âTheyâre not like us.â
âThey never will be.â
The villain sighed at the heroâs resolve, and stared them down with a stony gaze. âI have to be older than you.â
âOh?â The hero entertained the idea for a second, still not looking at the villain. âWhat makes you say that?â
âThe light in your eyes hasnât died yet.â
That did make the hero glance over briefly, catching the villainâs near glare, but they just as quickly refocused on the sunset, allowing their arms to rest on the trunk of the tree.
âTheyâll turn on you.â The villain continued.
âYouâll end up like me. Old, tired, nowhere to go, nothing to do except grab for power and demand respect.â
âI am old. I am tired.â
The villain scoffed. âPlease. You still have hope. Write me when you get chased out of your first village.â
Despite the fact that the day did come where the hero was turned on, despite the fact they were chased out of their home, despite the fact that the villain was right, the hero never wrote them.
The villain kept watch, though.
âHow did it feel?â They emerged from the shadows, not at all scaring the hero, still trekking to their next home.
âCanât say it didnât hurt.â The hero shrugged, letting the plants under their feet grow just a bit more.
âNo.â The hero disagreed, and the plants stopped responding to their call. âNo, Iâm just happy I got to stay as long as I did.â
âHow can you be like me?â The villain asked. âWeâre so different.â
âI like my calling much more over your shadows.â
âAnyone would prefer the ability to nurture life over shrouding the world in darkness.â
The hero laughed, it almost made the villain stop in their tracks.
âHow often do you hear someone laugh, Villain?â
In theory, the villain heard laughter a million times over. This was different. This was a sound of joy that reached the villainâs soul the way most things couldnât.
So, the villain didnât answer, and just cleared their throat.
âWrite me when it happens again. I mean it.â
It took a little longer the next time around, for the hero learned to better cover their tracks, but it didnât last.
For the second time in their life as a hero, they were chased away.
For the third time in their life as a hero, the villain appeared.
âItâs troublesome, tracking you down. Writing me would save the worry.â
âI didnât have much access to stationary.â The hero teased, and the tree branch they were sitting on creaked, another response to the heroâs touch.
The villain did have to look up at the hero, which was a bother, but they could climb.
âI see youâve bettered your calling.â They said, looking at the cluster of trees that popped up overnight.
âIt was an accident.â The hero defended. âItâs kind of new.â
âArenât you also old and tired?â The villain quipped. âWere you really just living for years thinking you wouldnât die, with no inkling of a idea that you could have a calling?â
âOh.â The villain sucked in a breath. âYou need to get it under control before you try for the next miserable little village.â
âAvoid the Westlands.â The villain continued. âThere are so few with callings left already. Theyâve begun killing those even suspected.â
It had been a while since the villain was thanked.
They disappeared in a flourish of darkness.
It was the Westlands the hero went to. It was the Westlands the villain furiously traveled to, all the while wondering how the hero managed the faster pace between the two.
They didnât wait for the hero to be hurt this time.
âWhat are you doing?â The villain hissed, dragging them to the edge of the wood on the Westland border. âI told you what theyâre doing here, I warned you.â
âI want to help the others who have callings. I want to help the ones wrongly accused.â
âYou fool!â The villain threw up their wall of shadows, and continued pulling the hero along with them. âYou blithering ass!â
The roots of the trees grew larger under the villainâs feet.
âStop it!â The hero shouted, pulling back, letting the villain trip over the roots. âIâm going to help them.â
âLike the hells you are.â The villain shot back, recovering from their stumble quickly. âTheyâll kill you faster than any of them for daring to sympathize.â
âSo instead Iâll live on knowing I could have helped my people and didnât.â
That struck a nerve with the villain. Were they not helping one of their people right now? Were they not trying to save the hero from certain death?
âIf you die-â the villain snarled, and turned slowly to face the hero. âI will never forgive you.â
The villain fled to the Eastlands to reign further terror along their path.
This time, the hero chased after them.
âYou need to stop, please.â The hero said softly next to the villain, who was content in watching the flames burn brighter. âAll the people are already out.â
âI noticed you sneaking around with them, my dear. I could have stopped you ten times over.â
The threat was clear: I can be worse.
âWonât this further hurt our kind? Knowing it was one of us who did this?â The hero gently placed a hand on the villainâs shoulder, who placed their hand on top of the heroâs.
âI wasnât caught. I never get caught outside of the west. Besides, they were starting too think too much like the Westlands.â Their grip on the heroâs hand tightened. âHow many years was it? No word from you. Knowing I couldnât do this to the Westlands without all the blame being pinned on us.â
âDid you-â the hero thought over their words. âDid you do this for me?â
âI did it because I was angry, my dear. But I was angry for you.â The villain removed their hand, and cleared their throat. âHow many did you save?â
The heroâs eyes lost just a bit of shine. âI waited, for so long. There were hardly any with actual callings. Just the accused. Itâs like itâs just us.â
Not such a bad thing. The villain thought.
They didnât stop their crimes, especially the ones that caught the heroâs attention.
âWhen I heard of a new lordship, I didnât think that meant-â
âThat it was me and my power grab?â
âI knew you were somewhere near the north.â
The villain tsked. âTheyâve given it a name since the commoners revolted, with my support, naturally.â
âCommoners?â The hero repeated, stepping back.
âThatâs what they are.â It was pushed aside, quickly, quietly, like all the things the villain did. âCome along, we have plenty to do now that youâre here.â
âIâm not staying.â They stepped back again. âI came to petition the new lordship for our peopleâs protection.â
âAlready done. Outlawed on my land. Itâs become a safe haven to whoeverâs left.â
âWhy was the Westlander Militia symbol on your guardâs post?â
The villainâs eyes snapped up. âDeals were made. You can help now that youâre here.â
âIâm not staying. Thereâs more work to be done.â
âIt can be done here.â The villain snarled. âIâve waited for you for years to come to your senses.â
âWait a few years more.â
âIf you leave now,â the villain interrupted the heroâs angry walkout. âYouâll never have my power in your hands again.â
The hero never even hesitated.
