The Man in the Mist

The red fog encompassed Liam's range of vision as he floated blindly through the haze. The potent aura infused into the fog pressing down against the boundaries of his soul, slowly tainting the warm brown aura that made up his essence. As he continued to wander through the seemingly endless sea of fog, the red hue of the mist finally made its way through the outer layers of his soul. As the mist seeped in Liam's expression contorted with agony. The pain burning its way through his essence till it intermingled with the very core of his being, Like a brand burning away at his sanity as he pushed on through the fog. No matter how crippling the agony, no matter what it cost, the truth of this twisted hellscape was worth every piece of the suffering he had to endure. Besides it builds character, he thought the absurd notion forcing a wry grin as he endured the unholy baptism. As he pushed on his soul glowed brighter, as a near endless stream of red intermingled with the brown hue of his soul. Gradually causing his essence to take on a maroon hue as the pain slowly started to recede, the searing waves of agony grounding to halt until all that was left was a throbbing ache that resounded throughout his being. Like an intense lift session after months of sitting around savoring every flavor of doritos under the sun. As he let out a silent sigh of relief Liam eyes suddenly widened as a pulse rippled out of his consciousness into the fog surrounding him. Well that's new, as the pulse raced through the fog the feeling of aimlessness was quickly washed away by an unparalleled sense of clarity. The feeling of being one with every drifting molecule of the mist around him. In that moment he could sense every inch of the scorched wood beneath him. From the discolored splinters littering the surface to the previously imperceptible tendrils of muddy brown aura that flowed into the surface beneath him. Slowly washing away the destruction like an artist delicately shading over a burgeoning error in their masterpiece. With his new senses Liam gaze trailed the length of the energy seeping into the ground until eventually he found its source. Two men standing side by side in the center of the fog, their palms placed evenly on the heartwood that made up the tree's base infusing a seemingly endless stream of energy into the wood beneath them. Their auras, one a dark green and the other a bright crimson shone with the force of a blazing sun as they mixed together seamlessly. Effortlessly penetrating the surface of the ground beneath them as they enriched the decimated surface, with the only sound in the otherwise silent world of crimson originating from a casual conversation between the two figures. "These incidents have been occurring more frequently than we expected, have the appropriate defenses actually been put in place?" The deep baritone of the crimson aura questioned. "Actually. Actually no I just turned off all the defenses in a room full of potential lethal combatants. I live for the thrill of possibly being slaughtered by a random being from the far corners of the cosmos." the light tenor of the deep green aura sarcastically responded. "Why don't you pull down the fog and go test the defenses for yourself, they're off right, go for a stroll. See what happens." "Always so petty" The deep baritone replied, a palpable sense of amusement accompanying his words. "More and more souls have been breaking free of the nexus and returning to their original bodies instead of being consumed, at this rate it'll be at least a decade until the fruits fully mature. Do you have that kind of time?" An annoyed huff filled the air before the dark green aura replied his voice tinged with frustration "It's not our fault that contracted souls don't register in the nexus, The link between a soul and its contractor is not the same as the weight of a truly powerful being. We just have to deal with the situation as it progre... Who dares". As Liam focused on the conversation the mist started to increase slightly around the two figures allowing the sound to travel to him even though he floated a few miles out of range. The supposedly "subtle" changes weren't as covert as I hoped. Liam thought as the aura of the crimson figure drew back from the ground beneath them causing the fog to spiral back towards its owner. Shit, as the expression on his face dropped Liam focused on the new feeling expanding out of his soul. As he felt the link between him and the mist he pulled on it with all he had, tearing a large chunk of the crimson haze away from the spiraling mass returning to its owner. As the mist cleared the two sides could take a clear look at each other. On one side stood two male figures, their bodies wrapped in the blinding light of their aura and on the other side.... Stood a vaguely male figure outlined by a highly condensed cloud of crimson mist. As the two figures stared speechless at the sight in front of them. The figure clad in mist slowly raised his left hand, causing the two of their auras to brighten even further in preparation for what was to come. Only to be met by a middle finger aimed proudly in their direction.