Chapter Text

Five years had passed since the King had conceded and given you permission to remain in a relationship with Tauxolouve. A lot had happened since then: Perhaps one of the most challenging times was due to the way Aigonorus tried to deal with a romantic wish (Teorus usually handled those when it was their shift but his time ability was needed elsewhere) combined with Scorpio using a forbidden power, had seen the King exiling six Zodiac Gods (Huedhaut, Teorus, Aigonorus, Scorpio, Dui and Ichthys) to Earth with marks of sin. Karno had tried his best to help Tauxolouve with the paperwork that Huedhaut would normally handle but that left you as the main person to do the main part of the work and you had only been in the heavens about two years at the time. It was rather a trying time but you had somehow made it through.

As it turned out your biggest trial was just around the corner.

Late one afternoon an emergency meeting was called. The positioning of the stars had moved, confusing humans down on the Earth below which meant only one thing: Heaven’s Rift was finally upon the heavens once more. You all met at the mansion to decide what action might need to be taken.

Tauxolouve seemed quiet as the other members of Wishes and Punishments discussed between themselves the potential dangers that might arise from the rift affecting the heavens.

Stepping away from the others, you approached your boyfriend with concern. “Lou?” You asked softly. “Is there something on your mind?”

“Look into my eyes.”

You blinked, but did as he asked, your eyes widening at what you saw. “That’s not your constellation mark, so that means…”

“It’s the mark of the King, yup,” Tauxolouve muttered, glancing uneasily to the side. “Dad always told me what to look for so the minute we knew Heaven’s Rift was upon us I deliberately took a closer look.”

“If the rift picked you despite our relationship, isn’t that a good thing?”

Tauxolouve sighed heavily. “Dad might take this as a sign we shouldn’t be together any more. The King isn’t supposed to have a significant other.”

You swallowed hard and took his hand in your own, forcing an uneasy smile onto your face. “Do you want to speak to him first? Find out where we stand before we tell the others the news?”

“... Alright, little lady. If you’re sure you’re ready for this.”

“Positive.”

A while later, you stepped into the throne room with Tauxolouve. When you had been trying to reassure him before you had somehow managed to keep your nerves under control, but now your stomach was full of butterflies. What if he was right and the King would demand you split? What would Tauxolouve do then? Would he risk getting married to you at the fountain even if it might mean the mark disappearing from his eyes? What if…

Your thoughts trailed off as you felt Tauxolouve squeeze your hand tightly and you took a deep breath, irritated with yourself for letting your worry show.

“(y/n), it’s alright,” Tauxolouve murmured softly, “I know this is a lot to deal with.” It seemed your roles from earlier had been reversed.

Before you could respond to him, another voice cut through the air. “I suppose I should not be surprised to see you today, Tauxolouve, (y/n). Tauxolouve, step closer.”

Tauxolouve hesitantly stepped closer to the throne, forcing an uneasy smile as the other looked into his eyes.

“Ah, so it is time. I hope you are both prepared for what is to come.”

You frowned. Whilst that was somewhat cryptic, it wasn’t as troubling as you had feared. Now a little more hopeful, you stepped nearer Tauxolouve, but was surprised to see the other’s eyes had widened in shock. “Lou? What’s wrong?”

“That’s not the King.”

Confused, you looked back at the throne but what you saw was who you were expecting. However, because of Tauxolouve’s comment, you looked closer: Sure it looked like His Highness but there was a softness to his smile, a kindness to his eyes that you hadn’t seen before. You looked questioningly back at Tauxolouve, somewhat reassured when you saw he was now smiling. “Lou?”

Instead of answering you, Tauxolouve looked at the ‘King’ with a smirk and a glint in his eyes. “Why do you always try this, Mum? You can’t fool me. ‘Sides, I’d rather you not confuse (y/n) like this - don’t you think a normal introduction would have been better?”

There was a soft laugh after that and the image of the King shimmered to reveal a Goddess with very long black hair. If you didn’t know that Tauxolouve’s soul had been saved at the moment of death by the King you would have said she actually looked like his biological mother. However, now you were confused for a different reason. “I thought from everything you’ve said that the King isn’t allowed to have a partner?” A little irritation subconsciously leaked through into your voice: If his Highness had a wife then why was he so against you and Tauxolouve being together? Was it purely just because you used to be a human?

“(y/n),” Tauxolouve’s mother commented softly before Tauxolouve could even try to answer you, “I understand that you must feel lost right now. But that is why I am here in place of the King. This needs a more delicate touch.”

“Your Majesty, I -”

“Ichika,” she interrupted you with a kind smile. “I don’t actually have a title. After all, aside from my husband and the Zodiac Gods, no one else knows I exist.”

As if sensing your confusion, Tauxolouve squeezed your hand gently and smiled gently in way of reassurance. “Don’t worry too much about all this, I promise it’ll all make sense eventually.”

You tried to relax hearing this, but you were troubled for another reason. “Um… Ichika… we came here to make sure that the King would allow us to…”

Ichika smiled softly and stepped nearer you both at this point. She looked to Tauxolouve. “You are wondering whether you can continue your relationship now you know for sure that the rift wants you as the next King?”

“Yup,” Tauxolouve hesitantly answered, biting his lip.

“So is your intention to marry during the rift?”

Tauxolouve looked toward you at this point, the look in his eyes along with his caring smile making your heart rate quicken. “Lou…”

“I would like nothing more,” he answered his mother’s question softly, still keeping his gaze focussed solely on you.

“Then you leave the King to me,” Ichika commented to you both. “(y/n), we can talk properly later. For now I’d like you and Lou to focus on making sure the departments are prepared for what’s to come.”

You squeezed Tauxolouve’s hand as you saw the other take a deep breath, knowing what that meant: it meant you’d have to tell the others that Tauxolouve was going to become King this Heaven’s Rift.

“Come to the house tonight, we can talk more then,” Ichika added.

As you then bowed to Ichika and made to take your leave, she called out to Tauxolouve. “Could I have a quick word alone dear?”

Hesitantly you looked questioningly at Tauxolouve. He smiled reassuringly at you though you suspected it was a little forced. “Wait for me outside? I won’t be a moment.”

Swallowing, you nodded in understanding and headed out of the throne room.

If you had even been tempted to try and eavesdrop on what they were talking about, you didn’t get a chance to. As soon as you stepped out of the throne room, someone or something fired an energy ball at you from the shadows. Startled, you managed to counter it with a crackling ball of energy of your own. Going into the throne room where the attacker could follow you seemed unwise as it might be after Tauxolouve or even the King. If it was now focussed on getting rid of you as you’d noticed its presence, you needed to go somewhere else and hope it followed.

Your breathing a little strained, you snapped your fingers and teleported to the door to Earth. When you were there you hesitated, worried about taking something dangerous to Earth, but in the end you dismissed that: the rest of the Zodiac Gods were there right now and that was going to be the best place to find out what exactly this was.

Unfortunately your hesitation was enough for it to fire another shot and this time you were taken unawares. You suddenly found yourself slammed up against the wall by someone, the ball of energy whizzing safely past you both before crashing into the end corridor wall with a bang.

Trying to get your breathing back under control, you finally managed to look up at your saviour. Seeing who it was, you forced an uneasy smile. “Leon.”

Leon regarded you with a frown. “O ho? Is that all I get? Not even a thank you?”

“S-sorry,” you stammered as he stepped back, trying to recompose yourself. “Thank you.”

The other smirked at you a little, but before he could respond he turned sharply as he heard another energy attack. “I’ll deal with this. Get out of here.”

“But -”

“You are one of the Zodiac Gods and that benevolent prince’s partner. Right now it seems to be specifically targeting you. Now get going!”

Grimacing, but realising Leon was right, you rushed through the door to Earth.

You just hoped that Tauxolouve would understand you not waiting for him.

The others were still talking when you arrived back. Either they had not noticed you and Tauxolouve slipping away or they had but had got back into their discussion in the meantime.

