Divinitas

055 - A Dream\'s Justification

~ * ~

Dark smoke-veiled blue eyes contemplated the Child of Fire in front of him, adorned so finely in the white and red and gold representative of Ten and the phoenix. He had such a bitter, determined look in his blood red eyes. He was very, very angry. Worst of all was that he was controlling it all so remarkably well under a chillingly calm exterior.

Ashura hooked the last clasp together on Phoenix\'s garments, taking a step back to assess the attire in full. \'Desirable\' was the first and foremost word that came to mind… this shinning and brightly burning Child of Fire. No wonder Aether wanted him. And when he becomes a God… well, then, perhaps, selling half of one\'s soul would not seem an overly high price to pay.

\"Did you know?\" Phoenix\'s voice was hard, direct. His eyes were even more so, burning with an icy flame.

The Tenshi ignored the question, picking up Phoenix\'s weapon from the table and holding it out towards him. \"Does my knowing change anything for you?\" Ashura asked quietly. \"Does it change your intended course of action?\"

\"Why did you lie?\"

The weapon hung between them, offered by one, unaccepted by the other. Intense red stared into calm blue.

\"You d had have rejected both myself and Ten had you known. All the Elemental Children would have, had we told the truth. So they were told the same story as the one I told you. That we were ordered to tell you, should you ask,\" Ashura answered, voice direct, as if to say he had nothing more to hide.

Phoenix\'s glare narrowed, the look on his face becoming hard and cold. \"What will happen to the other three final Elemental Children if I\'m to be sold to Aether?\"

\"The same fate will befall them. The Divine Beasts are linked, and because the Elemental Children will serve as their vessels, so too can they not be separated. They will be part of the exchange.\"

A silence pregnant with malice and antipathy laid in the wake of Ashura\'s words. The Child of Fire\'s accusing and furious burning red eyes didn\'t waver from Ashura\'s calm gaze.

The Tenshi gave a soft sigh, lowering the neglected weapon in his hand. \"Phoenix… as your Keeper, but more so as your friend, I advise you to do everything to become the God of Fire, regardless of what will befall both you and the other three Elemental Children. Your only other option is death, and that is hardly desirable.\"

The burning red orbs only flared darker with anger and spite, furious to hear the word \'friend\' used in such context. \"Don\'t you dare… advise me, Tenshi,\" Phoenix spat harshly. \"I am being used. By you, by Ten, by your sire, Deus. I will kill tens of my own kind in a few hours from now, and I have nothing left to hold on to except my will to fucking live!

\"It makes me sick. Knowing all of this is for some perverted cause. I don\'t know who to hate more. Chikyuu or Ten, Aether or Deus, or you for playing with and manipulating me. It dirties my Dream and desire to live. It makes me feel dirty and defiled. Damn it, Ashura, my Dream is my own yet you have all twisted it into something foul and disgusting!\"

So it had come to this. It would probably have been better, if Phoenix and he had ended this part of their relationship on a more positive note. But on the other hand, it certainly made things much more interesting for the prospective future.

Ashura smiled inwardly, lifting Phoenix\'s weapon once more and offering it to the Child of Fire. \"I\'m sorry,\" he said, his voice sincere, and his eyes shinning with regret and sorrow.

The boy glared back, disgusted. \"No. You\'re not,\" Phoenix answered bitterly, snatching the weapon and leaving the room without a backwards glance.

Ashura\'s satisfied smile surfaced on his once saddened lips. \"No, I guess I\'m not.\"



~ * ~
Blades, when born within a kiln, glow white hot, and burn red and gold at their sharp edges. They were magical and beautiful, painfully attractive, making one long to touch them, even knowing they would sear your flesh and burn it away to the bone.

Phoenix was like this, Aether decided as he stepped forth from the Gate into Eternity in the realm of Ten. Like it in every aspect, without doubt.

