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Soren could still feel the touch of blood on his skin. Even though it had been nearly four hours since the attack, even though he had scrubbed every inch and fold of his hands, arms, and face with force, he still felt it, certain it was still there, invisible on his fingers, wrists, and even his forearms. The morbid smell of dried blood seemed to rise through his body, deliberately sneaking up to his nostrils, as if it took pleasure in making him feel nauseous for the hundredth time that night.
A piece of what had once been a brick house wall supported the man's back. After helping the last surviving resident of Katolis escape from the rubble — at least the last one his body and mind allowed him to see — he wandered aimlessly across the kingdom, sitting on that fragment of nothingness and staring at the ground for what seemed like an eternity, though he couldn't say exactly how long.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a silver piece of his armor lying on the ground. He had stripped off his entire uniform before sitting down, the moment he saw the red stains on himself. It was quick, trembling, and he almost cursed aloud more than once. His boots and the metal pieces that protected his arms were thrown as far as his aching muscles could manage.
Now, all that remained on his body was a brown shirt and his underwear, the only clothes miraculously untouched by a single drop of that vile liquid. His legs rested directly on the ground — hot ground, warmed by the flames, flames of the purest red that his eyes had never imagined seeing.
Viren’s spell had long since expired, and the heat had taken over the entire ruined kingdom. But for some reason, this corner felt a little cooler. Just a little. The heat wasn't agonizing, nor did it burn his skin, unlike other parts of the kingdom, especially the remains of buildings — he discovered this the hard way when his hand, no longer protected by metal gloves, reached out to grab a citizen and touched a pile of rocky debris for a second. His hand had been red ever since, and he was sure a nasty burn blister would form there.
Pain, of every kind, weighed on him. His beautiful green eyes seemed faded and lifeless. Everything around him was destroyed, and not just material possessions; lives, families, dreams, and hope.
His mind desperately tried to escape, to flee as far as possible from that place. But it couldn’t. The images of the attack haunted him, over and over. His mind was fighting against itself, and Soren was nothing more than a witness, listening to the battle from a distance.
He was so far from himself that he didn’t hear the heavy footsteps approaching. He didn’t hear the labored breath coming up beside him, and he didn’t move when he heard the hoarse voice say:
“Soren?” Corvus’s exhaustion was evident in his words. “Soren, are you okay?”
The blonde didn’t move. The dark-skinned man’s eyes scanned the area, searching for any pieces of the other’s armor.
“Talk to me, Soren” he took a step closer. “Did someone attack you? Did they rob you?”
Corvus already feared the worst. He knew well that, even in such delicate and fragile situations, it was never too late for cruel people to emerge from the shadows and take advantage of these moments to do all the harm they desired, much like a snake lying in wait, ready to strike at its defenseless prey.
Corvus walked until he stood in front of Soren, still looking around to make sure there was no one else nearby, clearly analyzing that there were no signs of looting. A small part of him felt relieved, but the rest grew even more concerned about his friend’s state.
“Soren” Corvus crouched down, hesitant to touch the blonde man “Can you hear me?”
As expected: nothing. He sighed deeply and gently placed his hands on either side of Soren’s face. There was no reaction, not even a flinch at the touch. Slowly, he began to lift the man’s head towards him.
“Please, Soren” he opened his mouth when he saw the blonde’s lifeless eyes still drooping. “Talk to me.”
Then, those lost, weak eyes moved forward. Green met brown, and did not look away.
“Corvus?” The voice came out weak, almost like a whisper “What… what are you doing here?”
“You just disappeared, no one knew where you went” A spark of anger, born from worry, made an attempt to rise in his voice, but he forced himself to hold it back. “Did someone hurt you?”
The dazed eyes now lingered on his tense face. They didn’t focus on any specific part of it — actually, Soren’s vision was somewhat blurred.
After a few seconds of agonizing silence, just before Corvus spoke again, Soren let out:
“I just wanted to be alone” no emotion escaped with the words. “I’m sorry.”
Corvus felt something in his chest, something like an extremely sharp knife piercing his heart from the inside out.
The blonde turned his head back to the ground, and that movement made Corvus’s hands leave his skin, hanging in the air. It was ironic: throughout the entire journey to find his friend, Corvus had thought of many things, including several words in case he found Soren safe and sound. Now, nothing. He couldn’t think of a single word. Soren had always been the communicative one, always having a phrase ready at the tip of his tongue.
Corvus remained still. The man in front of him, on the ground… he couldn’t see him as the Soren he encountered almost daily. He never thought he would one day see him in such a state.
So, he did the only thing he could think of in that situation: He stood up, took three steps to move aside and sit down next to him. He kept about a stage's distance between them.
