Submission (#6111) Approved

Turning his attention back to the daeva trail, Chester looked at the floating shards before him. To clear up the miasma, they had to dispose of these shards, but that was easier said than done.

From what he remembered, there were generally shrines located near the outskirts of major cities that were tasked with disposal and purification, and he would have to bring the shards to them. The concept itself seemed simple, but handling the shards was another matter.

“Pomu!”

Rook gave him a warning stare, and Chester gave his pomu a small smile.

“Yah, I know. I shouldn’t touch them.”

He had heard that directly touching the shards would result in some nasty side effects. Considering he had already experienced something similar with the nightmares, it wasn’t something he was eager to go through again anytime soon. The nightmares themselves were already disorienting enough as is, with him unable to tell if he were asleep or awake. Having visions of the same thing while awake would really mess with him, making him unable to discern from what was real or not. He even heard of some being driven to the brink of madness, where they had to endure lengthy processes of purification to try and bring them back. Those who were lucky managed to cover with their minds mostly intact, while others…

Chester shook his head. No, there was no point trying to put himself on edge with what-ifs. He knew he shouldn’t be touching the shards, and he wouldn’t. And those that were driven to such a state were the ones who didn’t learn the first time, thinking they could develop immunity if they just handled the shards more frequently. Perhaps it was pride or desperation, he’d never know. The road to hell was often paved with good intentions, so those who were just desperate to protect their loved ones by throwing themselves at the task of removing the sharks by themselves were no better than those trying to prove how brave and resilient they were.

Still… there were quite a number of shards, and he was the only one in the area. He could call for help, but was hesitant to put others in danger. It would take time, but… he supposed that was better than nothing.

Letting out a sigh, he turned to look at his pomu, who seemed to be waiting for his command.

“I’m sorry to put you through this, but… if you would, please.”

“Pomu!”

Rook nodded, and flew over to one of the shards, grabbing it firmly between its hands. The moment their hands made contact, energy crackled from the shard, and their pomu began to become encased in stone. Before it was completely petrified, it looked at Chester, and though he knew the pomu was fearless and understood that no harm would come to him, the process itself would no doubt be daunting.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you. Promise.”

“Pomu!”

As Rook became completely petrified, he fell, and Chester reached out to catch him. The shard pulsed softly, almost menacingly, but as long as he didn’t touch the shard directly, he was fine. He didn’t really understand the process of why the shards affected them in such ways while their pomus seemed fine (aside from becoming stone), but it wasn’t something he could really ask them. As intelligent as he was, Rook was still a pomu. Albeit being a different subspecies that granted him wings and talons, it wasn’t like he was capable of speech. Perhaps if he encountered a royal he could ask them, but the likelihood of him coming across one was probably even less likely than him coming across another miasma-contaminated area (which he sincerely hoped wasn’t anytime soon).

Well, no point speculating. With a flap of his wings, he flew off to the shrine, pomu in hand. In order to complete the purification process, he would need to leave his pomu at the shrine for a day. Considering there were still several shards within the area, this was a process he would have to complete several times, making his way back and forth to retrieve and drop off the shards.

After three months, the shards were all collected, and he and Rook looked at them. They no longer carried their malevolent violet hue nor the glowing halos hovering above them, but were now a pristine, clear white. It was almost… mesmerizing. After confirming with the shrine warden that the shards were safe to touch, Chester reached out and poked one. He flinched at first, expecting a vision to cloud his mind, but after some time passed… nothing. This time, he firmly grasped it. It was true. Any corruption was completely gone, and the shards were now safe. The miasma in the area had considerably gone down, and while it would take time for the areas affected to completely heal, he was certain it would.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Chester was thankful this ordeal was finally over. At least, for now. Perhaps later on they would have to deal with this again, since as long as the daeva were in this world, there was always the possibility. But at least… the place he called home, the place he cherished, they were able to protect it, and he would keep doing it again if needed.

“Pomu!”

Chester turned to look at his pomu, and it seemed the pomu felt the same, but for now…

“Right. You’ve been a huge help. How about we treat ourselves to some good food now that all the work is done?”

“Pomu!!”