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Once, another Lulapis that Geode wanted to find was in the hands of a Lord.

That lord lived in a crystal castle, which had some familiar features to Geode. The light reflected off each cut surface of the castle, creating shimmering reflections on the marble strips under his feet.

The light made the gems even more wonderful.

Geode raised his hand to block the sunlight, his eyes narrowed. The shadows of the trees above his head formed blurry streaks like butterflies resting around flower petals.

Under the light, part of Geode's face also seemed to be emitting the pale aura of a geode.

Helios once said that Geode was like a stone. Hard and cold. Rough to the touch. "Geode. Shell."

Then one day, he realized that the fragments from Geode's chest were crumbling. Geode could become smooth and shiny. Because inside there might be a gem. And when he sparkles and shines, he will attract the attention of all kinds of good and bad things.

Geode is not attracted to things he cannot see, but he still hopes. He will be given senses, given the way to feel the joys, angers, loves and hates that his existence should receive.

But, as time passes, nothing changes; on the contrary, Geode's stone surface becomes dull. He is a hollow stone, worn away.

Hope is completely disappointed. He no longer shines, nor can he become stronger.

Stones are forever gravel, not comparable to diamonds.

From then on, he is indifferent to everything.

And so Geode waits for the next miraculous breakthrough, that maybe one morning, he will crack, and a stronger being will emerge from this hollow body of his.

He didn't need Beliung's existence to hone himself. He could still live more beautifully without the hands of his master or his Bond Elemental - Beliung.

But, there was nothing.

There was only air. Emptiness.

And he felt pain, not physical pain, he wished he had that; but this kind of pain of Geode was hateful. It wasn't there for him to soothe, it wasn't there for him to use his power to take it away.

He could cut off his limbs, every part of his body, every organ that sustained his life, even his heart; as long as it wasn't necessary.

And the pain wasn't necessary either, so Geode groped for it.

But this pain was nowhere to be found.

Every night, Geode would grope his skin, searching for a hole where nothing could be found. But he still searched.

That damn pain was hiding inside Geode, but he still hadn't found it. This whole body was just a useless viscous mineral, but Geode didn't have the ability to break it.

He couldn't afford to dig himself deep, because he also thought about how disappointed he would be if he "really" didn't find anything inside.

Sometimes, Geode wanted someone to dig into his heart.

Someone to cover his blurry eyes, plug his eardrums, block his airways... do everything so that he couldn't feel what was happening around him; and then dig out the thing that was hiding inside him.

Destroying the remaining senses was the best way for Geode not to be disappointed in himself no matter how much it was smashed.

But hollow rocks can't be polished into diamonds no matter how hard he polish them.

And Helios... Geode didn't like to beg. And Helios wouldn't do it, and wouldn't let anyone else do it.

So Geode didn't want to ask Helios. He couldn't put his thoughts into words for him to understand.

One time, Geode leaned his head against Helios, whispering, "Something is making noise. Why is your chest making that weird sound? Why... is my fear groaning, writhing, and gurgling in your chest?"

"That's the sound of a heartbeat. Haven't you ever heard it?" Helios carefully placed his hand on Geode, "Strange, I can't feel anything from you either. There's clearly a sign of life, but your heart isn't beating. Or if it is, it's covered by the Geode."

The geode was hiding something.

"I'm... afraid of it." Geode said with a cold expression, that's right, he wasn't afraid. He wasn't afraid of things he couldn't see or know. He just said that because he didn't want to see it hiding inside Helios, scratching at him.

Helios smiled, "If I have something like that inside me, then that fear must come from you being in danger."

"I'm not in danger."

"What about that broken leg the other day?"

Geode turned away, "I don't see it as a potential danger."

"That's the problem. You don't even know what danger is to yourself." Helios flicked his finger on the other's forehead, "Alright, remember. The heart," Helios pointed to his chest, once again, "Our heart is an organ that pumps blood throughout the body. Blood moves through every part, every muscle, every cell. You're alive because of it. So whenever, whenever, you feel your blood is gone too much, that's when you should call me. You have to protect your body, understand?"

"..." Geode didn't answer, nor did he nod. Very honest.

Helios sighed, could Geode understand these very basic things? Or would he just ignore everything and just hurt himself just to get Lulapis?

"You're not hurt, but I will feel pain instead of you if you get hurt." Helios dressed the other person warmly, "Consider it a little understanding for me."

Geode recalled the past as he walked into the castle. His slow footsteps echoed in the space like a cold symphony that no one could hear.

There were no soldiers, no servants, no prime ministers or officials. The palace was empty.

Looking at the traces, this place wasn't abandoned, but rather it was as if someone had built this place just to be an exhibition hall for himself alone.

If so, the Lord must be a rich and powerful person. If he kept the Lulapis here as a collection, it would be difficult for robbers to find it because the desertedness of the castle only drew terrible rumors.

