Work Text:
Kanon lived the majority of his life in a dull and colorless world, like anyone who never found their soulmate.
The very concept of having soulmates sounded like yet another divine punishment against humanity to him, despite the fact that it was a very unpopular opinion among others. It's true after all, it meant that everyone had the opportunity to find THE person who would be their significant other for the rest of their lives.
But there was nothing to do for Kanon. He was convinced that the gods were just messing with the lives of mortals again. And then, there was the major inconvenience caused by all of this: It was impossible to admire the true colors of this world without having met your soulmate at least once, that's how they were able to find each other.
When Kanon was still young and growing up in the Sanctuary of Athena in Greece with his twin brother Saga, he had hoped to meet his soulmate there among the apprentices who had gradually joined the Sanctuary to train and become proud saints of the Goddess of War.
But Kanon was quickly disappointed when he was put aside and ordered to keep his distance from others in the sanctuary, he wasn't allowed to reveal his existence and had to stay hidden. He had to live forever in the shadow of his older brother. For such was the curse of the Gemini twins.
Only a few months after starting their training to become saints, Saga who had the opportunity of being around others, had found his soulmate. It happened during a common training session with all the other apprentices. Saga faced one of the most promising apprentice among them, the future candidate for the Sagittarius Gold Cloth, Aiolos. And suddenly, all the true colors of the world were revealed to him.
Saga had been so happy to see the surprise and the joy on the face of the one who was meant for him. Aiolos was the best person he could have hoped for as a soulmate, the eldest of the twins was already convinced that they would have a bright future together in the Sanctuary of Athena.
And when Kanon heard the news from his brother, while he was locked up in the Gemini house in a part that no one had access to except their master, he had been deeply jealous of his twin. Saga was entitled to all the best things in life, he was the one chosen to become the Gemini Gold Saint, while Kanon was just treated like an emergency replacement and destined to spend his youth secluded and alone, in a world devoid of colors moreover.
Several years later, after betraying Athena and spending more than 13 years in Atlantis plotting against her without never really knowing what had happened to his older brother, he was taken back to the Sanctuary and forgiven by the Goddess of War herself after proving that he had understood his mistakes. And then, Kanon had been told about what he had missed during his time away from the sanctuary. Saga lost his mind and usurped the identity of the Pope by killing the previous one to take over the Sanctuary. In his madness, the Gemini also ordered the execution of Aiolos who was the only one who understood that something was wrong.
His twin had therefore condemned himself to live until death in a grey world again, since once one's soulmate is lost, the world also lose its colors again in our eyes, as if they had never existed in the first place.
If Kanon had heard this story right after Saga condemned him to death at the Cape Sounion prison, he would have laughed at the irony of it by thinking that he had been right on his twin from the beginning. But after all these years that had passed, Kanon no longer had the strength or the desire to make fun of his older brother who had already left this world anyway. No, instead he even felt sorry for him, losing his soulmate and living in the darkness until the end when one day he had been granted the happiness of knowing the colors of the world...
In the end Kanon did not envy him. He preferred to never meet his soulmate if it was to live the same experience as Saga.
When he first set foot in the Underworld during the Holy War, he already knew that this was going to be his path to redemption, he would be fighting his last battles in the Underworld and he was not going to come out alive. He only had a few hours left to live at most and while he valiantly fought all the enemies who stood on his way without too much difficulty, fate had to put one of the most dangerous and strongest judges of the Underworld on his path known as, Wyvern Rhadamanthys.
Kanon barely had the time to turn around to face the judge when the explosion of colors stunned him. Suddenly the world was no longer in black and white and he couldn't help but curse the gods and his miserable destiny that day as it turned out that Rhadamanthys was the one who was destined to him as much as he was destined to the specter. Seriously who was playing with his life like it was a bad prank? Kanon still quickly noticed that the judge in front of him was almost as confused as him. Meeting your soulmate in hell, who would have believed it? Certainly not him. He would have very much preferred that things happens differently, that he wouldn't have to kill the one who suddenly made his world colourful and more beautiful. But they were in the middle of a war, on opposite sides, they had to honor their respective gods and start the fight.
