Trying to Save my Favorite Character from His Tragic Fate

Maya slaps the top of a lunchbox, closing the last one. Ian wipes his wet hands on the apron. He looks out to the dining area and sees Phanes and Eric still talking. His eyes wander around to find Kyrie, but his eyes never land on his familiar figure. 

His heart skips a beat. 

Ian quickly takes off his apron and toss it on the counter. He proceeds to walk around the lounge. Then, he quickens up his pace towards his room. 

There are no signs of Kyrie.

He continues looking around the inn thoroughly on every corner. His heart beats each time louder in his ears. His breath starts to quicken, and cold sweat prickles his back. His eyes wander around rapidly to look for Kyrie once again.

Phanes stops Ian by tugging on his arm. 

"Are you looking for something?"

"Where is Kyrie? I just saw him minutes ago. He is gone!"

"He might have gone out with Erebus since Erebus is also not here."

"Where?"

Phanes shakes her head. 

She looks at Ian's body, starting to tremble. His unfocused eyes cannot stop turning around. Picking up his feelings of desperation, Phanes holds onto Ian's arms, tightening until Ian stops his eyes from wandering uncontrollably.

"Breathe…" Phanes lock eyes with Ian, "He will be back soon. He might have just gone out to get something."

"I will look for him," Ian walks away, yanking himself away from Phanes's hold. 

His walking turns into a fast walk that then into a jog on the streets. He can't find him anywhere that he looks—the feeling of emptiness swamps in.

"Kyrie!"

On the rooftop, Kyrie stops in the middle of his conversation after hearing his name being called by a familiar voice. He takes off his eyes from Erebus, and he turns towards the direction of the inn. 

[Did I hear wrong?]

"Aside from that, what are you going to do with the potion?" asks Erebus. 

His eyes land on Kyrie's chest. Kyrie steps back while grabbing the potion over his clothes, but he finds himself at a loss of what to say. He does not know the answer. 

Erebus extends his arm, and Kyrie's shadow manifests into small arms attached to a figureless black body. They shoot towards Kyrie and slide into his clothes. Thinking that Erebus is aiming for the potion, he tightens his grip.

However, the small hands take out another pendant that Kyrie has almost forgotten about. Erebus takes the black gem pendant from the animated shadow.

He smirks as he examines it, "You are an odd existence, mortal. How is that you also have this with you?"

He holds up the black jewel between his fingers. The mana inside the stone begins to leak out in the form of a black mist. 

[Darkness…]

Erebus clutches the jewel, and the mist gets absorbed back into it. 

"This mana stone, why do you have it in your hands?" He asks again, but this time, the atmosphere between them becomes several times heavier.

"Coincidence… I got it by coincidence."

Kyrie is not lying, He never would think that Nate would be interested in a mana stone with dark attributes. Not only that, the previous owner is none other than Ian's father, the king of Ethern.

However, how this mana stone gets to Erebus's hand seems less of a coincidence and more like fate. Not only is the mana stone returning to the god who has the authority over darkness, but a god from a time period of the past. 

"Kyrie!"

This time, Kyrie can hear Ian clearly. He searches the streets to find him. Ian walks closer to the building that Kyrie is on.

Noticing the shadows moving on the pavement, Ian looks up. He finds Kyrie on a rooftop a couple of steps away from Erebus. 

Kyrie looks at Erebus, and Erebus relaxes his shoulders. Knowing that Erebus understands that the conversation ended, Kyrie steps two steps back. 

"Human…" Kyrie looks back at Erebus, "I never do things without reason…" says Erebus.

Kyrie lets out a hardened smile, "No one does, Erebus."

Then, he sprints and jumps.

Landing first on the balcony of the building, he jumps again. Seeing that Ian has opened his arms, Kyrie lets himself be caught by Ian. 

Catching Kyrie, Ian's heart finally relaxes, and his breathing becomes less frantic. However, he cannot stop himself from trembling. What is going on with him? Why is separating himself from Kyrie shaking him so much?

"Did something happen?" Kyrie senses Ian's trembles. 

Ian lifts his hands that can't seem to stop shaking.

"Ian…" He grabs Ian's hands and squeezes them. "I will not go anywhere too far unless you want me to."

---

On top of the roof, Erebus looks down at Maya joining Kyrie and Ian. Soon, they set off to where they planned to go today. Before they left, Kyrie turns his head and look up at Erebus one last time. His eyes can stab into flesh like spears of ice. They are not kind. They feel more like a warning to Erebus. 

Then, Kyrie leaves with Ian, turning back to the usual goofy expression that he always wears.

"What is with your serious look?" 

Erebus turns his head rapidly, startled. His thoughts that flood in his mind suddenly dissipates into nothingness. 

"What did you talk about that made you look so troubled?" Phanes stares into Erebus's eyes, making him nervous. He looks away to hide his facial expressions that are slowly creeping into his face.

Can he even tell Phanes what he just heard from that kid? What he heard is too shocking. Despite the numerous restriction that Kyrie has, what is allowed to be revealed is still hard to believe. 

"I will let you decide what to do with this information. If we ever have the chance to meet in the future, I hope it is not when we are against each other."

Erebus forces himself to let go of his tense shoulders. 

'It's too early to determine everything.'

Whatever Kyrie told him is still in question. Even if Kyrie tells him the truth, that kid could be wrong. There are too many inconsistencies with Kyrie's revelations. Plus, if Kyrie is blessed with light magic, that means that he would most likely be on his side. Why would he say, "I hope it is not when we are against each other?"

'I will have to talk with the king of gods when I go back. If something is brewing in the dark that could ultimately affect the god realm, then I cannot ignore it.'

He turns his head, encountering Phanes's big eyes bore into him. He breaks into an embarrassed smile after flinching.

"You should not look at someone so intensely," says Erebus rubbing his nape.

Phanes clears her throat and turns around, slightly self-conscious.

"We should look for those missing people," she changes the topic.