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"..."
Kuya treks through the forest in complete silence, any unfortunate small animals and yokais that are seen by him immediately get reduced to nothing but ashes without a single word. His mood hasn't gotten any better.
He would normally just use his magic to reach the destination right away but he's taking this specific path for a reason. He walks while observing his surrounding, reminisces about the past, about someone.
But as he got to the place, seeing what he was looking for, he drops down to his knees. Throwing away the foxtail flowers that he was holding, he mumbled to himself.
"...I can't do this anymore..."
" In loving memory
Eiden - New Grand Sorccerer "
Those words engraved on the tombstone taunts him every. Single. Time.
Why? Why did he leave him so soon?
Time went by so fast that he could barely do anything. He knew that this day would come but he didn't think it would be this soon.
Now he's all alone again, but this time it hurts so, so much more.
Ever since the passing of Eiden, everyone has been devastated, especially Kuya, since he is the one that was closest to Eiden. Everyone else is trying to move on and with no one to regulate the altars, they're trying to continue his legacy of maintaining them despite... Everything.
But Kuya couldn't care less about how the Klein continent is going to turn out. He can't even afford to care about... Anything. He would have ended it all already if it wasn't for those words that rings in his head all the time.
"I... Love you..."
"...Please... Live for me, Kuya..."
But how can he live if the only person that gave him the meaning of life is gone..?
He thought that by visiting his grave everyday, it would make it better. Yet it just made him having to face reality, acknowledging the fact that his young master, his vixen, his precious gem is gone.
Kuya refuses to accept this. He just...can't. He still have so many things that he want to do with Eiden and... He never got to be a father. They never got the chance to build a family, together raising their kids.
This is what made him regret not acting sooner. He let his pride and ego get in the way and now he has to suffer the consequences.
After a long tranquility, Kuya slowly gets up and picks the flowers back up. He place it in front of Eiden's grave and walks away.
He usually sits down and just talks about his day and whatever's on his mind but knowing that Eiden can't hear or respond, he has grown sick and tired of it.
However, being at home is even worse than this. His house feels bigger and emptier than ever. The darkness from his heart seaps into the rooms, making everything dull and dreary. He doesn't bother cleaning the place despite all the dust and grime building up.
The only thing that Kuya treasures are Eiden's trinkets and his clothes that he left behind. His clothes still have some scent lingering. Kuya embraces them every night to take in his scent but it never filled the massive hole in his heart.
No matter where he goes, no matter what he does. He will never recover from this agony. Everyday gets harder and harder. Ever since he stopped visiting Eiden's grave, he has locked himself inside his home. The clan members are worried about him, even his old friend. However, he shuts everyone out by creating an unbreakable magic barrier around his house. He doesn't want to hear any of it.
How could they understand? They're in no position to tell him what to feel or do. If he wants to stay inside all day trying to fight the urge of slitting his own throat then so be it. He doesn't need anyone's pointless concerns because there's only one person that can save him. And he's not here anymore.
As time goes by, he has become extremely hopeless and desperate. He has thought of an idea to lessen this pain, which he knows is not good. However, he has nothing to lose anymore.
That night, he lays in his bed like usual, but instead of simply falling asleep, he engulfs himself in the purple mist, conjuring up an illusion. As he opens his eyes, he saw that he was still at the same place but it's less gloomy than before. The bright, warm sunlight fills the room. Outside, cherry blossom petals are flying through the wind. The blue sky is clearer than before, with no clouds covering the blinding sun.
However, he still resided next to an empty bed, no signs of the one he was waiting for. So he got up and went outside, hurriedly looking for him. When he reached his garden, he saw the back of a brunette, picking the foxtail flowers.
Kuya, who couldn't contain his emotions, ran up to the man and hugged him from the back making the young man yelped, dropping the bouquet of flowers.
"Ugh... Stop scaring me like that!"
This voice. This scent. This warmth. This essence. There's only one person whose all of these belongs to.
Kuya doesn't say anything, he's still holding on tightly, burrying his face in the man's neck.
"Kuya? What's wrong?"
As he lifted his face up to meet the man's gaze, he saw the face of a concerned man. He turns around and touches Kuya lightly on the face, pulling back his hair to take a closer look.
"... You look really pale and tired, are you okay..?"
Seeing his dear young master after so, so long, Kuya can barely hold his tears and emotions in. He has so much he wants to say to him but it doesn't seem like Eiden is aware of the reality so he keeps silent.
"... It's nothing. I just haven't been sleeping well."
