Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

So. Judicium was a bust.

While the Titan still floats above the Cloud Sea, all that remains of the once great city is rubble and dust. If Malos had known back then that he might have use of its technology one day, he would have spared it, but how could he possibly have anticipated the Blade that is Jin?

Malos glances over at his companion. The long trip around the remnants had taken its toll on his already exhausted body. His skin is pale, and his breaths are long and heavy, as if each one takes all the energy he has. It’s not quite as bad as it had been when Malos first found him, but it won’t be long before they reach that state again. He’ll need to take another look at his Core, assuming that Jin will let him. Worst case scenario, he may need to wait until Jin has fallen off the deep end and has no way of protesting Malos forced entry- just like the first time.

But what then? Judicium is gone. Malos can keep Jin’s Core from shattering, but eventually his body will give out. He expends far more ether now than he used to, and his crystal cannot keep up. It forces him to rely on his stolen heart to supply the energy, but that strain will kill him at some point. If Malos’s own Core was undamaged, he could easily gift Jin whatever strength he needs, but as is, he can barely absorb ether himself. What little he has is used to manifest his physical form. There isn’t any left over to spare.

“Not all of Torna is sunk just yet.” Malos ponders aloud. They were hardly all that well known for their scientific research, but technology wise, no one had them beat. “Maybe there’s something we can find there.”

“You want me to go back there?”

Malos swivels in his chair. There’s a mixed look of outrage and barely concealed horror across Jin’s face. That, plus the current state of his health, gives Malos his answer quickly enough. “No. You should stay here. I’ll go alone.”

Jin clearly doesn’t like the idea. Whether it’s because he doesn’t want to be left behind, or he simply detests the idea of Malos stepping anywhere near even the remnants of that place, Malos isn’t sure. But even so, it’s the only option Malos can think of. Aside from the advanced mechanical creations, there’s also the matrix itself. Torna had a pretty big one, and it seems more than likely that Jin was born from that Titan. He’d be compatible with everything there. Maybe combined with some Tornan engineering lies their solution. Maybe.

Making up his mind, Malos adjusts the ship’s bearing towards the fallen Titan. He glances back up at the Cloud Sea and goes still as he spots another ship headed their way. An Indoline ship- a patrol, almost certainly. They’ve been all over Alrest since Amalthus became Praetor, and while Malos had managed to avoid them all on the way to Judicium, it seems their luck has finally run out.

“Shit.” Malos half-whispers. Their own vessel has no weapons, and it isn’t fast enough to flee. They’ll have to submit to the stop. “Cover your Core.”

Jin straightens in his seat. “What is it?” 

“Indol.” Malos says, though Jin’s eyes have already latched onto the other ship. “Let’s just hope I’ve never met any of them.”

“Even if you haven’t, they’ll know your description.” Jin gestures with his head towards the back of the boat. “Hide. I’ll talk to them.”

Malos hesitates, giving his companion a head-to-toe glance. “You can barely stand.”

“I’ll manage.” Jin says, leaving no room for argument. “We don’t have any other choice.”

Reluctantly, but seeing Jin’s logic, Malos nods and disappears to the far end of the ship. Bracing himself, Jin forces his body to move. He’s out of breath the moment he begins standing, and he has to lean on the wall for support. He turns off the engines and grabs for the hood of his cloak, pulling it over his head. He can only hope that the inside of the boat is well lit enough that the red glow of his Core won’t be too obvious behind his white fringe. 

The Indoline ship pulls close to them and comes to a slow stop at their side. A docking plank is lowered against the hull of Jin’s small ship, and a moment later, a handful of monks walk across it. Jin makes his way towards the door and opens it as they approach.

“Evening.” One of the monks says, arms crossed behind his back. “What is your current bearing?”

“North.” Jin glances over at the console. “Six degrees.”

“Do you have registration for this vessel?”

“I… Yes, I-” Jin pauses, fumbling over his words. He tries to stand up straight, but the effort is more than he can manage. “I don’t know. I’m borrowing the ship. From a friend.”

“Where’s this friend from?”

“Mor Ardain.”