Deciding not to interrupt, you sat down on the sofa hoping to find a gap to talk to them.

Moments later, however, Tauxolouve got back from the heavens. He did not seem at all happy as he looked over to you. “I thought I asked you to wait for me? I woulda liked to have discussed with you something Mum mentioned before we got back here. Would it really have been too much trouble to stay outside the throne room? Part of what Mum had to say was making sure I was certain that we both wanted this and I hope she didn’t see that you had already left when I headed out to the corridor. If you’re havin’ doubts, please just tell me instead of doing a disappearing act.”

You grimaced a little, but couldn’t help but glare at him. “You think I’m hiding something? You didn’t even tell me that your mother was still around. She hasn’t come up in these five years.”

“... I get that you’re lost and confused,” Tauxolouve murmured, his tone softening a little now. “But I really need you by my side right now. When I couldn’t find ya, I thought somethin’ had happened.”

“Lou, it -” you cut off sharply as sparks started flying off the metal in your uniform.

Tauxolouve moved back from you, his eyes widening. “(y/n)!”

His startled shout saw the others turn from their own conversation. Huedhaut moved quickly over to you both. He frowned with worry as he saw why Tauxolouve had shouted. “Change your uniform, quickly.”

Remembering what you had had to do years ago when you weren’t used to your unique divine power, you nodded in understanding to Huedhaut and snapped your fingers. Except, nothing happened. “... Huh?”

Tauxolouve took a deep breath and snapped his own fingers, changing you into your Earth clothes which you now all had since spending time down here whilst six of you had been exiled.

The other then sat quickly down beside you on the sofa and hugged you tightly. He bit his lip, glancing away. “(y/n)... my apologies. I’ve a lot on my mind, especially since talking to Mum… was this why you didn’t wait for me? Were you already having issues with your powers?”

You lent into him and took a few deep breaths trying to calm down, shaking your head in response to his question. Instead you scanned the room until your eyes made contact with Zygalvis’.

Zyglavis looked over to you with a frown. “Is there something you wish to say to me?”

“I left the heavens because someone or something attacked me.”

The Minister of Punishments’ eyes widened. He then nodded curtly in understanding. “Scorpio?”

“Tch, on it,” his Vice Minister replied with irritation before heading to the heavens.

Before you could give any more details to Zyglavis, you felt Tauxolouve’s hands start to tremble. “Lou?”

“I… I’m sorry… I was worried somethin’ had happened when I couldn’t find you but then when I found you were here seemingly fine…”

You hugged him gently. “I shouldn’t have snapped back at you either. Lou, it’s alright.”

“No, it isn’t,” Tauxolouve murmured, though he managed to force his usual smile onto his face. “I shoulda realised somethin’ was up. So what actually happened?”

After you had explained, Zyglavis averted his gaze to the side with a frown. “That sounds like energy from the under realm. If servants of the Dark King are utilising the rift in some manner… but then why target you?”

Huedhaut had moved back over to the ex Goddess of fate at this point. He held her close at the mention of the under realm, but looked over to you both. “Tauxolouve, do you not think it would be best to tell them now?”

Tauxolouve flinched slightly, then nodded. “Ah, I should have realised you’d work out why we went to the throne room…”

“Lou?” Karno asked with concern.

Helping you to your feet, Tauoxlouve linked arms with you before looking at the rest of the Zodiac Gods. “I have the mark of the King in my eyes.”

The living room was silent for a few moments after that as they all took the news in. In the end it was Zyglavis who spoke up first. “So, the current King…”

“Yes,” Tauxolouve confirmed, and the other nodded in understanding.

You frowned, wondering what that was about but looking around at the others you realised you were not the only one who was lost regarding this.

“... My apologies, I should have foreseen that the under realm might take advantage of this situation sooner,” Zyglavis added, his gaze focussed on both of you. He looked at you sternly. “Far be it for me to tell the future King and Queen how to act but I implore you to be careful. (y/n), I suspect the reason why the under realm attacked you as well is because of the position you are in. Your relationship with Tauxolouve in the heavens is not only widely public knowledge but is well regarded. What we do in the days that follow must be carefully planned out. You say you have spoken to your mother, Tauxolouve?”

Tauxolouve nodded. “Yup, and she seems happy enough for (y/n) and I to stay together, but we’re meeting her again tonight.”

“Very well, but surely you must realise what will happen if you get killed now or the heavens decide that your union means you can no longer be King?”

“...” Tauxolouve bit his lip and glanced to the side. “I know,” he muttered, his voice barely audible. However, after that moment of uncertainty, he looked back at Zyglavis with determined eyes, pulling you closer to him. “But nothing is going to stop me from marryin’ her. Will you just concentrate on dealing with the under realm?”

Zyglavis sighed heavily, but did not try to argue. Instead he responded, “Naturally Punishments is at your disposal for anything you require right now but you can both help as well. For a start, being on your own anywhere will likely pose a risk.”

“I can look after myself!” You tried to protest.

“Oh? Forgive me, but did you not just get saved by Leon? Also I hope you have not forgotten that you could not change your clothes yourself!”

You flinched a little. Now rather worried you snapped your fingers again, but this time it worked and your uniform reappeared - though due to earlier you had summoned it without any metal parts.

Huedhaut looked up from where he was sitting. He sighed softly. “I think I know what is going on…”

“You do?” Tauxolouve asked him with concern.

“If you recall you asked me to look into the effects of previous rifts a while back,” Huedhaut responded matter-of-factly to the other. “It just so happens that one effect mentioned is instability in powers.”

“Then I’m back to the possibility of my unique power activating when I don’t want it to?” You asked, your voice cracking a little.

Tauxolouve smiled reassuringly at you. “Let’s not take any chances,” he murmured softly before snapping his fingers.

You turned to him with confusion. “What did you just do?”

Your boyfriend smiled softly and brushed your hair back a little. “Hair clips,” he muttered simply, tilting his head and closing his eyes.

“Oh!” It hadn’t even occurred to you that you still had them in.

Zyglavis sighed heavily. “Please do not lose your focus. It is paramount that we ensure everything goes smoothly. Now that we know that this rift is a change of monarch it is even more vital that -”

“Zig,” Tauxoluve interrupted, forcing a smile at the other. “Save the lecture would ya? If you don’t mind, I need to talk to (y/n) alone.”

“... Did you not hear a word I just said? It is out of the question for you two to be anywhere on your own. The under realm has already attacked (y/n) twice and it seems likely that you would also be in their sights, Tauxolouve. At least one of us should remain with you at all times.”

You grimaced, swallowing hard at the hesitant look now on Tauxolouve’s face. The other was clearly torn over what made the most sense for safety and the want to clearly tell you something out of earshot of the others.

Before either of you could agree or disagree to Zyglavis’ statement, Huedhaut stood back up once more. He moved over to you and Tauxolouve, before looking at the Minister of Punishments with a frown. “If it will ease your worrying I will go with them for the moment. However, if I do so, you better all make sure she is safe.”

“... Very well,” Zyglavis replied tersely. “But do not be long. There is still much to discuss.”

You glanced at Tauxolouve but the other seemed to have calmed down somewhat since his Vice Minister had joined you. Not wanting to get into any more of a disagreement with Zyglavis, you followed Tauxolouve and Huedhaut out of the room.

Outside your bedroom in the mansion, Tauxolouve looked at Huedhaut with an uneasy smile. “For you to leave her in the living room for this you must have had an idea.”

Huedhaut sighed. “This seemed simpler than trying to reason with Zyglavis. I could just promise you I will stay here and not listen in on what you need to say but I can give you more assurance than that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out two familiar chains.

Your eyes widened. “The necklaces! You fixed them!”

“... It was not easy,” Huedhaut admitted. “And I’m uncertain how long they will last for which is why I kept them in case of an emergency.”

As you went to take yours, Tauxolouve stopped you.

“Lou?”

“Be careful. Ya sure your powers are stable again?”

