Chapter Text
"I'm sorry,Rosalyne.You were right."
Tenshukaku never felt colder,the air tense ,two distant figures frozen in shock," You always were."
They recognize her.How could they not?
The prideful stars her eyes wore symbolized the ghost of an ambition,the ambition of hundreds,crafted by generations over generations of technological advancements.
"The mark of a sinner," they would say.
Failure was no stranger to her - a constant reminder, a friend,a long forgotten memory,buried in waves of regret- it was just another obstacle,a weight heavier than the last. Just another event,another person she let down,another meaningless number,but even if they weren't as close as they used to be,even if their last words were fueled purely by flames of unfiltered rage,confusion,fear- What did it all mean,in the end?What did their combined efforts amount to?
Death was,too,someone familiar,close,yet so far away.
Has immorality finally affected her?
Betrayal was never easy.
She believed that expression didn't belong on his face,but when did he ever listen?
A fool,just like the rest of them.
When the nation built on iron and blood fell,she felt nothing- she was expecting it since she took her first breath,since her eyes first marveled at the sight no God would ever give a second glance to - the underground civilization,thriving off of forbidden knowledge.
It was almost nostalgic,did he remember the time she,too,looked at him the way Rosalyne was looking at her in this moment?
The curse bestowed upon her people weren't chains binding her down-humorous truly-never more than a hindrance,never less of an opportunity.
The curse meant power.
Immortality meant time.
But time didn't wait.
To Rosalyne,it always looked like her friend was counting the days until it happened,until she would be free of her duties,retire from senseless bloodshed,turn deaf to the empty promises pledged to a fool of a king and embrace the freedom her nation promised, a nation so different,yet so similar to her own.
Despite the pain she witnessed in her past,despite the pain she caused voluntarily,the loss of her friends- dear,Rosalyne- resurfaced every emotion,every feeling she had long forgotten,everything she buried in mountains of assignments,trips,jokes.
Where was he now?
She couldn't waste any more time.
Contrary to popular belief,being alive,despite her circumstances, didn't mean she had time to spare.Or rather time didn't spare her.
"This is all my fault."
And then she smiled.
Smiled not for the archon hesitantly gripping her sword,violet eyes searching rapidly through her memories,discovering hidden seeds of the past nourished by blood and cuddled by lightning.
Smiled not for the blonde traveler rushing to her side,sword discarded in coffins of ice.
Not for the man that mirthfully poured his soul into her hands,hesitating only when her eyes spelled disaster.
She smiled.
Smiled for her friend,the woman she met by chance while she was buried in books belonging to a prestigious academy,rushing to note down her discoveries.
Smiled for the woman she met while she was praying she had enough time left to deliver her letter,paper covered in timid kisses of love.
The faithful letter intended for a man destined to perish and take her last breath with him.Her last breath before she surrendered to a path of ice and frost,carefully crafted for her by another archon,another figure head that could never truly extinguish neither fuel the flames quietly burning inside her heart.
Smiled for the woman that sang her heart to her and gave her a piece of it too.
Time spared no one.
She was enough of a fool to challenge it.
Be it this life or another,she would end the cycle and forge a new world.
A world where she could hold their hands and promise they would be alright.
A world where Rosalyne wouldn't have to sacrifice herself because of an absent archon's mistakes.
A world where he could rest and where they could finally be reunited.
Time waited for no one ,but she was willing to give it a chance.
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"Everybody's gonna die someday.Why should it be the same for me?"
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