It’s unclear if the monk believes him, but whether or not he stole the ship is an Ardanian affair. No one can stop Indol from patrolling the unclaimed Cloud Sea, but anything else is not their place- not that Amalthus likely cares about petty crimes anyway. “Anyone else aboard?”

“No.” Jin shakes his head.

“No Blades?”

“No.” Jin says again. “Just me.”

This time, it’s clear the monk doesn’t trust his words. “Mind if we check?”

Jin hesitates before stepping back and allowing them to board. There are still a number of them on their own ship. If he were not so weakened, he could probably take them all, but in his current state, it’s far too risky. 

Jin follows their movements with his eyes. He doesn’t know where Malos hid, but he hopes it wasn’t somewhere easily found. His wish is seemingly granted as the Indoline soldiers open each and every cabinet and door they can find to no success.

Were these men in Spessia? Were they a part of that slaughter? Which one of them fired the cannon that-

The monks return to the front of the ship, giving some sort of ‘all clear’ signal to their leader.

“No Blades.” The man says, turning back to Jin. “Can you explain why we detected ether usage aboard your vessel?”

“Ether usage?” Jin blinks. Since when was Indol able to identify such a thing?

The monk’s gaze lowers to Jin’s chest, and his eyes narrow. “Would you mind removing your armor plating?”

Jin freezes, but when the monk shows no sign of giving up, he reaches past his cloak and towards the plating with shaking fingers. He doesn’t want to see it- doesn’t want to look at it. He hasn’t looked at it, not since-

The straps finally come loose, revealing his chest and the scar embedded in it- still pulsing angrily across his skin. But despite all that, there is no Core to be found. 

The monk pauses, genuine surprise flashing over his face. “I see.” He looks back up at Jin. “You have our apologies, sir. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Jin nods, quickly rebuckling the straps. The soldiers retreat back onto their own ship, but they don’t leave right away, instead remaining attached to Jin’s vessel as they talk amongst themselves on the upper deck. Jin watches, his anxiety spiking with each passing moment. Why haven’t they left? What are they waiting for? 

They’re talking to someone else aboard, right out of Jin’s sight, and he shifts forward to get a better look. Then, he goes cold.

At first, he can’t move, but then he can’t stop himself from moving. It’s her. It’s really her. She’s not dead. She’s alive. She’s there, right in front of him, looking exactly how she used to. Still with that face. 

“Haze.” Jin chokes out. He walks towards the door. He marches straight towards her. “Haze!”

The soldiers turn, and so does she. But there is no recognition in her eyes. It doesn’t matter. He’ll make her remember. Just like he does. She wouldn’t forget Lora. Lora is her Driver. She just needs reminding. She needs her heart like he does. She…

A soldier grabs him to make him stop, but Jin can’t stop. She’s right there. She’s so close. Lora’s Blade. She’s alive. He thought she was dead, but she’s alive. She’s here. 

“Haze!” Jin shouts. “Haze!”

He shakes the monk off of him, stepping towards her once again. She’s watching him with such cautious eyes. So distrustful. That’s not like her. She never looked at him like that. She always trusted him. Trusted him to protect Lora, but he didn’t protect Lora. Maybe that’s why…

“I tried…” Jin says, and each word is forced from a strangled throat. “I tried to save her… I’m sorry… I…”

Then he looks down. He looks at her Core, and he can’t breathe. 

What did they do? What did they do to her? Soldiers pull on him again, but he doesn't budge. No. Let go. Let me see her. Let me… 

Someone is talking- maybe they all are, but it’s muffled in his ears. The world is blurry, and his Core burns. 

“Haze.” He tries again. “Haze.”

A monk pokes their spear against his back, and so he pulls out his sword and swipes them away. Haze doesn’t like that. Haze looks upset. She points her Crosier at him. She’s speaking too, but Jin still can’t hear it. He tries to force himself to listen, but his Core burns. It burns. It burns. It burns.

