call out my name [2gether]

EPILOGUE II

LOVE LIKE IT'S YOUR LAST TIME.

"And what are you going to do with his soul?" The enigmatic young man asked as he was floating amongst the dark ripples of space not too far away from Tine. Blindingly white, silky clothes fanned out around him, pulsing like an aura and distorting his form into an ambiguous shape. "You need to have at least a body to bring it back into but there's only ashes left of your Sarawat and as far as I know, you're dead too. There's really nothing that you can give me in exchange." His slanted, almond shaped eyes were not compassionate, but they were not unkind either as he peered at Tine through the ripples of time and space with genuine curiosity.

Tine faltered, the pit of his stomach sinking nauseatingly.

Oh, right. He was dead.

There was nothing he could give in exchange except himself and even that was not valid anymore. Everything in his life had narrowed down to this very moment and he had nothing worth giving. He was worthless, a failure and a coward. Tine's translucent form flickered in the darkness just as his confidence faltered, making him feel hollow – a transparent, plastic shell of his real self. A soul without a body, nothing more than a bundle of raw nerves and grief. Was it even possible to do anything at this point? They had already crossed the irrevocable line beyond salvageable repair.

The other man – the being – suddenly threw his head back and laughed jarringly, one pale hand covering his wide mouth but that did nothing to dampen the booming sound of his voice bouncing around the dense void. His luminous appearance made Tine squint against the bright, white light and he raised an arm to shield his eyes, feeling slightly overwhelmed. The reality rippled around Tine in that instant, making him feel seasick as the strange waves jostled him back and forth, and side to side, as if he did not even weigh anything. His hair floated in inky ringlets around his face like seaweed, skin fatally pale in the dense darkness of this unknown place that he was encapsulated inside of.

"I'm just kidding," the being said, a teasing glint in his dark eyes. One of his hands stroked absently over Sarawat's luminous soul, just as if he was petting a puppy.

Honestly though, Tine might have expected Sarawat's soul to be at least a shade gloomier than this brilliant color that pulsated through the darkness, just like a shining star in the vast universe around them – his star. His soulmate. It was both magical and tragic at the same time, causing Tine's heart to ache with deep longing.

"Actually, I can't take anything from you even if I could," the other man said, snapping Tine out of his enthralled reverie as he raised his eyes from Sarawat's soul to gaze at the being's ethereal face. "It would completely defy the whole purpose of me being, well, a neutral force." The man crinkled his nose at the wording, finding it unfit but unable to do anything about the role that he was given in the grand scheme of things. "However, let me tell you something-" He proceeded to cup a hand around his mouth as if he was going to tell Tine a big secret, which was not completely untrue.

Tine made an onset to walk closer, pulled forward by hopeful curiosity, and his form actually floated through the dark ripples. He repressed a shiver, swallowing down the simmering anxiety as he instantly ceased all movement, choosing to stay put in his spot instead. The floating was too similar to the feeling of being a ghost, bringing back memories of being just a speck of dust rolling mindlessly underneath a ray of pale daylight. He did not want to go back there again.

The other being cleared his throat dramatically before declaring, "Neither of you were actually meant to die – at all."

W-what? An incomprehensible squeak passed over Tine's parted lips as he stumbled back in shock, dark lashes fluttering madly as he blinked in confusion. None of them were meant to die? His heart pounded heavily against his chest, each beat sending a ripple through the dark waves surrounding them. What did it mean? The blood whooshed inside Tine's ears as he tried to blink away the nauseating dizziness that suddenly came over him, hugging an arm around himself as not to keel over. Then what the hell had they made all of these sacrifices for? Why was Tine here? Why was Sarawat dead?! The white-clad man swam in and out of his blurry vision, his distorted voice drifting through Tine's mind as if they were submerged under water.