From Darkness Comes Light: Chapter 4
Content warning: Descriptions of injury and blood
Word count: 1866
Summary: Omega and Aether finally find the unlikely culprit who has been causing the storm in the abbey. It leaves them with more questions than answers.
Ao3 Link: Here
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3
I know it's been a really long time, I lost a lot of motivation and had a lot going on in my life. I'm not even sure if any of you read this anymore. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long as this one. Thank you to anyone who's stuck around.
Chapter 4: The Discovery
His instincts went into overdrive as they screamed at him that there was a hurt kit in that room. Omega ran up the rickety stairs and opened the door. The sight he was greeted with was nothing short of heart-wrenching and terrifying. The dark, cramped room, barely larger than a broom closet, reeked of must and iron. The only light came from a small hole in the far wall and the door opened behind him. Flashes of light from the storm bounced off of thick cobwebs that canopied the low ceiling and the rusted beframe. It held nothing but a worn-down mattress and a dingy thread-bare sheet, not even a pillow to spare. There on the floor was a small figure, shrouded in darkness, wedged between the decrepit bed frame and the stone wall. They had their knees up to their chest with their arms clamped over their head, their hands clenched in their hair and the corner of the sheet, absolutely covered in dark crimson blood. A loud boom sounded outside and the stranger jolted and pulled the sheet closer with a high pitched whine.Â
Omega took a careful step forward, not wanting to spook the shaking kit. If it werenât for the distressed chitters coming from the kit and the patches of ashen complexion amidst their blood-soaked hands tangled in their hair, Omega couldâve mistaken them for a human child. At first glance they didnât seem to have a tail or horns, the only thing striking being the shock of white mixed into the dark hair that covered their face. They had to be the smallest ghoul Omega had ever seen topside, certainly too young to have passed the rites to be summoned from the pit. They definitely didnât seem strong enough to survive going through the portal either. Omega had no idea how this kit couldâve gotten here and the thought filled him with dread.Â
âHello little one,â Omega said softly as he knelt down to get to the scared kitâs level, he winced when they gave a weak distressed whine as they tried to curl further in on themself. Another whimper came out of the poor child as Omega leaned in to get a closer look at the blood sluggishly soaking into the crumpled sheets. The closer he got the more he could hear the ghoulâs constant stream of quiet pleading mixed between wet sobs, âI'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, please.â and Omegaâs heart breaks a little more.Â
Aether comes into the room behind him and Omega can feel the panic radiating off of him as he takes in the scene in front of him, âMegâ Iâ holy shit thereâs so much blood. What do we do?â
Omega frowned as the kit flinched again, âIâm not sure yet but I want you to stay back for a moment okay? Theyâre frightened and hurt and I donât want to overwhelm them.âÂ
He looked back and knew he couldn't reassure the worry in Aetherâs eyes. Omega turned back to the kit, his brow creased in concern as he watched the child take in stuttered, quick breaths. As he leaned close to get a better look at the injured child he started to hear the poor thing muttering under their breath, âPlease Sister, Iâm sorry I didnât mean to do it. Pleaseâ please donât-â
The fear in the kitâs voice and the mention of a sister made a shudder trickle its way down Omegaâs spine. If they were in such a state because of a sister in the abbey then they had to leave as soon as possible, if not for the safety of the kit, then to keep the rage slowly simmering in Omegaâs chest in check. Omega tried to keep the anxiety and anger out of his voice as his thoughts ran with this newfound paranoia âAeth, we need to get them out of here, and we gotta do it without being seen.â
âOmega what do you mean? Why canât we be seen?â
The elder knew Aether was questioning him out of concern and not of insubordination, he looked back and Aether fixed him with a trepidatious look that reminded Omega of when he was first teaching the quint ghoul how to treat patients. âJust trust me on this, Iâm not sure if weâre entirely alone, Iâll explain everything later,â Omega whispered out in ghoulish, weary of being overheard or discovered.Â
If this much damage was done by a member of the clergy then who knew who they could trust, who knows why theyâd be willing to do.Â
Aether gave a grim nod and moved to watch the door and Omega gave him a quick thank you as he turned his attention back on the kit in front of him. They had their head buried in their red-stained hands and scrapped knees that peaked through tattered clothes were up to their chest. Their whole stance was defensive and tense and it reminded Omega of when Aether was summoned, though Aether was substantially larger and older than the kit in front of him.Â
As Omega looked closer he noticed that the horns that adorned the childâs head were so small they were almost hidden in unruly curls. They were much smaller than they should be, even for a kit of his size, and the small nubs were wrapped in dirty cloth at the tips. The parts that did peek through appeared to have an oddly rough texture that Omega had never seen before in a ghoul. They were unlike the smooth finish of his own or even the ridged texture of Swissâs and Omega had a sickening feeling it wasnât a natural occurrence.Â
Movement in Omegaâs periphery caught his eye, thatâs when he found the frayed spade of a tail poking out of a tear in the threadbare trousers of the small kit before him. It looked as if the tail was bound to their leg. Fear bloomed in his chest and anger threatened to boil over as Omega started to truly take stock of the state of the small ghoul and he knew they had to transport them fast.Â
âIâm so sorry for what Iâm about to do but we need to get you out of here.â, Omega wasnât sure if he was saying it for the kitâs sake or to reassure himself that he was doing the right thing.Â
It was the only warning Omega gave the kit before kneeling down and scooping the child up. Almost right away the poor thing let out a spine-chilling scream as Omega tried to get them in an easy to hold position. The most frightening part was instead of instinctually fighting back like Omega presumed would happen, the kit was completely rag-dolled in his arms quietly pleading for a sister to âplease show forgivenessâ and that âit was all their faultâ.