Lora is punishing him. Punishing him for not saving her. He failed them both. Lora dead. Mikhail dead. Haze ripped and torn apart. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

Then he feels heavy. His shoulders pull towards the ground. His knees hit the dock. Haze’s power surrounds him. She hates him too. She’s right to hate him. He failed her. He failed them all. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. 

There’s more noise behind him. He can’t hear it. He doesn’t want to hear it.

“That’s the-”

“It’s him!” 

“Fan la Norne-”

There are screams. Howls of agony. Are they from now or from before? Is it the sound of Lora’s cry? When the blast tore through her stomach? When he ripped her still beating heart from her chest?

Two arms wrap around him, and he hates it. He hates the way he feels. Why? Why did the Architect bring them together? Is he mocking him? His pain? 

The boat shifts and turns. The ground wavers beneath his feet. 

And then, they fall.

Chapter Text

“I won’t forget you. I refuse to forget you. How could… I ever…”

“I thought I was ready for this, but now the time has come, I’m hopeless.” … “I’m so sorry to do this to you.”

“There is one way. One final chance. A way that we can be together.”

Jin’s eyes peel open, but he can’t see anything beyond Malos’s unfortunately familiar chestplate. The other Blade is kneeling over him, the tip of his fingers pressed against Jin’s Core. Jin can barely move, but he still tries, reaching towards Malos’s hand. Malos’s eyes are closed, but that doesn’t stop him grabbing Jin’s rising wrist and pinning it to the ground.

“Don’t move.” Malos orders, but it’s not like Jin has much of a choice. He tries sitting up, but Malos adjusts his position, pressing his knee into Jin’s shoulder to keep him still. “Are you some kind of idiot? Trying to get yourself killed?”

Jin struggles to remember what had led to this outcome. He reaches for his memories, but they feel so murky. He wades through the smoke and the fog. And then he sees her face.

“Haze.”

“Whoever she was before, she’s gone now.” Malos snaps. “She’s one of Amalthus’s. You’re not getting her back.”

“She… She was Lora’s…”

“Not anymore.” Malos says, his voice unusually cold. Jin suddenly jerks, writhing in Malos’s grip as the Aegis reaches deeper into his Core. Malos ignores his struggle, continuing the treatment as Jin bucks underneath him. “I’m almost done.”

“Please. I-” Jin begs as another sharp bolt of pain ripples from his Core and to the rest of his body. His attempts to get away from Malos do little, but he can’t bring himself to stop. It hurts. Oh, it hurts so bad. 

Malos doesn’t respond to the plea. Instead, he remains focused on his repair job. Jin’s boots uselessly scrape against the ground, but he can’t find enough traction to push himself away. He can’t get away, but oh Architect, it hurts. It’s more than he can take, but he’s been given no choice but to take it. 

Then finally, that pain begins to subside. Malos pulls his hand away, but he remains perched on top of Jin, looking down at him with furious eyes.

“Like I said. Idiot.” Malos spits out. “What were you thinking?”

“Get off.” Jin demands, and Malos finally relents, moving off to the side. Jin slowly sits up, glancing at the now visible, swirling sky above them. “Where are we?”

“The land of wickedness.” Malos explains, letting out a huff when Jin gives him a confused look. “You got us knocked off into Morytha.”

Jin’s eyes snap back towards the sky, and then to everything else around him, quickly stumbling to his feet. “This is the Land of Morytha?” 

“The one and only.” Malos says, joining Jin off the ground. He looks around for a moment before nodding further down the road. “Come on. We need to head south.”

“South?”

“There’s a dead Titan in that direction that reaches all the way up to the surface.” Malos explains. “We can make our way back to Alrest there.”

Malos doesn’t wait for Jin’s response before he begins heading that way. After just a moment, Jin relents and starts to follow. His body feels better than it has in a while now that Malos has stitched his Core back together. It’s still not perfect, however. If he wasn’t completely crippled without Malos’s powers, he’d-

Jin lets out a silent breath and glances around the ruins. Crumbling buildings with shattered windows line their path. Even with the damage, the height is impressive. Many of the structures once reached high into the sky, and some, though tilted, still do. All of them are far larger than even the Tornan palace.

“You said before that the Architect lived here.”