"That's not good, you know-"
"Well, what are you doing with those flowers anyways?" Kuya changed the topic.
"Oh, these? I don't know... I just suddenly felt like picking them... Now I don't really know what to do with them, hahah..." Eiden laughed sweetly. Since he dropped them, the petals have mostly fallen all off.
Kuya grabs the ruined flowers and fixes it with some magic, he also turns them into all kind of different shades and colors and hands it to Eiden.
"Here. You can keep it as decoration"
"Woah! It's so pretty! Thanks!"
There it was. His usual cheerful smile. How he gets so excited just by a simple thing as some flowers. And how Kuya miss that all too much. It feels like all the bitter thoughts and feelings he has had dissapeared all at once. He could feel happiness and joy once again.
"What do you want to do today?" Kuya asked.
"Hmm... We haven't seen the others for some time. We can go to Aster's mansi-"
"Don't."
Kuya absolutely does not want to see or hear any mentions of them. Before, both of them did visit them from time to time. Checking up on how they were doing and occasionally, staying over for dinner, playing some fun games. However, they're all nothing but pests to Kuya now. This is his reality that he can control however he wants. And seeing them is the very last thing he'll do.
"Eh? Why..?"
"... They're all busy, we shouldn't bother them."
"Oh... That's a bummer. I guess we can just stay inside. That's right! I have this thing I wanna show you!"
Eiden quickly runs off inside, Kuya follows suit. He already guessed that he will show him some kind of toy or puzzle like he always does. Which he doesn't mind since the stuff he gives are pretty interesting sometime.
They spent the whole day just solving some puzzles, playing cards game and chatting with each other. Things that Kuya would consider boring or dull but when it's with Eiden, he never noticed how fast time would go by.
Before he knew it, he was alone again. He had awaken from his illusion, back to his dark and murky room. Even though the illusion only provided him a temporary salvation, he was fulfilled. Knowing that he could at least see him again, feel the warmth of his body was enough to keep him going.
He began doing this everynight, giving himself a pleasant illusion before closing his eyes. Living in a paradise where everything is like before, where everything was fine, peaceful and worth living again with his beloved and his beloved alone, no one to get in their ways. He has also been staying concisious less and less, as there is nothing to do when he's awake anyways. Not to mention, everytimes he wakes up and come back, Eiden's memories of the previous one disappears. So, if he can live happily in an illusion despite it not being real and whenever he wakes up, there's only pain and despair in the meaningless reality... Why bother ever waking up?
Ultimately, Kuya decided to put himself in a never ending, never to be awaken illusion. Essentually a coma. He didn't really think carefully about this decision, he just wanted any ways to be together with Eiden. So he casted the spell without any hestitation.
As he returned, he saw the face of his young master again, still sleeping soundly next to him. Just seeing him made Kuya smile, before waking him up, he took the time to admire his beauty. His pale, smooth skin and red flushed cheeks. Long silky eye lashes, Kuya takes some time counting each and every of them. His thin and kissable lips with a trail of saliva drooling down the corner of his mouth. Kuya stretches out his hand and gently ruffles his milky tea brown hair.
"Ngh... Kuya..?"
"Wake up, young master."
"... Five more minutes..." Eiden said, snuggling up Kuya's chest.
Although Kuya adores this cuteness of his, today is the day where he'll make everything right.
"No can't do, young master~" Kuya pinches his cheek playfully.
"Ow..! Okay, okay! I'm up!" Eiden slowly sits up, yawning, still a bit sleepy. Kuya also gets up not long after, getting himself a glass of water.
"Mng... Give me some water too..."
Kuya looked at his way for a split second and seemingly drank the last of it. Before Eiden could get mad, the fox kisses him and nourishes his thrist with the water in his mouth.
"Mhhh!? Ngh!~" Eiden was caught off guard, almost spilling it out. Kuya breaks the exchange, licking his lips clean.
"Ugh... You..." Wiping his mouth, he should have known that Kuya would pull this sort of thing.
"Awaken now, young master?"
Eiden sighed but returns the favor with a light kiss on Kuya's nose. "... Yeah, I am."
They spent their day like usual until it's night. But this time, Kuya doesn't wake up, he can finally enjoy a pleasant night with Eiden. It's not that they haven't been doing it, Kuya just likes the change of scenery to a more dark and quiet midnight. And he can finally...
"So— Aren't you gonna hurry up?~... Hm?" Eiden walks to the bedroom, about to undress until Kuya pulls him in for a hug.
