CHAPTER 17

Ignis didn't wake up that night. His sleep felt everlasting, and that night Vayu's worry began to show on his face. Nuri was in a panic as Vayu tried everything to wake Ignis from his dream-state, but it was no use. The mage simply collapsed into Vayu's arms, and he let himself assume the worst, just for a second, before completely discarding the thought.

"We need to get him back to Mr Milo." Vayu said quickly, "help me get him up."

"What's Milo going to do? He probably... perished in the mind-world." Nuri said gravely, while Vayu glared at him.

"If anyone can wake him up, it's Milo. You need to stop assuming the worst, and help me get him up, and then we need to drag him down this mountain." Vayu repeated with a stern voice, as Nuri swallowed his fear, and nodded. It was a struggle returning to the Manor, but they made it back just before noon the next day. Milo's face looked stricken with grief as he saw Ignis in the state.

"This is bad." Milo muttered, "set him down on a bed, I'm going to try my best to try and revive him, but I cannot promise anything." Nuri chewed his nails down to their skin while they waited for Milo to attempt to revive Ignis. The calming tea Vayu had given him all but knocked him out, because before he knew it he was pacing around the room in frantic little steps from left to right, left to right, left to right. He couldn't bare the thought of losing someone like Ignis, or any of his friends for that matter.

"Where are Avani and Meri?" Nuri asked after he'd paced around the room for probably the hundredth time.

"I don't know," Vayu answered truthfully, "I suppose they're running errands for Mr Milo."

"Have you ever known Avani to be an errand girl?" Nuri replied, shaking his head, "where the hell are they?"

"I don't know, Nuri, but you need to calm down." Vayu almost warned, this only seemed to plunge him deeper into panic.

"I can't calm down, Vayu! One of my best friends is in a coma and I can't do anything about it! I'm about at my damn breaking point." Nuri shook his head furiously and planted himself down on the couch.

"Just... try and sleep. I'm sure by morning Mr Milo will have fixed everything." Vayu tried a smile, but it was half-hearted and Nuri saw straight through it. He sighed, and placed his head down on a couch pillow, closing his eyes. Sleep overtook him easily for once, and his dreams were a dark black void, a big, giant night filled with nothing but a panicked grey aura. He assumed it was simply his aura projecting itself into his dreams, or perhaps his spiritual energy was grey at the moment. Just a big mess of panicked grey, that's what Nuri was for the rest of the night. His eyes were closed, and he assumed he was sleeping, but he couldn't quite get rid of the gnawing feeling that Ignis might never wake up again. The thought ate him alive for the rest of the night, he absolutely could not get it out of his head, no matter what dream he tried to force into his subconscious. Even when he attempted to dream about the night it all happened, the big, panicked mess of grey seemed to linger around the corners of the familiar village that he'd scorched. He hated it, but at least it was sleep.

The next morning felt like someone had dragged him through the mud, literally. The deep ache of panic still rested in his bones, and it still felt like his world was crumbling apart. Ignis still hadn't woken up. It was a routine Nuri clung to in the week to come, wake up, eat, panic, sleep, and repeat. He kept at it, clinging onto it like one might cling to one's sanity. Avani returned the two days after they came back, with determination shining in her eyes.

"Where's Ignis?" She had asked Nuri, who still looked stricken with panic.

"He hasn't woken up from his trance." Vayu had answered for him, "where have you been?"

"The Sovereign Capital, sorting out some demons from my past." She had answered truthfully, "what has Milo been trying to do?"

"He called in some help from a Magi Healer, so Professor Juvia is here. They can't seem to revive him, they've been at it for two days now." Vayu had said with sadness in his light blue eyes.

Avani had shaken her head, "I guess it's a waiting game from here on out." She had said solemnly and went over to Nuri. She'd placed a hand on his shoulder, before exiting the room, and rolling herself up in the smallest ball she could manage, locking herself in her closet, like she'd done as a child, because facing reality was too daunting. She hadn't shown it in front of Nuri and Vayu, but she was petrified of Ignis waking up, she had known whom Hades was, they kissed for the Mother's sake, but she'd never told him. All the memories she and Kuro shared were something that was always in the back of her head, because she'd tried to forget them various times, she sort of hated Kuro for betraying her, but she hated Iman more. The hatred burned in his chest like the flames of Hell, scorching and everlasting. She wouldn't have peace until she killed Iman. She had to kill him, she had to do it, no one else, otherwise she'd be stuck with this feeling for the rest of her life, and she was scared she'd turn into Kuro if she didn't get rid of it quickly.

On the seventh day, as Nuri lie by his bedside, fast asleep and still exhausted from all the panicking he'd been doing, Ignis Lux's eyes went open. Nuri felt him stir, and his eyes lit up.

