A Past was lost,

For a Future to be found.

With the cycle bound,

Engraved by its cost,

A path was set.

There can't be,

Two feathers for an ink.

For there to be

A coherent link,

Only one can be left.

“Акаша! Нет! Не оставляй меня! Прости!” In the middle of a familiar room, a man lay screaming and thrashing in a wooden bed, vines moving to restrain him. “Я не хочу забыть!” He screamed, before pulling on his restraints, his body flashing into different positions.

“Interesting… I've never seen this before.” Serena expressed, suppressing him with her domain. “What's going on?” Crow asked, standing restlessly by her side. “It seems he's experiencing pain,” she frowned closing her glowing green eyes, “it's as if he's being tortured,” strain visible on her face, “his pain receptors are going crazy.” Unlike her, Crow didn't look composed or focused.

“Well, then don't just stand there, do something.” He almost screamed. “I'm afraid I can't.” Opening her eyes, she crossed his, giving him a clear look of disgust, before turning back to the struggling Slava. “Since I don't know the cause, doing anything else is extremely dangerous…” Halting her words, she quickly turned to face Crow, somehow interrupting his shadows with her vines, sparks flying between them. “Do you really want your new 'master' to die that badly?” She asked, a sarcastic grin on her face. “When I say extremely dangerous, it means the chances of survival are almost nonexistent.” Seeing him not let up, she continued. “And even if he does survive, his mind wouldn't.” Her gaze suddenly turned serious. “Do I need to spell it out for you?” Only then did his assault begin to wain. “Your master will become a vegetable.” To her words, the shadows vanished completely and Crow silently turned toward Slava, shadows moving to cover his face.

“I thought he might experience some sort of dissociation because of the memories overlapping, but nothing like this…” Serena finally said once Slava seemed to have calmed down as if none of the previous events had ever happened.

“Abnormal condition stabilized… System reset.” A voice resounded in Slava's half-conscious brain. “Connection established to an unknown network… connection deemed safe, linked to…” As he woke up, the voices became clearer.

“I found him half dead in an alley. The AITF was about to get to him.” He said, staring at the dimly lit circuit pulsing on the back of his hand. “I don't understand…” he lightly shook his shrouded eyes showing signs of fear. “I couldn't reach him…” he slowly turned his hand, “I don't get it,” closing his fist.

“Interesting,” she grabbed her chin. “So either you missed your mark, or…” not letting her finish, he instantly cut her off. “Impossible! Are you questioning my will?” Serena didn't pay it any heed and continued. “Or something interfered.” To her words, the room fell into silence, letting Slava's suit take over.

“More information was finally released regarding the Henosis incident earlier this week.” Slava's blurred view was flooded with indicators and images of a peculiar scene. It was Henosis, but nothing like the Henosis he knew. The only thing that made it recognizable was its surroundings. “As you can see, the chaotic scene at the site has not changed. However, the culprit has been identified as the former leader of the organization they call 'The Prophet'.” Buildings were mashed together, twisted incongruently. As if someone had picked them apart just to randomly put them back together. Floating pillars, inside-out houses, flowing flames, floating water, chaos, the Basilica nowhere to be found.

“Regardless, it has nothing to do with his current condition.” Serena's voice reached his ears. “A memorial to commemorate the victims of this tragedy will be held two months from now. This new year announces itself to be sombre, with the capital's destruction right on New Year's Eve and this…” The next images showed a face with similar features to Sasha, wearing a humbling lab coat.

“Then do you have any idea what happened to him?” Asked a much calmer Crow. “We lost one of our greatest minds on this day, may Lord Expance rest in peace. The AITF is doing everything in its power to compensate the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.” The voice in his head rang, just for another to overtake it. “Analysis complete. Warning! Extensive tissue damage detected! Immediate care recommended!” Slava was beginning to be overwhelmed, unable to clearly process all the indicators appearing in front of him.

“No, I don't. But even if I did, I wouldn't tell you.” Ignoring Serena's cold words, Slava spread his arms, a strange figure appearing in front of him. Odd… Not seeing what he expected to see, he scoured the interface until he finally realized what he was looking at. It was him, he hadn't recovered from the fight yet. His body was still in this broken, elden state.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, letting his domain flow through him. Slowly, his body began regenerating. His wrinkled skin getting smoother and his unhealed wounds spreading into scars. When he reopened his eyes, only his white hair and beard remained.

“You're up,” Serena said matter-of-factly, still being glared at by Crow, who almost immediately turned his head. He knew that look, she had something to say. He propped himself up. It was the same one she gave him when she gave him the seeds. Understanding the situation, he looked up at Crow.

“Master…” Slava sighed and seeing this Crow burst out. “She is not to be trusted.” His expression shifted to annoyance. “Crow…” He wasn't listening, spiralling into his own thoughts. “You don't know who she is,” Slava tried interrupting him again, he was getting angry, “what she's done,” but he wasn't listening, “what she's capable of.” His mist was hastily swirling around him. Forming various scenes of Serena fighting, torturing and belittling people, all the while wearing a sadistic grin.

“Crow!” Slava shouted, the mist vanishing. “Leave.” He said coldly. Begrudgingly, closing his eyes, his body began disintegrating. “I'll be waiting for your call.” He lifted his arm as it glowed in tandem with his.

“I've never seen him this… passionate?” Serena finally said after a while, seemingly unsure of herself. “I'm not sure what he's scheming,” she looked at his previously glowing arm, “you should be careful, he's the only person who knows what that mark on your arm truly does.” He lifted it up, letting its circuits shine under the sunlight. As he inspected it, he felt the atmosphere grow grim. Here it comes, two things were undoubtedly on her mind. Crow and the pills.

“You met her, didn't you?” As she spoke words he wasn’t expecting to hear, a shiver travelled down his spine. Wha… he was about to reply when he met her chilling gaze. His confusion was swept away as he remembered what she'd shown him. Yes, how did he not think of that, 'The Prophet' destroyed Henosis, yet she had been… possessed? Chaos… Then was she the one who saved him? But why? And who was she? And was there someone else? He couldn’t…

“I think it'd be best if you'd be on your way.” Serena sighed, shaking her head. It was clear that he was as clueless, if not more. “Don't you want to know?” He asked, understanding he couldn't give her the answer she wanted.

“Seeing as how you were deliriously speaking Russian, what you saw probably had nothing to do with us.” Hearing this, his eyes imperceptibly shook. Nodding, he turned towards the door, biting his lip. In the end, he might really be the source of her pain. What if he hadn't survived, what if his sister had lived instead? Would she be happy? Would the world be better off?

“Oh, and you should probably stay for a while. At least to appease their worries.” No, he couldn't stay, he had to leave. He needed to figure himself out. There was so much he had yet to fully absorb about his sister, and about himself.

Seeing him slowly being engulfed in Crow's mist, she walked over to the balcony overlooking the now-reinvigorated city.

“Oh, Nic, how much more will you make me work?” She asked rhetorically, her gaze shifting to the Phoenix soaring through the clear blue skies, unaffected by the searing heat.