"... I want us... To have a family together..."
"... Can we?" Kuya said softly, looking at Eiden with an affectionate expression. There's also a hint of fear in his eyes, not wanting to be rejected. Eiden stands there, surprised. He never saw Kuya making this kind of face before. Therefore, he took a few seconds and breathed in...
"... Of course! I thought it was strange you never says this before. I have always wanted childrens... Especially with you..." Eiden turns his face away from shyness, but still reciprocated the embrace.
Kuya felt an overwhelming amount of happiness surging within him. Finally, he can really build a family with Eiden, redo his mistakes and live happily ever after with him...
Kuya kisses him, hugging him tighter than ever, tears rolling his cheeks. It has been a long time ever since he cried, ever since E̵̻̗̦͖̖͇̹̩͆̓̍̀́̕̚̚͠i̸͇̱̞̪̗̹͊d̵͚̹̙̼͌͌̄̐͜͠e̶̢͕̭̩̠̜͕͚̋̄͗͗̔̈́̔̀͜͝ṅ̴̗̣̔͝'̷͈̳̮̭͍̾̄̑͜s̷̰̊̑̉̎̓ ̴̡͉̟͎̪̯̟̤́̒͆̆d̶̡̛̛͍͇̫̩̰͂͒̔́́̓̏̕ͅẻ̶͖̀̈́͛̎͠͝a̸̦̟͓̲̘̞̽͒̓̑̀̈́̓̚̕͠t̸̼̺̤̗͊ḩ̶̨̛̛̺͔̻̣͉͓̮̙͂̕͠͠.
Since centuries.
Eiden wipes away Kuya's tears with his fingers, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.
"... I... Love you... Eiden."
"I love you too, Kuya."
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"Mhh... Ahh! K-Kuya... So d-deep!"
Despite saying this, Eiden wraps his arms around Kuya's shoulders, taking him in even deeper. Not having much patience left, Kuya picks up the pace, slamming his hips powerfully. Loud and lewd moans escaped from Eiden's mouth, he's feeling it more than usual, more sensitive.
"Hng..! Take it all in, young master!"
Kuya camed hard inside, filling him up. Since he made some alterations to Eiden's body via magic, he feels a bit strange, more full than usual and much more exhausted. Kuya pulls out, gently massaging his stomach.
"Mmh..." Eiden mumured before drifting off to a sweet slumber.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." He kisses Eiden again, wrapping his tail around him to keep him warm, then also cuddles up and rest his eyes.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
As Eiden is going through a rough pregnancy, Kuya does his utmost to look after him. He gives him everything he needs, everything he wants. Staying by his side, getting rid of any annoyance, making sure he's well and all. He doesn't want to mess things up again.
And things went his way.
Eiden gave birth to four kids, two are boys and the other two are girls, all of which were fox yokais. Because of that, they're still in their animal forms, just crawling around all over the place like little infants. Sometimes it can get hectic trying to take care of them, making sure they don't accidentally get hurt. Yet it's worth it, despite them being very young and animalistic, they do have a good understanding of morality, yokai's and human's. And they all love both of their fathers very much.
As they grew up more and more, they started gainning their human's forms, although still having some animalistic attributes like fox ears, tails and claws. They all have different personalites and hobbies, some were more mischievious than the others, like playing pranks on some other yokais and a familiar looking tanuki. There were some fights and mishaps along the way but they're still a happy family.
