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Wings and masks. Steel against crystal. Light against dark.
Feathers, feathers everywhere.
I watched across the platform as my opponent laid upon the stone, chest heaving, its life bleeding away.
I looked at my hands, red staining them to the elbows, dripping off my skin. Drip, drip, drip.
Horrified, I took a step back. Blood on my hands. Blood on my boots. Blood all over me.
“You...see…?” the dying creature across from me rasped.
The ground shook, threatening to pitch me over the edge. A wave of black hovered in front of me, rolling and foaming, ready to envelope me. I braced myself for the impact.
I was swept up in its currents, the liquid thick and hot. Try as I might to stop it, it forced its way up my nose, into my mouth, salty and metallic, drowning me.
I sunk, and sunk, and sunk. Down, down down.
I fought for a way to the surface- to breathe, to live… Did I deserve to live after the things I’ve done?
“You see, hero, you are no better than me.”
I paused and looked towards my enemy. He was no longer dying, the hole in his chest mended.
My enemy? Or was he my friend? I couldn’t…
I opened my mouth to call his name. His true name. The name I used to call him before the fall, before the break.
The word didn’t come. The word, on the very tip of my tongue… What was it again?
There was no hope for me. I inhaled, letting the darkness into my lungs.
He stood before me, now, my enemy and my friend, one of his many hands on my chin, looking down at me with a smile. Was it a smile?
“Say my name.”
“Hades!” I cried as I shot up in bed, heart pounding so hard in my chest I thought it’d burst. I gulped down air as if I was dying, chest rising and falling in quick succession. Twelve, that was-
I felt warm hands on my shoulders that I was not expecting and scrambled out of bed, summoning an orb of thunder to my hand.
Emet-Selch was sitting up, still under the covers, hands still raised, watching me carefully. I sighed and lowered my hands.
“I-I’m sorry.” I sighed and dropped down onto the edge of the mattress, rubbing my face with my hands. “I guess it was my turn to have a nightmare.”
“Would you like to tell me about it?” he asked, softly. I closed my eyes again, imagining the great and terrible monster I had battled. The wave of black blood threatening to drown me. My hands clenched into fists.
“I don’t...really remember it,” I lied. He was quiet for a few long seconds.
“You’re really a terrible liar.”
I leaned forward on my legs, looking down at the floor between my feet. “Fine, then. I don’t want to talk about it.” My words came out harsher than I’d meant.
The bed shifted behind me as he moved, and I felt his hands on my neck as he brushed my hair over one side. He lowered his lips to my shoulder for a moment, then rubbed his hands up and down my arms. He pressed his cheek to the back of my head so his mouth was right next to my ear.
“Come, hero. Let me tell you a story,” the Ascian whispered, tugging me back. I twisted my torso and watched as he placed himself against the headboard and held his hand out to me. With another sigh, I did as he bid. He placed me between his legs and I willingly leaned against his chest. He wrapped his arms loosely around me, resting his chin on the top of my head.
“What kind of story is it?”
“Hmm,” he hummed. I could feel the vibration of his voice against my back and I closed my eyes. “There are some who say it’s true and some who say it is a myth.”
“What do you believe?”
He paused for a moment, but breathed a laugh. “What I think doesn’t matter, dear hero.” He nodded and he exhaled a long breath before continuing. “Long ago-”
“You’re really going to start your story like that?”
“If you’d rather I not-”
“No. I’ll be quiet.”
He raised his hands, holding them out in front of the both of us, palms up. I relaxed into him as an illusion of a girl appeared in one hand, bright and golden.
“There was a young Goddess of Spring, as beautiful as the day was bright. And there was an old god.” In the other, foreboding figure materialized, covered in shadow. “God of the Underworld, lonely in his cold, dark palace.”
The girl moved, dancing around a field of wildflowers, occasionally bending to pick the prettiest. The other watched from afar.
“One day, as the god ascended from his home, he found the goddess gathering the flowers she’d created for the world and he was instantly in love.”
He sighed against me. “There are many versions of this story, the words and actions of the characters changed over time.”
“Which one are you going to tell me?”
