Black Heart

Chapter 10: The Enchantress

Amid his sorrow, Brain's tears fall into his trembling hands, the weight of losing Jax crashing down upon him. Jax had been more than a friend, he was his pillar of support, the brother figure that Brain had yearned for. The realisation of his helplessness and anger brewed within him like a storm.

Sitting face to face with the woman who claimed to be Ludachel's mother, a sudden clarity struck him. He replayed the events of the previous night in his mind, questioning his choices. He should have insisted that Rin take the truck and escape while he faced whatever danger lurked behind. The young man, who had valiantly protected them despite being mere acquaintances, he had deserved better than a cowardly choice made out of fear and selfishness.

Now, he found himself delicately suggesting the possibility of her son's demise, a weighty possibility hanging in the air between them.

"I'm so, so sorry." He shudders out.

Rin's gaze fell in shame as she watched her friend's deep sorrow, weighed down by the accusations he spat in her face last night, that had laid Jax's death at her feet.

The guilt and grief that had kept her awake all night pretending to be asleep in the truck, while Brain remained clear-headed at the loss of Jax, that now haunted them both in its inescapable sorrow.

With a resolve not to deepen her friend's pain and take this all on himself. Rin closed off her feelings, locking her pain and guilt away within herself. As her eyes shifted to Eve, noticing the intensifying green glow in her eyes and the hostility in her posture, Rin sensed the rising tension in the cluttered room.

Refusing to skirt around the unspoken truth any longer, Rin confronted the situation. Seeing Brain on the brink of emotional overload, she decided they couldn't afford to wait to uncover Eve's true intentions of bringing them here. Rising swiftly from her seat, Rin took hold of Brain's sleeve firmly, urging him to get ready to follow her out of the shop.

"We had no other choice," Rin spoke with a mix of sadness and determination. "Staying longer to save him would have been certain death for all of us. I'm not making excuses, but we were in a dire situation last night. We too suffered a loss, and I couldn't bear the thought of losing Brain as well because of a stranger we barely knew."

As they moved towards the front exit, Rin's voice grew stronger, expressing the turmoil within her. "If this whole thing wasn't just a horrible accident that led to a misunderstanding, then that means our city turned against us, our government betrayed us. Our friend was horrifically taken from us and I'll never recover. From where I'm standing, things had only spiralled out of control when Jax encountered Ludachel, I don't care if the decision to leave without your son was selfish."

Despite Brain's attempts to interject, Rin's voice carried on, filled with passion. "I won't even speculate on what you and your son truly are, so again, I'm sorry for your loss but it's time for us to take our leave from this madness." With a determined grip on Brain's sleeve, Rin led them to open the door, her confidence wavering but her resolve unshaken to face whatever lay beyond the threshold of Eve's shop.

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave."

Eve states as she feels her magic vibrate and thicken under her skin as ancient scriptures reveal themselves onto her body, emitting an otherworldly golden glow. The swift transition from the shop to the eerie corridor left Rin and Brain bewildered, their minds struggling to make sense of the sudden change.

Rin's outburst echoed through the dimly lit passage, her fear and frustration colouring her words. "What the hell did you do, you crazy freak?"

Brain, as well, found himself grappling with disbelief as he clung to Rin for reassurance. "This... this can't be real," he muttered, his gaze darting around the flickering lights in a panic.