The Lulapis in its normal state was also a type of stone, with seven sides, very bright and beautiful, but extremely fragile. A light touch would sometimes cause them to scratch.

Only fragile things like them needed a magnificent castle to lean on, unlike the lonely Geode.

In general, it was like there was an invisible craftsman above, gradually scraping off the lime residue of the stone. The residue that stuck to the sparkling surface and never let go was the Geode.

He longed for the Lulapis as much as a pebble fantasizes that it can be polished into a precious stone. He swore to himself that he would do anything to obtain it.

Fulfilling Sinclair's wish was Geode's last resort to end his own hole-related pain.

At first, Geode blamed it on Sinclair's split, and that he was missing something... but no, he was secondary: rather, Beliung had ignored him, cutting off a part of his emotional connection, which was him.

It was like throwing away an empty trash pit, with nothing to hold onto.

Beliung could live without Geode, the rest of Sinclair could live without ever caring about the wish; only Geode depended on them and hoped that he would one day transform.

But because Geode denied that he needed them, he was forced to fulfill his wish, alone.

"There's still me," Helios' voice echoed somewhere.

But Geode knew he couldn't be here. He had come here alone, and Helios was very respectful of everyone's privacy, and would never interfere with Geode's affairs unless... unless he actually called him by name.

When he reached the end of the corridor, where the throne was, Geode caught a glimpse of a figure's back there. The lord was there.

A familiar tall figure, completely hidden in the darkness where the light from the kaleidoscope did not shine. He stood there, staring at the intruder. His breathing was heavy and cold like winter.

Geode recognized him, though he could not see his face clearly.

It was a friend of the wizard Stonehert - a friend of Sinclair's grandfather. When he was young, he had been taken by his grandfather to visit Stonehert's Institutes, and had been instructed and taught by many people in the use and principles of the Elementals in the Retak Bell.

Tall figures like giant trees held the skinny boy's hand and led him everywhere, pointing at the tall buildings, preaching about the perfect models, teaching Sinclair step by step about the mission he had to carry.

And he was one of them. Even though many years had passed, he had not changed. Geode did not remember his name (in fact, he did not remember anyone, except his grandfather), but he still knew that he was a talented Lord. Under the direction of the Stonehert Crown and the Redamancy Monarch, he had led and built many war machines and helped Stonehert become a military power at the time it existed.

Each materialized weapon, each lecture on the power of the Elemental Cycle suddenly rose in Geode's mind, making him dizzy...

The Lord had taught them to Geode. The Lord knew him well. The Lord knew all his strengths, as well as all his weaknesses.

When Behemoth abandoned him and Beliung to leave Stonehert, the Lord helped the Emperor protect his existence.

At some stupid moment, Sinclair's sluggish brain suddenly understood the truth: he could not be the kind of person who could easily hand over the Lulapis to Behemoth's stupid student.

The number one traitor.

"Hello, Gempa." The Lord said.

"No." Geode said quickly, feeling like he was looking into someone else's memory, "It's Geode."

"Just because you gave yourself a different name doesn't mean you can cut off what happened." Once again, the Lord still didn't reveal his face even though he slowly stepped out of his seat and slowly walked into the area of ​​light. His footsteps were light, "Here to get the Lulapis, right?"

Geode hesitated should he use a quick move to cut off his head, but looking around, he didn't see where he hid it nearby, within sight, so he gave in, "If you wanted to give it to me, you wouldn't have waited for me to come all the way here."

"That's right. As a lower-ranking person, you've come here to beg for a piece of my treasure. Shouldn't you return something else?"

Geode half-closed his eyes, "There's nothing as valuable as the Lulapis. They're the stones of wishes. They're priceless—"

"Worthless."

"...What?"

"Don't talk so much. I'm not here to listen to you recite what I've taught you." Even though he had stepped in front of Geode, he still couldn't see a single line on that face.

The outsiders living in Stonehert were the same, their facial angles and wrinkles intertwined like tree roots, constantly moving so that they didn't have a specific face. The lord looked at him with a blank face as if his face was also a hollowed-out geode.

And then, he commanded, "Kneel."

And Geode—

—just knelt.

He didn't want to do it. He didn't even think he could. He couldn't believe he could kneel before an enemy so easily.

Everything was still swaying all over the place as if he were riding a ferris wheel at a festival and the rainbow lights were still flickering faintly in the corners of his eyes, but he did it anyway.

And Geode knew why.

Because he wanted to have the Lulapis?

Because this was exactly what Geode had done in the past—before the transformation. When he was punished, when he did something wrong, when he wasn't good enough.

Geode did it out of instinct.

He didn't feel ashamed or anything, he couldn't have that kind of feeling.

It was fine.

