The Dimension Break

TWELVE

Days passed, and Finn's leash got thinner as we drew towards our goal. It was uneventful - Dillan seemed to hold himself well, no more drama ensued, and demopnic attacks ran thin. The only stress I had on me, besides now leading the group, was Finn. And not because he was our enemy.

"Out of everyone here," he spoke up in a shrill voice, cleared his throat, then deepened it. "Out of everyone here, on this entire land, out of all the people I've met on it, I honestly think that you are my favorite. After all, I was never at home with the generals. I... hated it."

I rolled my eyes and weaved an extra strap of air around his body. "Go ahead and butter me up. I'm not letting you go."

"You don't have to." He grinned, and a dot dimpled his cheeks.

He'd treated me like his buddy ever since I broke up the fight between him and Mun. For all I knew, he genuinely liked me for standing between them. After all, the generals weren't known for showing kindness. So why would he be indifferent with someone going out of their way for him? Or this could be him trying to get me to trust him so I could escape, or tell him ur plans (joke's on him, we don't have any, really). Either was a possibility. Either way, he'd learn to respect me first. And in order to do that, I had to maintain the kindness he saw and show interest. If we were going to meet the goal of why we imprisoned him, he needed to learn to like and respect us. Since I was the leader, that started with me.

I continued walking. We'd already been travelling for a while; it must have been a few hours before midnight. A silver silhouette rounded our bodies, pulling us in a group surrounded by light. To my left, father back, was Ace. To my right, Mun. Mary took up the middle, and everyone else rounded the back. Finn stood a little ways behind me, but still very close by. So close that his hand kjept hitting my side as he walked.

"So..." I said, "Which general did you work under again?"

"Salt. I worked under Salt." He seemed openly uncomfortable with it; I wouldn't blame him. "Which kingdom are you a part of?"

There were six Croman kingdoms. Murandoes, made up of angels - its Extant was Nahara and its Apotropaic was Gan. Kalos, a kingdom of demons - its Extant was yours truly and its Apotropaic was Oliver. Minium, a kingdom of demon and angel hybrids called faeries - its Extant was Mary and its Apotropaic was Ace. Blaehdoes was another demon kingdom - its Extant was Fango and its Apotropaic was Mun. Minos was inhabited by faeries - Delta was its Extant and its Apotropaic was Caleb. Vurandos was made up of angels - Dillan was its Extant and Carter was its Apotropaic. Each kingdom was more of a race than an actual citizenship, given that only two of them had founders/rulers. Although there was no apparent difference between Kalos and Blahdoes and kingdoms as such, who were the same species.

"Kalos." I said. "Probably the kingdom they taught you to hate the most in the Dark Realm."

Ebony, the Dark's daughter, had escaped her dimension and founded the Kalos kingdom. It became a race of demons who revoked their violent nature and scorned the Dark as their creator. Instead, they celebrated Croma and were against the idea of destruction.

"Nah. They taught me to hate individuals," he said. "Namely, Mun. And myself."

"Yourself?"

"Well, yeah. They bring down your self-esteem as a method of getting you to think that you don't matter, but they do. It didn't work on me as well as the others. I was indifferent to the treatment. Until...'

"Until what?" I didn't expect him to actually answer.

"They constantly reminded me that I have breasts. Constantly reminded me that this body is the one I'm stuck with, and I can't bend what I look like..." He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed and ashamed.