"You're awake?" He asked, but Ignis didn't hold the same expression as Nuri did. His was stone cold, and determined.

"Where's Avani?" His voice haunted Nuri's ears, but he told Ignis nonetheless. Like a tornado, Ignis rose from his bed, and dashed to the backyard, where Avani was practicing her knife throwing skills.

"You knew?" He asked in the same tone that he had before, Avani's eyes held recognition, and automatically she assumed a defensive stance.

"I did." She said softly, and then looked up, "I'm sorry I never told you. When I saw him that day, when he killed Aziel, it all came back, all the hurt and the memories, and all the happy things that had happened, every moment we shared, but the concussion knocked it out of me."

Ignis looked furious, "he killed my entire village, and you didn't bother to even try and mention that he was your boyfriend? What kind of person does that, Avani?"

"The kind that wants to protect you from your past." She answered truthfully, and watched his eyes cloud over with black. He pushed her into the centre of the backyard, and then the long, and deadly tendrils of black flames emerged from the floor like a mythical beast. Avani's meagre stone sword lay on the ground, shattered as she ran around the tendrils, trying not to get hit by Ignis' shower of fireballs. This was something she'd never seen before, this absolutely burning hatred was something she'd only witnessed in Kuro once.

"GET MILO!" She bellowed over the flames, and watched a twisted version of Nuri running inside the Manor. Vayu and Meri started to attempt to make their way through the tendrils, but it was like a daunting forest, which they'd get lost in every time they entered it. Avani was in the middle, trying to hold off his spray of fire with a cracked stone shield. She tried using her cursed ability, but it was no use, Ignis simply seemed to get stronger, and more hateful the more she struck back. In a last minute decision, she constructed a stone structure, to shield her from the fire rain that had erupted from Ignis. The amount of power that he held was otherworldly, and although seeing him at his full capacity was fascinating, it was the most terrifying thing she'd ever witnessed, and what made it more terrifying? The fact that it was all aimed at her.

Milo tried his luck with the tendrils, but it seemed every tendril had a mind of it's own, and fought with the strength of a top-notch Magic Academy student. There was no distinctive fighting style, and Milo struggled to identify weaknesses and openings, Ignis' defence was rock solid. Every time he attempted to stop one of the tendrils from colliding with his entire being, he ended up parrying the blow, attempting to tame the wild jungle of flames with a calm stream of water that rested by his hands. It was of no use however, Ignis Lux was roaring with black flames, engulfing the entirety of the backyard in his anger. Milo's attempts were feeble, it felt as if there was nothing he could do to possibly soothe Ignis' raging temperament. The problem was that Milo had no idea what had caused the sudden outburst of anger. A couple of minutes ago, he was sleeping soundly in his bed, and the next thing everyone knew, he was scorching the entirety of the backyard. Milo's eyes clouded over with determination, as he willed himself to push forward, to try and get to the centre, to attempt to reason with Ignis, if that were even an option. He decided to follow Ignis' aura through the maze of black flames, they encircled him, tried to box him in, tried everything they could possibly do to keep Milo from edging forward, but Milo prevailed, slowly but surely, he pushed through the wall of flames that seemed to be around every corner. Milo felt as if he were trapped in the Academy's maze once again, and the memory flitted through his brain as he parried and dodged Ignis' raging attacks. He was a lot younger when he arrived at the Academy, when they called him in to be an adviser, four years was a long time. He went there four years ago to help the Academy become accustomed to Aurean traditions, and to consult on the Aurean fighting style, but it all fell apart the night the King and Queen were murdered. He remembered rushing through the labyrinth, trying to possibly loose the murderous Sovereign Knights threatening to kill him and whoever else had followed him into the maze. He ran through the maze, frantically trying to find the way out, and when he reached the middle, it felt like he had overcome an army. The Sovereign Knights caught up to him, though, and although he put up a fight, it was no use against their brute force and their pure hatred for everything he stood for. If it weren't for one of the students who saved him then, he would have perished that night. He parried a quick blow from one of the tendrils, and reminded himself that this was someone that he cared about. Although he had only known Ignis for a short period of time, the mage had grown on him, become someone who he had learned to care about, learned to respect in a combat perspective. Milo knew he had to break through the wall of flames soon, otherwise all his other children would surely perish. He pushed through the flames with his stream becoming bigger as he borrowed water from some place else. An idea struck him like a blow to the heart, quickly he gathered up all his energy, and reached within himself, pulling from underneath the earth, the water pipes that carried the water supply to the Manor, and the battlefield became drenched in water. It rained down on Ignis in large and quick drops of water while Milo aimed the large fountain at the mage. His flames seemed to grow, but also wither like dead plants, for a split second, Milo caught sight of Avani's crumpling stone structure, and it renewed his determination. He moved quicker now, weaving through the flames, moving like a river, trying to kill all the flames that were still sprouting from the ground like giant, deadly plants. Milo aimed a shot of water straight for Ignis the moment he had a semi-clear shot, and for a second the intensity of the flames withered. This gave Milo the opportunity he had been hoping for, he balled his hands into fists, and seized Ignis' blood. He could see the mage was weakening, the more he tightened his grip, the more Ignis seemed to fade. Suddenly he collapsed, and with him went all the flames that surrounded the group. Milo let himself breathe for a split second, before rushing over to the pile of half-dead mage that was Ignis Lux. Avani emerged from her stone structure, bruised, but alive, and moved over to Ignis as well.

