Chapter Text
The laws of the universe are clear. Every planet orbits around the sun. They revolve around it — it is their focus, their purpose.
So as he hazily looked up, Ivan’s eyes were, naturally, focused towards his sun. The difference was this would be the last time. The thought felt bitter, never seeing Till’s face again was probably the worst part about dying. Then again, he had never wished to die.
But if he had lived for Till, it made sense he’d die for him.
Another difference worth mentioning: his sun’s eyes were focused solely on him and on nothing else. This felt impossible, maybe Ivan was hallucinating. Maybe this whole dying thing was making him crazy — he definitely felt like it. Nobody had ever looked at him with such confusion, with such sorrow, never mind Till.
Was… was he crying?
What had he done?
Ivan expected him to not care. He expected him to scoff, to murmur a small “Idiot” and then leave, happy with the victory. He expected — no, wanted — him to wipe his lips in anger and look down on Ivan with such disgust it would make him happy to be dead.
Instead, he was feeling even more regretful, even more disgusting. It seems Till did… care about him, after all. Had he somehow misunderstood it all? Had he been so focused on his own feelings he had disregarded how he would actually react?
Before Sua died, Ivan had a final conversation with her. He had called her selfish for her plan of sacrificing herself, saying she would be nothing but a trauma for Mizi. Now he wished he had been kinder.
He was a damn hypocrite, after all.
Now there was no use in regretting. The hard, cold floor of the stage was already soaked in red. The lights were already turned off and the crowd was already leaving. Nevertheless, Ivan would do it all again in a heartbeat. If he could, he would die for Till again, and again, and again, in every universe, in every lifetime.
Still, it is human to wish you had approached things differently. And Ivan was only human.
The staff of aliens came to drag Till away. They were not able. Till was screaming, fighting like his life depended on it, bearing his nails and teeth like a wounded animal. He yelled Ivan’s name repeatedly in between sobs, and god, how he selfishly enjoyed the sound leaving Till’s lips, even in that situation.
Though the last thing he had wanted to do was make the boy suffer, as long as he had succeeded in keeping him alive, it didn’t matter. Till would be fine. Please be fine.
As his conscience slowly faded, he felt his body begin to get dragged away by the staff like scum, by the soundtrack of Till’s protests. Ivan couldn’t see him anymore, his eyes had fallen closed and the pain had made his body numb.
One last thought graced his mind. This is it. This is the end. He had made his choice and Death was welcoming him with her cold arms wide open.
There was no turning back.
* * *
The laws of the universe are clear. What dies, stays dead. It’s never going to come back, no matter how much you beg, no matter how much you pray.
Yet maybe she wasn’t meant to die. At least not like she thought. Maybe this was one of the gentler universes, where she could get a second try. Where her so called lord could give her one more chance.
Would she be able to take it?
Jet black hair, a large deep wound on her neck, body in a pod like conserved meat. She opened her eyes and through the tubes she inhaled for what was probably the first time in weeks.
The universe had just broken its law.