John's face pointed upwards, as if he were bathing his face in the sun's light for the first time in his life. His body swayed in the sky as his consciousness faded away, and his body plummeted to the ground below.
Boom!
John's body slammed into the ground. A plume of dust kicked up from his fall, followed by another as Kirii fell to the earth as well. The damage he had sustained from absorbing the lightning avatar had been immense.
"John!' Kirii!" Laia called out as she took a step towards them, but her strength failed her as she too collapsed to the ground, while her consciousness faded as well.
…
Crackle!
The crackle of a fire sounded out, seeming to echo lightly off the small cave it was ignited within. A pair of eyes slowly opened, groggy and unfocused, as if opening for the first time in a very long time. The eyes slowly shifted around the room, confusion contained deep within. They fell onto a nearby figure, who sat on a log near the campfire, staring intently at it as if deep in thought.
Groan!
A light groan of pain drifted out, causing the one at the campfire to look over quickly. Surprise and elation appeared in her eyes as she quickly walked over.
"Adam, you're awake!" Iris exclaimed softly, her voice containing unmasked joy.
She kneeled beside Adam and grabbed his hand softly, as if to provide him some comfort and warmth.
"Uuuugggg…Iris?" Adam groaned out, as if just speaking was painful for him. His eyes darted around the small cave, taking in everything in view. "Where am I?" he asked.
"I've hidden us in an out of sight cave," Iris replied.
"Hidden…why are we hidd-" Adam's question cut off as his eyes widened, as if a horrifying wave of memories flooded back into his mind. His body recoiled in recollection of what had happened, fear clearly etched on his face.
A scream of pain and agony escaped his lips, although his screams were incredibly hoarse. His body shivered as he recalled everything that had happened to him, the flood of memories making him feel as if everything was happening to him all over again.
"Adam, you're alright. You're safe," Iris said as she tried to placate his fear and panic. Her Qi flooded from her hand and into Adam's hand she was holding, a wave of the most gentle and calming Qi she could muster.
Adam's panicked state slowly calmed down over a short while, but the fear on his face did not lessen. Iris sighed deeply as she witnessed Adam's state, which was the opposite of what she was used to. He was always prideful and carefree, but now he was fearful and full of emotional scars. Clearly what had happened to him had been beyond horrifying, and would be something that would take quite some time to get over, if he ever managed to get over it.
…
Iris and Adam sat on logs opposite each other, the campfire in between them. A warm cup of tea rested in his hands, although he ignored the cup as he stared deeply into the fire, his gaze unfocused. Iris had eventually calmed him down and gotten him seated, but no words had been exchanged despite the passage of quite some time.
Adam's unfocused eyes gained clarity again as they shifted around the room as if looking for something.
"Where's John…where's Chase?" he asked Iris. His body began to sway as he sat on the log, as if he would fall over at a moment's notice.
A brief look of gloom appeared on Iris's face, but she washed that look away before Adam could notice.
"Chase is fine, you don't have to worry," she replied and quickly changed the topic. "You seem like you're going to pass out at any moment. Go back to sleep and rest up. We'll talk once you're fully rested."
She stood up and guided Adam to his bed, who laid down and fell asleep almost immediately. Iris sighed as she stared at him, unsure of what to do, or how to explain things to Adam.
…
Sip!
Adam took a sip of his tea, finally feeling like he had enough energy to stomach anything. His gaze lingered on the warm fire before him, before he gazed up at Iris, who stared back at him with a soft look. Usually the two were completely antagonistic, but neither was in the mood for such a thing.
"How are you feeling?" Iris asked, her voice gentle and soft.
"I'm…I'm fine," Adam replied as he took another sip of warm tea. He stared into the cup of steaming tea, lost deeply in thought.
"I don't know how they found out," Adam suddenly said, as if he needed to vent. The fire crackled through the silence as Iris sat there and listened to whatever Adam had to say. She was curious as to what had happened, but was not going to force him to speak about it. However, it seemed as though he wanted to bring it up himself.
"My technique…my embedded formation technique. I should be the only one who knows about it…" Adam said as he glanced back at Iris. "as well as you, John and Chase," he said and took another sip of tea to collect his thoughts. His gaze at Iris did not contain any malice at all, as he knew none of them would ever betray him.
"But somehow they found out I knew how to use the technique. They knew I could disguise myself. That bastard Kad-," Adam's voice cut off suddenly, as if merely mentioning the name brought his mouth to a fearful halt. He remained silent for quite some time as he recovered his wits, before he began to speak once more.
"You don't have to explain what happened to me if you don't want to," Iris replied softly.
"It's fine," Adam replied after a while. "They set up an ambush at the end of the Formations Trial land, and closely inspected each and every person. They forced me into a nullification formation…at which point my disguise quickly faded away…"
Adam stopped after mentioning what had happened, as if what occurred next was too much to bring up. His body shivered once more as if the memories were enough to haunt him for a lifetime.
"After…after they were done with me, all I remember is pain…excruciating pain, and then I heard John's voice," Adam said as his gaze shifted from the fire towards Iris. "His voice faded away, and I remember the pain vanishing as nothingness embraced me."
Adam stopped talking as he recollected his thoughts, while Iris continued to sit there in silence.
"But the nothingness faded away as well as a light replaced it, and warmth flooded into me…and the pain returned."
Adam's unfocused gaze drifted to the fire once again as he thought about that warm light, like a gentle fire that had been lit within his fading existence.
"I died," Adam said as his gaze cleared up and focused back on Iris. "I died Iris, but somehow I was brought back. I don't…I don't understand anything…what happened? And where is John? He was there when this all happened! He should be here with us, right?"
"John is fine," Iris said after a long while of thinking what to say. She thought about telling the truth, but in Adam's current condition, she didn't know if that was for the best. "He ensured your safety, and then went to hunt down Kadin. You don't need to worry about him."
"Good…that's good that he's safe," Adam sighed in relief, his gaze shifting back towards the warm fire before him.
