Cyberspace; The Ultimus Collection

Chapter 42, Unrelenting Nightmare

Daniel worriedly paced around outside of Sheldon's office. A rush of memories flooded back into his mind, ones he had either unintentionally forgotten or willfully ignored. Memories about his and Derick's last visit, about warrior's spirit. Key phrases bounced and echoed inside Daniel's brain. Breaks down my body. Every use shaves off seconds of my life. If you keep this up, you will die. Daniel's body couldn't decide if it wanted to sit still or keep moving. Constant fidgeting. Constant sweating. Daniel tried everything to steel his nerves, but nothing worked. The office door swung open, and Daniel's heart jumped.

"Well? How is he? Is he going to be okay?" Daniel panicked. Sheldon stepped outside the room and shut the door behind him.

"He should be fine. He's taken quite a beating, but it's nothing I can't fix. What happened?"

"We were fighting some gambling goons in the underground. I was worried at first because they suppressed our powers, but Derick seemed to be doing great! That is until they gave him his power back... Once they did, he completely collapsed!"

"Suppressed power you say? I think I understand now. Derick's body had a lot of strain put on it. His muscles, his blood vessels, his lungs, all ruptured. Again, I patched him up, but there was a lot of internal bleeding, a lot to repair."

"One guy did have some sort of... fracturing ability? He punched Derick in the chest, do you think he just had a delayed response?" 

"Come on Daniel, I know you know what hurt him. His power isn't stable. A double-edged blade for the blade wielder, ironic is it not?"

"Is there something we can do?" Daniel pleaded, beginning to stumble over his words. 

"I've done all I can for him. You need to take him home and get him to bed. Once he wakes up, beg him to retire, please. He can't keep this up, and neither can I."

"But I thought you said there's nothing you can't fix?"

"I can't fix the dead, Daniel." Sheldon solemnly explained. 

"Alright... I'll try my best..." Daniel sighed. Silence filled the air, as if they were already grieving the loss of their dear friend. 

"How about you? Are you doing good? Adjusting okay?"

"Yeah, I think I'm getting the hang of things."

"Good... good." 

An hour later, Daniel sat in his bed. His room was dark and messy, with his door cracked slightly ajar so that he could better hear Derick if he needed anything. The only light in his room was the harsh glow of his new phone. He had been texting Catelin, regaling her all the details of their latest mission, and its aftermath. Catelin asked if Daniel wanted her to come over to hang out and comfort him, but there was no need. Daniel politely declined and explained that he was going to rest like Derick, a quick nap to calm himself and to regain his energy. Daniel turned off his phone, plugged it into the charger, and set it down on his nightstand. He pulled up his covers and laid his head back on the cool, soft pillow. Then he closed his eyes and softly drifted off into a quiet, gentle slumber... 

"What an unpleasant bout of Deja vu this is." A voice called out from the smokey void. Daniel jerked up, now laying upon a glassy floor. 

"What the..." 

"Over here, guardian." The voice guided, slight malice in its tone. Daniel slowly turned around, and then quickly recoiled back at the sight of his company. He shouted as he laid his eyes upon the crystalline deity, the god of change, Crysalis. However, Crysalis was different. Gone was his elegant form of beauty and destructive grace. The same pieces of his gemstone body remained, but they were now separated and connected by a thick black oozing sludge. It broke his form while simultaneously giving him a new one, trading his rigidity for a tender flow, a trade of stiffness for smooth articulation. The change was most evident in his face. A familiar broken smile cracked along his head, spilling out the forsaken tar. Two tears where his eyes would be, revealing a jagged swirl of yellow that formed some sort of iris and pupil.