05
Vincent

Orias crashed to the ground outside as shards of glass rained over them. He had shielded Vincent during their fall, so when they hit the ground, Vincent fell on top of him, bruised by alive.

“Orias! Vinnie!” Briar ran over towards them. She crouched down beside Vincent, laying her hand across his back. “You alright?”

Vincent groaned as he sat up. “I’m fine,” he said.

He saw that Orias’ black wings were gone, leaving behind what looked like an ink splotch in their shape. He then noticed that the same substance was pooling around Orias’ head, and to his horror, he realized Orias wasn’t breathing.

“Is he…?” but Vincent couldn’t finish his sentence.

Briar didn’t seem all that concerned. She picked Orias’ body off the ground, slinging his arm over her shoulder.

“He’ll live,” Briar said, alarming calm about her companion. “Now let’s go before that thing follows—”

A hiss came from the structure’s entrance. The barricade around the door dissipated into a fine black mist that shot out towards them in gusts of wind. He couldn’t see what was in front of him as he began to choke on the darkness.

And then it was gone, the black mist fading into the air and away into nothingness.

As if noticing the presence leave, the heavy doors of the domain began to shut on their own, closing with a low rumble, and sealing away the world they found with in it.

Dawn had not yet arrived, but the early morning sky had begun to shift in hue. Despite what he saw escaping from the domain, he did not think the creature had followed them to the surface. With how tired he was, he nearly considered the likelihood that he had hallucinated its existence.

Reese’s absence told him otherwise.

Briar had offered him one of the cots to rest in, but he couldn’t bring himself to sleep. Instead, he remained near the edge of the sinkhole, watching for something, anything, to emerge from the domain’s depths.

He heard the sound of footsteps approaching and saw as Orias emerged from the medical tent holding two mugs.

“Good morning,” he spoke, his voice oddly soft for someone of his demeanor.

“Ah… morning.”

“Here,” he handed Vincent one of the mugs, the bitter smell of coffee hitting him instantly. “I thought you might like some.”

Vincent accepted the offer and took a sip— he grimaced.

“Do you not like it?” Orias asked.

“What—? No, no, it’s fine,” he feigned. “Really, I appreciate the gesture.” He tried drinking the coffee again. It tasted awful.

Orias stood beside him by the railing, taking a sip from his mug. Despite having fallen through a window and hitting the ground, Orias did not appear to be injured. He looked just as he did when Vincent first met him earlier in the night.

“How are you doing?” Orias asked him.

“I should be asking you that,” Vincent said, “what with that stunt you pulled.” He was quiet for a moment. “If you don’t mind me asking, what… what was that?”

“What was what?”

“The stuff that came out of your back.”

Orias looked uncertain to answer. “It was… something Briar taught me.”

“Oh.” Vincent took another sip from his mug.

“Are you certain you’re alright?” Orias asked once more.

He was quiet for a moment. “No, I suppose not…”

Reese’s body was still inside the site. He thought about reentering to find him, and yet… part of him was glad Reese was gone. It was cruel, yes, but it was also freeing to have his source of misery gone.

He hated himself for thinking like this.

“I’m… conflicted,” he finally admitted. “I’m not even entirely sure what just happened. I came here for the chance to finally do something important, but then that thing attacked us and Reese…” He refused to think more about Reese. “I just want to get out of here.”

“Truth be told, I want to leave as well.” Orias said. “Though, I didn’t have much choice about being here.”

“You aren’t here for the excavation?”

He shook his head. “Briar is, but I’m not. I’m merely a small town doctor that was dragged along.”

Their conversation dwindled, leaving them in silence as they watched the sun crawl out from the horizon.

Just as it had been in the evening, the excavation site had remained empty. It seemed convenient that the only witnesses had been the four… three of them. Something told him that the domain was responsible for workers’ disappearances.

“You said you were a small town doctor. What town?”

“Maramagia,” Orias said. “It’s a small port south of here.”

“When do you plan on going back?”

“Well, our plan was to leave in the morning—”

“Could I come with you?”

Admittedly, it was a tall ask. Orias didn’t know who he was, but perhaps that would work in his favor. He could get away from the site— get away from Janahad. He could slip away into obscurity and the Regis Vicaria would disappear from the public once more.

A perfect escape.

“Well, I—” Orias scratched his cheek. “I suppose that would be alright,” he said.

Vincent was a bit shocked by how easily Orias had said yes, but who was he to question it.

There were still some preparations to be made before they would leave. He began to follow after Orias back to the medical tent, but just before he did, he took one last glance towards the sinkhole.

Nothing had emerged from its depths. If the reports had any merit, then the damage to the stained glass would repair itself. All they had witnessed would likely remain a secret within the domain and become yet another rumor about the site.

Perhaps he’ll remain a rumor too.