Author's notes: Hello, hello, hello. So while writing this story, I realised that there are two names for the kingdom Meliodas and Liz were at: Danafor and Danafall. Since I was using the name Danafor in my first few chapters, I will continue to use that name. So anyone who knows this, could you please confirm: is Danafor the original name of the kingdom and did it then become known as Danafall after it was destroyed?
Anyways, other than that, please enjoy the new chapter! ❤
"ʙᴀʙʏ, ɪ'ᴍ ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴɢ.
ɪ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴍᴇ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪ ʟᴀɴᴅ."
ᴋᴀᴛ ᴅᴀʜʟɪᴀ
Everything in my mind is going absolutely crazy, so the best thing for me right now is sleep.
"(Y/n)?" a squeaky voice speaks from the corner of the room.
Turning to my side, I blink when I see Hawk walking up to me. "I thought this was Mel's room."
"No, this is Elaine and Ban's room but I was just—"
Before I can stop myself, I burst into tears and fall to my knees, the wooden floor painfully digging into my skin.
"Oh Hawk," I hiccup. "I am so sorry I hurt you earlier today."
"Eek, what the hell?" Hawk exclaims as he rubs his nose against my cheek. "You're crying over that? That was nothing, (Y/n)!"
Giggling through my tears, I pat his plump cheeks with both my hands. "Still, I'm sorry I hurt you."
"You look really tired, (Y/n)," Hawk comments. "Do you want me to show you where Meliodas's room is?"
"Yes please," I say drowsily as I stand up on my feet.
"Then follow me!"
Smiling, I do so and my mind can barely process what's going on when I reach the room and lie down on the bed. Pulling the blanket over my body, I hum, "Goodnight Hawk."
Hawk pauses for a second before quietly saying, "He really missed you, (Y/n). Even though he was dead for a couple of days."
"I missed him too," I respond. "I missed all of you."
"Please don't do that again," Hawk whispers suddenly. "You scared us, and I mean really scared us. Even Ban was worried about you."
"Really?" My eyelids slowly start to close. "He did not give that impression tonight."
"Well, he's good at hiding his emotions. Just like you, (Y/n)."
"I'm not too sure about that." I turn to my side and just as my eyelids shut, I see tears streaming down Hawk's pink face.
"Thanks for coming back, (Y/n)," he says, voice fading away. "I really missed you too."
***
"(Y/n), (Y/n), (Y/n)!" someone shouts my name right next to my ear.
"What the hell," I grumble, refusing to open my eyes. "What happened? Has Mel burned down the kitchen already?"
"No! Merlin's not feeling well and Hendrickson can't seem to heal her!" Ah, I would recognise this voice from anywhere. "Elizabeth's trying her best right now—"
My eyes immediately snap open. "Is that so?" A Druid not able to heal another? Now that is unheard of.
"(Y/n), please come quickly," Hawk continues to beg. "Just put on these new clothes King made for you and let's go!"
Not saying another word, I jump out of bed and grab the outfit lying on the chair beside the bed. I turn around to see Hawk still staring at me.
"Have you learned your manners from my best friend?" I tease, grinning.
Hawk shoots me a confused look and then squeals when he realises what I am insinuating. "How dare you! I'm nothing like that perverted pig!" And with that, he rushes out of the room.
"But you are a pig," I mutter, confused, but then shake my head and change my clothes.
This is how I imagined the new outfit (Y/n) is wearing. This artwork belongs to the artist DAA29.
Once I've gotten my shoes on, I sprint out of the room with Hawk following me down the tiny hall. Even though I try to stop myself, I come crashing into the Sin of Wrath but we say nothing to each other as we dash into the room. Right now, Elizabeth comes first.
"What happened?" Meliodas yells as we approach Merlin who is still in bed.
"Somehow I was careless enough to be held captive by Zeldris's magical power," Merlin explains solemnly as she stares at her hands. Dammit Zel. "If Princess Elizabeth hadn't intervened and broken the spell, I'd be lost. Thank you for saving me."
Meliodas and I turn our heads to Elizabeth. "She did all that?" Meliodas asks softly.
"I should thank you too, Escanor," Merlin continues to speak but their conversation fades into the background as I continue to examine Elizabeth.
