Cracks in the Jar

Leon found himself in a dark black world. He could see nothing else but himself. He was still impaled by the dark red tendrils. He did not feel much of the pain but he knew he was. He tried to move but he couldn’t. It was as if he was both stuck frozen and conscious.

“Mary," he said to himself. “I’m going to make her cry again.” 

A speck of light flashed in the horizon. Distant voices, faint and gentle, echoed through the darkness. Leon tried moving but it was futile. He was unable to move. The echoes grew louder. He noticed it and tried shouting but nothing came out of his mouth. He couldn’t shout. The voices grew clearer. He was familiar with these voices. He wanted to shout. He tried channeling his magic throughout his body but his mana was leaking from the tendrils. He was going weak.

“Is this all, Leon? Aren't you Owed by the World?” he thought to himself. He once more tried channeling magic. He focused on gathering energy from the sole of his feet. Radiant white light covered the darkness beneath him. Orbs of light started appearing around him. The tendrils of shadow dissipated to nothingness.

"Mary, I'm sorry," Leon said as he collapsed.

Leon's body fell flat on the ground. Blood gushed out his punctured wounds. His decapitated left arm was the worst.

Mary and Rhea ran at the body of their fallen captain. Luca wanted to run to her captain as well but Isaac held her back. He glanced at the surroundings. The Scholars of the Firefly was in the middle of the desert. Ruins of an abandoned village can be seen in the distant. The night was cold. The desert air was dry and the wind that rolled down the snow was moist. Flowing sands in the horizon were heard. And in the mountains echoed faint sounds of dirt and pebbles falling.

"Stay close to me," Isaac whispered to Luca. Her strength to go to her captain faded as she remembered her past. She was petrified to move and held tightly onto Isaac's hand. "I'll protect you." Isaac let loose two invisible orbs of energy from his palm. One went to the sky and the other sank to the ground. 

Mary threw herself to the blood caked sand and crawled to Leon. She didn't care about anything else. Her captain laid flat on his chest covered in bruises and bloodied. She was shaking as she turned him on his back and saw his face. It was as if he was having a peaceful dream, all the while covered in blood. He saved his brother but she knew. Both she and her captain knew. She looked at Andrew menacingly. She was furious.

"He must not look like this," Rhea's mind was blank. She fell on her knees contemplating what she had done. "It's my fault. It's my fault." She kept on repeating.

Luca extended her hand trying to reach out to her captain. Isaac breathed a sigh of relief when the invisible orbs he released returned with nothing. They were safe. He let her go.

Rhea crawled cross the blood covered sand as she tried reaching out to Leon. Luca was crying when she threw herself and hugged the delirious Mary. 

Andrew was on his knees rising. When Leon switched places with him. He never knew it could get worse than he had planned. He was shocked to see a casualty on his silly foolery. More so it was his beloved brother that took the brunt of his mischief. When his brother's arm flew off he fell on his knees and tried letting out vomit. He never wanted things to go that way. And it was all his fault.

"I didn't wan-" Andrew's trembling voice was cut short when a blast of wind threw him away to an abandoned house. Debris fell as dust and sand scattered in air. Andrew was hidden in the wake of the impact.

"You ingrate!" Mary shouted. Her voice brought Rhea back to her senses. The vice captain calmed when she noticed Leon's blood on her dried up and crumbled.

"Mary!" Rhea stood up and tried pulling Mary back by her shoulder. She shook it off and gazed at the adventurers sternly.

"Fireflies!" Mary shouted. The commanding officer blew his trumpet. The Fireflies went in formation. They stood in lines in front of their vice captain "Gather closer!" The rank of adventurers moved a few steps forward. "Melee to boxed perimeter! Give space for the range! Station four arrows and four to corner magics! Supplies to the cen-"

"Mary!" Rhea shouted. "What about the captain?"

"What about him?" Mary angrily said. "Supplies and intelligence archives brought to center! Those in charge hand me the records and regroup with the defences," she once more shouted. "Medics! Go check up on other Fireflies!"

"How could you?" Rhea asked Mary. Her face was blank and expressionless. She couldn't understand her superior. "Leon is.. Leon is.."

"Isn't it about time now, Leon?" Mary said. Her eyes were listless as she kept up a serious face. "Luca, go with Isaac and heal Andrew. I swear, if he was not Leon's brother I would have definitely put more."

"This is not the time to kid around, vice captain!" Rhea shouted. Most of the stains of blood from the three officials have mostly dried up, crumbled to the air and got absorbed to a faint orb of blood subtly becoming visible. Isaac noticed.

"I.. I'll.. I'll heal the captain," Luca said.

"Don't bother with him, Luca," Mary said. "Do as you're told and go treat Andrew."

"Vice captain Mary!" Rhea shouted. "I'll ask the other medics to take care of Andrew. Luca's the most-"

"Rhea! You're clean?" Luca pointed at Rhea's clothes. She was covered in blood and now not a trace of red hue was on her. clothings.

"Owed?" Rhea eyes widened. She traced back in her memory of what had just happened. "The captain is an-"

"For someone as smart as you, Rhea," Mary said in a condescending tone. "You let your heart misjudge your insight."

The orb of blood has become visible. It continued assimilating the blood that dissipated into the air. The blood that covered the sand beneath Leon was almost no more.

"Sometimes, Mary, I wish you could show even just a little bit of restraint." It was Leon's voice. But Mary knew it was not him. He was breathing heavily.

He slowly stood as blood dripped from his decapitated arm. But right after touching the ground it became dust and got absorbed by the orb floating beside him. The bloodstains on him got assimilated as well. The orb of blood was growing.

There were holes in his clothes and armor. Beneath his punctured leg armor, lines of fissure were visible like that of cracks on glass. The wounds on his torso and right arm were throbbing. His breathing was erratic. The orb of blood upon reaching its peak glowed red. Leon quickly smashed it with his fist. As if the red orb had materialized, it shattered. His body subtly glowed and in an instant shone blinding light.

When the radiant light died down. Leon appeared standing with a missing leg. His wounds have closed.

"I supposed I lost another limb," said Leon with a disgruntled voice. He snapped his fingers and specks of white light materialized to dust and slowly assimilated to where his missing arm and leg was. It grew slowly from bone to sinew of veins and muscles. He clenched his newly formed fist and waved his arm. He wiggled his toes before he slowly lifted his new leg and shakingly kicked the air. He was once more complete.

"Captain?" Luca softly spoke. "What happened? How did you-"

Leon stretched his new arm and with his palm aimed where Andrew was tossed. He glanced at Mary and smiled.

"Leon will definitely get mad if you keep doing this kind of thing to his little brother," the captain said to Mary. Green light flashed inside the ruins where his brother was.

"You healed him?" Luca asked. She was dumbfounded.

"Good job, Isaac," Leon said. He gazed at Isaac with an authoritative look. Isaac looked back. He knew all along it was not his captain that spoke. The captain of the Fireflies smiled and quickly glanced towards his younger brother's whereabouts. Isaac immediately understood and ran quickly to fetch Andrew. It was what his captain wanted.

When Isaac was gone, Leon looked intently at Mary. She was still mad at his younger brother. Both of them knew. Her face frowned in anger. Dark clouds started to form in the sky but immediately dissipated. The moonlight beamed towards Leon. He was smiling.

"Captain," Rhea said. "You're alive."

"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I?" Leon spoke with a peaceful smile on face as he collapsed once more.