"I'm sorry." She apologized to Milo, who seemed to be working some kind of magic, searching for something to extract from Ignis' bloodstream. It had to be poison, Milo reasoned, there was nothing that could upset someone like that and that fast, it had to be some sort of biological agent that had caused Ignis to spiral out of control like that, but Milo sensed nothing unusual in his bloodstream. He turned to Avani, who looked panicked, but also like she knew all the answers.

"What do you think caused this?" Milo asked her directly, and she bit her lip.

"It's my fault, Milo," she admitted, but not shamefully, "I did not tell him something very important and it seems to have angered him very much."

"What was this?" Milo asked once again. Gone was his warm tone, and gone were those blue eyes she'd found comfort in every time she gazed into them, instead his tone was clipped and his eyes icy, and cold, and unwelcoming. She couldn't bare his icy stare anymore, so she gazed down as she revealed to Milo what she had remembered a couple of days ago.

"I knew the man he is currently hunting, his name was Kuro Lux, and it was his brother." Avani said with her eyes glued to the scorched floor.

"That is a big thing to keep from someone." Milo admitted, "how long did you know?"

"I've known Kuro for two years, but we haven't seen each other in the same amount of time." Avani answered truthfully, "we used to be assassins together."

"And then?" Milo asked.

"I was thrown in jail, and he betrayed me, end of story." She said, shifting her gaze to Ignis, "do you think he'll be alright?"

Milo looked sceptical, but answered nonetheless, "I only drained enough energy to knock him out for an hour, but I will advise you remain by his side so that you may explain yourself, to prevent something like this happening again." Milo advised, the warmness seeping back into his eyes like a slow stream.

"I will." She agreed, and then they transported Ignis back to his room in the Manor. Dutifully Avani sat by his side, tapping her foot gently against the wooden floor as she waited for him to wake up. The hour passed by painstakingly slow, it felt as if she were spending an eternity waiting for his eyes to flick open again. She ran through what she was going to tell him, she would tell him how she'd met Abbadōn, and then she'd tell him that Iman had advised her to work for Abbadōn in case it was tied back to him. She'd tell him that she didn't like Kuro at first, but eventually as they got to know each other, she'd learnt that there was more to him, he wasn't just a bloodthirsty monster. She'd tell him about how Kuro made her feel, about how he made her feel as if she were the only woman in the world, how his hands felt on her skin, how they almost scorched her whenever he lay his fingers on her. How his smell was intoxicating, how his lips fit perfectly over hers, and how great he looked drenched in blood with a triumphant smirk on his lips, how he tasted, high on victory, how she was absolutely drunk on Kuro Lux himself. Maybe she would leave that last part out, the part about the monster, because Ignis' opinions of Kuro were closed-minded. She understood why though, obviously Kuro had completely destroyed everything Ignis loved, and put him on a path headed straight to oblivion. She understood why Ignis held this deep, burning hatred for Kuro, she understood it, but something inside of her wanted to get down on her knees and beg him to spare Kuro. Something inside her wanted him to kiss her again, wanted to taste that victorious high, and watch the blood drip down his chin in graceful little drops. She wanted that again, even though she knew Kuro had betrayed her, she wanted to get high off his scent again, wanted to feel his fingertips roaming over her body, wanted to have her hands in his hair again. Most of all however, she wanted to see Kuro Lux again, embrace Kuro Lux again, have Kuro Lux hold her again. She craved that more than anything, the hunger for Kuro Lux was almost insatiable, and she couldn't help overdosing on him whenever she was near him, it was a problem, but she loved it. After what seemed like a little infinity, Ignis' eyes went open again. He manifested his gaze on Avani once again, his face taking on a vicious scowl.

"I'm here to make peace." She said before he could open his mouth, "I know you're angry, but I want you to listen to me."

"How can I?" Ignis asked, hurt evident in his voice, "you were fraternizing with the monster that wiped out my clan. I might as well hold you responsible for each and every one of their deaths!"

