Aliens: Finding Void

Chapter Twelve

3rd Person

Void didn't know how he escaped them, but he had. He'd gotten away from the Rasorine simply by locking them inside the home, but even after Deodiar had realized he was outside of the home unsupervised, he'd been able to get away from her too. His wings had unfurled on their own and he'd shot up into the sky after a rocky start, flying higher and higher until the home was nothing more than a speck below him.

He just couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't keep living when the whole reason for his life was gone. Deodiar - no matter how nice she was - could not fill the hole in his heart. Nothing could fill the hole in his soul and as the days went by, the worse it opened. The blackness that consumed him day by day was not worth living for. Life as not worth living when it lacked the quality that he deserved and without Daeus, there was nothing left for him.

Void didn't know for how long he'd been flying, but when he spotted an unpopulated sea-side cliff, his wings folded and he plummeted towards the ground, unfurling at the last moment to land gently on his feet. For his first time flying, he'd done great to stick the landing, but none of it was enjoyable. Nothing could be enjoyed when he wasn't sure he was even alive. Maybe if Yupo had held out and she'd been able to stick around for him. Maybe if there was something worth living for even though Daeus wasn't here. But there wasn't anything worth living for and Void couldn't be a burden on anyone anymore.

The guilt he felt for the Rasorine's, Deodiar, and Roo always having to watch out for him and take care of him was too much. He was done being a burden on them and without Daeus, his extended lifespan would be nothing but misery.

Slowly, he crept to the very edge of the cliff face. The wind was strong, but he didn't budge against it, focused on nothing more than making this the end. The end of everything in a place that no one would be able to find him and nothing would be able to bring him back. Not even the water would be able to heal him from death and the sharp spyres that jutted from the bottom of the cliff would surely impale him before he could hit the water. Nothing mattered now. Not the fear that made his heart drum nor the regret he felt for making Deodiar and Roo grieve over him once they realized he was gone. Nothing could make him turn back.

Void took a deep breath and sealed his decision in his mind, leaning forwards until he fell. He tightly curled his wings into his body, refusing to let them unfurl and rescue him. He stared at the deep bluish purple waters raging below him, splashing against the black rock spyres that seemed to reach hungrily towards him.

And then yellow obscured his vision and hands wrapped around his body. Warmth flooded through his limbs and panic set in, chasing away the calm acceptance that he'd forced over himself. Something inside of him felt like it ticked and everything stopped.

Daeus is alive.

Void panicked, his wings unfurling. His leg caught on the first rock spike and he screamed in pain as it ripped through his skin. That voice . . .

It couldn't be real, he wouldn't let himself believe it. But then something inside of him opened up and a flood of emotions that weren't his own swamped over him. His wings fought the wind that ripped from the raging currents and he struggled to take flight so close to the water, barely able to keep himself from plummeting further.

Daeus is alive.

The same voice whispered into his mind and Void screamed, nearly smacking face first into a pillar of rock. His wings jerked violently upwards, something tore, but then he was soaring, caught on a different current and being pushed higher and higher, away from the dangerous waters.

A ghostly face appeared in front of Void and he screamed again until transparent hands reached out and touched his face. Kind eyes bore into him and then the apparition spoke. "Daeus is coming home."