For UnchainedHeart's contest entry somewhere back in early June. June 12th, actually. Reposted from the actual thing I posted.

June, the 11th:

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The blood spewing forth from Zygrado's eye as the blade cut into it, Zygrado falling ever-so slowly to the ground. The ground was instantly stained a deep crimson a few seconds after he sprawled out upon it.

"Zygrado!" I screeched, whipping around to do what his enemy did to him- drive my knife into my opponent's eye, a rattling shriek soon following as I abandoned the concept of fighting him.

Zygrado's eyes focused on me for a second, but I noticed how his blue-green eyes, usually reminding me of a spider's web- were so distraught.

The pounding in my ears told me that I was too frantic to calm down, that my heart was beating too fast.

His lips twitched into a smile, despite the circumstances. "What....the hell are you smiling for?" I whispered, and his whole body frame shook- he was laughing. A throaty, hoarse laugh slipped through, barely heard.

Zygrado seemed frail. Usually, when most people and I looked at my brother- he was a pillar, taller then most, and packed more punch in him then he seemed. Now his frame was thin, scrawny, like a huddled-up, half-starved child.

People around me, unaware of the silver-haired teen dying and soon to be gone in less then a matter of minutes, went out with their daily fighting. I could feel the blood splattering my hair and neck, but I didn't care at this point.

"....T-To be hon...honest...I was...expecting I'd die...before you..." between bursts of words, Zygrado coughed, the action shaking his entire body. It just had to be one of the days where he dons a white shirt, which he hardly ever does. The cough sprayed across himself and I, dark dots of scarlet liquid now visible on his shirt. Up towards his neck was stained red beyond belief, since I could see the blood still slowly trickling in massive amounts from his injured eye.

His lower torso was, too, coated in blood. A blade no doubt pierced a vital spot earlier on in the battle.

I could feel bile rising in my throat as I brushed his bangs that was plastered to the sticky wound aside, wincing slightly.

Zygrado drew in another breath before bursting into another fit of coughs, each one further coating him and I in my brother's blood.

"Ow....Zy-Zyi...cho that..hurts..."

I resisted the urge to snap back at him, 'of course it does, you idiot! ', before pressing the heel of my palm to the eye, him thrashing for a few seconds before he inhaled sharply through his teeth, settling down.

"And what the hell are you talking about when you're expecting that you'd die before me?" I demanded, and his lips twitched again, the corners of his mouth twisting upwards.

"You've...always been..." he started hacking again for a moment, and I froze till he was done. "more...skilled then me in...avoiding death..." he gave me a closed-eyed smile.

"Dammit, Zygrado, stop talking about it like you're dying. You still need to help me find Ashita!"

"Mother..." Zygrado mused, his eyes focusing on something behind me- something I probably couldn't see.

I screamed at him to shut up, but he merely shook his head before his fingers slipped into his shirt before producing an ashy piece of wood. I stared at it for a moment before bringing out mine, the soot rubbing off and onto my fingers.

"Zyi!"

Someone suddenly grabbed me, and I whirled around, instantly biting. I tasted blood, but I didn't care. I just needed to get back to my brother, I needed to be there for his passing.

"The rascal bit me!" someone exclaimed, and the whole place became a whirl of angry murmurs and people grabbing me. I bit every time I could before someone trapped my arms behind my back, not allowing me to see him.

"Zyi," Wistern whispered, "calm...calm down. It's just...his time..." his eyes were glassy with grief, and I slowly turned back to my brother on the ground.

He mouthed two words to me- ones I could understand.

'I'm sorry.'

The hand holding the broken stick fell, landing onto the ground with a sickening thud, marking the fact he had moved on.

I stared at the limp figure for a moment.

"Zygrado!"

My scream didn't sound like mine. It seemed distant, but it had tore from my mouth. I twisted around, kicking wildly. A hiss sprang from Wistern's lips as he let go, and I sprinted away from him towards my late brother.

"Zy...Zygrado..." I whispered, my knees buckling as I fell besides him. "You..you never got your wish...you never achieved your goal..."

My head tilted upwards, and I screamed again, a scream with no words, just aiming my grief at the sky, the heavens who took him away from me.

Slowly picking myself up, Wistern rushed forward to support me, but I pushed past him, stumbling as I broke into a sprint away from the body.

X - O - X

Four days.

