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Kane knew, in the end, what was coming for him. He’d been abandoned over and over again, and his death was inevitable. The only person that had ever been there for him had been Soji, and even he was a mortal man incapable of changing Kane’s fate. No amount of unconditional love ever gave the two of them such a false hope.
So Kane died.
He knew he would, Soji too. And with him dead, his husband is only soon to follow.
Oh, his husband. Dark hair, darker eyes, looking like the night in all of its glory and taller than Kane just enough that the man barely needs to lean down to press a gentle kiss to Kane’s forehead. And considering how tall Kane is, Soji’s height is a feat of genetics for mortal men.
Kane never understood how Soji, so beautiful, could have ever fallen so deeply for him. Fallen enough to follow him into the grave. Kane’s mother had always spoken about how beautiful he was, but she had been his mother, and what loving mother doesn’t find her only child beautiful beyond words?
He hopes to see her again, now that he’s dead. She had passed long ago, merely a year before his father passed too. A disease born of Kane’s mere existence. At least, that’s what his father had always told him, and there was never any proof against it. The disease hadn’t existed until Kane was born, and considering his bloodline is that of gods it wouldn’t be impossible to assume it’s truth.
But now he’s dead. He had given up his own lifeforce to save their crumbling world, the only sacrifice he had ever made for someone other than Soji or his mother. He doesn’t think he’d ever be remembered for his sacrifice, with how hated he had been by the general population, but he had never cared for worship or fame.
“Sir?”
… What?
“Sir, are you alright?”
A woman’s voice? Not his mother’s, clearly, she had sounded much older and much more mature when she passed. This woman sounds young, perhaps early twenties. He tries to open his eyes, finding it difficult. This is not what he had imagined death to be like.
“Ecli, don’t crowd him. I’m supposed to be off today, don’t make me work on vacation, love.”
Another woman’s voice? This one sounded more mature, voice deeper in tone though still young.
“But- Rhea!” The first woman pleads, and he feels a finger press against his cheek, “He’s not okay! We should help him!”
“We’re supposed to be meeting with Marina, Ecli, not helping men lying on the ground.”
“I can hear you,” He finally manages to mutter out. Finally his eyes open, and before him are the two women that have been talking.
One of them is crouched down over him, skin tanned but hair an almost-white gold as it curls to the nape of her neck and around her round cheeks, her eyes are deep in the same way the sea is a cool navy in its depths. She wears a purple blouse with flower-like embroidery and a pair of denim jeans tucked into black boots, the laces the same lavender color as her blouse.
The other woman is tall, probably either the same height or taller than Soji. She’s deathly pale, with long pin-straight black hair flowing over her shoulder like water. Her eyes are pitch black, feeling like voids as he looks at them briefly. She’s wearing a black muscle shirt and a pair of black slacks, a strange combination, but looking oddly good on her with the silver belts layered over them.
“Oh, shit, he’s alive.” The taller woman whistles, who he can only assume is ‘Rhea’ since the one referred to as ‘Ecli’ was apparently the one poking him.
“Am I?” He questions, not having a moment to breathe before the blonde girl hoists him into a sitting position with shocking ease. She is… Scarily strong for someone who looks so petite. How well does that blouse hide her muscles? What kind of sleeper build is this?
“Well, considering we’re alive, and you’re here, then duh!” She giggles, smiling brightly. She holds out her hand, offering it to Kane for what he can only assume is a hand shake. “My name is Eclipse! This is Rhea, my girlfriend. You are?”
Kane looks between them, and then at their surroundings. “Kane.” He introduces briefly, not taking her hand. Their surroundings look so normal that it’s jarring. Yet, at the same time, none of this looks like the world he knows. He doesn’t recognize any of the flora around them, but the two women at the very least look human.
They don’t feel human, but he can’t just say that. He doesn’t know where he is, and gods of any caliber may not exist here. Well, if this is his world than they do, but again, he recognizes none of the flora, and considering his mother had been a goddess of such things then he’d ought to recognize any kind in his world.
“Kane? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a name like that.” Eclipse blinks, face downturned as she visibly thinks. “Rhea? Ever heard the name before?”
The taller woman shakes her head, pausing as if to think as well. “Marina might know, or Iah. Your brother gets out more than any of us. So yeah, we could probably ask Iah.”
Eclipse seems to wince at the mention of whoever ‘Iah’ is. “Easier said than done,” She mumbles, but it’s clear both he and the Rhea woman had heard her.
“So,” Rhea trails, clearly trying to change the topic back to him as she moves closer and crouches in front of his sitting form. She looks him over, eyes squinted, “You’re… Weird. You feel weird.”
