VALORANT: Stories

Hellish Lover, Heavenly Beloved 002 (Fade x Neon)

Hellish Lover, Heavenly Beloved 002

Roughly twenty-three years ago...

The winds raged and the storm roared upon the peak of Mount Ida, sending all the mortals residing on the mountain to scurry into their stone temples for shelter. The Gods were likely livid by some unfathomable reason for them to unleash their wrath onto the mortal realm like this.

Trees, plants, most of the harvest in the mountains were uprooted from its place in the soil, leaving a disarray of mud and rocks in its wake. It's why Demeterʼs ascendant roamed the seemingly unrecognizable pathways around the mountain. Despite the unappeasable thunderstorm, Reyna placidly meandered around with the intention of making certain none of her Goddess' followers were caught in the heart of nature's uproar.

Reyna kept a firm hold on her gold-trimmed purple chlamys, keeping her cloak from flying off her shoulders, especially when she felt someone suddenly crash past her from behind. Her eyebrows furrowed as she immediately turned to see who it was, thinking the individual might've been lost in the chaotic blows of the breeze.

By the time she spun around and managed to catch sight of a person's outline, said figure was already stumbling down the muddy path Reyna initially climbed up to. Reyna shook her head and was about to trail after the foolish human that thought they could make it down from the mountain through this thunderous uproar.

But then, there was a cry.

A cry deafened in a mortal's ears, yet loud and clear enough for a Radiant to catch.

The human Reyna had seen was forgotten in a heartbeat, her focus completely stolen by what seemed to be a distressed weep of an infant.

Heedlessly, Reyna continued up to where the Empyrean Haven stood, tracks halting when she found a mere newborn messily bundled in a blanket sullied by both rain and mud. Amethyst eyes widened in horror, hands frantically scrambling to collect the child from the very doorstep of their abode.

Reyna held the baby close to her, protectively shielding her from the lightning that struck the very spot she was abandoned in a mere moment ago. Reyna stepped back and raised her gaze to the dark and wrathful sky, shaking her head as the thunder above roared with rage.

"Zyanya..." came Demeter's voice in her head, tone making it evident that she was not sharing the sentiment her ascendant was having while she was clutching the infant in her arms. "Leave her."

"I will not." Reyna uttered in the upheaving night, inching her way towards the safety of her home. "I cannot."

"Time is not what the child has. Look at her."

Reyna followed what was asked, staring down at the bundle in her grasp. Skin so sickly pale, tiny, fragile bones practically protruding with how poor the child's nutrition was. She didn't even look more than four weeks old. She was just a defenseless, feeble neonate.

"I will give her time." Reyna tucked the child's delicate head under her chin, looking back up to the sky as she spoke in the night. "Please, my Goddess. Let me save her."

Upon her plea, lightning struck simultaneously around her. Reyna didn't move, nor did she even flinch. The only motion she did was further shelter the baby with the protection of both her arms and her chlamys, which she pulled and used as an additional wrap for the infant.

Once the consecutive strikes of lightning came to a stop, Reyna exhaled and closed her eyes, taking in every word Demeter uttered.

"...He will allow it."