 It felt as if Omegaâs concern was growing exponentially by the second as his stomach twisted itself in knots and his throat seemed to close up. He started to really notice how truly small, frail, and light they were, his wide frame dwarfing the child in his arms. The eldest quint ghoul felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes and he tried to blink them away as he turned to face Aether, murmuring words of comfort at the shaking ghoul in his arms, hoping to not scare them further. He tried to feel for their emotions but the only thing he could find with his quintessence was fear and pain. Wishing to ease their pain as soon as possible, he called Aether over to come heal the poor kit, unable to do the somatic components with the child in his arms.Â
Aether winced as Omega turned around, finally seeing the kit that was radiating so much pain. Omega watched as the younger quint ghoulâs eyes darted all over the child, assessing the situation just like he was trained to do in the infirmary. A spark of pride ran through Omega as he watched the man observe and begin to murmur incantations to heal the child. Pain spread through Omegaâs face as the magic took hold, a similar pained grunt came from Aether as he ripped his hands away to break the connection.Â
âGah- what the hell?â Aether hissed as he grasped the same side of his face and looked up at Omega in confusion âYou felt that too right? Why would my magic not take? Why would it notââÂ
Omega cut him off before he started to spiral, knowing that it could bring up dark memories of a certain ghoul that would do neither of them good in the current situation, âAether itâs okay, itâs okay, just breathe for a moment. Just let me- let me check it outâŚâ
Omega hesitated as he tried to slowly peel one of the childâs arms away from their face to get a look at what could be causing the raw pain, but he realized his mistake too late as the kit let out an absolutely blood-curdling scream as the quint ghouls watched on in fear as the kit fought Omegaâs hand that revealed their bloodied face. This was seemingly the last straw as ghoul's eyes rolled into the back of their head and fell truly limp as they passed out, their head now fully visible and mouth agape they could both see more of the damage.Â
âShit, Megââ Aether whispered as he took in the state of the small kit now knocked out cold in Omegaâs arms. The curious white streak Omega noticed earlier in their hair continued onto their face, bolts of white lacing across their right eye. It was yet again something Omega had never seen in a ghoul before but for some reason, it almost felt familiar, he found himself reaching out to trace the lines before shaking himself out of the trance, not wanting to make another stupid mistake.
âI know⌠I know, we justâ we need to get him to the infirmary, nowâ Omega said as he applied pressure to the cut on the side of the kitâs head.
âWell, the coast is clear for now. Here let meââ Aether shrugged off his uniform cloak, draping it over omegaâs arms, the fabric swallowing up the kit and concealing them from view. Omega rested their head in the crook of his neck, their skin cold and clammy as Omega felt a spark of static jump between him and the ghoul. Omega didnât want to dwell on the tragic possibility that the small kit cradled in his arms was a stunted quintessence ghoul.
Omega sighed as he followed Aether out of the horribly cramped room, navigating the winding halls of the nunnery, hoping against all hope that they didn't get found before they made it to the catacomb's entrance. Rain poured as the storm finally broke, lightning illuminating the sky as thunder reverberated through the valley that surrounds the abbey. They both raced across the abbey grounds, Omega tried not to jostle the poor thing too much as they headed toward the old grove, he pulled the cloak tighter around the child's body, shielding them from the downpour.










