when you’re suddenly taken from them, they do everything to take you back to their side.
cw: gen. neutral reader, kidnapping, violence, slight yandere but i’ll tag it anyways, written on my phone, kremnoan and ohkeman beef, PHAINON LEAK/THEORY SPOILERS!!!!!
hi guys i’m back, in honor of mydei’s banner, im on a posting spree rn
mydei
being the newest chrysos heir was already no easy job. but being from the rival kingdom of kastrum kremnos made it even harder.
mydei had been walking a narrow path from the moment he claimed his place—too much loyalty to one side, and the other would brand him a traitor. too little loyalty to either, and he risked being swallowed whole by both.
you, of course, stayed by his side; there ever since the journey to slaughter eurypon—a grim memory neither of you spoke of often. you remembered the blood, the screams, the bodies that littered the path behind you. the way mydei had barely slept those nights, keeping one hand curled in a fist and the other on your arm—like letting go of you would mean death.
when the others had died — one by one, torn apart by the horrors that clung to eurypon’s shadow — you had been the only one who survived with him.
it felt like a thread of fate held you two together.
mydei had grown possessive since then—never far from your side, always finding some reason to justify it. you could see the tension coil in his shoulders whenever you spoke to others. the way his eyes lingered too long when someone stood too close.
so when a lowly gang in okhema seen you as his weakness, he was in shambles.
they didn’t know who they were dealing with—not at the time. they thought they’d found an easy target; new to okhema and gullible. mydei’s trusted companion, the one who’d stayed with him through blood and war. the one who knew too much, saw too much.
and most importantly, the one he couldn’t replace.
the gang moved fast. faster than you expected. one minute you were weaving through the crowded streets of okhema, and the next a rough hand yanked you into a shadowed alley.
you fought—hard—elbow driving into someone’s ribs, a sharp kick catching another in the shin. but there were too many. ropes bit into your wrists, a grimy cloth stuffed into your mouth before you could shout.
“kremnoan’s should never get too comfortable somewhere they don’t belong.”
one of them sneered, dragging you deeper into the slums. “think he’ll hand over half his kingdom just to get ‘em back?”
he. they meant mydei.
you struggled harder. you knew what he was capable of.
you managed to spit out the cloth in your mouth, “let me go! you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into!” you tried to plead with them.
this was so frustrating!
being in okhema was supposed to be a fresh start, especially for mydei. the people were nice, and both aglaea and tribbie seemed wonderful.
aglaea even gifted you a new wardrobe with your exact measurements—you weren’t going to question how, but you had your suspicions mydei had something to do with it.
mydei’s rage was a slow burn and once it was ignited, nothing could stop it.
now, mydei was bound to harbor anger in the people of okhema if you didn’t find a way to get out fast enough, before he got here.
you thought back to your old companions, ones who fought so dominantly on the battlefield.
you had to wait for the right moment, for these men to be distracted.
when the chance came, you were quick to rub the rope around your wrists against the hard pavement under you until eventually, it snapped.
wasting no time, you jolted up and ran.
the dim light of the alley barely illuminates your path as you stagger onto the cold cobblestones. every sound is amplified in the silence: your own rapid breathing, the distant hum of the city, and the echo of your footsteps bouncing off crumbling walls.
you can still hear the angry shouts from the gang behind you, their curses fading into the night. but there’s something else. a heavy, anticipatory silence that suggests a reckoning is coming. you know mydei’s fury is inevitable.
your heart pounds in your ears as you press yourself against a rough wall, scanning the darkened corners for an escape route. you realize that you have only minutes—maybe even seconds—to vanish into the maze of alleys, to slip away before his vengeance becomes all too real.
with one last look over your shoulder, you take a deep breath and push forward into the uncertain night, every step a desperate bid to outrun the impending tempest of mydei’s retribution.
with a quick turn around the corner, you were taken off guard by the chest you ran into.
the impact knocks the breath from you. you stumble, barely catching yourself as a pair of intense eyes lock onto yours. mydei stands before you, his presence impossible to ignore—fury and concern mingling in his gaze.
for a moment, the world slows: the pounding of your heart, the ragged rhythm of his breath, and the distant echoes of chaos outside. his hand, strong and sure, grips your shoulder, steadying you. there’s no time for explanations, no room for hesitation.
“i’m here,” he growls, voice low and dangerous, as if every syllable is meant to ward off an unseen threat.
you stood there, struggling to catch your breath and mydei simply observed.
there was no anger; there was just nothing.
which was even worse.
"mydei..!" he continued to just stare at you, looking you over. the only sign of a reaction was the slight twitch of his brow and pointer finger.
he walked away, going towards the way you came.
mydei was going to make sure his position as a chrysos heir was not one to be messed with.
phainon
phainon stared in absolute horror as the flame reaver emerged from the darkness.
he was prepared for another battle with strong being, but he wasn't prepared for it to lunge at you.
it all happened quickly; all it took was one slip-up, one miscalculation, and you were no longer there with him.
when you finally regained consciousness, it felt as if you were floating within time itself; just an endless abyss.
but he was there, you could feel it.
your eyes adjusted to the dark space, the only light coming from what appeared to be stars.
he spoke before you, "i... am not weak this time."
his words carried weight, reverberating through the void like a vow only the cosmos could witness. a hand—his hand—reached toward you, hesitant yet determined.
"every other time, i've failed." you squinted as its hand brought itself up to its masked face, promptly removing the mask.
the familiar blue eyes were staring at you. though, they looked way more clouded and dead. "now, you're here with me, and i don't... i can't let you leave, [name]."
