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Rumi was someone who was designed to become a god. Rumi was perfect. Rumi was flawless. Rumi was someone who’s been waiting to bring change to the world since childhood. Visioned to kill the gods before becoming one themself.
Peter was someone who was the furthest from being godly. Peter was unimportant. Peter was normal. Peter was someone who’s been thought to contribute nothing to the world. Assumed to revere the gods until death.
Yet…
Peter was someone who knew what it was like to be neglected by the gods. Peter was someone who knew what it was like to be unimportant and forgotten. Peter was also someone who knew what it was like to have power. Peter was someone who had immense power, yet did not want to abuse it.
Rumi was someone who was angry at the gods and their treatment of the world. Rumi was someone who has always hated the gods. Rumi was also someone who’s entire purpose was to become a god. Rumi was someone who had immense power, and would use that to achieve his goals at any cost.
Between the two, who would make a better god?
To Rumi, the answer is obvious.
To Rumi, Peter is someone who is trusting; someone who is loving.
Rumi loves Peter because he loves unconditionally. He accepted Rumi for who they are. Rumi thinks that’s what a god should be like. A god should care about everyone, a god should want to prevent as much suffering as possible.
Peter is someone who is so empathetic that he didn’t want the gods that they were killing to suffer. Peter is someone who tried to understand both sides of the story. He tried to speak before resorting to violence.
Rumi thinks that Peter is someone who truly deserves an apotheosis.
When given the choice; the power to choose between everything Rumi has ever wanted, everything they’ve been working towards their whole life, and everything Rumi wants now, everything they’ve found on their way to where they currently are, Rumi knows there’s only one decision they can make.
It would be so simple for Rumi to become a god at this moment. Innately, they know what they can do with the power they’ve been given. Right here and now, Rumi could become the God they’ve been wanting to be their entire life— gaining the power to change the world for the better.
Yet what kind of God would Rumi be without Peter? What kind of god would they be if they abandoned the only one who had ever truly and sincerely loved them. What kind of God would they be if they had let someone—Peter—die in exchange for their godhood. Rumi would be the same as the Gods they were trying to bring down.
Rumi could save Peter's life instead. Give Peter the power of a God and bring him back.
When given the choice between their own apotheosis and Peter Sqloint, Rumi doesn’t think there’s much of a choice at all. Because Rumi doesn’t think they could go on without Peter.
Rumi is someone who never thought of themself as a devout person. How could they, when the only gods of this world were so stagnant and neglectful.
Yet as they watch the life return to Peter’s eyes, Rumi feels no regret for losing their chance at ascension. Looking at Peter, who returns their gaze with as much love and compassion as he always does, they feel an adoration that they can only compare its intensity to what they presume the followers of the gods feel.
The Gods had never earned Rumi’s adoration or loyalty. Peter has earned all of it and more. Peter deserves the godhood he has just received, Peter deserves Rumi’s adoration as well as everyone else’s.
Rumi’s eyes follow Peter as he moves in to kiss them, nearly sobbing as he does, and Rumi feels nothing but adoration for the man in front of them. Kissing Peter, any lingering thoughts about the loss of their chance at godhood leave their mind; Rumi knows they made the right choice.
It’s as though the rest of the world froze at that moment. It’s just the two of them, basking in each other's presence as they share this kiss. Long forgotten is Thanatos who is standing next to them. Long forgotten is Zuen who they must next face. Rumi’s mind was filled with nothing but Peter.
This moment could not last forever though, and Rumi is only a little disappointed as Peter pulls away, asking what he missed when he was gone. Rumi almost wants to laugh; he missed so much in the hours he was dead. He was back now though, and that’s all that matters.
Things slowly return to normal, as normal as they can be right now, when Thanatos shows Peter the stones he had collected, Peter tearfully offering his own painted rocks in return. As they watch this exchange Rumi can feel their own eyes start to water, struck by the delayed realisation that Peter is really back. They’re so happy that their god-slaying trio is whole again.
Because Rumi does not know how they would have kept going without Peter Sqloint next to them. Peter is Rumi’s sun in a world without one. Looking back on their life before now, before Peter, Rumi can’t help but notice how bright it had become after meeting him. A brightness which had disappeared after his death, now shines brightly in their soul now that Peter is alive once again. Rumi does not know how they lived without Peter before. Rumi doesn’t think they could live without Peter anymore.
How could they, when Peter is the one thing that held them to their own identity, the string that tied them to their mortality. Rumi wouldn’t have anything left had Peter not come back to them.
Rumi can’t help but wonder what kind of god they would have become had they chosen their apotheosis over Peter. If the sole thing which made Rumi feel like a person had been lost in exchange for godhood, would Rumi have fallen into the same disgusting trap the current gods had fallen into? If the sole person who treated Rumi as they were, and loved them for it, had been lost in exchange for godhood, would Rumi have lost sight of what it was to be a person?
They are glad they’ll never have to find out the answer to those questions, because Peter is back; and they will make sure that Peter doesn’t die again.