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Dan Shu was nowhere to be seen. The only trace of her left was a single box on the balcony. Stelle opened it, knowing it was for her, and found herself faced with a strange medication. It was suspiciously inconspicuous yet she couldn’t find a reason not to trust her new acquaintance. She was a lonely woman looking to help — how could she ignore her gift?
Picking up the medication so that it rested in her palm, Stelle walked towards the edge of the balcony to watch the passing starskiffs before popping it into her mouth. She swallowed quickly so that she wouldn’t get a bitter taste in her mouth, and waited.
Night fell over Xianzhou, bathing the streets in inky darkness and sending most of the population into their beds. That couldn’t be said for the guards who patrolled the streets in order to appease the civil unrest. This meant that wanted criminals, like Kafka, were forced to traverse in unconventional ways. Which was the reason why she chose to tiptoe over stone walls and climb over roofs. As long as she avoided getting caught, she was free to spend that night however she wanted. For this is what Elio’s script dictated, and she always ached for those moments where she could break away and act of her own volition.
And so, her mind was finally freed momentarily from white lies and grand plans, and instead she could think of more important things. Lost in her daydreams for some time, Kafka came back to reality with a snap, chastising herself since she still had to make sure she was undercover.
She listened out for the familiar clanking of metal armour, but instead she was confronted with sounds of ragged breathing. It sounded to her like someone was struggling.
Typically, she wouldn’t get involved in affairs just to please her own morality, but this time was different. It may have been because tonight she was free to act on impulse or that the voice was familiar to her, but either way, Kafka found herself drawn towards the noise like a moth to a flame.
She heaved herself to the top of a stone wall and crouched in the shadows casted by the building beside her. Looking down to the street below, she found herself at an abandoned square. Most of the street was bathed in shadows, yet streetlights illuminated several puddles of light. One of those pockets was all she needed to spy the body sprawled over the ground. They seemed to have collapsed to the ground, with one arm outstretched as if to drag their body forward, while a mop of grey hair obscured their face from her view. Recognition powered through Kafka and her body was racing towards them before her mind could catch up.
Halfway across the street, Kafka finally had the thought to check for guards. She whipped her head to the right and left, scanning the dark corners and finding them all empty. She released a tense breath of relief. She was eager but she knew she could not mess up Elio’s plan, no matter what. Despite her initial fear, she now focused every atom of herself into the situation. She skidded to a stop onto her knees, inches from their shuddering form.
Her voice was quiet as she spoke, “Stelle?”
The Trailblazer groaned. Her body was burning like a furnace, yet she was too weak to do anything about it. She could only endure the pain while she slipped in and out of consciousness. She knew the medication was the cause of her agony, but her body was shutting down and she couldn’t form any words. All she could was shake and writhe until she was given mercy.
Kafka was panicking now. Stelle was a bearer of a Stellaron, a conduit of Aeonic power and a future slayer of gods, yet something had managed to bring the woman to the ground. She tried to relax herself, realising that Stelle needed help, and began putting them into the recovery position. She heaved her onto her side before tenderly brushing the strays hairs from their face, finally revealing their features for her to scrutinise. A hot flush had covered Stelle’s cheeks, while beads of sweat gushed down the sides of their face. Their mouth opened to allow for hot breaths of air and their eyes-
“ Aeons ,” Kafka choked out, her heart clenching, “ What happened to your eyes? ”
Their eyes were infected with a strange, brown discolouration that wrapped around her eyeballs like vines. It was paired with yellow splotches that were reminiscent of leaves on a branch. Her pupil was entirely covered by the infection, leaving Stelle blinded.
Checking the rest of them for injuries, Kafka noticed with alarm that the Stellaron that she had buried into their chest was reacting to the foreign infection. Waves of Aeonic power crept from below their skin, emitting a soft glow through the fabric of their white t-shirt. It pulsated like ocean tides, dipping above and below the skin of her chest.
The plum haired woman was internally horrified. Such a crucial moment being unscripted by Elio was unheard of, yet she found herself mediating with an irreparably injured Trailblazer and a ticking time bomb — two impossible things occurring before her eyes.
A shuddering gasp tore through the street. Kafka watched helplessly as Stelle arched her back upwards, her limbs tensing and contracting involuntarily. Her eyes opened from where she’d shut them to reduce stimulation, and they were darting everywhere as if she could see again. They placed their palms on the ground and heaved themselves to their feet, stumbling unsteadily as her legs shook like a newborn faun. She appeared ready to drop, but still managed to hold her ground.
