Deus Didymus: Rend

Chapter Sixty-One: Pillars

"Is... is that Ms. Kang?" Y/n asked, his eyes trembling.

Yujin turned away, masking her bitter tears. She stood as Y/n approached the limp instructor. The boy pulled at Yeseo's shackles to no avail, retrying desperately to free the woman he knew no longer lived.

Suddenly, the shackles disappeared. Y/n toppled backward, landing on the ground with Yeseo on top of him. He sat up, cradling the instructor in his arms.

"Ms. Kang... It'll be okay..."

The woman's lifeless eyes peered into his soul, tugging at his consciousness as her cold body did his warmth. The animated sparkles in her eyes that lit up whenever she saw her students faded; instead, the desperation, loneliness and longing she felt in her final moments cemented into her once beautiful face.

As tears dropped onto what remained of her delicate skin, they shimmered. Dancing lights swam through the tear drops like mystical koi fish. The capsules slid down to her chest, casting a small light onto Y/n's face.

Yujin turned to her late peer, wide-eyed. Though she couldn't feel the woman's wellspring, the distinct pressure of the energy ball she wielded permeated through the air.

The remaining wisps of Yeseo coalesced into Y/n's tears before rising into his hand. It swirled and molded itself to fit his hand until it took shape as a straightened, one-handed sword.

"What is this...?" Y/n trailed.

"Well," Yujin sighed. "Her Allele always seemed like it had to do with the soul. This doesn't seem too outlandish."

The sword, though hallow in feeling, brought a comforting warmth into Y/n's hand. A surge of emotions poured into him from the blade as if it were alive-as if Yeseo herself held his hand with her familiar bright smile.

When Y/n turned back to Yeseo, her body no longer laid in his arm. Nothing except the shreds of her clothes remained, leaving little trace of her existence.

"Let's go," Yujin ordered. "I don't want to be here anymore."

Y/n stood on his feet, sighing as he took one last glance at the remains of the instructor.

How am I going to tell Minju?

As soon as the pair stepped from Yeseo's interrogation room, the air grew heavy. Their breathing turned deliberate, and Yujin's body grew heavy.

Yujin extended her arm backward, "Stay back, Y/n. I don't know what just happened, but my domain just shrank."

Suddenly, an arrow careened through the air, stopping just before Yujin's free hand. She grit her teeth, swatting the projectile away.

I can't use my Allele as well... What happened??

Before another arrow could connect, Y/n stepped in front of Yujin, deflecting it. Bolts of lightning crackled from his mouth, extending to his blade.

In spite of his mind telling him things were different, Y/n's heart felt the rumbling tremors before he lost Hayoung. He gripped his new blade, taking a sharp deep breath. Static flowed along his skin, cracking at his fingertips.

"Y/n!! I told you to stay back!" Yujin shouted.

Sheets of stone rush from the walls, intercepting a barrage of arrows. As they returned to their original positions, Y/n bolted down the hallway, causing Yujin to trail behind him.

Ji Hoon wasn't kidding about this kid. He runs on nothing but instinct and emotions.

Though slower than he anticipated, Y/n zipped through the halls, rending flesh from bone. Every breath he took injected bursts of Energy through his veins, allowing him to blitz around like a yellow flash.