Convergence (Halves and Lives)
Featuring Jian, Jasper, Ashling, and a little bit of Domitian, Adrian, and Ashe. Happens a little after this. I should make a list to order them now.
Sitting on a flight of stairs overlooking the waterpark, Domitian and Adrian rippled open another package of popsicles. That was dangerous in a hot water pit teeming with little kids but Domitian couldnât focus on them.
Was it going to be under the shadow of the trees? Hiding under the arches of the park, or would it be kneeling in the shade of his younger brother?
It had been too long and felt too good being free. At any moment, it would return with a vengeance, dragging him away for who knows how long.
âYouâre paranoid,â Adrian snickered, biting into the soda-flavored ice bar. Domitian turned to him so fast, he could almost feel his neck breaking from the speed. âBut you know, Iâm the same,â He looked far off, the bags under his eyes dark. âI never told Yoichi this but thereâs something haunting me.â The confession sounded too familiar to Domitian.
âI look for it but itâs always the one watching me first,â Domitian replied hugging his knees to his chest. âWhat do you see?â
âItâs not watching me from afar,â He tapped on his head. âI think it lives inside. Thatâs why I havenât slept or even blinked in three days.â
âAre you okay?â Domitian grabbed him, worried his little brother was going to die from sleep deprivation.
âOh I will be,â Adrian turned to his elder brother, fully believing that everything that was happening now was possible. âBut cross your fingers. Iâm going to check.â
Out of exhaustion and the sickness of hope, Adrain locked eyes with Domitian, burning the sunny park into his mindâs eye before slowly blacking out.
He saw nothing in the dark.
The first time Jian had felt the shade was when the bratty eldest of the cousins and siblings was recovering from a particularly bad cold.
After aâŠclose encounter of sorts, Jian found himself looking for Domitian again.
âWhy would a lazy pillow hogging oaf go to so much trouble to rub his nose in wet grass?â
The sour thought had come to Jian when he found the eldest of the five curled under the shade of a tree, hidden from the morning rays. At first glance, it seemed like Domitian had gone off to be alone and fell into a sleep plagued by fever and a cold sweat. It wasnât until he knelt that Jian realized the way Domitian was laying was clumsy; like he had tripped and fallen.
His eyes were wide open, hazy like translucent glass.
The fact that Domitian had snuck miles away to be alone, beating the sun to the forest, wasnât something stupid anymore.
This was dangerous.
âYouâll have to deal with this,â Jian set about scooping Domitian into his arms, ready to sprint back to the home as fast as possible. The moment he wrapped his arms around Domitianâs shoulders, he felt heavy.
Air was squeeze from his lungs and his bones creaked from the effort to stay upright. All of this from a simple downward gaze.
Accustomed to being watched, Jian pinpointed exactly where the watcher was.
Every living creature had an instinct, including beings like Jian. A tug at their gut could tell them they were being spied. Sometimes, the instinct would go out of control, causing creatures to flee from their own shadows. It was only in this time, with Domitianâs eyes staring through him, when Jian knew he had to fear the shape connected to his feet.
Turning his chin up, Jianâs eyes widened at the shadow towering over him and Domitian, peering into the shadeâs eye as it dissipated to the sound of a sharp bang.
Ripped out of the hazy memory, Jian found himself sitting against a stone wall, covered in a sheen of rain. By his feet was a gaping hole, leading down into a room that had crumbled into itself.
Below were shadows, the dark greys of stone, and a dampened red carpet, making Ashlingâs golden hair easy to pick out.
His younger brother was crouching beneath a crevice in the wood and rubble, huddling in the dark. Jian had half a mind shout for him but the other half told him to stop. Look around before itâs time to jump.
The sky was slightly less gray than the deserted castle and towers stood, a few being fully intact, surrounding Jian and the courtyard just over the wall. For a rude awakening with no hint as to how he had ended up there, this wasnât so bad. It would almost have been a by the book heroic amnesia case with the only oddity being that there were arrows littering the ruins like it had been hailing them.
A recent battle could easily explain what happened to his surroundings, making Jian the warier of the situation. But, as it looked, the place was deserted save for him and Ashling.
Or actually scratch that. Young green sprouts were springing from the cracks between the stones too fast to be anything other than magic.
Ashe was never far behind Ashling. Though she was the frailest of them, Ashe was acting first which could mean she had an idea of what was going on.
âJian?â A voice called his name, echoing from within the long hall below, lifting Jian from the ground. âJasper?â The next name made Jian slump back.
That made five people and Jian should feel relieve for that. He should.
Sighing, Jian cupped his hand and began to yell through them.
âDomââ
The sprouts burst from the wall, wrapping Jianâs hands against his opened mouth. Ashlingâs chin jerked up at Jian. The boy pressed his fingers to his lips, shaking his head vehemently. From afar, Jian heard the same loud hallow bang that rang through the memory he had dreamed of.
Jasper was the one who had woken Domitian and scared the shadow away with the noise.
âTheyâre all like this. Turn my back for one second and he got lead away again. Fuck me, I should have told youââ About the thing that was haunting Domitian.
But Jian had seen that shade; looked right into its core and saw it looking back.
How does someone haunt themselves?
