“And with that the curtains draw on the world.”
Hikaru’s voice comes from everywhere and nowhere. It breaks the silence following slaughter, the only thing they hear. So small of a group as they are; potential allies strewn across streets, feasts for opportunistic demons that’d never thank anyone for a free meal. Above them the firmament shines and dulls, the grace of God leaving with the death of His chosen. The end of it all starts with the simple pitter pattering of droplets and soon, soon it will be a deluge.
At the end of it all, it was worth everything and nothing.
At the end of it all, Kuro banks it all on an unspoken promise that in the moment feels like little more than an elaborate farce. Mortality drains confidence, it is an inescapable effect of life.
It is when his confidence wanes under the gaze of his only two compatriots, when it feels like he’s been led on little more than a goose chase, he feels Hikaru at his back but only for a moment. He feels then sees her hand slide down his arm, he watches as it changes. What was once the gentle hand of a young woman turns to the clawed hand of a man, and interlaces both of their fingers.
The man’s hands are warm - burning hot - but soothing almost in this inescapable chill so far under the water.
“You have done as I asked and for that I’ll give you your just reward.”
Hikaru’s voice is a man’s, smooth as silk. Deceptively calm. Eventually he feels them put their face on his shoulder, resting it there. Out of the corner of his eye, Kuro gazes at the face of a beautiful man, an angel. Their yellow eyes gaze at him, through him.
The angel smiles and his other hand reaches past Kuro and he can feel the pull magic far beyond anything else he’d fought against. The world warps in front of him, splits open, and a yawning abyss greets his vision. It’s cold, frightening. It beacons him. It feels like. Home.
Wings curl in front of him, sheltering him from it. The angel hums and tightens its grip on his hand.
“That is not for you, but for your only followers.”
The angel presses against him further, the heat threatening to consume him.
“You will come home with me, you have done a great service for me after all and I simply must pay you in full.”
