and everything at the same time. I was a tiny speck in a vast universe, yet nothing else existed aside from me.

As time passed, though, I recalled more of what I was. I was a human... I had hands, feet, a body...

I tried curling my fingers and toes. I tried flaring my nostrils, opening my mouth. I couldn't feel anything. There wasn't even the sensation of breath in my lungs or the beating of my heart.

Fear took hold quickly, but even that was ambiguous, with no physiological signs to indicate my panic.

My panic... I was more than hands and feet... I had a name... I was Grey, King Grey... but I was also General Arthur Leywin, the Lance, son of Alice and... and Reynolds...

Names spun in my mind, names like Ellie, Tessia, Virion... Sylvie...

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"Where the hell is he?" Mica paused and asked, way too confused already.

"This seems a lot like the place we were briefly in before being teleported here."  Bairon said, turning to Mica.

They were also in that white space? Ellie thought to herself.

"Except that it's black instead of white." Varay added.

Virion visibly warmed up at the mention of his name. He hadn't known he was important enough in Arthur's life to be remembered at such a time. But the mention of Tessia immediately wiped away that happiness with guilt and immense sorrow. He hadn't however missed a certain detail of Arthur's monologue. One that was brought up just as he thought of it.

"King Grey? Was he ever a king in Dicathen?" Lyra said, very clearly confused. She had never heard of King Grey before, and as far as she knew, 'Grey' was his pseudonym in Alacrya, wasn't it?

"No, he wasn't." Virion answered with a frown.

"Then what could he mean?" Emily asked.

"I am guessing it's also what we will need to figure out." Virion said.

"Who are Tessia and Sylvie?" Caera asked Ellie.

"Tessia's Commander Virion's granddaughter, and brother's..." Ellie paused, unsure if she should word it as such. "...girlfriend. She was abducted by Scythe Nico and taken to Alacrya. I don't know the rest. As for Sylvie... she's brother's bond."

"Bond? I thought that was Regis." Caera said, carefully avoiding Tessia's topic as it seemed sensitive.

"Sylvie was brother's original bond. She... sacrificed herself to save brother from Scythe Cadell and Nico..."

"I see. I am sorry for..." Ellie shook her head to stop Caera from apologizing. Caera nodded and turned her attention back to the screen, but her mind was elsewhere. She mulled over what she was just said. Hearing that Arthur had a bond before Regis was surprising, since they seemed so close. But what grabbed her attention most was about Tessia. When she thought about how Ellie described her, an uncomfortable feeling crept into her chest, gripping her heart. She didn't think why that was the case. She shook her head and cast aside her thoughts.