“Yep.” Malos confirms. “A long time ago.”

A world that births gods? “What happened to this place?”

“I don’t know the details.” Malos waves a hand in the air. “But these ruins? You can blame humans for that.”

The technology that must have existed to create such a civilization- it’s hard for Jin to even imagine it. These people must have been capable. Intelligent. Strong. Yet even then, they destroyed themselves. Why is such the way of humans? What drives them to these measures?

Jin turns his gaze to the back of Malos’s head. It isn’t just humans, though. Malos rampaged. But he was sent here by the Architect, was he not? That’s what Malos had said. The Architect had given him an instruction- a role in this world- and like any Blade would, Malos had obeyed. In the end, even Mythra had been unable to resist that calling.

Perhaps the blame, even for Malos, lies with the humans.

Maybe the Architect had seen his mistake. Maybe he is the only one who understands the truth. Humans will plunder and burn everything in their path until nothing remains. That is their nature. 

“How are us Blades meant to survive in the crossfire?”

Malos glances around. “Is that what you want? To survive?” He continues when Jin only responds with silence. “That’s not what you said before.”

“I know what I said.” Jin says quickly, and his tone is enough to make Malos drop the conversation. 

Giving up, Malos looks back ahead, and then he stills. Jin catches up with him a moment later, and Malos’s face is contorted with an emotion that looks so unfamiliar there. It puts Jin on edge far more than Malos’s rage or destruction ever had.

Malos’s eyes remained fixed on the darkness ahead of them, and Jin isn’t sure what exactly he’s looking at. “We can’t stay here.” His gaze turns to a tall building nearby. “We can take shelter there.”

Jin furrows his brow. “Shelter from what?”

Malos doesn’t answer, and instead he makes his way towards the structure in silence. He peers inside the gaping doorway before finally, cautiously, entering. Jin follows behind him, glancing all around the massive room. 

Jin steps towards the wall across from them and spots what looks like some kind of terminal. He taps at the glass top, and while he hadn’t been expecting any response, a bright screen lights up inside. 

“How is this powered?” Jin wonders aloud. “Surely any energy source would have been depleted by now.”

“The source isn’t from around here.” Malos answers from across the room. “It all leads back to the World Tree.”

“All of Morytha?”

“For as far as I’ve seen, at least.”

Jin taps the glowing screen again, but this time, it flashes red.

‘Access denied. Unauthorized identification.’

The voice is accompanied by an unintelligible mix of symbols that scroll across the glass. Jin ignores it and taps it again. 

‘Access denied. Unauthorized identification.’

Unsure of what else he can do, Jin is all but ready to give up on the discovery. A moment later, however, Malos is reaching over him, tapping the screen himself. This time, it lights up green.

‘Access granted. Welcome back, Logos.’

Jin glances towards him. “Logos?” 

“Don’t ask me.” Malos shrugs. “They’ve got terminals like this all over the place. They all call me that.”

Question unanswered, Jin returns his attention to the screen. It’s changed again, and now there are a handful of icons and words written in what must be some kind of foreign language. “What is all of this?”

Malos leans towards the terminal, squinting his eyes at the light. “It’s talking about some kind of experimental new material.”

“You can read this?”

“The data for it is in my Core.” Malos stares a bit longer. He taps on one of the icons, and beside the terminal, a glowing, green mist appears, filling a cylindrical, glass container with tiny balls of light that jump all around the receptacle. “Well, would you look at that?”

Jin blinks. “Is that… ether?” 

“I would say so.” Malos places a hand on his hip, tilting his head as the glass container continues to fill. “They were trying to create it. Or well, I’d say they succeeded.”

“Why would they bother?” Jin asks. “The world is abundant in it.”

“Doesn’t mean it always was.” Malos theorizes. “Maybe this is the origin.”

“Then how did Blades survive before?”

“I don’t think they were around, back then.” Malos says. “I mean, I was, but you lot weren’t.”

No Blades? Jin can hardly fathom the idea. “How could you know?”

