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san is an exiled soldier, banished to earth after committing a crime that went against everything the high council had trained him for. everything he had grown up believing.
an unforgivable crime, according to them, but san can’t seem to regret his actions. doesn’t really want to.
he thought he was doing a good thing, the right thing. only to be banished, called an embarrassment, spat on by those he once thought was supposed to be his people. the people he served and protected, over and over and over again.
yet they turned their backs on him without so much as blinking. one summoning to the high council, then as soon as his name and actions were released, the public decided he was worth less than the dirt under their feet.
he is an outcast. he is nothing.
he was stripped of all his supernatural abilities, everything that could possibly connect him to his home, including the planet’s energy his people rely on to live a long, healthy life.
it breathes life into their bodies, makes starlight flow through their veins. it’s powered by the energy coursing through the cosmos, flows in waves across the planet, keeps its inhabitants alive and aids in healing. it’s buried in the chest, where a human’s heart would be. dormant and imperceptible when at ease, a vibrant electric blue when in distress.
he wakes up laying in an open field. there is a cool breeze that soothes his aching body. A body that — he realizes with a small twinge of gratitude — was still clad in its uniform. at least they had the decency to dress him in the clothes he had spent half of his life in before sending him away.
he can die with at least some of his dignity.
he stares at the night sky, at the twinkling stars. one of them could be it. his planet.
tears sting his eyes, burns against the night breeze. he doesn’t let them fall.
but he aches for a home he can no longer return to and a family who failed him. a father who discarded his only son to a foreign planet, to spend his last moments alone and confused and unloved.
“you are my greatest shame, san. a stain on our family name, a stain on our legacy. you will be left empty, and you will die an agonizing death. alone.”
his father’s words. his own father.
the emptiness he feels is overwhelming. no surge of starlight nestled away in his ribs. he knows his body will not have long until it won’t be able to function anymore, stripped of all its strength. he won’t have long until the residual energy in his chest trickles out, exhausted from trying to keep a corpse alive.
his exile is a death sentence. there is nothing he can do to prevent the inevitable.
so he breathes in deep. holds the crisp air in his lungs. he accepts his fate. he is alone, dying and on a planet he has limited knowledge of, but he is at peace.
a peaceful mind makes for a peaceful death.
he closes his eyes and resigns himself to a deep sleep. he dreams of starlight held in the palms of his hands, brilliant and blue. unpredictable, but dependable. constant and true, until those in power decide to cruelly rip it from your very being.
he hears a voice. frantic, panicked yelling. for a moment he assumes it is all in his head, until he realizes that the voice is coming closer with every panicked shout.
“oh my god, it's a body — no, dal, get back! shit, i think they’re alive…”
he blinks his eyes open when he feels his body being shaken, stares up at the night sky. They flutter against the cool breeze, and there is a faint glow in his chest.
is he dying already? had fate truly given him such a cruel end? dooming him to die alone in some field, without even a chance to see this new world?
san has never had much luck in his life. he just never thought it would follow him to his death bed.
“please, i– are you okay? i can call someone to help, please just tell me…”
the last thing he sees are the panicked eyes of a stranger hovering over him. Incredibly concerned, distressed and — mesmerizing. There is a small, silver star swinging from their neck.
a star pendant. how funny.
no words come out when he tries to speak. the stranger keeps shaking him. there is a hand on his cheek, the warmth welcoming but also a bit of a shock to his cold body. he leans into it, pleased when the stranger does not pull away.
let me have this. just this.
he falls asleep under the stars, and hopes for a swift and painless end.