Swallowing, you lowered your hand. “I think so. But perhaps you better put it on me…”

Tauxolouve smiled softly and took both the necklaces from Huedhaut. “I’ll try to make this as quick as I can.”

Huedhaut nodded in understanding, then stepped to the side to let you into the room.

Inside your bedroom, Tauxolouve helped you put your necklace on before applying his own, then gently guided you to sit down on the edge of your bed. Once again he now seemed troubled.

“Lou? Are you still upset about snapping at me before? I know it was unlike you but I had left and you didn’t know the reason…”

Tauxolouve flinched. “Ya right, it was unlike me. I shoulda let you explain first. It’s just… Mum was the one who greeted us ‘cause Dad’s dying.”

Your eyes widened. You may not always see eye to eye with the King but that didn’t change that he was - to all extents and purposes - Tauxolouve’s father. Taking a deep breath, you hesitantly reached out and gripped his hands in your own. “This was what Ichika wanted to speak to you on your own about?”

“Partly,” Tauxolouve responded.

“From what you’ve said before about the rift and changing of the King, the current one always does move on, right? But I thought that normally happened at the moment of the change…”

Tauxolouve sighed. “Ah. Yeah, normally. But there’s nothing normal about this one.”

Frowning, your mind went back to how Tauxolouve had interrupted Zyglavis’ question before. “Does Zyglavis know the King is already dying?”

“... Yeah,” Tauxolouve responded, his voice cracking a little. “Ya see, Dad wasn’t actually chosen by the last Heaven’s Rift.”

“WHAT?!” You exclaimed, grimacing as the other flinched. You took a deep breath to try and calm down, but now you were even more confused than you had been in the throne room. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright,” Tauxolouve murmured, his own tone soft now. He smiled gently at you. “I knew this was going to be a lot to take in.”

“Why not tell me any of this before?”

Tauxolouve sighed, biting his lip as he averted his gaze a little. “How many secrets do you want to have to keep from the others? Zyglavis is the only one aside from me who knows about this.”

“Lou?”

The other took a deep breath before looking directly back at you.

You never found out whether he would have continued this conversation as at that moment a searing pain stormed through your body. The surroundings starting to fade, you were barely aware of Tauxolouve reaching up to your neck and breaking the necklace's chain to get it off you.

The pain disappeared as quickly as it had come and you reopened your eyes, blushing a little as you realised you were now in Tauxolouve’s arms. “Lou… what…”

“Your power surged again just then, the necklace tried to electrocute ya. You alright?”

“Y-yeah,” you responded, your voice a little shaky. “I guess that’s our time to ourselves over then.”

“Not quite,” Tauxolouve murmured softly, helping you to sit up on his lap. He brushed your hair back. “I hope I made my intentions clear in the throne room but that doesn’t really feel like enough.”

Your heartbeat quickened as you wondered whether he meant what you thought he meant. “Lou…”

“Don’t say anything little lady,” Tauxolouve murmured with a smile, tilting his head. “It’s not everyday I get to propose.”

“!!!” You felt like you stopped breathing for a few seconds, but you managed to stop yourself from saying yes right there and then, wondering what the other intended to say.

“(y/n), when we first met all those years ago in the throne room, I felt drawn to you in a way I couldn’t explain. Perhaps it was just because you had no preconceptions of me or my status as you came from Earth originally, but whatever it was… it led to the most wonderful time of my life. I’m not saying the future is going to be easy, and getting married to me will be a risk when it has never been done after the rift has picked the King, but I believe our love is strong enough to overcome any adversity the universe throws at us. So what d’ya say, little lady, will you make this future king the happiest man in the heavens?”

“Oh Lou, of course I will!” You exclaimed, before throwing your arms around him and pulling him into a kiss. That wasn’t to say you weren’t concerned about the future, but you had faced off the King in order to start this relationship and no matter what you were not going to abandon Tauxolouve now. You never wanted him to feel alone ever again.

Smiling softly, Tauxolouve then helped you to your feet. “C’mon, we best get back to the others.”

Heading back into the corridor, you grimaced as you saw how flustered Huedhaut seemed. “Hue… were you listening?!”

“Not intentionally,” Huedhaut muttered, trying to recompose himself. He smirked at you. “But I am sure I would have been able to tell anyway. What just happened is plastered all over your face.”

Tauxolouve sighed heavily. “Hue, save the teasing will you? (y/n) just got electrocuted by the necklace.”

“!!!” Huedhaut’s eyes widened, then he looked down at the floor. “My apologies, I should not have offered them to you.”

Grimacing, you moved closer to him. “I can’t tell you why but they were helpful, thank you. If nothing else I appreciate you tried to make it that you couldn’t even accidentally overhear us. We had more privacy than we would have had with any of the others.”

Huedhaut looked back up at you with a smirk. “Careful now. You shouldn’t compliment me so much now you’re a promised woman.”

Tauxolouve rolled his eyes but joined arms with you regardless. He looked at Huedhaut with a teasing smirk of his own. “Speaking of which, I’m soon gonna be the one who can say yes or no to a certain someone asking whether they can ask the fountain whether they can marry a human, so I wouldn’t push this joke too far now. Or perhaps you’re thinking of asking for something else?”

“!!!” Huedhaut’s breath hitched, then he looked at Tauxolouve with uncertainty in his eyes. “Lou, you would…”

“Talk it over with her, decide what you want. Then I might be able to act.”

“... Thank you…”

Heading back to the living room, you all shared a glance as you heard slightly raised voices.

Your eyes widened a little as you placed that it was Karno who was speaking.

“Lou and (y/n) will obviously be busy with preparations of their own, if this is the under realm attacking once more which as you say seems likely - then Hue needs to stay with the Ex-Goddess of Fate for her own safety. Teorus really needs to concentrate on making sure time remains stable. That will leave myself and Aigo as the only ones who can be fully focussed on the Wishes department. I cannot spare myself to protect Tauxolouve and (y/n) in this instance.”

“Regardless, they are both a part of Wishes and it is not as though Punishments is likely to have the capacity to keep an eye on them directly. There is already too much that requires my own attention and if we are to find out more about what the under realm is intending I cannot disturb Scorpio either. Dui, Ichthys, and Krioff would hardly make good protectors - with our powers already unstable, Krioff especially would probably be more dangerous than no guard at all.”

“That’s as may be, Zyglavis, but you still have more resources on your hands. Now is not the time to draw the line between the departments.”

“Guys, please,” Ichthys interrupted, getting to his feet. “Look I can follow them around and fetch someone if there’s an issue right? After all -” He cut off.

Hearing Dui shout his name, you quickly rushed in at that point only to find that the other had caught Ichthys in his arms.

“What’s wrong?” You asked them with concern.

Zyglavis sighed. “The rift clearly has an effect on all of us. Ichthys might be more susceptible to it than most.” He looked harshly back at Karno. “Which is precisely why I stated that he cannot help you. With Ichthys out of action and myself and Scorpio incredibly busy, Partheno unfortunately seems the most likely one to be able to carry out Punishments’ tasks efficiently.”

Before anyone else could respond to that, you hesitantly took a step forward. “Um… Zyglavis, Karno… why are we looking within the departments for Lou and I to have extra protection?”

Zyglavis frowned at you. “I can scarcely recommend someone outside of the departments. It is not as though we can guarantee that the under realm doesn’t have any influence in the heavens.”

“I think (y/n) might have someone specific in mind,” Karno retorted, looking at you with a gentle smile. “Am I right?”

“...” You hesitated for a moment but relaxed as Tauxolouve squeezed your hand gently in reassurance. Smiling uneasily, you nodded in response to Karno’s question before adding, “Leon has already saved me once today and he was originally supposed to be a part of Wishes. If anyone in the heavens outside the departments has the power to protect us, it’s him.”

Tauxolouve nodded in agreement with your suggestion. “It may be that Wishes will need adjusting once the rift is over anyway. ‘Sides if Leon stays near to us we won’t interfere with your work at all.”

