i dream in phosphorescence Posted on February 9, 2025 at 09:36:11 PM by Helios
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They were still reeling from the loss of Akkadian when Lucifer returned to challenge again. This time he had come for Mhidas. Mhidas, who the black beast had first stolen before birth and had been born in the Lagoon as a consequence. Mhidas, who had been made to slog through the swamps for the six months of his life, much like his older sister Solaire who'd been kept away in the Badlands. Helios had hoped to keep the painted boy sheltered for a while longer, but Lucifer had won.
It had been difficult to pry the golden boy away from the embrace of his mother. So much had been changing in the world around them already, and that had been before Kade had been taken away. Fear had crept into the boy, and despair was worming into his father's heart with every step they took toward the sea. Helios tried to soothe his son, hurriedly murmuring reminders of lessons past and assurances that this was not forever.
Mhidas said little if anything at all as his perceived doom came closer and closer. His blue eyes, wide with fear of the unknown, conveyed his anxiety with a heartwrenching accuracy. He'd grown up all this time hearing about this black creature attacking them again and again. He remembered the shadows of men in the Lagoon, the sight of which frightened and fascinated him while he played with a brother his mother didn't talk about. Lucifer had been one of them; he'd been the reason that Mhidas hadn't known his father when he and his mother first came back to the Dunes.
Now, that demon stood on their beach. He might as well have been dripping ichor and gore for all Mhidas could tell. Eyes still wide, he pleaded voicelessly for his father to do something. Helios sighed with regret heavy in his chest and turned away from the boy. Mhidas stared up at the black stallion, all too aware that he would be alone with him and there'd be no father to protect him