Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This chapter's purpose is to clarify a few aspects regarding the story and characters presented in this book.

First of all, not that it should matter, but to avoid any kind of possible conflicts in the future, I play 'League of legends', my main champion is Varus (at least 90% of my games are with him). Why do I feel the need to say that? Because, I respect this champion, even if he is not the best, and most of the time it is ridiculously easy for the enemy team to destroy him, he keeps me grounded, I have to be patient, clever and in touch with my team in order to explore his full potential.

With this said, imagine my disappointment when I find out that the majority of fanarts with him are either exclusively sexual, or make him a completely different person without any justification.

I know mine will not be the one he truly deserves, but I hope that it will inspire someone else to give him the attention and appreciation he needs.

DISCLAIMER

This book is a fanfiction.

I did my research, using the official sites to read all the available information, not only about Varus, Kai and Val, but also about every single champion and place mentioned in the story, as well as the timeline and relation between them, both in the official lore and game interactions.

I did my best to keep the personality of each character intact, especially in the beginning, but, there is a character arc for each of them. This is purely how I imagined their reactions and thoughts considering the situations presented. Not everything that is specified in the book is canon in the LOL universe.

For those who are already familiar with his story: the action in the first chapter happens after three days from the events presented in the comic "Retribution".

For those who are not already familiar with his story:

• you can read his bio and catch up to the story in the first chapter;

• if you are interested to learn more about certain details of the fanfic, I will recommend the short comics "Heartlight" & "Varus: Retribution", or even the YouTube animated story

FOR THOSE INTERESTED ⬇️

VARUS BIO
source: (Riot Games)

'Regardless of what he would later become, Varus was once a paragon of loyalty and honor. A skilled archer of the ancient Shuriman empire, he was appointed as a temple warden in the eastern states, and he held this duty sacred above all else.

During the earliest stages of the war with Icathia, even though it lay far from that cursed place, Varus' homeland was attacked. While other wardens abandoned their posts to join the defense of the outlying villages, he alone remained, screaming in anguish with every arrow he loosed-for he had chosen to uphold his oaths rather than return home to protect his own family.

Emissaries from the Ascended Host found him kneeling in solemn meditation amid the corpses of his foes. It was said that his cold gaze unsettled even the god-warriors themselves, and yet, in recognition of his noble sacrifice, Varus was offered a place in their ranks.

As one of the great Ascended, he was utterly consumed by his pursuit of vengeance against the Icathians, and the voidling horrors they had unleashed. It is likely that Varus did not even fully comprehend Shurima's ultimate victory in that war, so twisted had his mind become-nor the empire's fall centuries later. Atrocity after atrocity blurred together, leaving him as a withdrawn, callous killer, reshaped and sent into battle countless times by his degenerate brethren.

Their name became feared throughout the known world.

The darkin.

Warring among themselves, they destroyed any other who stood against them. With his crystalline bow, Varus assassinated enemy commanders and champions, helping the darkin defeat entire mortal armies with ever greater ease.

Eventually, Varus was cornered by vastayan moon-stalkers and human mages in service of a golden-armored warrior queen of Valoran. They bound him within his bow, leaving him to howl in impotent rage. By then, the raw, corrupting influence of the darkin was known, and yet still the queen chose to wield the deadly weapon in the final days of the war, gladly sacrificing herself for a greater victory.

In the months that followed, the queen carried Varus to the First Lands-those that would later be known as Ionia. Now made monstrous by the bow's power, her last act was to command her followers to bury her alive in a lightless well, sunk deep beneath a mountain temple overlooking the village of Pallas.

And there Varus was imprisoned, both by the natural magic of Ionia, and the ritual ministrations of the temple guardians.

The bow remained hidden for centuries, unknown, untouched, and all but forgotten, until Noxian invaders attacked the First Lands. Two beast hunters-Valmar and his heartlight, Kai-fought against the first wave at the Temple of Pallas. Though their courage was great and they drove off the attackers, Kai was mortally wounded, and a grief-stricken Val carried him inside, believing the well's forbidden magic could restore him.

But the temple held only damnation, and both hunters were consumed by the unleashed power of the darkin within it. The very matter of their bodies was unraveled and bound together again to craft a new body, a body fit to free Varus from his imprisonment. What emerged from the well was a gestalt creature, pale and inhumanly beautiful, part human and part darkin. After more than a thousand years, Varus was reborn.

Even so, the human and darkin elements of this imperfect form are in constant flux, with each managing to wrest control for a short time before being reined in by the other. Varus fights to silence the two mortal souls once and for all, and wreak vengeance for the destruction of his race. Still, Kai and Val struggle against his malevolent influence, hoping against hope that their love can overcome the darkin's hatred.

How long they can keep Varus conflicted is anyone's guess-but should this sadistic and egotistical killer come to fully dominate his new host, it is certain he will seek to reunite with others of his kind, and reduce all of Runeterra to an ashen wasteland.'

Chapter Text

"Cold?" he murmured under his breath as if there was any other explanation for the feeling he was experiencing now, which could have been more acceptable.

"Annoying, isn't it?" a voice echoed in his head, followed immediately by another. "Do you wish to kill us all? You just raised out from the river in the middle of the night. It's almost the end of the harvest season, of course, you are cold now!"

"A god cannot be bothered by a simple breeze of the wind," he emphasized the word, obviously refusing to accept the explanation.

"But a mortal is. You choose to borrow our flesh and souls, now is the time to take responsibility for your actions". the first voice raised again, a bit louder than before.

"Flesh..." he repeated in a disgusted tone, while looking at his hand.

"Perhaps it will be easier if you let 'us' take care of this trivial maintenance." the second voice proposed, much calmer than the other two, while the hand of the being started to shake unpleasantly in front of his eyes.

"How amusing." the darkin said, a little grin contouring on the corners of his mouth as he get a grip of his own, trembling hand with the other one. "You take me for a foul, Kai?" the voice sounded more humorous than anything, but he continued on a more sober tone immediately. "Shall I feel insulted, that a man of culture, such as yourself, think so poorly of a mighty god?"

"A 'mighty god' that is about to kill himself because he cannot remember the bare minimum about a mortal body. How long have you been imprisoned in that bow... is time truly capable of wiping away such deep-rooted primary instincts?" the first voice raised again, in the beginning , louder, full of range, that slowly decreased in something similar to sadness.

"You will be surprised to find out how easily the body can forget how to feel.". the darkin spoke even so softly that it almost felt like a thought, not even a whisper, in the continuous night "concert" of the forest.

"But the soul remembers." said the second voice in a lively manner, as if he tried to hold back a chuckle at the end of the remark.

"Hopeless mortals...always trying to see the... light in the dark." the darkin said with a shrug and started to look around, carefully picking up a dry branch. "A fire... I supposed this would be the only solution given at the moment."

"Some clothes would be better though." the second voice added without a real hope behind the words.

The drakin didn't bother to reply, again, to such a comment. He now was only preoccupied to find enough branches and dried leaves to start a fire. As the two voices in his head were debating whether or not he had any knowledge of how to start a fire, he just ignored them, carefully made a proper arrangement for the fire, and gently put a hand over it, a small red spark of light appearing from his hand and immediately setting on fire the branches he collected.

"Who would have guessed that? Even the fire turned out to be purple." the first voice said mockingly.

"Purple is not only the colour of the corupted tendrils, is also the colour of my aura."

"I wonder what colour is our aura now. We share a body...does it mean that we share an aura as well?" the second voice asked.

"We are no longer three separate beings, even if our souls are individually defined, there is only one vessel to contain them. We might have a completely different aura from what each of us possessed once."

"It seems like you are not completely aware of all the changes that come with this new body. I guess we will have to figure it out together then." the first voice stated with a little sight.

"The purpose of this body is temporary. I am on borrowed time." the darkin replied while sitting himself near the fire, watching closely how the purple sparks of light were starting to float from the little, occasional, explosions happening in certain fragments of the burning wood.

"You cannot do anything useful with a corpse, don't you?" the first voice asked ironically.

"This is all you have now, either if you like it or not. Nor mortal, nor god, just something in between. We have to take care of it properly, otherwise, it will serve no purpose to any of us." the second voice concluded.

There was no need for a reply. As it turned out, the only need that the being had, was sleep. He didn't even realize what happened. Just a slow blink of the eyes and all of the sudden everything was colorful, enlightened by the shy rays of a morning sun. As soon as he jumped to his feet... cold, again. Even on the bare ground, near the...what was before a burning fire, there was still a pleasant warmth that kept him comfortable, but now, it was as if something hit him mercilessly. Out of...instinct? Or maybe because of the two, still experienced souls, he wrapped one hand around his middle, in a weak attempt of maintaining his body warmth.

"So inconvenient." he sighed while accidentally allowing himself to tremble shortly.

There was no point in denying the feeling anymore, he used the ridiculously long cloth around his neck to wrap his torso, neck, and even part of his arms. It was... slightly better. Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about his feet, as he was inspired enough to cover them in the weird, rock-like material, when constructing the body. He took his bow over his shoulder and started to walk through the forest again. Luckily for him, it was a warm day, too warm for this season, but this served him well. He managed to get out of the forest, only to be disturbed by another feeling, as he put a step down on the new path.

An unpleasant sensation, almost like a light pain, followed by an concerning internal movement of his abdominal part, accompanied by a loud rumbling noise. Did he hurt himself? How was that even possible? He was just fine when he got up in the morning, even as he was walking through the forest just now. Maybe a curse...? But he didn't encounter any being capable of doing such a thing since he was reborn. The feeling was somehow familiar, although he was not sure if for him, or for the two souls. Now that he was carefully thinking about this, it felt almost like...

"Hunger." Kai's voice raised in his mind, while the hand of the darkin ended up on his stomach.

"Don't say that 'the only hunger you know is the one for revenge, or anything similar, because I cannot stand another 'godly' reply from you today." the other voice interrupted in an exasperated tone.

"You have to eat. There must be something edible in this forest, if not plants, then...maybe a small animal?" he was unsure if to propose such an idea to the darkin, already imagining him going to hunt something not that animalistic, perhaps a human, but gods...he hope not to see a cannibalistic scene from a first-person perspective, that would be horrifying for him, and most certainly for his partner as well, even if Val would probably find some details of it interesting, considering his... unique attraction for the gore, he was sure that his partner didn't have the blood, nor the heart to watch such a scene.

"Do not dare to have such thoughts about me, mortal. I might be a god of war, but I am not a beast." he immediately replied, aware of the thoughts of the soul. "A prey should keep us going for a while," he said while taking the bow and already gripping it properly.

Two hunters, and a warrior god...if their shared body couldn't hunt an ordinary prey, then nobody could. Following tracks, only to patiently wait near a vein of water. A rabbit-like animal, with short, curled back horns and thin, elongated legs ended in hooves, carefully came out of a bush, looking both ways before getting close to the water. The creature started to drink from the fresh water, rotating its ears from one direction to another in order to protect itself while drinking. Little did it know that the archer was already prepared, the arrow, straighter than anything around it, find the fastest way to the heart of the being.

No suffering, no pain, not even a second to understand what happened. In less than a blink of the eye, all that once was life and purity, was now another corpse in the archer's hands. He gently take the creatures with both his hands and carried it outside the forest where he prepared it respectfully. Why? There was no empathy for the corpse, after all, this was the circle of life, he have killed far more "important" beings, and still, something inside just couldn't let him mistreat this one. Perhaps the two souls inside of him, or the little gratitude he had for, not so consciously, offering, a rich source of energy and power for his new fragile body.

/////

"So many needs this body have. Were mortals always like this?" the darkin complained, again, although he listened to the two souls this time, without questioning them too much.

"As far as we know, yes. This body isn't even completely mortal." Kai's voice replied.

"Thank gods for that! He would have killed us all by now. Three days without food, water, sleep... just fighting and running. You showed no respect for this body, monster." Val felt the need to accuse the darkin. He made this pact to protect his lover, and now, after all, their sacrifices, their lives were again in danger, the most infuriating kind... natural needs...and why? Just because the demon had no understanding of such concepts.

"I washed off the blood of the enemies when we found the river." his seriousness made the pair stay quiet for a long moment.

"And we almost froze to death because of that." Val said, slower than usual, as he was trying to hold back his anger.

"He is learning. So are we. This is new for all of us, but, we can do it, Val, just as we did anything else so far ... together we are stronger." Kai's voice was heartwarming, for his partner, of course, the darkin was just listening without a reaction.

"Yes...we are going to find our way through this. I cannot wait to be free again, to be able to go back home with you, to see you, to hold you, too..." his enthusiastic voice was disturbing for the darkin, but the sudden movement of his hand that cupped his own chin, was enough to make him interfere.

"This body have more than enough needs as it is. Do not make the list any longer, mortal. I will not accept this." the disgust in his voice made Kai laugh, while Val was just enjoying the lovely sound of his lover as well as the unnecessary reaction from the darkin.

"It looks like someone is starting to remember a few things about humans." Kai said mockingly.

"If you are talking about romance, no, I could never completely comprehend how humans manifest such feelings. Why would it be necessary to show feelings like that? Isn't it enough that I feel them and take the responsibility to protect those who made me feel like that?" he managed to make himself more comfortable near the fire, leaning against a tree.

"I would have never taken you as... the 'lover' type." Val said a bit surprised. "What kind of people have you loved?"

"My allies, my friends, my family...my people." a little pause, he looked up to the sky, without changing his neutral expression. "For them...I must continue. Even in this form. Is my purpose to avenge them."

"What if they do not want you to do that?" Val murmured, this time using the exteriorized voice of their being.

"There is no need for me to reply to this, isn't it?" the darkin gave off a knowing grin as he closed his eyes. "The thirst for justice can easily blind a shattered soul."

"They would have never blamed you if you were to lower your bow." Kai's voice echoed in the mind of the darkin. "They would want you to be happy...to be free." his voice was tender enough to make the demon feel some sort of warmth in his chest.

Weird feeling, somehow familiar, but at the same time, unknown for the darkin. He put the blame on the two mortals, as he was never before able to experience such sensations, or at least, not since he lost his humanity... a long time ago. How long? He retained no concept of how mortals measured time, and nobody was able to tell what he was so far. It seemed like his kind was long forgotten by these insignificant souls.

"Perhaps... but, when I was given my bow, I swore to fight for my people, to give my last breath for their souls." he tried to open his eyes again, but there was a strange feeling, as if his eyelids became heavier.

"And you did. Right? I assume that you had to die before becoming a ...darkin was it?" Val remembered the name clearly, as it was expected after hearing about the "greatest horrors" of a time that was already forgotten in history, but he still finds it difficult to see Varus as anything than a demon, a beast, a monster, the only suitable descriptions for such a presence.

