Exchange

Chapter 8

Months passed by the time Yuuri finally found a way to escape the depths of death. He managed to sneak out into the living world when Shinou went to visit the temple, and Yuuri was immediately sucked back into his body. He coughed and quickly scrambled and claws his way up through the dirt where he'd been buried. He spat out the dirt and jumped into a stream nearby to clean himself up before setting out to find the nearest horse. He didn't care if anybody saw him, he was on his way to Stoffel's castle to rescue Wolfram. Wolfram was getting weaker by the day and Yuuri knew it wouldn't be long until the young soldier died. Of course Yuuri could've waited for that and lived with his husband in the afterlife, but watching the Mazoku prince suffer made his heart twist and turn in unnatural ways. Finding a horse tied up nearby, Yuuri quickly mounted and set off to his destination - he only hoped Wolfram was okay from the last time he saw him.

Stoffel was currently on his way to give Wolfram his next batch of torture but was stopped by a request from Raven. The black haired advisor needed his Lord's help with some construction they were putting together in the courtyard. Stoffel thought for a moment before agreeing to help and they both walked in the opposite direction of Wolfram's room. Speaking of which...

Wolfram had always stayed huddled in the corner, trembling weakly. His blonde hair was musky and his uniform was covered in dust and dirt. His green eyes were darkened and dull as if the very life had been drained from his system. He was dying, he knew he was slowly dying. He refused to eat or drink anything anyone gave to him, refused to speak to Raven or Stoffel when they addressed him. He was waiting. Waiting for when he would reunite with Yuuri and be with him forever - this thought brought a small smile to an emotionless face. But it quickly faded when he was reminded that Yuuri was indeed dead and would not be coming to save him until he too joined the afterlife. He could picture it now...

"Wolfram..." Yuuri's voice sang to him gently, making the Mazoku prince look up. Green eyes brightened greatly at the sight of his beloved, who was crouched on one knee with outstretched arms. "I'm here Wolfram, you're safe now, all you have to do is come to me. We can be together forever now..."

Wolfram struggled to get up, but when he managed it - eyes fixed on Yuuri constantly to make sure he didn't leave him - he threw all his strength into his legs and ran. He ran as fast as his body would allow until he crashed into Yuuri as a crumpled heap of sobs. He gripped tightly onto the young king and buried his face into his shoulder. Yuuri's arms wrapped round his waist and rubbed his back gently, that soft voice gently hushing him in his ear. "Yuuri..." he breathed quietly.

But that wasn't going to happen, was it? Wolfram would just die slowly, his world fading to black and then he might end up with Yuuri again. There was no way to tell for sure. It wasn't like someone could come back from the dead just to tell him what to expect. Some could argue that he should already know from his previous death when Yuuri battled a possessed Shinou, but Wolfram had only been in a dark trance - death was an entirely different matter. All Wolfram could do now was sit and wait for whatever came to claim his useless soul.