It kept on, decades at a time. One chased after the other, to persuade, to stop, to comfort.
âYou canât make-â the villain sighed, and placed their arms around the sobbing hero. âYou canât make attachments, please, love, say this will be the last one.â
âIt canât only be us.â The hero hissed through their tears. âHow is it only us?â
The villain had seen this before, the eventual break of the mind, wanting for a release, for companions as eternal as you, waiting for the moment death would allow you to see them again. The villain had been in the same break before meeting the hero.
For the first time in their long history, the villain gave them space.
Their world melted into modernization, the age of callings over, the age of superpowers beginning.
There still werenât enough of them, and the public opposed the young new heroes too much.
So, the villain did what they did best. They grabbed for power, and fought back in the most immoral ways they knew how. Against the government they had their hands in, and against the perception of the public they couldnât seem to touch.
But it took too long. The villain was lonely. And the villain began searching.
They liked the modern age for that reason - it made finding people so much easier. Maybe not the people who hadnât been born in this era, but everyone had something to follow, even if it was just one second of their face in a traffic camera.
The villain would know them anywhere.
And the villain followed. When they reached the end of the trail, they did not approve of the heroâs current living situation.
Nothing dire, but all too meek for the villainâs taste.
Miles and miles outside city limits was the hero, in some field in some farmhouse with no farm. The hero could grow one if they wanted to, meaning the lack of flora was a choice.
When the villain knocked on the door, they expected the hero to answer with a sigh of disapproval, a click of the tongue.
They didnât expect it to slam right back in their face.
The villain had hardly glanced at the heroâs face, and that was the most infuriating part. Their counterpart should have known how lonely it was, how delightful it was to see some familiarity in a constantly evolving world.
Breaking the door down wasnât the smartest move, maybe, but it got the job down.
âHero!â The villain shouted, trying to sense them among the kitschy decor.
Naturally, the hero was halfway out the spare roomâs window, and the villain picked up on it. They knew the hero, more than the hero would like to admit.
They covered the spare room in darkness the second they crossed the door frame. Immediately, something inched up and around the villainâs legs.
Of course the hero kept plants in their home. It didnât matter, the villain could see through their own cloak, and the hero couldnât, still blindly reaching for the edges of the window.
âTalk to me, damnit!â The villain shouted, pulling the crook of the heroâs arm back, pinning their back against the villainâs chest.
âLet go of me!â The hero shrieked. âI want nothing to do with you.â
âSince when?â The villain shot back, trying to ignore the greenery growing higher on their body. âWhatâs happened, my dear?â
The hero tried to push off of them, but the villain was the one doing large acts of terror with nearly no one to stop them, the hero, it seemed, hadnât been doing much to keep up with the villainâs physique.
âYou happened!â The hero shouted. âYou and your damned fighting with the public.â
âYou could have come and stopped me at any time.â The villain hissed into the heroâs ear.
âAnd you could let me go.â
The villain froze. They didnât want to, and they especially didnât want to admit it.
âGive-â they cleared their throat. âGive me a few minutes more, please.â
At that, the hero went silent, and obliged the villainâs request.
âThank you.â The villain planted a light kiss to the top of the heroâs head. âDonât run away.â
For what seemed like the millionth time in their lives, the villain let go of the hero.
For the first time in a while, the hero stayed.
With a wave of the heroâs hand, the plants creeping up the villain fell to the ground.
âWhat do you want?â The hero demanded, finally turning to face the villain.
The villain had to suck in a breath. It had been so long since they had been able to fully see them in all their glory.
âYouâre taking too long. I was giving you time and space, but itâs been-â
âI know how long itâs been.â The hero cut off the villain. âIt was intentional.â
That hurt. But they would especially never admit it out loud.
âI need more time.â The hero added as an afterthought.
âReally, my dear.â The villain scoffed. âItâs been plenty of-â
âYou donât get to decide how I grieve. I loved her.â
Oh. This was the route the hero was going.
Fine then, the villain could play this cruel game.
âLove?â They repeated, shoving their hands in their pockets. âLove is something people like us canât afford. Love isnât some game we get to play.â
âItâs not a game!â The hero protested. âYouâre saying youâve never been in love?â
Never with the wrong person.
âI fancy myself a patient person, my dear, but I draw the line at love.â
âYou donât draw lines at anything! You donât get to decide anything about me!â
âIâm far too perfectly aware. If I had my way, youâd never leave my side, you wouldnât insist on doing things the kind way.â The villainâs lip curled. âYou wouldnât fall in love with the wrong people.â
Oh. So this was about jealousy.
It was not a shocking realization to the hero. They wondered, in fact, how they didnât see it before.
âSpare me your melodramatics.â The hero mumbled. âYouâve had just as long as me to find someone new.â
âHow did that work out for you?â
The hero took a visible step away that time.
âFalling in love,â the villain stepped forward. âIs foolish. Having room for anyone but the people like you is selfish.â
âSelfish?â The hero repeated in disbelief. âYouâre calling me selfish? Youâve done more to harm our image than protect it! All for the sake of some petty vengeance story.â They steadied themselves in a protective stance.
âWeâre really going to do this?â The villain smiled. âWeâve had our squabbles, but this one could level the city, even with the distance.â
âI wonât let that happen.â
In the end, there wasnât much to be said about the fight to end all fights. Everything succumbed to darkness, even the creation of life itself.