Chapter 142: Blink
Malik blinked his eyes open, finding himself healed.
The ache in his bones was gone, and the burn in his lungs had faded.
He took a breath, deep and slow, feeling air fill his chest for the first time since they'd plunged into that ocean of Rukh.
His body still felt weak, his reserves still low, but he was alive.
Most importantly, oxygen returned to his blood!
Safira and Huda stood next to him, backs turned, their attention fixed on something ahead.
Neither had noticed he was awake yet.
Malik pushed himself to his feet and looked past them.
A... Tree of Life?
Not as big as the one in the East, but colossal all the same.
Its trunk rose high above them, disappearing into a ceiling of darkness, its roots spreading outward like the fingers of a buried giant.
Between those roots sat an entrance, large enough to house multiple buildings.
It led straight into the heart of the tree.
The bark was black, almost obsidian, pulsing faintly with a dull crimson glow that ran through cracks in the surface.
"Are we to go there next?"
At Malik's question, the two realized he was awake.
Safira turned first, a soft smile spreading across her face.
There was relief in her eyes. Genuine relief.
Huda turned as well; only she didn't smile.
She just quietly looked at him, her pink eyes studying his face like she was seeing him for the first time.
They both knew. Malik had sacrificed much of his life saving them.
An old man saving the strongest of Devil's Maw, not just once, but three times.
Neither wanted to ask how he'd withstood the Abyssal King's Will.
Such a question would be beyond dishonorable.
So they simply lowered their hands, offering to help him up.
Malik accepted, gripping Safira's wrist and then Huda's, and pulled himself to his feet.
He stood between them, facing the tree.
"Let's go then."
Huda took the lead.
Safira fell in at the back.
Malik walked between them, and the three of them stepped inside.
Inside, the long corridor of wood was somehow visible.
Not bright exactly.
Again, there was no source of light, no glow he could point to.
But, well, they could see clearly nevertheless.
The walls were smooth and dark, curving around them like the inside of a throat, while the floor beneath their feet was solid and warm.
That helped ease the tension a little.
Only a little.
Enough to get Huda speaking.
"I... really don't like this."
"Noted."
Safira nodded at her back.
"But please, don't stop moving."
One might think she was being sarcastic, but no. She had truly "noted" that, filing it away in her mental calculations, adjusting her awareness based on Huda's unease.
The deeper they went, the quieter it got, until even their footsteps began to fade, swallowed by the damp air.
Safira's hair brushed against the wall.
It twitched.
She pulled her head back fast while her hands reached to touch her scalp.
"Don't touch the walls."
Malik had noticed it too.
The way the wood seemed to pulse...
How it almost leaned toward them.
"Yes. They seem... wrong."
Huda let out a sarcastic sigh.
"Wonderful."
It was dizzying, walking in here.
Like the East, the light never changed.
The same dullness pulsed through the cracks, over and over, a rhythm that never altered.
Constant enough that the two women started feeling a little suffocated.
"This can't be a repeat of last time!"
Huda's voice echoed off the walls, sharper than she probably meant it.
"I can't take another mind-bending trek."
"Do not worry about that."
Malik's voice stayed calm.
"And don't ask me how I know that. I don't know either."
Huda waved him off.
"Whatever, you old bastard."
Safira raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
She knew Huda well, and... this wasn't her.
Huda was usually mean, but that was a bit much.
'Maybe it's just the stress.'
Safira let it go with that thought.
"Sure, sure."
Malik shrugged.
"Just don't walk so close."
Huda frowned.
"Maybe your old body's in the way."
"How's it in the way when you're walking in front of me?"
Safira sighed, cutting in before it got out of hand.
"This might be fun to you, but don't forget our objective."
"Shut up, Safira."
"Make me."
And just like that, Safira forgot her own point.
"Wow."
Malik clapped his hands slowly, his face somewhat irritated.
"You lasted a whole five minutes before losing focus. New record."
Safira sighed again.
"Sorry, Stranger, it's just how she is. Now please, let's just walk."
Huda stopped and spun to face Safira, her pink eyes blazing.
"And who are you to say that? Think you'd have gotten here without me?"
Safira raised an eyebrow.
"Sinbad could easily replace you, you know."
"If he's so much better, why didn't you go to him then?"