Even with Casimir beside him, her arm wrapped around his body providing physical support, he could barely walk without crying out in pain. Removing those wings physically had weakened him greatly. Where as any other wounds upon his immortal body would have closed within minutes, the gapping gashes where his wings once were would not… because his body needed them to be there to heal. No… it was more like his body registered the wings as being a part of him, and so would not heal over because they wanted to reattach those wings first. And as a result, a massive amount of his blood had bled from his body before Casimir finally used her song to coax his body to respond.

Yet that wasn\'t the last of it. The pain didn\'t lessen, even though the physical wounds on his back had been healed to the point where even the faintest mark could not be seen. No, it still felt as if there were two hot white blades stabbing into his back where his wings once were, digging keenly into flesh and bone, inching deeper and deeper into his very heart and soul.

He blamed Phoenix. Without consciously deciding upon it, he had begun to hate the Child of Fire as much as he wanted and desired him. For being those twin blades that now squirmed into him, for denying and rejecting him, for being exactly what he was and would continue being… someone who wanted to live so, so much, who knew exactly what he wanted, who did not care who he hurt or what he did to achieve his ends.

I want you to be all of those things… But I want to be the exception. I want you to want me as much as you want to live!

\"Aether…?\" The soft concerned voice drifted through his senses, pulling the God of Soul back from the depth of his thoughts. The melody in the air faded, and the swirling mists in the jewel held above the Gate into Eternity dissipated, leaving it cold and dead.

The God of Soul shook his head slightly, withdrawing himself from Casi\'s arm. \"I\'m fine, Casimir,\" Aether said in reply to the unvoiced question. He straightened his body, locking in place an unfeeling mask. \"You need not accompany me to Deus. Wait here for me.\"

Aether\'s back was turned before Casimir could make any reply, and her pained and helpless expression was lost on him.

So this was his final answer? That he did not want her to see what he would do, knew that it would shatter her heart, and knew her to know it, so would rather keep her away? It hurt, knowing her help was unwanted, now. Stand by and let be done what must be done. That was the silent command Aether had given her.

Casimir felt bruised. Yet this was how it had always been, and she was as much to blame as Aether was, because she never did anything except indulge him with whatever his whims may have had. Why was she such an indulging sister to him? Why did she spoil him so whatever he wanted, he got? Love… She frowned. Was that really all there was to it? A sister\'s love for her older Brother, her only family, and all that she cared about in the world… Unconditional love.

The Goddess of Song closed her eyes. No, of course not. There was no such thing. ythiything was double-edged. \'Acknowledge me, please…? Care for me, just a little?\' That pleading voice sounded so young, and so like a child. But there was nothing else to fill the abyss where a Mother and Father\'s love should have been. Nothing else… not even for Aether. Maybe… maybe that was another reason for why they had become what they had became.

Violet eyes closed, and a weary body leaned back against the cool stone of the Gate into Eternity, letting that silent strength support her. Just stand by and watch. And wait. Everything would work itself out. It would.



~ * ~
The Elemental Children… offspring of the Divine Beasts, the product of neglect by their master. There had been so many more of them, these gifted youths of Chikyuu. But he had ordered them to be slaughtered, thinning out the ranks and bringing only a select few to Ten.

Had even that been necessary? Well, aside from the necessity of spilling the blood, no more so than formal dinner parties to mark the ending or beginning of one\'s grand scheme. In the end, everything was just for show. Bringing the stronger Elemental Children here, allowing their Keepers to train them so they could fight more elegantly… giving them their last meal to show them clearly who\'s blood they would have to spill if they wishes to survive. The end result could be achieved without such elaboration. But… it was more fun this way.

The Child of Earth knew and understood this. Being the only Child of Earth meant he did not have to spill anyone\'s blood to become the God of Earth, and could see all the happenings without the bloody red haze that veiled every other Child\'s eyes. He had already guessed that the Child of Fire and the Child of Air who were to become Gods had already been chosen, and for the Elemental Children of Fire and Air at least, the blood shed by their hands would not be necessary. But it would still occur. For that alone, perhaps, the Child might have cried, clinging as he was now to a most displeased Griffin of the Dark. The Child of Earth did not want to be here, could not see the reason for their being here. The Child of Earth wanted to return to Chikyuu, and he did not want to see two people he had come to know in the past few days splatter the ground with blood.