He blinks at her. “Is that supposed to be an insult?” He asks, but there’s no heat in his words.
She shakes her head, though, clearing her throat briefly. “I mean that your aura. You are a god, no? Everyone here is, but I’ve never met a god like you before. Your whole feel is off.”
Oh. So gods do exist here. And apparently everyone here is a god.
Eclipse rolls her eyes. “Not everyone, technically, my brother brings his collection of mortals through every now and then. They do tend to stick to their home, though. It’s safer from more volatile immortals.”
Hm.
In his world immortals and gods are separate. Every god is immortal but not every immortal is a god. Every square is a rectangle but not every rectangle is a square, that sort of thing. But the way Eclipse says it, every immortal is a god in this land.
“I.. Am a god, yes. I believe I may not be from around here, though.” He looks at the strange silver looking flower patch to the side of them. “I do not recognize the flora, and my mother had been a goddess of wild nature, so I’d ought to recognize any.”
Rhea squints. Then she groans, head throwing back.
“Damnit!” She curses, flopping onto her back on the ground. Eclipse squeaks, leaning towards her girlfriend with concern, “I was supposed to have today off! My brother was supposed to take care of things in my stead so I could go on one date with my girlfriends! But nooo~!”
She leans her head up to glare at Kane, and he flinches back at the edge of it. “The universe has decided to throw an outsider at me!”
Eclipse shuffles, “Could’ve thrown him at me too…” She mumbles, but Rhea shakes her head.
“Universe’s don’t throw random people like this at gods of change! They do at gods of rebirth, though! Ha!”
Kane blinks. Ah. By all means, both could apply in this situation..?
“How.. common are gods here..?” He asks Eclipse quietly, and the woman shrugs at him.
“Other than my brother’s little collection of mortals? I know only gods,” She mumbles back before leaning down to pull Rhea from the ground. “Well, them and the doctor, but he’s weird. We don’t really know where he came from, just that he’s here and sticks around and knows how to treat holy injuries and illnesses.”
Right. Another person to add to the ‘later’ line of questioning. Right alongside Marina, Iah, and this Iah person’s ‘collection of mortals’.
He doesn’t like that they’re saying mortals instead of humans. He does that often, but it’s because his husband is the only person he ever refers to when he speaks of humans, and he has always believed Soji above the rest of them.
Humanity is a disease otherwise.
“What are you the god of?” Rhea grumbles at him, glare still potent when he turns back to her. “Gods have domains in your world, like ours do, so what is your domain?”
He goes still.
“I’d prefer not to say.” He tells her simply.
His domain killed his mother. He doesn’t desire to kill anyone else with it.
Rhea only sharpens her glare, suspicion creeping into it.
“Right.” She says, “I’m not going to let this go, but for now it’s whatever.”
She stands, dusting non-existent dirt from her pants. He’s a bit jealous of the fact that the road hadn’t stuck to her clothes after she had laid on it.
She pulls Eclipse into standing, gently of course, and then violently tugs him onto his feet.
Rightful favoritism, he supposes.
“We, including you, are going to get Marina,” Rhea starts, pointing down the road at the direction he assumes they had originally been heading in. Now that they’re all standing he can see how she towers over him, and it scares him. He’s not used to people being that much taller than he is. “And we are going to go get her because she believed we were all going on a date today, and you have ruined those plans. And she can help us throw you back to whatever universe you are from.”
It sounds simple, the way she says it. He knows it won’t be though.
“How, exactly, can this Marina help?” He asks, trying not to sound judgemental to the already angry goddess.
“She’s a reality-based god. Her entire domain is reality itself. She has limits, of course, and she isn’t the only god in that category, but she’s the only one you can damn trust around here.”
What the fuck. Why is that a thing here?
Eclipse laughs at his gaping. “Better Marina than Penn or Lohan. Penn’s about as trustworthy as fools gold is, and Lohan has this big ‘better than thou’ complex. Marina’s just shy.”
Can they stop name dropping people? Please? Kane doesn’t know anything about this world, and the constant name dropping is frustrating.
“C’mon, let’s get going.” Eclipse finally says, gently grabbing his wrist and tugging him forward. “The faster we get you home, the faster you can get back to your family, no? Surely you’ve got somebody waiting on you.”
Soji.
If he can get back, he can keep Soji alive still. He’s been keeping the man alive for centuries, if he’s gone for too long he’ll die before Kane can return to him. So, he realizes, he is now on a time limit. Great. Great!
“My husband,” He murmurs, but it doesn’t look like Eclipse hears him. Rhea, however, gives him a look from the corner of her eye. He can’t decipher it, but she starts moving faster in the direction they’re going.
Whoever Marina is, he’s hoping she can help him.