“Why do you even think that he would even agree to this?” Zyglavis asked, unable to mask the irritation in his voice.

Tauxolouve smirked at him and tilted his head, his eyes glinting. “Well as you have made it quite clear that you are unwilling to lend any of your resources to us at this time, and I have no wish to pile all of Wishes’ work onto Karno or Aigo, you do not leave us with much choice. Unless you are now saying you have changed your mind?”

“Whatever happened to Punishments being at our disposal for whatever we required anyway?” You added, recalling the conversation you had been having with Zyglavis before Huedhaut had offered his assistance.

Before Zyglavis was able to answer that, Scorpio returned from the heavens, but he wasn’t alone.

“O ho? So this is the mansion you lot all disappear off to?”

“Leon, (y/n) told me what you did, thank you,” Tauxolouve greeted the other with a small smile, though he also pulled you closer to him.

Zyglavis scowled at the newcomer. “What are you doing here? Your power on Earth, even if you remained in the mansion, is -”

“Do you ever shut up?” Leon snapped, glaring at the other. “How do the rest of you put up with Minister Ponytail?”

“What did you just call me?”

Leon rolled his eyes and ignored him, instead turning his attention to the both of you. “That trickster gave me a ring a while back, there’s no need to worry about my powers.”

Tauxolouve frowned a little. “The King did? Why? And what makes you call him a trickster anyway?” It was obvious that that was who Leon meant because he knew the kind of things his father tended to get the departments to do but Leon shouldn’t have had that much contact with him.

“I’ve been at his beck and call ever since your woman here took the last place in Wishes. I’m sick and tired of it.”

“...” Tauxolouve bit his lip and glanced at you questioningly.

Realising what he was asking you, you nodded and looked back at Leon. “Well you won’t need to do that anymore.”

“O ho? You might be the prince’s partner but I doubt either of you would stand up to that sly dog.”

Tauxolouve managed a smirk. “I don’t need to. At the peak of this Heaven’s Rift, I’ll be the King.”

Leon’s eyes widened with surprise momentarily, then he looked at you both with a frown. “Then that’s why the attack seemed to be aimed directly at (y/n).”

You swallowed hard. “We were actually going to come find you. Zyglavis doesn’t seem to want to lend us anyone from Punishments but is also refusing us going anywhere on our own…”

“Pfft, you don’t want any of that mob from that straight lace square’s department.”

“This is serious!” Zyglavis snapped. He glared at him with a disapproving frown. “I also note you never actually fully answered Tauxolouve’s question: Why do you have a ring to come down here? What exactly was it the King has been getting you to do?”

“Who the hell cares what that sparkly bastard has been up to?” Scorpio snapped, finally losing his patience. “We need to talk, Zig. Things… are already rather troubling in the heavens.”

Zyglavis sighed. “Very well.” He looked to you and Tauxolouve. “I shall leave it up to you whether you trust Leon to protect you but on your own heads be it.”

Tauxolouve tensed a little beside you. Worriedly you looked up at him. “Lou?” You whispered.

“...”

Leon sighed. “I could have left (y/n) earlier. Yes, part of what the King asked of me was to do with you but I am on your side. If it will reassure the anal retentive glorified kitchen scale I’ll tell you what exactly I was asked and you can make your minds up after that. He doesn’t need to be here for this, it doesn’t concern the straight laced square.”

Zyglavis’ eyes narrowed at Leon but he did not say a word in return this time, his mind clearly occupied with the warning Scorpio had just given them.

Seemingly reassured by Leon’s words, Tauxolouve managed to relax a little. He looked over to Karno. “I think you and Aigo best go with Zyglavis and the others and see what is happening in the heavens. We will follow shortly.”

Karno nodded in understanding.

“What about me, Louie?”

Tauxolouve turned to Teorus with a gentle smile. “Karno was right that you should concentrate on making sure time is stable. With the rift affecting all the worlds, that will be at its most precarious. I’d like you to focus on the hall of time.”

“Right.”

As the others went to leave, you ended up catching Ichthys as he tried to stand up and failed.

“Ugh… thanks,” Ichthys muttered, letting you help him sit back down on the sofa. He bit his lip and looked over to the others. “Could you give me a minute Ziggy?”

Zyglavis frowned.

Huedhaut looked over to Zyglavis from where he was sitting with the reincarnated Goddess of Fate. “If the heavens are already succumbing to an attack from the under realm, then neither there nor the Earth is going to be safe for us. We will stay at the mansion and Ichthys is welcome to remain too. He is never going to get back to the heavens safely in that state.”

“You make a valid argument for once,” Zyglavis muttered back, still clearly a little riled from the conversation with Leon, though part of you wondered whether it was also still to do with Huedhaut’s choice of partner. “Very well. Ichthys you may remain here but I expect you to be on your best behaviour.”

“... It’s not as though I feel like I’ve got the energy to even stand,” Ichthys muttered. “I couldn’t do anything like that even if I wanted to.”

“See that it remains that way even if you are feeling better later,” Zyglavis responded curtly, before leaving with the others.

An uneasy silence fell over the living room after that. Realising that Tauxolouve was still hesitant to ask Leon what exactly he had meant before, you sighed softly and turned to the other yourself instead. “So, Leon, let me guess… the King was using you to spy on us?”

Leon sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. “That was the thing to do with you two, yeah. Don’t worry I didn’t tell him anything useful. I never even mentioned how your relationship was going unless he bought it up first. Though if he was so worried about whether you were happy or not he could have damn well asked you directly. I think he was just messing with me again because he’s still irritated I never agreed to being part of Wishes. Though I have to say I much preferred pretending to keep an eye on you two than the other nonsense he got me to do.”

“... Worried? About… our happiness?” You asked, now very confused. However, unlike you, Tauxolouve was now smiling, a look of realisation on his face, clearly no longer bothered about this. “Lou? Am I missing something?”

Tauxolouve smirked. “You’re both missing something that makes all the difference. Leon has an excuse. He doesn’t even know about her.”

Catching up with what he was implying, your eyes widened. “So you mean… it was your Mum who asked Leon to keep an eye on us?”

This time it was Leon who looked startled. “Your mother is still alive, Tauxolouve? It definitely appeared to be the King I was speaking to…”

“It would,” Tauxolouve murmured, glancing away from your both. He seemed a little hesitant to say any more right now.

“Why are you so certain it was her?” Leon asked.

You smiled sadly at Leon. “Because the King did not originally even tolerate our relationship. If he’d asked you to keep an eye on us it would have more likely to try and find a reason to split us up.”

Leon frowned.

Before he could ask anything else, Tauxolouve looked back over to him. “Leon, how bad is it in the heavens right now?”

“Minister Ponytail had one thing right,” Leon reluctantly replied. “You two need a guard. The initial dark energy might have been aimed at (y/n) but it’s far more widespread now. It’s as though the barrier between the heavens and the under realm has weakened.”

Tauxolouve grimaced. “That’s why Zig was really so adamant he couldn’t spare anyone. He’d already realised…” he mumbled to himself.

“Lou? What’s wrong?” You asked, squeezing his arm gently.

Your fiancé looked as though the whole world was crashing down around him.

Huedhaut stood up and sighed softly. “Lou… if this is something you cannot tell us…”

Tauxolouve, however, shook his head. “The King is… ill. That’s probably why the under realm has managed to break through. This is a weak point until the power fully transfers to me.”

Recalling what Tauxolouve had confided you in earlier, you joined hands with him and gripped it tightly. You both knew that saying the King was ill was putting it mildly. “Lou, what if…”

“We need to keep our appointment with my Mother,” Tauxolouve murmured, his voice cracking. He hesitantly looked towards Leon. “Have you been in the throne room today?”