Kanon couldn't help but think that the colors were gorgeous, even though he also hated them, almost as much as the whole concept of having a soulmate. It happened naturally, he managed to put a name on each colors he could see and remember, the red of the sky in the Underworld, the shimmering purple of the surplice that the specter wore proudly in front of him, his short hair with blond curls and his sharp eyes resembling golden amber... Why did the colors have to be so pretty? Why did his heart have to beat so much and so quickly every time he looked at Rhadamanthys?
After several fierce battles in different spheres of the Underworld, the dreaded end was near, Kanon had known the exact moment when the Gemini Gold Cloth started to shine brightly in repetition. It was also resplendent with beauty, it's golden glow inflating him with courage and pride. This is why when he had to remove it to his great displeasure as well as that of the Wyvern, he was saddened to have been left wearing rags again. But what mattered the most was that he was only returning the Cloth to its true owner, Saga needed it more than him to obtain the final victory against the God of the Underworld, Hades, and bring peace to the world.
Rhadamanthys looked at him with disgust on his face after he had to take off the Gemini Gold Cloth. Kanon wasn't quite sure why the specter looked so upset. The Gemini Saint wondered, however, if like him, the blond found their situation as ridiculous as it was tragic.
"I wanted to fight you equally Kanon, is that how you thank me for showing interest in someone like you?" The specter had spat out to him, looking down at him.
"Why should I thank you? You were free to follow any other Gold Saint who infiltrated the underworld, I didn't ask you to choose me, as much as I didn't ask the Gods for us to be soulmates." The Gold Saint had immediately retorted, barely discouraged by the words of the judge of the underworld.
" You..."
The Wyvern seemed even more upset and Kanon let out a mocking laugh, so the only things they had to say to each other were trivial things, insults even? What a sad way to meet your soulmate.
Rhadamanthys wanted to end this comedy, and Kanon was of the same opinion, but he did not intend to end it alone.
The judge hadn't lingered long on useless chatter and had sent his most powerful attack, the Greatest Caution, on Kanon. The Gemini could not protect himself from it without his Gold Cloth and so he had been nailed to the ground by it. Almost out of breath by then pain he was feeling, the former general of Poseidon scrambled to his feet to try to land a blow on his opponent, but it was useless as his moves were predictable by the judge. Rhadamanthys grabbed his wrist, only to glare at him and slam him to the ground again.
“You know Kanon, I'm frustrated. This fight no longer has any value to me but you will still die here." Rhadamanthys was about to finish off the Gold Saint, leaving an opening for Kanon to turn around the situation that looked hopeless.
“I will certainly die here, but I won't be the only one, that I can guarantee you." Saying this, Kanon threw himself on Rhadamanthys to seize him with all his might.
"What are you trying to do?" Asked Rhadamanthys, taken aback by their sudden proximity and the burning cosmos he could feel from his opponent.
The Gemini had a specific plan in mind, he was going to use a Galaxian Explosion to finish off the judge, and himself with him. He hadn't been surprised to have to resort to such extremes, he had known from the beginning that his life was going to end during this holy war.
Kanon then used all the cosmos he still possessed to make him take off from the ground with Rhadamanthys still prisoner of his desperate embrace. However the Saint was not even sure that the judge had tried to escape, maybe he had resigned himself and he simply didn't want to fight anymore?
"It's laughable isn't it? That we had to live far from each other, only to meet a few hours before our death."
What Rhadamanthys said had left him speechless. Then, he too felt the same things as him, it was cruel of the blonde to admit it so late.
“Forgive me for the harm I had to do to you, but know that my heart ached terribly. I couldn't help it, we are constantly watched over in the underworld. If the twin gods had realized that I had no intention to kill you, I would have already died before I had the chance to tell you how I really felt, Kanon. The judge had placed his hand on Kanon's, still holding him in that embrace leading them to death.
