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“Ugh. . . Yakumo. . . Try to relax.” Olivine grunted as he stole a glance towards the struggling serpent.
Yakumo muttered something under his breath but Olivine was much too focused on pushing his essence into the giant gemstone. A little more essence and it might be able to stabilize.
Olivine turned towards his comrade to urge him forward but words of encouragement died on his tongue when he noticed a dark looming shadow over Yakumo. Olivine coughed as the essence permeated the air. “Yakumo. . . Yakumo? Behind you. . .”
The man did not pay him any attention. In fact, Yakumo’s face squinted harder as he struggled to control his own essence. The dark swirls of essence grew. It was nauseating. Olivine could feel the engulfing weight of the heavy uncontrolled essence. It made his own concentration falter as he held his breath to prevent the toxic energy into his body. Yakumo reached his trembling hands out alongside Olivine, but the essence refused to flow through his fingers.
Olivine grimaced as he shifted his power. Unknown to Yakumo himself, Olivine blocked the serpent’s essence from entering the altar. “Yakumo, I think you’d better stop for now!” He was doing his best to pour in his own essence to the altar but to keep Yakumo’s foreign essence out. Olivine wasn’t going to tell him, but he knew the altar wouldn’t accept his essence. He knew this uncontrolled essence might just make everything worse.
Unfortunately Yakumo was determined. He pushed harder, trying to make the dark tendrils run through his fingers and into the altar.
Olivine felt his body lean forward from the weight. But he held on, determined to not let Yakumo’s essence into the altar. “If you continue. . . You might hurt yourself.” Not necessarily a lie, but he’s definitely keeping the truth.
With a pained expression, Yakumo finally stopped trying to harness his uncontrollable essence.
Immediately Olivine breathed a fresh breath of air. His mind cleared and he went back to feeding the altar. His arms felt heavy from carrying all that negative essence.
“Father Olivine, what’s wrong with me. . ? No matter how hard I try, my essence just swirls around inside me. . .” Yakumo was on the brink of tears. He looked sadly at his hands and somewhere in his eyes held a feeling of self-loathing.
Olivine could understand. It hurts to be told to stop. It hurts to be told that your help isn’t warranted. But Yakumo could hurt himself. And he was making it harder for Olivine to do his duty. The priest cast a small but reassuring smile towards him. “Don’t worry, controlling one’s essence is no simple task. Let me handle this for now.”
He made the mistake of making eye contact. Yakumo’s big red eyes were filled with hurt. He looked like he was begging to be included. Begging to be helpful. Begging to be useful. He was asking for guidance.
Olivine forced himself to look away. He couldn’t give that to him right now. Maybe later, after this was over, he could give Yakumo more lessons on how to accept his essence. But right now he had to focus on the altar. After all this is his duty. Only he could do it. Him alone.
“You won’t be able to keep this up much longer.” Yakumo’s voice was small. “I’ll. . . I’ll find a way to get in contact with Mr. Eiden!”
Olivine smiled. There we go. He found his courage again. That was Olivine’s favorite thing about the Yakumo. The way he’ll never give up. The way he always finds ways to keep helping. Olivine nodded, his resolve stronger than before. He wasn’t going to give up either. “I’m counting on you Yakumo.” This time his smile was more confident. He hopes it reaches the shaking man.
As Yakumo hurried away, Olivine couldn’t help but cling onto the sound of his leaving footsteps. Even when the echoed imprints of them died, he could still hear the memory of another person’s presence.
It was silent now.
Just him and the water altar alone.
Just like the old times.
Olivine had been silently feeding the water altar a steady stream of essence for a long time now. At least it felt like a long time. The other priests occasionally checked up on the state of the altar. They were disappointed that it hadn’t stabilized but they had a lot of faith in Olivine. Maybe a little too much.
No matter how much or how long Olivine provides for, the unstable swirling essence wouldn’t disappear. The priest’s arms were beginning to strain from the weight of gravity. Fortunately Olivine was strong, he could last until he finally regulated the altar.
Olivine couldn’t help but now feel guilty for what he had done to the gemstone altar in the past. He was selfish. He was tired of the same old same old. It was selfish of him to tamper with the gemstone’s essence back then. It was cruel of him for wanting to destroy the temple that had so dutifully raised him.