Leon nodded. “Just after (y/n) was attacked I thought I best check on what was going on. The King seemed fine then, in fact he asked me to come down here…”

Tauxolouve bit his lip and glanced away. “That wasn’t Dad, that was Mum. She’s a way of showing herself as the closest approximation a God could ever hope to get to the King of the Heavens. She’s careful not to do it often or in any capacity where someone might get too close and notice, but it is occasionally useful in an emergency such as today. I’m the only one who can see through that mask pretty quickly, though it hasn’t stopped her from trying to catch me off guard on occasion.”

“Then…” Leon sighed, frowning to himself. “I could probably work out when I’ve spoken to her instead of him but that’s way too much trouble to go to right now. You say you have an appointment with her?”

You nodded. “Ichika asked us to go to her house tonight.”

Leon nodded in understanding. “Then I shall come with you.”

Looking to Tauxolouve, wondering whether Leon’s suggestion would even be okay, you were about to ask the other when a stabbing pain shot through your body. You shuddered.

Immediately Huedhaut was on his feet. He rushed over to where Tauxolouve was now steadying you. “(y/n), this is important. Did any of that energy hit you earlier?”

“I… I didn’t think so…” you replied, now uncertain. You shuddered as you recalled the last time the under realm had been active. “That would be bad right? I mean…”

“(y/n),” Tauxolouve interrupted your rambling, his voice calm and reassuring now. He’d seemingly pushed back his own concerns for now out of worry for your safety. “Do not start thinking about anything negatively. If dark energy did enter your system that will only strengthen it. Relax, we will sort this.”

Huedhaut turned his attention away from you and looked over to Leon. “Can I trust you to keep everyone here safe? The others should be informed of this.”

Tauxolouve frowned. “Hue, if the under realm is active in the heavens it is not really safe for any of us to wander around alone. I appreciate you are trying to help, but…”

You managed to stand back up properly at this point. “I feel alright now,” you muttered. “Why don’t we head to the heavens ourselves?”

“Yeah, I’d like to know what is going on in my future kingdom,” Tauxolouve murmured, forcing a smirk, but you could tell that he had a lot on his mind.

“Please be careful,” Huedhaut murmured, regarding you both with concern. He did not try to talk you out of your suggestion, however.

Tauxolouve let go of you and moved over to his Vice Minister. “Hue…”

Huedhaut smirked. “There is no need to say anything to me right now, Lou. Where the department goes from here is not our major concern yet.”

“Are you sure you will be alright here on your own? Ichthys doesn’t seem like he’s going to be able to help if there’s any trouble.”

“If the barriers to the mansion fall to the under realm I will work something out. For now this is safer than her apartment or the heavens. If Zyglavis is correct and it is you they are trying to get rid of, their focus will not be on us for now.”

“Even so, you also need to be careful.”

Huedhaut sighed softly. “I am aware of that. Do not forget it yourself.”

When you returned to the heavens, you unconsciously leant into Tauxolouve at the suffocating atmosphere. “This is…”

“...” Tauxolouve couldn’t seem to find words either. He bit down hard on his lip, gripping your hand tightly as though you were the only reason he had not sunk to the floor.

Leon glanced around with a frown. “The palace seems pretty deserted right now. Hopefully that is Minister Ponytail’s doing. If we can contain the dark energy to here we might be able to avoid too many deaths.”

“Any death is too many,” Tauxolouve murmured, his voice barely audible. “I should be able to do something…” He added more loudly.

“What you need to do is keep yourself safe,” Zyglavis replied firmly as he headed over to you. “Tauxolouve, if the heavens is ever left without a King the barrier will disappear entirely. Your safety is what will ensure everyone else’s safety.”

Tauxolouve took a deep breath. He nodded in understanding. “Which means I need to ensure I get to talk to my mother properly tonight like she wanted. Meanwhile I hope you can do your best to avoid any casualties - after all I will not become King until the rift's peak. Is Leon right that the quiet of the palace is your doing?”

Zyglavis nodded. “It seemed logical that as this is the only known source of attack from the under realm right now that access to the palace should be limited to the Zodiac Gods and the King. At least, that’s the official line…”

“We may have another problem…”

“What is it? I hope you are not already having second thoughts about Leon guarding you because I am now certain that I cannot afford to spare anyone if we are to try and keep this energy at bay.”

Tauxolouve shook his head and pulled you closer to him. “I’m worried ‘bout (y/n). She seemed in pain earlier and Hue raised a good point. If any of that energy hit her…”

The Minister of Punishments’ eyes widened. “You better come with me.”

You looked hesitantly at Tauxolouve, not wanting to leave his side right now.

“Zyglavis is right. We need to be sure you are safe. I'll check in with Karno and Aigo. Meet us in Wishes when you're done.” He then looked at Zyglavis with hardened eyes. “That said, if I let her go with you, you best make sure someone remains with her to get her back to the Wishes department safely.”

“... Very well. Stick close, (y/n), I will not tolerate something happening to you in my vicinity simply because you are lagging behind.”

You rolled your eyes as he headed off immediately after that. You were used to how he conducted himself at this point.

Tauxolouve kissed your cheek before letting go of your arm. “You better go before you really are too far behind him. I'm sorry to leave ya right now but…”

“If there's any dark energy in me it could be to somehow target you. It's alright.”

“(y/n)!”

Hearing Zyglavis’ snap back at all of you, Tauxolouve chuckled lightly. “Sorry, I just got you into trouble with Zig. Take care now yeah?”

You nodded and hugged him tightly, planting a kiss of your own to his cheek before letting go and rushing down the corridor.

“So what exactly was so important that you and Tauxolouve were so reluctant for any of the rest of us to be present?” Zyglavis asked you as he led you in the direction of his room.

“Well, he was…” you trailed off as you noticed you were currently in earshot of some of the other members of Punishments. “If you must know he was proposing.”

Zyglavis sighed and rolled his eyes a little, letting you into his room. “Honestly, this is hardly the time for romanticism. I appreciate that it is the preferable etiquette but in the circumstances it would have been better for you not to have left the main room at all.”

You glared at him a little, laying down on his bed when he motioned for you to do so. When he shut the door, you turned your attention back to him with a frown. “Actually, I only mentioned the proposal because we were in earshot of the others. What he was really telling me was how the King wasn’t actually chosen by the last rift and is already dying. You are the only other one who knows from what he told me.”

“...” Zyglavis’ irritation faded to be replaced with concern. He glanced away from you with a frown. “Ah. That. Then Huedhaut…”

“He still doesn’t know,” you reassured the Minister of Punishments. “Lou and I, we…” you sighed. “When we first started seeing each other we had a way to hide our friendship from the King. Jewellery that projects an image of the person so it’s harder to track where you actually are. It broke before but Hue fixed it. We were using that to have some privacy but then my powers surged again and…”

“Wait. Your powers,” Zyglavis muttered, his eyes widening a little at a thought. “After the attack your uniform was sparking, correct?”

You nodded, biting your lip. “Yeah, then the necklace nearly electrocuted me. Other than that the only reason Hue bought up dark energy was because of the sharp pain I felt before we left…”

“But you are not wearing any metal right now,” Zyglavis stated. “I wonder…” He started running a few checks he knew of to check you for dark energy.

As he did so you flinched again. Because he was leaning over you pretty close his belt buckle sparked.

He moved back from you, grimacing a little.

“Sorry,” you murmured to him. “Is it just my powers again then?”

Zyglavis shook his head slightly. “Change your uniform back to full standard now.”

“What? But that would -”

“Just trust me!”

A little confused but pretty sure that Zyglavis did not mean you any harm, you raised your hand and shakily snapped your fingers.

Just as before, sparks started flying off your uniform. “This doesn’t seem safe.”

“It is better than the alternative,” Zyglavis stated firmly. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled you to him, flinching in pain as he did so.

“Zyglavis…”

“Do not let go of me. The sparks should not harm you if they have something else to attack.”

You swallowed hard, still not entirely sure what was going on, but you kept as still as possible, hoping that whatever Zyglavis had theorised was correct.

