Chapter 326 - Acceptance

And Helio's eyes went crimson. 

The patterns on his body glowed black and his body moved unoriginally. Almost like he wasn't alive anymore. 

The darkness just oozed out of him like souls of the dead- hands- arms- faces… perhaps they were the souls- perhaps they were just the manifestation of his greatest nightmares. 

And their cries spread far and wide; groans… screams… and lament.

He ignored everything and just pointed his hands up. The darkness spread up and sped towards the sky- covering everything, devouring everything- everything!

No light passed through and it was almost like it was a moonless night. Lightning streaking through the sky.

The darkness just finished everything; devouring everything up without a trace. 

And then everything disappeared the next second. 

The darkness was no more.

He was back to normal. 

"OUT OF MY WAYY!" Xeroha cleaved through Enira and Breya- cutting them in half and took aim at Helio- firing at the very next second. 

A small missile. 

Boom!

Helio's shoulder flew off along with his left arm. 

ARGH! He groaned and before he could react- Xeroha came in front of him and fired another shot at his face.

With half of his face blown off, he rolled on the ground and crashed into a nearby rock, breaking it to bits. 

Pain.

Stabbing- breaking- tearing- all sorts of pain. Blood loss, the feeling of drowning in your own blood, the feeling of your body going cold- the feeling of your bone getting crushed- your integral organs ruined…

Pain!

He groaned some more and tried to defend himself but Xeroha just kept on punching him. 

Bam!

Slam!

But before she could hit him the fourth time, her feet got stuck in the darkness and Helio stood up. His wounds started healing. 

Wham! He kicked her stomach but she didn't fly- after all, her feet were still attached to the ground. 

Front kick, left jab, right swing, uppercut!

Shockwaves flew as each hit landed on the two of them. 

Both were breathless and the girl had a very swollen face. 

Unlike the armor she used, her body perhaps didn't possess extraordinary healing capabilities. The little healing she had- just couldn't keep up. 

At least not anymore. 

But Helio did possess more than just extraordinary healing. And he was recovering and regrowing- though the wounds stung a lot more than he wanted to admit.

It brought a smile to Helio's face- he was winning. 

He was going to get his revenge. 

He was about to avenge his family. 

He formed another plasma ball- a bit bigger than last time and this one too was white. He gave her a sweet, sweet smile, before- "Entertaining enough for you?"

BOOM!

He was too close to the explosion and though there were barriers everywhere, and even his darkness… not even a shred of skin remained intact. Even half of his muscles were gone. 

Bones!

He wanted to scream in pain but he didn't have vocal cords. And since most of his neurons were dead- he didn't really feel that much pain either. 

No eyes. 

And since he also outdid himself- his healing couldn't really keep up. 

He was falling on his back. 

Enira caught him. "Trying to heal you and healing myself at the same time is kind of a chore," she said. She was floating but with only half of her body. The other half was back where her sister was. 

Breya flashed a thumbs up and just stared at the sky. She was kind of busy questioning the meaning of life. 

Helio couldn't talk nor see, but she could hear faintly. 

'So, you've recovered,' The shadow said. 

They were inside their mental place. 

'I…' Helio paused. 'I've decided to change.'

'Really?' The shadow smiled. 'How many times does this make again? You always decide to change and always just run away whenever something goes wrong. And you expect me to believe you?' He spoke in a mocking tone.

The liquid darkness was in the middle of the two, acting as a mediator. But so far, he didn't say anything. 

'I'm aware. But- but after remembering… after thinking everything through, I've decided to accept you three. Perhaps this won't make up for anything, heck, far from it, but, but I do mean, I want to accept you. I want us to be one and I want to- I want to see my family, I want to be there for Marg when she gives birth- I don't want to abandon our kid- I want us to live…'

'Why?'

'Because you're all me…" Helio took a deep breath. 'We're in this together.'

The shadow remained quiet but then he noticed the liquid darkness' grin. 'What?'

'Why not give him a chance. Worth a shot. If it doesn't work, you can just take over again.'

The shadow sighed. 'Well, if this works, I won't be me, and neither would you guys. We'll be one. So, it's pointless to try and hog all the glory.' The shadow walked closer to Helio. 'You'll have to promise me something though.'

'Yeah?'

'Never give up on your dreams and family. I want to travel all across the world and this guy wants to own a chocolate shop. We can't do both but- but we can definitely try.'

Helio smiled and brought his fist forward. 'Well, he already told me that. We'd done a bit of talking…. But- yeah, we'll definitely go around the world.'

'And because of your damn talking, I had to go through that painful beating…' He finally sighed. 

The liquid darkness touched Helio's fist with his. 'I believe you…' He was smiling- the darkness cleared and he looked just like Helio- perhaps slightly kinder.

He disappeared. 

Only the shadow remained. 'I'll hold you to your word. And if you should diverge from the path- I'll take over for good.' He too fist bumped with him- grinning like always. But when the darkness cleared- Helio could only see his own reflection. 

The very same. 

The shadow disappeared. 

The mental place started crumbling. 

Helio just smiled. 

He was whole again.