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Barbatos knew this day would come. At some point, Morax did as well before he forgot. Now, he remembered very little, and he had all but lost his consciousness and sense of self. No longer did he look at them with adoration, the look of endearment in his eyes replaced by explosive rage; it was the kind of rage a once slumbering volcano possessed when it awoke, spilling its magma that consumed everything in its path.
It was dangerous and uncontrollable, yet it broke Barbatos' heart into pieces that amounted to the winds of the Thousand Winds. Seeing Morax have no recollection of them hurt in more ways than one, but they never left his side, nor has their love for him ever faltered.
Their eyes trailed to the ring on their finger, lingering on the Prithiva Topaz gemstone in the band secured by one of Morax's scales before they moved to the matching ring on Morax's finger. The only difference was that his ring held a Vayuda Turquoise instead, and both rings had one of Barbatos' feathers moulded into the band; it was a physical representation of their devotion to one another, their union.
Despite Morax's steadily declining state, he had not tried to remove his ring.
The thought elicited a small snort from Barbatos, but the sound lacked genuine joy as they tightened their grip slightly on Morax's hand, which now seemed it would crumble into dust at any given moment. Cracks, much like veins, ran rampant through the limb and extended to the rest of his body. Some pieces of him had fallen, leaving trails of dust as they did, and despite his deteriorating state, Morax seemed at peace, the most peaceful Barbatos had seen him since the erosion began to strip him of his treasured memories.
Mere minutes ago, Morax had fallen unconscious. Barbatos knew there was not much time left because he had entered the final stage of erosion, which would end in his beloved's death.
Something wet dripped onto Morax's cracked yet serene face, and it took Barbatos a fragmented second to realize that they were crying . The realization brought forth more tears and a choked sob burst forth from their throat. It was the only sound they had uttered since their husband fell unconscious because they knew their time together in their lonely immortality had finally come to an end. Now, it was time to bid each other farewell.
Sucking in a deep breath, trying to halt their cries, Barbatos moved to press their forehead's together as they forced their consciousness into what remained of Morax's.
His realm of consciousness was nothing like how they remembered. Not much remained of the structures there, with most having crumbled into dust, and with a quick scan of their surroundings, they found their beloved lying on the ground. Immediately, they rushed to his side and dropped to their knees, tenderly taking his fractured hand into theirs.
"Morax, I'm here," they rushed out, trying to prevent a fresh sob from utilizing their vocal cords, a new wave of tears flowing from their eyes and dripping onto Morax's face. "Darling gem, I'm here. I have you. I got you."
"... Barbatos?" the familiar voice of their beloved, lacking the rage and delirium, was enough to get them to freeze. "My dove, you're here, at long last."
They slowly turned their eyes to their husband's face, catching the long-missed look of adoration on it, and it was all it took for Barbatos' heart to reconstruct and break itself all over again.
"Morax! I'm so sorry. I'm-"
"Shh... It's alright." Morax's hand found its way to Barbatos' cheek, and the wind god couldn't prevent themselves from pressing it further into the missed contact. "I've missed you terribly, more than my words could ever express. And it seems, despite my unfortunate state, you've stuck with me until the end."
"O-Of course, we promised to each other 'until death do us part,' didn't we?" Barbatos managed a small yet wet chuckle, but their hand moved to rest against Morax's. "I promised to be with you through thick and thin, to always be with you. For the happy moments, for the sad moments, and now for our separation."
"Our separation... I am sorry to admit that the time for it to pass is coming. I can already feel my spirit waning."
True to Morax's words, Barbatos could see his already fractured self beginning to crack more and with each new crack, more dust began to spill out from the open fissures; he did not have long left.
"Morax, I love you. I love you like the night sky adores the stars. I love you like the birds adore the ability of flight. I-" Their voice cracked, another sob punctuating what should have been another sentence, but their miserable sound met with a heartfelt, albeit saddened chuckle.
"Barbatos, my dove, I love you. I love you like the mountains love the skies. I love you like the earth loves the rain that helps it nurture life. I love you, so will you do me the favour of carrying my spirit?"
"Yes, my gem, I will carry your spirit to the realm beyond," Barbatos immediately nodded, tearfully smiling to match Morax's before they pressed their foreheads together. Their eyes slowly shut as their lips met for the final time, and the two of them held tightly onto each other until Barbatos felt a powder-like substance against them instead of Morax's comforting warmth.
They slowly opened their eyes, seeing Morax's dust coating their hands but also his beautifully amber-coloured soul floating above. Despite their fresh misery, they managed to smile with adoration.
"Morax, please rest well," they softly uttered before cupping the soul with affection, watching it slowly fade from their plane of existence until they had nothing but their beloved's remains. They had sent his soul to the next realm, where he would eventually reincarnate into a new being. "You're free now."
Barbatos' hands found themselves clutching Morax's dusty shirt before the wails of despair they tried so hard to hold back burst forth; they bubbled out of their throat in the same manner that fireworks would explode in the sky. They were officially the last alive of the Original Seven, for Morax had returned to dust.