What matters

'I, I see it. It's hurting me too, so just stop looking already.'

Weak, shaky words echoed within Perse's head. But he failed to listen, instead allowing the unanswered demands to echo throughout his empty mind.

'Do you see that?" 

Instead, Perses repeated his question a second time, indifferent to his pain. As if bewitched by a spell, he stared at the ever-extending outline of the enormous entity. No matter how far away, the grey outline was impossible to witness all at once. It defied nature and likely other things, too. No matter how long he gazed for, its identity remained twisted and concealed.

Suddenly, the pain blazed. His mind, as if clamped down upon by some unknown force, froze, stunned in place, his grip on Asteria loosened. On the small raft's surface, a third body appeared. With a hurt expression, it balled a fist and slammed it onto the top of Perse's head. 

Unfazed by the blow, Perses slowly turned to look at the horned figure. Despite the blows' lack of force, Perses was persuaded to look away from the fiend, simply by the softness of the touch.

"Ahh, your stupid hard head hurt my hand, ouch dam empty-headed idiot, what took you so long? Clearly, looking at that thing hurts us both, so why didn't you stop when I left your body?"

A tad indifferent, Perses did his best to accumulate an excuse as he watched the devil reel from the pain of her hand. Asteria remained fixated on the inky black disturbance in the water. Drifting slowly across the boundless blue ocean, the devil had finally exited the safe confounds of Perse's mind.

"I... dunno. I mean, it wasn't that bad, really."

As Perses fumbled for an answer, he noticed the strange look Asteria shared with him. Turning her head away from the inky waters ahead, she tilted her head upwards from within his embrace, trapping his gaze. 

"Who are you talking to?."

As Perses looked between the anxious and agitated stares of the two passengers, he struggled to determine who to respond to.

"Uh that's a hard question to answer Asteria, more importantly, we should be talking about that-"

Before Perses could point towards the source of his concern, a fourth body burst from the water's surface. Aimed directly at Asteria, Perses shuddered as he raised his hands, instinctively releasing her from his embrace. Reaching out for Asteria, strong hands cupped either side of her pale, startled face.

Locked into a stare, the emerald-haired woman felt compelled to share a sheepish smile with Asteria. But, the concern smeared across her face prevented that kindness before it could manifest. Threatening to upturn the raft with her weight, she climbed aboard, but before it could capsize, the raft strangely righted itself. 

She sat crosslegged aboard the cramped raft with a single hand still fixed on Asteria's cheek. Perses could only conclude that Amelia's weight had diminished. Rather than raise questions about her methods, Perses choked on his curiosity as a tense stalemate commenced aboard the raft.

Amelia was dripping with both inky blackness and clear water that threatened to drip on the other inhabitants. Before Asteria could gather herself, Amelia turned to Perses with a glum stare. Under the jurisdiction of her vigilant eyes, it finally dawned on him.

"Ah I get it."

Amelia's dark glare turned to one of surprise. 

"So you think so too?, yes its probably better if Asteria didn't look at that."

Perses, noticing the agitation build within Asteria, as he shared a knowing glance with Amelia. Lightening fast, Amelia covered Asteria's mouth with her free hand, which only spurred her face to turn a deep, rageful red as she commenced into muffled yells. 

"Now, now, just hold on a sec, Asteria, please. I think it's really dangerous, for you to look, so you really must keep facing that way. Let's just talk for now, okay?"

Ignoring her muffled yell, Amelia looked towards Perses with a questioning stare. Reluctantly, he took one slight glance behind him. The towering behemoth was moving. It was obvious where it was headed. Everything else was not so obvious. 

"Machia mentioned it back there. He said he fought the progenitor or something of the fiends."

Amelia's face tightened as she reflected back on her conversation. But her befuddlement was not fleeting, for she did not remember. Understanding what this meant, Perses reflected on what Machia had said, all of it. From the day they met to the evening, he knocked Perses unconscious with his ability, and lastly to the feud on the battlefield.

Remembering that argument between Machia and Amelia, Perse's face twisted in agitation. A quick glance was all he needed to recognise. She hadn't remembered a thing he'd said to her. She really just didn't care.

"You were there, so you should know. Machia said he lost. That he had sought out what had created the fiends and lost to it. So, that was the reason he left back then. Was it to fight that... thing."

With conflicting feelings, Perses turned to stare at the eldritch entity that slowly stumbled across the land. Focusing strength towards his eyes, indifferent to the searing pain, he watched it. Despite his resolve and his recent disconnect from pain, the creature, It filled him with dread. 

"Perses."

Its gargantuan oval body was coated in black and green. Its stretched, looming grey neck stood out the most. Its entire figure was uneven, disconnected, and twisted, yet still, it lumbered across the land eerily driven.

The dread that gripped Perses, that caused his vision to sway, was not enough to dismiss his stare. Slowly, images flooded his mind. 

"Perses!" Amelia yelled out to him, shook him. But it was no use. Focused on only the creature, Amelia followed his gaze, only to find the creature had stopped.

