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Burning Bright: (9) This time of year there are candles popping up in just about every shop selling anything. Maybe you stopped by one of these shops yourself, or maybe a friend wanted to get you a thoughtful gift, but somehow you’ve come into possession of a pair of candles. They don’t seem to be anything spectacular upon first glance; they are pretty and well made and have a pleasant fragrance. They would be pretty decor on their own, but once you light them, they really shine. Nonstop. For twenty four hours. No matter what you do, you cannot put the flame out. No wind, no water, no fire extinguisher–nothing–will extinguish the flame. You just have to wait until it burns itself out. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem very flammable so you don’t have to worry about other things catching on fire in the meantime. Wherever you keep the candle will have a pleasant smell for several days after the flame extinguishes.
Tyndareus bid Pyrrhus an awkward goodbye as they came back to Earth and found a good place to power down. Evren needed to do something take some time to think without being near people. Or avoid doing any thinking for as long as possible. That appealed to him a great deal. Of course, that wasn't a viable option. Not with the severity of the revelations he'd had this night.
He rubbed a hand over his face and adjusted the tightness in his ponytail braid to stave off the oncoming headache. He didn't need to feel physically awful in addition to mentally. After heaving a big sigh, he started to walk home, weaving through the streets of the city he'd come to to escape a life he didn't want anymore.
He liked it here. He'd never enjoyed living in a particular place before, but here? He knew what it was to call a place home. To be in a place and feel like you didn't want to be anywhere else ever again. Drawing comfort from it.
Blech. He hated sentimentality, but it was true. Shaking his head at himself, he slowed to a stop outside a pop-up seasonal shop. Hm. Well. He did need some new candles. And a two for one deal was always great. He purchased one that called itself "Apple Pie", and another that said it was "Sugar Cookies". The merchant wrapped them up for safe transport, and Evren was relieved that he wouldn't be seen by anyone he knew carrying a candle called Sugar Cookies. He had a reputation to maintain, for God's sake.
The moment he made it back to his apartment, he lit that particular candle and set it on his desk, relaxing as the scent filled the rooms. Though... Damn, it was one hell of a bright candle. He ended up flipping his lights back off. How odd. Though it was nice to save a few cents of electricity, he supposed. He thought for a long moment, then decided to give up the whole ghost and took the candle with him to his bathroom, squinting against the brightness of it. He set it on the sink and ran a hot bath, complete with bubbles. Unscented, because the Sugar Cookies candle was quite strong in more ways than one. At least it was pleasant.
Finally, he lay in the hot water, sinking beneath the bubbles, and let his thoughts crash over him.
What in the entire ******** had all of that really been?
He couldn't deny the evidence. The Chaos that had lingered over the planet like a second skin, an atmosphere of smog, like big cities before environmental protection acts had been passed. Something that made you sick but was so entwined with every aspect of life that one simply didn't figure out what it was that made them so ill.
But of course, it was different when one could magically sense it, the way Tyndareus could. It was different Chaos, yes. But undeniably Chaos. Like... different soda brands, or something. Everyone knew what Coca-Cola tasted like, and most people would be able to tell when they were served some generic cola soda. That's what the Chaos felt like to him. Clearly close to the thing he knew deeply, but fundamentally different all the same.
The Chaos on Pyrrhus's planet had choked the life out of every living thing there, even altering the weather to make it hostile to the way of life the creatures of Pyrrhus had known. Eternal night shifting to eternal day would ruin the rhythm in which every animal, every person, lived. Crops would not grow correctly. Animals wouldn't be able to hunt properly, their vision wrecked. As Pyrrhus said, the people themselves had to flee to underground caves. And even then, plagues spread until every last one of them had died.
That was no way to live. Duh, they all died, idiot. He inhaled, pinched his nose, and plunged his head under the water, trying to force himself to relax a little. Floating in the warm water, at the bottom of the tub, some of the pressure behind his eyes eased. He surfaced before his lungs could burn too badly with the need for air and focused on his favorite breathing ritual. Slowly, more of the tension eased.
Pyrrhus had mentioned three other planets that had succumbed to Chaos in this way, and Evren had seen several alien senshi at a distance on his patrols and a few within the logs of the Negaverse databases. Had all of them suffered so much? All of the alien ones, at least, had lived through the terrible disasters that had taken their planets and decimated them. Most of them, it seemed, had all died, hence the reincarnation cycle where they were reborn as humans.
...What had happened to himself? His planet? He'd had a different people in another life. Alien people. Lived on a different planet. The truth of it shook him to his core.
Something terrible had caused a mass extinction of what seemed nearly all life in the universe. Trillions. Maybe more than trillions of people, all perishing, because of... the very same Chaos that Tyndareus had willingly let in to his starseed. The little piece of himself that housed his soul. Infected with the disease that had brought hundreds of worlds to their knees to be summarily executed and then long-forgotten by any histories that humans on Earth had.
Was Chaos why nobody in the wider population of Earth knew anything about their wider universe? Or was there something else? Some other ancient force trying desperately to preserve what little life there was left by enforcing ignorance?
... Perhaps it was that force that kept the White Moon running. They had to get their reincarnated powers somehow, despite being completely different species from who they'd been a thousand years ago.
He ran a hand down his chest, stopping at the point where he knew his poisoned starseed was.
He had to fix that.
But how?
Who would even listen to him? Could he ensure his safety? He'd embedded himself within the Negaverse, and now... Could he even be safely extricated?
Would it be preferable if he stayed here? Perhaps serve as a spy?
No. Spies in gangs always met a bloody end. He knew that deep in his core. It was easier to be a full turncoat.
Hot tears spilled from his eyes, and he let them fall. s**t.
What the <********> was he going to do?