Something is different about her. Something must have happened to her while she was helping the Sin of Gluttony, and we need to find out what exactly. And quickly.
"Elizabeth, are you alright?" my best friend asks.
Elizabeth finally breaks out of her frozen state and says, "I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little tired." She starts to head towards the door.
"You sure?" Meliodas asks again.
As Elizabeth opens the door, she answers without looking at the rest of us, "I want to be alone and get some air."
When she shuts the door, King murmurs, "That isn't like her. What did you do, Captain?"
Confused, my best friend scratches the back of his head and it is clear he doesn't know what to say.
"Stay here," I say firmly and then leave the room with Hawk trailing behind me.
"(Y/n), are you sure this is a good idea?" the pig hisses as I open the main door onto the empty balcony.
"Beth?" I say her nickname gently as I take very small steps to her. "I know you said you needed some room but—"
I flinch when she starts to cry and buries her face in her hands. My own hands shake by my sides, unable to move.
"It's OK," she chokes out and then looks up to the cloudy skies. "I'm just happy."
"Happy?" I repeat.
"Oh (Y/n)," Elizabeth blurts out as she throws her arms around my waist and hugs me tightly. "I'm so happy that you're my friend, so happy that I know the Seven Deadly Sins. I'm just...happy!"
Hesitating, I smooth down her hair with one hand while the other holds her waist. "I am glad to hear that."
Despite what happened earlier, I start to relax and just hold onto Elizabeth. If she says she is fine, then I will trust her word, like I always have for the past 3,000 years.
***
"So, uh, hey Captain," the Sin of Greed finally speaks up as I tidy up the front part of his armour since I am already done with my own armour. "I got a question. Do you think it would be alright if I sit this next mission out?"
The next mission; to track down the Commandment of Faith and take her out.
"Yeah," my best friend and I reply at the same time.
Meliodas glares at me. "Ban asked me, you know."
I shrug and ignore Ban's large smirk when I say, "So what? Same thoughts, same habits. We are basically one."
Meliodas huffs at this. "Nine times out of ten it's Melascula who's creating a distortion in the dimension. If we take her out—"
"Elaine won't be able to survive that," Ban says through clenched teeth. Now that I am done with his armour, I slowly move away. "Even if we aren't able to take Melascula out, there's no more time. And I want to be there in her final moments."
I grimace at this as I head over to my best friend and start fixing up his armour as well.
Meliodas winces before saying, "Look, I know how you're feeling—"
"Oh yeah, do you really?" Ban snaps, raising his voice. "What it feels like to let the woman you love die twice?"
My hands still as Meliodas looks down at the moving green lands below us. "Ban," I say very slowly. "Watch what you say."
"What?" Ban growls at me and his angered face falters when he sees mine.
"Don't go saying whatever you want when you do not have the full picture," I snarl and start walking towards him.
"Enough (Y/n)," Meliodas says tightly. "It's alright."
"Is it really?" I snap and spin around to face him.
He starts walking to me but doesn't look where he's going so he trips and stumbles right into my chest.
"Sorry," he says, blushing as he pulls himself away.
Smiling, I say softly, "It's OK, Zel."
The three of us freeze and my lips part in shock at what I had just said.
"(Y/n)?" Meliodas says my name carefully.
Opening my mouth to say something, I recoil when Zeldris's face flashes before me, replacing Meliodas's face entirely. Adorable smile, devious stare.
You're as beautiful as the day I lost you.
(Y/n), I love you.
"Meliodas, there's trouble!" Our heads whip around to see Hawk slamming the door open. "It's Elizabeth!"
"What?" my best friend says breathlessly but that is all he says since I roughly shove him towards Hawk so that we can head over to wherever Elizabeth is.
"Move it!" I bark out the order and we all start rushing through the hall towards the stairs.
"Don't have to tell me twice," Meliodas mutters as we reach the stairs.
"What the hell is going?" I shout when we see Diane trying her best to restrain a restless Elizabeth.
"Oh, please!" Elizabeth cries out. "I was told by the Order that Barzad's in critical condition!"
Barzad? Cain Barzad? The soldier we fought alongside during our time in the Kingdom of Danafor?
