Enoch turned toward him and exhaled. He sat down, cross-legged, and invited Uriel to do the sa.
Seated across from one another, Enoch let silence settle for a mont. Uriel didn’t mind, allowing him to proceed at his own pace.
Minutes passed. Enoch closed his eyes, took a deep breath in, then slowly exhaled.
When he reopened them, he didn’t seem like the sa person at all.
WHOOOSH!
Uriel’s long hair was blown back by a fierce gust of air, his eyes widening as Enoch’s presence blood in earnest, regal and holy, unfathomably deep and ancient.
It was like the ocean, stretching far beyond his comprehension, holding depths filled with monstrosities his mortal mind would collapse under the weight of if ever forced to witness them.
And yet, he could tell this was nothing more than a fraction of what truly lay within Enoch’s depths.
’Unfathomable.’
That was the only word that fit.
"My na is Enoch Lothyn Thorne, son of Damian Thorne, Patriarch of the Thorne rcury Clan, and Chairman of the Elental Heaven Federation of our planet, Ithurial."
Uriel’s eyes briefly widened at the ntion of the Federation, their planet’s unified governing force and greatest authority.
"Now, as I said, I am from the future, but it isn’t so simple. Unlike most humans, you and I both possess more than one awakened ability. Among the few I have, there is one that helps in all matters related to ti and mory."
"In other words, I am from the future, but I didn’t purposefully co back, or anything of the sort. Soone else out there in the world has the ability to regress back in ti, and whenever they do so, my soul and mind are pulled along with them, due to my abilities."
He paused.
The realization that other entities existed, others who retained mories of the future, hit Uriel hard. But not as hard as Enoch expected, and within monts, his breathing regulated.
"I... don’t exactly know how old I am, or how many tis I’ve been through this, to be entirely honest. But I rember, in perfect detail, the last ten regressions I’ve experienced."
"And I know this will be the last."
Uriel closed his eyes, massaging his forehead. "This... is the tenth ti you’ve gone through this?"
He reopened his eyes.
"You died ten tis?"
Enoch shook his head.
"No."
But he didn’t elaborate.
Uriel pushed the matter aside. "I suppose we’ll begin with the most simple question of all."
"What’s the purpose of all this? Why did you ntion matters of survival to ? What is the danger?"
Enoch had expected these questions, but that didn’t make answering them any easier. "Quite the opening."
He licked his lips, deep in thought, searching for the right words.
"What’s the purpose? To survive. In all my past lives, you always died before . So, if that makes it any better, see this as your path toward not dying. And mine as well."
"And to be clear, your death was never of natural causes."
He frowned. "Or pleasant."
"Neither were mine."
Enoch shuddered, his pupils trembling with barely contained, maddened rage, his jaw tightening.
Uriel quietly observed him.
He pointed toward Enoch’s chest. "Your wound."
Enoch glanced down. "What about it?"
"The person who killed you, or one of them, they did that to you during the trial, right?"
"There are traces of foreign Natal aether on it. I assu it’s his. Or hers."
Enoch’s expression darkened. The rage in his gaze simred, cooling into sothing calr, yet far more malicious.
It was so potent that the aether in the air around them nearly went into a frenzy, just as it had earlier with Uriel.
"Yeah." His jaw loosened. "Anyway."
"As for why I ntioned survival, it’s very simple."
His back straightened, and his mood began to lighten, if only slightly.
"In no ti at all, we’ll be thrust into the forest out there, filled with creatures wielding inhuman power that none of us can match."
"But even if we survive that, and even I can’t assure you we will, when we return ho... another hell will be waiting for us."
He sighed. "Listen. Unfortunately, there are too many things I can’t say out loud due to circumstances I also can’t explain. But please, believe ."
"It will beco treacherous in a way I can’t really put into words."
Uriel humd in understanding.
’So there’s a chance the guides could be spying on us. Weird. Is he trying to tell not to trust them? Not that I was going to, but that’s interesting to note.’
His thoughts returned to the conversation. "Say,"
"You said I’d eventually beco strong, yes? And then that I’d eventually die before you, famous or infamous, yes?"
Enoch nodded.
"How do I know you’re not simply trying to take advantage of , then? How do I know you’re not just trying to stay ahead of the curve, or sothing of the like?"
"You’ve been vaguely implying that we were close, since your first life, I assu."
He crossed his arms over his chest.
"Prove to that I once trusted you, that we were brothers in arms, or sothing similar."
"Since I was most likely famous, don’t say anything related to any future ability I’ll have, any hidden talent, or even my family, Arthur and Lilith included."
"I need sothing only a brother of mine would know."
Uriel’s gaze blazed with an intensity utterly unlike his usual aloof, innocent self, burning with deep, scorching intent.
His presence nearly rivaled Enoch’s.
They stared into each other’s eyes, letting silence settle between them.
"Very well," Enoch said, his back straightening.
"She burned in your arms."
The words echoed like thunder in Uriel’s mind.
mories he thought he had buried surged forth, flooding his thoughts and shaking him to his core.
But Enoch didn’t stop.
"You often have nightmares of a man dressed in yellow, wearing a crown of red, hanging you for thirty days and thirty nights."
Uriel’s lips trembled. His breath hitched, hands shaking.
"The Old Lady would often light you on fire as she prayed to you, hoping it would burn the disease you were born with."
"She would also drown you, hoping the disease would be expunged through your brushes with death."
Uriel closed his eyes.
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