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Welp. Looks like this was it for him. The end of his life at the ripe old age of 22 years old. All he hoped for is that Noli wouldn’t do anything drastic after his death.
He lamented these thoughts in his head as he pulled himself to an alleyway. It was still scorching in the area, the fires and steam from the GUI burning parts of him, and the stench of smoke lingered in the air. He remembers accidentally disabling his fly command, leaving him battered and bruised with an unsuccessful landing. Not to mention some officers had gotten slightly violent, his reputation so infamous it was an arrest on sight situation. They also had guns for when he resisted. And by the Swords above did he resist.
He choked on his breath. Shit. His body shivered, palms trembling, eyes clenching and watering against the smoggy air. Fear. His mind commented.
Noli would probably learn about his death through the news. They’d wonder why he had not come home, especially after he told them it would be just a “...quick run and done hack! Just for the fun of it!”
And maybe he’d never get to give them a ring.
He wishes he could of seen them one last time.
As he sighs against the brick wall, something seems to overcome his presence. A dark presence fills his vision. It’s not his eyes shutting or getting blotted out, it appears to be real in the world. It’s not smoke, it’s darker than the black fog. It’s like staring into space, a hollow void. The shadow that comes over the world during the darkest of nights.
A loud screech. And then something pets his face. Muttered words that sound like another unintelligible species talking to him. It hurts his ears trying to strain for the words.
===
Seven wakes up, which strikes him as odd. He knows he should of been dead. No one survives bleeding out alone unless they go to a hospital incredibly fast, and he knows damn well he wouldn’t have been taken to one. And yet, he wakes up, and feels fine. No lasting injuries. Then again, there was that…thing before he passed out. Was that the grim reaper or something taking him? He could of just been having a really bad hallucination, trying to cope with his circumstances.
He lifts an arm to stretch and-
What the fuck?!
There’s deep purple, almost black flesh replacing what would have been his normal skin. It starts at his fingertips all the way down to his elbows in strange, swirling patterns. As he glides a finger across, the muscle - if he can even call it that - is almost silky in texture. There’s a fine shimmering, almost glitter-like, pattern. It’s uncanny for him. He taps it, and it clinks like glass.
Peeling up his shirt, he can see it’s also where gunshots had been laid on him, patching up and leaving little ink splotches all over.
Seven should be dead.
But he isn’t.
He stands up, the lack of iron in his body immediately making him recoil and feel light but he manages and walks his way to the small kitchenette and living room, finding Noli lying down on the couch fiddling with what appears to be a small star that expands into several panels. It’s blinding almost, and hurts his very brain when he stares too intensely at it, as though it wasn’t meant for human eyes.
When they register his presence, they jolt and quickly diminish all the software.
“Ah, greetings Sev’! How do you…" their sentence trails off, "you look startled, dear.”
“What the hell happened to my body?” He says sharply, and points to the shadowy skin he has, “Do you know?”
“I- uhh well-” they stammer. Strange. Noli was always the more composed one out of the two, ready for any scenario.
“Noli. Tell me.”
“...You were going to die,” they mutter, and Seven can hear them swallow nervously.
“And how would you know that? You weren’t there!”
“...Perhaps it’s easier if I show you. There’s no use keeping secrets now I suppose.”
He’s baffled by their vague response as they step forward, embracing him in a hug. It’s nice, but not what he was expecting from that. And then the world shifts. It’s more dramatic than a teleport. He’s not being rebuilt subtly in another place. No, it’s like he’s taking a smooth train ride all the way to another dimension in a matter of nanoseconds.
When his mind finally comes back to terms with reality, he’s no longer in their shared apartment. A dark night sky is above him, decorated with more stars he thought physically possible. The ground beneath him is smoothened stone, stretching ever onward, as large cathedrals and temples seem to surround him. His mouth is agape.
Before he can fully even process that, a large figure looms over him. Tall, he notes. Tall enough his neck hurts trying to give eye contact to them. They wore large robes, decorated in star-like patterns, heavy jewellery on every part of them, dangling like galaxies. Halos dance above their head, and a small (small as in compared to the body, he didn’t want to know how big they’d been compared to him) set of wings could be seen fluttering with an almost nervous tender.
A familiar white theatre mask stared down.
“Noli?” he said, voice quiet in awe of the figure.
The mask grew a large smile, “who else?”
“Holy shit man-”
“Here-” in a moment, Noli vanished, quickly shifting to a smaller version of the divine being Seven just saw, “So you don’t hurt your neck.”
“You’re telling me you hid this from me?”
“Yes, it was in my plan that I’d tell you this secret approximately 17 years later, when in the future you are married and on the anniversary of our wedding, which just so happens to be the anniversary of me taking upon a mortal form for the first time. But I did not predict you to nearly die. I had to save you.”
“Hey, I thought you’d know to never predict me!”
Noli stifles a laugh, their voice more echoey and full in this new body. Or old? Was this their true form or something?
“Oh, never change, my dear. I suppose you are right. I’m not a perfect oracle, merely following a vague storyline for my play.”
“W- wait so you knew I’d date you before- But you looked so surprised when I confessed!” his whole world view was shifting. What the hell did they mean by play?
“No no! Don’t panic. I do love you. I had an idea I’d decide to pick a wildcard like you for my future life partner. I never knew how much you’d change the script. I was supposed to have all these ideas for this and that planned out and then you- You only surprise me my love, and I’m very grateful. Not many can say they can outsmart a minor deity after all!” they said with a small, light chuckle.
His hands came to clasp theirs – that familiar glassy skin on their hands now too – and asked, “Minor deity, huh?”
“Mhm. Your ears do work still, I’m glad.”
“How much is this going to change?”
“I’m…not sure. You do still love me, yes? I understand your bewilderment.”
“Fuck yeah! I’m dating a god! What kind of powers are you hiding from me!? Was this like your realm or something!? Are you-” The man proceeded to list off over a dozen hundred questions out of his mouth, that Noli got around to asking in a slow careful tone; that tone that Seven fell in love with during late nights after too much caffeine, not enough sleep and far too much running through their overworked selves.
“You know what,” Noli said, interrupting a train of thought they were on, “let’s go inside. I’m sure Aspx would be more than pleased to meet you, and we can talk over food. Come now!”
Seven smiled eagerly, happy to see where this would lead them both now.