Choruslyne Fate

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Lucius stood in the dimly lit room, the weight of the tension pressing down on him like a suffocating shroud. Before him were Elias and Zara, both observing him intently, their gazes heavy with unspoken judgment. Lucius kept his eyes fixed on the floor, unable to muster the courage to meet their piercing stares.

"Lucius," Zara's voice was soft, but it carried an unmistakable gravity, "from what we've gathered, there are no signs of beasts causing the injuries Harriet and Yu Xuan sustained. What, exactly, transpired out there?"

Lucius clenched his fists, his entire body trembling. His heart raced as he struggled to maintain his composure. "You possess the force to transport us back... What do you mean you don't know?" he replied, his voice unsteady yet stern. He still couldn't bring himself to look up, his gaze locked on the ground.

Internally, his thoughts were a whirlpool of confusion and fear. (What happened to me...? There was that man... and then—my body... it moved on its own...) His mind grasped at fragments of the battle, desperately trying to make sense of what had occurred. The more he tried to recall, the more elusive the memories became, slipping through his consciousness like grains of sand.

Elias, his patience thinning, sighed heavily, the sound resonating with frustration. "Lucius," he began, his voice carrying a sharp edge, "your silence will not help you here. We need answers."

But Lucius remained paralyzed by the uncertainty that gnawed at his soul. The flickers of memory that did surface were hazy and fractured, leaving him with more questions than answers.

Lucius remained silent for a moment longer, his gaze still fixed downward. His voice, when he finally spoke, was low and heavy with guilt. "…Someone is after me," he began, the words trembling on his lips. "He said he's one of the Agnatos Amon. I've encountered one of them before, but... this man, he was relentless. Harriet and Yu Xuan... they protected me."

Zara and Elias exchanged a glance, their eyes widening in disbelief at the weight of Lucius's revelation. The room grew colder, the tension between them now sharpened by the mention of Agnatos Amon—a name that carried with it the darkest of fears.

Elias, unable to contain his curiosity, leaned in closer, his voice pressing with urgency. "But you were the one who brought Harriet and Yu Xuan back... How did you manage it? Did you win the fight?"

The question hung in the air like a challenge, but Lucius could only recall flashes—moments of chaos, of darkness. He knew what had transpired, but the truth was something he could barely comprehend himself.

Lucius clenched his jaw, his body trembling as the weight of the moment pressed down upon him. He struggled to recall what had happened—his memories were shrouded in a haze of rage, his vision nothing but a blur. Despite Elias's relentless gaze, Lucius remained silent, the burden of his own uncertainty keeping him locked in place.

Elias, growing impatient, leaned in with a voice edged in frustration. "Don't keep us waiting, Lucius."

But no words came. Lucius stood in tense silence, his thoughts a jumbled mess of confusion and fear. Sensing the storm building in the room, Zara stepped forward, her presence calm and soothing as she gently placed a hand on Lucius's back. "That's enough, Elias," she said softly, her tone firm yet kind. "Let us not push him further."

Elias's expression remained stern, but he relented, watching as Zara guided Lucius away. She spoke in a comforting tone, her voice a balm to Lucius's troubled mind. "Come, let's get you something to eat. The other force wielders have returned with dinner, they should be cooking by now."

With that, Zara led Lucius from the room, leaving Elias behind, his sigh of frustration echoing in the now quiet chamber.

As Lucius and Zara made their way through the main base, the quiet hum of their footsteps was interrupted by a familiar voice from afar. Yu Xuan, still recovering, spotted Lucius and hastened his steps. "Lucius!" he called, his voice strained with urgency.

Lucius turned at the sound, his face devoid of expression as he met Yu Xuan's gaze. "Yu Xuan... you're still not fully re—" Before Lucius could finish his sentence, Yu Xuan grabbed him by the collar, his grip tight and fierce, his eyes blazing with unresolved anger.

"What happened back there?" Yu Xuan hissed, his breath hot with accusation.

Lucius's eyes widened in shock, his mind racing as he met Yu Xuan's intense stare, but he remained silent, unable to find the words. The weight of the encounter was suffocating, as if the world held its breath in that moment.

Zara quickly intervened, her voice gentle but firm, cutting through the tension. "There, there, that's enough, Yu Xuan. Let's not escalate this any further. Come now, let's move on." She stepped between the two, offering Lucius a momentary reprieve from Yu Xuan's fury.

Just then, Orson appeared, running up to them, panting and out of breath. "Yu Xuan—haa... haa... there you are..." he gasped, his voice strained from the effort of catching up.

As Orson tugged at Yu Xuan's arm, pleading with him to return to his resting place, Yu Xuan resisted fiercely, his frustration boiling over. "Yu Xuan—enough!" Orson implored, his voice strained as he struggled to pull Yu Xuan away.

But Yu Xuan would not be silenced. "Let go of me! I'm not done yet!" he barked, his eyes still fixed on Lucius with an intensity that burned through the air. "Just you wait, Lucius!"

Lucius remained motionless, his face unreadable, as Zara stepped in, placing a steady hand on his shoulder. With a quiet but firm motion, she guided him away from the confrontation, leading him toward the main base. Behind them, Yu Xuan's grunts of protest grew fainter, muffled by Orson's efforts to restrain him.

As they entered the base, the atmosphere shifted, the scent of roasting meat filling the air. The other survivors had gathered, preparing dinner—a great boar, freshly hunted by the other force wielders, its size enough to feed everyone. The sound of clattering dishes and murmured conversations provided a stark contrast to the tension that still lingered in Lucius's mind.

To be continued-