*Beep*

*Beep*

*Beep*

The boy rolled over in bed. Nooo tooo early. Thought the boy, still hurting from the beating he took yesterday.

Fuck! Not this shit again. Thought a harsh something, a something different from the boy. The boy sat bolt upright in bed, his head felt shaky. Looking around the room the boy saw nothing, while his alarm clock kept blaring. Getting up to turn it off, the boy carefully searched for intruders. Unlikely, but it had sounded so clear. It was probably just the last bit of a dream. At least that is what the boy told himself while getting ready for school

It was Tuesday today, and that meant Weightlifting, Math, and English. Weightlifting was simple enough, just do the specific repetitive motion they wanted and you pass. The boy changed after class and was one of the last ones out of the locker room. When he was finally done a girl spied him and a mischievous look came into her eyes. Pretending to yawn the girl hooked one thumb under her shirt and flashed the boy her bra.

Normally she wasn't this promiscuous, but it made the boy flustered. Plus they had been dating for six months now.

"You ready for our getaway this weekend?" She asked enjoying the beet red look of embarrassment on the boys face.

A smile helped replace his embarrassed look, but he still responded in tone of nervousness, "Of course, and I appreciate all you help, but don't you think that this isn't the place for that?"

The girl just scoffed at him, and kissed the stupid boy. A feeling of dissatisfaction coursed through the boy. He thoroughly enjoyed the kiss, but this feeling didn't feel like his own. The boy scurried off not wanting the room to spin again, and went to math. It was quick and painless, nothing extraordinary happened. Well except the feeling of dissatisfaction grew, but the boy ignored it.

Next was lunch, and the boy felt like he had eaten in weeks. It felt like a chasm had opened in his stomach, and he wanted to devour everything.

Devour everything? Well at least we can agree on that.

Pain shot through the boys head,as it felt like something slipped into place. An endless hunger seemed to take over the thoroughly confused boy. A hunger so vast that it seemed nothing in the world satisfy it. Well better start somewhere. And the boy started to walk towards a student fully intent on devouring them. Suddenly the room started spinning and something clamped down on the desire. A part of the boy felt like he was going mad, and that suspicious was only amplified when a different part of the boy agreed with the sinister something that had been speaking.

A moment before it felt like something had clicked, but now it felt like things had split worse than before. The pain in the boys head receded, The boy felt his body move, almost on its own. As he continued the day, though he couldn't stop thinking of the people around him as food. English was last, Maybe if I finish this class the nightmare will end.

All that greeted the boys hopefully thoughts was laughter. The classes seemed to drag on for hours and hours. Even the letters on the page began to look foreign. What are we supposed to do again?... Oh right, write about a nightmare you've had. There was this recent one where I died, and became trapped inside a tree.

Ha. That's real you idiot. You need to let go of the past and stop dreaming of this place.

What? Annoyed with a throbbing headache, the boy decided to confront the something in his mind.

This is a dream. I'm trying to prevent your soul from being destroyed.

What? Souls aren't real.

They are, and right now yours is being broken up. I entered your mind to try and help.

No they aren't real, and I'm just crazy, evidenced by me talking to myself.

No dumb-dumb they are, and I'm not you.

The boy felt the splitting sensation again. If you aren't me, then why doesn't your mind feel different inside my head?

No response, and after a few minutes the boy felt sure that he was having a psychotic break. The boy finished English and went to his girlfriend's house. They studied for a few hours, before making out. The boy was too timid and too worried about someone coming to do much more than feel the girl up. The girl sighed, and the boy firmed his resolve. This weekend he would definitely go farther, and satisfy the girl.

Finally the boy went to bed feeling like there was something he should have told his parents, but had forgotten.

Tekanis stared at the dome, a bit of disbelief etched on his face.

"You shouldn't underestimate Stygian." Vae said with her eyes locked on the wizard.

"I have confidence that the bug will pull Leon through this mess, just worried about how long it's taking."

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh?" A bit of curiosity in the wizards tone.

"I may not know exactly what is going on, but I know that dome isn't for what you said. I can see their soul fragments intermingling. So when did you figure out that Stygian and Leon shared a soul?"

