Consuming Darkness, Arising Light

Chapter 40: The State Plagued With Perpetual Rain Pt. 3 (Final)

"There's more to that lab than meets the eye," Raven says.

Cloud shakes his head. "The whole tower in general is greatly mysterious, especially that gate we saw within. I believe the monsters are primarily kept wherever it leads to."

Nodding her head, Raven folds her arms underneath her chest. "I believe so as well, its destruction denoted as much. However, given the tower's substantial build, there are undoubtedly more quarters the monsters are secured in."

Cloud nods. "Right, and many other things." Even though he and Raven are naturally curious about the tower, it is not their top priority. He looks over at Yuna, who's been utterly quiet. Reason being she appears to be deep in her thoughts, her eyes focused blankly on the floor. "Yuna?"

The soft call of her name startles the young spirit a little. She blinks up at Cloud, her cheeks reddening when she sees him looking at her. "S-sorry," she quickly averts her eyes elsewhere while gripping her left arm. "I-I didn't mean to not participate in the conversation."

Cloud gives her a small smile, somewhat used to her habit of blushing whenever they make eye contact or not. It reminds him of... He mentally discards the thought from his head. "It's okay. Care to tell us what you were mulling over?"

Yuna frowns. "The monsters in the Research And Production Lab...it was disconcerting how they were staring only at Kyle, like he was a..." Her voice doesn't trail off because she can't express her feelings on the matter the right way, rather she doesn't want to seem suspecting like Ingrum was. No, like she used to be twelve years ago.

"A being that starkly reminded them of their creator?" Raven guesses in a canny tone. Yuna grips her arm tighter, her frown deepening.

Cloud looks at Raven with slightly narrowed eyes. "Are you starting to suspect Kyle has some relation with the Dark Master?"

"Whether he does or not, only time will tell."

Raven's evasive response is met with a full-blown glare from Cloud. "I should've expected you to elude my question."

Lessening the pressure on her arm, Yuna observes Raven's face, her expression consistently stoic. Despite that, Yuna has not once felt wary of her. Her impassive peculiarity is galling rather than unsettling, but Dark spirits are mostly infamous for their unscrupulous nature anyway. "I...have to agree with Raven." Cloud and Raven direct their attention to Yuna. "I've been observing Kyle throughout the years for any changes in his behavior. He's only ever been seen 'blanking out' at random moments, as Kenneth described it." Cloud frowns at that. "Kyle would abruptly detach himself from reality, no one has been able to snap him out of that state. At first, I thought those were brought about by the Dark Master's influence, but after years of it happening with no discernible causes...I'm not so sure."

"That's really concerning," Cloud says. "Do you remember when this first started?"

"Five years ago, specifically when South Park was invaded by monsters en masse. At that time, none of the monsters actively went for Kyle, instead they..." Yuna widens her eyes and releases her arm, seeing a correlation between today and the conflict five years ago. "They regarded him...as if he wasn't a threat."

Only the rain pouring down in torrents sound over the silence. None of the spirits can overlook this potential problem. They don't have enough evidence to ascertain if the Dark Master is the real reason Kyle has been occasionally entering an absentminded trance or not, nor why the monsters regard Kyle as someone they do not feel threatened by. Cloud and Yuna have many questions, all of which they must retain within their minds. They know they will one day get their answers, though it will be sooner than they think. Raven harbors no concerns, however. Whatever happens, whether Kyle ends up becoming a foe or remaining an ally, the outcome solely depends on Kyle himself.