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Once upon a time, behind seven fog-clad mountain ranges and seven crystal-like seas, there was a kingdom as old as the time itself. The sun shone upon its blue rivers and green hills, and the ancient magic pulsed deeply through the people, interweaving their strange fates together. But that age-old magic was a fickle, living thing with a will of its own, and everybody, from a lowly peasant to the king upon the crimson throne, had some access to it. It ran through people's veins and tears, stored at the tips of their fingerprints, unjust and unpredictable. It favored some and whispered gentle guidance into their ears, and despised the others, tempting them with promises of sweet nothings and driving them mad. Many simply learned to ignore that ancient magic pooling inside their hollow beings, for the price to use it was too high. To gain something through magic, something of far greater value had to be sacrificed.
Magic, that greedy and hungry force, depended on three things. Your will had to be iron, for a sacrifice without intention would result in nothing. You had to have a complete understanding of what you were sacrificing, of all the threads of the future that you were cutting short. And the last, most important thing, was the sacrifice itself. It had to be something very close to your heart, something that would be gravely missed but freely given.
For that reason, magic was only seen as a last resort.
To put it simply, many people saw magic only as the last bid of a madman.
Once upon a time, in a land behind seven fog-clad mountain ranges and seven crystal-like seas, there was a band of unlikely travelers, joined together by both the strings of fate and their own free will. One would even dare to say that the travelers were friends, their bond forged in the fire of their dangerous quest to destroy the dark cube, a weapon born out of an undistilled void that could swallow the whole armies.
There was an old man whose preferred company was the flask he kept, who was dragged into this crazy, impossible, doomed journey by his wide-eyed apprentice who dreamed of writing her own stories instead of transcribing those written by others.
There was a paladin, a strong and tall woman with an infectious laugh who swore to protect the party from all monsters who had been sent after them.
There was a dark-haired cleric who was in fact not a cleric at all, but a skillful assassin sent to retrieve the runaway prince, and who underneath all the gruff exterior hid his vulnerable heart.
And finally, there was the runaway prince himself, a brilliant young man with hair as bright as the sun and eyes as blue as the sky above. He was adored by the magic, which accepted his sacrifices with ease and gentleness, wrapping around him like a cloak.
He had vowed to act as his twin brother's conscience and destroy the dark cube, shaking up the whole course of the future.
Once upon a time, in a place behind seven fog-clad mountain ranges and seven crystal-like seas, there were two lovers doomed by fate itself. One resembled the sun, with his kind smile and loving heart, while the other resembled the moon, with his sharp grin and darkness that surrounded him.
They were on the opposite ends of the spectrum, one a sworn pacifist while the other killed to survive, yet they were equally tormented by their pasts.
The pacifist was haunted by the knowledge that his own twin sacrificed his ability to feel mercy in order to save him, plunging the whole continent into endless bloodshed. The assassin was torn apart by the cruel experiments done to him and to his little brother which had left his body completely devoid of magic and his mind forever drowning in guilt and regrets.
These two lost souls found comfort in each other's arms, fighting side by side, back to back. They found each other in those rare tender moments wedged between the feelings of impending doom and remorse. They understood each other on a fundamental level like nobody else did. Their love was every bandaged wound, every stolen touch, every rough kiss.
The sun and the moon simply wanted to spend all of their eternities together, but then the moon fell onto earth and shattered into million pieces.
The battle was over.
Chapel's own weapon backfired on him, and he almost shot Vash.
They had won, and the battle was over.
And yet, Nico was lying on the ground with red blossoming all over his chest and soaking up the white tunic he wore under his heavy black coat.
He took the hit meant for Vash, but they had won.
The battle was over, and Nico was dying. There were getting close to the volcano in which they needed to throw the cube and Nai had sent Nico's old master after them to retrieve both the cube and Vash, but the man was sloppy and he almost cost Vash his life.
The battle was won, and Vash was kneeling beside the love of his life, praying to the god he didn't believe in to save the man he loved.
"We'll fix this," he said, not really believing his words but desperately hoping for them to be true.
It couldn't end like this. It was all wrong. They were supposed to throw the cube into the volcano, and then return to the castle-
"Doubt it, sweetheart, " Nico coughed weakly, raising his hand to cup Vash's cheek.
"God, you're beautiful."
"Nico I -"
"Let the dying man speak, goddammit," he coughed yet again and Vash felt hot tears on his cheeks.
"Don't you dare blame yourself for this, you hear me? It was my own decision."
"If I hadn't -"
"Stop it. If I hadn't met you my life would have continued to be miserable. You brought some light into my shitty existence. If this is a price I had to pay for it, so be it. Vash, you brilliant idiot of a man I lo- "
His hand fell to the ground.
No.
No.
This couldn't be happening.
It couldn't end like this.
He felt Meryl's hand on his shoulder, he heard Milly's voice, but the only thing he could do was close his eyes.
He let his consciousness dive into magic.
He was sitting, arms over knees, in a field of red geraniums, looking like a child again. He never had to dive this deep to use magic.
His left arm was back.
The arm he lost when he touched the piece of void hidden deeply in the castle's armory, the arm which was eaten up by the vastness and gnawed on by the darkness.
He would have lost a lot of more than his arm that day if Nai hadn't been with him.
If he hadn't traded his compassion for Vash's life.
Vash my darling.
Vash my boy.
She was calling for him.
He heard her approaching closer, grass and flowers rustling with each step.
She looked like his Rem, but his heart knew otherwise.
"Bring him back," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Magic couldn't be used to bring dead people to life. It was the first rule drilled into him. But he was Vash Saverem, he was bathed in magic, cloaked in it, it was the very air he breathed.
And what will give me for that, my child?
The voice sounded exactly like Rem.
"My life," he offered.
Magic laughed at that.
Even if you were serious about that, that would be too easy.
He was serious. He knew Nico would continue his mission. He trusted his friends. He had faith that they could stop Nai. Not harm him. Just stop him. Everything was set in place for them after all.
But it was too simple.
You know, you are exactly like him. He also offered his life first.
The fake Rem, that makeshift form magic took, knelt down to ruffle his hair.
Magic was cruel, and it loved tragedy more than anything else.
Nai had given away his mercy, knowing Vash would never forgive him, knowing that that action would turn Vash away from him.
Knowing Vash would be happier dead than witnessing all the atrocities he would commit in his name.
He had to give away something greater than himself.
He had to cut all of the threads short, crush all the possibilities, all the dreams they shared about their futures.
Nico would hate him. Despise him. But he would live. He could reconcile with Livio.
"I will give you my memories of him. All the feelings I had felt, all the love I have for him in my heart," he said, and as soon as those words left his mouth, he knew he said the right thing.
Magic got up and laughed yet again, now in delight.
You had always been brilliant my child. That's the correct answer.
Rem's voice distorted into cacophony, sounding simultaneously like Nai's, Nico's, Meryl's, Milly's, and Roberto's voices all mixed together.
Then it all faded to black.
Once upon a time, the place behind seven fog-clad mountain ranges and seven crystal-like seas wept at the tragic story of two lovers.