Chapter 546 Catching Up Before I Wake
"Wait, the Protocol? Oh, boy do I have some stuff to tell you." Keng took a sip from his drink.
"Oh, there's much I need to share with you about that, too." Lee Seng sighed. "Apparently, I lost my memories because Number One did some voodoo magic and made everyone forget about me having Fox tails and stuff. I don't know what they did but the Creator must've implanted this fake demon into me. I've been having migraines and couldn't fight for quite awhile because of it."
"And you know that's true?" Keng asked. Lee Seng shrugged.
"I don't know one hundred percent. I was supposed to figure that out, but I got dragged into Limbo and can't really do anything… Well, my spirit did but my body was up there. Fake demon was free reigning on my body. Who knows what they were doing with it. I got tormented so much. My mental barrier almost broke."
"That doesn't sound good. Are you sure you're fine? Do you have your body now?"
"I do." Lee Seng nodded. "I took a job that made me go back to Earth. This guy's lover was looking for him because he died, duh, and she was working for some Master that showed up with my body in tow. I got it back after many days of torture and no sleep, though."
"G-great…?" Keng asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion. Lee Seng nodded, brushing it off like it was nothing.
"So I have my body and my full powers back. I temporarily couldn't even get souls because I wasn't fully together." Lee Seng pointed out.
"Strange."
"Right?"
"Is there anything else? You're just in Limbo now?" Keng asked.
"Pretty much." Lee Seng nodded. "What about you? What do you have to share about the Protocol?"
"Oh. The whole 'the Creator probably did something' is true." Keng bluntly told him. Lee Seng stared at him with a blank face for awhile, unsure what to say. "I only know because I have strange memories of being tested on."
"Wait! They know you exist in me?!?" Lee Seng leaned forward. The table shook in Keng's eyes and Keng nodded. "This is bad then! What if they have a way to figure out we're connected or not? Is that why the Creator was doing so many damn tasks on me?"
"You're getting tested, again?" Keng scratched his head.
"I was… But that's not the point!" Lee Seng leaned back in his chair. "What did he do to you? Did he hurt you? Did he test on you?"
"He put something inside of me. I think that so-called fake demon has been trying to get rid of me because he knows of my existence. It's good we're separated for now, but we're going to have to figure this out somehow." Keng sighed. "But I have to save some Merfolk from utter extinction or something."
"They think it's a curse!" Lily shouted.
"Curse. Whatever. Same thing in my book. We almost died to that Vengeance Dryad!" Keng shouted back.
"Curse? You've been dealing with curses?" Lee Seng tilted his head.
"Yeah. You wouldn't believe it… Lily's village almost got destroyed because of a chestnut tree Dryad. I guess she had so much curse energy built up in her, she swore vengeance against the curse that was plaguing the forest. When that was gone, she needed to put her anger somewhere else and decided to kill innocent people." Keng explained.
"And you… solved it?" Lee Seng asked.
"Yup!" Keng stuck his thumb out to Lee Seng. "There's a lot to learn as a Savior, but dealing with Curses is one of our main jobs. Healing is the second, but we're learning."
"We're?"
"Yeah! Lily is one of us!" Keng smiled. "I don't have to do this whole thing alone since you and I physically can't be together, again."
[Notice: Evolution must take place in the next thirty minutes. It will approximately take up to a week.]
"Why's it needing a week? Evolution doesn't usually last that long anymore." Keng sighed.
"It? The AI?" Lee Seng asked. Keng nodded. "So you have it too…"
"Yup." Keng nodded. He took another sip of his drink and set it down in front of him. Silence fell between them and all felt right. Lee Seng and Keng found themselves smiling. They both felt whole, again.
"I miss this." Lee Seng spoke drawing Keng's attention. "You and I together… Dealing with whatever problems I had at the time. Things were simpler then. Now we're separated for at least another month and…"
"A demon is wedging itself in between us. Trying to kill both of us." Keng finished the sentence.
