halo 'n horns [klance au]

31. Sons of Night

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Keith

Everything fucking hurt. Pain was all I knew. As I lay in the darkness, it consumed me, filling my every pore. The last thing that I could remember was Lance reaching out, his fingers brushing my palm, but everything after that was dark and blank, like trying to read a book with empty pages.

Even thinking of Lance hurt. A deep, hollow pain in my chest. I thought back to that time at the SAL, when I'd been surrounded by those cadets, their hard, judging eyes and sneers. And then Lance's voice, his eyes frantic as he rushed to get me.

I could just barely remember the feel of his wings sweeping around me as he saved me. All I wanted was for him to save me again. Save me from this hell. I didn't know where he was, why he wasn't here.

Where are you? Lance, please. I'm here. Come save me.

It felt wrong, being so helpless, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't move, couldn't cry out, couldn't tell Lance where I was. I didn't even know where I was, though, so maybe it was pointless.

I slipped in and out of consciousness, feeling hands on my forehead, voices that spoke in a language that I knew, but didn't understand. Nothing made sense. I didn't know why Lance hadn't saved me yet- was it not clear that I was in need of saving?

Once in a while, I could feel my lips being parted, then something smooth sliding to my throat. I had no choice but to swallow. I missed Lance with my whole being, but that just made everything hurt more. All I knew was pain. All I could do was wait.

...

"Keith, wake up. It's time to wake up."

My lips formed the word before I could think. "Lance?"

A sigh. A pause. "No, my boy. It's me." A thick accent that I couldn't place. The smell of smoke.

"Father?" I tried to open my eyes but was met with an obstacle over my face. A wet cloth, I realized.

A sigh again, this time of relief. "Yes. Do not try to get up, you're still weak."

"Where am I?" I asked. My voice was weak and rough. It felt like I had swallowed sandpaper.

"You're home, Keith. Finally home. You've been on a long journey, but you've finally returned to me. "

I couldn't help it. I needed to know. "Where's Lance?"

"The angel?" My father's voice was tight.

"Yes. I was with him when everything went dark," I said dumbly, trying to reach into my memories to explain.

My father didn't say anything for a moment, leaving my mind to fill in the blanks. What had happened? Was Lance okay? I opened my mouth to ask, but my father's words rushed to stop my questions.

"I assume he's in the Upperworld, where he belongs." I could sense the uneasy frustration in my father's aura. It seemed like the mentions of Lance were upsetting him so, out of respect, I didn't push it, even though now I had more questions than ever.

So I changed the subject to something that had been on my mind for weeks- "Father, do you know who Lotor is?"

"No. Is this another angel?" My father was still upset.

"I met him in the Midworld. I went on a mission with the Stationary Angel Legion and we infiltrated a black market operator's headquarters and, after he ended up taking Lance hostage, he told me that he was your son."

I felt my father shift beside me. "What? My son?"

"And he knew everything, too, stuff about devils and angels and the Twins. He even told me that-"

"Hold on, hold on. Slow down, Keith. Where was this?"

I continued to explain exactly what had happened, from entering the building to the short, dangerous fight, to Acxa, the silent savior who, I assumed, was still holding Lotor captive.

After I'd finished, my father had grown restless. I could hear him pacing the floor, his aura sharp and angry. "I need to go address this problem. I'll be back soon, my boy. Rest up."

With a surge of Energy, the room went silent. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding and relaxed back against my pillows, sighing heavily. I was back home.

I should've been happy, I guess, but I couldn't get over the emptiness in my chest, the aching feeling of loneliness and despair. Now that I was home, what would happen? Would things just go back to normal? What even was normal?

I was just about to slip back into sleep when I heard knocking. Assuming that it was on my door, I raised my voice above it's low, rough rasp and called out, "Come in!"

I heard the door open, then two pairs of footsteps approach me. I felt a little dizzy and knew that I should be resting, but I couldn't help it. Reaching up to my face with shaking fingers, I pulled the washcloth off my face.

Thankfully, the room was mercifully dark and cool, so I didn't have to squint and adjust my eyes. As I'd expected, the Twins stood in front of me, Shiro on the left side of the bed, Kuron on the right.

"How was your trip?" Shiro asked gently, sitting down on the bed. I folded my legs up to sit criss-cross so that my brothers would have room to sit too. Kuron sat down and nodded thanks, uncharacteristically quiet and calm.

"It was good," I replied, even though so much of it was more than good. "I had a lot of fun."

"How was your guide?" Kuron questioned. His yellow eyes glowed with interest.

I winced. "Lance," I whispered. "I don't know what happened, one moment I was with him, the next I was here. Everything is black."

Shiro tilted his head to the side. "You don't remember?"