Comforting words seemed so useless at that moment, just words piled upon words that had no power to take away any pain. That’s why he thought it better not to say any of them, but to say what he was trying to do instead.
“You have the right to want to be alone, but it’s not safe in this situation, Soren. I’ll stay here, with you.” Corvus swallowed, the pain in his chest still there “If you want, I can move a little further away to…”
“No” Soren interrupted him, tilting his head slightly to the side, looking at Corvus’s feet. “You can stay there.”
And so he did. Corvus leaned his back against the piece of wall, just like Soren. It was warm, and in a little while, it would be hot enough to be uncomfortable — but it wasn’t like the whole environment was a river of comfort for anyone.
The dark-skinned man avoided glancing at the blonde, keeping his head straight, staring into the nothingness. Every now and then, he rested his neck in one of his hands and looked down at the ground. But no matter where his eyes were, he made sure to keep his other senses alert; his ears were attuned to any sound — even though he didn’t hear anything at all, no footsteps, no animals, or distant rustling — his field of vision was always ready for any approach — no one would appear, he knew that — and finally, his free hand stayed close to the hilt of his sword, ready for any attack — but nothing was going to happen, it was pointless.
Even though nothing around seemed to present imminent danger, deep down he felt he should be prepared. He should show he was willing. Willing to protect.
Protect himself.
Protect him.
“I almost never come to this part of the kingdom, did you know?” Corvus jumped when he heard Soren’s voice. He didn’t show his surprise, of course. Soren leaned his head against the wall, still facing forward. “I think I came here once, for a party. I couldn’t leave like this because of training and the castle, but sometimes… sometimes it all felt so exhausting, and I just wanted to distract myself for a bit. Claudia used to help me then. I didn’t stay away for long, just a few hours, and one day I came out here. It was fun, but it took too long. After that, I never went out like that again.”
“Why?” he asked. It was a good sign that Soren was talking, and he wanted him to keep going.
“My f… Viren found out and gave me a lecture about responsibility and all that nonsense, and about me involving my sister in this. Since then, I could only go to palace events or any that he or Claudia were invited to.”
“Even after you became an adult?” He was afraid of asking something stupid, but didn’t want Soren to fall silent again.
“Of course, when I get older, that rule didn’t apply anymore, I think. We never talked about it, and I just… thought it was better not to go out anymore, you know?”
Corvus nodded, and the questions emptied out. Damn. Silence couldn’t return; he had to think of something fast.
“Did you find him?” Soren asked, not looking at his friend.
“What?” Corvus looked at him.
“Did you find his body?” Soren turned to Corvus, his serious expression still intact. “Viren’s body?”
Corvus swallowed hard; he hadn’t expected such a question. In milliseconds, he considered the possibilities: lie or tell the truth.
“Part of the team found his body in the ruins of the castle” He was honest, and at no point did he break eye contact with the blonde, who met his gaze. “King Ezran helped identify the body. It was shortly before we realized you were missing.”
The blonde’s fists clenched, but there was no sign of anger or anything like it. He closed his eyes for a second, then reopened them.
“And what did they do with the body?”
“I’m not sure. They were discussing what to do with it, whether to take it to the same place as the other bodies or not. But at that point, Ezran and I realized you were gone, and I left to search for your tracks.”
Soren leaned his head back against the concrete again, without asking any more questions.
“This is how I found you” Corvus finally said, almost unwillingly, not knowing what else to say.
“Funny, isn’t it?” A loose smile appeared on the blonde’s face “Until not long ago, I didn’t want any connection with him anymore. I didn’t want to know anything about him, the messes he made in his life. And now... I’m sad.” He turned back to Corvus, now with tears in his eyes. “I’m sad for him, Corvus. I’m sad because he’s dead.”
The tears began to fall, one after another, without stopping.
“
He’s dead, Corvus! He’s gone, and I’m sad!
” His voice started to rise louder, his face turning a deep red.
“AFTER ALL THE SHIT HE DID TO ME, TO CLAUDIA, TO EVERYONE”
the words came out in broken bursts, between sobs and heavy breaths, shouted
“I’M SAD FOR HIM, CORVUS!”
One of his fists hit his head, then the other, again and again.
“Idiot, idiot, idiot!”
Each word, each punch to himself, each one getting harder.
Corvus jumped up, sitting. Before he could land another punch on himself, Corvus grabbed his arms.
“Soren, don’t do this!”
“Let go of me! Let go of me now!” The blonde struggled, forcefully, but Corvus managed to overpower him.
Soren bared his teeth, growling with the movement. His face was now flushed red, the tears never stopped.
The blonde tried to throw himself away from the other, even if he had to fall to the ground. He couldn’t, and Corvus used this to his advantage. With all his strength, he did the opposite of what Soren planned: he pulled him in. When the blonde’s chest hit his, he quickly released his arms and wrapped his own around his back.
