Surviving the Death Hunt

Purple came to see him while he was bedridden, which was exactly what Julien hadn’t wanted. Failing to control blood as a blood manipulator was the kind of disgrace that didn’t need an audience. The fact that it happened while he was in his Protector State only compounded it. Purple didn’t factor any of that in. She came anyway.

"Why do you keep your distance from your fiancé right now? It truly hurts my heart."

The words were sorrowful, but with a smile. And the way she held Julien’s gaze had nothing sorrowful about it either.

Tch.

Julien looked everywhere but at her. Purple moved to wherever his eyes went. He wasn’t winning that one.

"Why don’t you just let it go? We both know this is happening because your scheme with Scar didn’t work."

Purple frowned. Silence for a moment. Then she snapped out of whatever that was, pulled up a seat, and settled in.

"You actually think I’d toy with your feelings? What kind of monster do you imagine me to be?"

Julien sneered.

"Oh, spare me, lord. You wouldn’t hurt me, but you’d hurt Scar? Then why give him the badge if you didn’t want to? You’ve ruined his relationship with Haven."

Purple exhaled.

"The badge was given in the spirit of friendship. Everyone knows Scar’s heart is devoted to Haven. Why would I act on something I knew I could not succeed in?"

Julien gave her a lazy look. It sounded like bullshit. Why bring up Affection and Trust if it was just friendship? Trust alone would have covered it. But he already knew Purple wasn’t going to tell the truth anyway.

Julien wore a creepy smile.

"So I’m officially your fiancé... don’t you think it’s time to hand over the artifact? That way, I can protect my sweet future wife and chase my lifelong dream at the same time. Come on, be a good partner."

Purple disappointedly pinched her brow.

"You really still want this? I’ve warned you, it’s a terrible idea. Why would you sell your soul just for revenge? Do you want me to end up marrying a soulless man?"

Julien shrugged his shoulders.

"You don’t have to go through with the engagement if it makes you uneasy."

Snorted.

"Our agreement was clear. I helped you remove your family’s enemies. Now, with Theo’s Sword of Purity in your possession and your alliance with the creature, no one would dare challenge you."

Purple adjusted her locs and tied them at a higher angle.

"With the Blade of Purity, my family has become feared, and as a result, my enemies have multiplied. No one wants a once backyard family surpassing them. They ally with one another, earn my trust, and then stab me in the back."

Staring into her eyes, he couldn’t deny it, she was telling the truth. The fear might even be real this time. But truth and trustworthiness weren’t the same thing with Purple, and Julien knew her too well.

"So you foresaw this outcome, which is why you entrusted Scar with the badge, hoping to gain the Rover family’s backing?"

Purple glanced through her mind for a moment.

"That’s true, though not completely. I earned the Kugo clan’s support by helping them join the Supreme Council, but I know they’d still be glad to see me dead."

She took a deep breath.

"The Heart and Voss families have joined forces, and they are the ones I must watch. It pains me to admit it, but once we take out Lovis, the bastard head of the Heart family, and two more, I will hand you the artifact."

Julien rolled his eyes.

"Meh..."

Purple’s disappointment showed. Brief, but there. Julien didn’t believe her, and she knew it.

"I wish Scar were here. I’ve noticed that the longer I’m with him, the more I say things I don’t mean. Even when I don’t try to reveal them, they come out anyway. Maybe if he were here, you’d believe me."

Julien frowned.

"You feel it too? It’s happened to me twice. I never intended to reveal them to him, but the words just escape before I can stop them. I thought I was losing my mind... but I’m glad I’m not the only one."

"I don’t think we should discuss that. If we say too much, we might accidentally summon Vortex."

Julien motioned affirmatively.

Purple leaned over and fixed her gaze on Julien’s red eyes. Julien felt the discomfort settle in immediately.

"I’ve been meaning to ask you, what’s the story behind that Inheritance of yours?"

The moment she said it, Julien moved and gently but deliberately put enough space between them that the air felt like his again. Purple looked hurt.

"I don’t know everything, my rank limits what I can know, but I understand the core of it. Something happened that made the heavens bleed, and that concept is what I carry. Every drop of blood I manipulate turns into the Blood of Zion."

Purple frowned.

"The heavens bleeding? Surely you mean that in a metaphorical sense."

Julien gave her a disappointed look.

"Of course it’s symbolic. How could heaven possibly bleed like a living creature?"

Julien’s words didn’t reach her. Purple was still caught somewhere in her own head, whatever was moving through it too absorbing to make room for what he’d just said.

"You remember the guy who helped us escape through the back during the Gate God’s attack, right? Do you remember what Inheritance he had?"

"Yes, Tears of Zion?"

"Exactly. When I heard it, a thought crossed my mind... none of us truly know where Inheritances were born. By ’none of us,’ I mean the weak. But what if every Inheritance is bound by the same origin?"

Julien didn’t look impressed by her words.

"Why would that be so? What role does your Inheritance hold in this matter?"

"No, that’s not what I meant. My Inheritance was born from my family’s ritual of entrusting their souls to the family head upon death. It existed even before the Red Day. Though only two of our people survived, they continued to honor the ritual."

Purple gave her words a beat.

"Perhaps I’m only thinking aloud, but if the heavens themselves bled and wept, I am certain the Red Day and our Inheritances lie at the heart of it."

Julien looked at her for a moment and couldn’t argue. When he’d first received the Inheritance, he’d gone down the same road. But getting his two states had changed the picture. Whatever this was, it existed before humans did. The timeline refused to add up no matter how he arranged it.

"Overthinking this won’t help, it’ll only exhaust you. Are you pursuing that mystery to elevate your family’s standing? If it were truly solvable, the Moon Killers and God Killers would have resolved it long ago."

Purple went quiet for a moment, dazed, then started blushing.

"I knew there was something more behind your bravado. You just showed me you care about whether I get hurt."

"H-Hey! That’s not what I meant!"

Purple continued her teasing, and Julien endured it, which was easier when his mind had somewhere else to be. One thing, mostly, helping Purple bring down the Heart and Voss family, and walking away with his artifact when it was done.