Unchained

The trio stood at the edge of the clearing, staring in stunned silence.

The cabin was ruined.

Once patched, repaired, rebuilt—now torn apart again. Cracked walls, splintered beams, the foundation barely holding together.

Synthena exhaled sharply.

"Why is the cabin in wreckage?" Her voice cut through the silence, demanding answers.

Absinthe's gut twisted.

Something was wrong.

Then—a flicker of movement above.

Golden eyes burned through the canopy, watching them from the treetops—wild, unfocused, caught between hesitation and pure aggression.

Obsidian crouched on a thick branch, his body coiled, breath unsteady. His presence wasn't calculated—it was feral, driven by something beyond his control.

Recognition flickered in his stare, but the mutation was stronger than reason.

"You should never have returned." His voice was low, rasped, and almost reluctant.

Tension snapped.

A roar tore through the air as he dropped from the tree, free-falling toward them—

Not with precision, but recklessly, violently, like he couldn't stop himself.

The trio threw themselves aside, instincts sharper than fear, scattering just in time.

They hit the ground in a patch of grass, their movements swift, but behind them, Obsidian crashed down hard, landing unevenly.

His feet barely held him—his mutation fighting him just as much as his enemies were.

His breath was ragged, his body tensed as if it wasn't fully his to control anymore.

Obsidian pulled himself up, movements wild, uncontrolled, sloppy—like his own body was fighting against him.

He tilted his head, golden eyes burning through the smoky aura surrounding him, sharp, unreadable.

Strands of red hair fell across his face, half-concealing the flicker of control struggling to return.

Then—

His gaze locked onto Absinthe.

For a moment, his eyes sparkled—not with fury, but with recognition.

A memory flickered—Absinthe's tear-streaked face, the moment of impact that had changed everything.

Synthena exhaled sharply, pulse quickening. She knew what this meant—what happened the last time he hesitated like this.

Absinthe froze.

Obsidian was looking at her, staring as if she was the only thing anchoring him to reality.

But the mutation was stronger than reason.

His body twitched, breath uneven, ragged.

Then—he roared, the sound split between pain and fury, his voice shaking with something raw, fractured—broken.

"Run..." The word barely escaped him, torn between warning and helplessness.

"Run—run!" His breath hitched, the mutation ripping at his control, his body trembling against the force clawing inside him.

"I can't—" His teeth clenched, his frame shaking violently.

"Co—tro—l" His voice splintered apart mid-word, lost to the chaos raging within him.

His legs buckled.

He collapsed, fingers digging into his own skin, hugging himself as if trying to trap something inside.

Absinthe took half a step forward—then stopped.

Her heart pounded, torn between the instinct to reach for him and the knowledge that she couldn't.

Synthena hissed under her breath, fists clenched. "Damn it, Obsidian..."

She wasn't sure if she meant it in frustration—or grief.

Obsidian's breath hitched, shoulders tense. Every muscle in his body screamed for action—to attack, to defend, to react—

But he did nothing.

He just sat there, trembling, trying to remember who he was.

Absinthe finally found the courage to move.

"Obsidian!"

She called his name as she ran toward him, arms outstretched, breath unsteady.

Celestia lunged forward, grabbing Absinthe's wrist—yanking her back just in time.

"No!" Celestia's voice was sharp, urgent—a shield between her and the unpredictable force Obsidian had become.

"Let me go! That's Obsidian!" Absinthe fought against her grip, twisting, struggling.

"No—he might hurt you! We don't know if he's fully in there!" Celestia's breath was ragged, her grip tightening as fear overtook her reasoning.

Then—Synthena pounced, arms wrapping around Absinthe's waist, adding her own weight to hold her back.

"Let me go!" Absinthe's voice grew louder, panic rising, her fight for freedom turning into something near desperation.

Obsidian didn't move.

His breath was sharp, erratic, his body curled inward as he held himself together, golden eyes flickering between recognition and chaos.

The mutation was still winning.

Obsidian slowly moved his hand away from his face, his breath uneven, his body trembling.

His golden eyes flickered toward Absinthe.

