A Demon

Laven's breathing turned extremely heavy and fast as he looked down at Xilo's beat up body. He was so focused on what was in front of him that he forgot the world around him completely. Leaning down slowly he grabbed the blade coming out of Xilo's unmoving body. He didn't hold back anything as he tried to rip it out of Xilo's body while convincing himself it wasn't the same. That Bladed Demon who had destroyed his village was on the other side of the world. "It's been a long time though..." With how similar they were Laven could barely convince himself it was something different. "Maybe it's a trait of demons." He thought he knew a lot about them already, however it seemed there were new things to learn.

".....Yet..these memories hurt so much..."

Blood spilled out of his hand from the demon's blade as silence washed over the place. With all the dust everywhere Laven couldn't see a thing except a few faint energy traces. "Thankfully I have my eye." Most people would get lost in all this dust. Xilo's body ripped itself apart in the explosion causing Darkness to skitter around his body healing everything as fast as it could. "What just happened?" His thoughts went blank for a couple of seconds but he was waking up again as a presence loomed over him. Ignoring the pain he barely opened his eyes as a strange sense of weakness overcame him. He knew he was probably just really tired however it felt very different from before.

"It feels like something's holding me back."

Before it was just himself being a bit out of energy, now it was like someone was shoving a heavy weight onto his back and holding him down. It was even a little difficult to breathe properly. Doing his best to ignore it, he quickly remembered what had happened as he focused on the presence directly above him. "Oh right, Laven." Retracting the blade he used to defend himself before, he tried to move. Time felt like it was slowing down as the darkness in his body seeped out of his skin after repairing all the damage it could for now. Moving his arms the Darkness helped him out as he slashed at Laven.

"Get off of me."

Feeling his blade make contact with flesh he retracted it once more as he squirmed out from under him. Getting a bit of distance his Darkness cloaked his body trying it's best to hide him from any danger. "So much dust." Looking around he could barely see anything in front of his own face. "I can't sense Xelfia or the others eithers." That sent a spike of worry through his head but he knew they'd be okay. With Laven here with him no one could hurt Xelfia and she was sure to protect the others. Hearing Laven shout again in the air Xilo put his focus on him as he stayed hidden as possible.

"You think you can hide in the dust forever!? Come out and fight me."

Xilo thought about it for a second before he decided to respond.

"I know I can't hide forever."

If he spoke up Laven could track him easier but it also gave him a chance to try and distract him. With his body still healing and this weird weak feeling he had he needed to stall for time. Hearing Xilo's voice Laven turned in the same direction as he activated his eye at full power. "Nothing." Still unable to see him with all of that, he moved closer in the direction he thought he heard Xilo's voice. "Where is he hiding?" Brown and a few different colours far off were the only things Laven saw as he trudged through the dust. Hearing his footsteps come closer Xilo moved silently to a different place to keep himself safe.

"That...blade you have, what is it? The one that came out of your body just now. Is it a Demon's ability or something else?"

Since he couldn't see Xilo and needed him to talk this was what Laven needed to do.

"it's something I was born with. I doubt it's any "Demon" ability that you think it is. I'm a human after all and have always been one."

"Is that what you tell yourself? You know if that was true the World's Energy wouldn't have affected you. It only shackles and weakens Demonic beings, not humans. Surely you saw your friends fighting just fine before while you struggled. That isn't what I care about right now though. Tell me about the blade that came from your body. Where did you grow up? When did you learn about it and what else can it do, is there more than just the one or are there more like you?"

Hearing Laven said that Xilo felt a wave of nausea overcome him as he felt his body get weaker. "It wasn't like this before though?" Thinking back a few minutes ago Xilo knew he had only felt tired. He couldn't sense any lie's from Laven's words though, leaving him confused. Moving away from his previous spot Xilo looked down at the blade piercing out of his skin. "Could it be this?" Ever since he had used this he had felt his body grow incredibly weak from an outside source. "I'm human..right?" He knew he was a human but now he was starting to have his doubts. If Laven's words were true that meant he was a demon. "Seriously...what am I?" His steps shook as he fought against himself.

"A human, a demon...one or the other...or maybe both?"

Shaking his head he tried to clear his thoughts as he heard Laven's questions.

"I don't remember where I was born. The past has long disappeared for me and there aren't others like me that I know of."

He knew that was a lie but he couldn't just admit the truth about that. If he did, Laven might hunt all of them for no reason and eliminate them entirely. Taking another step away from Laven before he got closer Xilo felt more tired. His body was constantly repairing itself and he kept getting lost in thought. "Dammit." Thinking that, he felt a presence appear right behind him and instantly grab at his body. Shock flashed past his eyes as Laven grabbed his arm stopping him from running away. "He found me?" This was the first time he had been completely seen through while using his Darkness. That weak feeling grew stronger the closer he was to Laven as his insides screamed out in pain rejecting the shackles placed on them.

"Found you."