Perses saw Mars. It was the day they met. Standing alone on the barren grounds, segregated from the other children, Perses watched Mars fiercely swing his wooden sword. Despite his devotion to those swings, he never failed to glance towards Perses with a smile, ensuring he was following along. 

'...'

He saw an array of fire burst apart, flooding the residential area with thick waves of heat. At the epicentre of the chaos, a tree drowned in thick orange flames collapsed in on itself. With glee, a friendly grin turned to look at Perses, beaming with fiery pride as the background around her was enraptured by flames.

'Right. I left her in that house. All alone, I don't even remember why.'

"It's looking, at us."

Its long neck coiled and twisted as it rose from the ground. Standing taller than ever, its hollow, dark eyes scanned its surroundings. Expressionally, it turned, and it stared.

As the cries around him echoed inside his head, Perses refused to pry his gaze away.

Now, he saw an image of an astute feminine knight sitting delicately atop a pile of rubble. Her posture contradicted her fierce aura. Gently she rested her head on her hand, as she scanned Perse's figure with mysterious affection. 

But that light which shone off the astute Onix armour of the knight, that light that flooded the fake yet grand hall. It was swallowed. Into view, a figure approached from the dark confines of the secret passage. Perses did not miss a twitch of its mouth as it stepped into the light. Brief, sparing and quickly dismissed, an innocent, calm relief flooded his features. 

"Sorry, I'm late... well, did you miss me?"

Overwhelmed, Perse's face was forcibly torn away from the frightening sight. Speechless, Amelia, now close to Perse's face, was filled with blatant concern. Sitting closer than before, she directed his eyes towards her own. 

"Perses, are you okay?"

Perses blinked. Confused, he prepared a refute, but the tears that dripped from his eyes broke his concentration. The thoughts that played on his mind, they refused to leave him. He attempted to wipe them, but to his surprise, they kept flowing. 

"That thing. It's heading towards the kingdom. Isn't it?"

As Amelia listened to this, she remained unwavering. But looking down to see the tears fall onto Perse's lap, her lips pursed. That silence continued as Asteria sat stubbornly facing away from them and the harrowing creature, following Amelia's instruction. The devil herself turned to eye the creature quickly, only to wince from the pain. 

Nodding her head with her legs crossed, Amelia rose to her feet. Unlike the others, she stared unflinchingly at the horror deep in thought. Briefly, a smile crossed her features as she examined the towering stature of the fiend confidently. Following her with his gaze, words abruptly came out of his mouth.

"I, I need to. I should, go back."

Asteria almost failed to follow Amelia's instruction as she turned around to face Perses in fear. Catching herself before fully rotating, she stopped, turning back reluctantly. That hesitation stalled her. Soon, she was quickly lost in thought, speechless, and choosing to ignore Perse's claims.

Amelia herself stared silently into the distance, smiling. Unlike these two, the devil's face scrunched. Cautiously avoiding the others on the raft, she approached Perses, standing above him defiantly.

'No'

"I need to."

"No!" Stamping her foot, Amelia sent a brief glance out the corner of her eye in the sound's direction, causing the devil to shiver. Once she had looked away and regained her focus, the devil turned back towards Perses; a look of betrayal warped her worrisome expression. 

'Perses, you told me you'd do whatever I told you!'

As the words poured into his head, Perseus flinched at the devil's aggressive demeanour. Attempting to respond inside his mind with a look of concentration, he was immediately interrupted. 

'You told me you'd do whatever I say if I helped you, and I did. Now you want to go back and fight that thing, dragging me with you. Are you out of your mind? No way. WE, we are not going back!'

The antagonising yells bore down on Perse's mind as he scowled at the girl. While the other passengers remained in awkward silence, Perses glared at the figure no one could see. From her black matte dress to protruding horns, Perses glared. Noticing his reflection in her red, ruby eyes, he sneered. 

'You might have spent all your time avoiding people. But, for me, there are people I care about, I guess you really are a devil-'

'Huh, Then what about me? I saved you a second time back then with Machia. I'm the one that woke you up, and I even held him off with my eyes. I can't go anywhere without you, and my eyes sure as hell won't work on that thing!'

Outmatched by the devil's yells, Perse's face receded away from her accusatory glare. A reaction that did not go unnoticed. 

'Don't you get it? We're not like everyone else. That's how this works. We have to rely on each other. You're not allowed! Not allowed to do this to me! Do you want me to die?"

Perse's face scrunched further, conflicted. Guilt tripping, yelling, screaming, she was doing everything in her power to control him. But, he was different now. He couldn't be manipulated so easily. 

Despite that strong impulse that surged within him, the defiant, ugly desire to evade her control, another followed suit. As angry as he was, as much as he hated it, her little outburst still weighed on him. He'd already forced her to aid him before. It felt, wrong, to do it again. 

"Perses."

Snapping him out of his turmoil, a voice from beside him rang out. Blocking out the words in his head, he turned to find a tender smile. As the sun revealed itself from its cloudy abyss, her figure shone as emerald light reflected off of her. 

"Perses, your friends, I want to save them, don't worry about me. I just ask, that you go ahead and leave, without me, please Perses."