ꜱᴇᴛ ᴍʏ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ᴀʙʟᴀᴢᴇ | ᴛᴇɴᴢᴀɪ & ꜱɪɴꜰᴜʟᴀꜱᴍᴏᴅᴇᴜꜱ

[Tenzai]

So stick to me
Stick to mе like caramel
Walk beside me till you feel nothin' as well

ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ᴄᴀʀᴀᴍᴇʟ | ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘ ᴛᴏᴋᴇɴ
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​

"Eos?" It was never meant to end like this. This life was merely one among many, one that he thought that he would be enough in; Yet, in front of him was his beloved deity enraptured in flame, begging for an end to this life in the hopes that the next would grant her the same peace this one did not. Around her were the burnt bodies of the dead and dying, of enemies and allied shards alike, each made subject to the intensity of her enraged passion against an enemy that had succeeded in infiltrating her home. As he made contact with her, his weapon was drawn, aware of what must be done in order for her to be happy. This life was going to end in tragedy like the many before, but this time, he was the one who had to put it to an end.

"... Forgive me, my love. We both deserved better than this." Her eyes flickered with the curse of her powerful enemy, with pure tears running down as a result of her recognition of the consequences of her forced action. Her streams of love and regret had begged the white-haired paladin for his swift mercy. Woe was the tragedy of being born the phoenix goddess. No matter how much she could wish for peace, trouble had always found a way to reach her.

No matter how perfect her sanctuary could be or how well fortified her home could become, it had always ended up in ash. Perfection was a mirage, a destination of which its road was paved in failure after failure. To chase after her first life, he had lived thousands of his own, finding himself reawakening alone over and over again. At least, this time, she knew his love. At least this time, she knew his truth. It was the cost of transcendental love. To begin again against his greatest efforts.

In promise to ensure her suffering would come to an end swiftly, the paladin drew his blade and turned into a blur, reappearing near immediately in front of her with his blade forced through her chest. Upon letting go of his hilt, he wrapped both arms around her, embracing her while enduring her flames as their home fell apart all around them. "I promised you didn't I? That I would be here by your side til the end?" It was a bittersweet feeling to know that he could free her of the corruption of the man that was fated to be her husband; Another shrine's deity, one among the most powerful around, that had sought to render their hopes for each other null in every life.

He was an ever-present obstacle to their happiness that existed in every life. Even in the thousand or so lives that passed since, her greatest warrior still knew of no way to overcome his hurdle. As such, he made the most of his limited time to be happy, expectant of her husband's return, only to fail every single time he attempted to resist or run. Though no matter how much he could die in her name; No matter how much tragedy he could face, she was the only one he felt his heart could love, his one and only Goddess and soulmate: The Phoenix Princess, Eos.

In his arms did her warmth hold him, wrapping around him as though her soul recognized his soulmate while its embers had begun to die out. "I love you... And I promise, I'll find you again and save you, no matter how many lives it takes." It was never easy seeing her die in front of him despite his best efforts. Her eyes were beautiful up close, reminding him of gentle amber whenever his own would meet with hers. Even after meeting her end in his hands did she stubbornly refuse to let go of the fondness she held towards him. She must've understood that he was doing this for the best for both of them, aware that he would come for her again given that their souls were bound in their selfish desire for their happy ending.

Eventually feeling her frame falter as her strength left her body, he lifted her up with both arms, carrying her like a princess over where they made their first confessions. Outside of the burning shrine sat a pond with a massive white tree in front of it; Its many shedding leaves falling towards the water as smoke covered the sky behind him. Resting her on the ground with her head in his lap, he held her hand close to his chest as he listened to her final words, forever storing it a memory to keep with him alongside every other he held onto in her many past lifetimes. Only until her mouth grew still did he let her soul depart towards their next life with a kiss, closing her eyes to let her rest in one of the few places where he felt he could find peace. "Goodbye, my love. I'll see you in the next life."

Claps erupted from behind as the villain that brought this unfortunate reality followed them from the shrine. "To think, you had the strength to kill her rather than letting her remain in my grasp. How poetic. How selfish." Closing her eyes, the paladin gently rested her head upon the soil, turning her head so she wouldn't watch how their duel would always end. "She told me before, she would rather die than be forced to love you."

