Together into Life and Death

The world around him began to fade and the brilliant sparks above moved yet again. His eyes closed once again before he woke to the brilliant night skies yet again. There was no lump of tangled spirits presented in front of him or above him. There was not a single cloud in the sky any longer as they parted.

And that thick rotten smell that plugged his nostrils was gone.

“What… What happened? Fumihito?”

He looked right behind him and at Erlana’s shocked face. Her arms were at her sides and her eyes were wide at the sight of the world around them. His hands didn’t feel as sore as before and his body felt alright. An amused snort escaped his lips at the sight of Erlana’s face, much to her confusion before he looked up at the skies above.

“I just decided to talk to them. Now? Now they can say the goodbye they’ve always wanted to say…”

She didn’t understand what he could have meant by that before she followed Fumihito’s eyes. What she saw next left her frozen on the spot. It wasn’t fear that gripped her heart this time, but it was something else.

Something beautiful.

There in the skies above where Erlana and him stood were countless brilliant sparks lighting the stars. He could see them phasing through the broken barrier in seconds as bodies began to take shape. The smiling visages of those that passed flying through the streets and buildings. He wasn’t sure if the town would be afraid, but he didn’t think they’d run away this time.

They didn’t have to run away anymore.

Those spirits flew through the entirety of the town from where Erlana and he stood on the hill outside. He could see them spiraling around the place, lighting the entirety of Tartarus up like it was a festival. Instead of the wailing of the damned, he could hear nothing but the peace and calm of Tartarus.

He watched as the spirits rose into the skies at long last, their bodies like fireworks as their frames began to vanish. For everybody that rose, he could see a face amongst them even from the distance he stood at. Erlana was still staring in shock as every spirit ascended into the skies, their bodies splintering away into brilliant sparks that illuminated the skies.

And amongst them, he could see not a faceless visage, but the face of every person there.

“Fumihito, what did you do?”

Erlana’s voice wasn’t once shrouded in pain or doubt, but wonder. She could only stare at the sight of it all above them as the skies became a sight like no other. He turned around and took her hands into his and offered her a weak smile.

“I just showed them the way. They did the rest of it themselves…”

He was tired. It wasn’t shocking to him that his body eventually began to collapse from the stress and exertion of so much magical energy. However, Erlana was right there to catch him, wrapping her arms around his body with a wheeze. Normally, he’d have probably been embarrassed if he weren’t so exhausted. Erlana managed to lay him down up against the heavy tree furthest to them, the very same the two shared when they arrived in Tartarus and lopped down right beside him.

She was worried about the state of his health.

But most of all, she was wondering why.

“Fumihito, of all the dumb and stupid things I’ve ever seen in my… Why? Why would you do that? Did you even t-think of what could have happened to you if you had…”

“I’m sorry.”

But Erlana’s rant was cut short the moment Fumihito had spoken the words. He managed to drag his body up, pushing himself until he sat straight, and leaned his frame up against the bark of the tree. Even beneath the moonlight, the tears in his eyes were clear as a haggard sob tore through his lips.

“I said a lot of stupid things. Things that I never meant to say to you and how I gave up didn’t help it all either. I’m a mess, Erlana. A horrible mess of a person who rejected the world because they were afraid of facing their past. I blamed others and I never once thought of the pain they went through. I thought I was doing the right thing, that I could do the things my father never could, but…,” a hiccup and a brush of his arm across his nostrils stopped him for a second. Erlana’s expression was frozen in thought.

“But I was one who never could face the past. I pushed people away, I refused their help, and I did everything I could just so that I never had to worry about someone dying. So I never had to see another faceless memory again. I was scared to face the truth, but I didn’t want to let that fear control me for the rest of my life. I’m done pushing people away and I don’t want to lose someone because of my stupid choices.”

It hurt a lot to just move his arms and take the vermillion-eyed woman’s hand into his own. She didn’t reject it, but she didn’t make a motion either. There was so much confusion in her eyes, almost shocked if he could tell, but he wanted her to know. He wanted her to know everything about him and how he’d change things. How he’d become someone worthy of standing tall.

Droplets rolled down Erlana’s face as her head was tilted down, her head sliding off and onto the ground as she cried. A warm hand slipped beneath and cupped her cheek, gently raising her head so that he could see those eyes once again.