"I died way before being killed. When my last ally soaked the earth with blood, at my feet, my soul must have disappeared with his, as there remained only a living corpse." he started to feel his entire body slowly becoming havier, but tried to ignore the sensation.

"You suffered." Kai said sympathetically, not just for the darkin, but also for his partner, in a weak attempt of making him aware of the remaining shades of humanity that the creature had.

"To live means to suffer. Even when the sun rises, the night will come agaah...in." for a moment he was stunned, trying to understand what just happened. That sound was involuntary, it didn't feel like one of the mortals tried to use the common voice, and yet...he couldn't control it either.

"Was it a yawn? I had a feeling that we are already tired. I guess now would be a good time to finally go to sleep." Val took the chance to change the subject.

"Sleep?" the darkin asked almost disgusted. "You mortals cannot resist even a day without this ritual?"

"We can, but that would be harmful. The body and mind have to rest in order to function properly." Kai tried to explain as the darkin got up on his feet.

"So inconvenient. Pathetic." he muttered through his teeth, as he sat down again.

"Make yourself comfortable, you have to be, otherwise you will not rest well." Val was concerned about the well-being of the body, as it was caring for both his soul and his partner's.

Varus tried, at least it seemed like he did. He couldn't quite comprehend how to make himself comfortable, he ended up just laying on his back in the grass, looking at the starry sky, beneath his eyelashes.

"Try to stay in the present, don't think about other things, just about the warmth of the fire, the pleasant smell of grass, the clear 'concert' of the night forest." it was more bearable to hear Kai's voice, composed, and usually calmer than the other one.

For the first time in the existence he could remember, Varus looked at the sky, not to guide himself, but to admire its details.

"Even the stars are different from what I once knew." the darkin thought, still not allowing the pair to invade this part of his mind. "Will I be able to find her again? Nothing to follow, but the instinct, one that now is disturbed by the strong presence of the other two souls with whom I share the new body. Am I truly sensing the faded trace of her magic, or is this a cruel illusion? Perhaps, a punishment that I carried along from my imprisonment. But there is... something inside of me, a feeling that she is still here, somewhere in this filthy world. Is she looking for me as I am looking for her, or our paths are already sealed to never cross again?"

So many thoughts, fragments of blurry memories, thousands of them, or more. And yet, he fell asleep without even realizing it, just slowly closing his eyes, another lazy blink...

Chapter Text

"Is he sleeping?" the concern in his voice was not masked by the whispering, as he was hoping to happen.

"He might be. I do not sense him anymore, but at the same time..." Kai started, but his partner finished what they were both thinking.

"We are still imprisoned just as much as when he is awake." he said with a sight, half cursing the darkin under his breath.

"Val...what are you afraid of?" Kai asked after a moment of silence between the two.

"To lose you. Saying that you are my life would be a disesteem, because I would, at any time, give my life for my family, for my country, but you...I could never even imagine sacrificing you for anything in this or another world." his words were full of love, and the sincerity of his tone was not a surprise for his partner.

"Seeing you so passionate, even after everything that happened, reminds me of the day I fall in love with you." a nostalgic feeling captured them both.

"Really?" he asked already intrigued "Was it when I fought that beast that terrorized the little village near the eastern rivers? What was it called..."

"Maybe." Kai interrupted quickly "But I will never tell you that." he said only to tease Val, and it seemed like it worked perfectly, as his partner immediately replied.

"Oh, come on Kai! You have to tell me now. I want to know when my charm started to have an effect on you." he engaged jokingly, already being aware of his partner's little game.

"Who said that it had any effect on me? Your charm is awful, but your heart is priceless."

"Awfully irresistible, of course." there was a moment of silence before they both started to laugh.

"Of course." Kai repeated mockingly as they started to calm down from their laughing session.

It wasn't much, just a happy little moment between the two, but, it made them remember how far from "normal" they were now. Not understanding what will happen to them from now on, not knowing if there will ever be an escape from this imprisonment, or if there will ever be a chance to hold each other again.

"What if this was all for us. If this... monster will take full control over us, we will just... what? Die? Or just not exist anymore?" Val asked what they both were fearing.

"He will not. We are stronger than him Val. He might have lived as a god, but... don't you feel it? Deep inside of him, that... shine of humanity."

"The only shade of humanity this creature has within itself is us. A god...pff, more like a demon." he murmured in frustration.

"A darkin, to be more precise."

"You are incredible." Val said a bit amused, his lover's tendency to correct him whenever he used the wrong name for a species became, a long time ago, a way of subtly teasing him. "Everything he does is against human nature."

"Fair. But he is now forced to live similarly to a human being. Maybe this will awake something in him, something he forgot he had within himself."

"Always so full of hope. My heart-light, I do not want to imagine a world in which you are not by my side." the pain in his voice said more than his words.

"And you shouldn't. Because no matter what... I will always be with you." if they were to have their bodies back, he would take Val's hands and rest his forehead against his, but now, there were only the words he could use to make his lover feel even slightly better.

Varus, not yet used to this habit of sleeping, was confused in the morning, even if this time he raised a bit sooner than the sun, thinking that he was more or less unconscious during the entire night, he felt almost betrayed by his own body. Another day and the apparently unstoppable cycle of needs begin with it. Varus was going to lose his time, again, only to satisfy his useless hunger.

The darkin couldn't care less about these distractions, as long as his needs were manageable, he continued his journey. This time he didn't stop, even if the pair tried to convince him many times to take a break. He was determined, after thousands of years of imprisonment, finally having a strong feeling about where he should go was a beacon of hope for the darkin. Concerned that the instinct might fade away, again, he force himself to walk, even when his body started to show signs of weakness, or the two tried to reason with him, nothing was enough to make him stop, not when the faith was giving him a chance.

Unfortunately, he was right, the feeling faded away eventually, but, at least he ended up close to a city.

"A maritime port!" exclaimed Val when Varus finally stopped and looked around. From where they stood, the city was nothing, but a gigantic map for them to examine.

"You do not seriously consider doing it, don't you?" Kai said as soon as he understood the darkin's idea. "We are not going to let you kill innocent noxians anymore, especially not in our name."

"You pitiful humans and your egoistic mind, thinking that everything revolves around you. I am going to eradicate those filthy Noxian dogs, with, or without your consent. But, I have to do something more important before that." he started to walk towards the city, shortly shaking the hand that started to tremble, knowing well that the two of them could not do more, not when they were so full of negative emotions.

"Egoistic? Us? Have you ever looked at yourself, you disgusting piece of..." but Val was immediately stopped by Kai, who, on a surprisingly calm tone, addressed both of them. "We cannot walk into a small city like this, in any city for that matter. Varus, we have no reason to start a fight with these people, neither to frighten the poor souls. We should make ourselves look more ... human, find a way to blend in with the others."

"Not that I am known for my charity, but, to spare this human's lives should help me save my precious time." he said simply, not even slightly moved by the thought of killing all the people in the city.

"You could have said just 'Great idea Kai!' or 'Thank you for helping me see how unreasonable and dramatic my plans are'." Val was a bit frustrated, especially when the darkin simply ignored him, and talked with Kai.

"How am I supposed to make my appearances more...human? Should I..."

"No, you shouldn't." Kai interrupted him, having a vague idea about what the darkin's plan might be. "It is already morning, the sun started to rise...for sure there must be people who let their clothes dry outside. Let's see if we can find something for us to wear."

"Who would have thought that the kind and generous Kai will be the one who proposes us to steal from the people?" he was amused, a small mocking grin already painted on his lips, but this time he was the one ignored by the pair.

Fortunately for them, people did let their clothes dry outside, most of them being probably at work already. Varus wandered around, looking for something to fit him. After a few unsuccessful inspections, they finally found some sort of cloak, not the best looking one, but good enough to make him look like a simple, probably poor, man, his scarf coming in handy as he could use it to cover his face and neck, so that only his eyes could be seen.

"After walking around naked all day long, being covered must feel quite 'inappropriate' for you. Right?" Val tried to make fun of Varus, but to his surprise, the darkin not only ignored him, but in the flash of a second, he turned around, already having his bow fixed in his hand, and a glowing red arrow pointed to the forehead of an old man.

Why did he stop? Did Kai manage to take control over the body again, was Varus waiting for something, or did anything else happened? Val was confused, everything happened so fast, he couldn't even imagine how was the darkin capable of aiming an arrow so fast, or how on Earth did he even hear the old man. They were sharing the same body, and yet, Varus seemed to feel way more than Val could.

"Did I scare you?" the old man asked, being unbothered by the threatening position Varus maintained. "I heard someone outside, and I asked myself who could they be? Nobody visits me in the morning. Then I come here, your moves, your steps, nothing that sounds familiar. You must be a traveler, aren't you?" the old man laughed shortly as if he was proud of himself for reaching such a conclusion. "There was not a boat to the shore this week, you must have come from the forest...uf, uf... from far away, there is no city in the vicinity." he murmured something to himself, then shook a hand in the air, as if trying to move away from an invisible smoke around his head. "Come child, I do not have much, but a hot meal and a bed are always to share with a traveler." with that, the old man slowly moved towards the house, vaguely hitting the ground in front of him with a stick.

This whole time, Varus let the arrow transform into small, red flames that curled around in the air and disappeared. He listened to the man, even if he kept looking around, as if making sure that nobody else was there to see any of this. Val and Kai couldn't understand why the darkin let the old man live, they were glad, of course, but at the same time confused by the sudden change of heart that Varus had.

"You are pretty foolish, aren't you? Helping a stranger, especially considering your disability. Are you looking for the sweet relief of death?" Varus asked nonchalantly, while curiously looking around the house.

"Ait... But your accent is terrible. You are not from here, that I can tell, is this a dialect? No...it sounds almost like you speak in the gods' tongue. Such a weird fella." the old man knew his way around the house, it wasn't difficult for him to prepare Varus, as promised, a hot meal.

"Only if he knew..." Kai murmured as Varus sat down with the old man at the table and started to eat whatever was given to him.

"Thinking about this...how did you manage to learn the modern language? If you were imprisoned for thousands of years, for sure you used to speak a completely different one." Val asked curiously, and was surprised to see Varus using the inside voice, not that he cared if he confused the old man by talking with himself, but because he was still eating.

"Many people before you came there. All of them with prayers and hopes, but nobody willing to sacrifice themselves. I learned the bare minimum from humans, but when I took you two, I was able to properly learn it from our connection. Although, your primitive dialect is something that I am still fighting to accept."

"Said the ancient man. You are so old, even history forgot about you and your kind. You are far more primitive than us, aggressive without reasons, stubborn, clearly uncivilized." Val started to name almost all of his dissatisfactions regarding Varus, but he was simply ignored.

The old man talked more with Varus, too much, if you were to ask the darkin, and of course, the poor human had to be glad for the short answers, because the traveler was not much of a talker. Somehow, after failing to learn anything interesting about the guest, the old man convinced him to go to one of the rooms and rest. Of course, as always, the darkin considered the ritual of sleeping useless, and yet, as soon as he put his head on the soft pillow, he instantly fell asleep, both Val and Kai making little jokes about it, for themselves.

////

"Here comes the lamb, with a mighty bow,
He wears the face of a filthy wolf,
And followed by, a haunting growl,
Here comes the wolf,
to tear the soul!

Fight, little soldier, for all that you love,
With fear, you should never raise your bow,
As the wolf will chase those who fear death,
And the lamb will free, those who embrace it.

For the glory of our lands,
For the love of our friends,

We will not surrender!

For the blood of our ally,
For the loss of our family,

We will not surrender!

Never let down your bow,
You mighty little soldier.
If you're the last to stand, so be it,
The gods will praise you, and clothe you in glory! "

"A...poem? No, more like a song? It is for children indeed, but the voice, belongs to a woman, such a beautiful voice, so delicate yet composed. It sounds familiar. I want to hear more, the song is not yet finished, what happens after that? This voice ... sing more for me, comfort me even more with your pleasant tone. I want to...no, I need to hear more!". his voice, even more demanding than usual, echoed slowly as the voice continued, starting the song from the beginning. When a child's laugh joined the woman's voice, the darkin felt the inexplicable urge to find the two people, but, as soon as he felt it, the voices disappeared.

Varus was still on the bed, but he jumped all of the sudden, almost as if he was hit by someone, prompting himself on the elbows. His eyes scanned the entire room quickly, trying to find out if someone else was there, but, of course, there was nobody to be found.

"You scared the demons out of me... What was this all about? You were sleeping soundly, and all of the sudden you jumped as if struck by lightning." Val started to complain as soon as the darkin left the bed.

"Varus, did you...have a nightmare?" asked Kai, more surprised than concerned by the idea. What could frighten such a cold-blooded creature?

"A night terror?" he murmured for himself, the thought amused him for a moment, but he explained it anyway. "There is nothing that could frighten me, mortal. I had...a dream. I cannot understand the meaning yet. Perhaps it was just a trick caused by your human minds."

"We did nothing to provoke you a dream, but ... I guess you could say that we are quite the 'to dream for' kind of men."

"I see that your so-called 'humor' is deficient as always, Val." the darkin took his bow and walked out of the old man's house.

"Wait! Varus, wait! It is the middle of the night, you slept all day long, the poor man was concerned about you, also, he gave you a meal and a bed, you should stay until morning to thank him for his kindness." Kai tried to convince him, but it was a useless attempt.

"I could have killed him, or even worse. Being kind to a stranger, especially in his condition, is foolish. He is calling for his death. As you two wished, I haven't killed anyone in here without a reason, yet. I did more than enough." the pair wasn't truly hoping for the darkin to show any sign of empathy towards the poor man.

But this time, Varus wasn't completely honest. He intentionally left the furs of the creatures he hunted in the woods, that he had wrapped around his bow, on the bed in which he slept all day. Not as a sign of gratitude, 'of course not', just because those served him no use anymore, and there was no reason to trouble himself by carrying them around anymore.

"Where are we going anyway? I thought we were going to look for a ship that would take us, but at this hour...there is going to be no soul on the port." Val was a bit confused, especially because Varus was sprinting on the narrow streets of the city, his cloak fluttering slightly behind him.

"Before that, we should collect some 'offerings' from the people. After all, a god blessed them with his presence in this small, insignificant city." a terrific grin spread on his mouth, emphasized by the dark shadow created by the cloak, over the rest of his face.

Chapter Text

A peaceful night, the gentle light of the moon was embracing the city from above, while the small glittery lights sprayed over the dark sky were slowly arranging themselves into mesmerizing patterns. The song of the sea waves brushing the shore was the only sound that followed the darkin's steps through the narrow streets of the city.

