Lucian and Halcyon stood motionless, the air was thick with dust, only broken by the occasional harsh cough and the sound of their ragged breathing.
They straightened up simultaneously, and decided to leave this area first before they could they continued to speak on what occurred…
Around them, had a vast field of a rotten orchard? Multiple crows and scarecrows, moving through the field, they ignored them and had there own dealings in the field.
They walked side by side through the rotting field. Neither met the other's eyes. Halcyon's steps faltered slightly… Lucian noticed. She had almost died back there. And worse, she'd let the sickness show.
They walked side by side, neither speaking, both avoiding the other's gaze… They couldn't died, she let more sickness slip.
It showed, she was weake than, Lucian remembered…
Eventually, they found a quiet slope beneath a cracked willow tree. They sat… tired, worn down by more than just battle. Talking now felt right… Or maybe it felt necessary.
They both knew, the Seeker Eye had to be deployed. And the graveyard they'd just passed through… something about it, pushed people past their limits. Maybe that's why no one who entered had ever made it far.
Lucian broke the silence.
"Sunny… why are you really here?" he asked. "It's the Crown Relic, isn't it? That's the only thing that makes sense."
Halcyon didn't look at him. Her eyes flicked to the horizon.
So this is really happening… With this, maybe we can finally move forward. And who's to say I won't be the one to claim the Crown? Maybe just maybe… things can go back to how they used to be.
"Yeah," Halcyon said at last. "I'm sick. Been sick for a while. Didn't tell you because…" She exhaled. "I let pride get in the way."
Lucian's jaw clenched briefly. "That why you've been coughing blood? Looking like hell?" His fists tightened. "And you kept that from me?"
"You've kept secrets too," she snapped. His silence gave her room to continue.
"I got sick a few years back. You remember that mission I took alone?"
He nodded. "The one I warned you about. The jungle, the nightmares, lose their minds… the ones that turned people against each other."
Halcyon palm ran down her face. Shame in her voice. "Yeah… I messed up. I didn't listen, and now this thing this sickness… is tearing me apart. I've tried everything, everywhere."
His eyes meet her filled of sadness snd fear. "After you left, I heard about what you did with Lazarus. That's when I knew… I needed you…"
Lucian's expression shifted... He remembered how she always looked for direction, even in life and death. That person had often been him. But now… she couldn't bring herself to lean on him.
"I searched. Nothing helped… nothing even came close. The sickness just kept getting worse. But then I heard about something… a relic. A crown from another age. They say it belonged to a human who led the charge against the fiends. If it's real… it might be the only hope I've got left."
Lucian breathed slowly, staring down at the dirt. "Sunny… you were out here… and you didn't say a word?" he asked, voice sounded rough. "After everything? You healed me when no one else could, even when I was ready to give up. You know I would've done the same for you. Healing powers or not. You knew."
She stayed silent.
Yeah… Lucian would have went to end of the world to help me… just that I couldn't tell him what wrong nor would have ever before this and I still can't. I always seemed to keep everything I want inside of me..
Lucian's eyes pierced through her composure. They always did. He looked at her like she was still the same girl who dragged him from the brink all those years ago.
"My sickness," she whispered, her voice cracking.
Tears welled in her eyes."it's not just killing me. It's erasing me. Bit by bit. Memories. Pieces of who I am… I feel them slipping away."
"I'm terrified that even if we find the crown… it won't be enough."
Lucian reached out, hesitated… then gently wiped her cheek and brushed the dust from her hair. And tears.
"That's why you left the organization. Because of this sickness… Sorry. I picked up on something… smelled blood a while back. Today just… confirmed what I'd been ignoring. I didn't know it was this serious. If I had, I wouldn't have stayed silent. I'm here for the crown too."
Lucian hand pulled back, when Halcyon straightened up… he barely knew how to deal with these thing and when he knew a little… she was different.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "We haven't been close in a long time. It's hard to open up when it feels like we're strangers now."
What if they had walked together before leaving thing could have different or maybe back on her solo mission?
Lucian muttered. "So. I guess it's my turn."
He stared into the orchard. "I'm after the Crown too. Not just for power. I want to understand Lazarus… his obsession, his endgame. And if it leads to answers… maybe I can finally stop running."
Halcyon listened. As he grabbed a stick between his fingers. And dragged into a some circles dirt.
"You know how I used to be… Bloodlust blinded me more than I'd like to admit, my greed. I… killed people I was supposed to protect… my own men. That's why they vanished. I knew then I needed help. I left because I couldn't risk hurting you… or letting Lazarus turn my weakness into one of his experiments."
"What are you talking about? I remember you transforming because of blood, but you never killed anyone. You wouldn't have. I know you."
Lucian looked up, he had a serious expression on his face, still his gaze even dropped low. "This is the worst part of it. I could be trapped in that state forever. Every day, I feel it, something clawing at me, threatening to break loose. If I ever use my power… or drink blood again… I know it could take over."
"Wait… how much blood do you need to lose control like that? Blood's supposed to make you stronger, right? And you… you're the strongest vampire in the world. How can anything stop you from drinking it, from doing what's always come so naturally?."
"…I don't know. I never exactly tried to experiment on it." He said as he shrugged.
"I'm after the crown to get closer to Lazarus, to put an end to this war between us. But I can't let you get dragged into it. It's not something I want you involved in, not after everything we've been through.." He said importantly at the end.
Halcyon abruptly stood up. "What do mean. I can't be involved."
She paced back and forth. "Everything… we started with everything. We became what we are through this journey and this journey should end with us together good or bad… Especially if it could involve all creatures and humanity."
She does have a good argument… everything we did lead up to this moment and the future. However, why does she still care about the creatures being involved despite what they did to her… I know she barely kill on both side different than other why kill mainly one side and other that kill everyone around.
He question if he really redemption after Lazarus and why he chasing him?
Halcyon stared up at Lucian… When she suddenly turned in the moment, they both felt something tightened in the chest… It wasn't painful but it made them fell good something he hasn't felt in a very long time.
"Funny, isn't it? After everything… we're still here, side by side. Maybe this cursed place is giving us one last shot... not just to find what we're after, but to finally face what we never said. Through, it all the world constant shift always showed me, that it mixed darkness and lif, caused by ourselves. "
"... Mixed Darkness and Light.Alright. Now that we're back on track it should make it easier to find that relic." He stood up, he had a understanding because he knew, what she trying to do. "And I have the perfect item."
He reached beneath his cloak and pulled out a smooth, dark stone the size of his hand. At its center was a pale gem… Glowing faintly like an open eye.
"The Seeker Eye… I lost mine before using it track another relic… With it's power it will surely help us faster than ourselves." Halcyon commented.
"Hmm… with this tracking we truly won't have walk around aimlessly to find it."
"Yeah… but why don't you have the rest of your weapons." She said her brows arched.
"Just like I'm no longer using my vampire abilities and staying human… which I manged to live a good life because I'm a vampire and still hunters haven't been able to find me… because. I'm using my human blood. I hide my weapon somewhere far and deep."
He gazed down the orchard again, into the moonlight. "I don't need a weapon to kill. I was born in blood, shaped by silence, and perfected the art of death long before steel ever touched my hand."
I'm sorry, but there are things you can't know. What Lazarus was going to do to us… the truth behind the transformation… it's worse than you'd think. He crossed a line, and now that he's here, it's time to put an end to this before he can do something even more horrific.