"p-phainon? what..?" you brought your hand up tp your head, feeling nauseous.
he took a step closer, the eerie quiet of the space only broken by the heavy thrum of his breath. "i’ve waited too long, [name]. every failure, every mistake—it’s been for this. i can't lose you again."
his voice was hoarse, raw, like it hadn't been used for years.
your heart raced, and despite the ache in your head, you managed to focus on him, on the way his eyes flickered between desperation and something darker. something desperate.
"you're the flame reaver? i... i don’t understand," you murmured, your voice barely rising above the void's haunting silence.
"you don't have to," phainon whispered, his gaze never leaving yours. "just know, i won’t let you go. not this time."
you could feel his hand trembling slightly as it reached out, brushing the tips of your fingers, as if afraid you might vanish if he held too tightly.
your entire body felt heavy, like something was weighing you down, keeping you trapped in this endless abyss. phainon’s presence was the only solid thing anchoring you, yet even that felt… wrong. his touch was cold, unsteady, as if he wasn’t sure whether to pull you closer or let you slip through his fingers.
"phainon..." your voice wavered, barely above a whisper. "where are we?"
his grip on you tightened ever so slightly. "a place between," he murmured. "a space where time bends, where the past and present blur together." his gaze darkened. "where i lost you before."
his words sent a shiver down your spine. the way he looked at you—it wasn’t just desperation. it was grief, old and worn, like he'd lived through this moment before.
"lost me…?" your fingers curled weakly into the fabric of his coat. "but i’m right here."
he let out a quiet, bitter chuckle, though there was no humor in it. "you always say that."
the stars around you pulsed, and for a moment, the darkness shifted. flashes of something flickered in the void—visions of a battle, a figure reaching out, a violent burst of flames. the echoes of distant screams rang in your ears, but they weren’t your own.
they were his.
your breath hitched. "phainon… what did you do?"
his expression twisted, and for the first time since you awoke, you saw it—fear. not of you, but of your reaction. of your realization.
"i tried," he whispered, his voice barely holding together. "again and again, i tried. but no matter what i did, no matter how strong i became—" he clenched his jaw, his fingers trembling as they curled into fists. "you still died."
his words settled deep in your chest, a weight heavier than the abyss itself.
"but this time…" he exhaled sharply, looking at you like you were the only thing keeping him from completely unraveling. "this time, i brought you here first. before fate could take you away again."
your stomach dropped. "phainon, you—"
"i won’t lose you," he interrupted, shaking his head. "not again. not ever."
the void around you seemed to pulse in response to his words, the stars flickering like they, too, were holding their breath.
and in that moment, you understood.
this wasn’t just a place between time.
this was where phainon had kept every version of you that had ever been lost.
anaxa
irritating. everything about this was extremely irritating.
for that woman to send okhema's soldiers to take you away took a lot of nerve.
anaxa sat in his quarters, fingers drumming against the armrest of his chair, the rhythmic tapping the only sound in the otherwise silent room. his jaw tightened as he recalled the way they had come for you—swift, efficient, as if they had every right to tear you away from him.
as if he would just sit back and allow it.
he let out a slow breath, willing himself to think. acting recklessly would get him nowhere, but the longer he sat here, the worse the irritation festered.
his patience had already worn thin.
he stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor as he pushed away from it. his coat billowed behind him as he strode toward the door, purpose in every step.
if aglaea thought she could take you from him without consequence, she was about to be sorely mistaken.
the halls of his residence were empty, the air thick with the quiet tension of something about to break. anaxa had no need for guards; no one would dare to step in his way. yet tonight, the silence felt suffocating. suffocating because you weren’t here.
his fingers twitched at his sides. this wasn’t just irritation anymore. this was anger, slow-burning but ready to consume.
he knew where they had taken you.
it wouldn’t be difficult to reach you—not for him. the real question was how much destruction he was willing to cause in the process.
he sighed, running a hand through his hair before letting it drop. what an annoyance. what a hassle.
but it didn’t matter.
they had taken you from him.
he would take you back.
anaxa didn't care if they needed you at okhema, you were his personal assistant. whatever they needed could have been asked through him
(he ignores them, hence why aglaea sought after you).
by the time he stepped into okhema, the air was thick with the scent of the city—metal, incense, and something faintly electric crackling beneath the surface. okhema’s soldiers weren’t subtle; they never were. it wasn’t difficult to track their route, and anaxa wasted no time cutting through the winding paths that led to the hero's bath outer quarters.
then he saw them.
a squad of soldiers, stationed outside a secured chamber, their stance rigid, their hands hovering over their weapons. they were expecting trouble.
good.
anaxa didn’t slow his stride.
"halt," one of them commanded, stepping forward with a hand raised. "by order of the—"
anaxa didn’t let him finish.
with a flick of his wrist, anaxa held his gun pointed to the soldier's head, his other hand materializing his orb.
"move," he said flatly.
one of them made the mistake of reaching for a communication device.
annoying.
with a simple flick of his fingers, a sharp wave of energy lashed out, slicing through the device before the soldier could utter a word. their breath hitched as the realization sank in.
they weren’t winning this fight.
anaxa stepped closer, his patience nonexistent. "last chance."
the soldiers shared a look before making the smartest decision of their lives. they turned and ran.
cowards.
he continued onward, reaching a secluded room in the bathhouse.
he paused for a moment, his hand on the handle, taking a deep breath. he didn’t know what state you’d be in, but that didn’t matter now.
what mattered was that you were still here.
the door swung open with a smooth motion.
“[name],” he spoke your name like a command, his voice low but steady, holding an edge of urgency.
you looked up, eyes wide, disoriented. but when your gaze met his, something clicked. the tension that had been suffocating him finally lifted.
he stepped inside without hesitation, his eyes locked onto yours. “we’re leaving. now.”