“I’m sorry.” Olivine couldn’t help but mutter aloud. With that apology he strengthened his arms and sent more essence towards the altar. It dimly glowed blue, like it was accepting his apology.
Olivine smiled sadly. Yeah. He was the only one suitable for this job. After living and caring for the temple for so many years it made sense that his gemstone and essence resonates best with the altar. It made sense that this was his life duty. It made sense why he had to turn away Yakumo’s help and do this alone.
This is fine. This is what he’s been doing. And will forever do.
How long had he been here for? It hadn’t been very long. But it felt like a long time.
Due to the formation of the temple over the water altar, Olivine had no access to the outside world. No windows to signal any passing of the sky.
The priests used to occasionally check in on him but they stopped not too long. He knew they had to leave to help the town. The messenger spoke briefly about rain and floods. Olivine could only imagine just how much destruction was going on out there. He needed to regulate the altar soon.
They stopped coming way too long ago. Olivine was getting lonely. It was depressing, constantly looking at a deteriorating altar. No matter how much essence he pushed through, the tremble from the altar never stopped. No matter how long he stayed there for, the glow remained as faint as ever..
Olivine’s right leg suddenly started to wobble. He was able to easily catch himself and shift his weight to the left but the flow of his essence was interrupted. He stopped pouring in his power. It was about time to take a break anyways.
The priest slumped to the ground in complete exhaustion. He briefly glanced at his hands and was surprised to see a red rash on the back of his hand and on a couple of his fingers. Olivine thought about healing his wounds, but then remembered his own lack of reserves.
Suddenly there was a small crackling sound.
His heart jumped as he scanned the gemstone altar. It was shattering. Cracks developed on the underside of the altar and started to climb. Before it could reach much further, Olivine automatically jumped up and repositioned his arms to pour his essence inside once again.
The growing cracks stopped. Olivine was too tired to send an extra burst of essence, but he kept his output smooth, hoping it would revert the cracks. But no matter how long he kept giving essence for, it wouldn’t mend.
His heart was beating loudly against his eardrums, the anxiety difficult to quell. Just like Yakumo previously, tears threatened to escape his eyes. He couldn’t do this alone. Olivine couldn’t stop this alone.
“Just until Eiden gets here.” Olivine spoke aloud to the water altar. “Just until the Grand Sorcerer gets here and then it’ll be okay.”
Zzz
OH FUCK HE FELL ASLEEP.
Olivine’s eyes jolted awake. He quickly scanned the area and saw the altar struggling to keep its blue hue. His hands were still in front of him, but the essence pouring out was miniscule. Now awake, Olivine pushed in a little more.
Honestly, he didn’t even know it was possible to doze off in the middle of regulating the altar. Thankfully his unconscious body still remembered to transfer some essence so the cracks on the altar didn’t grow. But it wasn’t enough to mend anymore.
Olivine took some deep breaths, struggling to remain awake. He knew he wasn’t able to regulate it on his own. The least he could do now is to hold on until Eiden gets here.
Just a little longer.
He missed Eiden. He missed the lively mansion.
He missed Aster and Morvay’s bickering. He missed teaching Eiden and Garu how to read and write. He missed silently reading in the gardens alongside a sleeping Quincy. He missed watching Edmond and Dante spar and reminding them to take a break. He missed Yakumo’s delicious tea cakes that he would serve. He missed the wicked glare from Kuya’s eyes when Blade tried to get him to do a silly activity.
The mansion was quite chaotic, and at times Olivine didn’t always get along with everyone, but really that was the beauty of it all.
He didn’t often have a place where he could just be himself. He didn’t have friends his age since he was always given so many different responsibilities to be helpful to the adults.
Olivine smiled as he remembered his recent sleepover with Quincy and Dante in the Holy Ark during Klienmas. While he was initially worried about how well they would get along since they were still basically strangers, it was comfortable. They were easy to talk to.
Hopefully they’ll have more sleepovers in the future.
That is if Olivine survives past this.
Olivine felt like he could die here. The rashes spreaded up his arms and his fingers somehow were bruised. He couldn’t spare any extra essence to heal his injuries so he soldiered on, but the slow throb of pain always reminded him.
He shook his head, willing himself not to think too much. At least the bruising and abrasions helped him keep awake.
That was a lie. Multiple times Olivine caught himself closing his eyes for a minute too long or his drooping hands cutting off the reserves. He took a deep breath and shook his weak legs. As if that would help.