Y̷̛̦̯̪̝̺̩̿̑̓̉͝͠ͅȩ̵̯͈͈͔͓̓̽͆́͐̓̃ṱ̷̅̈̽̿̂ ̶̯́͛͗̌̀͒̓͛K̴̜̳͌͑̃u̴̡̙͕̪̐̀̚̕ý̵͕̫̯̤͙̼̬̞̫͇͆̎̿̄̇̋͠͝à̵͙̳͖̈́̀̓͊́̋ ̵̢̗̳́͋͛́̈̾̓͐̐̓w̶̧̳͊ĭ̴͉̜̟̲̭̜̫͗͜͜͠s̴̩̈́̇͛h̶̦͎̣̥͕͎̓͗̾̓̓͜ë̷̫̖̼̱̕ͅś̷̪̦͈̪̙͙̭̯̪ ̵̠̥̤͖̘̼̤̮̤͝t̵̛̹͓̖̝̜̥̙̞́̓̊h̴̖̠̟͓̲̳̺͚̉̐ͅā̷̢̢͈͔̩̜̠͉͗͐͝t̴͎͂̓́̏̚ ̶̬̺̭̐̍̏̐̅͘ț̴͚̩̼͔̲͍̋̔̔̓̽̅̅h̵͓̠̞͕̜̬̫́̈́i̶̛̲͛̈́̾̾̋̃̀́s̵̢̱͈̦͍̟͋́͑ ̷̹̭̺͐̑̎̎w̵̞̠̭̙͒̓̒͗̽͜a̵̡̡͚͖̒̓̋̌̕s̸̡̤͙̘̞̦̲̳̔̏̀̅̐̏ͅ ̵͎̖̖̬̞̯̰̀̃͆̀͑̃͠͝ͅa̴̩͕̭̙̹͚͌̃̐͌l̷̨̛͙͙͖̦͎͍̳̾̌̎̉̎̀̾̚͝l̷̹̈́̈́̑͌́̋̓ ̸̹͔́̓́͘r̸̘̎̊͆̓͂̊̏͜ë̴̟̱̭͚̖̲̹̭́́͑́̈̔̔͂̌̒a̷̡̟̝͓̻̒̽̋̐̎͊̒̐̉͝l̴̬̋̔͛.̵̢̦͙̼̩͆̄́̾̓͑̇̌̔͜
This is all that Kuya has ever wanted.
⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰
"Wooaahh!~"
"This thing is called a 'kite'! This is a common toy in your daddy's other worl- continent." Eiden said, flying the kite up even higher.
"That's so cool!"
"Can I play with it?"
"Let me play with it first!"
"No! Me! I'm the youngest!"
Before they start arguing with eachother about who gets to play first, Kuya quickly steps in.
"Now now, no fighting. How about we teach you all how to make it so you will each have one to play with?"
The kids all jumps with excitement, their tails wagging up and down.
"Yay!~"
"Then let's get on with it! We'll need some paper, stick, string, glue, tape and scissors. You can also gets some markers to decorate them however you want!"
Four of them hurriedly dashes into the house in searching for the materials, Eiden and Kuya sits down on the porch while waiting for them.
"Be careful with the scissors! Don't run around while holding them!" Eiden shouted from outside and the kids shouted back an audible 'Yes'.
Since Kuya's house is filled with a bunch of weird items, some of which have to be kept locked away so the kids can't find them... They take a long time finding all the things needed. Meanwhile the dads are talking to each other.
"Should we really let them run all over the place searching for the materials..? They could get hurt or something..."
"You worry too much, Eiden. They'll be fine, it's good for them to explore and do things by themselves." Kuya reassures him.
"You're right. It's just, back in my orphanage, the adults wouldn't let us do much without supervision."
"Is that so?"
"Well, I guess especially me 'cause I kept causing troubles for the other kids there. Hahah."
Kuya moves in closer, his fluffy tail entangles with Eiden's, he rubs his head and brushes against his fox ears, making them twitch.
"I can understand, I also can't seem to take my eyes off my adorable little vixen." Kuya grabs Eiden's face, leaning in closer...
"K-Kuya... The kids might see..." Eiden looks away timidly, covering his face with his hands.
"It's just a quick one, it's not so bad even if they see. They'll know just how much I love you~"
Eiden pouts but ultimately, gives into Kuya's flattery. They shared an intimate kiss, lips pressing tight against each other. It was just suppose to be a light peck but Kuya inserts his tongue inside Eiden's mouth, turning it into a make out. Eiden tried to push him away but the cunning fox grabs his hands and pins him down.
They lingered on the kiss for a long time, before Eiden finally was the one to break it.
"Hahh... Haa..! That wasn't..! A quick kiss... At all! That could have really dangerous..."
Eiden quickly turns around and looks back into the house, fortunately, none of the kids were there but that's also concerning.
"Eh? Why haven't they come back yet..? We should go check..."
Eiden stands up and grabs Kuya's hand, dragging him along, which Kuya agrees to since he is also worried. As they walk into the house, they already saw their two daughters.
"There you are, where are your brothers?"
"We couldn't find the glue and string so they went to find it, but it's been a long time."
Eiden panicked a bit when he heard that, he's already thinking about the worse possible outcome. To keep calm, he takes many deep breaths.
"Okay okay okay— Kuya, stay here and watch these two while I go to find the other-"
Before Eiden could get more distress, the two sons show up. However, with what they're holding, it doesn't make Eiden glad at all.
"Oh hey dads! We were looking for the glue and strings. These must be it right?"