Drawing his sword, as he withdrew it from its sheath, it flared with the color of her flame. "Eos deserves better. She deserves to be happy." Aiming his sword at his dark counterpart, her assigned husband had found the ploy amusing. A familiar drawing their blade for their dead god against the man she was destined to be with had felt ironic. "Then leave her with me. Why must we fight when you would prove precious as our pet? Won't you prefer a future with your master being loved by someone who could properly take care of her?"

"Because no ending with you is a happy ending." Charging, the paladin swung his blade over and over again, being met with parry after parry as he grew tired of this charade. "No matter how much you fight back, you will do nothing against me. What is an ant to a god?" Splitting his weapon with his divine own, as the God aimed the blade right at the paladin's neck, instead of meeting the same fate as he did in previous lives, a splatter of blood had caught him off guard followed by another, then another.

"How dare yo-" Gunshots. The paladin refused to give the villain any more right to speak, unloading the rest of his magazine into the divine monster. This life was different. This life, Eos had taught him how to fight dirty. "What is the worth of honor when your love is dead? At least she'd be proud of me if she knew, I hurt you." His voice grew cold upon speaking to the man that separated them.

Only until his weapon stopped firing did he feel a hand on his shoulder, only for his body to be stripped of its autonomy, unable to retaliate. "Congratulations on being the first to wound me. Are you content? Do you feel your revenge is fulfilled?" Forcing the paladin to point his gun towards himself, the god reloaded the pistol for him while the paladin struggled to resist the urge to follow his commands. "If you love her so much, how about you die with her. Its the least you could do right." With the last of his strength, the warrior spit on the god's face. "Ha... If only Eos got to see this-"

"Typical mongrel." Gunshots, with each being self-inflicted more painful than the last. With his armored ruined by fire and his flesh already in pain, the rounds had ripped through his protection to pierce his burnt skin, rendering his body a prison of torture for his soul. "How foolish must you be to think you'd ever be befitting of a goddess." Grabbing the paladin's blade, as the resilient, stubborn familiar fell beside Eos, the God took his time piercing his body, waiting to hear pleas for mercy only to find none. The paladin had lived through this torment over a hundred times before; What more was this when he could celebrate the wounding of his enemy for the first time?

"I'd be a better husband than you in any life; This one, the next, and every single one after." Resolute in his conviction to see his promise to the woman who won his heart the first time through, he gave his beloved a smile before seeing his own blade pointed towards his face. "Every life won't be any different, you failed familiar. No matter what you do, you won't be able to change fate. No mortal could ever defy the will of a God." With the smoke in the skies breaking, offering a ray of sun that shone on both Eos and the paladin himself, he greeted his end with open arms. Maybe in the next life, he'd get it right.

I'm fallin' free of the final parallel
The sweetest dreams are bitter
But there's no one left to tell
​

---

Will you halt this eclipse in mе?
ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴡɪɴᴅᴡᴀʀᴅ | ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘ ᴛᴏᴋᴇɴ
↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺

Am I walking with gods or merely stumbling forth
Until there's fire at the gates, until I fall to the floor?
You know I live by the feather and die by the sword
And I will sunder the earth only to burn the reward​

May 16th. The day of her arrival. An alarm had summoned the consciousness of his slumbering body back to him, awakening the bakeneko from his exhaustion. It had been a hundred more lives since he made progress towards their happy ending, each tragedy chipping away at the initial hope he once felt upon finding out that he held memories of every past life. Whether her tragedy be born of her own doing from a lack of control over her passion or a failure to contend against the forces of the other shrines, he was given too much to deal with, eclipsing the naive optimism he once felt and refining his motivations with the fires of his past failure, creating a soul shard far different than his other counterparts.

"Seon-ji?" A voice had cracked through the space in his doorway; The light voice of one of his closest friends: Hikaru. "Are you alright? You don't seem like yourself." The eldritch shard was quick to note the differences whenever one of his fellow residents didn't act normally. He was sensitive to the emotions of the others, aware of when things didn't seem right even before the others had a chance to notice.