He was holding onto hope. But. . . a little part inside him wondered. . . what if he let go. . . After all, isn’t that what he wanted? He hates this temple. He hates his duties. He hates his restrictions. At least this time he wouldn’t feel the guilt. He wasn’t the cause of this catastrophe. The altar was going to die of natural causes. He could run off with Eiden and finally live the freeing life he wanted. He could experience more. More festivities like the ancient ceremony or the idol festival.
He could explore and adventure around the world. He could participate in more unique experiences that any ordinary man never could. He could feel the thrill of feeling important. But not to help others. Just to fulfill his own desires.
No. He couldn’t do that. Olivine couldn’t be that selfish.
. . . But he could.
It was just him by himself. Just him and the water altar. No one would know if he just let go.
And he did. . . Olivine slowly stopped the flow of essence. He fell to his knees, not realizing how weakened his body had become from the constant regulation.
The disgusting sound of glass crumbling brought a shiver to his spine. His green eyes tracked the returning cracks. The shattering noise was ringing through his ears. Dark purple impurities coated the once beautiful vibrant blue. A small chunk fell to the ground.
It broke upon impact. The darkened blue sparkled as it flew across the tiled floor.
Olivine’s chest tightened. He didn’t want this. His fingers were weak but he raised them in front of him. And began the steady stream of essence once again.
It was silent.
He refused to think. Refused to consider giving up again. Yakumo himself was traveling across the Klein continent to get help. That isn’t easy. The Fire Territory was all the way on the other side, polar opposite of the Water Territory. And there was that small stretch of the Dead Zone that he had to get across. . . Olivine suddenly regretted sending Yakumo on the solo journey. He was going to be okay right? Olivine bit his lips. He had to have faith in Yakumo. He is going to make it safely. And he is going to bring help.
Eiden was going to come back and help. Olivine doesn’t want to disappoint them. Especially if he does fail his duty in regulating the water altar. . . Would Eiden be disappointed to see Olivine laying on the ground with a broken altar? Would he sympathize. . . Or would he get mad? Would he care for Olivine first or would he regulate the gemstone with Yakumo first?
His chest tightened as he imagined the possible scenarios.
Eiden should regulate the altar first. . . right? It’s his duty. . . and it’ll stop the chaos happening outside. . .
But a selfish part of Olivine wanted Eiden to help him first. . .
His breathing was labored.
His fingers were black and blue.
His arm muscles screamed in agony.
His head felt light.
His mouth was dry.
His legs were trembling.
His feet were sore.
But all he could do was keep on going. The entire Water Territory was relying on him.
In the midst of transferring the last bit of essence he had, Olivine noticed the blue turned brighter through his squinting eyes. Testing the waters, Olivine released his hold.
Even with a weary body, his bloodshot eyes stared hard at the water altar, ensuring it wasn’t falling. It trembled and groaned slightly, but the cracks didn’t grow.
With a deep breath Olivine slowly took a step towards the exit. As much as he wanted to stay, he really needed to rest while the altar was stable. Part of him wanted to look back at the altar to make sure it wasn’t falling, but he was even too tired to turn his head.
Coo
It didn’t once cross Olivine’s mind why a bird was inside the temple. The conscious part of Olivine figured it was hiding from the previously heavy rain. But nonetheless, the small coo was soothing for some reason. It felt like someone was watching over the water altar for him.
His legs were weak. The rashes and bruises on his hands screamed as he gripped the stairwell bars, but he was able to bear it.
The priest was tired. Even while walking up the steps, his body threatened to curl up on the cold marble. He was sure he had briefly fallen asleep while walking up the stairs due to the sudden memory loss once he reached the last step.
Suddenly thankful for the small kitchen nearby the altar, Olivine had half a mind to turn on the lights. But a loud rumble in his stomach had other priorities.
Olivine couldn’t tell what he needed first. Sleep, or rest, or food, or to eat. Eating would be good. He had lost a lot of essence.
Straining to keep his eyes awake, Olivine reached up towards a cabinet. His hands loosely fumbled around, hoping to bump into a box of food. There was a sleepy haze in front of his eyes. With the dark room, it was difficult for Olivine to see what he was reaching for.
Suddenly, as if the Sandman blew dust over his eyes, Olivine slumped onto the floor loudly. But the noise and the pain didn’t stop the overworked man from falling asleep.