“So please… please forgive me. Despite everything I said, you’re not a failure or a bad mage. You’re Erlana Dagny, a genius, a woman with boundless optimism, and kindness, and you have the brightest and most beautiful vermillion eyes I’ve ever seen in my…”

“Y-YOU DON’T NEED TO FINISH THAT SENTENCE! I get it! I get it! Gah, you’re such a… You’re a complete… I don’t even…”

She was still crying and nestled her face closer into his warm hand. The pain in her heart. This was the first time she had ever had someone say so many things to her. She wasn’t isolated during her school years, but nobody went out of their way to make friends with her either. Nobody wanted to bother partnering up with her unless they needed something. In a way, she accepted that her birth would lead to her living a life of isolation and fragile pride.

But when Fumihito came along, he had changed everything.

There was a time when she hated him the moment he spawned that magic, but that hate was jealousy. Jealousy that someone like him could achieve it like nothing while she could spend her whole life and never reach it once. She thought that would have separated them, but she never accounted for him being kind.

On being different.

And now, after all of this, he apologized…

“...You’re forgiven, you dummy…”

She took a closer seat beside Fumihito and laid her head against his shoulder, the two leaning up against the tree. He shifted his weight briefly and her hand squeezed his, giving it a gentle prod before the two sat beneath the night sky. There was never a day in his life when he thought he could have this. Where he could be happy and move forward. For so long, he spent his days wallowing and pushing away everybody just because he thought it was the right choice, but this?

Looking up at the cosmos, the stars that twinkled, and the spirits that inevitably ascended, he was starting to realize that maybe this entire world wasn’t so bad.

“Do you still want to go home, Fumihito?”

It wasn’t a very jarring question from Erlana, but…

“I think I need some time before I can even go back. I owe a lot of apologies to people back home, but I also want to stay here. I want to see everything this world has to offer and I’d also like it if… if you wouldn’t mind being there with me. If you’d want, of course.”

He smiled at her sheepishly, a soft flush crawling across his face. His hand was trembling, but one soft squeeze of Erlana’s was all he needed to calm down.

A smile graced him back.

“I wouldn’t mind it at all.”

The two of them sat there for a few moments and before the two of them knew it, they had found themselves asleep beneath the tree. When the two next awoke, Erlana was the one who suggested they go down to the village and check things out. He tried to find Scrimgeour around, but he had only ended up with a single fragment of the undead. A hand of all things, but nothing else.

It saddened him to think that Scrimgeour had died, but…

He also felt like it was his duty to at least see the undead’s… No, his friend’s last wish to the end. When Erlana and he arrived at the town yet again, he was met with a surprising bustle of people out on the streets. Compared to those who looked like they hadn’t slept in a night’s time within the span of these few months, they looked well-rested. People were rushing right by him with smiles on their faces, children playing with toy swords, and a familiar face amongst them all hobbling out.

“Viggo, you’re back on your feet already?”

It was the first question he thought of asking before the large man slapped his hand onto his belly like the injuries from the night before were nothing. The man brushed a tear across from his eye and stared back at Erlana and him with a bright grin.

“Ha, it’ll take more than a few little scrapes to put me down! Like my dear ‘ole father used to say, if you ain’t dying, you ain’t living! After last night, the town’s in a boom of excitement. I guess that’s what happens when everybody sees people they’ve lost.”

Erlana tilted her head briefly and looked at the state of the town. It was still a ruined mess and a lot of the area looked like it was going to need more than a few repairs to even make ends meet. Were they even going to survive?

“Are you sure everybody’s going to be alright? Fumihito and I… We saw what happened last night. Was everyone worried or did something happen?”

To his surprise, Viggo looked sad at the thought of last night. His worries were washed away when the older man brushed a hand across his eye, smearing liquid off to the side before he looked back at the two of them and smiled softly.

“Yes, we’re fine. Last night, we were met with what we thought were the spirits brought back, but they were normal. All of them. They came right through and comforted people left and right, apologizing. Families hugged loved ones, lovers bid each other farewell, and everyone else got to see someone they cared about once again.”

He could see something in Viggo’s eyes, almost like the man had seen someone himself. However, he knew better than to ask anything like that. It wasn’t his place, nor was it something he should have prodded. Though, after looking back on his memories last night, he certainly did remember one face.

A face that looked quite similar to Viggo’s.

“Otherwise, everybody got to sleep for the first time. Rebuilding is going to take some time, but I think this is a step in the right direction. I know you didn't stay here too long, but I hope Tartarus was memorable for you two.”

A snort escaped him before he could stop it. The absurdity of that statement alone was enough to nearly leave him pale on the spot if anybody here ever found out he was the cause for so much damage. Erlana seemed to be in the same boat because she was straying her eyes away from Viggo and anybody who walked right by them.

Some things were better left quiet.

“I think Tartarus was… I think it did a lot for me. Thank you again for your hospitality, Viggo. I also wanted to ask about where we could find some horses. I know that we didn’t have the time before, but....”