“I’ve spent a lot of time going through these records. I found squat about Blades. Some stuff got close, but it was never right on the money.” Research focusing on immortality, chips inserted into brains- something about it always seemed strangely familiar to the Blades that exist now. 

“And you?”

“Call it intuition.” Malos shrugs. “I don’t exactly have memories of back then, but I have… something. I don’t know how to explain it.”

So the Architect himself created them- brought them upon a world that never intended their existence. For what reason? To serve the humans? To leash each of his kind to a master, obeying their every wish until the time comes for them to form the land beneath their feet? 

Perhaps he wished for them to shepherd the humans- to guide them towards a less destructive path. But then, why are they born with swords in their hands? Why do they wield a power only outmatched by his own prized children? Was that the only way for humans to see worth in them? To not simply destroy them as they do each other?

Is it a game? Do they exist to help the humans slaughter and kill? For the Architect’s entertainment? 

Has the Architect lost interest? Is he bored by their attempts at peace? Is that why he sent Malos upon them? Why he sent Mythra? To wipe the board clean? 

Jin’s hands curl into fists. He will not be anyone’s pawn. He will not play their game. If that’s what humans are destined for, then-

“Jin!” 

A beam of white light grows in the distance, and not a moment later, the shadow of Malos’s body blocks it from view. The light splinters across the room when it hits its target, and Malos falls to his knees, letting out a sharp cry as he tumbles to the ground. Jin looks to the source and finds a twisted, mutilated monster unlike anything he’s ever seen before. Not even like Gort.

The creature raises its arm, and the blinding light returns. Jin pulls his sword into his hand, rushing forward and slicing straight through its abdomen. It tips backwards, colliding with the cement behind it, and goes still. 

Turning back to Malos, Jin’s eyes widen. The attack had hit the man’s shoulder, and unlike his previous injury which had bled and stitched itself back together, this time, he is left with a gaping, hollow hole where flesh had once been. The wound is surrounded by a pulsing amethyst glow that seems to ripple through his entire body.

Jin runs towards him, dropping to the ground with no clue of what to do next. “Malos.”

Malos’s eyes are squeezed shut, and with a shaking hand, he grabs at his shoulder. Purple ether flickers in his palm, and his skin begins to stretch out across the opening. It doesn’t last, and Malos lets out a gasping breath as his ether runs dry.

“Malos.” Jin tries again.

Finally, the other man’s eyes open, but they don’t go to Jin. Instead, they look behind him. “We… need to….”

“Stay still.”

“No-” Malos cuts himself off as his body begins to writhe. Forcing himself to ignore the pain, he continues. “It’s-”

Jin turns, jumping to his feet when he notices the creature’s approach once more. The wound he had dealt it has already healed, and it aims another attack their way. Jin throws up a shield, and the light hits against it hard, cracking the surface and sending Jin tumbling backwards. 

He jumps back to his feet, grabbing Malos’s uninjured arm and pulling him off the ground- ignoring the cry of pain as he does so. The monster prepares another burst of light, and Jin barely manages to avoid it, dragging Malos along with him as he searches for any means of escape. Then, he spots the stairwell and makes his way towards it as fast as they can manage. 

Once they make their way to the second floor, Jin drops Malos to the ground. He stretches both hands out in front of him, manifesting as much ice as he can manage towards the stairwell. A layer covers the hole, but it isn’t long before the creature arrives, banging its limbs against the barrier and cracking it within only a few hits. 

Jin looks all around, and his eyes narrow on a glass tube of green mist, not unlike the ones he had seen below. He runs towards it, ripping it from its pedestal and smashing the container against the ground. The glass shatters, and the particles fill the air. Jin absorbs what he can, and using the additional strength, thickens the ice until he is confident that the monster will not break through. 

After several minutes, Jin finally lowers his arms. Exhaustion overwhelms him, and he steadies himself against the wall to avoid collapsing to the ground. His eyes roam towards Malos, still and silent on the floor, just as Jin had left him. 

Jin stumbles his way, dropping to his knees at his side.

“Malos.” Jin tries for a third time.

“Couldn’t have been-” Malos cuts himself off with a barely concealed groan. “a tad more gentle?”

