Chapter Text
When things don't die, they mutate, they fester, and they suffer very very slowly.
Astronyu knew they were right, and they knew that Rat was aware of this truth. He just had to be reminded of it.
The two went way back when the universe was kind of new. Rat was born a god, while Astron basically brute forced themselves into the position by a series of really bad choices.
Rat was born from the light, after his sister. Creation gods, of course, were a dime a dozen, but he was… Something else. He always wanted more. He saw the value in everything, he saw it in everyone.
Perhaps, they reflect, that was what made his eventual rebellion so… Unavoidable. No matter how many times Astron went back, and back, and back, the end was always the same. Rat was stripped of his status as god and cast away. He created a world of his own, and now he was destined to stay in it until his punishment expired.
Blake was a nuisance, they mused as they paced on the porch. Rat told them to stay behind, to let the new power he made for Lux and himself handle the issue of Blake once and for all.
Astronyu knew hubris, of course they did. But Winsweep was different. He was young, barely at the edge of his maturity, and yet he still had all the power he desired, and he still wanted more. Blake was an anomaly in a world of anomalies, greed incarnate.
They sat down, petting a rat that ran up to them, while staring at the forest line, waiting, thinking.
“Astron!” Lux's desperate cry rings out from the woods a bit later, and they shoot up with alarm. That doesn't sound good. “Help- oh my goodness-” She sounds panicked, and Astron takes off sprinting, but freezes as they lay eyes on the scene before them. Lux is gravely injured, the snow is littered with blood. Rat is hanging off of her, completely dead to the world. He's in his human form, his mask nowhere to be seen. His face is littered with thousands of cracks, glowing golden. Charter magic is constructing his soul. His divinity is clearly fighting against the curse, but the cracks widening on his body, means that he is losing.
“By the gods…” Astron hurries to their friend's side, helping Lux with the dead weight, and the two quickly make their way inside the mansion, bringing Rat into a bedroom. And then they both pause.
“What… What are we supposed to do?” Lux asks, tears rolling down her face slowly.
Astron has been alive for a long time. Not as long as Rat, no, but they were allowed divinity because they fought against time. And they won. They saved a dying friend once before. Magic is nothing more than will. If you have a strong will, you can be powerful in ways that truly matter. For example, Lux is an incredible creator. Modders with great imagination create amazing things by altering the source code, but where Lux truly shines is with visuals, not function. But that is no good against something god made. Against a god killing device.
Charter magic is dangerous. It can kill gods, which has never been possible before. It shouldn't be. But the impossible is what people like Astron, and Lux, and all the others on this server are meant to defy.
There is no impossible. Only improbable.
And Rat was dying.
And the impossible suddenly felt possible.
He was sweaty, his breaths escaping in small puffs of air. Astron felt a weak hand grabbing theirs, and oh, he looked so weak, so human in this moment. In his final moment.
“Don't- go back.” Lux collapsed on the other side of the bed, clutching onto Rat's hand. “It always gets worse if you do.”
“But-” Astron gasped out. They weren't breathing, they noticed. “But I can't lose you.”
“You won't.” Rat promises, and the cracks get worse. Astron can see as the charter is slowly choking Rat's soul. The man screams, blood pooling in his mouth and trickling down his cheek onto the pillow, creating a gruesome work of art, as his organs start to shut down, crack in on themselves.
“Rat- no no no I can't lose you!” Lux sobs. Her hair is a mess, Astron notes with a weird deattachment.
“Lux- listen-” Rat coughs. “Take care- okay? Live. You mortals have a short life.” He chokes and spits out blood. He's in pain. So, so much pain. Astron can see it in every line of his body. He's falling apart. “Make it-” Rat sucks in a breath, choking back a scream. “Meaningful. For me.”
“Rat, please, I can't do this without you.” Lux says. She's shaking. Tears stream down her face. Astron also thinks they might be crying. This all feels surreal.
“Take care- okay?” Rat stutters out. A golden crack slices into his eye and he screams. And he doesn't stop as the full force of the curse crushes his soul. He never lets out a final stuttering breath.
He just stops.
And doesn't move again.
And Astron is numb. Lux starts screaming, and the rats gather around the bed, sniffing their former master's corpse. Some try to comfort Lux who pushes them away. Astron ignores the little guys.
This isn't real.
The hand still holding Astron's is getting colder. Maybe they should get him under the blankets. He might catch a cold.
He can't.
And Astron can't live a life without him. Their best friend. Their longest friend.
So, they let go of the hand.
And go back.