It had been four days. Yet, I could still see it, I could still see him sprawled across the found like he was sleeping, his mouth slightly parted. But the crimson liquid was still there on his chest, like a small flower blooming.

Wistern and the others were still searching for me, and I was still running from the truth.

I started running again, the wet slap of my feet thudding against the sand distracting me for moments from the image. It had been long raining today, for several hours, I would guess, and puddles where all over the place, like it was an object of some sort and tossed on the ground carelessly.

"Psst, Zyicho. Over here."

I froze for a moment, still tripping and landing flat on my face, slowly coming to a stop. My breathing came out in ragged gasps as I spun in a full circle, trying to locate the voice.

My eyes fastened on a figure hovering near the alleyway, his playful smile plastered onto his face, like he was saying, ' What, you thought I was dead? Honestly, do you have no faith in me? '. Although his gaze was rather serious, Zygrado's grin widened, then he made a motion for me to follow him before turning in the other direction.

Swearing loudly, I cast a look behind me at the distant boat where Wistern, Zygrado, and I had docked, then shot forward, escaping the pouring rain and into the darkness of the alleyway.

OoO

Perhaps deciding on following my brother was a rather bad idea on my part. I was desperate, though, to see if he was really gone. Stumbling rather blindly in the darkness and half-shivering, my fingers gripping the cool stone that jutted out of the wall, it seemed like nothing but that.

"Just a little more," my brother coaxed, despite my inability to see him, "we're almost there." I shot a tight-lipped smile at the direction where his voice came from, but I knew he couldn't see it.

A firm hand on my shoulder guided me to my left, and my trailing fingers brushing against the wall that used to be in front of me, and in which I would've smashed into.

"...thanks," I muttered, and a small, distant chuckle caused me to bite my lip, squinting ahead as a faint light came into view. The slimmer of light had a vague amber tint, flickering on the walls, ceiling, and floor, dipping into a red shade as it reached the latter.

I turned my head to stare incredulously at Zygrado, who just gave me a closed-eyed smile (which I could barely see), and for some strange reason, gave me a the chills. It just didn't belong on his face, or it could just be the fact that this....different world had a temperature that, when compared to the heat above, paled in comparison.

I drew my hand away from the rock as I neared the source of the dim light, narrowing my eyes as I discovered murky water below me. The almost pitch-black water dully reflecting the shimming stalactites above, and I stared at the crystal, marveling at the soft, pulsing light that seemed to come from within.

"How does it..." I trailed off, truly perplexed. The rather dull thumping of rain hitting the ground above me gave of a relaxing feeling, like it was inviting you to join the world of silence.

"I thought you would like it."

Turning to face my brother leaning against the wall, his expression thoughtful as he stared at the pool of darkness, I raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's like...the whole cave is performing a symphony of sound, a mixed version of darkness and silence, but at the same time, consists of water and light..." I mused, lowering myself to the ground and folding my legs under me.

"And look."

He pointed upwards, and a rather average sized hole in the ceiling above showed me the twinkling night. The stormy clouds covered the sky, but I could still see the flickers of light.

I held my gaze up there for a moment, eyes scanning the endless heavens. "Zygrado..."

"Yeah?"

"When I...lost you, my whole night-sky blew out. I depend on you, you depend on me. Truthfully...you weren't just a star, you were my whole damn sky. When you passed away, it came crashing down on me, like Altas decided to give away."

He remained silent, and my lips twisted upwards. "I can see you, up there. You didn't reach adulthood, so the gods rewarded you with being my sky."

I glanced at him sideways, and his blue-eyed gaze met mine.

"Adulthood, huh...?" he questioned, and I nodded, my smile growing a bit wider at the confusion easily seen on his expression.

"Four days ago, it was June 11th. Today's June 15th."

His gaze lit up, so I supposed it clicked. "Happy birthday, Zygrado."

All right, few things! So, why was Zyicho able to 'feel' and 'hear' Zygrado when his brother was guiding him through the cave. It was because Zyicho is still in the 'denial' stage of grief, so he hasn't accepted Zygrado's passed on yet. So he can feel, see, and hear him.

And yes, Zygrado's birthday is June the 15th. He's turning 18 each year, but he'll remain 17 for awhile in Abyss of Silver.

Lastly, I thought the video on the side, 'World So Cold' by Three Days Grace was fitting for Zyicho during this....one-shot, I suppose?