Shortly after that there was a loud bang and Zyglavis was thrown into his bookcase despite your best effort to grab him.

Before you could move over to the other, he managed to stand shakily up and dust himself off. He smirked a little at you. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

You smiled uneasily back at him. “What was all of that about?”

Zyglavis sighed softly. “We mistakenly thought the rift was already affecting your powers. On the contrary, what they were doing was trying to negate the dark energy that had entered your system. Am I right in assuming you fired an electric attack at the first dark matter you encountered?”

“Yes, but… oh!” Your eyes widened as you finally understood why Zyglavis had told you to start wearing metal again. “Then my divine power was trying to help me?”

“It was negating the effects of the dark energy, yes. However I fear that was an unintentional by-product. If the under realm are somehow aware of what your power entails…”

You froze, your face draining of all colour. “Zyglavis… are you saying they meant to make my power activate? That they knew I would likely change out of my uniform? But then…”

Zyglavis nodded. “Yes. I see you have realised the issue with this. If they were planning on your power harming Tauxolouve, then someone has to be in league with the under realm.”

Taking deep breaths as you tried not to panic, you then looked at Zyglavis with a worried frown. “Zig… if you are correct that originally my power was being used by the dark energy to harm others, wasn’t what you just did extremely dangerous for you?”

Zyglavis sat awkwardly back down next to you. “It was not without risk. However, imagine for a moment if you will: What if the dark energy had got control of your power and you put your hand on Tauxolouve's shoulder whilst still not wearing any metal yourself…”

Your eyes widened. “Then the whole current would have been focussed completely through what I was touching. So you asked me to change back into my uniform -”

“To spread the charge out, correct.”

“But why hug me?”

Zyglavis glanced to the side. “I do not think Tauxolouve would appreciate me endangering his fiancée's life. Recall what I said before.”

“About it not harming me if it had something else to attack? Why would… oh!” You swallowed hard, shuddering little in realisation of what the other had been worried about. “From your theory the dark energy was both utilising and being subdued by my power… if you had not directed it to attack you…”

“All of it would have tried to attack the dark energy, even from the outside, yes.”

You let out a shaky breath, forcing a smile at the other. “Then… Thank you. Are you alright?”

“Do not concern yourself about that. I am used to dealing with dark energy.”

“That's not what I meant,” you murmured with a sigh. However you swallowed hard at the mention of dark energy. “About the dark energy, is it -”

“It is gone. However I implore you to be careful. Now we know how the energy can affect you…”

You nodded in understanding. “... What about the potential of a traitor?”

Zyglavis frowned. “Ah, yes. Did Leon tell you what he was doing down at the mansion?”

“He believed he was acting on the King's orders. Apparently he's been spying on us to make sure we are happy.”

“The King would hardly… oh,” Zyglavis sighed heavily in realisation. “Ichika. Of course. Then you still believe you can trust him?”

“I see no reason not to right now,” you responded firmly.

“Then we have a problem.”

“Zyglavis?”

“If you are certain that Leon means you no harm, then whoever leaked your power to beings of the under realm must be one of the Zodiac Gods…”

“Then what do we do?”

The Minister of Punishments thought for a few moments. “Irritating though he may be, Leon might actually have been a sensible move after all. Keep him as your protector. Do not let your guard down, even around the rest of the Zodiac Gods. Concentrate on what you and Tauxolouve need to do, I will get to the bottom of this.”

At this point you stood sharply up. “Get me back to Wishes!”

“(y/n)? What is the sudden urgency?” Zyglavis asked, getting to his feet.

You swallowed hard, hating that you were even thinking this. “Do you think Lou will keep Leon by his side or will he let his guard down because he's talking to the rest of the department? I do not want to believe for a second that someone in Wishes is in league with the under realm, but…”

Zyglavis’ eyes widened. He grabbed your hand. “Quickly now!”

Worriedly, you followed the other without another word.

When you approached the Department of Wishes, your heart skipped several beats at what confronted you. You found it hard to breathe.

Zyglavis let go of your hand and linked arms with you instead, gently but firmly guiding you over to where Leon was checking over Tauxolouve who was slumped against the corridor wall.

Tauxolouve looked up as you approached, forcing a shaky smile to try and reassure you.

Seeing that he was at least conscious, you let go of Zyglavis and rushed to his side, kneeling down beside him. “Lou, what…”

“I asked Leon to remain out here whilst I talked to the others. Just as I was leaving…”

“Someone attacked you,” Zyglavis completed, frowning. “Why did they back off?”

“That was probably ‘cos Leon came over when he felt my power surge.”

You swallowed. “Your power? You fired an arrow?”

Tauxolouve bit his lip and looked away from you. “Yeah… but…”

Zyglavis glanced around, noticing the remnants of his arrow in the wall behind him. “Did whoever attacked you dodge your attack or did you only fire a warning shot?”

“...”

Worried about how hesitant your fiancé was being, you took a deep breath. “Lou, was it someone from Wishes?”

The other’s eyes widened. “What? Why would you say that?!”

“... And yet you do not deny it,” Zyglavis muttered. He sighed heavily. “Who was it, Tauxolouve?”

“There has to be something we are missing…”

You swallowed hard. “Lou, the under realm tried to use my divine power to kill you…”

Tauxolouve turned sharply back towards you. “What?”

Before you could say anything else, Zyglavis explained.

Taking this all in, Tauxolouve shook his head in disbelief. “I still do not believe he’d do this. (y/n), could you…”

Realising what he was asking, you took his hand in your own and carefully helped him back to his feet, wrapping your arm around him to steady him once you were both standing.

“I shall ask one last time: Who attacked you, Tauxolouve?”

Leaning heavily on you, Tauxolouve looked toward the Minister of Punishments. “Aigonorus.”

Zyglavis frowned. “Perhaps we are missing something. Regardless, I am going to say the same to you as I said to (y/n): Keep Leon with you at all times. Do not let your guard down even around the rest of the Zodiac Gods.”

Tauxolouve nodded, a scowl on his face for once as he held you protectively to him. He glanced around briefly before returning his gaze to Zyglavis. “You are the only one who knows the location of my Mother’s house. We will go there now. If anyone follows us I will only have to assume we cannot trust you either.”

“That is actually wise,” Zyglavis agreed. “I would rather you be cautious right now. The fate of the heavens is in your hands after all.” He snapped his fingers and vanished without another word.

Now that he had gone, you turned to Tauxolouve with concern. “Are you alright?”

“I… physically I’m fine. Leon interrupted before any real damage could be done.”

You squeezed him gently, realising that that meant he wasn’t fine mentally, not that you could blame the other. There had been a lot to deal with already today even without the suggestion that Aigonorus of all people had betrayed you. “This doesn’t make sense,” you mumbled to yourself, then sighed heavily. “Then again, none of it makes sense to me. I mean…”

Tauxolouve silenced your rambling with a brief kiss, now seemingly more together again for the moment. “(y/n). You still have questions about my family. I think it’s best you hear it directly from my Mother. Shall we get going?”

Trying to relax, you nodded and forced a smile.

You took a deep breath as you approached the door to a little cottage buried deep in one of the forests in the heavens. Tauxolouve had teleported the three of you here so that he didn’t have to reveal the location to Leon and also so that it made it less likely anyone else would be able to follow you. Normally being this far on the edge of the heavens would unsettle you as it was a long way away from the palace, but right now being away from there actually felt like a positive for once.

“Lou? (y/n)? You are rather early, though I suppose it is not unexpected considering the state of the palace…” Ichika greeted you both as she opened the door. She tensed briefly as she sensed another presence, then relaxed into a smile. “Leon. Hello. For you to be here I take it these two know what I asked of you?”

“So it was you,” Leon grumbled. “I guess playing games is a trait you share with the King.”

“I can assure you this is the only thing I asked of you. Now then, why is he with you?”

“He’s our guard,” You hesitantly murmured.

“Not one of the other Zodiac Gods?”

