Limits

"RAAAAGH!", I screamed even more intensely, as my Auras grew. More Furians were encompassed, more Furians stopped being affected, until I could no longer extend my Auras. "Haaah… Haah… I made it somehow", I said to myself barely supporting the Aural domain at its current state. I didn't have much time, my Auras would soon disappear, and I would become defenceless.

Some Furians grab their heads and screamed in pain, while others looked at them in confusion. "Attack him! He is there", one of the Furians shouted, but Crow and Lira appeared next to me. "You are being controlled. Wake up, realize what is going on. I'm not your enemy", I said to them. "Lies! Don't listen to him, attack while we have the chance!", another Furian shouted. Those who were not controlled, were probably brainwashed. Only a minority of Furians was being controlled, those were the ones with Auras.

"I already helped one of you. Take a look for yourselves, he is fine and not under the control of Eterians. You've been lied to, you became slaves to Eterians. You are not tools, you are living beings with your own consciousness!", I exclaimed, while Crow and Lira made sure no one approached me.

A few Furians looked into the distance. More precisely, at one of their own standing next to Humans and Lizards. 'Go on, tell your people the truth', I thought. But the Furian seemed afraid, unable to form words. "See, he is lying! They took him as a hostage!", the other Furians exclaimed. I added, "He is not a hostage, he is free. Free of the Eterian control. Think, would I try to help you, if that wasn't the case? Would I try to shield you away from their illusions?".

I couldn't support my Aural domain for much longer. If they didn't break free, the plan would be a failure. Those affected started realising something. "Were… were we controlled?", "I don't remember much…", "If he wants to help us... ". Others tried to persuade their fellow Furians, but the doubt was already sown.

"How long can you keep this up for?", Crow asked quietly. "Not much longer, I'm already losing all my strength", I replied. "In that case, we will escape as soon as your Auras break. You tried, that counts", he added. Maybe it counted, but wouldn't change a lot. If Furians were controlled again, the war would resume. Either we would destroy them, or be destroyed by them. I had no other solutions, there was no other way to change their minds.

'Maybe I placed too much hope on that Furian... Although I can't blame him. Being controlled for so long, anyone would be confused, scared and unable to act', I thought. Perhaps it was meant to be like this, perhaps it was time to stop. "He didn't lie!", a familiar voice reverberated through the air. "Fox?", I asked myself in disbelief.

Her hand resting on the saved Furian's shoulder, as she stood facing the Furian army. "Eterians lied to you, brainwashed you to believe we are enemies of Humans! We are not! We are not slaves to Eterians, we should dictate our own lives!", she screamed before taking her mask of. Her eyes, were that of a Furian. 'Is that why you were afraid of showing your face to me? You thought I would reject you based on that?', I thought.

"She.. she is…", "This, how can this…?", "She is alive?". The Furians asked themselves, unable to believe what they saw. "Am I not a living proof of Humans and Furians being able to coexist?! I was controlled too, they used me as well! Just like they are using you! I'm alive only thanks to this man, the same man who is trying to help you!". The Furians looked at each other, they looked at Fox, and even looked at me. "Furians, I never had a bias towards any race… This is the only chance I can create for you… Tread your own path, not a path selected by others". "Tak!", I dropped to my knees. The domain slowly vanished as my Auras were totally spent.

Crow and Lira grabbed me, and retreated. The Furians didn't chase us, the looked at Eterians instead. "Go kill them!", "He is weak, finish him off", the Eterians shouted. Furians didn't budge anymore, they stood resolutely facing Eterians. "We will no longer do your bidding. We have our own free will, this is where we part ways, Eterians!", one of them claimed. "Bunch of useless slaves! Control them, don't let them get away!", the Eterian leader shouted.

"Crow... lead Furians to our side, protect them…", I said weakly. "Lira, take him back. This is an order", he said before going back for Furians. As Lira dragged me back to our side, a few other people advanced towards us. "It seems you succeeded. Turns out you can actually help someone, instead of destroying them", Lira said. I was too tired to answer that. Harlin lead his troops to escort me, Crow and help Lira with the burden of dragging me back. "I'll be damned Nex", was the only thing he could say.

We arrived safely to our side, where Fox was already waiting. "He's all yours", Harlin said, and dropped me to the ground. 'Thanks friend, really nice of you', I thought. "Alright guys, no need to stare", Lira said to the crowd. Fox crouched next to me, "How… you know… ". It was the first time I saw her without the mask, no wonder she was shy. A short silence later, she fumbled through my stuff, and took out some medicine. "Will this help you?", she asked but still took my mask off and fed me the medicine.

Although I wasn't injured, the Night Star Extract could replenish my energy to a certain extent. A while later, I could finally move on my own. "You know, it's weird looking at you without the mask", I said with a smile. "What? You don't like my face or something?", she replied half shy. "You have beautiful eyes, you shouldn't hide them", I replied. I could see the tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, for what I did", I added.

She shook her head, "It's not that. Father used to say, that my mom always told him how beautiful my eyes were... I'm happy you think that way". I slowly picked myself up, and extended my hand towards her. "The war didn't end yet. We need to stop Eterians, and defeat Bramans. Hydra is not something that should see the light of day".