The baker looked confused, almost perplexed.

“Horses? We lost those the night before once the spirits came in. About a good chunk of them ran out and the only ones we have left are still growing. If you had wanted horses, why didn’t you get them when you first came?”

Erlana practically froze and he swore he could hear her soul wilt after such a blatant statement. Sadly, there wasn’t much he could do to alleviate that kind of guilt. Not when it was true. A smile graced his face and he reached out and took Erlana’s hand into his. She seemed flustered by the action, but she didn’t try to push it away either.

The two of them bowed their heads to Viggo who gave them a bright grin and turned around, walking over and talking to another one of the townsfolk that approached him. This town was certainly an experience. A horrifying experience, but an experience nonetheless.

“So, where do you want to go next, Fumihito?”

Erlna raised her brow as the two walked hand in hand through the town back out the next exit, right where they had originally camped out the night before. It was going to be a long journey and now that horses were out of the question, it looked like this was going to be another long hike.

“Well, what else is out there? I wouldn’t mind taking a few detours to the Center if you know any special spots,” he replied with a small nod.

“Well, there’s a really good lava spring location. It's known for a lot of agriculture and… O-Oh, wait! What about Scrimgeour?”

Erlana’s concern honestly surprised him. He figured she would have been the first one to acknowledge his death, but maybe she had been too busy dealing with the giant rampaging spirit at the time.

“Isn’t he dead?”

She looked surprised by his response before he felt something shudder around his pocket. He reached out and found that the skeletal hand he had picked was moving, fingers wiggling around before they pointed toward a direction up ahead. Erlana looked at him and he shrugged before following the hand.

When Erlana and he reached the spot it had pointed to, they were greeted to…

“You guys sure took your sweet time. It’s not like I was playing dead or anything for the entire night trying to find pieces of myself…”

There, piled up into a mishmash of tangled bones and limbs was none other than the very undead that had begun this entire journey. Much to his surprise, he was still alive. Well, in this context, dead from what he could tell. Nevertheless, it seemed like Scrimgeour was back on his feet and marching over, snagging his right hand back and plopping it back on with a satisfying clack.

The undead grinned at Erlana and him.

“Now, where are we off to next, eh? I figured maybe we could visit a nice little spring, somewhere to warm these bones up and soak them in. Sounds good, right? I think a nice little place like that would do us just fine…”

But Erlana and he turned the undead out and smiled at one another. In a way, it was nice to have Scrimgeour back. Even if he was a certain kind of character. Despite what he might have thought of the skeleton, his opinions had changed. Well, in terms of respect at least, but the rest?

He was sure they’d work on it the rest of the way there.

“Well, what are we waiting for? C’mon, I’m not gonna get any older here and I’d rather we get going. So, let’s go!”

The undead urged the two of them forward and off of the fields and back onto the main road. The sun was out and shining down upon him and for once, it didn’t feel so bad to bask in the light. There was a lot he still didn’t understand about this world and he was sure his powers were something he’d have trouble truly connecting to even in the future. He wasn’t even sure if his life would ever be the same when this entire journey was over, but…

As he looked back to Erlana’s bright smile and Scrimgeour at his back, he realized that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if this journey didn’t end.

“Erlana?”

She looked at him with a curious glance.

“Yes?”

He looked at their hands conjoined together and thought of one thing. One thing that he’d desire the most right now.

“Promise that you’ll always be with me.”

Maybe he could have phrased it better because the flush on Erlana’s face was clear. As was his.

“I… I… W-Wow, that’s…”

But she still didn’t release his hand. A hand brushed aside a loose hair before she looked back at him, her face struggling to not look away.

“A-As long as you p-promise me that you’ll be with me too.”

He smiled.

“Erlana, that’s one promise I’ll always keep.”

For as long as he had lived, he had assumed life and death were two separate things. Always under the assumption that one was beautiful while the other was cruel, but that was when he never understood an ounce of what it meant to treat them properly. This world was dangerous, but it was beautiful. There were so many things he had yet to see and so many places he had yet to visit, but he wanted to see it all with his eyes.

And he wanted Erlana to be there with him every step of the way.

At the end of the death, life and death were of the same coin. Simple enough, wasn’t it?

“Oi, you two! C’mon, let’s go while daylight’s still out.”

Up ahead, Scrimgeour was already taking the lead as the robed skeleton sprinted away. Erlana looked at him with a sheepish smile, one that he returned, before he clutched her hand close. The two of them marched forward before they broke into a run.

And he had never been happier that Erlana had been the one that summoned him.