"No way," Meliodas says weakly. "Did you—"
"Let me take a look at you," Merlin says firmly as she stands in front of Elizabeth and then peers at her face. "Princess Elizabeth, do you know who I am right now?"
"It's been a long time, Merlin," Elizabeth says in a different voice which causes chills to shoot up my spine. "My, how you've grown. I almost didn't recognise you. Are you still living by yourself in Belialuin?"
Diane murmurs, "What the—"
"Hey, look at me," Meliodas demands as he and I reach the bottom of the stairs.
"What's with your eyes?" Hawk asks nervously. "They look weird."
Orange eyes, the symbol of a Goddess. Dammit.
"Oh sweet (Y/n), is that you?" Elizabeth asks as she turns her attention from Meliodas to me.
"Beth," I whimper and everything within me starts to sink into a whirlpool of despair. Elizabeth has regained her memories once again, and at the worst possible time.
"Still so beautiful I see," she says faintly and then suddenly collapses.
"Elizabeth!" Meliodas roars and just manages to catch her head before she hits it on the floor.
"Give her here," I growl as my hands quickly wrap around both the back of her knees and her back. As my heart hammers wildly, I run up the stairs with Meliodas running right behind me. Once we reach his room, I carefully place Elizabeth on his bed and pull a blanket over her.
"Is she OK?" Diane asks worriedly once everyone else is in the room.
"Hey Merlin, do you know what could be causing this?" Ban asks as we all stand around the bed.
"This has to be Zeldris's doing," Merlin notes. "A side effect of breaking the spell he had me under."
Through all the grief, anger, pain, Zeldris must be blindly making decisions without thinking them through. Even though he is still hurt because of his older brother's decision 3,000 years ago, I know Zeldris still cares for him. So hurting Elizabeth must not have been his intention. Right? Or is my Demon Prince too far gone to see the consequences of his actions?
"Wait, you're saying Elizabeth's under that spell now?" Diane asks her fellow Sin.
"No," Meliodas says, voice heavy with emotion, as he sits down on a stool beside Elizabeth's resting body. "It's not a spell. Elizabeth is starting to regain her memories."
"Huh? What do you mean? Like she used to have? Amazing!" Diane says excitedly.
"Wait, her what?" King questions as he floats next to his girlfriend. "I don't get it."
"I am about to blow your mind! Elizabeth here has been reincarnated over and over for 3,000 years."
"What? No way!"
"She was just telling me how much she wanted to regain those memories," the Sin of Envy says. "I'm so happy for her!"
"Diane," I say weakly. "Please—"
"You need to watch what you say, Diane!" Merlin explodes.
I feel sorry for Diane as she flinches at Merlin's tone. "Huh? What's the matter? It's the Captain who's the mean one here! He ignored what Elizabeth was telling him on purpose."
"It's all over now," my best friend says with an unsteady voice. My knees buckle as I fall behind him and press my forehead against his armoured back. "It won't take long for the rest of those memories to come back to her. When she's regained them all, in three days, Elizabeth will die."
The whole room gasps at this horrifying statement and I can feel the tension grow worse, so I simply stay silent and close my eyes, allowing Meliodas to take the lead for now.
"Wait, what do you mean she's going to die?" Diane asks with an uneasy tone. "You're joking, right? Say something."
"It's no joke," the eldest son of the Demon King replies. "This has always been our destiny. Now, there's no need to hide it from you anymore. I'm just gonna tell you everything; the goal of this 3,000-year journey of mine. (Y/n), please."
Noticing the agony in his voice, I shuffle around to face the group as I lean against the stool Meliodas is sitting on.
"3,000 years ago," I begin quietly, "during the Holy War, Elizabeth and Meliodas were both punished for the crimes that they had committed. Meliodas for being a Demon who fell in love with a Goddess and went on to betray and kill his own kind. Elizabeth for being a Goddess who fell for a Demon and chose to save her enemies."
"Wait, what?" King gasps. "Punished by who?"
"By two Gods," I answer with my fingernails digging into my palms. "The ruler of the Demon race, the Demon King, and the leader of the Goddess race, the Supreme Deity."