They were carrying the flavored lube bottles and some red rope that they got from Kuya's and Eiden's bedroom. The kids don't know any better so they just innocently smile and tug at his shirt.
"Now show us how to make it, please!~"
Eiden is absolutely embarrassed, he covers his bright red face with his hands, his tail caught between his legs, can't muster up a word. Kuya just chuckles in amusement and takes all the items away from his sons' hands.
"Heh, these are not the right materials. Just wait outside with your daddy while I get it for you, alright?"
"Okay!~"
They all walk outside carrying the items, only the brothers are empty handed. Eiden keeps his head down, slowly walking past Kuya and heading back to the kids.
"... Don't let them find any more of these, okay..?" Eiden said, still staring down at the wooden floor, avoiding Kuya's gaze.
"I won't." Kuya laughed.
⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰⁰
Everyday is always full of something fun and interesting. They're always with each other, doing everything together. Since Eiden has become Kuya's true vixen, he won't ever leave him a̸̹̓͌̇̎̐̔̓̕g̵̯͇̟̘̰̼̠͚̲̈́̾͑̓̇̏̿̀a̸̼̺̾̽̂̍̏̐́͌̾̕i̷̡͚͙̲̘͔̒͛̾n̷͇͉̉̀͌̌͘͘͝͝͠ͅ.
This is his paradise, his living dream...
No.
This is his reality.
This is how it was suppose to be.
Things were suppose to turn out like this. Whatever that happended before was merely just a nightmare. Just an unpleasant dream.
But the good thing is he never have to think about ever again. He has everything that he has ever wanted right now. He's in the real world now.
...So there shouldn't have been any problems.
As time goes on, he could see himself becoming more and more transparent. Eiden and the kids also noticed this and their worries are growing more and more everyday. Kuya reassures them he's fine yet, even he doesn't know what it is and how to stop it. He's in despair once again but puts on a happy and optimistic facade in front of the kids. While showing his true emotions to Eiden.
⁰̵̠̺͖̿͗̿̊͆̿̎̿̈́⁰̸̛̞̭̝̘͐̃̆̅̈́̆̓⁰̷̬͚̗̟̥̒̃͐̈́͒̄̌̇̅̽⁰̶̺̹̙̗̅͊͒̚⁰̸̡̯͉̇̀͝⁰̶̨͉̟́́́͂́͋̃͋͝⁰̴̡̫̹̻̠̼̼̋̂͒̓͂̄̓̆⁰̷̡̧̩̭͉͖̦̰̝͂ͅ⁰̴̨̞̮̞̩̮̝̫̐̽̔̒̂̃̈͝⁰̷̘̫̑͜⁰̶̧̥̓̽͊͝͝⁰̶̡̲̦̖͙̹͉̾̊͒͑́͛̂͐̕͜͠⁰̶̙͖̫̪͓̈̆̇͌̋͊͜⁰̶̙̘͉͔̰͍̪̳̗̂͂̓͆̀̉̆͑̇⁰̶̭̝̺̞̣̞̺́͊͋̾͊͜͜⁰̷̛̥̞͌̓̾̏̈́⁰̴̢̢̼̫̯̻̉̓̈́̓̈́͠⁰̸̢̦̲̲͚̗̊͂͑̈́̚⁰̴̟̰̠͈̰̭̟̣́̽͊͛̽̎̔͊̂͝
Kuya stares at the stary sky in silence. Today, he has become even more transparent than a ghost. Despite that, he somehow was able to put the kids to sleep. But he himself hasn't been getting any. Why can't everything just be fine?