Tauxolouve bit down on his lip. He looked away from his mother. “Initially this was an agreed compromise as Zyglavis could not agree to sparing anyone from Punishments. However, now -”

“You’re hurt,” Ichika suddenly interrupted him. She hugged him tightly.

“Mum, please!” Tauxolouve protested, though he returned the hug. He leant shakily into her. “I’m fine…”

You swallowed hard. “You nearly weren’t though,” you muttered, grimacing as Ichika looked questioningly at you. Unable to meet her gaze, you awkwardly told her of what you and Zyglavis had discovered.

“I’m sorry,” you added once you had finished. “I should have been more careful, thought to…” You trailed off, your eyes widening in surprise as Ichika pulled you into her arms as well.

“It would have hardly been your doing,” she murmured softly. “Are you unharmed? I would hate for my precious Lou to lose his beloved now when he needs her the most.”

“I… I’m fine,” you stammered out, trying to relax. Her words were calm and reassuring to you right now. “Then you actually want Lou and I to be together?”

“Of course I do, dear. It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen my boy.”

“Mum!” Tauxolouve snapped, his face flushing red.

Ichika let go of you both and stepped back. “Is there anything else I should know?”

You and Tauxolouve shared a worried glance.

“Aigonorus was the one who attacked Tauxolouve,” Leon spoked up before either of you could decide whether to actually tell her that or not.

“Aigo?” Ichika frowned, puzzled. “He doesn’t seem like the type to have the energy to concentrate on maintaining any form of deception.”

Tauxolouve shuddered, forcing a smile at you as you gently took hold of his hand. Holding it tightly, he turned back to his mother. “I quite agree but those are the facts as we have them right now. Zyglavis is looking into that. There’s other things we should be discussing. Poor (y/n) is understandably very lost about your existence and what exactly happened last Heaven’s Rift.”

“... Yes of course, my apologies,” Ichika murmured, before moving away from the doorway and motioning for you all to come inside.

Sitting down at the dining table, Tauxolouve raised his hand with the intention of snapping his fingers, but stopped moments before doing so. Instead he buried his head in his hands.

“Lou?” You asked with concern, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leaning over him. “What’s wrong?”

Tauxolouve shook his head. “... It’s not important,” he mumbled, though he didn’t look back up. “Just, give me a moment. Why don’t you ask Mum about the past?”

“But…”

“Leave him be, dear,” Ichika added gently. “I’m sure he’ll tell us when he’s ready. Keep holding him though, that is what he needs right now. Today has no doubt been very stressful for you both.”

Your fiancé looked up at this point and forced a smile. “Yup, exactly. Mum, can you show (y/n) what happened when Dad became King? I’ve not been able to give her many details.”

Ichika smiled softly. “Yes, that was part of why I asked you to come here tonight after all. (y/n), are you certain you are ready to see this?”

You took a deep breath. Hesitating briefly, you looked at Tauxolouve at your side who was now looking down at the table again. Rubbing his shoulder, you returned your gaze back over to Ichika with a look of determination. “I am ready for whatever information I may need in order to help Tauxolouve in his new position. We went through a lot to get here, I’m not backing down now.”

“Ah, there’s the (y/n) I’ve come to know…” Ichika responded softly. Before you could ask her to clarify that comment, she snapped her fingers and a vision of the past began.

The vision of the heavens that was being shown to you looked different to what you were used to, but even though it was an eon ago you could still tell that what you were looking at was part of the palace. Something felt wrong though. It was eerily quiet, reminding you rather of what was going on now.

Panicked footsteps could be heard at that point. Realising that how you were viewing the scene was changing, you realised that it was Ichika herself who was running in the vision.

Heading into a darkened corner of the palace corridor, two figures became visible. One was crouched over the other who was laying on the floor.

“Love?” Ichika called out.

The man who was crouching down, turned to face her. You recognised him immediately as The King of the Heavens, but at this point something seemed different. This had to be before he had become King.

“Ichika… he’s dying…”

Your view of the injured figure became clearer as Ichika joined the future King: Whilst he did not look quite the same, his features were similar to that of the King. They had to be family.

“Brother…” the figure shakily spoke up. “The heavens cannot be without a King. I do not think we can risk hoping that it reverts to the current King. I’m dying anyway. If I give you my stars…”

Ichika gripped her beloved’s hand tightly, swallowing hard. “But we’ve already got married. The rules of the heavens do not normally allow…”

“This is different because my brother wasn’t selected.”

“But, Isamu,” Ichika’s husband choked. “You really think I can be King?”

“We always knew with how our powers were intertwined it would likely be one or the other of us,” Isamu responded, reaching a shaky hand up to his eyes. “There’s no choice, brother, and you know it. We have to risk this.”

“He’s right love,” Ichika murmured.

The man who you had come to know as the King of the Heavens seemed so vulnerable compared to your knowledge of him in his later life as he leant over his brother. “I promise I will seal away the Dark King for this. The under realm will not take any more Gods’ lives as long as I am King.”

Isamu smiled softly. “And this is why if you hadn’t got married, the heavens probably would have picked you in the first place. You were always better at this sort of thing than I.”

The vision faded after that, but you understood why Ichika had ended it there. There was no need to see what happened next, you all knew what had happened. However, you still had questions. “If everyone was aware that you were married why did you hide yourself away?”

Ichika sighed. “Getting the under realm under control was not an overnight job. Rumours soon started to circulate that the reason why the under realm was able to break through the Heaven's barriers so much was because he could not fully become King due to our union.”

Tauxolouve looked up at this point, forcing a smile at his mother before turning to you. “When Dad finally dealt with the Dark King, things calmed down but from the tales I’ve heard there was still unrest about his marriage. Then came…” He trailed off, biting his lip. He took a deep breath.”When I was born we finally had a way to stop the others looking for Mum.”

Putting a hand to your head, you looked questioningly at Ichika, feeling extremely lost.

She smiled softly at you. “The official line goes that the reason why the fountain had allowed us to wed was because I was already pregnant. That the rules of the heavens had decided in their wisdom that it would be good for the future strength of the heavens if there was an heir to the throne from the start.”

“Then if that is the official line why do you only show yourself to the Zodiac Gods?”

Ichika sighed heavily. “Because it was safer that way. It would never have fully appeased everyone.”

Seeing your puzzlement, it was actually Leon who spoke up next. “(y/n), do you recall how I was surprised that Tauxolouve’s mother was still alive?”

You nodded slowly, wondering what exactly this all meant.

“Well, that’s because the official line is once Tauxolouve was born, Ichika willingly fell from grace to make sure that the stability of the heavens was maintained. Though some speculate that even that would not be enough and she actually sacrificed her entire soul to make sure everything remained at peace.”

Everything was finally falling into place: The current King of the Heavens was dying already because the rift had never really picked him in the first place. It was just that he and his brother’s divine abilities were similar enough that they managed to cheat the system. Ichika had moved her life away from civilisation in order to keep the peace but also for her own safety, yet had stayed so that Tauxolouve had a family. However you still had a few concerns.

“Are we sure it is alright for Lou and I to get married then? Or was Zyglavis right and it is an unnecessary risk… that it could put the future of the whole of the heavens into jeopardy as it probably won’t revert to the current King?”

Ichika smiled softly and placed a hand reassuringly on top of your own. “The difference is that Lou already has the mark of the King in his eyes. If the heavens do not want a King and Queen, the fountain can reject your union. Your relationship is public knowledge. I have already made an announcement that Lou has the mark of the King and will be King of the Heavens by the peak of this Heaven’s rift. Everything is as set as it can be. As long as the heavens themselves do not disagree, you should not have the issues I once had.”

You swallowed a little, but tried to relax hearing her words. “I take it you made the announcement posing as the King?”

“Of course.”

“... How come the other Zodiac Gods know that you are still around?”

Ichika smiled softly. “Oh that was another emergency. It was a point where revealing I was still in the heavens was less of a risk than letting The King deal with it on his own. The details are not important right now.”