Well, for the first wish at least, dear innocent Child of Earth, it would be granted.

\"Should I join them?\" the soft melodious voice of the Child of Water inquired from beside Cyaneus.

The God of Ten watched as bro brother glanced sidewards at the ebony-haired youth standing so obediently besides him. The Child of Water was focused so intently at Cyaneus, yet there was no challenge in that stare. It was simply commitment and acceptance. It made one wonder why and how it had developed to such a stage. If one cared to wonder, that is.

\"If you want,\" was Cyaneus curt and uninterested reply before the Tenshi turned his attentions back to overseeing the gathering of Elemental Children below.

The Child of Water gave a half bow, unacknowledged by his Keeper, before accepting the dismissal and leaving the balcony. His footsteps halted abruptly just outside the door, paused long enough to give another courteous bow before resuming again at their normal pace.

Ah, and so the long sought after prize had finally arrived.

\"Do you like him?\" Deus asked without turning his eyes away from watching the procession below. \"The Child of Water you just passed in the hallway?\"

Aether\'s graceful hand laid itself gently on the marble balustrade, his fingers curling up slightly against the satin-smooth stone. \"It doesn\'t matter to me who the other Children are,\" his smooth low voice flowed out softly. It was calm, apathetic, like it always was. But this time… this time there was a trace of pain and fatigue in that seductive voice. And something akin to forced acceptance.

Deus\' deep summer blue eyes turned and finally ran over the form of Aether standing beside him, whose amethyst eyes searched the gathering of Elemental Children on the floor below them. The God of Ten stopped as he reached the other\'s shoulder blades. His pain shone though the black cloth, like two glowing red slashes where his wings should have been.

Ignoring the comment, and forgetting his intent to play out the usual mental games with the other God, Deus stepped up to Aether\'s taunt body, sliding and arm around the front of the other\'s waist. The God of Soul stiffened more, yet didn\'t back away, allowing the intimacy despite the presence of the Cyaneus on the viewing balcony.

\"You tore your wings off,\" Deus said quietly in Aether\'s ear. \"Your sister may have been able to heal the physical wounds with her song, but she can not erase your body and soul\'s necessity for the wings. You will continue to hurt. It will not fade, this pain. It will grow. Because you are a God, and a God needs his wings.\"

\"I\'ll live.\"

Deus laughed. \"I don\'t doubt that. It\'s very hard to end the existence of a God. Even if you destroy their physical form, they have a knack for showing up again when you least except them.\" The God of Ten drew Aether closer to him, relishing the other\'s body pressed against his own, and inhaling Aether\'s distinct scent. After this, there would be few and far between chances for such an embrace. \"I can erase that part of you, if you wish. Without a price.\"

A sigh passed through Aether\'s body, as if it was grateful for the offer, and it was exactly what it had been waiting to hear. The God of Soul leaned further into Deus\' embrace, closing his eyes and turning his head just enough to place an empty kiss on Deus\' lips. It meant nothing, and they both knew it. It was only a token of consent, given in place of the word \'please.\'

The God\'s hand slipped up the back of Aether\'s garment, sliding up the other\'s warm back. The fingers came to rest against the newly healed flesh, feeling the angry phantom heat beneath the perfect skin. Slowly they began to stroke up and down the flesh between Aether\'s shoulder blades, soothing and relieving the formless fire.

Like poison being drawn from a wound, the ragged lines of pain withdrew from Aether\'s body and soul, leaving him feeling strangely fragile, disturbingly mortal… human almost. Never to fly again, grounded, chained. It was sobering… yet it was fine. It was good, to not carry around the invisible weight of wings he so seldom used. Almost… it was almost like being freed from the weight of eternity, the responsibilities of ruling and serving. What a sweetly poisoned lie.

