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He held the lantern close to his face, this very lantern that held the heart that had been missing for so long had its fire extinguished, inside it was little light from a dying heart.
"How does it feel to be inside the same lantern you hid in it my heart, Lightkeeper?" Rerir smirked while staring at the small figure inside the lantern.
Flins didn't raise his head, he kept holding his knees close to his chest trying to find warmth inside the cold space, has it been like that for Rerir's heart too? Was there coldness? Did he feel it? Or was he busy quenching his anger and frustration to notice that?
"Look, Lightkeeper" he turned the lantern to make Flins face the graveyard he watched over for a long time. Cruel pink flashed around them before arms spread around and set the whole place on fire after destroying the gravestones. Flins' body trembled and his eyes, he thought couldn't give such reaction, started crying, he choked on his tears and fell back trying to hide from the scene in front of him.
"Why bother hiding when you can hear their screams and agonies?" Rerir laughed hard after sensing Flins' sadness from the Lantern's trembling. He shut his ears with both hands trying to ignore the sinner's cruel remarks and laughter, he didn't want to indulge him but hearing the souls begging for mercy unable to find peace in the horrific place Flins shrank and kept sobbing for too long before he fainted.
He didn't expect to be ambushed directly by Rerir when no one was around to help, even the Traveller, who would accompany him in most of his outings wasn't there to save him from being stabbed by Rerir's claws.
When his body fell on the cold floor, Rerir seized the Lantern and took his heart, in the time he was recovering his strength, Flins was starting to lose consciousness from blood lose, the pink view in front of him started to turn black but a voice broke the gloomy silence, "I won't let you die easily, Lightkeeper. I'll make you suffer like I did!"
Before he knew it, his broken soul was forced inside the Lantern.
It was dark at first but when he started to regain his mentality, Rerir did what he did and broke Flins' soul further.
For the next few weeks, or that's how it seemed for the poor man in lantern, Rerir spread havoc around Nod Krai. At day, he'd send the monsters around to retrieve whatever could be of use for him. Even food was welcome. Though at night, he'd hide inside a space he created after recovering his heart, inside that space, he'd release Flins' soul from the lantern and let him walk around. There wasn't much in there, just a small space with a bed to rest on and what could be a window overlooking the chaos growing in Nod Krai.
Flins would put a hand on the window and watch things unfold while Rerir lay on the comfortable bed.
"Come here" he commanded him but Flins didn't move and kept staring out of the window. Rerir's eyebrow flinched and anger started to surge inside him before he sent off a few arms to bring him to bed.
When he turned him to face him, Flins' pale face was more pale and his lips were blue, under his eyes there were darker circles and his emotionless eyes were more dead. The sight of him was supposed to bring Rerir happiness but on the contrary, he felt mad and frustrated, "tsk" he clicked his tongue and held Flins by the collar before throwing him beside him. He stood from his place leaving him alone in the space.
When he returned later that night, he had brought food for Flins to eat so he might regain some colours. Flins rose his head to look at the plate Rerir held in front of him but it only made him gag before throwing up whatever was left inside him when he was alive. Rerir's hands trembled before he crashed the plate at Flins' trembling body. He huffed before he turned to leave the space again.
Because of the anger he had, he didn't realise what he did to Flins until he killed a lot of animals in the Frostmoon's forest.
When it struck him, he rushed back to his space to find Flins laying on the bed with blood around him, probably what's left that didn't leave his body yet. Rerir groaned and walked to him but the closer he got the fader Flins' soul seemed to get.
"Fuck!" He ran to the lantern and put Flins inside it, he concentrated his energy to help his soul regain its previous state but not much changed. It only got worse so Rerir started trembling and sweat formed on his forehead, his breathing hitched and his cold heart started beating fast.
He walked out of the space with the lantern on his waist and searched for any Moon energy to help him recover but then remembered, "I burnt it all down..." he mumbled after halting his steps, he gazed ahead but saw nothing, no pure light was emitting...
"Flins" he called for him but he didn't answer, he was still fainted, "aughh" he groaned and rushed to the statue of the damslette in the Frostmoon's Island. Luckily there was still pure Moon energy to make use of so he released Flins' soul and held him in his arms before sitting on the ground beside the plants. He watched as his body absorbed the energy slowly regaining colour and his transparency replaced by flesh body.
