Take your eyes off of me so I can leave
I'm far too ashamed to do it with you watching me
This is never ending, we have been here before
But I can't stay this time 'cause I don't love you anymore
Please stay where you are
Don't come any closer
Don't try to change my mind
I'm being cruel to be kind
-Adele “Love In The Dark”
It came like a crashing wave upon a peaceful beach. The presence of Theron was suddenly in all of the parts of him scattered across Azeroth and any other realm. Never had he let down the walls he hid behind as wholly as he had in that moment. How long had it been? Five minutes? An hour? Time did not matter as those parts of him that he had left in objects or in living beings suddenly became alive with the connection they had to him. He had not intended to reach out to them but as he exposed himself for the sole purpose of breaking one bond, his soul reached out to that which he had touched, to that which held bits of him and had left him broken and incomplete. He had unveiled himself completely, laid himself bare and vulnerable for attack but it had been only for one being and purpose. He was suddenly in so many places at once, the press of the shadows he commanded coalescing upon that which belonged to him.
Over the span of distance, his presence suddenly was felt in the place that Favri held the large black feather he had once gifted to her. Theron’s subtle scent was there for a moment before the skin prickling feel of him followed. Whether she felt or caught his scent was wholly pertinent on whether she kept the feather close. The next time she saw the feather, however, it would be a strange off-white though it would still retain the properties to contact him directly.
The same familiar scent and presence would be felt by the one that held a necklace with the remnants of his blood. That is, if she was close to it. Wherever it was that Centori kept the said trinket, it would suddenly glow with dark violet energy and seem to waver from reality. The container that held his blood suddenly imploded, leaving nothing but a broken piece of jewelry behind. It became simply another piece of finery that had been forgotten as it no longer held any importance. It no longer held that bit of his blood that one well versed in blood magic would have been able to do so much with.
It was only with Rijhanni that he would truly manifest. If she happened to be close to where she kept the soul stone he had entrusted to her, she would see his ghostly apparition flicker into life. The familiar scent of rose petals and campfire smoke was there as if he was there in the flesh. He would pay no heed to her as his attention was mainly for the container in which he had encased part of his soul, a backup plan meant to curtail the inevitability of his death. An ethereal hand reached for the soul gem but it shattered before he could touch it. The essence within suddenly coiled in dark violet smoke and became a million tiny pieces that spun in place before escaping through physical planes back to their true owner. The soul shard that he had entrusted to her was no more.
The bond he had with the two living beings suddenly tightened. The scent of roses, campfire, cedar invaded both of their senses, traveled down their olfactory passages and into the center of their chests. It felt like he was searching, testing the strength of the bonds he held with both women. His bonds, so carelessly placed on both, suddenly were the most alive they had ever been. Coils of metaphysical rope wrapped around their hearts and in that instant, they could both feel as if they were a violin too tightly wound. Fingers played over the metal strings, allowing the vibration to roll over both of their bodies in an ominous testing. Once. Twice. Thrice. Fingers of unknown origin thrummed upon the bonds he held to both Selena and Nia alike, playing upon them until it almost became unbearable.
Nia’s discomfort would continue, fingers dangerously stroking the connection she held to him. He was exposed completely in that moment to her, the emotion of fear and love mingling in a truly puzzling confection. The memory of how they had formed the link was pushed to the forefront, replaying as if it was not only for their benefit but for another’s. A stroke of bliss ran down that metaphysical bond, the sweet caress of warmth surrounding her before the metaphysical strokes upon too tight strings began to be painful. The first of many gave way, snapping the bond between Theron and she. The very place his presence had taken residence within her was left empty, his part of the bond leaving nothing behind and returning that part of her that she had placed within him.
As for Selena, she would have felt that testing upon too tight strings as well. She would have felt the lingering touch and edge of pressure that might have snapped the bond if he had allowed it. He had been open to her just as much as he was to Nia but because the bond of Necromancer and creation was a lot stronger; it gave her not only sight but a scent of what her Master Necromancer was up to. Down that metaphysical bond with Theron, Selena felt and saw what he had done and with whose company he had accomplished such a feat. A Necromancer’s bond to that which he had raised from the dead and truly resurrected in a blasphemous act was not so easily discarded and broken.
Just as the tide came and went, so it was that his presence receded from whence it had come. Slowly, the walls and shields he put around his metaphysical being were reconstructed and his whole soul was locked away. He was whole for the first time in years and it had only taken him giving himself selflessly to another. Only time would tell if he had been foolish in this decision as well.
[ For mentions: @favrielle-emberdusk / @bbygurlnia / @handmaidenoftheempress / @centoridellanir / @rijhanni / @ma-at-thought ]
