[attr="class","stone"]"someone of importance."

memories flicker, tempting emotions to rise — only guilt does, but he swallows it back down. his throat, despite being made out of mist, feels dry.

"why?"

[attr="class","noodles"]FERNANDO SILPH

RISEN

FROM THE DEPTHS THEY RISE

“CURIOUS,” HE ANSWERS BLANKLY.

“Her and Stormy Silph were the ones who sobbed the most at your funeral. Even put DAPHNE STONE to shame, not that she didn’t ball her eyes out.”

He smiles.

“That’s what I always appreciated about you, believe it or not.”

ALEXANDER STONE

[attr="class","stone"]"..."

he remembers the last phone call he had with illeana reyes. how she pleaded with him to head to meteor falls. how he said no. how things could've been different if he had said anything else.

he breathes, calming.

"how so?"

[attr="class","noodles"]FERNANDO SILPH

RISEN

FROM THE DEPTHS THEY RISE

A QUESTION WITH MANY ANSWERS. For all his faults, Fernando concedes the point that he will never be as good a man as Alexander. But he does not need to be ‘good’. His path is one of success by any means necessary. He’s too far down to beaten path to turn back now.

“People trust you. They like you. Love you even.”

Disdain taints the glitter that sputters with every compliment Fernando spits out. Like mouthwash, it stings between his gums. A modest submission of his pride leaves an acidic aftertaste.

“And you use that. You have the patience, the kindness, the fortitude to stomach their idiocy. You did what I could never. You tilled the soil and planted the seeds.”

ALEXANDER STONE

[attr="class","stone"]"and now i'm dead."

he says bluntly because what fernando says matters little. in fact, they don't matter at all. what are compliments to a dead man? the seeds will never sprout. he will never return — at least not the way he wants to.

all he has is mist.

"what's your point?"

[attr="class","noodles"]FERNANDO SILPH

RISEN

FROM THE DEPTHS THEY RISE

"BECAUSE I NEED THAT. The way you hook yourself into their hearts only to gut them later is impeccable. Immaculate.”

Fernando stomachs a string of compliment just to inverse a moment later. He can suffer a moment’s discomfort if it means inflicting even greater plain.

“I never really understood it, honestly. When Stormy Silph told me she had proposed to you, the answer should have been obvious. There was no way you could accept.”

The way his lips twist crease into the most sardonic of grins.

“But the way it destroyed her made her stronger, cultivated growth. You crushed her and from the ashes I molded something stronger.”

Which gets to his point.

“The same with illeana reyes. Entirely different person. I don’t dig the new look too much, personally, but it fits. Bleached blonde, lowcut, faux confidence begging to bite off more than she can chew." Just thinking about the stark contrast is enough to make him mentally salivate. He describes her like a piece of meat, juicy flesh ripe off the bone. A trophy more so than a colleague. "She's daring enough to ask me to teach her things she has no business learning. Things she's not ready for.”

He lets the implication circulate on the surface of his smugness.

“Everyone you touch breaks and they become better for it. I need that.”

He pauses.

“They’re adapting too slow. They can’t grow through conventional means.”

ALEXANDER STONE

[attr="class","stone"]his heart wrings into a knot with each word fernando speaks, each time worse than the last. guilt and regret and envy and all of the things he tries to repress and forget are being forcibly dragged out, and it feels as though he's one slip away from losing the tug of war.

he slips at the mention of illeana reyes.

"what?"

things she has no business learning.

things she's not ready for.

there's nothing for him to grab on to. nothing to stop him falling.

"what...things?"

[attr="class","noodles"]FERNANDO SILPH

RISEN

FROM THE DEPTHS THEY RISE

TO SEE A MAN BREAK UNDER DEPRAVITY BRINGS FERNANDO GREAT JOY. All those years of Alexander fucking around in Silph mansion is paid back in full. If Stone breaks those around him then it will be Fernando who carries out one last guillitine.

“Don’t worry about it,” Fernando dismisses with a rise to his feet.

“Your mother, your sister, everyone you care about… You don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

These people are no more than objects. Illeana? Nothing more than succulent meat begging to be plucked off the bone. They are trophies he’s meant to hoist over his fallen rival.

“I made you a promise, friend.” Fernando passes him, placing a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of smug affection. “I’ll take care of them from here on out. Rest. You deserve it.”

Alexander dissipates before either of them can react.

Fernando snorts, eyes narrowing in. Stone’s spirit should be no more tangible than the air they breath. But, for a moment, Fernando swears he could feels his shoulders underneath his grip.

Odd.

ALEXANDER STONE