W̷̢̯͔̩͙̬̊̓̾̌̅̂̃͂̀͝H̶͈͕̻͚͍̗͉͓͎͎̎͊͒̃̽Ȳ̸̱̺̙͊̈́ͅͅ ̶̢̡̥͈̙̭͕̥̀̅̔͋̈́̿̎͘D̴̞͇̘̝̬̭̻͎͈͇̓̊͌͋Õ̵̖̺̝̒Ē̵̘̱͈͛̈́̔͘͜S̶̯̙̠̾̇̾̾̾ ̷̱̂͛̔̔̐̕Ṭ̶̹͔̣̘͑̓̌̋́̊̊͠͝ͅḪ̵͚̳͕͍͔̳̘̽Į̷̤̭͕͈͍̞͕̭̔̎͐͗̈́̀̽͝S̸̗̰̲̮̟̯͉̙̤͛ ̴̺̩̪͈̲͚̤̝̳͌͋͒Ķ̵̥̟̻͓̽̿̈̋̔͋E̵͚̣͈̳̳̼̫͍̒̀̆͆̿̒Ȩ̶̦̟̹̱̼̣̒͗̋͆͜P̸̥̪̯̜̗̝̪͑ ̸̼̘͚͓̽̏̅̐͋̉̑̚͝H̴͈̻̳͕̝̲̹̣͇̔̏̉̈́̓͆̍̕͘͝A̶̯̪͍̥̤͎̋̓P̶̛̬̩͑̔͗̉̊̅͐͠P̸̺̩̫̝͈͉̻̙͗̇̈́̓͌̈́̇̎͘E̸̡͎̩̓̓̂͘N̸̻̦̙͛͆̊̎͛̎̔̈́͘͝Į̵̛̛̯͉̗̮̮͍̖̭̼̈́̉̉͛͑͠N̶̝͚͗Ģ̷̞̫̞̙͎̟̝̱̣̓͊̀̇́̒̒͂͝?̷͎̰̣̫̑́̕!̵͔̫̬̫̥͍̝̅̾
Kuya then stares at his own hands, seeing right through it. He's occupied by all the flashing thoughts in his head, wanting them to stop. Meanwhile, Eiden woke up to the absence of warmth next to him, getting shivers from the cold breeze. As he opens his eyes, he sees Kuya outside, sitting on the porch. He decided to get up and be with him.
"Hey, Kuya." Eiden said while sitting down next to Kuya.
"..."
He doesn't say anything, didn't even spare Eiden a glance, he just kept staring at his hands. Knowing that he's not in a mood to talk, Eiden wraps his tail around Kuya and leans on his shouders.
They remained that way in tranquility for a long time until Kuya finally speaks up.
"I just... Want to be forever with you... I don't want us to stay apart..." Kuya weakly said, clutching on Eiden's shirt tightly.
"... Me too."
Eiden could feel the warmth of Kuya's body slowly fading away, so he embraces him. Trying to feel any last remaining heat.
"There's... Something I have to tell you..." Eiden said with a serious tone which caught Kuya's attention.
"... I'm sure you already knew why you're fading away... And the thing is, I have also known for a long time, since the beginning."
Rather than being surprised, Kuya is confused, he doesn't know what Eiden's talking about.
"I don't... Understand..."
"The illusion you casted... Wasn't permanant at all, nothing is, that's why. I already knew that I wasn't real... But I still wanted to be with you..! And I should...n't ha..ve done s-so... Ughh..." Eiden begins crying, wiping away his tears but they just keep pouring out.
"..! Eiden! What's the matter?" Kuya spoke with in a mellow voice, trying to calm him down.
"I... just ma..de e-everything wor..se because of...my se-selfishness... Kuya. You need to...h-hear this..."
Eiden took a moment to wipe his tears completely and looks directly into Kuya's eyes.
"You need to face reality. Y-You can't just keep li..ving in this fantasy! Pretending that... Th-The pain you have doesn't exist, doesn't make it go away..!"
Kuya sits there, bewildered. He doesn't understand a single thing Eiden is saying. What illusion? What reality? Isn't this the real world already? And what does he meant that he's not real? The Eiden in front of him right now is definitely...
