The Dedication Ceremony Pt II: There Is No Me Without You

Love hadn’t arrived in a single grandiose moment, even though they’d shared plenty. From the very beginning, he’d been kind and safe. Even when he was aloof and reserved, he had always tended to her, watched over her, and given her the patient space to heal and adjust to this strange new life. Long before she’d seen his face or felt his touch, she’d experienced his grace.

The Great Harmony Shard was there above him, casting spiraling rings of light across the entirety of the Ethereum. Drops of ether fell like glittering snow.

When she entered the great hall, everything turned soft and pink. Every faceted wall shifted to calm, welcoming hues as the swirling energy slowed into a steady current.

Attis’s small paw was holding on to her dress, doing its best to mimic some form of traditional escort.

Tears agreed to stay hidden for the time being, even when she saw him standing there waiting for her.

In so many ways, she shouldn’t have been happy. This was so very foreign. This wasn’t the life she had imagined. This wasn’t her first world. If she’d been asked about any of this even six months ago, she would have thought it was a vivid dream. Yet now, as she took step after step towards him, she felt more at peace and more filled with happiness than she may ever have.

But just like Death for Sayane, Love did not follow any form of expectation. Instead of coffee dates and Line messages filling spaces between nervous laughs, it had come to her in the slow healing of a wounded body and a broken soul. It had pooled in the shattered cracks of her psyche as she watched him go about his day with labored limps. It had whispered hints to her when they had been close against one another in the tight hallways of The Shattered Stone. Cautious, restrained touches had planted seeds that bloomed into embraces.

She was always beautiful to him. Not just in her smooth, small Hume features, but in her presence. From the moment he’d seen her in her bizarre clothes on that battlefield, struggling to free a fawne that was trapped beneath rubble, she’d been beautiful. So much had happened, he almost forgot she hadn’t been in his life all along. But occasionally, in the quiet moments when she thought no one was looking, he would see her briefly revert to that frightened girl who had died in her world and wound up somewhere worse. No matter how afraid she was, though, or how uncertain of her path, she would keep running forward.

He had felt it first that night when she finally found her voice again. Life had broken her, killed her, and sent her into a foreign realm. Yet she’d dared to find herself again and rebuild the pieces of her soul that remained. It was something he’d never been brave enough to do, but she did it in weeks. Then she sang. Then she laughed. Then they laughed together. Then they dared together. Then everything culminated in a desperate sprint towards oblivion which neither thought they’d survive.

Then they had both thought she would fade.

That fear had lingered in their beings, covering them with heaviness like a soaked cloak. Every day had given them a gift and a question. But she was still here. And he was still here with her.

Through it all, they slowly became the most important thing in one another’s life.

Hundreds of tiny moments had mixed with large moments to slowly bury them in the avalanche of connection that neither had ever expected.

His deep-toned voice was rough yet soft, just like his torn skin.

Her flowing hair was strange to him- simultaneously heavy yet light to the touch.

So many intimate details had written a story into their bones and cells that told them their soul cried out for the other. Even if it had taken crossing the stars and planes of reality to meet, as she reached him there on that platform, both of them knew that they were with exactly who their existence had always needed.

“I made it to you without crying!” Sayane whispered.

“So proud!” Azag whispered back as his hand extended for hers.

Attis moved beside Erosc as they both held the pillows in waiting.

Her lip trembled, but she exhaled slowly and allowed herself to feel his new attire. Dark blues and coppers met golden accents, all of which drew out the subtle color variances of his exposed body. His new supports were glimmering and metallic: elegantly modern in their efficient support and tight around his lean form. His mask covered his jaw and mandibles with a breathing apparatus that reminded her of a diver’s mask. The faceplate was a frosted dark blue that curved from his nose up to his brow before ending in the casing that rested against his jutting crown of spikes.

He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Shaking hands rose to the faceplate and pressed the release triggers. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach. He was taller now that he was standing more upright. His head lowered to help, and she heard him inhale as nerves fluttered at the thought of exposing his mutilated face to thousands once again.

But when the covering revealed him to the world, no one gasped. No one looked away. For the first time, he didn’t observe any shift in the environment upon exposing his scars, aside from Sayane smiling a sincere, enraptured smile as their eyes met.

Light from the Shard surrounded them in a sheet of secrecy, and for a moment they were the only souls alive. His hand tightened on his new staff for support, and he took a small step to be closer to her. An enormous palm cupped the left side of her face as her fingers ran along his neck. Now the tears began.

“Thank you, Sayane. Always. I sleepwalked through decades before you. But you shook me awake and helped me see how beautiful this life and this world can be. In every manner I can, I will do my best to be a supportive, nurturing partner to you. I will walk beside you for all my days and sleep beside you for all my nights. You have my word.”

There was a loving comfort in Azag’s words because Sayane believed them and trusted them. Just like the safe pressure of his hand against her face, she knew his oath was real. Clear wetness streaked into pink, then ran down to his hand as she inhaled and exhaled.

“I’m crying now,” she smiled and pouted.

“That’s okay,” he chuckled as he wiped the tears away.

Muscles tensed and almost locked her throat, but she cleared it and carried on.

“Azag. You..”

In the most wonderful of ways, it was all too much. If there was a way to quantify gratitude and contain it, she would have scooped every bit she could into every jar in Haven, then set them across the land so that pilgrims could wander past for eternity and know that something so abundant and beautiful was real.