A violent wave crashed through the false serenity, ripping though the mellow haze that Deus\' power had cast over Aether for the healing of his soulful wings. Aether\'s eyes snapped open as the violent emotions washed over him, pouring around his heart and soul, pounding, stabbing. The hate, the bitterness, the resentment.

\"The object of your desire has arrived,\" Deus whispered huskily into Aether\'s ear, letting his warm breath caress the other God\'s skin.

An involuntary shudder rippled down Aether\'s spin, forcing from his lips a soft moan. It wasn\'t Deus\' caress, not the words whispered into his ears that caused such an uncharacteristic reaction in him. No, it was because his amethyst eyes had finally locked themselves on the figure that now stood below them, outside that sea of nameless, faceless Children, who stared back so vividly at him.

A single star in the endless darkness of one\'s heart. The only desire, the only need. And he knew. Knew all of this, knew that Aether would sell half his soul for him. Knew he would take any measures to drag him back down to his level.

Tear off my wings and never allow me to taste Heaven again. You would do this to me. You will do this to me.

He could taste Phoenix\'s fury and bitterness in the air, couldn\'t help buel iel it surround and attack him relentlessly. It siphoned off the boy in a violent whirlwind, subconsciously forcing all those near him to take several steps back. Hate, hate, and more hate. It almost made Aether want to smile.

\"Shall we begin?\" Deus\' low husky voice inquired, his hand trailing down Aether\'s back in a seductive caress.

The God of Soul smirked, tearing his amethyst eyes away from Phoenix\'s furious red ones and turning them to Deus\' deep blue. \"Odd, to ask someone if they wish to being travelling the road towards their downfall,\" Aether answered, his lips dangerously close to the higher deity\'s.

\"But it is your Wish, to Fall. And I am here only to grant your Wish, my dearest Aether,\" the God of Ten replied with a knowing smile. \"You need not tell me you\'ve conceded to my… proposition. After all, my dearest Aether, you just let me strip you completely of your wings. Because of that boy, no doubt.\"

Aether\'s eyes didn\'t change. His smirk didn\'t waver, and nothing physically betrayed the sudden shift in his heart at the mere mention of the Child of Fire. But it was there. How clearly it was there. Emotion. Feeling. In the God of Soul. An utterly undulated desire and need and the helplessness of being unable to satisfy it in any way aside from possessing the Child of Fire.

\"It\'s fine. He\'s yours. I will give him to you along with the other three newly born Elemental Gods on a golden platter to do with as you please. And I will give you the means to soul bind the God of Fire to you completely… if you so wish,\" Deus whispered, leaning forward and touching his forehead to Aether\'s. \"All I ask for in return is half your soul… that which you have no desire to keep or cherish regardless. Let me take care of you if you will not. Let me love and use that part of you, my golden God of Chikyuu.\"

The God of Soul remained silent, feeling the warmth of Deus\' forehead pressed against his. It might have been a comforting experience had it been anyone else. Here and now, though, it meant… nothing.

\"Why did I lose,\" Aether finally voiced, closing his eyes and pulling back from Deus\' embrace. \"Why did I begin to feel now.\" The amethyst eyes opened again, seeing nothing except the Child of Fire so far below them.

Deus settled his own gaze on the boy who had stolen Aether\'s heart, opening his senses just enough to taste the absolute rage that whirled around him, that burned with the brightness from his eternal soul. \"You wanted to.\"

Aether smiled bitterly. \"I wonder why, now,\" he murmured under his breath. The God of Soul withdrew into himself, walling off the emotions that had so vividly made themselves known. \"Let\'s begin.\"

The God of Ten smiled. \"As you wish.\"



~ * ~
The chosen Child of Fire didn\'t hear a word the God of Ten spoke to the gathered Elemental Children. The entire time, his eyes had been riveted to Aether, seeing him and hating him. And all that time, Aether had returned his unmasked hateful glare, smirking.

Somewhere along the way, Aether had come to hate him. That was what the smirk and glazed eyes had said.

Want you. Need you… Hate you.

That was fine. That was fucking fine.

Phoenix violently turned away from the now empty viewing balcony, feeling the air swirl around his garments and lifting the longer locks of his hair as he stalked towards the exit where the Children of Fire were gathering.

