Elsword One Shot for MeteorFalcon

Reminder

The ever chilling winds of Varnimyr fanned the flames of Elsword's sleepless bulwark. Alone, Elsword watched the border of the dark elves' outpost, gripping onto his planted sword with his trembling hands.

Fear had ignited Elsword with adrenaline that kept him going on, but the stimulation of survival could only keep his crumbling body working for so long. Elsword slumped down to the cool soil, still grasping onto his battle-scarred sword. His body was sore with the weight of world thrown onto it. What had been the burning passion to hold his ground, turned to agonizing fatigue.

The allure of sleep whispered him lullabies. He could close his blurry eyes and end his self-inflicted torment. The exhaustion would wash away from his body and revitalize itself. His clouded mind would be cleared of all his worries.

And all he had to do was close his eyes...and let the black curtains end his act.

But visions of his failures dispersed the darkness. He had done everything he could to avoid living through the foreboding illusions, each fate narrowly eluded everytime. But how many? Just how many more close calls before the nightmares of his most despairing moments became reality?

Elsword banged his head against a nearby tree. Pain. Cold. Guilt. Hopelessness. He was living on luck, and he knew that he would run short of it one day. The day where no will would come save him.

"If knocking yourself out was the goal, I would be more than happy to watch you bash your head against the tree again." A familiar voice said.

Aisha stood before him with a smirk.

Elsword forced a faint smile. "I thought you were in bed."

"Well I was supposed to be." Aisha sat against the tree beside him. "But of course I knew you'd be doing something stupid, so here I am."

"Where did you get that idea—"

"I've grown close enough to know what you're thinking. You saved my life, Elsword. Another moment of hesitation and I probably wouldn't be here. So stop beating yourself over it. Literally. The poor tree doesn't need you hitting it."

"I think you're worried about the wrong victim..." Elsword sighed, "Well since you know what I'm thinking, what should I do then? I mean, whatever I do, it's never enough. Things keep getting worse and I'm just...powerless against it all."

Aisha punched his shoulder. "Idiot. You do more than enough. Every single day I live through, I live without fearing for my life, because you're there with me. And there's no one else I have as much faith as I have in you. It's not just me either too. Everyone else has some amount of trust in you. If anything, I should be ashamed. You're holding the weight of everybody's lives on your back while I can't even look out for myself."

"Never thought I'd see you admit your own faults."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing," Elsword began removing his gauntlets. "Just that your ego is a little big."

"The same goes for you!" Aisha snapped, "You tried taking on that Berthe dog alone."

"Heat of the moment--"

"Heat of the moment." Aisha mocked, "I don't wanna hear an excuse for something that almost got us killed. I'm not trying to say that it's wrong to act off of your own feelings, but you're not alone, Elsword..."

Elsword scoffed, his mind drifting away from Aisha's words along with his eyes setting on the distance. The Forsaken Spirit Asylum, once charred and desolated by the Crimson Tower, bloomed with fields of flowers and ferns native to the Demon Realm. The colossal Nephilim Lord worked on restoring the rest of the scorched land with the aid of the freed spirits, glimmering like fireflies around the titan underneath the aurora.

Hope rekindled his heart.

He wasn't alone. His efforts were more than enough. It wasn't through luck that he managed to change the course of fate. He had the El Search Party, the El Masters, and everyone else he met along the way.

And Aisha.

Elsword turned back to the mage that stared at him with contempt.

"You really just ignored me."

"Yep."

"Hmph. This is why people call you a brat. Anyways, what I pretty much said is that you can lean on my shoulder too--"

Elsword took her word.

"Not literally! Though..." Aisha hesitantly intertwined her gentle hand with his. "I can't say I mind at all..."

He smiled at the sight of her flustered cheeks before turning his gaze once again to the horizon. The violet-cerulean skies reminded him of Elrios during the Harmony Festival. A time of peace when the sun and moon united to be one. A time where the threat of demons were lost to the tranquility that caressed the world. A time he fought to have again.

With Aisha hand-in-hand with him, Elsword had finally found peace. His mind eased. Tension in his muscles calmed, his body now knowing to conserve his strength. His racing heart no longer beat with terror but with a newfound spirit to look forward to the future.

He was the Knight Emperor, and the path he would forge would be his own.