kam oneshots

a death & a life

a/n: i could never have made this without the help of my best friend caffeinated-days, who sacrificed sleep and sanity for this (as did i). so go send them some love <3

also this is 5k words,,

tw: angst, depression, attempted suicide/suicidal thoughts, some blood, major character death

Keefe Sencen had an untimely death, on all accounts.

As a bright ray of light hit Sophie Foster, cleaving through flesh and bone, she let out a scream of agony. The spike of pain clawed at Keefe's heart. He could see the life slip from her eyes.

He had felt it when she died. The web of emotions he always sensed suddenly felt sparser, like Death had cruelly cut it with a scythe.

Keefe hated his ability at times. Visiting Sophie and Dex's Wanderlings, feeling the grief and pain of everyone around him. When Alden's mind broke and all he could do was watch as Fitz spiraled into rage. And the feeling of his mother's cruel satisfaction when he gained his supposed "legacy".

But he especially hated it now.

He felt her fear, her pain, her regrets—all in the span of a few moments. And then everything was gone.

The sudden loss of a life, a small star in the galaxy winked out of existence. The thud her body made when it hit the ground would remain engraved in his memory, seeming to echo throughout the world.

When Sophie Foster died, Keefe Sencen died with her.

His rage was like a bomb's drop: destroying anything and everything within the radius. In his blind fury, Keefe even destroyed his mother, Lady Gisela, whom he had been dreading to face for too long.

She had been a constant in his life, from acting as his caring mother when he was younger to when his illusion of her finally shattered. She had guided the Moonlark and company by the hand of her cruel design, leaving blood and tears in her wake.

And now she was gone.

After that, Keefe had naively expected that there would be joy. The Neverseen's regime had been toppled at long last, his long mission finally at an end.

Without the task of destroying the Neverseen, he felt like he was floating unmoored, adrift on a tumultuous sea with no stars to guide him.

If he had been truly alive, he would have noticed that his friends were the same way, too.

But, Keefe Sencen remained a shell of his former self, left among the dust of his life.

He was like the princess trapped in her tower, only he was locked in his room. His castle, where he bided his time staring at the wall with unseeing eyes. But he wasn't being kept prisoner by a dragon.

He was kept prisoner by his mind.

Days turned into months. He felt like furniture being aged and faded by sunlight, turning grayer by the day. If he waited long enough—a few years, maybe—he would just reduce to bones and crumble to ashes.

The curse of an elf was their immortality. And Keefe already had enough of his time.

He was tired of mindlessly watching the sun rise and set, of days moving on as he could only stand still, of him living without purpose. He ignored his hungering body, ignored the consistent calls from his friends, and used that tower to his advantage.