Vaguely he became aware of Chimaera\'s high boyish voice calling out to him, and caught sight of the rich chestnut and emerald green bundle hurtling towards him. Did he stop, or was he forcefully dragged to a halt by the younger youth now clinging to his arm. It didn\'t matter. His mind was already bathing in the savage desire to fight, to kill. To survive.

\"Phoenix!\" the boy shouted his name again, trying desperately to make those distant red eyes focus on him.

\"What…?\" It was such a soft reply. Almost gentle… only it was empty. The owner of the voice no longer stood before him, long lost in the tempest of his own mind, his own desires, his own Dream.

\"Don\'t do this? Please?\" It wasn\'t reaching. \"Let\'s go home, ne? Can\'t we all be happy if we went back to Earth? Why can\'t we go back?!\" Those large emerald eyes were filled with tears. Why was Chimaera on the verge of crying… Blood would never have to be spilt by his hands. Why cry for others.

\"We can go back if I win,\" Phoenix answered, his distant crimson gaze settling on the troubled boy. \"Do you want me to win? Aether will sell half his soul for us if I win and become the God of Fire. Do you want me to win, Little Chimaera?\"

Will you too condemn me to his side? Will you too use me as everyone else already has?

Chimaera\'s fingers slipped from Phoenix\'s arm, shocked emerald eyes widening. Slowly the boy shook his head, his tears sliding down his flushed cheeks. \"Don\'t kill them…\" he whispered, lost.

Phoenix smiled bitterly. \"I will not die.\"

The Child of Earth tore his tearful green eyes away from Phoenix, turning and running from the emptying circular hall.

Blood red eyes watched until the child had disappeared from view, and as they turned back towards his destination, they slid over the Griffin of the Dark. It was a smirk that lingered on his lips. Yet… yet there was understanding there. Something that said, \'perhaps you are not so different from I in the justification of why we do what we do. We both are willing to kill no matter the price to achieve a higher goal.\'

The Child of Fire closed his eyes, acknowledging that similarity, that base truth. Because this was the way he had chosen to live. He would accept the regret, the burden of destroying those other budding lives. He would. Without feeling. Without tears.



~ * ~
Of the three that knew and were tangled with one another, none saw the fourth standing by, watching the exchange. Draco had heard the words Phoenix spoke to Chimaera. Had seen what passed between Phoenix and the Griffin of the Dark. And he understood where all three stood, understood why they were how there,ere, would do what they would.

Life was admittedly precious. And the Child of Earth could not stand to see its loss. But the Child of Earth would not be killed, did not have that fear or threat hanging above his head. Whereas both he and the other two Children did. Who could blame them, for wanting to live. Who could condemn one\'s instinct to survive, no matter the cost to others.

Sapphire eyes turned away from the scene, walking slowly towards the exit appointed to the Elemental Children of Water. Yes, one shouldn\'t condemn them for what they were about to do. But it could have been better than this. The Deities knew whom the final Children would be. They could have killed the other Elemental Children rather than make them slaughter one another savagely.

Yes, the spilling of blood was necessary. He has asked Cyaneus why. Blood is blood, the Tenshi had said. Blood was the life\'s river, the soul\'s tears, the heart\'s essence. And the Divine Beasts would flow as the blood flowed. Flow from those who no longer lived to the final one standing. That was why every Elemental Child that had already been killed by the Tenshi in the first culling had had their throats slit. To spill the blood.

It was sad, this. It was sad to know they would become killers of their own. It was distressing. But if this was what Cyaneus required of him, then he would do it. Regardless of the fact that they would return to Chikyuu should the Child of Fire win. They each walked their own roads, each had their own reasons for doing so, their own destination to reach. And because Draco could not yet see his destination, he would walk whatever path he was led on, and continue doing so without question. Even if it meant he would be taken away from Ten, away from Cyaneus. His devotion and loyalty would shift to whomever it was directed to. In the end, it didn\'t matter at all, did it?

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