"We were completely outmatched," Meliodas goes on. "They were just too powerful. And in the end, we were both killed. Or so we thought. I'm not sure how much time had passed; a day, a week. There was no way to know. But I came to. Somehow, my wounded body had healed back to normal again, but it wasn't the same for her. She was still dead by my side. I had no idea what had happened to us. All I could do was cry, holding Elizabeth's body in my arms."
I go on, "While Meliodas was unconscious, the Holy War had come to an end. Even after all that time, Meliodas was still the same age. He started wandering around Britannia alone till one day, there she was; Elizabeth."
"She was supposed to be dead but she was standing right in front of me," Meliodas continues, voice full of emotion. "It seemed impossible but it was true. She didn't have wings but I knew it was her. My heart was so full but it was one-sided. This Elizabeth had been born as a member of the Savages but she finally opened up to me and showed that she cared. A couple of months later, (Y/n) found us and she was really shocked to see the two of us well."
"Yeah I was," I say, giggling as I slowly splay out my fingers on my (y/s/c) thighs. "But one day, something happened to Elizabeth's right eye and her powers were awakened. Those powers coming back, along with the symbol of the Goddess race left us with no doubt. She really was the reincarnation of our Elizabeth. For her to be reborn with the same looks, voice, name, it didn't make much sense but Meliodas and I tried our best to explain everything to her."
"That was the trigger," Meliodas points out. "It's what caused Elizabeth to start remembering her past life and fragments. And then, by the time that symbol was also in her left eye, Elizabeth had remembered everything that had happened to us before we were killed."
"Meliodas and Elizabeth were cursed with a fate far worse than they had thought," I say joylessly. "The curses the Demon King and the Supreme Deity placed on them were eternal life and eternal reincarnation. Meliodas can never age again and even if he does die, he will only be resurrected. On the other hand, Elizabeth will live short lives as a Human, one after another, and each time she'll forget everything about her past life. If she ever regains her old memories of her past life, no matter what, no matter who is there to protect her, she will die in three days. And every time she is reincarnated, she will meet Meliodas and fall in love with him. And then without fail, she'll lose her life right before Meliodas's eyes."
"It's been 3,000 years," Meliodas says, still holding onto Elizabeth's hand. "I've met Elizabeth and stayed by her side 107 times. One of them started getting her memories back as a child. Another never got back her memories at all and quietly took her last breath with me by her side. Then, there was the moment leading to this Elizabeth's birth. It happened in Danafor sixteen years ago. I had been looking for a way to lift the curse and with Merlin's help, I had hoped we'd found it but the risk was far too great."
"At the time," I direct the attention elsewhere, "we had no clue that another Demon had been collecting all of the pieces for the Coffin of Eternal Darkness. This Demon was Fraudrin since the wizards of Danafor who worshipped the Demon race had figured out how to resurrect him. In order to break the Goddess race's seal, he needed the blood of a Goddess but by then, the Goddess race didn't even exist. Fraudrin tried to resurrect the Ten Commandments by sacrificing all of Danafor's Humans as a substitute."
"Dark clouds surrounded the kingdom and winged beasts came from the Demon realm to capture every Human in Danafor and bring them to Fraudrin," Meliodas says quietly. "But he discovered that what he needed was a Goddess and just by chance, he found Liz and..."
"He killed her," I whisper. "We are not sure whether Liz regained her memories or not since the last thing she said to Meliodas was that they would meet again. Nevertheless, Meliodas lost control of his anger and through his rage, he wiped out the entire kingdom." My fingernails sink into my thighs now. "Like a fool, I revealed my powers a couple of days before and this probably helped the wizards of Danafor to resurrect Fraudrin. And in the end, I couldn't even protect Liz."
"(Y/n), have you been blaming yourself for this the entire time?" Meliodas asks with dismay.
Ignoring the question, I resume the story, "For the next three days and nights, flames devasted the entire kingdom. All we could do was stand there, feeling utterly helpless. But we found a fragment of the Coffin of Eternal Darkness along with the new reincarnation of Elizabeth, the Elizabeth you know now."
And then that was when I abandoned my best friend, thinking that he and the love of his life would be so much safer without me, without my outrageous powers.