"Yeah."
"Yeah…" Keng grabbed his drink and chugged it all. He set it down and looked at Lee Seng. "We will see each other again one day. Trust me. Until then, you and I must do what we need to do."
"I know." Lee Seng replied. He was tracing a picture on the table with his finger. There was a sadness apparent in his shoulders. In his face. His entire body. Keng could feel that sadness creeping up on him, too.
"Hey," Keng reached his hand over to Lee Seng. "It'll be alright. I know so."
"I know." Lee Seng sniffled. His eyes watered as he looked up at Keng. "I'm so tired, Keng. I want it to end. I want this all to end and go back to trying to live as normal of a Biohuman student's life as possible… I-It's just…" Lee Seng sniffed the snot back up his nose. Tears streamed down his face. "I feel like he's influencing me. I feel like I'm going to snap at any moment."
"Hey." Keng tapped the table. "It'll be okay. Trust me." He did his best to try to stay strong in front of Lee Seng. He was always the source of reasoning for Lee Seng as Lee Seng was the source of some chaos and normalcy Keng never thought he needed.
'I am more human than I thought I was.' Keng thought. 'They were all right about that.'
[Notice: 25 minutes left.]
They both let out a sigh. Keng pulled his arm back and sat up. He watched Lee Seng wipe his snot and tears away, trying to look strong in front of Keng. They both needed to look strong for each other.
"Promise me something, Keng." Lee Seng spoke quietly. Keng raised his eyebrows as Lee Seng looked up. "We'll meet be-before… Before I kill everyone. You'll stop me if I try to."
"I'll be there before we both succumb to that ill fate as Fox Spirits." Keng replied.
"Huh?" Lee Seng looked confused. Keng sighed and turned away, slightly. He debated on whether or not he should tell Lee Seng such a thing, but decided it was better to just let it all out.
"You know why we have a month-ish to get back together?" Keng asked. Lee Seng shook his head. "If we don't… We'll turn into Demon Foxes and kill everything in sight. That's the ill-fate currently tied to the both of us."
"W-what?" Lee Seng's eyes shook.
"I'm not sure why it occurs. From what I've read and learned… Demon Foxes were born from a Spirit and a Vessel not connecting well. There was… bad energy between them so they split causing them to suffer until they couldn't take it anymore and just…" Keng clicked his tongue as he moved his thumb across his neck. Lee Seng looked down, taking in all of the information.
"I guess this was a bit… More than I thought it'd be." Lee Seng chuckled, uncomfortably.
"Mmhm." Keng nodded. They both shifted in their seats. Lee Seng had noticed small pieces of his own behavior in Keng, but at the same time Keng had grown to have his own individual behaviors.
"Keng." Lily's voice called out. Keng looked over.
"Yeah?" Keng asked. He saw Rell and Lily standing together near the hallway.
"I'm going back for a bath. Miss Rell's showing me the way."
"Okay." Keng nodded.
"Come, I'll show you the way." Rell quietly motioned for them to go.
"I guess you have some time to rest." Lee Seng commented. Keng looked at Lee Seng. He was twiddling his thumbs together. "I need a break, too."
"Don't we all." Keng smiled. Lee Seng's image started to flicker. "L-Lee?"
"Huh?" Lee Seng's voice started to turn static.
"I think you're going." Keng pointed. Lee Seng looked down and watched his arms flicker.
"I guess you're right." Lee Seng sighed. He stood up and walked over to Keng. Keng turned and looked up. "A hug on the way out." His hands motioned for him to come and Keng stood up and stretched his arms out. The two embraced in a hug, patting each other. "We'll be back together in no time."
"We'll be back together in no time." Keng repeated. "I'll finish my job with the Merfolk and I'll run straight for you."
"I'll be waiting." Lee Seng pulled away. His image flickered more as he took a step back and waved at Keng. "See you."
"B-bye." Keng waved.