He was looking for anything useful in his little journey. A few memories from his days on a ship were starting to come back unexpectedly as he continued to take whatever was needed from the streets and sometimes houses. "A city of fools." he thought to himself, not understanding how so many people could let their houses unprotected, going to sleep, with no lock to guard the door; merchants letting their supplies on display as if asking for the thieves to come and take it all. Fortunately for them, Varus needed only a few things and was kind enough to not cause them any damage.

"I do not enjoy stealing from the innocents. But these humans almost beg for it with their foolishness." the darkin surprised the pair when he started to talk all of the sudden, while looking around a store that was, like all the others, open and unguarded by anyone or anything. "We need supplies for our journey. It would be a hassle to try to take everything out during the day, because, for sure, I will have to raise my bow at them." he unfolded a large piece of cloth, took a moment to study it carefully, then started to wrap his bow in it.

"You are... surprisingly considerate for a demon. I thought you didn't care about these people, they are just 'mortals' for you, aren't they?" the voice was slightly sarcastic, yet clearly motivated by anger.

"I once fought among the mortals. Lives are so fragile, so short. People keep killing each other for pieces of land and glory. And yet, I am the 'demon' for killing the guilty?" once he wrapped his bow and took it on his back, he continued to look around the store.

"Why did you fight among the humans?" Kai's voice was always so much calmer than Val's, and for some reason, this was more uncomfortable for the darkin. Probably because he despised being pitied by a human, or for some other reason that he wasn't completely aware of.

"The world was different back then, and so was I." he replied simply and got distracted by a small wooden toy, a strong-looking chimera with big crawled horns and long, intimidating wings, spread up as if it was preparing to fly away.

He looked at the wooden piece, as waves of memories started to form in his mind, images of blood violently splashing into the air, a wide ferocious grin followed by a maniacal laugh, and a strong inhumane arm ended in large claws coming closer to him. A few seconds, this is how long it took him to remember all this. Suddenly surprised by a false sensation of suffocation, he gently grab his neck, and let out a nervous sigh, immediately arranging his scarf better around his neck.

The darkin put the little beast near another toy, a raven made from a similar piece of wood. He paused for a moment and took the wooden raven away to a higher shelf, the little toy looking like it was trying to fly away. He looked at the toys one more time,  as if making sure that everything is in place, then turned around and walked towards the door.

"Varus, this feeling you had back there, was it..." but Kai couldn't finish his question, as a loud noise distracted the trio.

A box that had fallen out of a shelf with a large slam on the floor, followed by a loud exclamation and a few smaller thuds. Varus was already moving toward the source of the commotion, behind one of the shelves, he found a little boy on the floor. The poor child was mumbling some swearings while patting his neck, but as soon as he saw the man standing right in front of him, he was silent as a mouse.

"Has no one ever taught you that it's not good to be alone around strangers?" the man asked, his voice followed by a terrifying echo.

"I am...I am sorry! I was just playing around. This is my father's store. People... don't usually come at night, and I was curious, I wasn't looking for any trouble, I swear." the little boy started to cry when Varus caught him by the hood of his jacket and lifted him off the ground.

"Do not dare to lay a finger on this child, monster!" Val raised his voice and Varus' hand started to tremble.

"Patience, Valmar...I wasn't going to hurt the human child." grabbing his own wrist with his free hand, the darkin let go of the boy, who ran away as fast as his feet allowed.

Varus unconsciously tried to catch the child again, but Valmar took control over that hand once more and forced the darkin to kneel.

"Then why do you want to catch him? Why this urge to run after him? Are you some sort of animal in need to hunt down whatever runs away?" Val's words hit the darkin as a dagger.

"I ask myself the same question. Why do I want to catch that human?" he whispered, looking at the now open door of the store, his hand ending up again on the red scarf.

////

He managed to gather everything he needed, including a small leather sack in which to carry everything. With unnerving ease, he just walked into the officer's room near the port and looked at the ships' routes on the maps. Or, at least he tried. The letters were strangely formed, he couldn't understand a thing that was written there. Fortunately, Val and Kai understood everything, they explained to Varus how this was the modern system of writing, and of course, the darkin found it offensive. It was more than enough how they destroyed the spoken language, but to disfigure the art of writing into such unpleasant tangles, was unacceptable.

Talking about how people should have honored their ancestors by keeping alive their legacy, the darkin found his way around the port and easily got into one of the largest ships, the one that, as the pair discovered, was supposed to travel to the continent, more precisely, to Oshra.

Three days was how long the three were supposed to stay on the ship before reaching the destination. At first, Varus hid in the hold, among the crates that were being carried and he didn't care to inspect, but assumed they were filled with merchandise. Val's poems weren't as bad as his attitude towards the darkin, they were surprisingly good, even if he wouldn't admit it to the mortal, but still, to keep three warriors hidden in a dark place without anything to do or see was a punishment, one that reminded Varus of his imprisonment, especially in those moments when the pair would stay silent, and the only sound feeling the room remained the roar of the water hitting the walls of the ship, a similar sound with the one he continuously heard for centuries. Without giving any explanations, he stood up and carefully managed to get on the deck, encountering no soul to mind his presence.

It was a pleasant day, the sun was up without threatening anyone with his well-known unbearable hot rays, no, it was the harvest season, and the burning star wouldn't dare to harm a single soul, when the cold already started to slide into the scene. Even the waves were raising peacefully, enough to give the ship a little push in the right direction, but not enough to ruin the crew's preparations.

The darkin stood close to the edge, watching the expanse of azure water, enjoying the refreshing salty smell of the sea. It was far better than staying in the dark, cramped among wooden crates. Because the two love birds within him were talking about their memories from the last trip they took on a boat, Varus was filled with a long-forgotten sensation of ... happiness perhaps, and, even if he was partially disgusted by the feelings he was forced to experience because of the two, a part of him was enjoying it.

But, like all the good things in life, the moment didn't last long. He felt a little move on his back, immediately realizing that someone was trying to take his bow away, he turned around in the blink of an eye, managing to grab the stranger's arm and force it to their back, to keep them from making another move. Although the thief tried to kick Varus with one of their feet, he quickly avoided it, hitting them behind their knees, forcing them to kneel as he sat down near them, grabbed both of their wrists in one hand, and pulled them closer to have a better look at the thief's face.

It was a young woman, a beautiful face spotted with little freckles, black curly hair wrapped around some sort of metallic support, and a small body marked with bruises and old scars. She was moving frantically, trying to escape, muttering curses to the darkin, as he stood there, waiting for her to calm down.

"Much energy for a little body. Have you calmed down, or are you going to hopelessly exhaust yourself even more?" he asked mockingly, knowing well that she had no way of escaping now.

"Let go of me, ya'...ya'...brute! Grabbing a woman as ya' please, just how miserable can a man be?" she protested again, trying to shake his hand off.

"Stop squeaking like this, filthy rat. I know what you were trying to do. To touch another's weapon is insulting, but trying to steal it... you might as well beg to be killed." he started humorously, but slowly switched to a much more threatening tone, leaning closer to her ear.

"I ...ya' are wrong!" but this only angered the darkin, who gripped her wrists with more force, making her bite her tongue in order to not let out a sound of pain "Fuck ya'! I had no way of knowing that ya' were carrying a weapon, everyone was searched before boarding the ship."

"So what have you thought you were stealing?" he asked, not trusting a word she was saying.

"Anything? I don't know, the kind of stuff that NORMAL people take on trips, ya' know, a few bites of meat, maybe a few coins. I am a clandestine, and I guess ya' are too. I am trying to make a living in my way."

"Let her go. Just look at her body, it's clear that she had a tough time until now." Kai said in a compassionate tone, making the darkin frown.

"Are you defending a thief now? If she were to take my bow, I wouldn't have any weapon to attack the enemies, nor to protect us from any threat." he spoke only with the pair, not intending to give the woman a reason to talk more with him.

"But she didn't. You are... strong and attentive, it would be impossible for her to trick you. Look at how weak she is. Can you tell me that destroying her would feel like a victory?" Val knew exactly where to hit the darkin, and it worked, as he simply let the thief go and stood up again.

"Huh? After all this noise, ya' just let me go and walk away? The hell is wrong with ya', mate?" the woman quickly stood up as well and tried to catch up Varus, fixing her clothes as she was walking.

"You do not worth my time. Too weak, even for a filthy rat." he continued to walk around, hoping that she will go away eventually.

"What ya' mean?! I am not weak. I come from a rough city. I learned my ways around the streets using only my mind and strength." she presented proudly, punching her first together, to emphasize the statement.

"Than you must be truly intelligent." he said mockingly, without beating an eye at her.

"Talked the crock... I bet ya' are some fancy knight from Ionia, trying to bring some fun in your life." to her frustration, the man didn't bother to say anything, so she insisted "For real, what are ya'? Weird as one can be, quite as a nun in daylight, so fucking mysterious, for what? Ay?"

"I am a warrior god." he replied with a solemn tone.

"And I am the queen of Ionia." she replied with a laugh. "Keep it all to yourself until ya' explode, I don't care. At least ya' are taking jokes better than the other people on this ship."

"This is why you keep following me, rat? Am I that interesting to you, compared with others you have encountered on this ship?" he stopped all of the sudden, turning around to face her, in a more threatening way than he was intending to.

"Don't call me Rat, my name is Shieska." she said while slowly taking one step back from him, but maintaining eye contact. "And who said that I find ya' interesting? Just a bit better than the others, but don't flatter yourself, these people are dead boring." a moment of silence came between them, but the woman pushed it away rapidly "What is ya'r name?"

"Varus." he replied, to her surprise, and for an odd reason, this made her cheeks catch a gentle touch of pink.

"Ya'r eyes are weird as fuck. Can you see anything with them?" she shook one hand in front of the darkin's eyes while asking.

"My sight is perfect. I can see far better than you can with those human eyes." he turned around again and continued to walk on the deck.

"Human eye... Oh, 'cause ya'r a god. Got it!" she mimic shooting a gun with her fingers, then looked away thinking intensely about something "So lightly...how ya' sleep at night? Are they shutting down, or what?" she walked after him and managed to get by his side.

Varus realized it sooner, but now his hope was already dead. The human wanted to stick with him. Normally he would simply fight her, or just run away, but to consume this energy on a little rat was unnecessary. She was loud and energetic, awfully curious about any aspect of him that she could uncover. Val and Kai were laughing and mocking Varus as he continued to express his displeasure regarding the situation to the pair. Even if it was not an interaction for his liking, Varus found something useful in this. The woman knew every corner of the ship, and showed the darkin around, obtained some food and water for them both, then took him to a special chamber, in which were a large variety of clothes.

"Ya'r cloak is not going to keep ya' warm at night, and it doesn't look like ya' keep anything helpful under it." she quickly scanned the room with her eyes, and run to a wardrobe, from where she took off a few clothes and came back to him with a shirt that seemed to be made out of soft wool. Lifting it to the man's neck, she tried to figure out if it would fit him or not.

"What is she doing now?" Varus asked the pair while looking perplexed at the woman.

"She is trying to help you out. It is going to be cold on the ship at night. Even if you like it or not, you have to dress up, you cannot just start a fire on here." Val emphasized the last remark, to make sure the darkin does not come with such an idea later.

"How poorly do you think of me? I am not an imbecile, human. But, why is she helping me out?"

"Maybe she is just trying to be kind. It looks like you two are the only clandestine on the board, so, you probably help her feel more comfortable." Kai was studying the piece of cloth trying to figure out if it will fit them.

"Or maybe she is into the demon." Val said mockingly, and Varus stood no chance to reply, as the woman talked with him again.

"What are ya' doing? Take it off, I want to see if it fits." she lifted the shirt a bit more, to make sure Varus was looking at it.

"To take it off?" he asked a bit confused, but immediately realized what the girl was talking about.

"Ay. Don't tell me ya' are shy? Want me to turn around ya'r highness?" she chuckled and grinned at him mockingly.

"A god to be ashamed in front of a mortal?" he slightly raised one of his eyebrows and started to untie the holds of his cloak "This body is my vessel, you should feel blessed for having the chance to be in its presence." as he said it, he let the material slide away, the hood from the head dragging everything after it, down his spine and onto the floor.

The woman was too stunned to speak. The white long hair falling over his back, his well-contoured muscular structure, the weird blackish material that was covering his forearms and bottom half, the weird, lightened thing on his chest, right where his heart was supposed to be. "What the fuck is this fella?" was the first thought that crossed her mind. She was watching him as he carefully put his scarf on his bow, which was already on the floor. So many questions and thoughts were going through her mind, a sense of fear combined with the fucked up appreciation for his appearances made her stay silent.

"I never tried something like this before." he surprised her by taking away the shirt from her hand and trying it on.

"Huh?" she murmured as she was coming to her sens again "Yeah... yeah." with what was she agreeing, she didn't know either, it took her a moment to truly came back to the present, and she blushed a little bit while realizing that she had been staring at the man all this time. "What is that?" she asked pointing a finger to the unusual material that was covering his bottom part. Of course, she was far more curious about the glowy thing that seemed to have been stuck into his chest, but what if it was too personal? Shieska asked the man far too many questions today, but this one could have been the most inappropriate at this time.

"My armor." he replied while still struggling to close all the buttons on his shirt.

"Armor?" she asked almost shocked and came closer to look at the unusual material, circling Varus like a crow that found a shiny object in the grass. "I've never seen anything like it. How the fuck do ya' even take it off? It looks like it got stuck on ya'r skin." caught up in curiosity, she put her hands on a small part of the man's hips, examining the strange material.

Varus just looked at her trying to figure out if something was wrong with this one, or if this was the normal way in which people behaved nowadays. Val used this opportunity to make fun of the darkin's oblivion, as Kai tried to remind them both that the woman was still there, mesmerized by the unusual armor.

"It is much easier to take it off than you are probably expecting. Here, let me demonstrate."

Normally he wouldn't have bothered to show this to anyone, but the woman had done quite a few things for him today, nothing impressive, but enough to not consider it a complete waste of time, more like ... a generous way of praising her for the good work.

"Please don't do that again! It feels so weird when you move it around." Val said quickly, trying not to think too much about the unusual feeling.

"This is your problem? The feeling? Varus, please do not expose more of yourself in front of her, or anyone else, although I hope this is a 'one of a kind' situation" Kai tried to reason with the darkin, disturbed by the thought of him doing anything... weird with their shared body.

"Wait, what? NO, no, no! This is not what I meant, I just ... ya' don't have to..." Shieska took a step back and tried desperately to take her words back.

The darkin ignored the three mortals, not understanding why they reacted in such a dramatic way. He rolled up one of his sleeves and extended that hand in front of the woman, but, to his surprise, she was covering her eyes with her hands, so he couldn't show her how is it done.

