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“You’ll get your karma, Kamishiro..!”
“My karma, eh? Whatever could that be from–”
The knight swung his sword forward, pushing his feet off the ground to lunge over to the sorcerer. He grit his teeth as he tore to the side. Rui dodged it, spinning in delicacy – like a ballerina almost – and snickering all together.
This was normal for the two of them. A continuous battle between one another where it was never stated how to go. Sometimes Kamishiro would win, other times Tenma would. It was never clear who was better than the latter, but nonetheless they never stopped fighting.
People within the kingdom’s quarters would often rumor the two were friends and only fought out of mere entertainment, but it was clear one wanted to get some blood on his hands. Rui never wished to hurt people, it was only inevitable that he did due to a longing curse he had. Tsukasa, however, was the opposite, ready to shed that crimson color whenever possible. If killing that wretched sorcerer would be the last thing he did, he would blindly accept it.
Rui yawns, “don’t you ever get tired?” he teases, mimicking the blonde’s next movement. It was familiar to him. He jumped forward and swung his sword up high, leaning in a way to slice it right down the middle of Kamishiro’s body, yet every time the sorcerer blocked it with a spell. This time, however, to throw him off, Rui simply created himself a fake sword out of red magical mist and slashed the sword, causing a loud clink!
Tsukasa’s sword got split in half, the top part being tossed somewhere in the woods of where they fought. “Huh?!” He gasped, surprised by the sudden attack. He stepped back, tripping on a rock and fell to the ground. He winces, “Gh..”
When he reopened his eyes after squinting down from the collapse, he looked up at Rui who approached him. The sorcerer looked at him with a cat-like grin, almost like he found these situations fun while it felt like a life or death situation for Tsukasa.
“I don’t really understand why you feel the need to attack me like this,” he muttered, placing a hand on his hip, “we could be friends. Just like those rumors say, we could create such a wonderful thing like that… But.. you just keep fighting.” he took another step forward, crouching down when he was closer. “Why do you wish to kill me, Tenma=kun?”
The knight stared at him widely, his fingers began to dig deep in the dirt beneath him. He didn’t wish to respond, but did he have any choice? The sorcerer was there in front of him, ready to do anything he pleased. Tsukasa surely had no right to stay silent here. He took a deep, shaky breath, then he spoke, “Do you want the truth? Or a heinous lie?”
Rui chuckled morosely, “You’re certainly awful, aren’t you?” he grabbed at the knight’s collar, pulling him toward him. “Be honest with me.”
Tsukasa sighed, a slight irritated groan alongside it. “..I hate magic. Mages, sorcerers, dragons… really, must I continue?”
The taller one tilted his head, “You hate magic..?” he asked with a hint of confusion tainting his voice. “My, that sounds like discrimination!”
He kicked his leg forward, hitting Rui in the chest. “Oh, shut it! You don’t get it! I have a right to hate it!” He snapped, “your people.. These disgusting sorcerers.. You took my sister from me and casted a spell on her when she was just a kid! Y-You turned her into a dragon and now all she sees humans as, including myself, are enemies. Her prey!” he scooted back a bit and pushed himself up with the help of a tree, “A-and Toya..! You– you specifically..! You took him a-and tricked him! The Albus Knight’s.. We needed him, he needed us and you fooled him with your tricks and stole him out of this kingdom. You’ve taken everything from me, Kamishiro. Everything!”
Rui stared up at him with bland eyes, “I didn’t do anything with your sister. You cannot blame me for something my ancestors may have done.” He pulled himself up, now forced to face the blonde, “As for Aoyagi-kun, I didn’t trick him at all. He chose to come with me. Out of the kindness of his own heart too.” Rui moved his fingers which were colored with a deep dark black, seeped cuts of purple and red lingering within, up to his cloak and moved it off, then pulled down the collar of his shirt to reveal that same color, as if it were decaying away on his skin. “One fight me and him had prior to him joining my side, he had cut my outfit open, revealing my skin.. Before my hands even got to such a point.. He asked what was wrong, concerned for my own wellbeing.”
Tenma crosses his arms, “What’s wrong with you anyway?”
The sorcerer smiled, a few laughs and chuckles letting out as if he were more manic than he had already been. He moved both arms out wide and in the open. With the happiest look Tsukasa had ever seen a man wear, the sorcerer declared, “I’m dying!”