“Can you heal?” Jin demands.

“Doing my best.” Malos forces through clenched teeth. “It’s fine. It’s just like old times.”

Malos tries again to patch back together the wound, but it takes so much of his strength to do so. His Core isn’t able to draw ether like it used to. Every use of it has to be calculated, or he’ll easily run out, and repairing his physical form is a huge consumption of that limited energy. 

Jin looks around the room. The walls are lined with metal containers, large enough to fit a person. The glass tops allow Jin to peer inside. There’s a panel next to each one, and Jin begins pressing the buttons one by one. For most of them, nothing happens, but then he finds a switch that causes the green, ether mist to fill the containment, keeping it trapped inside. He presses another button, and the glass lid flips open.

Jin thinks, and then, making up his mind, he walks back over to Malos. He grabs his arm once more and drags him across the floor towards the contraption. 

“Jin-” Malos looks confused at first, struggling to look behind him to see where Jin is headed. “What are you-”

Reaching the already open pod, Jin pulls Malos off and ground and into the containment. He closes the lid next, and it locks into place. Malos immediately tries pushing against the glass, but he’s far too weak against the simple bolts keeping the lid in place. Ether flickers in his palm, but he doesn’t have enough to spare to even consider destroying the vessel. Jin can see the moment he realizes he is truly trapped, and he can only describe the look in the Aegis’s eyes as complete and utter terror. 

Jin presses a button on the console, and the pod fills with green, bouncing particles. The fear is soon replaced once more by confusion, and then, he understands. The dense ether environment makes it far less of a chore for his Core to absorb what he needs. He pulls at it, dragging it through his crystal and towards the wound, and slowly but surely, his skin, and then armor, begins to stretch over the hole. 

Jin waits for several minutes until the wound is fully healed before pressing the button to open the capsule. 

Malos, still clearly exhausted, tilts his head towards Jin. “Could’ve warned me.”

“Are you alright?” Jin asks.

“I’ll be fine.”

“What was that thing?”

“Like I said before. Wicked creatures of hell.” Malos slowly sits back up, and then he glances again towards Jin. “You feeling alright?”

Jin considers the question, and he’s surprised to find the answer is yes. Usually such a display of power would have crippled him, but this time, he feels… not great, but far better than he should.

“Guess we found our solution after all.” Malos determines without Jin even needing to reply. “We’ll need to build something like this up in Alrest. It should keep you stable.” Malos swings his legs over the edge of the machine, stumbling slightly as he stands. He looks next to the ice barrier Jin had created, and that strange look from before returns. “Really thought you were gonna leave me to them.”

Jin furrows his brow. “What?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t consider it.” Malos drawls before finally looking away. “Come on. Only one way out now.”

Malos goes to the stairs, and Jin is right behind him. It takes a bit of time to reach the top, but once they do, they step out onto the roof. Jin continues forward, unable to tear his eyes away from the seemingly endless dark horizon in front of them. 

Did it always look like this? Was the world once bright and green and blue before humans destroyed even the color of their world?

Malos joins him at the edge. “Certainly didn’t miss this view.”

“How long were you down here?”

“Hard to say.” Malos shrugs. “Maybe six months? Maybe longer. I don’t know.”

For longer than Jin could even imagine in a place like this. “And you survived those creatures?”

“It wasn’t easy, but I did what I had to.” Malos’s hand twitches towards the now healed wound. “I wish I had discovered this place back then. I had to heal up the old fashioned way. Took ages every time.”

“It sounds… difficult.”

“In few words, yeah.” Malos grimaces. “My punishment, I suppose.”

“Punishment?” Jin glances towards him.

“From my father.” Malos clarifies. “He gave me a task, and I failed- left me to rot down here. Wouldn’t even let me…” Malos trails off, eyes flickering over to the World Tree.

“He denied you entry?” Jin follows his gaze. If the Architect has abandoned even his own son, then what hope is there for the rest of them?

