The Universe Rings, Funeral Bells Don't (a "Universe Rings" fanfiction)

Chapter Two: He's Important

We walked without speaking through the twists and turns of the Yancy Shelter halls, and believe me, there were a lot. The silence was deafening, and I didn't want to be alone with my thoughts right now. Not with what Zoë had just told us.

"So; what universe are you guys from?" she asked after a moment. I mentally thanked her for not leaving us in silence.

"I never really got to know the number, but it wasn't anything special," Kenneth answered. "There was water--lots of it, on my planet--and different planets. One thing I've noticed most other universes don't have is casual Friday. I thought that was weird."

"You had a lot of water?" Zoë sounded almost bewildered. "We didn't have much in Universe 77-86-A. It was mostly desert land. I don't see why the Interitus wanted to destroy it; there wasn't much there."

I stared at the floor. If the Interitus destroyed a universe of mostly desert land, then how safe is Dior's grave? There's nothing for miles and miles around. There's nobody living there, right? Right?

"Hey, Zoë," I said finally. "What else did the Venenarius guy tell you?"

"Oh, not much, just that he really needed to meet with you since you know Daniel the best of any other living person."

"Dior."

"That's what I said. He didn't say literally anything else, just that."

"Does... does he know Dior is...?" I let my voice falter.

"Douglas is what?"

"Dior," Kenneth corrected. "And he's, uh, dead."

"Well, I don't know if he knows that. He might. He doesn't really talk to me."

"I guess we'll find out eventually." Kenneth shrugged.

We kept walking as Kenneth described the whole concept of casual Fridays as Zoë listened intently. I walked behind them, thinking. I do that too much. In all the time I've known Kenneth, I've noticed he doesn't seem to think as much. I wish I could do that, just turn off my thoughts and sit in silence, not thinking about anything. That would be wonderful for a change.

We finally reached a heavy door like the one to the infirmary, this one with a plaque on the door in a language I didn't understand. Zoë held it open for us as we passed through. There was almost nothing in the large room besides a long table with too many chairs to count. At the head of the table sat a middle-aged man with neat dark hair, with a white streak running through it on either side.

"Thank you, Miss Reyes," he said to Zoë.

"Call me Zoë," she replied with a smile.

"Alright, then. You may leave now, Zoë."

She bowed and exited, closing the door behind her.

"You must be Kenneth and Halo, if I'm not mistaken," he said, as soon as she was gone. The man seemed to have a regal British accent. Everything about him screamed "rich".

"Yes, we are," Kenneth said, taking the seat opposite the man. I sat on his right-hand side.

"We heard about your friend, Dior. Very unfortunate news."

"Well, it was two years ago," I said, clenching my fists under the table, stabbing my palms with my fingernails to keep from crying again.

"Yes, that's what our sources have told us." He waved his hand to dismiss my comment, and I could see the swirly Venenarius tattoos on the tips of his fingers. I looked under the table at my own fingertips.

"What do you want with Dior, anyway?"

"Yes, right. Well, as you know, not many from his universe--397-68H--survived the destruction. We counted five survivors, one of whom happened to be your friend, Dior Munroe. As you know, word travels slowly throughout the universes, seeing as all of them are in a different part of the timeline. The four other survivors were either fallen Venenarius in recent attacks or, in one case, fell victim to a serious illness."

"Get to the point, please," Kenneth interrupted, groaning.

"Fine. There was something Mr. Munroe was keeping from you all these years: the inhabitants of Universe 397-68H all possess special gifts. Because of this, the Interitus tried to coax him into joining their ranks. He bravely refused and was hunted for the next few months for doing so, leading to his inevitable demise."

My mind spun. Dior had "special gifts"? What does that mean? Why didn't he tell me? Was he the reason the Bishop Shelter was destroyed? So many questions I didn't want to ask but needed to know the answers to.

"What special qualities did Dior possess?" I asked instead.

"Oh, yes, he was very powerful. Mr. Munroe could control chaos itself. He inherited the gift from his mother, who died just months after he was born."

If Dior could control chaos, why didn't he use his gift at the Bishop Shelter? There was nothing but chaos there. He wouldn't have died, and the Interitus wouldn't have wrecked it.

"I know what you're thinking, and Dior may not have known, and if he did, he was trying to protect you from what he could do," the man said, as if reading my mind.

"So, what's the point in telling us all this?" Kenneth asked, standing up to emphasize his point.

"Xexile is back." Oh. "And Dior is the only one who can kill him." Oh.

I remembered two years ago, just after he had died, I promised myself that I would kill Xexile. This is my chance.

"We will talk more about this tomorrow," the man continued, "assuming we're still here. If the Interitus somehow find this place, I'll find you. I have my resources."

"Wait," Kenneth said as the man muttered a quick teleportation spell. He was gone before Kenneth could even get the word out.

I held the door open for Kenneth, and as soon as I turned the handle, Zoë stumbled into the room. She quickly straightened up and leaned against the doorframe.

"Heh. Sorry. I was kinda listening," she said, rubbing her neck. Suddenly, she got serious. "And I want in."