"I..." He said, his voice more hesitant than he had intended, "I will do anything to have Lulapis."

The lord did not answer that question either, but he still stared at Geode, as if he wanted to take a chainsaw and cut him into pieces just to see what he looked like inside, "Stand up, turn around, lean back on the chair."

...Oh.

A moment of shock flashed across Geode's eyes, but his feet moved faster, and in a flash he was walking towards the long chair that was many times larger than himself.

That's right, this feeling... this feeling...

Without anyone reminding him, (without Master Behemoth holding his hand to guide him), Geode leaned against the cold surface of the porcelain jade-inlaid chair, his ear pressed against the hard mass beneath his skin.

His fingers were trembling, but he could not feel any fear from within.

His hands were shaking, his muscles were twitching, a manifestation of the body reacting to fear, but Geode did not feel anything.

Perhaps his fear had learned to hide better.

He clenched his fingers into fists, his eyes hazy.

It's okay. It's nothing.

I can endure it.

Suddenly, the Lord from behind pressed one hand on his neck, the other hand pulled the hair on top of his head, and growled in a voice that sounded like the venom of a snake, "Look! This is the place you wanted to see the most! This is the Throne, the thing you always wanted, the thing you wanted others to see you as. An empty Throne! An empty palace! Treasure chests that had been robbed clean! No trace of humans! Everything here reflects exactly who you are: a useless shell for show."

Geode pursed his lips, not because he felt stabbed in the heart, but simply because he was not very comfortable with this position.

Yes, for a long time, he had always seen Beliung's eyes filled with fear towards those who had taught Sinclair. Although it might be different now, Sinclair's fear had always existed: the strong one could only fear those who were stronger than him.

Geode had always wanted to sit above Beliung, always wanted to gain dominance over Beliung, always wanted to prove that even as a Bond Elemental, Beliung could not oppress him forever.

Geode had thought he was much more precious than a broken vase lying on the ground.

He had always wanted to sit on a Throne, where Beliung would look up to him and vouch for his true "leader"; just like how Sinclair had once sworn an oath and dedicated his soul to Stonehert, the place that sheltered all of them.

Geode had thought he would do anything to achieve that. But in the end, he didn't even kill Bluebel, just because he believed that Bluebel would understand and agree to collect the Lulapis for the benefit of all.

And now? Bluebel would have his own happiness, in a world that Geode could never step foot in, where those Reckless were willing to protect that Wind Elemental for no reason.

Geode couldn't do it properly. So, with the desire to capture the Lulapis' wish, Geode wouldn't let it fail like the way he missed the golden opportunity to destroy Bluebel's personality.

I will do everything to get the Lulapis.

Everything.

"Everything." Geode opened his mouth, "My everything."

There was a cold laugh from the Lord.

"Do you have anything to exchange? Deep inside here? Inside the chest of that geode?"

As he spoke those dirty words, the ghost of The Lord slowly pulled the cloths covering both of their bodies.

After a long time, Geode finally felt what it was like to have something strange digging into his cold, hard flesh.

It didn't hurt. It wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. There wasn't any specific feeling like when he was injured in the places Helios had treated.

It didn't hurt.

Geode remembered saying that he wanted "someone" to dig deep inside.

Inside his shell, there must be... that precious stone... that beautiful crystal... that Helios had told him about.

Helios wouldn't lie, right?

There must be something... inside...

Geode's golden eyes glanced down.

There was blood.

Blood was flowing.

From a hole.

Could that be...?

"Where nothing—"

Blood soaked his heels, seeping through the bandages that Helios had changed the day before. How careless. He had told him not to dirty—

"Remember, if anything happens, call my name."

Name...

Geode opened his mouth, "Hel—"

Slap.

The lord covered his mouth, "Don't call anyone else's name when it's just the two of us here."

And he does that.

Why did I listen to him?

Why didn't I listen to Helios?

Why did I—-

There was blood on his hands too.

A few blood brushed past his lips.

Tasteless.

In a blur of incomprehensible vision, Geode still searched for signs of Lulapis, still tried to feel that unique sparkle; while his body was slowly peeled away, scraped, pried apart layer by layer.

The flow of blood made every movement strangely faster.

Like the hole opening wide, the external disturbances causing his internal organs to shift in an incomprehensible shape.

Geode wondered if the crack had reached that fear, if it had disappeared, if it had stopped haunting him in his dreams, had given up dragging him into a terrible vortex of self-denial.

Someone...

Dig deeper.

Dig until the geode burst.

And maybe, maybe—

Geode covered his mouth, trying to stop himself from instinctively saying Helios's name.

I'm fine.

"Maybe..."

With the Geode gone, inside the shell, instead of being empty...

There would be the Lulapis.

There would be the beautiful stone.

There would be what Geode wanted to be.

*Tbc*