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The final hit was struck right as the sun began to set, casting a sick red light on the clouds and over the world that matched the blood it was drowning in. There wasn't a blade of green grass left; not a single one was untouched, that wasn't dripping with red like the lives of those in this cruel game.
Game, Etho scoffed to himself. More like war.
The thud of a body dropping to the ground dragged his attention back to Ren. The Red King looked terrifying. Standing over Grian's body, he seemed to glow with the eerie red light of the sunset, which only seemed to bring out more the sickening amount of blood that covered his body, little of it his own. The bloodstained sword in his hand and the snarl on his lips that revealed sharp canines added to the image, sending a shiver down Etho's spine. If the Red King didn't live up to his name before, he sure did now.
"It's over, me laddies," Ren growled softly. "The fight is won. It's just us now."
Those words should have brought cheer. Instead, they opened up a pit of sorrow inside Etho that seemed to sap every last bit of his energy. As he stared around at Renchanting in the half-light, at the bleeding bodies and damaged grounds, he felt no joy. The bodies on the ground weren't of enemies; they were of friends, only recently turned foes.
"What now?" Martyn asked.
Don't we have to fight each other? The question went unsaid, but Etho knew he wasn't the only one thinking it.
"For now, we rest. We bury the dead and begin repairs. The fighting isn't over permanently..." Ren cast a reluctant glance at Etho, Martyn, and BigB. "... but until we have regained our strength, we will remain as allies."
Etho wasn't sure that was a good idea. It hurt enough knowing now they were so close to turning on each other. Sticking together longer would only make it hurt worse when the time finally came. But Etho didn't protest. At that moment, his mind went blank as he spotted a particular body, blonde hair so dark with dirt and blood he hadn't recognized it at first. Completely forgetting about the others, he stumbled over to it, a barely restrained sob escaping him.
Tango. Maybe they had been on different sides in the end, but they started together. From day one they allied. They lived in the village together, then the swamp. When Etho joined Dogwarts, he had been so sure Tango would come with him. He'd been wrong, been a fool to get his hopes up. But despite everything, he couldn't hate Tango. Even when they so recently faced each other as enemies on the battlefield, as Tango rained flaming arrows and dropped lava on Etho, he couldn't bring himself to try to hurt Tango as badly. He felt the same unspoken love he always had. Only now his heart throbbed with pain at the betrayal and death of the demon lying in front of him, all the words he wished he'd said swirling in his mind.
He wondered if things could have been different if he'd spoken sooner. Maybe, if he hadn't been a coward and had taken one of the countless chances he'd been given to confess, they wouldn't have drifted apart. Or, perhaps if he'd done more to keep Tango close, he wouldn't have gone to the Crastle.
But he didn't. He kept his mouth shut and let Tango go when he decided to leave.
This...this is my fault.
Despair pressed down on Etho until he couldn't take it anymore. Tears began to flow, and he did nothing to stop them, neither did he try to stop his thoughts that morphed into words as he spoke aloud without realizing.
"I'm so sorry, Tango. I could've done more. Should've done more. I'm sorry I was so nearsighted, so cowardly. Maybe if I'd realized sooner that it would come to this... I could've stopped it." He intertwined his fingers with Tango's, something he'd wanted to do for so long but didn't. Nothing else mattered right now as he continued to cry, words continuing to tumble out as his soul finally voiced its pain. "I love you, Tango. I always have, but I didn't act on it. I was scared you wouldn't feel the same way. And... maybe you didn't." Etho bit his lip, but it did little to restrain the sob that followed his words. "Would it have changed anything? If you knew I loved you, would you have still left me?"
He almost didn't want to know the answer. His heart was shattered, possibly beyond repair already. At least, that's how it felt. Like nothing would ever be okay again.
Etho suddenly wished Ren would just turn on him now. What point was there in fighting back? He saw no real reward in winning this cruel game, only pain. At least death would make this ache in his heart go away.
"Etho."
The ninja felt a hand on his shoulder as Ren spoke, his voice soft.
"Just kill me, Ren," he whispered. "Make this pain go away."
"I can't do that, laddie. But I can offer words." Ren sighed. "It wasn't your fault. I killed Tango in the end, not you. And Tango made his own choices. None of it was your fault."
Etho didn't respond. Ren was wrong. He knew it was his fault, and nothing could convince him otherwise.
Ren offered a hand to help him up. "If it makes you feel better, we can bury him first."
Etho just nodded. He didn't want to bury Tango; he wanted to save him, bring him back to life somehow. But he recognized that was unrealistic. Reluctantly, he took Ren's hand and let the Red King pull him to his feet. He felt like he owed it to Tango to bury him first, but it did nothing to comfort him. Nothing would at this point.
Etho had never felt so hopeless in his life.