I nodded. "The last thing I remember happening was him reaching out to hold my hand," I blushed, realizing what I'd just revealed, "and then everything goes dark."

My brothers looked at each other nervously. Shiro spoke softly, slowly. "Keith, did you have feelings for your guide?"

I blushed deeper, looking away from their imploring eyes. "Yes."

Shiro's inscrutable expression was confusing. "Did he love you?"

"What are you getting at?" I asked, uncomfortable.

Shiro's eyes flashed. Something about the way he was talking made me feel like this was more than just a question. This was an interrogation.

"Did he love you or not, Keith?" Kuron growled.

I shuddered, "Fine! Yes, he said he loved me. This is personal, guys! What's going on?"

Shiro sat back and Kuron hissed, standing from the bed. "This was fucking prophesied, Shiro," he said angrily.

"I know, I know."

I looked between my two brothers, confused and frustrated. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Shiro ignored me. "Does this mean that he has to perform the Trials?"

Kuron nodded, "It must."

Gathering my Energy and courage, I finally exploded. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" I shouted, immediately breaking into a coughing fit afterward as my throat wailed in protest.

The Twins turned towards me simultaneously, eyes locked on mine, their expressions intense and frightening. Kuron's tail lashed behind him and I winced as Shiro's horns emerged from his forehead.

"When Lance touched you, it was with love. Love, Keith, is poisonous to us, as you must know. So when Lance tried to touch you, it spread like venom in your veins. Instinctively, the Energy and devil inside you came out in a fight-or-flight response, which is why you don't remember what happened.

"Your rational self went dormant as your instincts took over. From there, you probably came down here as fast as you could, where your veins could be cleaned of love."

I stared at Shiro, the pieces slowly falling into the puzzle I'd been trying to solve since the moment I'd met Lance. Did... did I want to be cleaned of Lance's love?

"What are the Trials?" I asked instead. "And what prophecy are you talking about?"

Shiro leaned forward and pulled the covers off of my legs, promptly scooping me up in his arms and carrying me out of the room, Kuron in tow. I struggled only briefly- no matter how cryptic and strange the Twins could be, they were still my brothers and I still trusted them.

"When Father first brought you home, thousands of years ago, a woman died in the Midworld named Haggar. She was a witch, a sorceress, an enchantress. When she passed through our Gates, we couldn't decide if she would go to the Bad or Good afterlife, so, as we do with all undecided cases, we took her to Father."

Shiro was carrying me down a long, narrow hallway that I only vaguely remembered walking through once or twice. I had always thought that it had been a dead end- maybe a wing that had never been finished, but as we approached, I sensed strange energy pulling me closer and closer. It was inviting, warm, powerful. Like Lance.

"When Father surveyed her to decide where she belonged, he came very close to passing her through the Bad gate. But, being the witch she was, she offered Father a deal. A prophecy for the Good afterlife. And Father, being the greedy being that he is, accepted.

Shiro stopped at the end of the hallway, then placed a hand to the stone wall, muttering something incoherent (and probably Latin). For a second, nothing happened, and I expected Kuron to burst out laughing, revealing that the whole thing was a prank, but another moment passed and, with a loud, scraping noise, the wall slid to the side, revealing a dark room.

Shiro shivered as he entered.

The room was mostly empty and was actually pretty small, maybe the size of my bedroom, but it radiated ancient Energy. In the center of the room, a large podium stood, carved entirely from what looked like moonstone.

It was eerily beautiful as it glowed its natural blue-green hue, smooth and flowing evenly into the stone floor like it had risen from the ground on its own. Maybe it had.

Shiro set me down on my feet. And held my shoulders as I steadied myself. I felt like a fawn first learning to walk- shaky legs and wobbly knees. Slowly, I walked up to the podium, careful and anxious. The room was silent.

Standing before the moonstone sculpture, I looked down and let my eyes cross over a small, yellowing piece of paper, a page from an ancient journal, maybe, written in black. Small splatters of the ink could be seen on the paper and it looked too fragile to be touched, so I kept my hands at my sides.

Slowly, I read aloud the words in a voice that wasn't my own.

"Born unto you, a boy of night

Born unto Her, a boy of light

Together they grow, together they fight

Years from now, souls to unite

A bridge to form, a bond of bright

From the nest, to both take flight

Thrice from your home, three pairs to unite

The ancient battle ends for hearts to rewrite

Be cautious now, Man of Plight

Parting be your downfall- silence your spite

Though you will mourn, their love is requite

So do not resist, with brawn or might

You will lose your sons to the sounds of light."

...

hey guys <3

happy new year!! here's to an even better 2019 :)

i hope the prophecy didn't sound too corny haha^ what do you think will happen?? ooooohhhh

qotd: is a hotdog a sandwhich?

iloveusomuch