"What are you doing? Don't waste my time with unnecessary games, mortal, look at my arm if you want to see how I take off my armor." he demanded, angered not only by her unusual behavior, but also by the two idiots who were laughing in his mind, accusing each other for "having a perverse mind".

"No, I can't do that! To look at ya'r... arm?" she paused for a second, then reluctantly uncovered her eyes and looked directly at his extended arm, his forearm and hand being covered in the weird material. "Thank the deities of fortune! Ya' got me good this time. Such a joker, fooling people with that 'dead' expression of ya'."

"I would not bother to ask." he said already tired of all these unnecessary interactions.

As promised, he showed her how easy it was for him to take off that armor. The material started to look as if it was melted by something, the now slimy substance draining out of his hand disturbingly, the liquid behaving unnatural, remaining as a little tower near his feet, solidifying again, only to "melt" unexpectedly, move by itself to one of his feet, then climbed up to his hips, slowly dragging itself under his shirt, and draining onto his forearm and hand, where it solidified again into its original form.

"Oh, fuck! That was so strange. Why have you done that? Out of everything you could have done with it, to make that slimy thing go over your body like that... how can you not be disturbed by it?" Val wasn't yet used to this feeling, nor was his partner, but for Kai, it was a bit easier to ignore it, as he managed almost every time to think about something else.

"What...what the devil are ya'?" she took a step back, still looking in shock at the darkin's hand. "This freaking live... hardening slime, is it contagious?"

"Don't tell her how is it called, she will be scared." Kai pointed out immediately, because he and his partner were enjoying the company of another human, even if they weren't directly interacting with her, she made them feel comfortable, more human. They wouldn't want her to get scared of Varus and let them alone with him again.

"It is a ... special material. A 'present' from my kin. I wouldn't call it 'contagious', as long as I do not want to, it will not go on anything or anyone either than me." he let his arm down and placed himself in a more presentable pose before replying to her first question "As I said before, I am a warrior god, a darkin."

"Ya' are pretty small for a god, but after this slimy-lively shit, and ya'r appearances, I can believe that. Don't know if ya' are just a lunatic or anything, but ya' made me buy this for sure." she started to play with one of the bracelets on her wrist, still looking at Varus, more likely through him, thinking deeply about something.

"Unfortunately, I was imprisoned for thousands of years, and escaped only a few days ago. I used the bodies and souls of two humans to make a vessel that can carry me, but human flesh is human flesh, no matter how much I try, it will never be perfect." he finished his little story with a disgusted frown.

"So you... killed them?" she asked reluctantly, not sure if this was something she could ask so easily.

"Depends on what you consider 'dead'. Unfortunately for me, their souls are still here with me, we...share this body."

"Wait...slow down mate. So, ya' tell me that there are other people who live in ya'?" raising her hands in the air to stop him, she looked down to process the information, then back at the man.

"If this is how you understand that, yes."

"And how...no, so...they were here, with us, the whole time? They can hear us?"

"Hear, see, feel, unfortunately talk... " he murmured the last part for himself, but the woman heard it anyway.

"So, we weren't alone at all today. This is embarrassing." she said with a nervous chuckle "What are their names?"

"Valmar and Kai."

Shieska was still trying to process everything, a little bit scared by the thought of being in the presence of...a god, if this was really what this man was, but also concerned for the other people, those inside of him, that seemed to be some sort of prisoners. She was looking now into his eyes, trying desperately to find any sign of presence from the humans, but nothing, only the same cold, neutral expression of the man she met in the morning.

Meanwhile, there was an entire conference in his mind, the pair demanding explanations. Why did Varus say everything to her so easily? Was he having a plan, was it out of curiosity, or even to amuse himself? So many questions, to which Varus replied only with "I have my reasons.".

"Nice to meet ya'!"
.
.
.
.

Chapter Text

"Nice to meet ya'!" she said all of the sudden, breaking the uncomfortable silence between them, and interrupting the "meeting" of the three.

"The pleasure is ours!" Kai reacted before the others, and used their external voice, enjoying the weirdly pleasant feeling of hearing his own voice.

Shieska shuddered shortly, and unconsciously put one of her hands on her chest, over the heart. She wasn't truly expecting a reply, for sure not a completely different voice, a tender one that gave off a comforting feeling. The man's eyes become dark all of the sudden, and now, without the bright light beaming from them, somehow there was more humanity behind them.

"So that...that was true." she murmured under her breath and looked at his eyes as if it was a completely different person "Which one are ya'?"

"He is Kai, my heart-light, and I am Valmar." he managed to put one of their arms over their heart, but Varus didn't allow it for long, immediately taking it off with a sudden movement.

"Heart...light." she replied thoughtfully, looking confused at the unusual movement of their hands. This voice was completely different from the other two, enthusiastic, and yet controlled. She could already tell that the three of them were so different from each other, and for them to share a single body it started to look like a disaster, at least in her mind, because looking at the man, he seemed weirdly composed, considering the mess inside of him. "So, ya' and Kai are together... in 'that' way?" she emphasized the word while putting her hands together as if that was a subtle way of explaining what "that" was supposed to mean.

"I do not know what 'that' is supposed to mean," Kai said with a soft chuckle "But I know that Val is my everything. The light of my soul. I will always be by his side in one way or another."

"And I will always be by yours. Without you, there is no reason for me to be. I will die, again and again, just to keep our hearts together." one of the darkin's hands started to tremble softly, but he resisted.

"Enough with this, mortals!" Varus' voice came again, and so did the light in his eyes, gently beaming over the tattoos he had under them. "Do not make them talk about those feelings again. It is enough that I have to hear them being like this with each other every day." the repulsion in his voice made the woman laugh.

"Oh, dear, someone is jealous. Do ya' want a bit of love too, don't ya'?" she came closer only to nudge him playfully.

"Do not think so poorly of me, mortal, I do not have the emotional needs of your species. Their interactions disturbed me, as their needs of intimacy and reassurings became almost impossible to ignore." he looked at her with a disgusted face, as he thought about how the pair manifested their feelings for each other.

"Who broke ya' like that?" she petted his back mockingly "Look around for a pair of pants, this 'armor' will attract too much attention. It was a long day, and ya' for sure exhausted me with all this mambo jambo, magic, curse, or whatever is your thing. I am going to sleep, but we can meet again tomorrow, on the deck, same place. See ya' there. Good night boys! Try not to piss off this one too much." talking way too fast and gesticulating chaotically, she found her way to the door, and with a final friendly gesture, she was gone.

"She is exhausted?" asked Varus with a little frown. "This human is worse than a sickness. How can someone talk so much in one day?" while complaining about the woman, he listened to her advice and started to look around for a pair of pants.

"People want to talk with each other, especially when they like the other person." Kai tried to tease him, but Varus didn't get the subtlety.

"I do not blame her for wanting to be in the presence of a god, but, I am not the kind who seeks worship. The silence would be more appreciated." it wasn't difficult for him to find a pair of pants in that chamber, but to choose only one out of many, was quite a challenge.

"She stuck with you when she thought you were a human. I think Shieska is just interested in you. I cannot understand why, but, everyone with their preferences I suppose." Val said mockingly, expecting to be, again, ignored by the darkin.

"Are you implying that she is romantically attracted to me? Just because she is a woman? I might not completely comprehend the human behavior, but I know that one cannot fall into these feelings with such ease." he sounded somehow disappointed, or rather insulted by the implication.

"I wouldn't have taken you as an equalist. For someone with such general fixations, it is unexpected to see you being open-minded." Val said surprised by the darkin's reaction.

"Equalist? You, mortals, are truly pitiful. A soul has the same value, no matter the vessel. To divide man and woman, as different species, when you all are the same, fragile, barbaric creatures ... the miserable irony suits your species perfectly." he replied with a disappointed frown, while trying out a pair of black, thin pants that suited him well even over his armor.

"Don't throw all of us in the same cage. Yes, we are all human beings, but we are not the same. Look at me and Kai, are we against equality? Are we barbarians, as you keep naming us?" his voice gradually grew louder "No! Just because other people are like this, it doesn't mean that all of us are the same. You have to stop putting labels on others just because you had unpleasant experiences with their species." somehow, without his partner intervention, he found the strength to lower his voice again as he continued with the speech.

"Two blades of grass do not change a meadow." was the only thing the darkin said before taking his things and going back to the hold.

Varus wasn't sure if he was truly tired, but he felt an unusual need to lay down. His entire body started to feel heavier and heavier with every step he took. When he got back to the improvisation he considered to be a bed, he laid down, in a way that seemed comfortable at the moment, then everything turned to black.

Shades of colours started to absorb the darkness around him, moving and changing continuously, while unclear whispers distracted his attention. All of the sudden, there was no darkness or shades of colours, but a place, it was some sort of field, where many warriors were fighting each other. It looked like a war scene. The unclear whispers became loud screams, some of anger, others of fear or pain, but each one from a different voice. He looked around, and near him, there was an archer who turned around and aimed an arrow at the darkin's forehead, an arrow that never touched him, it simply got through his body as if he was just a ghost

Immediately after, a swordsman growled in pain and fell at the feet of the archer, trying desperately to put pressure on his bleeding wound, hoping to stop the concerning amount of blood that was flowing out of it. A horrible opening into his abdomen, cut almost like a sacrificed animal, the man tried hopelessly to help himself. The archer, still shooting the enemies with his arrows, saw everything in terror, released the already aimed arrow and kneeled near his ally, immediately pressing one of his hands on the wound, he wanted to let the bow down, after all, two hands were better than one, but, he was stopped in the last moment. The wounded man caught his wrist in a strong grip and looked at him, the colour on his face already faded, and cold sweats running down his forehead and cheeks.

"There is no chance...for me. Never put down your bow. You have to...to save... our home." among heavy breaths and small clenching of teeth, meant to mask the signs of pain, the warrior pushed his ally's hand away, with the last strength left in his body.

"No! Ioren, you have to resist. We fight for our land, our homes... our lovers. I will not let another ally fall before the sun rises again on us." the archer frowned and tried again to help the man, but he was stopped, with only a light touch over his wrist.

"Make them know...the agony." the voice gradually faded away, in the end being nothing but a soft whisper, followed by a short, deep breath.

"Ioren? Ioren stay with me! What kind of warrior fall before the sunrise? Ioren... please, this shall be our last fight, one more fight, only one more. Open your eyes and stay with me to the end. We promised to embrace the glory together, remember?" the desperate attempt to wake up the man was in vain, and yet, the archer tried, and tried, the blood of his ally running down his hands and armor, just another grotesque scene completing the shades of the war.

"Just a corpse." the man said looking in the eyes of his fallen ally. "The spark of life is no longer there" he murmured and took his hands off the still bleeding wound.

The warrior stood up again, impressively controlling the natural need to cry for his friend. He looked around; almost all of his allies were already on the ground, rivers of blood just draining on the field, as the remaining warriors were fighting with all they had left within themselves. A determined look contoured into his eyes, he grabbed the bow even tighter than before and prepared an arrow, drops of blood flowed from his hand, the red liquid, that once kept his ally alive, was now an unwanted paint on the archer's weapon. The enemies were running towards him, screaming aggressively with their swords raised, but the man stood as still as a tree in his place. "As long as I breathe, the guilty will know agony!" he said to himself, taking a deep breath while creating more and more tension into the string, then, he launched the arrow, a perfect shot piercing directly into the small open space of armor, right under the chin of an enemy, killing them on the spot.

Screamings and fragments of events, unclear voices going one over another, a chaotic theater from where Varus couldn't escape. Unable to interfere, he was just watching how pieces of images were forming a story, only to separate and mix up again, and again, until he couldn't understand anything at all.

All of the sudden, there was a strange feeling, as if something was dragging him down. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a familiar image, patches of light playing fluidly in the darkness, and tiny little bubbles starting to accompany them. There was no doubt –after all, to forget this unpleasant sensation was a dream that he could not afford – he was drowning. The body being too tired to fight anymore, and the mind already blurry, he raised a hand as if hoping for someone to reach out to help him ...

Chapter Text

A hand grabbed his, in a desperate attempt to drag him to the surface. So much warmth in that touch, not only from the body itself, but the presence of this person was inexplicably comforting. As his thoughts continued to fade away and his hand melted into the longing touch, a bright light, almost like a lightning, struck between them, and everything became white.

Confused, the darkin stood up from the improvisation he called "a bed", one of his hands around his neck, while the other was already gripping the still packed bow that he was keeping close all night long.

"Another dream?" he wondered in frustration and looked around to make sure nobody else was there to see him like this. Covered in cold sweats, with his heart pounding hard enough to feel every beat in his throat. Suddenly aware of his own body and state, the darkin let the hand around his neck slide over his chest, right on the glowing cristal placed over the heart, that was now still hidden by the wool shirt. Those alert beats, toned up with the short, rapid breaths, an unusual harmony provoked by a dream. "How pathetic" he thought and slowly began to do his morning routine by stretching out his arms.

"Varus, what was it?" hearing the voice of the human raising from nowhere was still something he couldn't completely get used to.

"It? If you give me a more specific subject, I might be kind enough to reply, Kai."

"The war! Those people, the man who died, and the one who tried to save him, the drowning... It was frightening, and everything felt so real, even for us." of course, Valmar wasn't patient enough to let his partner reply, especially now when he was burning out to understand what happened.

"You two were able to see everything?" he stopped from what he was doing to listen more carefully.

"See? It felt like we lived every moment of it." Kai said in a sorrowful voice.

"Seeing a war is always painful, even if we are warriors, we seak peace and harmony." Val tried to explain and let out a little sight afterward. "The drowning part...it reminded me of the moment when you tried to separate us. We were trying so desperately to hold into each other."

"I felt like I was starting to lose you, but when we woke up, I...I have no idea how to properly put it into words, but I felt like we were closer." Kai added, and there was just silence for a few moments.

"You two are disturbingly close, considering your lack of material presence. This connection of yours was strong enough to keep your souls within the new body and even enough to let your voices out. The faith has blessed this bond, there is not much I can do now to inhibit your presence." he didn't bother to hide the disappointment in his tone.

"We never got to tie our bound in front of the faith." instead of the mocking reply that Varus was expecting from the human, Valmar surprised him with this.

"Pathetic human minds ... To think that the faith blesses you only through a certain ritual. Your bond was blessed when you first swore to follow the same path. There is no need for a priest, for flowers or offerings. The faith chose the worthy souls even without them begging to be seen."

"Varus have you just... " Kai started, but he was quickly interrupted.

"I have only spoken my mind, mortal. There was no intention behind it except for saying the truth."