“The original one.” I nodded and continued watching the magical play in his hands continue. The God of the Underworld walked across Emet-Selch’s palms and the two sat together in the field, smiling and laughing. The Goddess fashioned a flower crown in her hands and gently laid it on his head. “She was of the same mind. So, he went to his brother- a king among gods- to ask permission to marry her. He did not oppose.”
“But, there was one obstacle.” A woman appeared in his free hand, similar in looks to the young goddess. “Her mother would never agree to this union and forbade her to ever see him again.”
The third figure vanished and a chariot replaced her in his free hand, sleek and black. It went forth, sweeping them both up, leaving behind an array of flowers in the field.
“At her behest, he stole her back to his domain.”
The gods disappeared and a tall, dark castle materialized in both of his hands. I sat forward, taking a closer look at it. The spires were… The Ascian paused his story for a moment, sitting up as well, pressing a lingering kiss to my shoulder blade, then sat his chin in the crook of my neck.
“They lived happily in his home. But it did not last for long.”
Dark clouds and lightning appeared above the palace. “Her mother was furious. Her anger served as a blight upon the world- killing everything in its path. So harmful, in fact, the king among the gods bade his brother return the young goddess to her mother.”
I frowned. “This does have a happy ending, right?”
“Not to fret, dear hero.”
I sighed and sat back against his chest again. He closed his hands, the scene vanishing and wound his arms around my chest, pulling me closer, nuzzling my neck with his nose.
“They resisted the will of her mother, but the poor goddess saw what their defiance did to the world. She grew listless, depressed...and so, unable to watch her wither away, the God of the Underworld offered to her a solution.”
He held his hands out again, a red fruit I’d never seen before appearing in his hands. It looked so real, I reached out to touch it, but my hand passed right through.
“Eating the fruit of the Underworld is said to seal a marriage. If the goddess were to eat one seed for each month of the year, she would be bound to the Underworld forever, no matter the will of the gods. He bade her eat six of the twelve so that she would sate her mother’s rage by spending half the year above ground, but at the same time, her mother could not argue that she must spend the rest of her time with him.”
“I hope she agreed to it,” I pouted. He huffed a laugh.
“She did. For half the year, she filled the world with vibrant, blooming flowers. The other half, she descended to the Underworld and ruled by his side as a fierce and powerful queen.”
“Not happy, exactly.”
“And why not?”
“She only gets to spend half the year with him!”
“Half a year is better than no time at all, is it not?”
“Mm,” I hummed, looking at the fruit again, still sitting in his hand. “I suppose. What kind of fruit is this? It’s not something we have in Eorzea.”
“Ah,” he said, pulling it closer to my face. “This fruit is called a pomegranate. It’s quite popular on the Ninth.”
I tilted my head to the side. “And you eat its seeds?”
“Yes,” he answered, the illusion splitting open so that I could see under the peel.
“Why did you choose this story to tell me?”
He paused for a moment before answering.
“The name you shouted when you woke is the name of this God of the Underworld.”
I raised a hand to my lips, thinking back to my nightmare, but it was mostly gone. And the name...What had it been, again?
He closed his hands once again, forcing the image away. “What’s the matter?”
“I can’t remember…the name I called.”
He stretched his arms above his head and laid back on his pillow. “I’m sorry, hero,” he started, playfully. “That hardly seems like my problem. Could we, mayhap, go back to sleep now? I’m terribly exhausted.”
I flipped myself around so that I hovered over him, my lips tugging upwards. “You won’t tell me?”
“Only if you ask nicely.”
I shook my head, an incredulous huff escaping my lips, but I leaned down, kissing him slowly, deeply. He put both of his hands on my face, one thumb stroking my cheek, as he returned with fervor, exploring my mouth with his tongue.
When I pulled away, he tried to follow me, but I sat up fully, straddling his hips.
“Was that nice enough for you?” He smirked.
“Oh, I suppose. He has many names, but most just call him Hades.” The Ascian sat up, slightly, sliding his hand around the back of my neck. “I think I am spending entirely too much time with you, my dear hero.”
I mimicked his smile. “And why do you think that?”
He pulled me back down over him, pressing his third eye against my forehead. “I think I’m beginning to rub off on you.”
I started to laugh, but he caught my lips with his and pulled me down onto the mattress, next to him and proceeded to kiss me until my nightmares were forgotten and my mind was at ease.