Azag wiped both of her eyes and she let her face sink into his touch.

“You are the best thing that ever happened to me. Thank you for being strong enough and gentle enough to hold all of my complexities, insecurities, hopes, dreams, and everything in between. It was because of you that I was able to run forward. And even when I couldn’t run anymore, you were there to catch me. I promise to remember and respect that for all my life. I will do everything I can to be the partner you deserve and to help you live the beautiful life you deserve. Thank you.”

His head lowered and touched hers as everything shined into incandescent splendor. Sacred breaths grazed along their cheeks as they held one another. Scents were memorized like laws of the universe. Feelings of safety carved themselves into the marrow of their bones. Rapturous white consumed them, and reality flickered before returning.

Their companions all bowed to them, then Attis stepped forward to offer the pillow. Sayane knelt to retrieve the offering blade, then slowly cut her finger. Once red began to appear, Attis handed her the first tiny shard. Blood ran from the open wound and onto the waiting jewel. As soon as crimson met crystal, it sparked to life like an ancient filament bulb being turned on for the first time in ages. Once it was coated, Azag lowered his head even more.

“There is no me without you,” he said.

With that, Sayane pressed the first crystal to Azag’s mandible. His mouth opened, and he let out a faint moan as the connection moved through him. Sparks of ether energy arched from the connection with audible chimes, and the shard bound itself to his body instantly. Many in the audience gasped in approval at the success on a first attempt. Attis and Can-Mo both clapped softly as Sayane continued to work.

Seconds passed. Blood ran down her finger and into her palm before dripping onto the stone ground, but she paid it no mind. Soon, several tiny shards were coated and slick. Each was placed with care along both of his mandibular extensions, then lastly a single larger shard was placed in the center of his sternum, shining out from beneath its partial fabric covering.

There was a pause, then every stone turned deep, rich, royal amethyst. Sayane marveled at the myriad flickering specks that pulsed from within the small adornments.

Azag’s curious touch explored the contours of his new companions for a moment before he smiled to her and bowed.

It was her turn. Can-Mo wrapped her finger in a handkerchief then slid back behind them.

“Good call on the finger. I was going to cut my palm, but that seems way more convenient,” he whispered.

Sayane scrunched her nose and held up her uncut palm.

“Are you ready?” Azag asked.

Sayane nodded, and Erosc handed Azag his knife.

Once more, a sharpened blade sliced into fingertip, and this time, dark purplish blood trickled out in heavy drops. First, two small circular stones were placed into Azag’s palm. When they were covered, Azag pinched one in the small clamping tool and raised it to Sayane’s face. She braced with an excited squeal, and he pressed the stone to her skin centered beneath her eye, at the edge of her smile.

It immediately latched to her face, and she felt a minute drop of his soothing touch move through her face, as though his enchanted fingers were kindly burrowing into her skin. She knew it was the part of his soul joining hers, and she closed her eyes to let the feeling wash over her like ocean waves.

The second stone was placed on the opposite side, even and balanced. Another set of stones was anointed with his life force, then raised to her skin.

“I… I love your smile. I wanted to map myself to it,” he admitted as he placed the pieces along the contour of where her cheeks rose.

Two more sets of smaller, straight shards were set, angling down from her cheekbones and toward her jaw. Lastly, two larger arrangements were placed into her shoulders. A new awareness moved through her entire body and she welcomed the essence of him that was now living in her. It wasn’t sentient; it wasn’t invasive. Feeling it travel through her veins as it made itself at home felt no different than how she felt when she would awake after fearing she’d fade in her sleep, only to open her eyes and find herself still in bed beside him.

That comfort and relief was now with her forever.

She breathed in and luxuriated in the pleasantness, and the crystals awoke. Azure and pink pulsed into sugilite gradients that glowed with hints of neon depth. The glowing specks returned to her wrists once more, and she felt truly loved.

“There is no me without you,” Sayane repeated.

Azag let out a laugh of relief and Sayane jumped into his arms. Their lips met and the crowd’s cheers drowned out all other sounds.

“I love you,” Azag whispered.

“In as many lives as I have. Always and forever,” Sayane agreed.

Her feet returned to the ground, and the cheers rose even higher. The Great Harmony Shard lowered and brightened, painting the whole of the Ethereum in purplish blue.

Sayane and Azag shared one more moment in the isolation of bliss before turning back to Attis.

Sayane knelt down, and Attis rushed to embrace her once again.

“On the first try! Both of you! Well done. Well done, you beautiful young ones!” Attis cheered.

Erosc patted Azag’s shoulder, and Can-Mo’s tentacles embraced them all. As strange as it seemed, Sayane dared to feel at peace. So much was still yet to be done, and there were more issues becoming severe with every day, but in that moment, she was at peace. For at least one night, she wanted all the world to feel the same. Ikyu and Miux approached with voice carriers activated. Attis and Sayane took them both and faced the crowd.

Right on cue, the symphony of sacred instruments began to drift through the door to join the party. Another wave of cheers surged.

“The Songstress Supreme and the Great Guardian have successfully bound themselves to one another! Honor to Sayane! Honor to Azag!” Attis shouted.

“HONOR TO SAYANE! HONOR TO AZAG!” the crowd repeated.

Sayane held onto Azag’s staff as he latched his mask back into position. When he was ready, they both bowed to the audience.

“Now. WHO’S READY TO DANCE?!!” Sayane shouted.