"I will take it." Valmar said with a laugh. "Who would have thought that 'stone heart' can be such a romantic?"

"Now that you two managed to engage me in another unnecessary discussion, I am going to continue with the necessary morning routine." he said while walking towards the stairs that were going up to the deck.

"Can't you just say that we are going to eat something? I do appreciate a man who knows how to speak properly, but you do not have to be so stiff, especially with us. We are literally 'in the same pot'."

"I am not used to speaking carelessly. Although I met many others before you who preferred to use a more... simplistic vocabulary, I always find it quite difficult to intentionally neglect the rules of the language."

"A perfectionist. Cannot say that I didn't expect it from our patient archer." Kai said and laughed shortly.

"There are rules made to be followed, and others made to be broken."

"To be so rebellious and yet considerate of the rules. Such opposite personalities. What are you? A Libra?"

"A Libra?" the darkin asked in confusion, but he couldn't wait for an answer, because as soon as he set a foot on the deck, two small, yet strong arms wrapped around his waist, and a familiar giggle stopped him before trying to do anything to the person.

"Are ya' talking about star signs first thing in the morning?" she asked while taking her hands off the man to come in front of him.

"I do not understand what are you two talking about, but I assume it might be related to one of the 'modern' believes you have."

"I just asked him if he is a Libra, as a joke, but of course, he didn't get it." Val complained, and Kai followed immediately "Good morning Shieska! Out of curiosity, how did you find us?"

"No idea, Val, he gives me Taurus vibes." she said jokingly then crossed her arms and smiled proudly "Morn' Kai! I woke up early with the sun, I couldn't wait for the 'god' to look for me, so, I tried to find ya' first."

"Looking around blindly, hoping that you will be able to find us on such a large ship, it sounds like a waste of time, considering that we already have established a meeting place for today."

"As sad as it might sound, ya' are the most interesting people on board. Also, I have already figured ya' out little god, I knew where to look for ya'."

"Little?" Varus asked looking down at the woman who was barely reaching his shoulder.

"Don't ya' worry, dear, the size doesn't matter, but ya' should work on that personality." Shieska tap him on the shoulder reassuringly, then motioned him to follow her.

"Please, Shieska, tell him again, maybe he will listen to you." Val said trying not to laugh, and the girl giggled.

"I don't think that the 'god' could have a soft spot for a human." she said looking at him over her shoulder with a gentle smile painted on her face.

"Human, or any other being. I wasn't made to feel such emotions." choosing to use a colder tone than usual, the woman could only shrug as a gesture of understanding and continue to guide him.

Even if the darkin never told her his intentions, the woman somehow understood, or just assumed his need, therefore, the two, or actually four, ended up in a little storage room from where the girl knew exactly what to take, she stocked different packages and a few bottles on the man's arms, without even asking, then lead him to another part of the deck, that was indeed smaller, isolated from the rest of it, behind one of the "outside" chambers. There was a part of the roof standing out just enough to shadow the area, where a thin blanket was already arranged. The woman took the bottles from the dakin and set them down on the blanket, encouraging him to sit as well.

Of course, this was not his kind of setting, he would much rather do something useful with his time, but unfortunately, on this ship, there was not much to do for a warrior, it was painfully quiet even for him, and nothing was happening to distract him, well, nothing but the lively human who chose to entertain him.

"I haven't seen other humans on this ship, except for the drunk man that was sleeping near the third sail." he said while arranging all the objects on the blanket between them.

"They are all tired salty dogs, they do not care to come on the deck, if not necessary. One of the reasons why we can walk around so freely, as long as we do not make a mess, they do not even find out that we are here." she took a small bread bun from a bag and took a bite out of it.

"Routine. One of the many things that make humans weaker than they already are."

"Huh, the one thing we can completely agree on."

There was a comfortable silence between them as they started to eat, watching the bright sky and occasionally the sea birds flying above the ship.

"This reminds me of our first official date." Val's voice broke the silence.

"But ours was in the middle of the forest, somewhere in the North of Ionia, and the food... wasn't bad, but not what someone would consider conventional." Kai added.

"Well, forgive me, we were on duty back then, and there are not many places for couples in the forest of Ionia."

"You say so? It seemed like a romantic spot for me. The blooming season, all those lovely flowers, the birds flying around happily, and the fruits you found, it was the perfect place. I wouldn't change a thing even if I could."

"All that beauty, and still... you were the only view that stole my heart."

"Do you count it as stolen if I gave you mine in exchange?"

"Can you imagine, hearing those two talking like this every day?" Varus interrupted and looked over at Shieska.

"Ya' truly are heartbroken. Val and Kai make a lovely pair, ya' don't have to be so salty about them showing affection to one another."

"You would be equally disturbed if you were to feel all of their feelings. It shouldn't be possible for a human to have such emotions, especially not all at once." he frowned a little then leaned back on the wooden wall of the chamber behind them.

"I cannot tell if ya' are afraid of or just oblivious to feelings in general." she copied his gesture and tilt her head to see the man better.

"Nothing can frighten me. Especially if it involves humans."

"Ya' keep saying that, but... ya' seem to frighten off the idea of becoming more human-like."

"There is not, and will never be, any chance for me to become human." if she didn't know him better, she would have thought that there was a slight tone of disappointment in his voice.

The silence fell between them again, but not for long. A loud whistle break the peaceful sound of the waves, and immediately after the entire ship was shaking as if struck by a powerful wave. But there was no wave to make such a disturbance on a sunny day, no, there was something else.

Both of them ran back on the deck to find out what happened, and there they saw, an enormous battleship, with a smoking cannon pointed directly at their ship, while many others were slowly pointed in the same direction.

"Noxians.." the woman murmured, looking at the ship that was getting closer with a threatening speed.

A frightening look captured the darkin's face as he got the bow out of his back, and started to unwrap it.

"Are ya' insane? Can't ya' see how many of them are there? They are going to kill ya' before having the chance to raise that bow. Besides that, ya' don't even have arrows." she tried to take his arm and drag him somewhere else, but the darkin stood in place and ripped off the remaining material that was covering his bow.

"What on the dead's land is... No, Varus, I don't care if ya' are a demon, a god, or whatever, ya' have to hide!"

"I killed armies far more impressive than this one. You can go and hide, but I will make sure to 'clean up' that ship." he took off his new clothes to remain in his usual armor and move more freely.

"Don't worry Shieska, everything is going to be alright." Kai said with a reassuring voice and put one of the darkin's hands on her shoulder. "Go and find a place to hide, everything will be over soon."

Not completely convinced by their words, the woman decided to hide anyway in one of the chambers near the hold.

The darkin waited for the invaders to come closer. There were screams all over the ship, the sailors trying to find weapons to protect themselves and the ship, while the captain tried desperately to put distance between the two ships, but this was almost impossible, as the Noxian ship was double in size and made to 'fly' on the water with great speed.

As the first bridge was thrown on the Ionian ship, the Noxian army started to run onboard, the crue members being no match for the well-trained warriors. The brutal sound of blades colliding into each other was echoing among screams and there was it, a bright light, then a terrible silence. Five enemies bleeding on the wooden floor, and only a few meters apart from them, an unusual archer, a steady posture but no arrows to be seen. Something glowed brightly in his hand, and all of a sudden, many arrows of light grew from it, he set all of them in place and skilfully launched them in the air under the confused looks of the humans. Other enemies were stuck in a rain of arrows that shutter the floor and finished all those who stood for too long to watch the fiery arrows drop from the sky. The entire army raised against the archer, running towards him with their blades hungered for blood, but the darkin stood still, grinned under his scarf and struck another arrow, a black one covered in the unusual material from his bow. The army simply stood behind the shields men, then proceeded to continue, or at least they tried. The black substance rapidly spread on the floors, growing more and more, imprisoning the enemies in their place. They struggled, tried to cut, break, and even burn the substance that was now rock-hard on their feet. Another rain of arrows caught them all, those who were lucky enough to die from it dropped on the floor, while the others tried to run away as soon as the black substance released them. "Fools" the darkin thought as he saw them running to the bridges. He let them try, only to kill every single one who dared to go up there. A few of them remained frightened on the board, looking in disbelieve at the archer as he came closer to them. They begged for forgiveness and tried to compromise, but the darkin prepared his last arrow.

"Only cowards flee their fate."

Their attempt to run away was in vain, as the archer patiently waited for them to instinctively line up in their desperate rush to save themselves, only to end them all with one arrow.

He took a few arrows from a dead enemy, those already prepared, he only had to light them up and strike them at the enemy's ship, the wooden construction starting to burn up immediately.

The crew members of the Ionian ship were gathered at what they have considered to be a safe distance, looking at the man in fear.

"What on the gods name are you?" one of them asked, pointing to the darkin.

"I am a darkin." he replied loudly and looked at the humans with a little grin contouring his lips.

"What...what do you want from us?" another, much younger, asked with a trembling voice.

"Only transportation. Fear me not mortals, we share an enemy, therefore, I will not harm you if not necessary."

"And when would you consider it a necessity?" the oldest one asked, raising his sword towards the darkin.

"As soon as you would dare to move that sword towards me, again." he said, an arrow already forming into his hand.

The crew stood silent for a while, and after whispering to each other, they decided to invite the darkin to their captain, but he didn't even bother to listen to what they were saying, he simply walked away towards one of the chambers, while little tentacles made out of the unusual material started to crawl from beneath the corpses, coming closer, completing his armor upon the abdomen, chest, then flowing to his right arm, and back into the bow.

The youngest sailor accidentally screamed in fear when he first saw one of the corpses moving and the dark substance emerging from beneath, but after that, the entire crew followed from a respectable distance, fearful, and yet curious to see what was happening.

Kai and Val weren't exactly silent during this time. They were furious, they couldn't understand how Noxians thought about attacking a commercial ship that wasn't even on their waters. Where was their honor? The decency of a warrior? As soon as the adrenaline left the three of them, a foggy image came to their mind, Shieska, looking at them worriedly. How could they forget about her? All that anger affected even the pair in an unexpected, rather concerning, manner.

Varus slowly opened the door and stepped aside just in time to avoid being hit by a flying bottle. Although, the sailor that stood behind him, a few steps away, wasn't as lucky and was knocked down to the floor.

Shieska was ready to throw another one, but she recognized the man's face and loudly sighed in relief.

"Thank goods and protectors that ya' are still alive!" she rapidly came from her hiding spot and tightly hugged the darkin, who accepted the gesture, but didn't reciprocate it. "Quick, we can hide here, I heard screams and swords, the crewmates can take it on their own, I will not let ya' get there again." she tried to drag him inside the chamber, but he stopped her by gently putting a hand on her shoulder.

"There is no need for hiding. I already destroyed the enemy, you will be safe." Varus said with his unbothered tone while the woman slowly tilted her head to look behind him.

"Destroyed?" she asked in disbelief, first seeing the frightened crewmates who were watching the man, then the "carpet" of corpses, and in the distance the burning battleship. "Sacred shi... Ya' just... Didn't ya' just... Ya' did all of this? How?"

"My arrows always find their marks." the darkin replied simply, his hand gripping the bow harder, while the white brows arched in a frown.

"I saw archers fight before... this image is not something a human could have left behind." the woman murmured, her gaze still wondering between the chain of corpses and the burning ship that was now lightening even more the waves of the turquoise sea with its flames, and darkening the clear sky with a dense, almost demonic-looking smoke.

"I am not human, Shieska." his voice was solemn as always, and his gaze as cold as the northern mountains, and still, the way in which he decided to lower his voice, to make sure she will be the only one hearing it, made it feel different, as some sort of excuse, or perhaps an apologize to which she only shrugged and looked behind him at the curious crewmates.

"Who is that? Another monster?" a crewmate asked reluctantly while slowly dragging away the one who was hit by the bottle earlier.

"What did ya' just say? 'ANOTHER' monster? Do ya' see any monsters in here?" Shieska put her hands on her hips, seizing the crewmate with her gaze.

"Lady, you look pretty lively, but it – he said while vaguely shaking his hand towards Varus - is for sure some cursed monstrosity."

"Are ya' a fucking idiot? HE saved your pitty asses, and this is how you talk about him now?" she rolled up her sleeves and started to walk towards the crewmate. "Come here, I want to teach ya' something about respect."

Varus raised his bow under the terrified looks of the crewmates who started to tremble, and some even got down on the ground in a useless attempt to protect themselves, but this time he only put it in front of the woman and stopped her from starting any sort of fight with the crewmate.

"This is unnecessary. You are clearly superior to him." a little part of his bow barely touched one of her shoulders, but the crewmates behind him were already stunned, their faces ran pale, and all of them watched in disbelief as she simply touched it and move it away, clearly not aware of what that weapon could have done in the hands of the darkin.

"Have ya' heard him? The boss said that I am superior." she proudly announced with a laugh while Varus simply sighed.

"And here I was thinking that I was the boss around here." a voice raised from a distance, an old man making his way through the corpses, cautiously looking at the floor and only shortly at the others as he came closer.

"Captain, have you seen the fight?" one of the crewmates hurried to ask.

"Fight? That was a massacre. He killed them all as if they were just rats." another said in a trembling voice.

"Not even. Like bugs. He stepped on them as if they were not of any importance." an older one said thoughtfully and shortly shocked his head, as if he could erase the images from memory just like that.

"Only one man... did all of this?" the captain asked when he managed to get to the others, looking back at the corpses.

"I am not a simple man, captain." the cold voice of the darkin echoed in the silence as he turned around to face the taller man.

"That I can see." the captain murmured under his breath while scratching the back of his neck. "Man, or any other being, as far as I am concerned, you saved my crew, my ship, probably our land, and for this, I am deeply grateful. Tell me, savior, how can these humble humans honor you?"

"There is nothing that you can offer me. I only need your crew for transportation." he replied somehow bored as he lowered his bow, for good this time.

"Of course, of course, but this is not even merely enough. We will honor you with a feast, tonight. I assume you wondered around blindly until now, please allow me to assign you the best chambers on the ship, for you and your... companion, of course. You two will be our guests of honor. Please forgive us until we clean out the... remains of the battel. One of my crewmates will present you around until then." the captain turned to look at the crew, all of them avoiding making visual contact, fearing to be assigned this job. Regardless, the captain looked around thoughtfully and smiled when the younger lad accidentally made eye contact with him, startled by the direct piercing look he received from the older man. "Ah, Rethan, such wonderful initiative from the younger generation. An example for the older folks, for sure."

"M...me?" he asked in terror, looking around as if he was expecting to see a twin, then swallowing hard as he found no escape from that situation. "But...but... captain, shouldn't someone older show them around? Someone more...more... experienced?"

