He was Almost Absorbed by the System

Chapter One Hundred And Thirty One - A Question Of Sanity

Fleeting joy, panic and despair.  These emotions burst through the boy's chest as recognition swept over him and released his memories.  Elyas stared at the spot that the boy had vanished into, the leaves of bushes seeming undisturbed despite his unwilling passage. The man who had been with him pulled at the sleeve covering his arm, to stare at his marks, but whatever he was trying to accomplish failed as he cried out a monstrous howl and collapsed to his knees. Elyas remained rooted to the spot.

*cough*

The small sound captured his attention. It appeared to be coming from the small snake still clinging to the rocks. Elyas stretched out his hand, now aware of why the little thing had captured his attention. It slithered into the sleeve of his robe without question. "Nice to see you again, Yang." Elyas murmured softly, his panic subsiding enough that he was able to think clearly.

*Hee hee hee*

"Is he... will he be alright?" He tried to not reveal his concern, but he knew the viper would sense it anyway.

*He will be fine, he has Yin.*

Elyas sighed and glanced towards the collapsed man, who currently was being encircled by the soldiers. This was unsurprising. His lover and this man had taken to the surface without guard, which meant that they were not of an expedition nor were exiled. As much as it pained him to admit, it likely meant that the pair had come to the surface for unsavoury reasons, possibly even following them. Sure enough, the soldiers found that the soldier chosen to guard the entrance was unconscious and remained where he fell.

"What do we do now?" whispered Jenefer, as members from the other team approached them.

"That would be simple," Elyas replied, "we continue to destroy the foliage that has crept up the mountain sides."

"Tch," the obnoxious sound naturally came from Patrick. "And why now are you in charge?"

"I agree with Elyas," Philip stated and began to climb back up the jagged path, one of the sand user girls followed upon his heels. He paused and glanced back at the gathered students. "Perhaps we ought chose one to remain at the entrance, in case of further attacks." Elyas and Jenefer nodded in agreement, that vine had been quite insidious and fast. They were not taught what other plants might attack them and how, knowing that the forest represented a biome of danger was enough.

"I'll do it," Elyas volunteered, though he knew that his boy was most likely deep within the green forest by now, he could not help but want to squint into the depths in hope of catching a glimpse of him. Or at the very least, waiting there in hope he might find his way back to him.

"No, I should!" Patrick sneered. "I would do a better job of protecting the soldiers that you! What was with that flimsy fireball anyway?" The other fire users glanced at each other wondering if the arrogant boy was blind. That 'flimsy' ball of flames had burned so hot that they all had felt it's journey through the air as it shot like a stone from a sling towards the threatening plant, which had burst into flames upon contact. They felt that they could not reproduce flames with such ferocity nor remain in such control for that sort of distance.

"This is not a game," Philip looked down at him from where he stood. "Leave your petty thoughts of rivalry for the playground, boy." Patrick looked at him through red tinted eyes. "Elyas." The boy nodded and made his way down the mountain as the remaining fire apprentices and sand girls split into their teams and continued with their task.

The large man still knelt before the forest edge, silent when questioned, unmoving despite threats. As Elyas neared, he suddenly felt that he was lacking and sighed. Owen had not been wrong to be jealous of Adam's muscular form, he felt now.  He too, had become accustomed to filling the frame of a more substantial vessel. All that currently remained was some height, but he also knew that this man would dwarf him in that area also. "Yang," Elyas whispered beneath his breath. "What is wrong with him?"

*....They did not have a kind upbringing. The only thought he has held in his mind these past ten years is to protect Seven. It was the only thing keeping him alive and sane. But now...*

"Seven? That's his name this time?"

*Mmm*

Elyas did not have time to answer that uncommitted answer for he had reached the forest edge. The soldiers turned to glance at him as he approached. He gave them a slight nod of acknowledgement before deciding to push the forest edge even further back from the rock formation. The soldier in charge watched him for a moment, before returning to question the man. "I don't think you will gain an answer from him, sir," one of the soldiers. "I feel like I have seen that look before." He did not say that it was in the eyes of his cousin, who for reasons unknown to him had lost the will to live. It was an unpleasant memory seeing the once bright boy fade to nothing before slipping into an endless sleep.

The old man sighed, he had lived long enough to recognise it too. Clearly, the child that had just been lost to the forest meant everything to this young man.  Elyas glanced back at him, pitying him, but at the same time his feelings were tinged with jealousy.  Why was this man so close to his beloved and what was their relationship?  While he wanted to know the answer, he also wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to find out.

*****

Seven grasped the vial in his hand as his body was dragged at painful speed over loose stones, falling twigs and fat roots.  The vines avoided areas covered with thicker foliage, obviously unwilling to share it's prize.  The boy winced as the cloth upon his body wore thin against the abrasive surface and tears, cuts and burns formed upon his flesh.  The pain, however, was not unbearable, he had experienced worse before both in this life and previous ones, but his mind was trying to curl into a bubble away from the reality of his suffering.  He struggled to break free of the instinctive hold, he needed to wait for the right moment.

It came swifter than he thought as he was yanked up into the air, the vines began creeping around his exposed flesh, small thin thorns began to sprout upon the green ropes.  Yet just as these needles were about to pierce the skin, the vine withered and began to shrivel.  Seven fell to the ground unceremoniously, but rose quickly to his feet to viciously pour the remaining liquid from the vial onto the root crop peeking out of the soil.  He sighed, he probably should not have used the poison so frivolously.  He had only one last vial of the potion at hand and it was not as if he could simply whip up another batch out here.

The small black snake wound its way from the safety of his loose sleeve to make itself apparent upon Seven's arm.  A gentle smile appeared upon the boy's face and he scratched beneath the small lower jaw of the creature.  As usual, it leaned into the touch, before pulling away sharply and appearing unmoved by the show of affection.  Seven shook his head and asked; "Where is Yang?"  His voice cracked slightly, years of unuse apparent.  It sounded foreign to his ears.

*Yang is with his host.*

Seven nodded, mostly to himself.  The boy on the mountain had not been much like the men he had become accustomed to, but his heart still warmed in that lone moment that he caught sight of him.  He was one of the magi in this life it seemed.  Seven really did not know much about the magi, his childish self had long buried the memories of his parents abilities, only recalling a few happy moments.  There was a part of himself that hated and despised the magi or rather the magic, for if it wasn't for the magic not choosing him, he would not have been abandoned.  Seven shook away such thoughts, he knew that the type of parents that would abandon their child for his lack would not be the sort of parents to hold true love for any child, whether they were talented or not.  There would always be something to disappoint them, always something to allow them the continued feeling of being unsatisfied.

Becoming lost to his thoughts came with an unexpected danger, the overwhelming need to revert, to crawl to the back of his mind and lose himself to the warm space he had created there.  With a frown, he dragged his consciousness to the front.  It seemed even regaining his memories and the extensive knowledge could not entirely repair the damage caused to his immature mind in this life.  His mental state was fragile.  There was not another personality formed, such as when he had split into Kyan and Cornelius in his first reincarnation, it was different as if escaping to when his mind was in balance helped him cope with his reality.  But he was but a small child at that point, reverting would not save his existence here.

Movement within the foliage stirred him awake and his brain became alert, his body poised to spring on whatever came forth.  He whipped a blade from his boot and held fast for whatever green thing came to attack him.  But as it happened, it was not a plant at all.  It was a man.