He saw Celestia and Synthena holding her back, saw her fight against them, her desperation to reach him.

Something inside him fractured.

His emotions stirred violently, tangled and raw, colliding all at once—

The things he loved, the faces he cherished, the life he once held so close—

Now just out of reach.

Obsidian staggered to his feet, his movements wobbly, uncontrolled, as if each step was a battle against himself.

His golden eyes flickered toward Absinthe—toward Celestia and Synthena holding her back.

Absinthe froze, urgent and alert, but still restrained within their grip.

Then—he moved.

His steps quickened, shifting toward the forest, his breath uneven.

"Wait! Don't leave!" Absinthe's voice shook, the plea escaping her lips before she could stop it.

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The Rift & The Chase

Obsidian did not stop.

He pounced into the trees ahead, leaping from branch to branch, movements wild, desperate, unpredictable.

He wasn't running to attack.

He was running to escape them—to leave them unhurt.

But his heart was breaking.

Grief. Worry. Desperation.

Absinthe watched him vanish.

Celestia and Synthena still held her back, but her face shadowed with frustration, anger flickering behind her gaze.

Her left hand twitched, instinct overtaking thought.

Energy surged—silver and gold, shimmering, untamed.

It was meant to be her sword.

It wasn't.

A whip materialized instead, writhing in the air, alive with her emotions.

Before she could think—

She swung.

Synthena's eyes widened in shock, disbelief flashing across her face—too late to react.

The whip sliced through the air, hitting them both.

Celestia and Synthena were swept off their feet, thrown backward as they crashed into the grass.

They lay stunned—not just from the impact, but from what Absinthe had just done.

She stood tall, her stance rigid, aggressive, frustrated, as if her very presence was pulling darkness into the world around her.

The sky dimmed—not just with the setting sun, but something deeper, unnatural.

Celestia, breathless, gaze locked upward, felt the shift in the air before she even saw it.

Her eyes lifted to the sky—a mix of shock, wonder, unease.

"The sky... Why is it dark?"

**************************************************************************************

The Fracture

Absinthe's breath was ragged, her chest rising and falling unevenly.

Her hands trembled, her emotions boiled, tangled between anger, despair, and something she refused to name.

Her eyes flicked to them—Celestia and Synthena, still standing in her way.

"You two... piss me the fuck off."

Her voice was low, sharp, venomous.

Celestia stared, disbelief tightening her features.

Synthena winced, though she said nothing.

They had only been trying to protect her.

They meant no harm.

But Absinthe didn't care.

Not when it came to Obsidian.

The whip vanished from her grip as she turned, running full force toward the path where Obsidian had disappeared, tracing his steps into the forest.

Celestia dropped to her knees, pain flickering across her face from the lingering sting of Absinthe's attack.

"Absinthe!" she called, her voice urgent, warning. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into!"

Absinthe didn't stop.

"You need us!" Celestia tried again, hand pressed against her stomach, the ache tightening her breath.

She forced herself forward, but her legs buckled, her body collapsing back onto the grass as she watched Absinthe vanish into the darkened forest.

The wind roared, the sky above turning grey and furious—as if the very world sensed the chaos unraveling beneath it.

Synthena dropped down beside Celestia, a quiet realization settling into her expression.

Her voice was softer now, steady, resigned.

"Abby is the only one who can help him now."

Celestia's brows furrowed, pain and confusion merging in her stare.

Synthena exhaled slowly.

"After all, I don't blame her for how she reacted."

She watched Absinthe vanish into the darkness, gaze unreadable.

"We interfered in their affairs... after all, they're close."

Her voice faded, drifting somewhere between regret and understanding.

Celestia caught the change—the way Synthena's words were quieter now, the way her gaze had dropped to the ground.

Then—she saw it.

A single tear slid down Synthena's cheek.

"Synthena… what's the matter?" Celestia's voice cracked slightly, barely above a whisper.

Synthena sat there, still, her posture tense, the weight of a buried thought pressing into her shoulders.

Then—

A name.

A breath.

"Travis."

Just one word.

Soft. Short. Felt more than heard.

And Celestia felt it, too.