"Nonsense, a younger presence will be surely more entertaining for our guests." the man said happily as he came and wrap a hand around the boy's small shoulders and walked him in front of the unusual pair. "Please, make sure to make them feel at home on our ship." he gently pet his shoulders before politely excusing himself and walking away with the rest of the crew.

The boy just looked at the darkin. Even if he was taller, he felt small, terribly fragile under the stoic look of the man. He tried not to, but ended up looking directly in the white light of his inhumane eyes, losing himself in the instinctive feeling of fear as he started to tremble.

"C'mon mate, are ya' going to keep us waiting here for any longer? Show us the chambers, will you?". Shieska shortly nudged the boy in the elbow, waking him from the terrifying thoughts that conquered his poor mind.

"Y...yeah. Please, come...after me." he replied almost whispering and reluctantly turned around to guide them, looking from time to time behind, not to make sure that they were following, but to assure himself that the man was not trying to hurt him.

The darkin couldn't care less about the boy. He was forced to listen to the two men who were now trying to convince him to take advantage of the hospitality the captain offered. He would have loved to refuse, but this time the pair was right. The new body couldn't bear the cold and discomfort of a wooden floor for long, a real bed, arranged with clean, fluffy covers was all that he could imagine, 'thanks' to the two humans who were impolitely forcing the thoughts in his mind.

"If...if you need anything else, I will be here... No, um... There? ... Outside...on the hallway." the boy mumbled to the darkin while gesticulating chaotically, trying his best to make the sentence somehow understandable.

"A bath. Is it possible to take one on this ship?" he asked while looking around the chamber, his voice much more pleasant than before, actually completely different, because this time it wasn't the darkin who talked, but Kai, who let the other two argue in the back of their mind.

Chapter Text

"A bath. Is it possible to take one on this ship?" he asked while looking around the chamber, his voice much more pleasant than before, actually completely different, because this time it wasn't the darkin who talked, but Kai, who let the other two argue in the back of their mind.

"A bath?" the boy repeated, surprised by the drastic change in the man's voice. "Of...of course. I will prepare it, f...fast, and take you there when it's done." he ran away immediately, without waiting for any other word from the darkin.

"Oh, come on, Varus. You like to take baths too, right? Now we can finally take a real one, without plants from the forest or stone-cold water. You will enjoy it, you know that.". Val tried to convince him, and luckily for the pair, the darkin didn't bother to argue this time.

He looked around the chamber, a big wooden bed was nicely placed right on the wall opposing the door, different types of pillows arranged temptingly on its surface above what seemed like a blanket, a red material decorated with little golden embroidery. The wall on the right of the door was completely covered by a large collection of books, neatly arranged on beautifully sculpted bookshelves that seemed made specifically for keeping the books on the shelves even with the continuous movement of the ship. The rest of the room was empty, only a surprisingly clean, colourful rug in the middle of the floor. After studying the books displayed on the wall, he decided to take one that picked his interest and threw it on the bed, right when the boy shyly appeared in the door frame. The young human tried to think of a proper way to call the darkin, but fortunately for him, that was not necessary. His presence was felt by Varus, who came in front of him, unintentionally scaring the boy, who rapidly took a few steps behind, and instinctively put his hands on the wall behind him.

"Why are you fooling around like this?". the darkin asked while going out of the room, still having the bow with him.

"I was...I was just... Sorry. The bath is ready. Follow...me, please." he managed to gather the courage to speak, and even to move towards the bathroom, which was not far from the chamber.

A small, yet cozy room, with a large
bathing place made out of polished grey stone, that was now filled with water and a bubbly layer of sparkling white foam. Near the entrance, several small black hooks, engraved with tiny silver details, were supporting different types of greyish towels and a black bathrobe. Some sort of wooden chest, covered by a small piece of dark leather, was placed in the other part of the room, and above it, on the wall, a few lanterns with freshly lightened candles.

The man stepped inside and let his bow lean on one of the walls, while lazily untying his hair with the other hand. A white curtain of rich threads of hair dropped elegantly over his shoulders, flowing delicately over his back, all the way to the dark armor that was covering his lower half. The young boy, who forgot, or perhaps didn't know to go away, was still in the door frame, mesmerized by the scene in front of him. He was aware of the beauty this man possessed, but now, in the dim light of the candles, with the subtle reflections of the water playing on the walls around him, he seemed inhumanely beautiful, his muscled well-contoured, yet harmoniously sculpted on his body, his hair dancing even so slowly with his moves, the strong, yet elegant posture, the breathtaking eyes... Wait, eyes? The boy almost lost his breath for good when he realized that the darkin was now watching him, no particular expression on his face, probably waiting for a reaction, but his "audience" was petrified.

"I am confident in my body and do not hesitate to bathe in front of others." he said proudly and made a few steps closer to the boy, unbothered by the noticeable difference in height. "But the colour of your cheeks is already competing with my scarf. I assume that you can only faint if staying any longer." the mock in his voice was hardly noticeable, but the boy felt it worse than a punch.

"I...I was just. Ahm... call, call for me if you need any... anything, I will be... around." looking ashamed at the ground, he tried to walk out, accidentally hitting the frame of the door on the first try, but immediately after running away from there.

"Impressive, humans became even more ridiculous since I last walked among them. Stubborn, and yet easy to conquer. I wonder how your species managed to survive for so long." he closed the door and took off the long, red scarf, carefully folding it on his arm, while he let the corruption on his body slide on the floor, then crawl on the bow.

"What is truly impressive is how you keep on having 'that' kind of effect on people. The boy saw you slaughter an entire battalion and now he still finds you attractive." Val said in a concerned voice.

"You shouldn't be jealous Valmar, we share the same body, and I must admit, considering that I used your mortal flesh to construct this vessel, the beauty of it is inhumane, astonishing close to perfection." he glanced around and went straight to the wooden chest that he opened carefully and took a small silver mirror out of it.

The trio was surprised. They all saw the face of the body before, well, its reflection in clean waters, but never this clear. All the small details were there, the well-defined jawline, beautifully contoured eyes with long, delicate lashes, and perfectly formed eyebrows to complete the mysterious image he was unintentionally building, not only with the observant look in his eyes, but also with the lack of expression on his lips, those small thin lips, looking fragile and inviting, an ironic contrast with all his appearance. He moved his head slightly to better see it from all the good angles, his hair following each motion and sometimes even sliding around his shoulders ending up resting on his chest.

"This...this is us." Val felt the need to say, not for the others, but for himself, trying to wrap his mind around the idea, suddenly everything felt more like a mad dream than reality.

"It has a little bit from each of us. Isn't it beautiful? To have a body that seals our faiths together even more?" Kai was speaking with love in his tone, as their hands gently brushed over one of his cheeks, right where the black tattoo ends. 

"Well, I always told you how beautiful your nose is, you never believed me, but look, even he considered it 'worthy for his vessel' ". Val said with a bit of happiness in his voice, mockingly imitating the darkin's voice for the example, and even managing to make the lips of the being arch into a little smirk.

"But the attention will always be on your delicate lips. every time they arch into a smile, even those subtle ones, the face transforms into a mesmerizing display of natural beauty.". Kai praised his partner's appearance, both of them managing to make the being chuckle softly, harmonizing the two voices into one pleasant sound.

"You two had more than enough time to fool around. The water will get cold, and I do not want to hear you blame me, again." he put the mirror back in its place, then walked to the bath, carefully touching the surfaces of the water with the tips of his fingers, before slowly emerging them under the water. "This should be on your liking." he murmured while going into the bath, making himself comfortable.

"Finally! Warm water! This feel like paradise. And the smells... Is this liath?" Val's excitement made Varus sight shortly.

The darkin didn't reply, he just slowly submerged his head completely under the water, stood there for a few moments, then just as slow as he got in, he came back to the surface and slid his fingers through his long hair, gently stroking it while streams of water began to trickle down the white threads, on his shoulders, then back over the thin layer of white foam formed around him. Involuntary, his muscles started to relax in the warmth of the water, starting from his feet, which were not used to not feel the protective armor around them, then a tingling sensation, provoked by the smooth feel of the water, spread around in branches of comfort that made even his stiff shoulders surrender to the embracing feeling. He couldn't remember the last time when he felt the warm water covering his body, the pleasant smells of wildflowers mixed with strange, yet interesting mixtures of oils, and the comfort... he was not sure if he ever allowed himself to relax like this before. The answer was probably "no", he always had to keep his guard up, he was always aware of the surroundings, even when he was among his kin, he could never enjoy a real moment of peace, there was always something to cause him discomfort, the pathetic attempts of the others to make him engage in their unnecessary displays of aggression, their lack of attention for what was going on around them, even the smallest change in the patterns he managed to figure out after patiently observing those around him. But now? He was alone as always, and yet, his worries were nowhere to be found, almost as if he was under some sort of spell, he simply felt the moment and nothing more. A well-deserved moment of pleasure for his tormented soul.

"Can you take the brown bottle from there? I think it might have cappilucea oil in it. If I am right, we can use it. Works wonders for the hair."

So much for his peace. Varus almost forgot about the other souls, and even when he heard Kai's request, he remained just as comfortable, perhaps because his voice was more composed than Valmar's, or simply because he managed to intrigue the darkin by mentioning something for the hair, which he cared for more than he would admit.

For the first time, the three of them shared a peaceful moment, not ignoring each other, on the contrary, talking and working together to care for their body, spoiling it with all the goods they could find around.

After hours of cleaning and preparing for their guests of honor, the crew was waiting on the deck, oil lanterns carefully secured on thin chains caught from one mast to another, illuminating the yellowish wood among the large table arranged with various foods and candles, then the little group of sailors who were preparing their instruments as the captain stood tall in front of them, looking at the nearest door expectedly.

Shieska was already there, wearing a greenish dress decorated with modest golden patterns, the colour complimenting her complexion as the cuts on the fabric made the curves on her body seem even more alluring. Taking small bites from an apple, she was looking at the young man who was still playing with his fingers nervously.

"Are ya' alright, Rethan? There is no reason to be scared of him, if he wanted you dead you would have been already taking the final nap on the bottom of the sea."

"I... I know that! I am not scared of him. Well, just a bit, but, he is also...interesting, so powerful, but still beautiful. He is not like the other guys, one or another, he is just... the right amount of both." he stopped playing with his hands and turned around to look at her, his gaze wandering somewhere else as he kept on talking.

"Huh, I know mate, he has a way of twisting with people's feelings like that. Hate to disappoint ya', but he is not looking for a relationship." she said simply, still eating that apple.

"Well, with someone like him, I would accept it even just for one night." the boy said awkwardly and jumped a little, surprised when the woman's apple fell to the ground.

"I meant that he is not into any of that stuff, but.... ya' really got yar' mind into it, haven't ya'?" Shieska asked mockingly as the poor boy blushed and tried to look anywhere but at her.

"Is not everyday when someone like him comes around... of...of course I am a little bit intrigued." he tried to defend himself, but the woman kept on teasing him.

As the two of them were talking, or better say, arguing teasingly, the darkin came from his chamber, almost all the heads turning to see his appearance. The white hair braided elegantly, with the length resting on his left shoulder, wearing a lurid red shirt splashed with complex dark models, the collar being down on his shoulders, his long scarf arranged carefully over it, a pair of black trousers and his usual corruption serving as "shoes". He took a moment to look around at the new scenery arranged in front of him, then started to walk towards the two humans who were watching his every move with admiration.

"I see that the captain chose the best clothes for ya'. Don't ya' agree, Rethan?" she smirked playfully and looked at the boy.

The man followed her example and looked up at the boy, his expression unchanged, only the eyes being awfully humanly, with a simple white around a reddish iris, the black pupils reflecting the light of the sparkling flames from the lamps around them.

"Your eyes... are beautiful." was all the youngster could say.

"Is that so?" his voice was also different, without the specific hinch of an echo. 

"Now that I look at them... Yar' eyes look normal. Not like when Kai and Val talk, but not like yar's either." she came closer to look into his eyes, making him raise an eyebrow.

"I find it amusing, how you can see something 'normal' in me. I am anything but what the majority will consider 'normal'."

"Me neither." she said and chuckled. "Ya' are from Ionia, right? Aren't ya going to show us some moves? I heard that ya'r people are great dancers."

"Perhaps on a different rhythm. These chaotic moves and drunken songs are not what I consider entertaining." he pointed vaguely to the few crewmates who started to dance lively in front of the little band their colleagues formed.

"I don't know what surprises me more, that ya' actually agreed, or that ya' can find music and dance entertaining." Shieska said mockingly.

"As I said before, I am not a savage, I do enjoy music and dancing, but not ...this unfortunate storm of sounds and moves."

"Ya' just need to get used to it. This is the popular music nowadays, if ya' do not like it, just wait for the next century. Who knows? Ya' might be lucky enough and people will start to listen only to classical music 24/7."

"Don't make me dream about realities that do not exist." what Shieska was surprised to consider a joke from the darkin, made both her and Rethan chuckle.

After tasting some of the foods arranged on the nearby tables, Varus was pleasantly surprised when the music finally changed into something more delightful. The harmonious melody awaken an unsuspected urge to the darkin.

"I shall show those humans the adequate approach for this dance." he said somehow proud and looked at Shieska as if waiting for something.

"Oh, my..." she chuckled and put her hands on her hips while measuring Varus up and down. "I am no match for ya', but I think there is someone who might be more willing to give it a try." she titled her head suggestively towards Rethan, who was sitting on a chair, watching the pairs of dancers while playing unconsciously with his fingers on the back of the chair.

He watched the boy and sighted shortly.

"The boy can barely walk straight. Dancing with him will be a hassle." he complained to the pair.

"Come on, Varus! Just try it out, he might surprise you." Kai encouraged him.

"There is no point, he will only disappoint me." the darkin stated without giving it a thought.

"So stubborn! Listen here, demon, you can either go to the boy and invite him to dance, or I am going to use all the strength I can gather to walk there myself and dance with your fucking bow! All I want is a dance, one to remind us of the time everything was normal. Are we asking for much, considering that you also wanted to dance tonight?" Valmar pressured the darkin, giving him a headache, quite literally.

"You, humans, are painfully tiring, especially when it comes to requests." he murmured while massaging his forehead with a hand.

There was no need for further interventions from the pair, as he started to walk towards the boy, stopping next to him and elegantly extending an arm towards him.

"Your people are ruining the melody with their pathetic moves. I want to show them a real dance. Care to join me?" even with no particular inflections in his speech and tone, he managed to make the boy choke with air.

"Are you... asking me to a dance?" he asked in disbelief.

"Are you going to make me wait any longer, human?"

