[So he can keep an eye on that one. His smile freezes in place when the familiar sight of stardust fills the space around them. They can't catch a break, can they?]
In a seemingly endless void where the stars shoot across space in the distance, Heitaros cackles lowly. "As expected, longevity is like poison to humans. Is your mind this weak?"
"Tch, think what you want, will you?" you reply, looking around. Just hearing his words puts you in a foul mood, but your head isn't so clouded by hatred that you can't sort out your priorities. "Which way is it?"
"Don't try to do anything vain and wait quietly," says Heitaros, "for the new creation."
"Be quiet! Wasn't your promise wrong?" The demon eyes you, probably finding all of this unbelievably entertaining, while you snarl at him. "Didn't you say you'd give me a chance to apologize to Kyle?"
"Haven't you apologized to your satisfaction?"
"No! Rather than the illusion you made . . . I have to apologize to the real Kyle!" The demon's not important. You've come this far; you can't back out now. You turn away from Heitaros and run off in a spontaneous direction. "Where are you, Kyle!"
Like a man possessed, you run every which way without stopping until, eventually, you come across the boy. You smile, relief swelling inside you. You weren't too late, after all.
"Good! I knew we'd be able to meet like this, kid!" Your grin widens. "No, Kyle!"
Kyle's eyes widen. "Si-Sieghart? How did you . . . Could it be? You came to save . . . "
"No, I was caught as well." Kyle makes a face, clearly in disbelief that you've gotten yourself trapped under the demon's paw, and you add: "There wasn't another method of locating you."
Demons are liars; this is a universal truth. There's no way you'd buy anything a demon sells you, much less one who wreaked havoc in your dimension and now claims to be the next Creator. He can take his illusory gift and shove it. But you also know that, without accepting that gift, you wouldn't be standing in front of Kyle now.
"I don't think there's a way to get out of here," says Kyle.
"Yeah, seems that way. In spite of that, you've been enduring by yourself all this time, haven't you?"
Kyle hesitates. "Cindy shared with me a piece of her soul. I have to protect it."
Your heart aches. What a terrible mistake you made that day, lashing out at Kyle after learning of his connection to Ashtaroth and Baldinar. Back then, you conflated the three existences as one and almost cut down a child whose desires had stemmed only from a place of good in spite of his youthful proclivities. Even now, all alone as he is with an uncertain fate ahead of him, he worries about his other half foremost.
"You . . . are definitely different from Ashtaroth."
Kyle appears taken aback by your statement. Of course he does. He doesn't really understand what's going on as far as you and Heitaros are concerned. He doesn't know a thing, yet you made a victim out of him with no thought for anyone but yourself.
"I'm sorry—for getting angry at you. If I had to make an excuse," you say in a sing-song tone, "it wasn't that I was angry at you, but at myself."
"That . . . What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying that you don't have to bear the guilt of Ashtaroth's sin. Destiny? Fate?" You scoff. "Hmph! Just feed them to the dogs!"
You don't believe in that rubbish. Destiny and fate may sound grand at first, but all they are is a bunch of chains, wrapped tightly around the souls they bind like a chokehold. A boy such as Kyle, who's had his life dictated by far too many, doesn't deserve that additional burden. "You're just you, Kyle."
Kyle is quiet as he processes what you've just said.
"I'm . . . Kyle. Hearing the stories Grandiel would tell about the GrandChase, I wanted . . . As one with the sword, I wanted to be someone who could overcome any obstacle."
You laugh. So childish, yet so pure. "That's a good dream. This is the moment to achieve it, Kyle! Let's overcome this obstacle together and get out!"
"No. There's no need to do it together, Sieghart."
"Huh?"
The kid proceeds to talk, ultimately apologizing to Cindy before he begins to gather the energy that forms his sword in front of him. You realize what he means to do, and your heart drops down to your stomach as you reach out for him in a panic. "H-hey! Stop!"
But it's too late. You're always too late. You can only watch while Kyle plungs his blade into himself.
Kyle, body and soul, is the host. Naturally, damage to the host reflects onto the possessor, and Heitaros howls in pain before the void crumbles around you. You find yourself back in the moonlit hall with Kyle kneeling nearby in anguish.
"Kyle! You idiot!" you cry, unable to compose yourself.
Clutching his chest, Kyle huffs. "The angel . . . told me. That if I . . . if I did this, Heitaros would disappear . . . Now everything can go back to the way they were. Now . . . this piece of Cindy's soul can . . . "
Trailing off, Kyle collapses onto the floor while you shout his name in despair. You thought you'd made it, that you could fix your mistake this time. But this is beyond your ability to right, and you're afraid for the broken child lying before you—so afraid that you almost forget how to breathe as you scramble for a solution in your useless mind.
Elesis runs in with the rest of the Chase then. Glimpsing the situation, she says, "You did it, Sieghart!"
"No . . . I wasn't the one who felled Heitaros . . . "
How did it come to this? You snap your head up, eyes flashing in anger. "Damn angel! Putting weird thoughts into a kid's head! Kyle . . . In order to vanquish Heitaros, he stabbed his own soul!"
Immortality isn't strength. You can live forever without being able to protect anyone, just as you can protect someone for their whole life while remaining mortal.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Don't worry. If bad memories come knocking tomorrow, I'll deal with them myself.
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Mm, that's worse. If there's a field trip you shouldn't be alone.
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Then I'll go with Kai.
[So he can keep an eye on that one. His smile freezes in place when the familiar sight of stardust fills the space around them. They can't catch a break, can they?]
