#no edits no beta we die like ascians

[akirakirxaa]

Song 8!

[Music ask prompt instructions here! You too can find out what kind of random stuff I listen to! Keep Reading break due to Endwalker spoilers.]

Troubled times Caught between confusion and pain, pain, pain Distant eyes Promises we made were in vain, in vain, in vain - Separate Ways, Journey

Azem paced restlessly, ash floating in the air like snow, the whole city bathed in red and orange from the flames. She'd gone to their home, but not only was no one there, but the building itself had crumbled under some creature's monstrous claws. She'd used every channel she could find to reach out to her beloveds, and now she could only wait.

She'd waited for days already, striking down beast after beast, holed up in a nearby abandoned building, whatever grandeur it once boasted now coated in soot and blood. She dared not look too hard in any dark corners. Despite her reinforcements, she made sure not to sleep too deeply lest some vile monster sneak its way in and slay her where she lie. As a result, her fiery amber eyes were ringed with dark shadows, her bright auburn hair now dull with dust, strands dangling free about her face.

Just as she was about to give up for the day and return to her refuge to bunker down for another terrifying night, she heard a familiar sound behind her and spun to see familiar silver hair and eyes before she launched herself at him at full force, flinging her arms around his neck in a vice grip like she would never let go.

"Hades! Oh, thank the star, I thought you were dead!" He pulled her closer, clinging just as tightly.

"Where have you been?" He demanded, pulling her back to look her critically up and down as if looking for injuries. "You've had me worried sick! Now is not the time for your shenanigans!" But the smile couldn't be wiped from her face; her relief was palpable.

"Now once Hythlodaeus joins us I'll feel a lot better," she breathed, turning away to look out for creatures. It was a long moment before she'd realized that Hades had fallen into an uncharacteristic silence and slowly turned back to see him looking down at the ground, jaw tight. "Hades, where is Hythlodaeus?"

More silence.

"Hades, where is Hythlodaeus?" The panic rose higher in her voice.

"...He volunteered for the Zodiark project."

"What?" Azem hissed, staggering back a few steps. "That's impossible, he...he wouldn't do that without telling-"

"He didn't want you to stop him," Hades still didn't meet her eyes.

"And why didn't you stop him?"

"You think I didn't try?" The two glared across at each other before Azem's face crumpled as she ran back into Hades' arms, sobbing, as he murmured attempts at comfort that he didn't even believe.

"I bring news," she pushed away from him, wiping at her face. "You need to take whoever's left of the Convocation and run. Hide, in the strongest magical bunker you can muster. Off the star even if you can manage it." Hades looked bewildered.

"Why?"

"We can stop this, I can stop this, but...it's going to do a lot of damage." They held each others' gaze for a long moment before he nodded.

"Alright," he agreed. "Where were you thinking we should go?"

"Not 'we'," she corrected. "You." He blinked a few times before he seemed to puff up with anger.

"You tell me there's something big coming and you expect me to just leave you here?" He grabbed her hand firmly. "Absolutely not."

"Please," she rested her free hand against his cheek. "There is no other way, and I can't explain it to you." He scoffed at her.

"Do you really think it beyond me-"

"No, not because you wouldn't understand," she squeezed his hand back. "Because you wouldn't believe me." He almost looked more offended at that.

"I would always believe you." She burst out laughing as though he'd told a great joke, and his puzzled look sent her further into fits.

"I happen to have it on very good authority that you would not, in fact, believe this story," her giggles finally faded into something sadder. "You'll just have to trust me." He rested his free hand against hers on his cheek.

"I do trust you, Persephone," but his eyes were sad. He could sense the finality of this meeting, from the insistence and urgency in his love's tone.

"One last thing," she held his gaze steadily, as if the rest of the world didn't matter. "I...I likely won't remember who you are. You'll have to find me. Promise me?" He leaned his forehead against hers.

"I'll always find you."

~*~

Hydaelyn certainly had a sense of humor, didn't She?

Even mangled and broken and stitched together, Emet-Selch would always recognize his Persephone's soul, a bright flame amongst so many dull colors in this fractured world.

And of course she would be the Warrior of Light. Her champion. This version of her was such a tiny thing. Her eyes, the wrong color, a brilliant amethyst, her hair too dark of a red, and of course Persephone never had a tail or scales. She glared at him with open contempt and even though she, like every other incarnation before, was a disappointment, it hurt.

But he'd made a promise, so he fixed his face with a mocking sneer as he introduced himself with a flourish.

Maybe this time she would remember.