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Today was one of the most eventful nights Altare has ever experienced. Today was his long awaited 21st birthday, a day he had been prepping for for a long time. He was never big on birthdays, however, in the guild TEMPUS a birthday never goes unnoticed. The night was alive as he spent his birthday with the people he loved most, his guild mates of course. The poker session felt like it could have lasted on for days as the boys bickered and betted and put their very magcoin on the line. They were the people who made this night one to remember for eons.
The night starts to dwindle down as the young guild leader starts to end his karaoke. He humbly thanks everyone for the love and support he had been receiving for the past 6 months and then finally ends the stream. The boy relaxes for a bit. All the hard work had paid off for this to actually go fairly smoothly. He can rest now, it’s finally over.
Altare looks up at his ceiling to finally stretch and relax. However, he sees that a black void starts to cover up his ceiling. The world starts to slow down.
Oh, It’s him.
Altare turns his chair to look at what’s behind him. It’s a quitely sitting Regis. Now normally, he would be facing straight at Altare or he would come up from behind him. This time, his back is faced towards him. What has gotten into him?
“Alright Regis, stream’s over.” Altare says, “Do what you have to do.”
The demon lord stands up and crosses his arms, back still facing Altare.
“No.” He mutters, “Not this time.”
He takes a deep breath and says “Altare, if I had one wish, I would be walking this earth alone. In my own body. Possibly ruling the world at this point. Your feeble soul would only dream of fighting someone of my caliber.”
He takes a pause and then turns his head and looks at the young hero, “However.” he continues, “There is something I will miss when I get that wish.”
Altare looks confused. Why would he be saying this? Shouldn’t he be bullying him to being a demon lord again, just like a normal Sunday?
“And what is that, hmm?” He replies.
“It’s your innocent kindness that you’ve given me and your so called ‘guild mates’.” Regis finally musters out.
He turns around to finally face Altare, his head slightly tilted towards the floor. Altare looking surprised and confused, especially from him.
“I’m aware that I am an irredeemable monster.” He continues solemnly, “I’ve done such cruel actions that you had to sit and witness without any way to stop any of it. I thought you’d hate me by now knowing all the shit that I’ve sat you through.”
Altare hears him out.
Regis turns his head up to face the young man. “But to my surprise, you don’t.”
“You have done nothing but treat me with kindness since I was dethroned by you. “ He points to his head, “Hell, you even gave me these little horns as a gift. They’re quite cute actually.”
As he walks towards Altare’s body, Regis speaks, “Listen Altare, I hate you. I hate what you are, I hate your beliefs, I hate your stupid “Hero of Elysium '' act, I hate your guild, I hate the man that you are today. It makes me sick that I share a body with someone like you.``
Regis finally reaches him, face to face. It’s like looking in a mirror.
“But you don’t care, do you?” Regis finally asks, “You will still treat everyone you meet with the same kindness and respect as you do your neighbor.”
He puts his hand on his shoulder, Altare could feel his cold palm on his shirt.
Regis finally takes a final breath, “If I had to say something that I don’t absolutely loathe about you, it would be that you have a dream. One to live in a world with the same kindness that you give to others. A childish one, yes but, a dream that you believe in and are focused on trying to achieve.”
“Keep dreaming, even if there’s someone out there who wants to foil it.” he finishes his speech with one final saying,
“Happy Birthday, you fool.”
The world finally fades back to his room, taking Regis along with it. All that is left was the impact that was said with those words.
Regis truly meant those words, every single one of them. He never thought something like that could ever come out of the likeliness of him but maybe he really has a heart for him. Even through the torment and terror he’s put Altare through for years, he might actually have come to like him. In a bittersweet way of course, there’s no way in hell he would ever stop nagging him about becoming a demon lord again.
Altare smiles fondly. He finally leaves his room to eat. Ramen? Cake? Leftover MRE’s? Who knows.
Only the future awaits him.