âJasper?â Domitianâs voice called to his cousin. He was close enough for Jian to hear the scratching. Domitian was dragging something along the wet carpet, slowly swerving around to follow after Jasper. âJasâŠâ The voice dropped to a murmur; the same hoarse voice that had mumbled into his ear when Jian was trapped by the weakened young man. âThat wonât work on me again.â
The shadows of the hallsâ ceiling shuddered. It was the only warning the voice gave and Ashe acted immediately. Releasing Jian, Ashe forced vines to erupt from the floor, barring the darkness from reaching Ashling as the boy made his escape. The dark flood of fog pressed against the organic wall, slowly seeping through to grab at boy climbing the rubble.
âYouâŠyouâŠyouâŠâ Domitianâs voice repeated over and over. âTell me how badly I want to hear your heartââ The shadows pooled at the hill of rubbleâs base. Ashling was faltering, grasping at his throat like he was choking. To Jianâs horror, his little brotherâs grip slipped and he rolled back over the sharp rocks and splintered wood. ââand how much I want to rip it apart.â
All at once, Asheâs barrier was blown to pieces. The wisps of shadows lunged for Ashlingâs limp form, colliding against Jianâs hook swords. He had acted fast to defend Ashling, making the split decision to leap down and face this spirit head on.
This entity was indescribable; both a darkness that strangled Jian without touching him and an invisible breath that was dreadfully calming. It felt ancient, unknown, but as familiar as the fevered warm arms that had clung to him for dear life.
The lump in Jianâs throat gave the voice form.
Smokey hands gripped Jianâs swords, pulling them down for a bulging mass of a head to emerge from the fog. Leaning close enough to touch its ephemeral figure to Jianâs forehead, the voice decided its eyes should glow green.
âI was given so many faces,â The voice crooned in a manner Jian never wanted Domitian to rasp, pained and resenting. âI canât remember them all. But you. But you. But. You.â
Jianâs swords were shuddering, not from the effort to push back. He was trying to take them away but the voice refused to release the blades biting into its transient hands. Panting hard, Jian couldnât look away from this thing.
Thatâs what everyone had been calling it but from the very first time Jian had seen the shade, he knew exactly who it was.
âDomitian?â Jian whispered, earning a low chuckle from âDom.â
âI remember you.â The swords crinkled in its hands.
âRun.â
The warning came from Hu.
âThe deadâŠâ
Jian was shaking his head, standing his ground.
ââŠIt rules the dead.â
Jian wasnât moving but the moss at his feet were.
âWho is this?â The voice asked, attention turning to Huian. âSheâs like you. Used to be,â Jian felt the spirit waver, existence flickering like the flame of a candle as the voiceâs figure grew sharper. That finally set him off.
âNo,â The voice clutched Huian. âIt dropped you here. You should stay here. Here.â The figure with Domitianâs voice vaulted over Jianâs only defense against it only to have the vines that had gathered at Jianâs feet flung him and Ashling away.
Suddenly, Jian was high in the sky, freefalling with Ashling alongside him. Freeing his hands, Jian dived towards his little brother and latched on. Ashe had thrown them far enough for the hole they had escaped from to look like a dot. Jian aimed for a nearby tower but the cloud of black smoke shot out of the ruins, chasing after them.
Rolling away, grazing dangerous against the entity flying past them, Jian tried his best to land somewhere safe. The rotting courtyard was the best that he could do. Flipping, he positioned himself boots down, preparing to roll when he hit the cobblestone.
Ashe was there to catch them, scrounging what was left of the vegetation to cushion their fall. The shapeshifter bolted to their side the moment they touched the ground, ramming them out of the entityâs way.
âIâve been watching Dom since he was on all fours, shoving him back in his crib when this thing tried to lead him off a cliff.â Jasper narrowed his eyes, watching the entity fight to regain some of its form. He let Jian push off of him. Ashling remained daze, gripping Jian for support. Just being near that monster was ripping his concentration to shreds, scattering the pieces in all directions.
âFinally, thereâs an actual ass to kick. Sort of.â Jasper twisted his mouth and shrugged.
The entity, writhing on the overgrown stones, had come together to fashion a crude head and set of arms. Its wisps had yet to shape legs but it could crawl fast and pounced almost far enough to scrape at Jasperâs feet.
Instead, it dug deep scars into the ground, energy sparking at its fingertips.
âJian. Jasper!â Ashling gasped, wracked with pounding headaches. He was seeing the castle ruins and a grand fortress bombarded by lightning existing at the same time.
âI know,â Jian stared, unblinking at the entity lumbering for them. âWe canât stay here.â
âWhat are you talking about?â Jasper glanced over his shoulder. âWe just got here.â
Jian wasnât sure how they got there in the first place but like the entity had said, it had been a mistake. For now, as much as the mix of confusion and sparks of clarity made him want to dig his heels into the ground, catching the entity wasnât something they could achieve. Not now.
The shadowy body curled on the ground, gathering more of itself while Jian fought the urge to stay.
âMe. Find me.â
âIt doesnât matter where we go,â Jian turned his gaze down. Lichen was spreading below his boots, spreading behind him, deeper into the ruins. âBut we have to leave.â
âThis entire time, I thought that this thing would never leave us alone,â Jasper shook off Jianâs arm when he tried to tug on his arm. For once, he wasnât going to joke around but it had to be for the wrong reason. âYou got to step in already. Let me have this one.â
The sting of a petty vendetta, chained to both the entity and Jian, made Ashlingâs throat close.
âL-leave.â Ashling croaked, refusing to wait for an answer.
Allowing one last second for Jian and Jasper to catch a glimpse of the entity craning its neck, reaching out for them, the air in between snapped, blasting the three into the depths of the castle.