"The Sultan ordered us to get the sword. That's the only reason."
The words hit harder than they should have.
"You know..."
Huda turned towards Malik, her eyes narrowed.
"This is all your fault."
Malik blinked.
"What?"
"I don't know how you're still alive, but I bet you made some Oath with a Demon or something. That's probably why we're so unlucky every time we cross paths."
"Hm."
Malik nodded slowly.
"Do you actually believe that?"
Huda's brow furrowed at his tone.
"And you think this is funny?"
"No."
He shook his head.
"You're right. I am unlucky. And I stick with you because I can use you better than the others."
Huda's eyes widened while Malik continued:
"When you stop being useful and gain some semblance of intellect, only then will I toss you away. Don't worry."
That had Huda freeze.
The words hit something soft.
She found herself hurt, genuinely, even though she'd said worse to him moments ago.
"You're joking."
Her voice was wavering.
"Am I?"
Safira shot Malik a warning look, but it came out rough too.
"Stranger, don't—"
"Oh, shut it, woman."
He shrugged her off.
"You're just another tool. A good one, though. I'll give you that."
Safira's hands clenched at her sides.
"You—"
"You can't even beat me."
Huda cut in, her voice rising.
"Think you can beat us both?!"
The wood beneath Safira's feet cracked, just slightly.
"Just shut up! I don't know why Teacher let a girl like you into our cohort."
Something within them... snapped.
Huda's eyes narrowed further with anger.
The air around her grew condensed, pressed down under the weight of her rage.
It seeped into all their bones, thick and poisonous, and before any of them knew it—
"You should die."
Once, their words had felt poisoned, dragged out through clenched teeth.
Now words weren't enough...
Only action remained.
Safira moved to attack, her hand raising, a most strong force already gathering.
However, she was one beat late.
Huda's wind tore through her midsection.
Indeed, a blade of compressed air cut clean across her stomach.
Safira's mouth opened, and blood poured from the wound.
She tried to heal it, her glowing hands reaching for the torn flesh.
But once more, she wasn't fast enough.
Malik's dark fire reached her first.
The black flames clung to her skin, burning through her robes, her flesh, her bones.
Her healing fought against it, but the fire was hungrier...
Corrupted.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH—!"
Safira burned alive.
Her screams echoed through the corridor, filling the space with agony.
Her body convulsed as her hands clawed at the air.
Then she fell and...
She stopped moving.
Malik and Huda watched her die.
The flames faded.
The wind stilled.
Safira's body lay on the wooden floor, her eyes open, her mouth frozen mid-scream.
Neither of them screamed or cried for her death.
Or rather, their killing of her.
The only sound was the crackling of Malik's flame, blooming in his palm.
Eventually, they turned towards each other.
Hate.
It didn't stop at Safira.
No, far from it.
The... feeling needed more.
It needed more to be satiated.
Thus, the two hated each other.
Deep, irrational hatred, the kind with no origin or purpose beyond its own existence.
It filled the space between them, thick as blood, hot as fire.
Malik looked at Huda.
He knew he couldn't survive a direct clash with her.
Her wind was faster than his fire, stronger than his body.
In a straight fight, he'd lose.
So he burned himself.
Black flame erupted from his palm and spread across his own body, engulfing him.
He didn't even flinch as he walked forward, his arms open in a welcoming embrace.
His little sister looked hurt; he didn't doubt that she needed an embrace.
Huda's wind came at him, a single blade aimed at his legs.
The blade held... hesitation.
"Ugh!"
It cut clean through his left thigh, making him stumble.
But that wasn't enough to stop him, a worried brother.
He had to reach her!
And that he did.
Too late.
His arms wrapped around his little sister, pulling her close, pressing his burning body against hers.
The black fire leapt from him to her, engulfing her.
Huda didn't scream either, gritting her teeth.
Her wind lashed at his back, his arms, his sides, but he didn't let go.
No matter how harsh the rebellion, a big brother would always embrace his little sister.
He held her tighter, his face inches from hers, his golden eyes meeting pink ones.
The two burned together.
Neither made a sound...
Till the end.
The two died staring at each other.
Nothing but rage in their eyes.
He was dead.
She was dead.
All of them were...
...
...
...
Blink.