D̶͈̼̞̤͉̗͕͓̈͆̅͠͠ₑ̵̨̙͈͈̰͉͚̬̩̎̇͜ₐ̵̠̈́͑̒̎̄͜͠d̷̤̲̻͙̦͕͈̻̈̐͑͋͊̉̚͠d̷͓͖̗̠̉́̓͐̑̕̚ᵢ̷̧̢̈́̏ₑ̷̰̪̌͋̃̽͌̆͜ͅₑ̸̣̗̤͛͊͐͗̽͛̕͘̚ᵢ̵̦̣̦̳̬̺̱͕̈́̕d̵͕͉̼̣̏̏͊̅̚ͅⱼ̷̛̺̰͔̻̙̃̀̔̃ₛ̴̡̝̟̬̮̾̓̈̉̇́ₙ̸͔̖͕͍̌̉̐̉̈́ͅẅ̸̖̮͉͖͈̟̱́̋̃͠͝ͅⱼ̵̟͑́ₑ̸̼̭͇͛̒̏̆͛͊̿̀ₖ̶̳͙͔̻̘̘̩̪̕d̵̢̦̦͉̦̘͐̇̄̐̇͛͐̚ₙ̵̹͒͐͌̑͗̈́͝͝ḍ̴̫͎̝̥̜̞̚ₖ̷̡̫̥͈̮͓̇̿̂̀͜ₛ̸̧͇̘̦͙͎̭̩̘̤͌ₑ̶̝̪͖͆̆́̀̀͋̓̀͝͠ⱼ̸̢̧̬͕͇͓̼͚̰̤̈́͌ⱼ̴̢̟̖̭̦̖͕̙͒̈́̚͜͠d̷̡̢̜͓̥͖͓͊̆̈͑̏̈́̒͘̕͜͝ₙ̵͈͕͔̲͚̗̫̣̱̂̉͝ḏ̸̮̰̾̀̈́̉͝ₙ̸̳̯̹̻̗͙͋̒̊̽̀͋̋͘ₛ̸̢̠͔͉͈͂͗̌̚ₖ̵͎̜͓̂͐̔̀͒͋̈́g̸̢̨̱̪̺͋́ḑ̵̧͈̗̗̪̌̈́̈́͜ᵢ̸̧͎̒̅̃̐̑̌b̷̨̮̰͒̈́̚ₛ̴̰͇͍͈̹̤̭́̉͆̌̕ⱼ̵̨̮̋̈́͛̒̿͝ͅₛ̴̠̫̩̲̼͍̭̝̘͗ⱼ̵̢̛̩̘̯͓̭͔͚͐̓̊̈́͜ₛ̴̡̛͇̤̽̿̋́̔̚͜b̵̢̙̠̟̳̹͍̑̒̑̊̎̈́̚͜ͅₑ̶̺̦̻̹̫̗̪͈̣͒̅͆͆̇͋́̎̈ₖ̸̥͚̗͓̪͐̓̓̋͋̇͗͘ₐ̴̤̈̈́̒͗ⱼ̶̦̩͔̎͐͒b̶̢̡̩̭̠͚̣̮͗̎͠͝ḑ̸͚̱̦̙̄̽͗̄̓̓̈̾ₕ̷̼͈̯̖̩͔͚͑̐̽̈́̋̓͜ͅḑ̴̗̳̪̤̯̹̼̺̆͂̀͌̽̚͜ₛ̸̨͓̠̝̻̅̀͑́̓͒̊b̸̩̪̱͙̦̦̍̂̊͗̈́̎ₛ̶͚̼̭͌ⱼ̶̫̜̱̗̾ͅₛ̸̻͔̈́̒̏ḑ̵̛̛̛̖̺̬̰͎͒̀́͌͛͘ₖ̶̡̢͉̱̫͓͙̩͓̂́̌͋̑̊̈̅ͅₑ̵̫͕̻̠͎̻͍̇͒̂͒͋͊͛̆͐͝ͅb̵̧̖͑w̶̡̟̲̺̖̪̫̩͕̯̾̿̿́w̵̰̃͐d̵̝̹͌͗̈̐̀͜͝͠͝d̴̢̧̛̘̹̱̩̲̃͛̂̕ᵢ̵͎̆̕͝ₑ̶͖̘̫̻̂̓d̶̨̹͈͈̝̎̿͜ᵢ̴̯̗̘̎̔̽̀̃̇͗̈́͆͜d̸̛̞̗̙̻̈́̎͗͂͊̅̓b̷͍̖̪̙̹̯̹̗̳̾͌̏͊̓̚̚̚͘͝ⱼ̸̧͇̠̥̂̓̆͋̀̽̔̽d̴̺̞̺̲̓̽̿̏̿͆́̕͜ₕ̷̛̦̰̲̤͚̪̗̮͓̄͂̀̈̉͋͆̕͝ₑ̷̠͈̭͎̫̖͙͓̣̲̽̌͑̊̒ₑ̴͈̪̥͚͇̜͛̆̀̌̒̈́͠ₛ̸̛͉̩̎̃̑͝͠b̵̡̝̲͕́̀̅̀͆͜͝͠ⱼ̴̨͙͕̱̞̽̀͊̈́̎̊̉͊́ₛ̸̧̱͉̭̘͈̖̾͗͗̾b̵̢̬̜̪͎͔̦̿͊̕ͅₐ̸̡̞̦̺̟̜̺̈́͗̾̿͐͊́̏̊̿f̶͇̱̫͖̺̜̩̔̂̅̀̂̂̍̒̒̑d̷̩͙̑͐͑̈́͆̍͋̍ᵣ̴̢̛̻̋̄̈̈́͆̃̀́w̶̛̫̣͇͔̖̩͕̼͇̋̏͒̓͋͊͘͜͝d̵̛̫͔͗̊̈́̊͑̑͘͜ₛ̵̫̲͙̉͒̌̐͆̽̿͋̍͝ͅᵢ̴̨̙̫͚͛̎̚
... Real.