"I'm fine. Just had a bad dream, that was all." Given the fact that he was the only one cursed with the memories of tragic past lives, he was made a prisoner of his own mind when left alone away from the waking world. While he was able to meditate on his goals separate from his dreams, where he lacked control over his own thoughts were in the nightmares that plagued him. Whenever he would reawaken in the next life, there was a period of time before they would be given a chance to meet each other again, though no matter how much he could experience this grace period, he could never get used to the feeling of sleeping alone. "Don't worry about me, okay? Worry about yourself. Make sure you drink some warm tea in the evening, I don't want you getting a cold."

"Oh- Okay. I didn't think it would get cold later but... If you say so. Then why not? I'll make sure to make some for the rest too!" Hikaru nodded his head, curious but not pressing his thoughts any further. As he left to attend to the other matters in the shrine, Seon-ji lifted himself up from his sheets, finding the same scars of her first life still present on his body. No matter how many times he could reincarnate into another life, it seemed as though the physical marks she left on his soul was carried with him, refusing to let him go for as long as he held a little semblance of hope for their happy ending. Donning his clothes for the day ahead, as he looked at the charm she gave him as a child, instead of leaving it behind while sparring, he chose to tie its knot around his neck, letting it hang like a necklace. "See you soon." He muttered to himself before heading outside to handle his responsibility to his fellow shard for her request for a duel.

Strikes echoed from the center of the shrine as the draconic swordswoman cracked at the ice elemental's weapon during sparring practice. It seemed as though they started without him given his late start to the day as a result of his nightmares. As the paladin walked through the wooden halls that led towards the stone steps of the shrine, he felt a hand wrap around his shoulder from behind, slowing his steps down to a halt.

"Shin, a moment." Akira seemed to have a word to say. Preparing for another argument, instead, the incubi had left something in his hand. "Thanks for last night. With your help with dealing with the assholes that came to the shrine." In his hand was some cash he earned by dealing with the rival gangs in the area. By assisting with handling demons, the shards of this shrine were granted tribute by some of the criminals that worked in the area. "Don't mention it. I'm sure you would've done the same if the shoe was on the other foot." Shaking his head, instead of lying to him, the demon kept it frank with the paladin. He was an ally, not an enemy, at least for the moment. "I doubt it. You're good at fighting. I'm better at talking. Let's just stick to our strengths, yeah? You handle your fights and I'll handle mine."

With what he felt like his debt being settled, before the incubi left the bakaneko alone, he relayed the word of the other shards. "Oh yeah, Yae said she's expecting you. You should meet her in the courtyard before she gets impatient. I'm sure you know how that dragon gets." Noticing the bruises on Seon-ji from prior duels, he smirked. "I'll go and take a smoke break. Good luck... And don't fucking die. You're too useful." He mused with a chuckle, eventually leaving the paladin to his own.

Sighing and scratching his head at the prospect of handling the energy of the proud fighter, Seon-ji took a deep breath before making his way to the door that separated himself from the courtyard. Upon opening it, he found Shun and Yae trading fist for wooden knife on the other side. It seemed obvious that the warrior woman had the advantage. Shun was at his best fighting from afar and catching others by surprise. Yae on the other hand was a mountain of muscle, one whose height hid the potency of her strikes well. "Heya Shinji! I've been waiting for you!" She waved, wiping the sweat off her brow while Shun gave the paladin a knowing look. "...Morning. Took you long enough to wake up."

Another face had seemed to be present, though his eyes were focused on the laptop in his lap more than anything else. "God, the fucking wifi in this shrine sucks. I thought I told Hikaru to bump the-" Looking up, he found Seon-ji present. "Oh, right. Morn, Seon-ji." As soon as Yuji looked up, he returned back to what he was focused on; With nothing in his schedule, his glasses reflected the multiplayer games he played, cursing at his friends for not being as useful as the other shards he lived with.

"Good morning all." Taking his weapon and drawing it, he took another deep breath before readying his mind like an edge, causing a familiar flame to erupt from the end of his weapon for just a moment. "Sorry for keeping you waiting, Yae. I hope you're warmed enough to handle me." Charging in, he replicated the same strikes he tried on the god, catching the dragon off guard with a barrage of wooden strikes that found her body from angles she didn't expect. "Holy- Shin! Where did you learn how to do that?!" Forcing to be on the defensive, she raised her block, coating her arms in stone before returning kicks of her own. "Don't think I'd let you bring me down that easily! I'm a lot tougher than I look!" A look of determination had reignited his flame once again, seeing her powers be used. He was getting better but he knew, even now, he was still far from enough on his own. They all needed to be stronger. "Never thought I would with that much, Yae. Give me your best."

