"Why don't you get to the point already? We might die of boredom before you can actually kill us," Sara said, her voice dripping with a sarcasm that masked her trembling hands.
The entity in Helios's body tilted its head, a cold, unnatural smile stretching his face. "It seems you're eager for the end. Very well, I shall conclude my tale. This child was a beacon for every power-hungry Fallen in the void. One eventually succeeded in possessing him, but the boy's lineage—a forgotten clan of Seekers—intervened and sealed the entity away."
"Then how are you standing here now if the seal held?" Rio asked, his voice low as he gripped his pillow.
"A fair question. For that, we have Riku to thank," the entity laughed, a sound like grinding stones. "When he drove his blade into Helios's heart, he shattered the final layers of that ageing seal. The surge of desperate Spiral Power the boy drew in acted as fuel, giving me exactly what I needed to break my chains. His slip into madness was the final key—I couldn't have evicted his soul while he was conscious."
He glanced at Riku with a mockery of gratitude. "I really should thank him for my freedom. But, of course, he still has to die."
"If you're so thankful, why not show some mercy and leave us breathing?" Riku wheezed, clutching his bandaged shoulder.
"Because I don't feel like it," the entity chirped. "My time in this sun is limited. I intend to cause as much exquisite chaos as possible before the boy wakes up."
At his unspoken command, the Knight Lords began their final, suffocating advance.
"Rio, what is taking so long?" Sara hissed, her eyes darting between the encroaching skeletons. "You should be done by now!"
"Casting a dream spell this large takes focus, Sara!" Rio hissed back, sweat beading on his forehead.
The circle closed in. Just as the blades were raised for a coordinated execution, Rio let out a sharp breath, and white feathers began to drift from the ceiling, shimmering with a faint, hypnotic light.
The entity caught a feather between two fingers. "I told you... abilities of this level are beneath me. Perhaps if you had more than a spark of control, you could affect my mind. But right now? You're only targeting a shadow."
"Who said we were targeting you?" Sara countered with a defiant smirk.
"Ah. You want to lull my nightmares into a dream? Clever," the entity mused. "But you forget—these puppets cannot think. They have no dreams to invade unless I grant them free will. You would have had better luck with a simple illusion."
Ray's mechanical arms slumped in defeat. "Well, guys... it's been fun knowing you," he whispered, his voice shaking.
"Don't start," Sara snapped. "I refuse to die knowing Nova is going to outlive me. That's just insulting."
The Knight Lords raised their swords, the steel glinting under the training room lights. They swung down in unison—but the impact never came. One by one, the armoured nightmares began to dissolve into grey mist.
"What... are we still alive?" Rio stammered, his eyes squeezed shut.
"Look," Sara breathed, a massive sigh of relief escaping her lungs. "His eyes... the black is fading."
The entity's manic grin faltered as Helios's eyelids fluttered. "It seems my time is up," he whispered, the voice regaining its human timber even as the sinister edge remained. "But we will see each other again. And next time, I won't be so talkative."
Helios's body went limp, collapsing onto the mats. The Knight Lords vanished completely.
"Should we kill him now?" Riku asked, staring at the unconscious boy. "I really don't want to deal with whatever that was again."
"No," Sara said firmly, her voice regaining its authority. "We aren't in the business of murdering our own. Even if they are a ticking time bomb."
"Fine, let's get him to the infirmary then," Riku grumbled.
"I'm still not entirely against the killing idea," Rio muttered, eyeing Helios. "Maybe I can just... drop a very heavy pillow on him?"
"Using a pillow to kill someone takes too long, and he'll just wake up and murder you," Ray mocked, his mechanical arms retracting into his back. "Go back to sleep, Dream Walker."
"Shut up, octopus arms!"
As Rio and Ray resumed their bickering in the background, Riku and Sara hoisted Helios up and carried him toward the medical wing.
A few hours later, Helios's eyes drifted open. The sterile white ceiling of the infirmary came into focus, followed by the worried face of Luna and the stern gaze of Sara.
"Brother! You're finally awake!" Luna cried, throwing herself at him and sobbing into his chest.
"Oh, look who decided to join the living," Sara remarked. "Welcome back, Mr. Sovereign-Nightmare-Mass-Murderer."
At the foot of the bed, Nova, Riku, and Ray immediately stopped their whispered argument about his fate and tried to look casual.
"Why are you guys looking at me like you're debating my funeral?" Helios asked, his voice raspy and trembling. He glanced at Riku, who looked away with a guilty flinch. "I almost died from a sword through the heart, and now I feel like you're all trying to finish the job."
"Anyone going to explain what happened after I blacked out?"
"To make a long story short," Sara said, crossing her arms, "you were possessed by a Fallen, you almost slaughtered all of us, and you technically killed Riku in a future timeline that I had to erase."
Helios stared at her for a moment, then let out a dry laugh. "You guys really have a twisted sense of humour."
But no one laughed back. The silence in the room was heavy.
What the hell happened? Helios thought, panic rising. When did I get the strength to take them all on? Crown! Tell me everything!
While you were sleeping, that 'other' inhabitant took the wheel, the crown replied coolly. And we still need to have that chat about you not being the original soul of this body, don't we?
Forget the original soul for a second! Who took over? Do you know him?
I will tell you later, the crown said, retreating into the back of his mind.
"Anyway, forget the possession for a moment," Nova said, breaking the tension. "We still don't have an official name for the organization. That's much more important."
You think a name is more important than a demon living in my head? Helios looked at them, bewildered. "How do you not have a name yet? How is that even possible?"
"One of our rules," Ray explained. "The new Leader must name the organization to mark the beginning of their era."
"Fine," Helios sighed, sinking back into the pillows. He closed his eyes, thinking of the dark, thorny path he had walked since arriving in this world. "We'll call it the Order of the Blackthorn."
A hidden order for a secret world, he thought. It fits.
"Order of the Blackthorn," Sara repeated, tasting the words. "I suppose that will do."
How do the others feel about the new name, and what is the Order's first official mission under Helios's leadership?