"I— You're here with me! What are you saying? If I can just somehow figure this out then I can-!"
Eiden grips on Kuya's shoulders, pulling him in closer.
"Look. I get it. Illusions...aren't illusion if you already know that it is. And now, you're about to w-wake up... And, I just want you to k..now that I have a-always loved you, and I always will... Forever and e-ever..."
Eiden gives Kuya one final kiss, clinging to him closer than ever, not wanting to let go. He cries and cries hard into Kuya's shoulders. That's when Kuya noticed Eiden is slowly becoming transparent, everything surrounding them is blurring away. Only himself is the one that's fully opaque. As he could feel Eiden's warmth fading away, his touch disappearing, Kuya loses it.
"No! Eiden! Why!? Why is this—!?"
"Please! S-Stay with me! Don't l-leave me..!"
"... Again..!"
Kuya tries and holds onto Eiden's but his hands go straight through him. Eiden looks up at him, eyes filled with tears, body trembling, his fox ears slump down.
Still. He looked at Kuya with love in his eyes, managed to muster up a sweet final smile. However, it didn't make Kuya feel better at all, it made him even more despair.
"DON'T! WHY ARE YOU JUST—!?... Please don't do this to me..!"
"I'm sor..."
In a blink of an eye, Eiden is gone, same with everything around him. There's absolutely nothing, just an empty void. The ground has also disappeared and so, he slowly falls down into the darkness.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"..!"
As soon as he got his consciousness, he jumped out of his bed. To his dismay, he is the only one here. The place is way grimer than it was, with even more dirt and dust building up. His body is extremely weak and fraglie, he can't even stand up. But the worst thing is that there's no signs of his loved one, his children, anything. He's all by himself once again.
Kuya tries to go back into his so called reality but there's a reason it fell apart in the first place. No matter how much he tries, nothing works, he can't do anything to get back.
Where is he? This isn't where he's suppose to be.
This isn't the real world. He's trapped in the nightmare again.
He needs to wake up, he has to. But... Eiden said that he has already woken up. So this is the real world?
A world... Without him?
No...
That can't be it.
What were all those years he spent together with him then?
All those years where they built and secured their trust in each other more.
All those years where they built a family and together raising their lovely childrens.
All those decades where they were together, never to be seperated. Never to be apart.
How could all those time be fake?
It's not like he put himself into an illusion all this time to run away from the fact that his young master is long gone...
Oh.
He finally snaps back to reality, remembering everything once again. As the image of Eiden's death flashes in his head, he breaks down.
Everything was and has been his fault.
If only he wasn't so weak...
If only he wasn't so stupid..
If only he wasn't so utterly useless and worthless...
He could have saved the only person who was important to him.
And instead of trying to get past it and live happily like Eiden would have wanted.
He does nothing everyday and even tried to live in a fake reality, dreaming away all of his problems.
How much more pathetic can he be?
As Kuya is having a meltdown, the sounds of his cries and screams echoes throughout the room, yet he could hear a faint voice calling out to him.
"K... Kuya..."
"..! Eiden?!"
He felt hopeful again, looking around frantically like a maniac. And there he was, his one and only Eiden, standing before him. Despite his pathetic appearance, Eiden still gives him a cheerful smile, his gemstone still shinning brightly.
"I-I thought you have departed from—"
"Kuya? What are you doing here?"
"I'm trying to get back bu— Wait. Where are you going?"
"What? We're going back home, obviously. Come on, aren't you always the one to sneak up on me and drag me home?"
Eiden stretches out his arm and offer Kuya a hand, Kuya weakly reaches out his trembling hand and grabs his hand. However, it go past him and Eiden's figure slowly fades out. Silence falls once again.
...
..
Ah.
He finally gets it.
The real Eiden was waiting for him all this time.
He kept his young master waiting all alone while he was fooling around in an ridiculous illusion.
How idiotic of him.
He should have done this in the first place.
As Kuya figured it out, he laughed, manically. Not caring how insane he must have looked, he laughed and laughed until no more sounds could come out. With his last strength, he extends his claws out and reaches for his neck.
"Heh, I'm coming."