Work Text:
A god is nothing without followers. Joel knew that far too well, having quickly found followers for himself before building a single thing in Stratos. Aside from the fountain, but he didn’t build that! Definitely not, that was the lore. Not him. Obviously. The fountain gave him his powers, how would he have built that before it made him a god? It made no sense. Clearly, anyone who said he built that was just dumb.
Putting that tangent to the side, Joel knew a god with no followers was nothing. Gods are made, not born. Like Saint Pearl, who became a god after abandoning her physical form to save the Gilded Hilanthia from The Rapture. Though most historical accounts have forgotten most of The Rapture, her saving land was remembered. Even if that meant forgetting Aeors final champion's sacrifice. Joel hated history, especially in these cases.
After all, he was there for it. He knew Pearl only saved her own kingdom, it was Scott that really saved everyone who survived the initial damage. Despite all his efforts, the elf went completely forgotten by time. He always wondered if he could’ve done more, but he couldn’t live forever and Mezalea eventually fell, according to Pixl anyways. At Least someone was remembered, he’d remind himself.
Even if the people who did the most weren’t. Scott saved everyone he possibly could have, permanently killing himself and Xornoth with the Runeblade. He never believed Xornoth was real, but he really hoped he was wrong. He hated the idea Scott killed himself for nothing. He wouldn’t fucking do that.
Even then, Scott wasn’t what hurt the most. Sure, Scott was his friend, the guy nearly felt like family with how he was with Jimmy, but he could never compare to Lizzie. Eight thousand years later and he still smiled at the memory of the beautiful woman. She had a sweet, caring nature with the strength and bloodlust of a hoglin. Everything about her was beautiful, from her sharp-toothed grin to her soft, clawed hands that she’d use to yoink him up into a hug…
And then there’s that fucking cat. Mayor Lizzie of Animalia- the lady drove him insane. She was so much like her, she even shared her name- everytime he saw her it felt like he was looking at the ocean floor for the first time again, and talking to her felt like it was killing him. He couldn’t tell if her not liking him much either was better or worse, if he was honest. At Least she didn’t feel like a replacement.
And then at that stupid princess party, she smiled at him. A big, sharp-toothed grin. He left the party early.
Gods were nothing without followers, and nobody knew of the Blue Axolotl these days. Even Pixl only knew a little bit of the legend. Sometimes he regretted valuing art and creativity in Mezalea over accurate accounts, as now all that was left of her was up to interpretation of art from thousands upon thousands of years ago. Joel wondered if maybe, he’d stayed in Mezalea longer, there would’ve been something.
Then again, if he hadn’t left, he might’ve never found her again. He…wasn’t sure if that was a good thing anyways. When Joel found Lizzie after the ocean dried, he sobbed, hugging her so tightly she could barely breathe. She was a human again, incredibly confused by the small moth hybrid suddenly using her like a pillow to cry into. He’d explained everything, shown her the things he kept- and she recognized it! He was so ecstatic, he didn’t care if she only felt things were a little familiar because god it was something. Eventually, he built them a home by the sea, mixing their old kingdoms architecture. She loved it, and she loved him again.
And then she passed away. She wasn’t a god anymore, afterall. But in her final moments, she remembered. She looked up at him and called him by his old nickname she’d given him when they first married. And after that, she made him her angel. A demigod, of sorts. They slept beside each other for a final time, and in the morning, she was gone, replaced by a pair of shimmering white wings on his back.
He built the fountain. He was a god, and he needed a reason why, didn’t he? The Blue Axolotl was nothing but a legend now. She didn’t have followers or angels anymore, how could she? She was gone. Joel still remembered though.
Joel remembered everything.