What Burns in Those Green Eyes

It was…odd.

Bizarre, even.

“I had a feeling you were behind this. I’m glad I was right.”

How vastly some things had changed, while others remained the exact same.

Both men were standing only a few steps away from the room’s entrance. Behind Jay, two figures barely bat an eye at Yuushin’s arrival—Vel and Decimus far too engrossed in their fight to pay attention to the newcomer Jay was facing.

Yuushin had no idea how or what he could reply to that.

“Heidi and Johnny are with us.”

At last the man showed some surprise, the amusement spreading across his gentle smile. “Is that so? What an interesting turn of events…”

Holding his breath, Yuushin kept glancing toward the fight. Toward Vel. Bursts of light and golden energy kept flying from the Arch Bishop’s hands, and again and again Vel would deflect them with her sword, sending blasts of her own magic in return.

An interesting turn of events…?

…yeah. Guess you could say that.

It was odd.

How Yuushin still found himself admiring that “something” that sparked within Jay’s eyes. To somehow find comfort in the man’s smile—a sense of reliability. All while having to control the urge to sink his fists in Jay’s face until Yuushin could wipe that smile away.

The green eyes wandered around, landing on the object Yuushin held in his hand.

“Was my gift useful?”

One by one, the memories flashed in his mind—their stench and mark so pungent, it froze the air in his lungs.

Teeth trying to tear through his skin. Claws desperate to cut him open. Eyes thirsting for his flesh and blood. And again and again, with each memory, Yuushin could see the metal dagger in his hand. Cutting through them.

One by one.

“…thanks to it, I was able to keep myself alive.” He wondered if his voice sounded as frigid as his body. If his eyes reflected those same memories. If Jay was able to see them at all.

Warmth and relief crossed the man’s gaze, his reply just as genuine. “I’m glad.”

From across the room, Vel let out a faint cry—the sound being more than enough to send Yuushin’s heart racing all over again, banishing the ice coldness he was feeling from the inside. As Yuushin tried to take a step forward—

“Sorry. I can’t let you pass.”

Jay pressed the blade against his neck, not enough to cut through his skin, yet enough to hurt.

…

Yuushin tightened his grip on his staff.

“I agree with you, Jay.”

The man said nothing in reply.

Deep down, he probably already knew.

Golden Soma slowly began to emanate from Yuushin—brighter, stronger, its warmth spreading across his body with no hesitation. “I wish things had gone different.”

*CLAAANG*

Jay countered the attack with ease, the sound of both weapons clashing reverberating through the room. Only then did the Arch Bishop looked at their direction, his face contorting with hatred and scorn.

“You…! Someone like you should be—”

Black and white flames flew toward Arch Bishop Decimus with hunger and rage—giving the man less than a heartbeat to put up a barrier in front of his face. Vel swung her sword, the ebony blade that glistened with beauty and pride, more flames pouring from the weapon before she pointed it at the Arch Bishop.

“It is I you are fighting, Decimus. Do not dare to look away.”

There was so much burning in those lilac eyes. Anger. Pain. Frustration. Rage. So many things Yuushin hadn’t dared to ask or pry into. Yet even amidst her rage, even when facing the man who was one of the main perpetrators of her pain, Vel’s voice never lost its poise and elegance.

She never lost her grace.

And there was no way Yuushin wouldn’t respect her for it.

*CLING CLAAANG CLANG*

Swinging the bo staff in his hands, he charged at Jay three times—all attacks being blocked by the man’s sword. Yet Yuushin wasn’t the only one trying to land some hits. Whenever he let his guard down for a second, Jay’s sword would come at him.

His waist.

His knees.

His wounded shoulder.

Again and again, the two men kept dodging and striking. Yuushin, even injured and spent after using the Enhanced State, was faster and stronger—both were very aware of that. Yet even so, Jay never missed a beat. He always knew the exact second to lean back or step to the side, the moment to block with his sword, the time to swing the blade.

Yes, Yuushin was the only one using Soma. However, even if not as bright or intense, he could see it clearly—a faint light pouring from his body. The same aura Yuushin had seen when they were running away from the dragon in the woods, the one he saw when Jay knocked him out with one punch before throwing him in that portal.

Something, Yuushin was certain, was Soulchant.

Jay—

He knows exactly what he is doing.

“You are pretty strong.”

The sudden remark almost made Yuushin stop in his tracks, the calmness in his adversary’s posture almost confusing him for a second.

“Well, since coming here, I've had lots of experience, you see.”

*swooosh*

Jay’s blade cut the air below him as Yuushin jumped, his hands turning and spinning the staff in his hands way before he landed—increasing the momentum to strike Jay in the ribs. Yet that time, Yuushin used Soma in the very last second, giving the attack a boost in speed.

Widening his eyes, Jay twisted his wrist, flinching for a second as the staff hit the sword’s blade almost a second too late. As their eyes met again, the man smiled, a soft laugh escaping his lips.

“Yeah, I can see that.”

Without giving Yuushin a chance to react, that same light surrounding Jay gave a small burst—only for a second—bending and twisting the air as if its wish was to trick his eyes. In the same heartbeat, the world around Yuushin started to twist and melt, his sense of balance and direction completely gone.

What the heck is this…?

He felt nauseous, dizzy, disconcerted.

And next thing he knew, there was a sword piercing into his left thigh.

Pain shot through his leg, Yuushin’s arms moving on instinct almost in the same second—the staff hitting Jay’s right in the chest. As more Soma started to flow and move within his body, soon Yuushin’s sight was back to normal, clenching his jaw while cold sweat dripped from his face.

I still feel like throwing up, though…shit…

“Hah…how…did you do that?”

Jay chuckled, left hand placed on his chest as the man caught his breath.

“You know about Soulchant, right?” As he fixed his posture, Jay passed a hand through his hair, letting out a short sigh. “If you have a good hold of it, it can be quite handy. Almost like a cheat code God never meant to be used.”

Once again Yuushin sought that feeling within him. Not the warmth from the spark, but the electricity. Its raw intensity and power. And as he failed to get a good grasp on it, Yuushin took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the staff.

“I heard it’s difficult to use it. You must be quite talented.”

At first, there was no reply. Only the echoes of Vel and Decimus’ fight turning more ferocious and intense, their movements almost impossible to follow, their magic clashing and colliding again and again.

“Talent, huh? I really can’t agree with that.” For a second, Yuushin could hear. The loneliness and sorrow in Jay’s voice, emotions that managed to twist and pierce through his heart like a cursed poison.

Yet before Yuushin could say or do anything else, before his mind could be swallowed by guilt and remorse, the air between the men shifted again.

“It just so happens that Soulchant is all about intent. Will.”

It became sharper. Heavier. Colder.

And when those green eyes finally met his, Yuushin saw it again. That “something”.

Setting the man’s gaze aflame.

Ah…I get it now.

“And it just so happens that I have a very clear goal in mind.”

Right there, at that very moment, Yuushin understood.

The metal weapon started to glow, staff morphing into a long sword. When Yuushin adjusted his stance, Jay’s calmness was already long gone. “I see…that’s good.”

He finally realized what that “something” he saw in Jay’s eyes was.

He finally realized why he had envied and admired that “something” so much.

“I have a goal now, too.”

For Jay was a man who, not even once, doubted the place where he belonged—the place he called home.

Jay stared at him for a while, not saying anything. Then a faint smile broke through his lips, one that was almost apologetic. “…that’s good. I’m happy for you.”

More than that, he was a man who knew exactly how much his home was worth protecting—worth going back to.

…but now, I have a place like that too.

And Yuushin was going to fight for it.