ﾟ･stars were made for falling ﾟ･ (original)

catharsis

In oblivion, there is an odd peace. A lingering sense of safety that comes with the death of your body, something telling you that you can never be physically harmed again. And in that peace comes warmth, a basking glow enveloping your body as you lay out in the newly found sunshine. At the end of the darkest night will come the brightest day. At the end of your world, comes someone else's beginning. It is something they had to know well, it is something the nightlight-kin never let completely leave their minds.

Some thought it made them better than others; stronger, more powerful, and valuable than the mortals they were surrounded by. Others thought they were cursed, never to rest, never to see any sort of serenity death would bring, except for only a brief moment. To die is to rest, to sleep finally at last at the end of something so tiresome, so draining. And all of them must be so exhausted.

And in every single life they would lead, their hearts would become almost mortal, feeling the most delicate and horrible of things, ripping them to shreds, making their lives so much harder, so much more wonderful than they could have been. If they had remained as impassive as they were when they were in rule, then perhaps Ophiuchus could have been defeated sooner. Or maybe, It never would have been killed at all, for the thing that laid the final nail in the great demon's coffin was something It could never understand; the compulsion to love, to protect those you'd grown close to. And while Ophiuchus stayed static, the nightlight-kin were changing over millennia, becoming something entirely new.

It was not just love that changed them, but hate and fear, dread and sorrow- all things the Lightbringer knew so very well. The only things that loathesome creature had ever known.

When It'd first come to rest among the other, nameless gods, they'd welcomed It like a brother, until it began to rip them apart. No one knows why It started to harm them, no one knows why It chased the poor Crab off of a cliff. It wanted to play, It said, It wanted to have fun. Its idea of fun was not one the other deities found favorable as they tried to stop the destruction it had wrought. And It killed them, again, and again, and again.

And over the time it spent with their souls, It thought It knew them, memorizing their every moves, charting out what they were most likely to do. The one thing It didn't count on was their ability to change, something no immortal could ever do, something the newly-mortal nightlight-kin did so well. Of course, Ophiuchus already told you the story of the gods, its something you've heard a million times.

During their mortal lives, the nightlight-kin loved with reckless abandon; they so loved the world, the people in it, and the other nightlights most of all. They opened their arms to it in different ways, embracing everything around them with vigor. Oh how wonderful it was to be truly alive for the first time, even if for only a brief moment. Some took the opportunity to gain power, like Gemini, Scorpio, Libra and Leo. And even in their most recent lives, as Bram, Mordecai, Ivan, and Archer, they took control. They deemed themselves better than any regular mortal, to be above anything that did not have the power to persist after death; for regular mortals became something else when they died, and while the nightlight-kin weren't sure what, those four were convinced it was below them.

Others embraced the world in an entirely new way, full of love and adventure, wanting to see every corner, to feel everything they could. They wanted to be as alive as possible, knowing deep down they only had a limited time before they were reset again. Aries, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Virgo, and Taurus were those who took every new life in stride, taking the world in with fresh, loving eyes every single time. Even in their most recent lives, as Halley, Miles, Elizabeth, Percy, Aldrich, and Ari did they want so much more than the world ever could have given them.

The only two who wanted nothing more than to finally rest were Pisces and Cancer, two fatigued, distressed souls who only hated one thing more than being alive, and that was each other. And yet slowly, slowly, over lifetimes of meeting over and over again, something in them seemed to click. Always feeling so alone amidst the other nightlight-kin, even those who loved them most, maybe it was this solidarity in being just so off from the others that drew them together. And gradually, they made the greatest change of all, growing from loathing to love right underneath Ophiuchus' nose. Building up into something neither of them could describe, something so special that it had no hope of lasting.

The other nightlight-kin were stars, deathless and ever glowing, while they, regrettably felt like comets. Burning just as bright, but over ten million times as fast, moving way too quickly to ever take advantage of their high pedestal. Reaching up so feebly to the sky, both so alone despite being twined together, Pisces and Cancer had to wonder why the stars didn't come with them? Why did they leave them to die alone? Maybe it was better that way, that the ones who wished for the peace death would bring to find it first. But this wasn't death, this was something so much less comforting, this persistence to continue existing...

Was there going to be another loop?

Pisces always thought of Aquarius as something special, always knowing that his sibling was much more energetic and lively than he could ever hope to be. And even now, resting in the great grey expanse that lies between life and death, he found himself wondering how he always thought of Aquarius as a star, when that couldn't have been the case. It was silly of him to think so, even a moment ago, when he knew now that the nightlights were gone, all of them were just candles burning down their wick.

Maybe everyone is a comet, maybe no one is a star. No one man is an island, no one man lasts forever. So, we should end right here, should we not? Why do we selfishly persist? Why are we still fighting so hard for our right to exist?

But Cancer did not see it that way.

How could we choose to die now, when everything we had was just beginning? So maybe it is selfish of us, but I think we should keep going. Just one more time, okay? These comets will circle back just one more time, these candles will last just that much longer, and then we'll burn out. Just not yet, not yet... just a little longer.

How could Pisces deny Cancer this one thing, the one thing he wanted most? How could he ever say no? Especially now when they could die at any time, when death could wait and everything else needed addressing. Reaching out, both of them wrapped their hands around the Lightbringer's Candle, holding it securely between them.

There would be no more lives, there would be no more timelines. This would be it, and it would be simply beautiful. The warmth of the candle washed over their hands as a cold chill began to trickle back in, feeling like pins and needles all over them.

Are you sure this is what you want?

Its all I think I've ever wanted. Its all I could ever hope for. There's so much more to living than dying, and I think it's time we finally learned that.

I think I've learned that already, thanks to you. I think... I don't know how to say what I need to say. I'm sure this will be our last moment of clarity until we go wherever all the other mortals go when they finally rest.

I have only one thing to say to you, Pisces, and I don't think I care anymore how you're going to react.

I want to hear it, whatever it is.

And with all the tenderness the world had to offer, Cancer could only say, I love you, with the weight of a thousand lifetimes, I think I do.

Without hesitating for a moment, Pisces found himself saying, And I love you doubly as much.

That's when the grey faded to white, and their surroundings again became sharply cold, fought off only by the feeble warmth of the candle between their palms.