"I know," she said softly, "and I deserve it. I deserve every little thing you want to say to me, I deserve all the declarations of hate you're about to throw my way, because I loved him. I didn't love his bloodlust, but I loved Kuro Lux with all of my damn heart before he betrayed me, and a part of me probably still loves him, but he's changed now, and you can hate me all you want for what I did in the past."

"I don't hate you for loving him," Ignis answered truthfully, "I honestly don't. I just don't understand what you saw in him back then."

"Kuro was different, then." She said, "he wasn't as bloodthirsty as he was when he destroyed your village. Kuro was human when I first met him, as you may have noticed, and even though he had a dark side to him, he was human nonetheless. Abbadōn ruined him. He used to call him little demon in some strange language."

"Abbadōn I'm assuming was corrupted, as you would refer to it." Ignis stated, or rather asked in a monotonous voice.

"He was, as Kuro referred to him, the true darkness. Abbadōn was something otherworldly; the kind of bloodlust that resided in his body was unreal. He was truly a demon. There were theories he had drunk the blood of the impure, but he'd drunk too much, so it had almost fully corrupted him, he wasn't even considered human by most of the people who worked for him." Avani explained.

"So, he was a real monster." Ignis said, while Avani nodded, "it doesn't make me think more of Hades, or less for that matter. I still need to kill him." He stated calmly, it was unnerving to Avani, whose eyes went large, and she leaned forward in her seat.

"You really still want to?" She asked in a small voice, not daring to look him in the eyes. The unfelt emotions swam around in her chest, and it felt as if they were going to rise up and erupt from her mouth. She felt almost suffocated by her emotions, the ones she'd stored in the corners of her mind, and the ones she'd told herself weren't worth feeling. The ones she'd left there after she saw Kuro standing in the Palace courtyard with a dagger in one hand, and dread hanging over him like a giant black cloud.

"If not, now more than ever." Ignis stated calmly once again, "and there is nothing you can do to stop me. I understand the feelings you might have had for Hades may get in my way, but I will have no trouble cutting you down if you stand in my way."

"Ignis," she almost pleaded, "I know what he did... but if you kill him, you'll become him!"

"Right now, that is not one of my worries. Right now, I can avenge the death of my parents, and I can possibly revive the Lux clan, purge the line of the demonic ability Hades brought into our clan." Ignis said, "right now, the only thing I'm worried about is killing Hades. Your petty feelings are nothing to me." His eyes were stone cold as they landed on her, and she sunk into herself, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kuro was going to die, if Ignis was as worked up as he was an hour ago, and unleashed all of that pent up anger on Kuro, he would die. The one person she'd truly ever felt love toward was going to die, and she couldn't do anything about it. Normally she'd formulate a plan, but her cursed ability was useless against Ignis, as well as her meagre magic abilities, he raged against her skills like a giant bonfire, her fighting abilities were nothing compared to his anger. She was merely a roadblock, and he was going to come crashing through her. She felt helpless sitting in front of him, feeling as if she was nothing, like she could do nothing, like everything she'd learned at the Academy was simply falling out of her brain. She remembered Milo had told her once that she had to protect the ones she loved even if it meant she would perish, and she wished she knew how to stop Ignis from killing Kuro. She wished with her whole heart that she could just see Kuro once more, just so she could talk some sense into him. Just so she could try and convince him to stop massacring everyone, just so she could feel his lips on hers one last time. She wished it with her entire being. She had to stop him, she absolutely had to, even if it meant it was for naught, at least she would die knowing she'd done something.

"You can't kill him." She said suddenly, and it almost seemed like she had caught Ignis off guard. His stone cold eyes still remained the same as he stared her down disapprovingly.

"Why? Because you love him?" He asked, and almost uttered a bitter laugh, "how could you love a mass murderer?"

"He wasn't a murderer when I met him," she protested, "I fell in love with Kuro Lux, not Hades. Hades was an identity that was created for him, and eventually it took over his entire being. I didn't love Hades, I loved Kuro."

"Then you won't mind me killing Hades." Ignis said, and stood up, "I'm sorry, Avani. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I know it must be hard for you, but Hades deserves to die. I'm sorry you'll be losing Kuro, but Hades needs to pay for the things he's done."

"And what makes you think that you should be the one punishing him? Who appointed you as God?" Avani demanded, "you can't simply go around enforcing justice! You sound just like Iman, you know. Just like him."

"It's not justice." He replied calmly, "it's just avenging the death of my parents."

"He doesn't have to die for it." She said softly, even though he argument was feeble.

"Murder is a crime punishable by death," Ignis said, as he looked down on her, "and who better to enforce it than the victim himself?" She couldn't stop the tears that cascaded down her cheeks, and she couldn't stop her legs form giving way as she watched him go, struggling to get air into her lungs.