Tekanis blinked, "I... I should be asking you that, but I noticed it when I first captured you two. I felt the resonance between the nymph and the bug. That bugs soul is..." Tekanis sighed and shook his head as he stopped talking.

*Beep*

*Beep*

*Beep*

The boy rolled over, or tried too. It was like he wasn't in control, the boy or more accurately his body got out of bed and smashed the alarm clock. The room got shaky, but it didn't destabilize all together. Like something was forcibly holding reality together. Stomping through the room the boy walk out following an invisible line of sorts. Suddenly things skipped the boy was fully dressed and eating breakfast. Well eating is a misnomer, mashing food against his face was more accurate. When whatever was piloting the boy felt satisfied, they left the room got in the boys car. Then they were at school going to the boys science classes.

What the fuck is going on?

Still no answer. Whatever was operating the boy wasn't the voice from yesterday. It felt like it was the part that had agreed with the voice during lunch. The boy wasn't an expert on multiple personality disorder, but it was starting to feel like he had it. The day progressed as though nobody noticed a difference. Even in the evening as him girlfriend rubbed herself all over the motionless almost robotic like boy, she didn't say anything. Plus she responded like the boy was touching when he wasn't

Finally the day was ending and as the boy fell asleep, he hoped tomorrow would be normal.

A pixie and a wizard sat around a fire. Aside from sounding like the intro to a joke, the odd pair just stared at each other waiting. Waiting for the other to say something, the wizard spoke first.

"So when did you figure it out?"

"I knew as soon as I met Stygian, that's just the way deväk's are. But I didn't expect to meet the original owner of the soul. The only reason I am still alive is because Stygian and Leon share a soul. If not for the bug's foolish oath, well Leon would have killed me instead of capturing me. Though it was still a close call, if Stygian had been any later Leon would have broken the oath for both of them." The pixie paused before asking her own question, "Why do this? Why now? From what you've said you owe that bug your life."

"I suppose I do, but I am the one who split Leon up even more than he was. I feel like I owe him the opportunity to reclaim his separated pieces. Besides it is what he asked me for."

"What? He asked you to put his soul back together?"

"Hm, no he asked me for a more physical body, and this was the easiest solution. Leon gets a powerful body, his soul become whole once more, and best of all, we don't have to worry about the deväk becoming a Husk."

"It's Stygian Half-light, try not to forget it. My knight should not be underestimated, and it will most certainly never become a soulless monster." Vae spoke with all the pompous authority she could muster.

"I suppose we will see then." Both wizard and pixie stared at the translucent dome as the lapsed once more into silence. What would be the outcome? Neither could say for sure all they could do was wait.

*Beep*

*Beep*

*Beep*

The boy sat straight up in bed and hissed at the alarm clock. Well that wasn't accurate, the boy himself was watching as something used his body like that. The body looked at its hands flexing them and frowning.

"Fuuck me these are weird hands, I miss my extra digits. And my extra arms. And my tentacles." The not boy said with a frown.

Your fucking what? God damnit I really am crazy.

The not boy chuckled, "No, your noot crazy. Just a little broken. I'm trying to help with that, though I am not sure how. There is some disconnect between us. I've been trying to talk with you, but haven't been able to. What is this place?"

It's my room, and it's not very inspiring to hear my split personality call me broken.

Ignoring the comments the not boy asked another question, "Soo is this how all humans live of Fracture? It seems, extremely convenient with the ready made food and the magic transports everywhere."

What? Magi- Do you mean cars? And what the hell is Fracture?

"Fracture is the planet we live on? What is this planet if not Fracture?" Everything started getting blurry as the day rushed around the boy. For the not boy though the day proceed at a normal rate, albeit with a few skips. The weightlifting class was odd, everything was incredibly light despite the boys small stature. When the girl came up to the not boy after class, and kissed him. He had to repress the urge to eat her face. The math class was way out of the not boys league, and the difference have enough food in the cafeteria to satisfy the not boy.

English was even worse than math. The not boy didn't recognize any of the symbols, but slowly as the not boy stared it started to click. This was familiar the not boy knew this language once before right? When though? Before this dream surely. Before the not boy had hatched? It was before the before. Then without warning everything went black.