In a seemingly endless void where the stars shoot across space in the distance, Heitaros cackles lowly. "As expected, longevity is like poison to humans. Is your mind this weak?"
"Tch, think what you want, will you?" you reply, looking around. Just hearing his words puts you in a foul mood, but your head isn't so clouded by hatred that you can't sort out your priorities. "Which way is it?"
"Don't try to do anything vain and wait quietly," says Heitaros, "for the new creation."
"Be quiet! Wasn't your promise wrong?" The demon eyes you, probably finding all of this unbelievably entertaining, while you snarl at him. "Didn't you say you'd give me a chance to apologize to Kyle?"
"Haven't you apologized to your satisfaction?"
"No! Rather than the illusion you made . . . I have to apologize to the real Kyle!" The demon's not important. You've come this far; you can't back out now. You turn away from Heitaros and run off in a spontaneous direction. "Where are you, Kyle!"
Like a man possessed, you run every which way without stopping until, eventually, you come across the boy. You smile, relief swelling inside you. You weren't too late, after all.
"Good! I knew we'd be able to meet like this, kid!" Your grin widens. "No, Kyle!"
Kyle's eyes widen. "Si-Sieghart? How did you . . . Could it be? You came to save . . . "
"No, I was caught as well." Kyle makes a face, clearly in disbelief that you've gotten yourself trapped under the demon's paw, and you add: "There wasn't another method of locating you."
Demons are liars; this is a universal truth. There's no way you'd buy anything a demon sells you, much less one who wreaked havoc in your dimension and now claims to be the next Creator. He can take his illusory gift and shove it. But you also know that, without accepting that gift, you wouldn't be standing in front of Kyle now.
"I don't think there's a way to get out of here," says Kyle.
"Yeah, seems that way. In spite of that, you've been enduring by yourself all this time, haven't you?"
Kyle hesitates. "Cindy shared with me a piece of her soul. I have to protect it."
Your heart aches. What a terrible mistake you made that day, lashing out at Kyle after learning of his connection to Ashtaroth and Baldinar. Back then, you conflated the three existences as one and almost cut down a child whose desires had stemmed only from a place of good in spite of his youthful proclivities. Even now, all alone as he is with an uncertain fate ahead of him, he worries about his other half foremost.
"You . . . are definitely different from Ashtaroth."
Kyle appears taken aback by your statement. Of course he does. He doesn't really understand what's going on as far as you and Heitaros are concerned. He doesn't know a thing, yet you made a victim out of him with no thought for anyone but yourself.
"I'm sorry—for getting angry at you. If I had to make an excuse," you say in a sing-song tone, "it wasn't that I was angry at you, but at myself."
"That . . . What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying that you don't have to bear the guilt of Ashtaroth's sin. Destiny? Fate?" You scoff. "Hmph! Just feed them to the dogs!"
You don't believe in that rubbish. Destiny and fate may sound grand at first, but all they are is a bunch of chains, wrapped tightly around the souls they bind like a chokehold. A boy such as Kyle, who's had his life dictated by far too many, doesn't deserve that additional burden. "You're just you, Kyle."
Kyle is quiet as he processes what you've just said.
"I'm . . . Kyle. Hearing the stories Grandiel would tell about the GrandChase, I wanted . . . As one with the sword, I wanted to be someone who could overcome any obstacle."
You laugh. So childish, yet so pure. "That's a good dream. This is the moment to achieve it, Kyle! Let's overcome this obstacle together and get out!"
"No. There's no need to do it together, Sieghart."
"Huh?"
The kid proceeds to talk, ultimately apologizing to Cindy before he begins to gather the energy that forms his sword in front of him. You realize what he means to do, and your heart drops down to your stomach as you reach out for him in a panic. "H-hey! Stop!"
But it's too late. You're always too late. You can only watch while Kyle plungs his blade into himself.
Kyle, body and soul, is the host. Naturally, damage to the host reflects onto the possessor, and Heitaros howls in pain before the void crumbles around you. You find yourself back in the moonlit hall with Kyle kneeling nearby in anguish.
"Kyle! You idiot!" you cry, unable to compose yourself.
Clutching his chest, Kyle huffs. "The angel . . . told me. That if I . . . if I did this, Heitaros would disappear . . . Now everything can go back to the way they were. Now . . . this piece of Cindy's soul can . . . "
Trailing off, Kyle collapses onto the floor while you shout his name in despair. You thought you'd made it, that you could fix your mistake this time. But this is beyond your ability to right, and you're afraid for the broken child lying before you—so afraid that you almost forget how to breathe as you scramble for a solution in your useless mind.
Elesis runs in with the rest of the Chase then. Glimpsing the situation, she says, "You did it, Sieghart!"
"No . . . I wasn't the one who felled Heitaros . . . "
Arme blinks in surprise. "What? Then . . . "
How did it come to this? You snap your head up, eyes flashing in anger. "Damn angel! Putting weird thoughts into a kid's head! Kyle . . . In order to vanquish Heitaros, he stabbed his own soul!"
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okay. no. not the point. THIS IS MISERABLE, is sieg's whole life like this. how is he always so chill. help. ]
I don't - really get all of that. But sorry. About the kid.
[ she only calls them a kid because it's how sieg seems to think of them. ]
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It's miserable, but knowing what the future from then holds neutralizes Sieghart's mood that he brushes off the feelings with practiced ease.]
Oh, Kyle? It's fine. He's doing better now.
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[If something turned out better, he usually had nothing to do with it.]
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But it would be nice being strong enough to protect them. You know, for their whole life.
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... Well, if you say so.