The boy accepted the darkin's hand and let Varus lead him among the other dancers. He wasn't expecting to feel the flesh on the man's hand, or perhaps, not such a firm, humane type of flesh. For sure, the gentle, but controlled manner in which he was held by the man, was also a surprise. The way Varus led the dance was nothing like he would have expected, there was no force or pressure, not even the slightest attempt of aggression, it was as if the darkin was trying to protect him, every swift move, perfectly flowing with the rhythm, bringing them close together, enough for Rethan to feel the warmth of the man's body, and even the regular beats of his heart. Varus was different from his usual self, he watched the boy with tenderness in his eyes, pressing his hands gently over his body to guide him, and even smiling lovingly every time their bodies pressed against each other. Spinning the youngster elegantly, only to bring him back in his arms, looking up in his eyes with what seemed like a spark of joy... everything felt amazing. So amazing that Rethan couldn't believe any of it. But the touches, warm and firm, the smell, strong, but fresh, with only a hint of a flourish essence, the tingling sensation in his stomach ... everything felt real and yet unbelievable, like some sort of fever dream.

For how long did they share this moment? Rethan was enjoying the moment way too much to even think about time. And the musicians... they were also mesmerized by the swift moves of the darkin, so much that they forgot to end the melody and just played it more, as if making a new one to fit the man's story.

As the peace of the melody decreased, the two were again close, looking into each other's eyes. Varus grabbed the boy's waist to keep him closer as the boy tilted his head just enough to come near his lips. When only a pearl could have been placed between the two, a roar of applauses echoed around them when the melody was over.

Looking as if woken from a dream, Varus looked up at the boy, somehow surprised by the closure he directed. In the split of a second, the tender look on his eyes disappeared, his cold expression painted again on his face.

"Not bad... for a human." he said, his voice again followed by a fainted echo, then walked away from the boy.

The darkin ignored Shieska completely when she came to talk with him, and just got back to his chamber. He closed the door behind him and immediately leaned on it, grabbing the red stone of his necklace.

"Varus... was she...?" Kai started with a worried voice.
"A memory. Nothing but a memory." his voice was almost a whisper as his eyes closed and he clenched his fists.

Chapter Text

The music was slightly different from what he remembered, but the core was the same, even if he couldn't remember the steps, every move came naturally as if his imprisonment never existed. Perhaps due to the pair who were also familiarized with the dance, or some sort of memory imprinted deep in his being. He pulled the boy close enough to feel his heartbeats and looked him in the eyes, but this time he wasn't welcomed by the darkish green, there was a pair of light blue eyes radiating a sort of familiarity that made him feel complete.

A soft chuckle came from the woman as he spun her lightly and pulled her back into his arms. He watched her long blonde hair swirl over her shoulders as they danced around. Everything felt right, the music, the way in which the two just moved together as one, her smile, her warmth. There was nothing else that mattered, just her. Making her smile like this, making her laugh. Her happiness made him feel at peace, even more than that. It was as if the world was suddenly a better place, one in which he didn't have to fight for anything, where he could just live.

She touched one of his cheeks, her hand soft and warm, enough to make him forget about anything else. Her lips moved softly as if she was calling a name, but the music was loud, just like their heartbeats, so the name faded away and all it was left was her mesmerizing smile. The woman stood up on her tiptoes to close the distance between them and he gladly leaned in. A roar of applause and cheers exploded around them and suddenly he was looking up at the young boy. Why were they so close? And more importantly, where did...

The question lingered on his mind as he stood back from the boy. Was he dreaming just now? Everything felt real, too much to accept it simply as an illusion of his tormented mind.

"Not bad... for a human." he murmured half-consciously, his voice again followed by a fainted echo.

Varus couldn't look again at the boy, not now when his mere presence reminded him of her. He closed the door behind him and immediately leaned on it, grabbing the red stone of his necklace. Again, he could hear the sweet voice invading the silence of the room. A stream of unclear images flooded his mind. The stone was somehow important, it was meant to help him. But how? When? Why did he feel like he needs to protect it now? Out of instinct, he clenched his fist even more, the stone completely buried in his hand. A headache hit him hard, forcing the darkin to close his eyes and sigh.

"Varus... was she...?" Kai started with a worried voice.
"A memory. Nothing but a memory." his voice was almost a whisper as his eyes closed and he clenched his fists clenched more on the door behind him.

"That was more than a memory. You know that. It was...real Varus. We saw it, we felt it... we were there with whoever she was." Valmar was, again, too spirited and decided to use their voice.

"You know nothing. You feel nothing. You are barely a voice in my head. I cannot hear any other word from you tonight. One headache is more than enough." he murmured annoyed and walked to the bed while undoing the buttons of his shirt, which he decided to dramatically abandon on a chair.

"I do not take orders from you demon! If you think you can just..."

"Valmar! This is enough. He is not feeling well right now. Let's not exhaust the body anymore. It was a long day and we all could use a good sleep, so ... no more fights tonight."

"At least one of you is sufferable." the darkin said before going to bed.

The night have fallen over the sea as the unusual trio was sleeping soundly. At least, their body was resting, their mind was preoccupied.

Varus tried his best not to think about the woman, but whatever that moment was, a lucid dream or some sort of hallucination, it gave him an unusual sense of familiarity and comfort. And he couldn't even remember who she was. Perhaps that was what bothered him the most. Not being able to remember someone who seemed important to him. But how does it even happen? A darkin having such a connection with a human? What was so special about that mortal? And why wasn't he able to remember her existence? Because of the imprisonment...or the problematic connection with the two humans. His mind was clearly affected. There must be a treatment. And if there was, he had a hunch about who could fix it. Only if he could find her already... All the problems could be solved, his purpose could be fulfilled and his soul... finally be released.

"So close... Only if I could feel the energy again." he thought while pieces of memories started to chaotically roam his mind. "I will find you...and put an end to all this misery. You are out there, I can feel it. This time it will be different. My purpose is clear.".

No matter how much he tried, it was impossible to sleep. Valmar, concerned that the body might suffer if not rested properly, insisted on keeping the darkin on the bed, hoping that maybe sleep will come to him naturally. But this was not the case. Varus rolled around again ...and again, frustrated, both by the human and his thoughts, unable to decide which one was more annoying. After a while, when the sky started already to colour small lines of blue, Kai decided to offer a solution. He proposed to the other two to take a walk on the deck, to clear their mind. To his pleasant surprise, the others agreed without any confrontation.

They were walking on the deck, the smell of salted water was still too strong for the trio, neither of them was used to the specific odor of the sea. Varus leaned against the edge of the ship. He looked down at the gracious movements of the waves, then up at what was remaining from the night sky.

"The stars used to look brighter." the darkin talked suddenly.

"A lot of things have changed since you last walked on this world. How long were you imprisoned?" Kai asked curious, a little bit of concern still present in his voice.

"I am not sure. I can only assume that thousands of years. How many...that I cannot tell." one of his hands raised in the air, pointing at one group of stars in particular.

"There used to be more stars. All of them created the image of an archer. Some of the darkins used to mock me with it, telling me how there will be my grave when I die. Now that idea doesn't sound as unpleasant." he traced the imaginary border for the couple to see better, then let his hand fall back over the other.

"I never heard you talking about any of those darkins in a positive light. I got it, they were these mighty gods or whatever, but they had some awful personalities. No wonder you got to be so stone-hearted." Valmar felt the need to talk his mind.

"Some of them were... decent. I do not talk about those who I got along with."

"Because you cared about them? Are you afraid they ended up with a faith worse than yours?" Kai's attempts of sneaking into the darkin's heart were less and less subtle, but he didn't care anymore. Sharing a body is not easy, not when you have no idea who the other soul is. With Val, it was simpler, natural, but Varus was something else... someone else, still a stranger.

"There is no worse than being imprisoned as I was." he replied in a heartbeat, a fainted shiver suddenly running down their spine.

"Maybe we will find out what happened with the others." Valmar said suddenly.

"That will make no difference."

"Maybe not. But there is no harm in learning more about your kin." Kai replied warmly.

The moon submerged into the sea as the sun took its place in the sky. Varus slept no more, the trio stood up, walking around on the deck, talking about small nothings until the deck started to be crowded by the crew. The darkin looked confused at the swarm of people until he saw it, far away on the horizon, the continental line was contouring in front of his eyes.

"Shurima...". he let it out under his breath as the light in his eyes shimmered brighter for a moment.

The ship reached the shore late in the afternoon. As part of the crew was preparing for the dock, the captain came to meet with Varus, who was already caught in a conversation with Shieska.

"Looks like our paths are soon to part." the captain said to catch their attention. "Where are you going from here?"

"To fulfill my purpose." the darkin replied simply.

"I... expected nothing more from you. May you reach your purpose undisturbed." with a small shake of his head, he moved his attention to Shieska. "And you?"

"Me? Uh...well, I will probably walk around the villages here and if I do not find something to work...well, then I will find another ship to hide in and sail around." she let out a small sigh and looked up at the captain. "But do not worry captain, I will not try to board yours uninvited... again."

"Much appreciated. The last thing I need is a sea rat on board. A new crewmate on the other hand... Is something that I would need. Especially someone who already knows every little wood on the ship and who got accustomed to me and the others."

"Are ya' saying what I think ya're saying?" she looked full of hope at the captain.

"I am asking you to become part of the crew." the captain said firmly and held out his hand. "Do you accept my offer?"

"If I accept... Ya' can bet your house and legs, I will become your best crewmate." she laughed as she shook the captain's hand.

"I will take it as a yes. Welcome to our family, Shieska! I am going to give the news to the boys. Meanwhile, it looks like you two have to say your goodbyes. I will let you have your moment." he bowed ever so slightly to Varus, as a sign of respect, then walked away from them.

"I cannot believe it...I can finally sail without having to hide. I will have my fair share of chores, but... I will be able to have a place to call home. This is all thanks to ya' guys." she turned to them smiling.

"They would have cached you sooner or later, even without help. And judging by how friendly the captain is, you would have received the same offer." Varus said in all his seriousness.

"Someone's got softer?" Valmar mocked.

"I merely stated the truth, nothing more." the darkin explained himself.

Shieska started to laugh, choking a little bit as she tried to stop herself. The darkin could not understand what was so funny. He was even more perplexed when the woman stepped closer and wrapped her hands around him, gripping tight as she hummed softly.

"Not gonna lie, I'll miss ya' three weirdos."

"Feeling the loss of someone is in vain.  There are many other things to concern your short existence with, this one is not one you should consider."

"Can you just keep silent? We do not need to hear your cold-blooded opinions."

"It's alright, Valmar, he is right. I shouldn't miss ya' three, but I will. Feelings are not a choice, Varus." she looked into his eyes, the sparkle of life behind it piercing through his own.

"Mortals." he almost growled, looking down at her.

"Darkins." Shieska copied mockingly with a chuckle as she took a step back from him.

Not long after, the ship was docked. Varus left without any other pleasantries and took a deep breath as he set foot on the continent. It was far better to stay on steady ground, even if now he felt a little bit as if the ground was still swaying slightly under his feet. He was back on his lands, the sun was bright and the air harsher than he remembered. He looked around, many people zooming around like bugs, all too busy to notice his presence.

"The land of gods... infested with bugs."

Chapter Text

Hello everyone! 

I am glad to see that there are people still reading my work even if I haven't worked on it for quite some time. Each one of you inspires me to keep going and do the most out of this work <3 Thank you to each of you for taking the time to read this story 

The new Varus voice lines made me think that this story could be improved. I want to rewrite it and make the best out of this story, but unfortunately, I don't feel like I could do this alone

So, if there is anyone who would like to be my beta reader and help me reshape this story, I would appreciate it a lot! 

I am open to any suggestions and I love constructive criticism, so do not hesitate to write a comment if you only have a tip for this beginner writer 

Thank you again everyone! 

I promise to come back with a better version of this story and this time finish it 

Stay safe! 

Chapter Text

Days. It took him days to find the shrine. Never did he welcome the presence of the sun, but now, when his body felt heavy with each step he took, warmed all over as if his blood was starting to slowly burn through the veins, the vision blurred by the warning heat reflected by the sea of sand... he cursed the sun and all the gods who blessed its existence.

He even managed to follow the couple's plea for mercy and gain their silence in exchange for some insignificant mortal lives of those pathetic 'guards'. All for nothing. She wasn't there anymore. No trace of her or the weapon. The humans excavating the ruins fled faster than he anticipated. No desire to avenge those protecting them, not even the slightest curiosity of the 'monster's' origin or intention. Better, as they hold no value for the darkin, and killing humans without weapons would have broken the silence of the two. He walked freely through the ruins, searching for any remaining sign, but all for nothing, of course, he should have expected it from the moment he took notice of the faded warding sigils. "Where are you, sister...?" he asked with a sigh as he looked at the burned stone.

There was nothing more to look for in there, so he walked away from the ruins, not sure where he should go, he decided to get to the closest city. What better place to find out where one was, being it darkin or human, if not where all the stories ever seen or imagined were collected? In all his existence he noticed how humans kept the tradition of storytelling honorably, through generations, the only common link between all the mortal lives was the stories they shared, reality or not, the humans kept on telling them all over again, adding new ones and spreading those that happened in their time passionately.

The idea was brilliant in its raw, but even if the darkin even considered approaching the elderly humans —who he noticed before were, much more prone to share the stories — the humans seemed uncomfortable around him, avoiding answering his questions, some trying to run away from him or even worse. Frustrated by the inconvenience he was tempted to use a ... firm approach, but it was enough to just think about snapping a mortal's spine and he could feel the boiling rage of his hosts. "I tried to reason with them. What am I to do more?" he asked as he walked angrily to the nearby forest where he improvised a camp for the night.

"Perhaps dressing up as a traveler could help. Now that you possess the proper clothes." a soft familiar voice echoed in his mind. It was slightly uncomfortable to hear it again, after days in which the two kept silent, the darkin almost forgot how it felt to not only feel them but also hear the voices. It was easier to properly distinguish his feelings from theirs when they were talking, and yet, he couldn't bear hearing them all the time.

"Your desire to make me wear the human's attire becomes more tiresome each time you mention it." looking at the wood cracking under the purple fire, he could feel a familiar frustration, this time, not his.

"Like it or not, humans wear clothes usually. You probably look like a ... pleasure man for them." "Valmar!?" "Well, he is clearly a foreigner, walking around half-naked when the sun is going down, asking for stories. He is ... fairly handsome and bearing tattoos."

"If you put it like this..." Kai's voice whispered thoughtfully.