For the actual boy it was like everything had been put on fast forward things were going, going, gone. A void surrounded the boy it was nothing but darkness. If the boy had eyes it would be as far as he could see, but he didn't have eyes he was just a thought-form. As the boy focused more and more on himself he noticed that he wasn't at all whole. There were three pieces in what he considered himself. Two roughly similar portion close together, and then a third much smaller portion near the edge of his self.

The boy watched as the third piece continued to move away from the center, but every so often it would be sucked back in. Making the entire endeavor seem fruitless. The boy tried to call out, but he could speak. All he seemed able to do was observe.

Then the lights started to come back the boy's body was sitting at table with another person. Angelic was the only way to describe them. Hair the color of brilliant bronze, golden halo above their heads, and wings of a winter's white. She had a smile on her face that said very plainly everything would be okay.

"Hello Leon Smith, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you have died. Your life on Earth is over and done, and while that mean sadden you. Your soul lives on, and this is merely a stop before your next life." Her clear voice made the boy, who was Leon start to remember. He had been here before, done this and choose to be reborn on Fracture. He watched the memory of himself play out the conversation, asking about his girlfriend and how he had died.

"Well that's the thing Leon, we do not really know what happened. One moment you're world was fine and dandy, and the next there was nothing. Almost as if someone flipped a switch and poof the lights went out." She spoke in a cheery tone that belied the true magnitude of the issue at hand. Nearly eight billion people dead in an instant, and they hadn't the faintest idea why.

So my dear friends, if you hadn't guess made them quake in their boots though they were reluctant to show it.

The memory Leon decided not to pursue that topic and asked about the worlds he could be reborn into. A few sounded quite lovely, especially the plane of endless sun light, but ultimately Leon chose Fracture. The memory shifted and Leon was a child on Fracture playing with his new siblings. The memory brought tears to his eyes. He had lived fifteen years on Fracture. It was a hell hole, but his family had made it worthwhile.

His family was dead though, and at the thought it shifted to Leon running through the Lost Woods. He ran and ran, finally tiring out near an old oak tree. Curious about what happened next, Leon focused on the blue stone and abruptly everything went black. That can't be it, right? Did the stone do something to him? Is it what turn him into a nymph?

Then the light and color was coming back, but this time only half of Leon's vision. Leon watched he was apparently eating something huge and meaty. Then apparently crawled through the meaty carcass and spied a huge white worm asleep. He then ate the worm thing before going to rest where it had been before. Then that half of his sight went black again.

After a bit of waiting the same half brighten up and Leon watched as a bug monster began to live its life. Killing and eat summed up the majority of the first few days. Then after protecting a pixie settlement and nearly dying the monster got a name. Stygian Half-light, at the sound of the name Stygian was able to reclaim its sense of self.

The memories that had been replaying, were dragging Stygian back into the core of Leon. It was slowly drowning the bug's sense of individuality, making the bug feel more and more like a part of Leon Smith. The bug was more than just a fragment of Leon, and it was certainly more than just a broken part of Leon's personality. Stygian was Stygian. Stygian was a deväk, Stygian was...

Two parts of Leon kept watching the memories, and they were now seeing Stygian in metamorphosis and Leon becoming a Mourning Wood. Stygian was watching as a pale rope slithered down an oak tree and then burrowed into the gut of a dead Leon. Then Stygian was eating the Marg, the bug felt a fragment of the Marg inside itself. That's right Stygian was more than just Leon, it was also part Marg and also part aväk. The view changed as Stygian saw the last moments of its aväk progenitor. It was in pain, but it had confident in its victory. Then the aväk exploded and Stygian felt a sliver of the aväk latch on to the only available. The aväk crystalisk.

So what was Stygian then? Just a collection of souls fragments? A collection of random jumbled pieces? Looking at the core of itself Stygian noticed that it was at the edge of three separate beings. All of which were trying to get back the pieces Stygian had, despite most of them being dead.

No I am myself, and I am not any of you.

At the thought and with sheer defiance Stygian began to solidify as an entity. Ripping away from the other three was a good start, but not good enough. The bug wanted to make them pay for trying to destroy what little the bug had. They would pay.

They would all pay.