“And Lou and Zyglavis were the only ones who ever knew that The King wasn’t chosen by the last Heaven’s Rift?”

Tauxolouve inclined his head a little as he looked at you. “It’s cos Zyglavis and I are the oldest. It was thought best to give us the true story behind how Dad became King when we were made heads of the departments. The departments exist to keep the balance of the worlds after all. Had anything ever happened we would have had the necessary details to tell the others.” He sighed heavily, looking down. “Though…”

“Lou?”

“... It doesn’t matter,” Tauxolouve mumbled.

Ichika’s smile faded. “I think perhaps both of you should get some rest for a bit. There is still a lot to discuss but your divine power being abused in that way must have drained your energy rather (y/n), and Lou I need you to be sure that attack did not do you any harm.”

“Mum, I’m fine,” Tauxolouve protested at her fretting, but helped you to your feet regardless. “I dodged most of what Aigo aimed at me, even if it was from behind. Then Leon came over so nothing more was done. I might have ended up on the floor but that’s more ‘cos it took me by surprise.”

“Lou, sweetheart, you’re clearly exhausted. We might not need sleep but…”

“Alright, alright, I get the picture, mum,” Tauxolouve relented, finally managing one of his usual smiles.

You both followed Leon upstairs after that.

“Give me a moment,” Leon muttered to you both and stepped into the bedroom. When he came back out he grinned at you. “There. Now that straight laced square can’t lecture me about leaving you two alone. I’ve set up a divine barrier so I’ll notice if anything is amiss and come straight to you. I’ll get out of your hair for a bit.”

Tauxolouve visibly relaxed beside you as Leon headed back downstairs. “I s’pose in a way this was always going to be better. I’m not sure any of Punishments would have relaxed enough to let us out of their sight, ward or no ward.”

“Ichthys probably would have done if he was well enough,” You murmured with a smile, heading into the bedroom with the other.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed with your fiancé, your eyes widened as Tauxolouve suddenly started crying. Concerned, you wrapped an arm tightly around him. “Lou, talk to me, please…” you murmured softly. “There’s no need to deal with all of this on your own.”

“You already know everythin’ for once,” Tauxolouve deflected, his voice cracking a little.

You frowned. “Tauxolouve. What happened when we sat down at the dining table? You were going to use your powers… to summon something?”

Tauxolouve winced. “I’d hoped you’d forgotten about that.” He leant into you but looked down at the floor. “I thought we could have a drink whilst we talked. I was going to summon some of Hue’s wine from my room and then I remembered what Zig said about not trusting any of the Zodiac for now so I hesitated… then I hated myself for hesitating. Hue would never side with the world that nearly destroyed his beloved. ‘Sides considering how distant I was with everyone until you came along, he was always my trusted Vice Minister. I shouldn’t have…”

“No, you were right to hesitate,” You protested, resting a hand on top of his own. “I’m not saying Hue is the issue,” you hastily added as he looked sharply up at you, “but someone could’ve tampered with stuff in your room. The Zodiac Gods would have access to it after all.”

“... Right,” Tauxolouve muttered, taking a deep breath. He wiped his eyes, but was unable to smile.

“Lou, it’s alright. We’ll be married soon. We just need to see out this early part of the rift and wait for the peak. You need to push these negative thoughts away.”

Realising why you were saying that, Tauxolouve’s eyes widened. He finally managed to smile at you. “Oops, you’re right, little lady. I’d hardly want to accidentally feed any dark energy. What would I do without you?”

Your breath hitched at that question. “I’m sure you would have been alright had I never come along…”

“Maybe, but Mum’s right you know, you’re what makes me happy.”

Blushing a little, you leant your head on his shoulder. “Your Mum seems nice.”

“She is.”

You then frowned a little. “Though, Lou, when we first started talking, you said you couldn’t recall the last time you’d been held by someone…”

Tauxolouve bit his lip and sighed. “That was true. If Mum is at the palace it’s usually because the King is required elsewhere and in that case she’ll be pretending to be him. I can hardly hug her then. Can you imagine the King of the Heavens letting me do that?”

“... No, I suppose not,” You murmured softly in way of response.

“Now then, little lady, are you going to tell me what’s troubling you?”

Sitting sharply up, you looked at Tauxolouve with surprise, swallowing at the telltale smirk now on his face and glint in his eyes. You hadn’t realised he’d even noticed that you still had things on your own mind. “Lou… you were so upset and yet… sorry, this probably isn’t important…”

“Nonsense,” Tauxolouve murmured softly, taking your hand in his own. “Anythin’ that bothers you is important. What is it?”

“...” You looked away from him, still unsure about bringing this up.

“(y/n).”

Taking a deep breath, you turned your attention back to him. “If the other Zodiac Gods knew about your mother, how come I didn’t until today?”

“...” Tauxolouve bit down on his lip, his hand tightening around your own. “Back when we first started our secret meetings, I didn’t think it’d be a good idea to tell you. It would have made my father’s reaction to not allowing me to form any kind of connection with you seem… or you could have blurted out that you knew to him and he might have got the wrong idea… I…”

Before he could tie himself even more in knots, you pulled him into a tight hug. “Lou, it’s alright. I understand why you didn’t then. But since?”

Tauxolouve pulled back from you a little, putting a rather shaky hand to your face and brushing your hair back. “You publicly dating me was putting you in enough danger from any rebel groups that might be around without me adding such a big secret. If someone ever found out that Mum still exists they could have used you as leverage to get to her. It was safer for this conversation to take place today. I’m sorry there’s so much to take in in such a short space of time…”

Sighing softly, you put your own hand up to Tauxolouve’s face, brushing away a tear that was still on his cheek. “Soon we’re going to be even more public news. No more secrets?”

Tauxolouve forced an uneasy smile. Instead of answering that, he pulled you into a kiss.

You hoped that meant that he was agreeing, and not that he was doing that to try and make you forget what you had just asked.

As you were about to suggest you actually rest for a bit, there was a rather urgent knock at the door. You shared a worried glance with Tauxolouve before the other got to his feet and cautiously opened it just in case.

“... Lou…”

Your eyes widened as Tauxolouve caught Huedhaut before the other could keel over. Quickly you joined them at the doorway. “Hue, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

Tauxolouve glanced at you with worry. “Save the questions for the moment. Can you help me get him to the bed?”

“Huh? Oh! Oh yes of course,” you hastily answered, doing just that.

Once Huedhaut was laying on the bed, Tauxolouve stepped back and wrapped an arm around you, regarding him a little warily. “Hue, I hate to ask this, but how did you find my Mother’s house?”

“I… I persuaded Zyglavis that I meant no harm. Lou, (y/n), there’s something you both need to see.”

You frowned a little at the mention of Zyglavis. “Where’s Leon anyway?”

Huedhaut sighed. “Downstairs. Arguing with Zyglavis over leaving you two on your own.”

“There’s a ward on this room,” Tauxolouve muttered. “Still, perhaps it’s for the best if they’re both occupied for the moment. What do I need to see? And where’s -”

“She’s also downstairs,” Huedhaut interrupted, getting shakily to his feet. “We came up to the Heavens after Zyglavis warned us that there was a traitor within the Zodiac. Then I discovered…” he trailed off, putting a hand to his head.

You moved over to him and steadied him. “Are you sure you’re alright to be going anywhere right now? What happened to you?”

Huedhaut grimaced and looked down at the floor. “I’m sorry. I… would rather not talk about that yet. Please come with me? Bring Leon if you must.”

Tauxolouve shared a glance with you, then moved to Huedhaut’s other side. “I’m sure you wouldn’t ask unless it was urgent. If you meant us any harm you could have done something already. Let’s go now. I don’t much fancy getting into a conversation about leaving here. This way we can be back before anyone notices we’re gone.”

“I’m sorry,” Huedhaut murmured under his breath, only just loud enough for you to hear as he snapped his fingers.

Everything went black.