…
There was a slight moment of silence between the two. With Kamishiro standing there happily and Tsukasa absolutely baffled by this sudden information. He wanted the sorcerer dead due to his own traumas, sure.. but… “how can you stand there and say that like it’s normal?” He hollered.
Rui shrugged, “What face am I supposed to be making? Am I supposed to feel sorry for myself despite being the cause? My mere existence is the reason I’m dying anyway.” He turned his back and then moved his head to look at the knight, “I used necromantia. You’re no sorcerer, I doubt you even know what that is.”
Tsukasa stared sullenly, his eyebrows having furrowed and his mouth having hung open while his teeth clashed with his bottom lip. “..You.. You communicated with the dead?!”
Rui turned all the way back around and looked at him funny. “You’re more educated than I thought.” He pulled his arms behind him, “For humans, it kills them within an instant. For mages, they will become corrupted, but are able to be cured if given the proper medicines. Dragons.. Well, they’re immortal so there’s never been anything documented of it killing them. As for sorcerers like myself, it corrupts us, just like the mages, however due to the extremities of our abilities, it pours and mixes with our magic until it decays our entire body and slowly kills us. I have.. maybe.. Twelve months..? So a year at best until I’m gone for good.”
The blonde frowned, “Why did you use it if you knew what it could do to you? Who did you possibly have to speak to on the other side!?”
The sorcerer hummed before that same maniacal grin appeared upon his face, “Oh, Tenma-kun.. I didn’t just speak with them.. I brought them back!” His right hand clawed at his mouth. He walked toward him as he spoke, “I figured out the ways of reviving somebody!.. I brought back a God!”
Tsukasa swallowed hard, unsure of how to even respond to this, “Y-You’re lying. You gotta be–! The Gods have been deceased for ages, there was no way to recover their lives–”
Rui, swift-footed, reached out to Tsukasa and held his hands against the sides of his head, “But I did~!” There was so much pride.. So much joy.. In his voice, it made Tsukasa feel guilty. Was he insane or was he telling the truth? Bringing back a god was like… well.. bringing back a god!
“He said he’ll grant my every wish–! That I won't have to be in despair much further! He spoke to me one night in my dreams and told me everything! Of how grateful he would be if I brought him back to this world, that he’d do anything for me if I revived him! I’ll be saved from this life.. He said he’ll reincarnate me into something new. Something better! I won’t live this daunting life anymo—!”
The blonde kicked his leg up and hit Rui right in the stomach, causing the sorcerer to collapse to the ground. He coughed, trying to catch his breath. Tsukasa looked at him before grabbing Rui’s arms and holding them up, “You didn’t speak to a god, Kamishiro..! You’re falling for some stupid demon’s trap!” He shouted.
Rui stared up slowly, looking at him almost like a deer in headlights. “..Huh?”
“That god you ‘spoke’ to, isn’t real. Have you met him? No, not unless it was in your dreams. You didn’t bring anyone back. You brought a demon into this world that’s now attached itself to you. If you die now, you’ll be used as his own sacrifice. He used you. He’ll revive in replacement of your death. You won’t reincarnate, you’ll sit there dead.” He muttered, “No wonder Toya went with you. Your sanity is gone. He felt bad that you'd die alone while believing some stupid lie, some stupid delusion.”
For once today, the sorcerer didn’t smile. He just stared up at him in disbelief, almost like his entire life just shattered, “..Th.. That can’t be right.. H-He said he’s the God of Life. He’ll be able to grant me a brand new rebirthed life–”
Tsukasa shook his head, “You’re an idiot for believing that the God of Life couldn’t just revive himself. That he’d need some unknown sorcerer like yourself to save him.”
Rui didn’t move. There was not a single motion in his body. He just sat there, dumbfounded by his own errors. “I.. I didn’t think about that.” Finally, he tilted his head downward and looked at his palms. His hands shook, “..I’m going to die.. For good..” he said as if it only now hit him. The blonde just nodded. Rui looked back up at him. He looked different from before.. Instead of smiling or even looking shocked, he was crying. He looked terrified. “..I’m going to die for good..!” He sobbed.
Something within the knight tugged at his heart. Maybe it was because of how pathetic Kamishiro looked, or if it was because he felt some sympathy towards the situation.. But even while holding his own hatred for the man, he crouched down and wrapped his arms around him, “...I won’t let you die, okay?” He said even if it went against everything he stood for. “I..I’ll find a way to save you. I won’t let that happen to you.”
The sorcerer nodded as he rested his head over Tsukasa’s shoulder. “..Thank you.”
..