Chapter 21 - Tears of Insanity

“Well, at least that’s what I thought initially, but you survived a dark symbiote. That changes everything,” Bleak stated, retracting his claws. “A possibility I planned for.”

Hound circled him slowly, as if strategizing his next strike, waiting for the perfect moment. “Here without backup, not even a means of communication. You must be a man with a death sentence.”

Bleak stood confidently in the center of the room, fully aware of Hound’s every micro-movement. “Why don’t you take a peep at the future? More specifically, a few minutes from now at Demi Hotel, room number 14.”

Hound complied, using Bleak’s soul fragments—the strongest connection to the vision. One of his eyes began to burn rapidly, silver-lined smoke streaking from it as he continued to circle. His other eye remained silver, burning but steady. This new ability, part of his evolution, allowed him to scavenge webs of the near future while remaining conscious in the present.

Then, his eye went dark. The darkness transitioned into a bloom, which, after stabilizing, revealed Argent confined in a glass encasing filled with water. Her hair was shaved, and her arms were locked into rune-inscribed shackles designed for the neutralization of cores, explaining her inability to break free.

She floated lifeless, like decomposing dead fish in water. Hound’s eyes transitioned back into darkness, slowly returning to the present as the intense burn subsided to a sizzle.

“I paid your friend a little visit. Insurance, if you may,” a smirk appeared on Bleak’s face as Hound’s hatred for him deepened.

“I programmed the compartment with my life force. I can activate it with a single thought, and if I die, she drowns. So why don’t we all calm down and have a civil conversation?” Bleak claimed.

Hound was conflicted, remembering Argent’s words: “Promise me you won’t harm the cause I stand for—Binge’s dream. I couldn’t live a normal life, but one day, when I’m retired, I want my children to live peacefully.” For the first time since his addiction to ether, and since he lost his parents, he felt the value of another’s life. However, logic opposed this sentiment; a necessary sacrifice was needed to rid Rivermirror of one of the two remaining commanders.

There are four phases to drowning: first, the struggle, lasting up to sixty seconds; second, oxygen deprivation, approximately one to two minutes after submersion; irreversible brain damage occurs at the four to six-minute mark; and finally, death within six to ten minutes. That gave Hound six minutes to travel a quarter mile to the hotel.

Leaving Emily would break his promise to her, but neglecting Argent’s condition would have severe consequences. Choosing Emily’s freedom over Argent’s life would make him an accessory to her murder and, according to the tattoo artist’s warnings, “This isn’t just any tattoo. It marks you as part of a violent group. Step into River, and you’ll be arrested on sight. Worse, your soul will be bound to hers. If she dies, especially by your hand, your soul shatters into fragments. You’ll be left a husk—a mindless, broken shell. Are you sure about this?”

Hound glanced at Emily, who understood the situation just by looking at him. “Go! I understand,” she said, standing in an offensive stance against the commander.

Hound bolted for the exit, zooming past Bleak in an instant blaze of fire. Bleak activated the compartment. If he wasn’t getting the talk he wanted or a formal introduction to Binge, there was no need to keep her alive.

Hound sprinted through the streets of Rivermirror, burning leaves and running past stores and buildings on fire, desperately hoping it wasn’t too late. A few seers noticed his shade of fire and followed beside him. “Spread the word, there’s a River commander in my underground shelter,” he said.

The six seers heeded and split up while securing the perimeter of the shelter. Two continued to follow him. They didn’t dare ask questions but trusted that if he was in such a hurry, it was indeed an emergency. Many more seers joined his sprint along the way, each adding their unique abilities and personalities to the chase—some using stealth, others harnessing elemental powers, each driven by their own loyalty and urgency.

When they arrived at Demi Hotel, they had hit the five-minute mark. They rushed through the lobby as guards attempted to obstruct and contain them. The seers cleared a path for him, killing a few newly hired amateur guards in the process with coordinated precision and unspoken understanding.

Hound sprinted up the stairs, his fire spreading onto the walls, accidentally knocking a pregnant woman down in a tackle. She burned to ash, leaving only remnants of her bones and that of her underdeveloped infant behind. Finally, they reached door number 14. Without hesitation, he burned a human-sized hole into it, only to meet the sight of the glass compartment filled to the brim with Argent’s unmoving body inside.

Burning through the glass as Hound had planned did not work. The glass was ether-infused. Desperation turned into hopelessness, accompanied by evaporated sweat and tears as time dragged on. All the seers that accompanied him finally joined in, helping to break the glass, which only cracked after three minutes.

“Stop,” Hound said, dropping to his knees in defeat. “She’s dead.”

“We have been trained in CPR, sir. Don’t lose hope,” a seer responded, planting a diluted explosive directly on the glass.

“The tattoo that brands me as a seer was just dissolved and evaporated. SHE’S DEAD!” he screamed as the explosion detonated, finally breaking the glass. The water swarmed in his direction, evaporating and steaming before making contact with him. And there she lay. Hound’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking as he controlled his heat to feel her nonexistent heartbeat.

“How? HOW?!” he screamed, breaking down in tears and falling to the ground beside her. He cried until there were no more tears left in him.