A shiver ran down his spine, this time not from the two. The thought of these mortals looking at him and thinking about such absurdity disgusted him deeply. As the couple kept talking about they know what, Varus went to his bag of holding and dressed in the clothes he collected from his 'expedition', not saying anything else to the others as he simply laid down near the fire with a small uncomfortable grunt. The darkin had no shame in his body, knowing how capable it was and how well it served in battle, but having it seen as an object by humans who could indulge their thoughts in sick perverted fantasies, was filling him with more rage than he already held in for the pathetic mortals and their ways of being.

To fuel his anger even more, the couple's theory was confirmed, as the next day he was treated with more respect than the night before. Unfortunately, he couldn't find the answers he sought, but he heard about someone who might have the story he was looking for. A young adventurer who came into the city looking for the same story. What connection do they had with the darkins, he had no idea, but if anyone else was looking for his sister, he might have a chance to find some clues.

"And now we are looking for ...what? A person who might have heard about this darkin?"

Just when the archer dared to enjoy the newfound silence in his mind, Valmar decided to ruin it. Why were they always so eager to talk when there was no need? To satisfy a foolish curiosity? It was not as if they could miss anything, considering their... situation. Only if he could ignore this one... but the consequences were far more painful. The last time the human kept on talking by himself for so long, Varus could feel his head pulsing in pain and had to acknowledge his presence to make the human quiet again.

"You heard the woman."

"She couldn't describe how this person even looked like? How are we supposed to find someone who can be anyone?"

"It seems like your kind forgot about our existence. A human asking about darkins should stick out of the crowd."

"What if we come across someone else who knows about the darkins?"

"I would be thrilled to see a human who recognises my kin."

"Was he ...sarcastic now?"

"Do you think he is even capable of that, Kai?"

"Unfortunately, I can hear you both."

"We know." Valmar replied with a somehow frustrated sight.

"And yet you are insisting on indulging in these little whispers of yours as if I am not forced to listen."

"It ...was only one time. And to be honest, I was convinced you were asleep, or however... not paying attention to us."

"I was strictly referring to your open discussions about me. Why would you bring that memory back...I spent days trying to forget that repulsing feeling." the darkin had to physically stop and put his hands on his head as if he somehow could take the human out of his mind.

Just as he was trying to erase that memory from his mind, suddenly the sound of a branch breaking under pressure caught his attention. In a quick fluid motion, he turned around, bow instinctively posed ready for a fight in one hand as in the other an arrow of purple light was already prepared to strike. His eyes sparked with the same dim light and the specific thirst for blood that seemed to curse through him every time he raised the bow. Nothing, just the forest being caressed by a gentle breeze. His eyes squinted and a devilish grin played in the corners of his mouth as the darkin let go of the arrow once with his breath, earning a pained groan from a figure that was hiding behind the vegetation. Already prepared to strike again, Varus was surprised when a human came out from hiding.

"Wait! Please! I...I mean no harm!" the man pleaded as he kept a hand over his bloodied shoulder, the other limp against his torso.

"Take your sword out so I can finish you." Varus commanded, his stance just as prepared, not even a muscle moving, even if the arrow was completely drowned.

"Wha...what? No, please! I don't want to fight."

"Then why have you followed u..me?"

"I was hunting when I noticed you. Hair as white as midday clouds, empty eyes with purple fire, braced by dark tattoos, a bow made for a devil ... you are the archer who destroyed a Noxus ship and its crew...you have to be him." his eyes opened wide as he stepped closer, only to stop immediately as Varus moved his hand slightly to aim the arrow to the man's heart. "I've heard the story from a merchant, but also...my brother was on the ship with you. I heard word that he is safe and sound thanks to you. Only wanted to thank you, but ...I was afraid to approach someone so... like you."

"You did it. Now run before my arrow finds its mark."

"I...I would like to offer you a place to stay tonight. You are a traveler, aren't you? Please...let me properly thank you for saving my brother."

"I haven't done it for your brother. It was in my interest. I don't care for his or your life."

"Even if you don't, please... It would make my soul lighter to know that I did at least this much and it would only benefit you."

"If you truly want to be of any help to me, help me find a human. A young one interested in stories about darkins."

"Dark..kins?" the other man asked confused but immediately jumped in place scared as the archer let out a displeased grunt and gritted his teeth. "I will do whatever is in my power to help you find the one you are looking for. You have my word." the arms crossed over the heart and the sincere voice didn't seem to convince the man.

"Prove me worth to take a mortal's word in vain and no plea for mercy will stay my hand."

"I ...wouldn't dare do such thing." with a slight tremble in his voice, the man looked down at his feet and let out a strangled breath as he heard the archer coming closer.

To his surprise, from up close the pale figure was considerably smaller. Strong elongated limbs clearly built for archery, dark tattoos contouring the clear lines under his eyes as to enhance the vision even in the harsh light, and the look in his eyes, patient yet observant, almost as if he was ready to grasp the soul out of the human before he could have the chance to blink. With cold shivers threatening to take over his composure, the man put one foot in front of the other and guided Varus further into the forest. Deathly silence within and around, only the birds and soft steps on the grass dared to break it. As they reached a small clearing in the forest, the man stumbled over thin air and fell with an unusual groan, which made the archer stop a few steps behind and reach for his bow, already aiming his arrow.

"Ugh..No need for precautions, my friend. I just lost my balance for a moment." the man laughed it off as he tried to get back on his feet, apparently getting caught in his robes over and over again.

"Move one more time, and I will make sure your body rots where it stays."

"Varus! Put the bow down, he is no threat to us." Kai tried to calm the darkin, but there was no effect, not even the usual frustrated grunt from the other, it was terrifying to feel all that rage directed at one helpless human. The couple tried to take over the body, but the will of the other was abnormal, not even the smallest tremor of surrender. It was futile for them to even try to reason, as they barely got to make a sound and the arrow had already pierced through the thick skull of the man, the body dropped to the ground with a disturbing grace. "Gods! Why would you...why... Varus?" Valmar's voice faded slowly in an echo.

In the fraction of the moment before the arrow could reach its mark, the human managed to make one last move, fast enough to give the other no chance, as a small blade, shaped like the petals of a flower, with a strange green liquid smeared all over it, found its way in Varus' chest, small drops of blood starting to drip on his body. His heartbeats got uncomfortably powerful and his vision more and more distorted. Even in this condition, he ran, fast, as far as he could, fearing that others might come looking for him. The souls within tried to talk, to scream, but he couldn't make out their words, only sounds, mixed with the thumps of his heartbeats, the distorted songs of birds. His blinks started to feel like entire minutes, black for most of what was left of his run, his mind more and more dizzy, his senses mixed in ways he couldn't comprehend. Before he could even realize it, the vessel got on the ground, with no feeling of either pain or sense of touch to help him keep the illusion of life, his mind fell into a much too familiar darkness.

"...varego" a fainted voice shattered the emptiness

.

.

.

.

Chapter Text

No, darkness gives a sense of... anything, of shade and perhaps even of a feeling. He was nothing, surrounded by not even emptiness itself, lost in a long forgotten void.

When cold shivers started to run up his body, the sensation was dangerously pleasant. To feel again, anything, even distress, it was a much welcomed blessing that he relished in. As much as he despised humanity and mortality, being dragged back into the curse of complete numbness was inexplicably worse. Existing without experiencing the word around was punishment in itself, but being haunted by his own thoughts and mixed up memories was maddening.

His eyes opened wide as his body forced a deep breath that triggered a brutal cough for agonising moments until his body relaxed again into a proper rhythm. With a slight tremor in the tired limbs, the darkin pushed himself from the ground and searched the surroundings with sharp eyes. All around was forest, an eerie darkness braided in with tick clouds of fog. He looked around on the ground for the bow, that seemed to be a bit further away than he would have expected. Slowly the fog got denser as he grabbed the bow and grunted softly lifting it ...he must have been hurt in some way, as the bow felt heavier than he could remember. For a moment there was a thought, to stay in place and wait for the air to clear around, but something inside him stirred, his gut clenching, heart pounding faster and legs aching with the need to move. Although he couldn't understand the sensation, one thing was clear, he had to move, anywhere, as long as it would have been far away.

Each step felt heavy, not as much as the bow he was carrying, but enough to make him feel trapped, especially as the forest seemed to have no end in sight. Although not the one to believe in breaks, his body begged for a stop and having no other priority, he obliged, sitting down by a tree and allowing the body to lean on it. A weird uncomfortable sensation ran through his muscles and he could easily assume that it was exhaustion. The two humans had complained about it many times before and he learned that is was better for the vessel to do not ignore the discomfort, unless necessary. As he thought more about it, his eyes slowly closing, his heart skipped a beat. "Why so quiet?" his mind echoed as he furrowed his brows. It was more than quiet, it was empty. His eyes opened wide once more, there was no moment to ponder on the reason as in front of him, at less than one shot straight away, there was someone... or better say something, watching, waiting. Varus looked more careful to distinguish the frame through the fog. It was an animal, something big that resembled a wolf, only that, its face bared a weird shape over it - perhaps a trick of light - and the eyes were glowing with a soulless smoke of blue magic. Somehow he knew the arrows would be of no help, so his body tensed and reacted in the only way it could think of. He ran. Fast. Not once looking back to check if anything followed, the only sounds left being the hard beats of his heart and the ragged breathing. As his body got spent he stumbled out on a clearing, where the fog seemed to not reach. Quick glances around made him realise nothing was following, he was all alone again. Alone.

His body was regulating slowly, but steady. As he almost allowed himself another rest, a deep familiar voice distracted him.

"Vaarus!" a low grunt followed by a sharp breath as the voice got louder. "Why are you here, Vaarus? We had a plan, Vaarus." the voice got distinguishably more frustrated.

Reluctant, Varus turned around slowly. A larger frame of what looked man-like only in a sense of shape, but was clearly possessed by something wicked, if not completely cursed, was walking towards him, dragging a long sword on the ground, seemingly unbothered by the subtle screech of the material sliding over rocks. The flattened horns and red eyes were enough reason to make any sane person try to run away, yet at a closer look, the dark hard substance covering the body was the true soul shattering detail, as the bark-like texture carried an awfully specific scent completed by a unmistakable colour - old blood - drop after drop dried over the being as a reminder of its encounters. But Varus was neither sane nor person, he was darkin, one who was not moved by the stench of death, one who could recognise his kin.

"Aatrox. I see that you couldn't abandon this bestial appearance even when given a second chance." his voice was dry, lacking any inflection or power.

"You were supposed to fight with us." he growled as the free hand lowered to grab the handle of the sword. "Why was your bow in their hands?"

His eyes followed the movements with intention as he grabbed harder onto the bow. "They used magic. Imprisoned me within my weapon."

"You were weak, Vaarus. Humans ...you were defeated by HUMANS!" he barked furiously as he raised his sword from the ground.

"I was alone, surrounded. Their magic was like nothing I had ever seen." he raised the bow towards the other, an arrow forming from the corruption covered fingers as he aimed towards the approaching body.

"You killed us, Vaarus. Your weakness killed all of us...no...it did worse... You imprisoned us, Vaarus. And you will SUFFER FOR IT!" the darkin launched himself towards the archer, the arrow that was shot in his chest not of any importance as his sword hit the bow, throwing it far away from Varus' hands.

As the smaller darkin looked up, expecting to be slashed open by the other's weapon, Aatrox laughed maniacally, one hand wrapping around the scarfed neck in front of him. With a careless motion he pushed the body with ease to hit it on a nearby tree. "I will kill you ...over and over again, until you will FEEL the suffering of your kin." The voice was barely lower than a scream as the strong hand grabbed tighter onto the neck to choke the man. "Squirm, tremble, FIGHT! Show me your agony, Vaarus." the archer was struggling helplessly and the darkin laughed in morbid satisfaction, raising his sword just enough to press the sharp tip on the fragile skin of the other's abdomen. "You were never our brother. You were always a burden. Slow... fragile...WEAK! You were ...no, you still are, now more than ever ... WORTHLESS!"

The sharp sword cut a slight line over the skin as Aatrox pulled it away, not as a sign of mercy, only to take some motion for a full blow. The rough material slithered through the skin with uncanny ease as the archer screamed and squirmed in pain. It was not enough to kill him, not even as the darkin moved the sword into the wound, earning more cries of suffering. With a deliberately slow and messy motion, the sword was pulled away more hauntingly painful than it got in. Varus could only wither in the pain, helpless grunts soothing what was left of his resistance, as his mind slithered down the path of surrender. With an even more angered grunt, Aatrox prepared another attack, this time with a further move, only that this one never landed as the darkin was shocked to feel a hit in his back ... although not painful, it was ...distracting. He looked down and noticed what seemed to be a ...rock? Turning his head slightly behind, he could see a human, standing in the distance with a few rocks in one hand.

"There you go. Finally looking at me, bull face?" the human laughed as he launched another rock at the darkin's back.

Unphased by the sensation, the darkin let the archer fall on the ground as his attention shifted on the human with confusion and something that felt almost like amusement. "Rocks? Are your trying to defeat me with rocks?"

"Not many weapons around, you see. I work with what I have." the human smirked as his eyes lingered for a moment on the fallen archer.

"Why would an insect like you ever dare to attack me? Wish to meet the end of your pathetic existence?" loud steps echoed as he approached the strange human.

"I am what they call a 'monster hunter'. Ever heard of one?" he stepped back slowly, still looking at the darkin in front of him.

"Ah. So I am the monster here." a laugh almost broke through his grin.

"Seems like it. Which also makes you my enemy."

"I am not YOUR enemy. I am THE ENEMY!" the yell buzzed through the human's ears as the darkin launched at him with all his strength.

Almost too nimble, the man jumped away from the attack, provoking the darkin even more by spitting out a "Is that supposed to scare me?". Blinded by a surge of fury, Aatrox launched attack after attack, only for the human to somehow avoid each strike, making the darkin's blood boil inside. Just as the blade was dancing once more too close to the frail human, Aatrox grunted and pushed himself further away from the human, launching back behind him in what he could already feel as a first and final strike, already smelling the metallic fragrance of blood filling his nostrils. Just as both of them expected the finality of their pointless fight, the darkin was suddenly stopped, his lower body stunned in place as roots of twirling dark tentacles grew on his legs. His muscles twitched with rage as he recognised the corruption, turning to look behind just as an arrow of bright light striked right into the bright of his chest. With an aggressive roar, the darkin shattered into pieces that splattered into dust as there remained nothing but the sword that fell on the ground.

The archer, breathing heavily as blood was pouring from his open wound, lowered the bow and fell on his knees, eyes glued to the human. Instead of his cold expression and angered reaction, his face morphed into something that could only be described as defeated, a hand grabbing at the throbbing wound in a weak attempt to stop the bleeding. "Valmar." he whispered softly as a tear of pain dropped down his cheek.