"May you suffer under my embrace."
"Argh!"
Pantalone looks up immediately, checking his surroundings with keen observation. How dare someone trespass and interrupt a harbingers' business with fatui guards stationed outside. No one should be in the area unless a fatui agent who would identify themselves after entering to report something. For a couple of minutes, he confirmed no one entered and it could only mean...
"Are you somehow hurt, Dottore?" He asked, facing the air as if there was a person in front of him. A scoff followed, blue and red particles appearing out of nowhere. A bizarre thing to see to a normal person. "Me? Hurt? How laughable."
All Pantalone can do was shrug, eyes closed and with his signature banker smile. Ah, his colleague is still prideful and stubborn despite his situation being a Data in Irminsul. But he still has time to settle a matter himself. "I'm just concerned that's all."
"...How have you been keeping?"
He chuckled in response, "How have I been keeping? You say?" Crossing his legs and leaning back with elegance, his gloved hands intertwined with ease. Purple gem rings glinted as if they were mocking. "I should be the one asking you that."
He could imagine the other man frowning, being thrown back his own question instead. All the pride, intelligence and experiments, behind all that, there's a single thing that hasn't been addressed. Pantalone tends to do it now before it's too late. After all, he is a person who honors another agreement.
"..."
"Don't go silent on me now. You know what I'm talking about." Oh how Pantalone wished to say it with contempt, however, it would be too obvious. Too early for showing a grudge.
"..."
The silence stretched felt like an eternity. Omega couldn't help but stood still on the platform inside the depths of Irminsul. This conversation is going astray, he quietly regret asking Pantalone about his wellbeing. In this situation, If he were to ignore this, the latter would've definitely won't fulfill his tasks completely.
With a defeated sigh, his dull purple eyes had already opened. Pantalone already expected this outcome, quite disappointed knowing that this segment is the lone and selfish survivor that wouldn't budge. Of course, he is that selfish enough to bury the past into the void and forget that it even existed. Then, a low tone of a growl only Pantalone could hear.
"Miserable."
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
"Yes. And we're all waiting for you."
Zandik could not help but laugh in disbelief. This foolish world and these segments... Maybe he had not expected this outcome, several eyes that are exactly like his are just gazing down at his pitiful self. After all, knowing himself, he is too prideful to get help from others. Why would they do that?
"Hah– waiting for me to die?"
'What a foolish bunch of crows, indeed.' He instantly thought. But what was the term again? It was something like... Wait– Zandik saw how Omega smile with his gloved hand coming towards his face. His dull eyes shaking with instinctive fear, the first time he felt since decades.
Closer and closer. His eyes reflected the gloves until he was unable to see. All he could see was pure darkness, a void, the nothingness. Something he loathe since birth.
The last moment in Zandik's life was Omega laughing with no remorse.
Ah, 'Murder.'
.....
....
...
..
.
Zandik is no longer in this world.
"Zandik!"
Before Omega could look up, he was pushed away and fell down on the sterile tiled floor. Shock and disbelief written on his face, as well as other segments nearby. What just happened? Why didn't he and others notice your presence right away?
"Zandik!" You shouted again towards the Main, carefully nudging his cold and wrinkled hand. You wanted to deny, that he just passed out from exhaustion. But no, it was cruel to see Omega had just killed the Original. At the exact moment you entered.
"Dear, we tried to resuscitate–" Omega said while standing up but he was cut off by a harsh slap of yours. It echoed throughout the laboratory, the silence felt worse as others stared at you, bewildered by your action.
Then, in an instant, he saw red.
"Ack-!"
You were already on the floor, struggling as his hands wrapped around your throat with such force. Squeezing as you desperately gasp for air. You tried to claw his hands but it was futile when he was wearing modified gloves. Suitable for such situations like this. The back of your head hurts so bad due to the fall impact.
Feeling something pooling behind your head, you were totally sure you weren't gonna make it. Ridiculous, you wanted to laugh. Is this really your fate? To be killed by the hands of his selfish segment? Maybe, Karma caught up to you.