Kafka rose with her, holding her hands out in her direction amicably, “Stelle… you should sit down.”
The Trailblazer ignored her advice, instead staring at her with a strange terror, one so terribly unlike the expressions they had given her before. It was like they were staring at a stranger.
Stelle flinched suddenly, her eyes scrunching shut and she covered them with the back of her hand. “Get away from me!” They began to scream, her voice raspy. She palmed at her hip until he r fingers could reach around the handle of her bat, “Don’t g-get any closer!”
Kafka didn’t move, she had no idea how to handle the situation.
“Stelle?” She whispered again, trying to calm her down, “Listen to me, Sweetheart…”
The air between them crackled with energy as Stelle’s bat bisected the open space. It was a powerful swing, its force coming with her intent — yet it was nowhere close to Kafka.
Kafka’s heart still raced in her chest — Stelle was trying to attack her.
Panting, Stelle rested the tip of her bat in the space between her feet, resting on the handle to catch her breath. Sweat streamed down pale skin and the discolouration in her eyes could be seen moving, coiling like snakes.
A growl passed their chattering teeth, and before Kafka could begin to placate her again, she had pivoted on her feet. She pointed her bat to the empty space in front of her.
“Get back!”
“Stelle, listen-“
Whatever invisible force that was haunting Stelle’s mind must have said something offensive because the hoarse scream that escaped the young woman caused even Kafka to wince. The Stellaron Hunter watched with horror as they delivered another brutal attack of her bat, splitting the air with an arc that boomed like thunder.
It was abundantly clear to Kafka that whatever had happened to Stelle, it was causing her to hallucinate enemies. She had to subdue them before they further injured themselves.
“It’s not real,” she tried to assure them, lowering her voice in a way that tended to make people listen to her. She hesitated using her powers on her, wanting to leave it to the last option. They were already terrified as it was.
Stelle was backing up into her, full focus on whoever she was fighting. They squeaked and clumsily ducked down, dodging an imaginary blow. They were breathless as they straightened up, scrabbling at her bat since her grip had unintentionally loosened. Their opponent must’ve attacked too quickly for her to block since she fell to her knees in defeat. The concrete scraped at her knees, revealing tiny blots of blood, and she reacted by covering her ears tightly with her palms.
Kafka leaped to her front, pulling her hands from their head and desperately ignoring the wailing from the girl’s lips that struck her heartstrings. She tugged her into her arms, cradling their head with their arms and covering her from all invisible attacks.
She rocked them, hushing her and whispering assurances that they were alone. A moment passed before Stelle finally recognised her. Fingers scrabbled to the fabric of her shirt, digging into it like a lifeline as she attempted to hide against her.
“They’re touching me,” the younger girl whined, wetly choking on her restricted breathing, “She’s hitting me! It hurts, it burns …”
Kafka grabbed her jaw and pulled her face up to her own, staring fiercely into her eyes, “What did you take, Stelle?! What drug is it?”
Stelle panted, “Dan Shu. I don’t know… what it is…”
The older woman shook her head, “Stupid girl… you make me sick with worry.” She stood, pulling the girl with her, “ Listen , close your eyes and breathe. It’ll be ok… I’m with you.”
The next time Stelle opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar room. The decor was sparse and distinctly from the Xianzhou Loufu, meaning that she wasn’t kidnapped and that the room was likely from a hotel. Peering around curiously, some details stuck out to her. Firstly, when she sat up, a cold towel slipped from where it was pressed to her forehead and landed on her covered lap with a wet plop. Picking it up, she held it in her palm whilst she searched for a place to put it. This is when she noticed the pile of older towels sat on the bedside table. Realising what had happened, a smile began creeping onto her face.
Next to the towels there was an assortment of bowls and plates that smelt like they once contained stew. Stelle’s smile was a grin now.
However, her excitement dimmed once she registered the emptiness beside her. The sheet was crumpled over itself from where Kafka had left the bed early in the morning. Running her hand over the space, it was cold.
Then, Stelle found herself laughing in shock as a severely forgotten detail came to mind.
She could see again!
She flopped back into the pillow breathlessly, a grin on her lips. However, it quickly sunk away into a soft frown and pout.
Two things were wrong: one, Dan Shu had betrayed her and given her a substance that could’ve potentially taken her vision and her life.
And two, Kafka was gone.
She looked at the empty spot and sighed.
She couldn’t even say thank you.