Eating Souls, Act One: The Beginning

26: Rivin is gone again. : Did you pick the right Weapon?

Leila watched the exchange numbly from her spot beside Stein. It was strange to see Diomedes so concerned about the tiny witch. From far away, the scene simply looked like a father protecting a pair of unruly daughters. She glanced down at Stein with a guilty sigh, wishing she could ask him the questions on her mind.

Luke's other hand snaked out and grabbed Paisley by the arm. He flung her behind him before Diomedes could respond. Paisley hit the ground and rolled to Leila's side with a pained yelp. The Old Witch's face darkened. Luke's captive hand began to sizzle as blue, acidic sludge began to ooze from Diomedes' skin. The Witch's face turned into a fearsome snarl with carnivorous teeth and slitted amber eyes.

Too late, Luke realized his mistake. He brought his other hand up to shield his face, but Diomedes grabbed his wrist. His voice was thick with teeth when he growled. "Don't touch my children!"

Luke could only stare in horror as Diomedes' teeth were suddenly very close to his face. The Witch's blue stripes filled his vision before it went white with pain. He couldn't even scream; most of his mouth was being dissolved by the Witch's acidic rage.

Black Star skidded to a stop. He could hardly process the scene unfolding before him. Stein, laying on the ground with a hole in his chest. Leila holding his hand and desperately applying pressure to try to stop the bleeding. Paisley, unconscious beside her. Luke, being destroyed as Diomedes bit into his face. Rivin was zoned out, staring at the statue of Lord Death, moving her lips in a silent prayer: Don't die. Don't make me the God Slayer.

"Enchanted sword mode." Black Star hadn't been taking the fight seriously. Even though Rivin had critically wounded him, she wasn't intending on killing him. She just wanted him out of the fight. Out of her head. He didn't want to hurt her if he didn't have to. 

However, Rivin seemed to be completely mesmorized for the moment, What he needed to do now was to see what the other guy's problem was. He didn't need soul perception to see that Luke wasn't willing to talk to Diomedes. The fastest way to get the answers he wanted was to force Diomedes to resonate with him. And to do that, he needed a Weapon to amplify his wavelength.

Tsubaki transformed in his hand. Her shadow launched him into the air. He spun over Leila and Stein, holding Tsubaki over his head as he came down. Her pommel slammed into the back of his shoulder. The God spat out Luke in order to snarl at them. Black Star concentrated his soul wavelength.

He was suddenly standing on a mountain cliff, overlooking a sea of trees. There was a soft, sweet breeze blowing through. It smelled like...

"Cookies."

Black Star turned to face the voice. Diomedes sat next to him, one leg hanging off the edge of the cliff, the other tucked up next to him. The Witch didn't look at him. "Olivia made cookies the day she disappeared. I can't stop smelling them."

Nothing about what he was seeing fit with his impression of the Witch. Taken aback, the only thing he could do was go along with the suddenly calm conversation. "Uh...." He sat next to him. Something about Diomedes suddenly felt very, very old, and very, very tired. Tsubaki appeared on the Witch's other side. Seeing her Meister sitting, she joined them.

"Disappeared?" She asked, tentatively.

Diomedes sighed. "She left one day and never came back. But she left Paisley. I don't know why. It wouldn't be safe to leave Paisley with Luceria."

"Rivin." Black Star growled. The correction was automatic. The trees rippled with protective anger. "She hates that name. Don't use it."

Tsubaki nodded. "Right! You're... Her father, right? So you have to know that-"