「Devil's Voice」Tenn Kujo

8 - A Soul (END)

A soft voice simmered throughout the chamber. It sounded, accompanied by a series of jingling bells. The voice was soothing and perfectly on key. It was beautiful.

"Riku. . . No!" Tenn felt his heart drop as he took a step back on the rocky platform. There was no visible exit. All he saw around him was the glowing red sea of steam that blinded his view beyond it. Riku was endangering himself by healing him, and there was no way to stop it. Not when he was trapped. "Get me out of here!" Tenn shouted back at the large figure on the throne, who looked down at him as if he were a mere ant which served no purpose.

"There's no way out. Not until the Angel has you healed, and you have regained consciousness." The Devil's voice radiated, bouncing off the unseen walls. "And speaking of such, the wielder should be here any moment now."

"What do you m-?!"

"TENN-NII!"

Tenn whipped his head back towards where the voice was. There was a pulsing glow through the red steam that grabbed his attention. What he saw caused his mouth to drop in bewilderment. Riku, resting on a large ghostly human-like figure's shoulder. The Angel. She wore a long dress with a small bell attached to the neckline. Her silver hair swayed as if it were submerged underwater. Feathery wings flapped opened from her back, spreading out wide. Her appearance was far more graceful and beautiful compared to the Devil who just looked like a melting blob that could be a person.

She swooped down towards Tenn, where Riku jumped down from her shoulder, stumbling a bit and then embraced him into a tight squeeze. But what Tenn saw horrified him. Half of Riku's face had been taken over by a purple mark, overlapping an eye.

"Riku - You're not supposed to be here!" Tenn's heart pounded at the sight of his brother. "Get out, now!" His hands tightly gripped Riku's arms instead of hugging him back. The damage had been passed to Riku's body. Which meant. . . Tenn had been eliminated of it.

The Devil let out a tremendous laugh, "You're really the most foolish!"

Riku faced the Devil's throne, his face held only confidence. "I've chosen my path." The hair in his face swayed, barely covering the purple stain.

Tenn felt dizzy. He fell down to one knee, he used a hand to support himself but he felt significantly more heavy than a few seconds ago. "Riku . . ." He breathed, "Stop, don't do this. . ."

"Tenn-nii," Riku knelt down and placed a hand on Tenn's shoulder. He looked at him directly in the eyes, they spoke nothing but sincerity. "I know why you left. It's too selfless, you shouldn't have." A clouded tear dropped from down his eye, it was dark. "I've always love you."

Tenn watched the tear fall slowly, from when it dropped from Riku's cheek to the moment it hit the ground, still staying intact. His breathing became more heavy. His throat closed in on itself as he tried to hold back his tears. His heart slammed against his chest, trying to break out. It hurt. More than he could have ever imagined pain to feel. "Riku. . . do - n't." His voice felt far away. He could barely choke out words, his head felt heavy. His consciousness was slipping away, trying to pull him back out of the chamber.

But he didn't want to leave yet, not when Riku had just arrived. Not when his own brother was about to sacrifice himself. His soul, to the evil force which separated the both of them for almost as long as they could remember.

Riku stood up, though Tenn couldn't see what was happening. His gaze fixed on the ground as he tried to maintain his breaths, resisting the invisible force.

"Take me instead," Riku's voice spoke in the background.

"N - no . . !" Tenn gasped. This was it. He couldn't hold on for any longer, his field of vision had been consumed by specks of blacks. "I love -