You could've saved Zandik if you weren't so distracted by something. Then here's the result of your ignorance.
You felt your life slipping away.
With all your strength left, you reach out to hold his mask. Other segments tried to pull Omega away after sensing your fading life but he was too strong and too absorbed to realize what he was doing. With a smile, you let your vision activate, as well as something you kept to yourself since the day you were born. Cold permeates the air as the frost covers the entire laboratory. Something sinister began to emerge from your touch.
Segments' legs now chained with Ice, not letting them move freely as they felt the biting cold temperature through the fabric. As similar as Snezhnaya's winter storm, something not their system and synthetic flesh can endure.
Finally, you begin to chant, the cold wind carries your voice all around the room, equally as carrying your will, "May you all suffer under my embrace of terror. Wither in fear and be in agonizing pain.",
A curse.
"For all eternity."
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Gasp!
Omega woke up drenched in sweat, gasping for air as he clutched his chest. Right where his synthetic heart beat wildly. How foolish. The nth time he's experiencing terrible nightmares after the... Incident. Unable him to recharge to full extent. Even others experience the same thing, complaining and 6.7777% inefficient to their tasks. Beyond the acceptable percentage.
He couldn't find the better solution after trying the erasure method or any type of medicine to cure or at least lessen. By day, something would whisper in their ears, appearing and disappearing. 25 flinched when he heard a whisper during an experiment and caused a failed result, leading to creating another request for another batch of materials to the banker. By night, hearing footsteps or a hum when no one was present in the area. 65 kept looking behind his back anxiously after hearing someone singing and even giggling as it came closer and closer until he tripped.
18 and 45 became agitated, turning heated arguments to breaking everying within the reach while being each other's throat. Vials spilled, ruin guards beyond repair, hurting everyone in their vicinity. 8 couldn't continue his aranara research anymore.
It all because of your curse. A parasite that couldn't be removed.
Out of all the segments that are willing to love you, giving you what you wanted. Yet you chose to love the Main, the one who's human and aged. Wrinkly and out of his prime. Why him when they can offer you everything without them aging? Why him when he killed his creator? Why still him when you weakly hold that wretched cold hand of their creator while being strangled. Why not giving them more love and attention than him? Why, why, why, why,
Why?
"WHY?!"
Pantalone look up to see Omega had his fists on the table, creating a ruckus on the confections and tea sets. He almost thought he was angry about the choice of sweets, but no, this is more than that. His purple eyes gleam over his agitated expression as Omega would stare at the vacant seat between them.
'he could not replicate that moment.'
He sips his tea with a calm expression as he quietly observed. Omega wasn't he used to be, a calm and all-knowing segment. Very much different than the others. But now, he looks rather much human. It doesn't affect much on duties, it more of a... internal problem. Yes. What a mess, he thought.
'A mess he created, indeed.'
But he knew. Of course he does. Pantalone witnessed the incident back then. Behind those metal doors leading the laboratory, through the gaps, he saw who Omega killed. His closed eyes wasn't closed anymore as his signature smile fell. Eyes shaking as he saw your lifeless body beside the Main, the laboratory was covered in ice. Evident that it came from your vision.
He knew you well since you were introduced by Zandik. Quite a genius and knew about accountancy as well, a gem discovered. Pantalone and you clicked instantly, becoming friends that would do friendly debates and sharing views towards certain things. Even as creating a private tea party for just the three of you. Him, you and Zandik. You would even offer to create your own confections, high quality and beyond what every best confectioners can do. Even Zandik denied that he ate almost everything you put on the three tiered stand.
Yet something doesn't feel right at that time. He sworn he felt a stare behind them, so he looked back and saw one of Zandik's segment behind the door of the glasshouse where the three of them was present. It was Omega. Pantalone was about to call Zandik but he observed closer. Then he instantly knew. That Omega wasn't staring at his creator, instead,
He was staring at you with unreadable expression.
Perhaps that was the stare of yearning, Pantalone realized.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Omg, that took longer than I expected. Now, I'm not sure whether I want to continue the continuation after this.
Will be posted soon in ao3. <3