Soren kept struggling, shouting to be let go. He used his free arms to push away, but it was in vain. Corvus was stronger, his arms heavier, pressing his body closer to his friend’s.
“Please, Soren, stop.” His voice came out low, even with the other yelling. “Please, don’t do this.” His voice faltered but remained firm.
“He fucked everyone’s life up! Why? Why am I like this because of him?”
His movements began to weaken, slowing down, and the grip tightened even more.
“What did I do to deserve this, Corvus?” His voice lowered. “What did I do wrong?” Another punch, not as strong as before, aimed at his head.
Corvus grabbed his forearm with his hand, pinning it to the blonde’s shoulder, using his arms like a rope. If he could, he would use his other hand to protect his head, but that hand was already occupied, holding him from his back to his waist, knowing he might break free if he removed it.
The knight kept spasming, crying, gasping for air louder and louder.
Corvus’ eyes began to burn, and his throat tightened in a knot. The screams and cries from his friend pierced his soul, and he could hear the sound of bare knees dragging across the sandy, gravelly ground. He felt useless in that moment; all his training and practices meant nothing in this situation. But even so, he couldn’t cry, he wouldn’t allow himself to cry, not here and not now. He started trying to regulate his breathing, but it was nearly impossible with all the energy he was expending.
He glanced quickly around, searching for anything that could help.
Nothing. There was nothing there. The broken armor on the ground was useless.
Corvus kept looking, scanning every corner; the floor, the walls, the other debris around, until finally…
He gazed at the sky.
The thick clouds had been dissipating for hours now. There were remnants of them on the surface, but they were just dark, deformed patches scattered among the stars. Stars.
“Soren” He bit his lower lip to stop the tears from falling down his face. “Let it out, whatever needs to come out. Cry, scream, but please,” He couldn’t hold back anymore “please don’t hurt yourself.”
Soren thrashed again, a grunt escaping in response.
“I… I understand” Corvus continued to look up. ”The training has always been exhausting, the routine and everything” The blonde didn’t stop moving, even as his movements grew weaker. “I always liked watching the stars at night. I used to sneak out just to lie on the ground and watch them” His voice trembled, now coming out in between sniffles. “They always calmed me down, I felt peace and hope just by looking at them. Just... just look at the stars, Soren. Please, look at the stars with me.”
The other had no strength left to resist, and let his head rest on his friend's shoulder. The crying didn’t stop for a moment; a large part of the upper armor of the one embracing him had traces of tears from his eyes.
“Please, look at the stars, Soren” he whispered.
With the blonde's movements coming to a halt, Corvus loosened his arms around his body. Soren moved his head off the man's body, and Corvus' arms gradually released him. He slowly straightened his back, head still lowered, feeling his friend's hands slide down his sides. Their strong, dark hands found his, and he breathed heavily while staring at them.
Soren took another deep breath, the same way he had learned in training years ago. He closed his eyes and lifted his head. He squeezed the other man's hands and took another deep breath.
And there, as he exhaled through his mouth, Soren opened his eyes.
With most of the fire from the Katolis blaze extinguished and the absence of any human-made light, the night sky was shining brightly that evening.
Even though his eyes couldn’t see clearly, Soren could feel the strength of the light those stars emitted. It was beautiful, there was no denying it. Even with the earthly disaster unfolding, they were still there, untouched in the midst of the infinite.
Corvus squeezed his hands back, lovingly. He was still sobbing.
“I'm sorry, Corvus” He said, lowering his head again, now looking at his friend. “For all this, I think I hurt you. I never meant to.”
Corvus also turned his head to the blonde, a faint smile on his lips.
“I know, Soren. It's alright. Do you feel better?”
“A little, but it’ll take time for all of this to pass.” Soren glanced at the sky again. “I'm worried about Claudia, about how she’ll react.”
His hands were squeezed again, with more affectionate strength.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be okay.” Corvus intertwined his fingers with the blonde’s. “I know it will, because everything you do or get involved with works out in the end. And don’t ask me how, because I have no idea.”
They both let out a short, quiet laugh. Soren thought about saying more, but instead, he leaned in for a hug. Corvus hugged him back and allowed himself to bury his face in the blonde's neck and shoulder.
“Thank you for everything, Corvus. I don’t even know what to say to you, just... Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me, I know you'd do the same for me. I’ll always be here for you, Soren.”
“And I’ll always be here for you, Corvus.”
Entwined, they let the remaining tears slide down their faces. Up above, the stars illuminated them, growing even brighter.
To them, the stars, those two, that embrace, that bond created by two souls amidst the remnants of chaos and fury, were the true symbol of hope in the earthly world.