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“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you, right here, right now,” Thancred growled, looking over at Lahabrea. He’d chanced upon the resurrected Ascian as he’d been patrolling his old stomping grounds of Thanalan. He’d spotted the robed figure lurking near their previous headquarters in Vesper Bay, and had followed him even though he knew Lahabrea was leading him away from the crowds near the small port and into isolation. The two headed to the nearby castrum where the Warrior had killed Rhitahtyn sas Arvina a couple years prior.
“Go ahead, if that’s what you really want,” the Ascian responded, his voice a mere whisper upon the breeze. “In fact, if you can find the requisite aether needed, I’ll even make it easy for you,” he continued, turning to face the Scion. Pulling a wrapped bundle out of his robes, he tossed it to Thancred. “White auracite. Should do the trick on me as it’s done for the others, aye?”
He shifted on his feet, eyes narrowing as he looked the robed figure up and down. He couldn’t tell what game was being played, impossible as it was to look someone in the eyes when they kept half their face covered by a mask. “Tell me why I should believe you. After all you’ve done to try and hasten these Rejoinings , why should I believe that you’d take the easy way out after coming back. Why ascend just to die again? Your words and actions don’t line up, Lahabrea .”
“You don’t have to believe me. Just do it. You know you want to. Especially since ‘tis you I erred with the most,” the robed figure murmured, turning his back on Thancred again. Walking away from the gates of the castrum, the Ascian stepped over to the cliffside, overlooking the bay.
“Aww, feeling remorseful for having used me to hurt my friends? I don’t buy it. Spit out the real reason.”
Ripping off his mask and shoving his hood from his head, Lahabrea turned to face Thancred, grief written over every feature. Light golden eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “I lost everything when the end of days hit Amaurot. I lost you !” The Ascian's voice resonated with dark despair. He turned to pace along the edge of the cliff. “Even more was lost when your precious Hydaelyn sundered the Source. I woke up to find I was one of three left of our people. Even ascending the rest of the Convocation was less than perfect. They no longer held shared memories of failures and triumphs, of practical jokes and arguments so severe the meeting room looked as if a whirlwind had hit it afterward.”
“Lost me?” Thancred stared after Lahabrea. “Excuse me?”
“What, did you think your precious Warrior was the only one with a sundered soul? Every single one of you holds the shard of one of our people. And yours… when we searched for our brethren, I kept trying to find you. I searched, and searched, and searched and couldn’t find you. Stars… I couldn’t find you! I was so caught up in my new title as Lahabrea, my new duties, and the gentle support you always gave me, and never once tried to look any deeper. And then… the beasts came. Our bond was so strong I could feel the love you had for me and… fuck !” The Scion watched as the Ascian stopped his pacing, covered his face with his hands, and screamed.
Startled by the emotional outburst of the man in front of him, he took a step forward, his compassion warring with that part of him telling him to leave Lahabrea alone. He stopped dead in his tracks when the Ascian lowered his hands and he saw the tears streaking down the man’s cheeks from his light golden eyes.
“ I felt you die ! ” Lahabrea ground out, voice hoarse. “It was like having my heart ripped out of my chest. My world went gray. I loved… love… you and never got the chance, Eros…” His laughter turned to sobs as he stood there, no longer seeming to care that his breakdown was being witnessed by another, a mortal at that. “You don’t even remember who you were, or who I am. Your Angelo, your Angel…”
Thancred watched as Lahabrea hugged his arms around himself and lifted his face to the moonlit sky above, turning the tear tracks into streaks of pearly luminescence. “Yes, I worked tirelessly toward the Ardor while I was under Zodiark’s thrall. Yes, I possessed you but stars… if you couldn’t remember me at least I could still feel you. It was like wearing a hug, something you loved to do whenever you saw me. You were my muse, my best friend, and my love… which I realized too late. So, again, yes, I did everything I could to tip the balance towards another Rejoining because it meant we were one step closer to His return and perhaps I could get you back once all the shards had been reunited. Instead, I’m foiled, and the one person I want most? Hates me… Hell, even my colleagues look down on me for my failure, even though they failed too.”
Eros … that name… it twisted something in him but he wasn’t ready to look deeper into the matter… yet.
“While the others can still be re-ascended as their sundered souls still have shards out there somewhere, for me it will be a true soul death if you kill me with that,” Lahabrea’s voice cut through Thancred’s musings. “I am unsundered. Whole. Thordan’s attack wasn’t quite strong enough to kill me, only throw me to the void and snap my connection to Zodiark’s tempering. So, go ahead. Get your Warrior. I won’t fight it this time. I cannot live this life as it is any longer.”
He watched as Lahabrea walked towards him, and instead of moving away as he should have, he stood there when the Ascian lifted a hand to his cheek and leaned in to brush his lips with the sweetest of kisses. “I shall miss you, my dear Eros. You were the true bright spot in my life, the gentle sun that warmed my soul on the darkest of nights. Live well, and may you find someone to love who means the world to you as you do to me. You’ll find me in two day’s time in this spot. Hopefully it’ll be enough time to get your friend here.”
“Wait!” he cried out, panicking over emotions he didn’t understand, but Lahabrea had already stepped away and disappeared into a rift, leaving the Scion alone on the deserted clifftop amongst the ghosts of the dead.