The Shadow of Eudaimonia

Chapter 4: The Solution

A single living cell is what Wren only needed to survive. That, and the tumorous clump found at the center of his brain—the Obelisk itself. Lucky for him, his Obelisk remained intact and not all of his bones were charred from the explosion. And so, a few hours after the impact, his bone cells reverted back to stem cells, and those cells had regenerated back his body.

When he came to be, he didn't know how long he had been out. It might have been a day or two, maybe even a week. He was still inside what was left of the Dazzer. The smell of burnt electronics reeked the area. Outside, meanwhile, he could hear faint gunshots and screaming. His stomach twisted and groaned, protesting loudly that he was famished. His throat was bone dry that even drinking his own saliva was not an option. All those regenerating made him so weak that all he wanted now was to eat and drink. But, above his primal needs, he thought about Erik. Did he survive? Was he the one who made sure he would be safe? The walls of Wren's heart nearly collapsed when he realized he wasn't sure if they were able to Bridge.

"Erik!" he groaned; his throat felt sore as if he just swallowed a barbed wire. Wren tried to move his bare body but he does not have an ounce of energy left. He thought of turning a few of his skin cells to photosynthetic ones so he can generate his own energy but even that he couldn't do. "Erik..." he uttered once again, weaker this time. Exhausted, he was balancing between the brim of consciousness and slumber, until he heard a voice calling out to him.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Erik?" he asked. But it sounded more of a wish.

"No. You're an Obelisk, aren't you?" the man answered. The man must have seen the Insignia of the Ortus on Wren's shoulder—a dot, line and a triangle stacked upon each other inside a circle.

"Water..." Wren meekly asked. Hearing so, the man quickly frisked for his bottle of water on his bag. He was about to give him the precious water he desperately needed but the man stopped midway.

"If I give you this..." the man trailed his words "would you fight for us and choose me to be the next Inheritor?"

"What?"

"Promise me. I'll let you drink if you make sure that I will be the next Inheritor, okay?"

Wren thought about how corrupt this man was and how undeserving to be the Inheritor. But he badly needed a drink so he deceitfully nodded. The man grinned widely and hurried to give him water. Wren gulped and cherished every drop of it. And when his thirst was quenched, he grabbed the man's hair and pulled him closer to his mouth. Before the man can struggle, he bit his neck right on the jugular, crushing the man's windpipe at the same time so he couldn't scream. Warm blood spritzed into Wren's mouth leaving a metallic taste behind while some of it spilled all over his bare and bony chest. "Sorry but I need food too." Wren's eyes turned bright red as he feasted on the man's body, gnashing on the man's raw muscles and tearing apart his tendons, piece by piece. He never felt so much relief. He slurped every bit of nutrients and did not feel any ounce of guilt. It was after all for his survival.

After devouring the man, Wren stole the man's blood-soaked clothes and not a moment later his body was back to being strong and athletic. He sneaked out of the rubbles of the Dazzer, finally ready to search for Erik but he was shocked by what he found outside.

Guns were pointed at him.

"Give us your Obelisk! We need it to end this war." a scruffy man shouted.

Wren frowned. Some of the people pointing the gun at him were children, perhaps 10 years old or younger. "That is not my decision to give."

The scruffy man signaled something to the others. Shortly, Wren saw them dragging a wounded man. "Well isn't Veross here the one to decide that?"

"Veross!" Wren stepped forward but stopped when the scruffy man shot the ground as a warning. From where he's standing, Wren could already see that Erik's body was half-burnt. He's not sure if he was still conscious or not.

"Give us your Obelisk or we'll kill him."

"That's stupid!" he scoffed. "I can always heal him back." He feigned calmness but truthfully he was already anxious.

"Not unless each one of his brain cells are dead right?" Wren didn't answer. The scruffy guy was correct after all. Wren might not need brain cells to regenerate himself but when resurrecting others, he needs the other person's brain to be at least intact. But more importantly, he needed to Bridge with Veross in order to do so. Bridging was the phenomenon where the Obelisks could temporarily share their abilities and allow them to harness additional powers normally inaccessible to them. In this instance, alone, Ortus could only heal himself. But when Bridged with Veross, she could activate and control the cells of others.

"Look," the scruffy guy continued "we all want to end this war and—"

"I'll end this war." Wren boldly proclaimed. "That was our plan in the first place!"

"Yeah but you're working for the government! You'll give the power to those fascist and corrupt bastards."

"That's not true! We're—" an explosion stopped Wren mid sentence and flung him and the rebels from their feet. A bomb from the government must have been detonated a few meters from where they were.

Wren scrambled back up. His eyes skittered amidst the cloud of dusts and smoke and quickly located Erik's glowing blue eyes. He used his Obelisk, Wren thought. Gunshots and screams resounded from different directions and all Wren could think of was the safety of his love.

Wren blindly sprinted towards where he last saw Erik. He was not worried that any of the bullets from the crossfire would hit him. All he was thinking was that he must get to Erik. He was about to reach him when a sharp pain suddenly swelled over his legs. He fell back to the ground in agony. "Fuck!" he shouted. He was hit in the leg. Wren had enough. His eyes burned a bright crimson hue and it spread over his body. He used his Obelisk to adapt to the speed of the bullets and he also deactivated his pain receptors for the time being.

After a few seconds, Wren was back to his feet and has recovered. He scanned the area once again and spotted Erik being dragged away carelessly like a useless instrument by the rebels. He growled and charged towards Erik's captors. Some of the rebels were able to shoot him at the shoulder and ear before he fully adapted. But afterwards, not a single bullet was able to graze him now that he can dodge those easily. His feet were now as swift as the wind and not long after, he caught up with Erik. Wren without a second thought punctured the chests of the men who treated his Veross poorly. When that was done, he swooped Erik from the ground and carried him away from all this chaos. He looked around and saw other civilians, those who were just children, those who never wanted war, getting killed. He tried to look away but death can be seen wherever he averted his gaze. Even if he closed his eyes, the only thing he would hear were the chorus of screaming men, blaring explosions, and the most deafening of it all: the cries of the people; with every beat, a gunshot; every second means death. Wren held his breath. He wished so badly for everything to stop.

"Hold on Erik, I'm here let me heal you." Wren's voice was shaking.

"Wren..." Erik murmured. "you have to stop this. Bridge with me."

"What-what should I do?" Wren asked in panic. "Tell me."

"You'll know it."

Wren even though still a bit confused agreed. He caressed Erik's chest until his finger felt the Insignia of Veross. A tiny spark of electricity coursed through his fingers then into his body. He had bridged with Erik, gaining Veross's ability. Her eyes lit up brighter than usual. And at that moment he realized what must be done. It was clearer than water.

"Stop!" he yelled. And everyone from his sight dropped to the ground like lifeless objects. No one was able to move a muscle not unless Wren wanted to. They can't even twitch their eyes to look at him. They were like puppets and Wren held all of their strings. "This silly war is going to end now." Wren said but in a different way. He did not talk through his mouth but communicated directly to their minds. "None of you shall be the Inheritor for all of you are greedy. This is how it is going to be..."

While Wren was explaining everything to the people, a vision came to his mind, a potent one fueled with his emotions and it consumed his beliefs. An idea that seemed foolish not to put into reality—the solution.