"Why?" Flins finally talked. Rerir breathed in the exhale Flins released and swallowed his voice and words, "what do you mean 'why'?" Rerir tried to hide the giddy feeling inside him for hearing a voice he hadn't heard for long time.
"I serve no purpose for you, just to suffer. So why not end it already? I have nothing to lose anymore" Rerir listened to the slow and low voice trying to consume the sadness in them before finally replying, "it's not time yet".
"When then?" Rerir didn't know, it was supposed to end when they entered the space for the first time, but the sight of Flins gazing at his eyes before he moved to the window to stare outside, it made something burn inside him, whenever he lays on bed to rest like a human, his only eye would turn to stare at Flins' slim figure. Or at least that's how it seems to him, he can't tell with all the fabrics he's wearing but he still held unto the feeling he is very thin, even malnourished. Since then, he'd get food for him to eat but then that happened so no chance to try and make him eat again.
He plucked some of the plants with Moon energy and put then inside the lantern, and noted to himself to avoid this place to keep the energy pure for when this happens again.
More days passed and Rerir decided to do something different, Flins thought he's going to harm those outside Nod Krai but to his surprise, Rerir took him for sightseeing in Natlan, they then went to Sumeru, before going down to Inazuma.
Rerir wanted to take him to Liyue, Mondstad and Fountaine but Flins' situation took a negative turn so he rushed back to get more of the Moon energy for him.
He laid him in the same place but...
"Flins" no reply. Rerir felt his cold heart warming before it started hurting, he didn't know what that feeling was but he had to find out before he becomes like Flins. With a weakness called love.
He knew Flins had feelings for him but Flins never spoke them out, he just held on and beared with Rerir's horrible treatment.
I can't...
"Rerir" Flins spoke again since their first visit to this place, "when?" He didn't need to ask the rest of it for Rerir to know what he meant, his heart wrenched and he bit his lip under the bandages, "when do you want?" He asked in a low voice sensing Flins shivering before he exhaled. Silence lasted from seconds to minutes, from minutes to hours until it was time for them to return to their home, aka Rerir's space.
He helped Flins lay on bed before he helped him take off the heavy coat that hid his body, and he was right, Flins was slim, his figure even seems smaller after the coat was off the bed.
He sighed and sat beside the laying body, he watched as he closed his eyes and drifted to the land of dreams. He kept gazing at him until he decided to take off his coat and lay beside him, he kept his eyes on him before pulling him to his embrace, "cold" he mumbled hoping his arms will make him warm.
CRASH
He jumped from his place and looked around, when he glanced in front of him, he saw Flins standing in front of him with the lantern broken on the ground. Rerir panicked and jumped from his place to check on Flins before leaning down to see if the Lantern could be fixed but it was obvious it was broken to not be repaired. Rerir glanced at Flins with horror written in his eyes but the man he's looking at remained expressionless with his figure slowly fading.
"No!!" Rerir yelled and held him by the shoulders while looking around for anything that could be used but there was nothing... nothing but the bed and small window. He groaned and rushed out to get the plants for energy but when he returned, "Flins!!" He screamed in the empty space.
He rushed out and searched all through Nod Krai but he wasn't found, even the monsters he sent off couldn't find a strand of energy to track. He sent off more to other regions but there was nothing until he recalled it, "could he?" He ran to the graveyard he destroyed and looked around until he saw faint light standing in the middle of nothing.
"Flins!" He ran to him but halted when he saw what he was standing in front of.
"If I was important for you, you would've at least honoured my body and buried it properly instead of letting it burn like this" he stared at his burnt body with not much left of it, the only proof it's his body was the purple and black of his clothes that survived the burning.
Rerir stood in place unable to think of anything to say, when he turned back to look at Flins, he saw him smiling at him bitterly, "so cruel" he said before tears started streaming and his body finally fading, Rerir watched as he turned white and disappeared, his lips tight shut unable to beg him to stay, he couldn't even dare to after what he made him go through.
"So cruel"
"Cruel" he mumbled before he put a hand where his heart was beating so fast, "what did I do?" His breathing became hitched but he wasn't able to shed tears, how dare he?
"I'm sorry" he looked at the sky, "please have good rest, wherever you are now" he stared at the burnt body before burying it properly, he made a tombstone and put it on top after writing a few words on it.
He gave it one last glance before walking away with a heart full of loneliness.
The man who fought against death and for death
Kyryll Chudomirovich Flins
Born, October 31st, XXXX
Died, April 10th, XXXX