The Fourth Star - Rewrite

VII

"I don't want to do this, Ancel.." Xisuma spoke with great reluctance, guilt and shame written on his expression. His palms glowed with blue aura and magic, as his hands balled into tight fists.

The snake around his neck seemed displeased, the purple symbols along her back glowing as she curled tighter around him. "Xisumavoid.. don't you want to help those that blessed you with these great powers? Your friends will understand, there's no need to feel ashamed of these secrets.." She cooed in a soft and tempting voice, her words tickling X's brain.

He had to shake off the sluggishness and submission her words caused, trying to fight against the thought of giving in. "I don't want to do this anymore!" Xisuma took off his helmet, throwing it to the ground in a fit of rage. Ancel's eyes narrowed in judgment.

"Then what about the Watchers, hm?" The snake curled around his neck, her body twisting tighter and cutting off his air for just a moment. "You want to leave them in that void to rot? After all this power they've given you?"

Xisuma took a step back, shaking his head as he tried to think. "I-I want to help, really, I do!" He said, staring down at the palms of his glowing hands, examining the flowing magic. "But..my friends.. the Hermits, I-I just.."

"All you do is whine." Ancel hissed out in annoyance, the snake flicking her tongue as she spoke.

"After what I did to Ren and Doc, it's just...I don't know if I'm cut out for this. I'm sorry." Xisuma cast his gaze to the side, trying to ignore the glowing blue eyes of the snake that was curled around his throat.

"These friends of yours do not understand what is coming. They will never understand, and they will fight against what they do not comprehend." She tried to coo into his ear, though X waved his hand to shoo her away.

"I don't even understand what's happening! And I'm the one who's supposed to be helping the Watchers! You've been vague about everything, and I'm sick of it!" The admin snapped, a small pulse of blue energy shooting off his body like a shockwave as he stomped in foot in frustration.

Ancel glanced around at their surroundings, noticing the burn marks embedded in the trees from his blast of energy. She was impressed at the power Xisuma proved to have. "Alright," the snake smirked as she tilted her head. "I'll tell you everything then. Just stop with your little tantrum."

Xisuma plopped down on the grassy forest clearing that he had been standing in, far enough away from any Hermits to ensure privacy during their magic training. He pulled the white snake off of his neck, holding her in the palms of his gloved hands. "Go ahead."

"I shall start from the very beginning," Ancel spoke proudly, the snake sitting upright as her glowing blue eyes stared into Xisuma's. "It all began at the creation of the universe."

As if he was seeing it himself, the world around Xisuma filled with black. The only thing he could see was the glow of Ancel's blue eyes and her pearlescent scales. "Wh-what just happened?" He looked around, trying to spot anything beyond the darkness.

The snake flicked her tongue a bit, her expression seemingly fed up with Xisuma's questions. "You wanted the full story, and that's what I'm giving you." She hissed, "I have magic too, you know. How do you think you got your magic to begin with?"

"Alright, alright. Sorry to interrupt." X mumbled as he tried to ignore the darkness that crept in around him.

"At first, there was nothing but space. Stars and plants were empty and lifeless." As if on command, they appeared. Hundreds of stars and galaxies, even beautiful planets that Xisuma could see up close, as if he were really in space.

"The universe decided it needed to be full, to be filled with light. And so came life, plants, creatures, and eventually, Watchers."

"Wait, the universe? Like, it's sentient?"