Malos peers over the raised trim of the building and to the street down below. More of those creatures have gathered, wandering around the empty road with no clear intention of where they want to go- if they even ‘want’ at all. It’s so unusual to see fear in his eyes, but these monsters seem to drag it right out of him. “You could probably push me off, if you’re so inclined.”

Jin is silent, and his head slowly turns away from the street and towards his companion. “Do you want to die?”

“Not at all.” Malos shakes his head. “I wouldn’t blame you though, if you wanted to settle things.” Then, Malos meets his gaze. “You have so much anger. I feel it every time I touch your Core. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before you make good on it.”

Malos has always been able to read him unfortunately well, but it doesn’t bother Jin as much this time around. 

“I am angry.” Jin admits. “But not at you.”

The answer takes Malos off guard. “Not at me?”

“We’re all pawns, aren’t we. In his game?” Jin looks again at the World Tree. “Fighting these useless battles against each other, and for what? His entertainment?”

“Amalthus’s?”

Jin blinks. Amalthus. The Praetor. The one who speaks the words of the Architect. The one who climbed the World Tree and gifted the Aegises upon the world. The one who destroyed the people of his homeland and killed his-

“Yes.” Jin decides, and then a question arises. “Why did you leave him?”

“I found him to be pointless.” Malos explains. “I had my orders from my father. There was no need for a middle man. He just slowed me down.”

“And what now?” Jin says. “Do you still serve your father? Even after he abandoned you?”

Malos doesn’t respond at first, but when he finally does, it’s not much of an answer. “I don’t know.”

“I need you to know.”

Malos looks away, brows furrowed in thought. “I…” But then he goes silent. 

The indecision makes Jin’s hands curl. “You were right about humans. They toss aside life so carelessly. They tear each other to pieces, climbing over their own piles of corpses just so they can say they are the tallest.” Jin spits at the image of Amalthus in his mind. “We Blades are dragged along, and they pull us apart just as easily. They wield us for their own benefit and cast us aside when we are no longer of use.” The answer, then, is clear. “This world has no need for humans.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Malos agrees.

“They’ve had their turn. Now it is ours.” It is time for Blades to reign- time for Blades to live as they desire, not as their human master dictates. Humans destroyed their world, and now it is Blades that make up the ground beneath their feet. “Alrest belongs to us.”

“It won’t be easy.” Malos says. “Even you didn’t listen to me before. Why would any of them listen to you now?”

“They don’t have to listen.” They won’t listen. Most of them, at least. But it doesn’t matter. “I will show them. I will set them free.”

Malos blinks. What that exactly entails, Malos isn’t sure. Even he had merely desired to erase humanity. What that meant for Blades wasn’t something he had considered all that deeply. “A lofty goal.”

“You will help me,” Jin declares, but that certainly doesn’t last. He tilts his head towards Malos, meeting his own hesitant gaze. “won’t you?”

“My power isn’t what it used to be.”

“Then we will repair it.” Jin says. “Whatever it takes.”

Malos nods. “If that is your wish, then I yours to wield.”

“You will be mine.” Jin turns towards him, closing any distance between them. “Not the Architect’s. Not Amalthus’s. You will belong to me.”

Malos belongs to his father. He always has. It was the Architect that created him and sent him down to this wretched world. Is it his will that he follows. It is from him that Malos finds his purpose in existence. 

Jin is not why he was made. Jin is not a god. Jin is no more than a beaten, broken weapon that no longer fits into the guise his father had intended for their kind. Jin is a mutilated creature that should not exist. He is a mistake.

But then, why does he feel so right?

Why does he feel like the answer he’s been searching for all along?

And so, he makes his choice.

 “I will be yours.” Malos promises. “Forever and always.”

As soon as the declaration is made, Jin looks back towards the black sky. “Can we reach Torna from here?”

“I thought you didn’t want to go there?”

“I know what I said,” Jin replies, “but I have to. There’s something I need to do.”

With Jin’s mind made up, so is Malos’s. “Then we will go there.”

Jin meets his gaze once again, and the anger and sadness that had swelled in his eyes before is still there. It hasn’t faded at all, and perhaps it never will. But within it, Malos is pretty sure he sees a hint of hope returning.

And that is enough.