x
"Agh! What the hell!" Wren exclaimed as she was struck by lightning. She fell to her knees as she clutched her shoulder.
Trevor rushed over to check on his sister and saw that the lightning had burned her.
"Hey!" Trevor yelled as he raised a hand and pointed it at Damien, but his Submission activated and prevented Trevor from firing.
"No. I'm not going through this again," Damien muttered to himself as the storm escalated further. Violent lightning struck randomly everywhere now.
"If you die in your mindscape, you will not be able to return outside," the pneumarian's voice reminded them. "Calm your mind, Damien. Only you can maintain stability here. Or will you be the cause of losing those you were left to lead?"
Her words echoed in his head. She was right: he was putting his friends in danger. If Alissia and Tymon returned to find Naomi and Arne catatonic, they'd never trust him again, and he'd never be able to live with himself.
But still, the thought of having to relive the worst moment in his life...
Damien slowly opened his eyes to see Arne being struck by lightning as they protected Naomi. Neither of them uttered a complaint as the storm bombarded them. It dawned on him that they knew how difficult it was for him to accept his trauma, so they refused to beg him to do so for their benefit.
Damien exhaled hesitantly as he gazed out at the scenery, and the storm subsided. Looking at the changing memory, it continued. During his training, Damien was taught his true nature. By the time he completed his training, his abilities had grown significantly, and he noticed how everyone fawned over him. He found their infatuations curious at first, but it quickly became unsettling.
Eventually, while researching his past, he discovered his Submission ability and how, in its early stages, it only affected those he kissed; however, as it evolved, it would also affect those in his vicinity.
"She was the first person you seduced," Naomi said with sympathy, realizing that simultaneously as his past self did. "The love you thought she had for you wasn't real..."
Damien remembered and watched himself suffer through the severe heartache he was afflicted with after this revelation. He remembered feeling something shatter inside him as he understood that he'd never be with someone who would truly love him, an ironic twist of fate for someone who embodies the concept.
Even after coming to this conclusion, his strong feelings for the girl didn't disappear. He couldn't bring himself to leave her. Thoughts like "Maybe I can get over it', and "It's not so bad" replayed in his head as he tried to cope.
This worked for a while, but then tragedy struck unexpectedly. Once their relationship became physical again, in the heat of the moment, he began to transform for the first time. Her dying scream as she was eviscerated before him still haunted him all those years later.
"God..." Wren muttered as she looked away.
"This moment scarred me into never allowing myself to become that passionate again," Damien admitted as the scenery of his memories faded. "Since then, I've barred my heart from love and refused lust."
"Until recently," Naomi added light-heartedly. "Someone finally came along who's unaffected by your power. Your feelings may not be reciprocated, but you've finally opened your heart after so long."
"Right," Damien said sourly. "So, you see how I'm no better off now than then..."
"Oh..." Naomi said hoarsely.
"You kept the girl's hat," Arne noted.
"Yeah, it's illogical, but it's a memento of the only time in my life when I truly felt loved. Before I knew about my abilities."
Damien chuckled, letting out a bitter laugh.
"I suppose I'll forever feel alone..." he said softly as he looked down at the hat. Suddenly, the mindscape shook as a new rift appeared. This time, it was made of fire, then water, stone, and ending in wind.
"You're next," Damien said to Wren, whose wound was now gone, as he swiped a tear from his cheek. Admittedly, he felt...lighter, having finally accepted the fear he'd suppressed for so long. It didn't make his reality any better, but it was a relief to have said it aloud.
"What? No, I'm not—" Wren began, but the rift swallowed them all again.
When the light settled, everyone but Wren found themselves trapped in a mirror.
"What's this?" Damien asked, tapping on the glass with enough force to test its fragility. The glass didn't shatter. He immediately understood that raw force wouldn't help them escape. This was Wren's mindscape, so only she could free them.
When another mirror rose from the smoky ground, it reflected white light until Wren approached it skeptically. In it, her reflection was that of a baby. Then, the scenery around them changed, and they found themselves in a cloudy, ancient city that predated even the first smart city. They were in Wilmington, North Carolina, on December 02, 1988. Wren was being held by a beautiful woman. Becoming a klevonian must have brought forth all the memories she couldn't recall as a human.
"Mom..." Wren said softly as she stepped forward, her smile quivering from the unexpected nostalgia.
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Fun fact: Galvanize - A passive cintracy that can give the user's spirit energy the qualities of lightning and grants them limited power over the element in general.
Those under the effects who forcibly try to harm the user suffer internal damage and bleeding that could ultimately kill them.
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