Out of all the blacksmiths in history, one stood out the most. Not a shaman, not a witch, and certainly not a magical beast — welding, smithing, burning herself until her pieces began to take up her very consciousness itself.
Hephaestus was nothing but a human who put her entire life onto the anvil. Into the blades she created.
In the end, her passion led to her own death. Thirteen armaments created in thirteen weeks. Thirteen armaments that devoured her very soul, taking up wills of their very own.
That was her sin.
Her thirteen sins.
Each taking a different name, willful and unwavering they sharpened and dulled on their own accord. Disrespecting any and all wielders who they saw unfit.
And even those who could use these sins, would not be able to do so without punishment...
—————————
Naren's eyelids were heavy as his golden eyes tried it's hardest to stay awake as he turned back to Yuna. Her face littered with exhaustion, barely able to stand.
Her hand a bloody mess of bones and gore that lurked all the way up to her elbow. Yet...In spite of it, Yuna smiled on, staggering once more before catching herself.
"Hey soldier! We're going to Atlas now...Get ready."
Just his luck. She's a lunatic. After barely surviving the werewolf and losing her arm, she immediately starts pushing him onto the next beat.
Naren looked down at the convulsing mess of the werewolf, still trying to restore itself. If only he could just stay in this loop forever.
Wait...what did he just think?
His gaze went back to what remained of Yuna's hand then back to what he thought. There was something off about how he thought that, but he couldn't quite catch it.
And without thinking, he spoke.
"Can't believe Nico was the dream-eater."
Naren's eyes widened as his vision blurred.
'What did I...'
——————————
Naren blinked.
His eyes unable to adjust to the darkness, but he knew exactly where he was. The familiar cold feeling, mixed with the damp atmosphere.
He shifted in his seat at the constant stinging in his shoulder, that disappeared as soon as he acknowledged it.
He was back. Back to the very beginning.
For a second Naren considered what he had just done. They were on the cusp of getting out of the loop, but he just had to go an let his intrusive thoughts win.
He grumbled in the dark, yawning.
Well, now the only thing to do was try to find the dream-eater once more. Something that acted outside of the bounds of the loop, that had obviously not been effected by the reset mechanic...
But did he really have to?
A familiar set of footsteps approached the cell door. A looming figure staring at Naren through the darkness without uttering a word.
At first he thought she had two heartbeats, but by now he realized that the second was Cairo who'd been in his cell the whole time. Though he wondered why the freak hadn't said a word till Siobhan had left.
Her breath was shallow as she stared, longer than before, then turned to walk back.
"Yo."
Siobhan's footsteps stopped as Naren continued:
"So you're all cool with this dream?...I mean it's not so bad now that I see it. Kind of relax—"
The cell shook as Siobhan lunged at the bars. Her gaze a vicious attack in the dark.
"Silence! You know nothing! Nothing about the torment we go through! This is all for the prince's sake! All for him!...But what of us...?"
Stillness lingered as Naren lurked forward into a seat. Siobhan's voice now muddled into a quiet plea:
"What of Chrys...she's young and bright...but she'll never experience a life, only the same day over and over and over again."
Naren stayed silent as the woman leaned on the bars for a second longer. Her breathing slowly returning to normal before she stood up and left as if nothing happened, not before muttering:
"As if you devils would understand."
Her footsteps quickly disappeared. The dripping of water taking over it's ambience.
Naren sat there in the dark wondering just how complicated this entire settlement had been. Stuck in endless time, sounded like a dream to him. An endless time of not having to do anything...Not like he had anything he wanted to do.
His thoughts were shattered by a sharp voice.
"Dream?"
"You wake up big guy?"
"What yall talking bout?"
"Nothing too crazy. We're just stuck in a—"
Naren blinked.
His eyes unable to adjust to the darkness, but he knew exactly where he was. The familiar cold feeling, mixed with the damp atmosphere.
He shifted in his seat at the constant stinging in his shoulder, that disappeared as soon as he acknowledged it.
He was back. Back to the very beginning. Again.
Weird. Yuna must've died again...It was kind of fast though.
Naren blinked.
His eyes unable to adjust to the darkness. The familiar cold feeling, mixed with the damp atmosphere.
The constant stinging in his shoulder disappeared as soon as he acknowledged it.
Again.
Naren blinked.
His eyes opened to darkness. The stinging in his shoulder brief before disappearing.
Naren blinked.
Naren blinked.
Naren blinked.
His eyes opened to darkness.
His eyes opened to darkness.
His eyes opened to darkness.
The stinging gone.
The stinging gone.
The stinging gone.
Naren blinked.
His teeth gritted. He didn't want to open his eyes again, keeping them slam shut. It was too much to handle. His head was splitting in two, like there was something growing inside, pulling his brain apart.
He tried shifting his arms, the stinging of his shoulder gone, but there was nothing he could do. His arms were still shackled.
He twisted, turned on the cold floor of the dungeon.
Pulling in all his breath he screamed.
"STOP SCREWING AROUND YUNA!"
Naren blinked.
Naren blinked.
Naren blinked.
He jumped up from the cold floors, sitting on his knees.
What the fuck was he going through. Was it Siobhan's plan to get him to understand just how bad the loops were? Was it Yuna's wrath for ruining her plan?
He was done. He couldn't do it anymore.
His breath was shaky and lurked as his heartbeat thumped in his ears.
It was just too much. Too much to go through. Over and over and over again. He woke up. He blinked. He woke up. His head felt like there were a thousand tiny needles each stabbing deep into his brain. Picking at it.
"No more...no more."
A slight crackle was followed by the flickering of embers as strands of Cairo's hair illuminated the dark cell.
"You tweaking?"
Naren's golden eyes stared at Cairo, wavering. The exhaustion on his face long since passing it's limit.
Through his haggard breathing Naren was only able to croak out one remark:
"I...can't do this anymore..."