"Each one of them, I've watched 106 Elizabeth's take their last breath and after all this time, it's never gotten any easier," Meliodas murmurs. "That's why Elizabeth made me promise to lift the curse; she wants to release me from this eternal suffering." He slowly stands up, making sure my head doesn't slam back against the stool. "I'm really sorry. I never wanted to keep this from all of you."
"Hey wait," Diane cries out. "If both of your curses are finally lifted, what's going to happen to you, Elizabeth, and (Y/n)?"
Meliodas turns around with a feeble smile. "(Y/n) and my eternal life ends and so does Elizabeth's reincarnation. It's why I'm on this journey in the first place."
"Captain, you can't—" Diane stops as her tears finally overcome her and her boyfriend tries to comfort her.
"So you three...are gonna—" Hawk sniffles, unable to finish the question.
"Well, I'm sure you have other things to say about this," Meliodas presses as he offers out a hand to me which I hold onto as he pulls me up.
"I can't take it!" Diane weeps. "I just can't!"
"Hey Diane," my best friend says softly as he makes his way to her. "Tell me, what do we need to do now?"
"We should make our way to Camelot," Diane answers slowly.
"Sounds good," Meliodas says and gives her his best smile. "Alright then, let's just focus on the goal ahead of us."
"At the moment, our objective is to rescue the hostages and to liberate Camelot," Merlin says as she brings out a large map and lets it float in the air where everyone can see it. "Currently, it's guarded by a dimensional distortion that's impervious to magic power and the sight where it originated is right here." She points to its location.
"The city of Coland," Meliodas says with a bleak expression on his face. "They suffered a mass slaughter a few centuries back and were wiped out."
"Coland," King repeats, tilting his head. "That sounds familiar somehow."
"We're heading there now," Meliodas states. "We'll get rid of that distortion."
"Sounds good," I hum as I watch Elizabeth rest. "Anyone up for—"
"You," the Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins growls and everyone jumps at the sudden change of tone. "We're having a talk."
And with that, he leaves the room, obviously wanting me to do the same. Without sharing any glances with the others, I swiftly walk out and head straight towards the balcony where I know my best friend will be. When I get there, I see him at the edge, looking out to the path that Hawk's mother is taking.
"What is it?" I ask as I join him.
"Merlin removed the spell that Grayroad put on you."
"Really? How did she manage that?"
Meliodas ignores my question and snarls, "You blamed yourself for what happened at Danafor for the past sixteen years. Why the hell would you do that to yourself?"
"Because it was my fault."
"(Y/n)—"
"I chose to stay at the Kingdom of Danafor, I made us join their army, I lost control of my damn powers, I couldn't protect Liz," I say, my voice getting louder after each claim. "All of it is on me, and you are too blind to see it!"
"And who joined you when making those decisions?" Meliodas roars back. "You didn't decide to do all of those things by yourself! I'm as much to blame as you are!"
Finally breaking, I pivot around to snap back at him and freeze entirely when I see Zeldris's face. With quivering lips, I shut my eyes and turn away.
"You can't even look at my face, can you?"
"Shut up," I hiss.
"I remind you of him, don't I?"
"I said shut up."
"I know it hurts—"
"I see him everywhere," I erupt. "Wherever I go, he's there. And I cannot reach out and grab him because I let him go!"
"(Y/n), you had to—"
"Why do I always make the wrong decisions? Why couldn't I just tell him my true feelings properly? That I lov—" I let out a cry of pain as I slam a hand on my chest.
"(Y/n), stop," Meliodas begs as he grabs onto my arms.
Throwing my head back, I scream, "Dammit!"
As the roaring in my ears gets worse, I collapse to the ground with the Sin of Wrath firmly holding onto me, his hands painfully pressing against my back.
"You care just like everyone else, you love just like anyone would," he says. "That's all normal because you're normal."
"Mel—"
"You're not a powerful weapon, or a merciless killer, or a savage beast," Meliodas whispers as he presses his lips on my ear. "You're my best friend who just keeps on saving me."
And for the first time in my long life, I allow my empty tears to fall onto my best friend's shoulder as he breathes in all of the pain I have kept inside me for the past sixteen years.