---

With the rising overhead, as Yae was brought down to the ground while he was forced to pant to recover covered in her bruises, the sound of a motorcycle had brought their attention towards the entrance of the shrine. "Who's that?" Yae tilted her head as she slowly brought herself to a knee. "I don't know. But she looks kinda odd." Looking through the security cameras aimed towards the parking lot, Yuji was able to spot her from up close on his monitor. "Doesn't look like she's from around here- Oh. It looks like she's talking to Akira about something." Looking over his shoulder, at first, Shun questioned her odd timing. She visited the shrine during the ordinary lull where few others would come.

"Think she's a friend of Akira's?" Coming back from sweeping the steps, Hikaru tilted his head at the sight. "I don't know, but whatever brought her here, she looks a little heated." Reaching towards a hidden weapon in his jacket, Akira seemed unphased. "If she starts problems then- Huh? Seon-ji?" Feeling the bakaneko's hand hold his arm tight, Seon-ji shook his head. "Leave it to Akira and I. We'll handle the rest from here." Curious as to what got the paladin so serious all of a sudden, the ice elemental relented. "So be it. Just don't make me regret it."

Further away from the others, Akira seemed to size up the odd redhead up and down. She was attractive, he'd give her that, though it was odd for a girl who dressed similarly to him to come here to the shrine rather than for him to find her at some sort of club instead. "Be honest with me. Are you lost? People like you and I, we're not known to be the most religious types." The incubi's gaze ran down from her face to her boots, taking in every inch of her to best guess who she could possibly be. "Or. . . Are you related to Aarush. That shade of red, even down to the roots. It's natural, isn't it? Your eyes too. There's something else behind it." She seemed too familiar to be a simple stranger, though this time unlike the last life, as he was about to inspect the source of her peculiar eyes even closer, he heard footsteps come from behind. "Hmm? Shin? What are you doing here?"

"She's a friend of mine." Giving him a smile, he bowed politely towards the girl, acting more familiar to keep him from pressing her any deeper. Given how the last life had ended, he refused to make the same mistakes, this time, choosing to engage in her directly instead of letting the natural sequence of events occur. Noticing the chemistry, he stood back, giving the two some space. While it was confusing seeing him know someone like her, he didn't interrogate him. He stilled owed Seon-ji a favor after all. "Oh, my bad. You just reminded me of someone. An old friend. That's all."

Leaving the two behind, they were left to their lonesome, though Seon-ji's eyes seemed to be rather focused on the camera that stood behind her. "Welcome to the Katewaradoki Shrine, friend. I'd offer you a tour, but I doubt we're ready for any visitors. If you can, please come with me. I'm sure you have questions and hopefully, I could provide answers." Believing she would be there in regards to something related to her uncle, the bakaneko waved her over towards a path that led away from the center of the shrine towards its garden. "Its not often we get visitors around this time, so I apologize in advance for the sudden detour."

Hidden away from the eyes of the ordinary visitors was a pond where a massive white tree stood in its reflection. On the branches were wishes made by the different shards of the many years they spent away from her, each holding out hopes for a future that they could live in where they could be happy. Among them were a few of Seon-ji's own, and hidden away closest to the center of the tree where that of Kagami's wishes. This tree had grown over time, acting as one of the last images of home before the massive wildfire had burned away at the sins of their past. "... Eos, right?" Leaning on the tree's trunk for support while he stood, as the two stopped under the shade of the tree, Seon-ji confessed his first "guess" as to the identity of their visitor. "I've figured it out from the eyes. Only one person I know has eyes like yours."

"I missed you. Its been a while, you know? But a reunion isn't what you're here for, is it?" A gust of wind had blown across the field, taking leaves off the branches and blowing his hair and body to reveal his two tails that rested behind him. While every life might have held differences from each other, there was always one thing in common; She came here looking for answers and he felt that there was none better than him to provide. "So why did you come here? What brought you back?"

Oh, and I; I used to know myself
Oh, and you; You used to know me well
Oh, and I; Wish that I could leave myself alone
Oh, and you; You wish that you could make me whole​