Kanon couldn't bear it, he wanted the judge to shut up, to keep his emotions to himself forever, and at the same time he also wanted to hear more of his voice and engrave it in his memory forever... The Saint was trying to stay strong but he had started to sob hearing everything that Rhadamanthys had to say to him before it was really too late.
“I wish I could admire the outside world and its true colors with you." The Wyvern had confessed, closing his eyes and waiting for the end.
“You're an idiot for being honest only now when it's too late for that, you stupid specter."
After saying that last sentence, Kanon used his Galaxian Explosion.
But instead of exploding and turn back to dust in the universe, the explosion had pushed them back to the ground where they had crashed not far from each other.
Kanon was in very bad condition, exhausted, bleeding from many injuries, while Rhadamanthys partly took in the explosion of cosmos thanks to his surplice, but he knew that he was no longer in conditions to fight either and also bleeding out from multiple open wounds.
The former Sea Dragon understood that his attack did not have the range it should have had because his heart had failed him. They should have died instantly and yet they were still alive and conscious, although that wouldn't last long either, as there was no one to help them now and they wouldn't be able to survive their wounds for long.
Using his last strength, Rhadamanthys began to crawl towards Kanon, his soulmate. The Gemini hadn't moved on his side, he couldn't do it. But he could see the contorted face of the judge caused by the pain and who was trying to reach him and he felt sick to his heart once again, Rhadamanthys remained faithful to himself, pushing to his last limits as to reach the dying Saint, not wanting to let Kanon go alone.
"Kanon…" The Wyvern had finally managed to reach out his hand to the Gemini, grabbing Kanon's and squeezing it in his.
"Rhadamanthys... Thank you." Kanon thanked him for several things, for telling him how he really felt, for allowing him to see colors like all the ones he had so envied during his life even if it was only for a short moment and finally, for being his soulmate.
“You must know Kanon, your hair reminds me of the ocean waves and your eyes...the blue of your eyes is beautiful. The judge didn't want them to be parted by death before he had time to tell his soulmate everything on his mind and heart.
And Kanon smiled sadly, they had met so late, to be separated so soon.
"And you... You... Your hair reminds me of a wheat field in which I would like to wander my hands... And your amber eyes... You really are very handsome too, Rhadamanthys... My judge... If only this had all gone differently." Kanon had also confessed, it was the first thought that came to him when he was finally able to see the colors thanks to his soulmate.
Rhadamanthys had finally reached his goal, and had snuggled up against Kanon's chest who immediately had made the almost impossible effort to move his arms to hug the judge affectionately against him, the warmth that their two bodies still gave off was comforting, even if it was temporary.
"You're right... If only we had... More time..." The judge confessed again.
Kanon let out a disappointed sigh between his lips, what they wanted couldn't be granted to them, at least not in this lifetime and they knew it. The strengths of the blue haired Saint were slowly leaving him and soon he would be greeted by death. He thought that he would have no regrets leaving this world after his redemption and in the end, his only regret was going to be leaving the one who was destined to him. He was however grateful despite everything to have been able to meet his soulmate before it was too late. Like many others they could have died before ever knowing the person who completed their souls. Even if it had been only for a short time.
The Gemini had leaned towards Rhadamanthys still snuggled against him to place a smooth kiss on his lips, he had never been so tender towards someone else. This kiss represented for him a final act of rebellion against his destiny, he did not intend to die without his soulmate knowing that he would have liked to be able to know a new life with him, a life where he would have represented something special for someone and where he wouldn't have to hide in the shadows all the time like he had been doing all his life so far. But unfortunately this dream life, he wouldn't be able to have it in this one.
Slowly closing his eyes, the last thing he could see was the world bathed in colors, and his soulmate whispering something to him that he didn't have time to hear or understand. And even, in his last moments, he also whispered something back.
"I would have liked to spend my life by your side..."
In the end, his life had not been black and white until his last breath.
And as the sun slowly began to reappear on the surface, once again bathing the world in light after having been eclipsed by an alignment of planets, Gemini Kanon had passed away in the realm of the dead while embracing the one who soon joined him in the afterlife, his soulmate that he barely had the time to know, Wyvern Rhadamanthys.
Fin.