Choi Soobin was pacing in the cabin, restless.
There wasn't any way someone could deal with what was happening, what he knew the two were going through right now. He insisted on being alone, as he was outpouring too much emotion for Yeonjun to be with him and for them to suffer together.
His thoughts were broken by the slam of the front cabin door knocking against the wall. A strike of lightning flashed behind the figure, all too appropriate for the occasion. He held his breath and watched the figure step barely into the room. He was met with a horrifying image.
Kang Taehyun. Standing there, alive.
The two of them were surrounded by silence other than the howl of the wind. Soobin almost sighed in relief at the sight of the boy, before it hit him. What seeing Taehyun standing there truly meant.
The other turned to leave, saying nothing except a broken and whispered, "I thought you should know." He closed the door behind his exit, and Soobin allowed himself to spill onto his knees, breaking.
He collapsed in on himself. He didn't call Yeonjun, because he knew the emotions spiraling in his body would've killed the boy, who would probably go through the same thing within minutes.
He didn't do anything, except try to heal the merciless ache in his entire body and soul. He tried over and over.
He found that, no matter how many bodies and hearts he'd relieved of pain, he couldn't soothe his own.
—
(A.N://switched pov breath if you're not surprised)
They tell you that your thoughts are never truly silent. They say the voice in your head is always saying something, even if you don't notice.
That was not the case for Taehyun.
He heard nothing but a hollow scream of the wind, mirroring his own temptation of shouting. Instead, he untied a boat from the dock. He was robotic, never allowing himself to experience anything other than those last moments. He didn't let himself think of the time he took him out on the water.
He simply moved the paddle along, the way he knew would lead him home. It was the only time he'd referred to the Underworld as such, and it had only to do with the body he knew was joining the endless stream of souls. Taehyun had to see him. Even if the image killed him.
Hell, he hoped it would.
Docking, having still not uttered a thought, he walked toward the doom where he used to live. He bumped into him on his way in.
"Taehyun!"
Hades was standing there, grinning at him. "I knew you could do it. How do you want to celebrate?"
Like true hell fire, his walls sieged into one final exchange with the sperm sack that gave him this horrid life. "I would like to celebrate by never seeing your fucking face again. I want to see the man I love, and if you're wise enough to get out of my way, I'll reconsider throwing you in that goddamn river myself."
His voice was dripping with something cold and awful. It still didn't feel like enough.
Hades stared at him. "Wow. Harsh. I'd think you'd be a little more grateful since I'm the reason you just got the most power you'll ever have in your life."
Taehyun watched the man pick something from his teeth, and rested his hand on the shape of the dagger in his jacket pocket. "Move. I'm not asking again." Hades laughed, and crossed his arms, amused.
"Big bad and scary now, huh? Maybe try and stay a little more humble. You're beginning to sound like Apollo's son instead of my own."
The next moments happened in blurred flashes. Taehyun took the dagger in his pocket and shoved it in the neck of the man in front of him. It had been a dream since he was a kid, just to get his dad to stop talking. Hades showed no signs of pain, but stumbled back slightly. It was enough.
"I hope you rot in fucking Hell for all eternity." He shoved his father over the side of the stone walkway into the river, and watched the man's complexion pale while the body shrunk from his sight. He was reminded of how little time it took for a soul to leave surface-level sight, and sprinted to the end of the walkway.
The cliff overlooked a myriad of gray bodies, all moaning in pain. He tried not to throw up, and focused on finding a head of furiously red hair.
He never saw it. He searched forever, scanning every face in the river. He knew the face he was looking for better than his own, and it wasn't in the river of souls.
Taehyun fell to his knees, at a loss for what to do. The plan was to look at him one last time, and if he didn't feel the relief he needed to move on, to jump in the river and join the man he loves.
There was no scenario he'd planned for, in which the body wouldn't be in the river. It felt like the cruelest trick from the universe, like he was meant to be miserable forever.
Kang Taehyun allowed himself to stay there, at the cliff's edge. He allows himself to cease existence and simply be in a state of nothing, what he had hoped would happen in a different way.
It was after an ungodly amount of time that he finally allowed himself to regain his sight, and was hit with reality. It had to be somewhere, souls didn't just disappear, but they could be trapped.
It scared him more than anything so far, the thought of him confused, lonely, forever conscious but stuck in a state of never finding peace. He couldn't have the other experience that. He had to find his soul. He turned to leave.
It was when he finally turned from the cliff that he was met with a sight unlike anything he would have imagined in all his life.
Huening Kai, standing on the walkway and staring at Taehyun with an expression so complex he felt weak.
Holding the lifeless spirit of the love of his life.
The two stared for longer, and it was the psychopomp that finally spoke. "I...couldn't believe it. When I saw him. I didn't believe that it happened." Taehyun swallowed hard and spoke for the first time in hours.
"He cheated."
Kai nodded in agreement. "That, I decided, was the only scenario." Taehyun looked at the body in Kai's arms, and questioned with his eyes. Kai nodded vigorously and set the boy down.
Taehyun fell to his side, clutching the spirit despite not being able to feel it. His face remained expressionless, however, as he was convinced it would for the rest of his days.
He felt Kai watching him above, hesitation of whether or not to speak. He eventually did. "When I found him, I was supposed to take him. But I couldn't do it. Not when..even his soul was wearing your jacket." Taehyun said nothing, and his eyes remained on the mentioned clothing.
"So I took him from the soul deposit. I ran off with him. I needed time to think, to figure out a way to fix this."
Taehyun laughed bitterly. "You can't." His friend could be naive, but he wasn't stupid. He knew there was nothing to be done.
Kai shifted his weight. "Well, I'll explain anyway. For good measure. I remembered you talking about the slips. It was the way Beomgyu knew about the battle. So I checked, and they were still in his pocket."
Taehyun finally looked up at the boy holding the two pieces of wrinkled paper, undamaged from any event before.
His friend coughed. "I guess...they aren't part of the body? Maybe they were buried with the soul because they came from the gods. Anyway, I read them. And I think that you should too. Read them again, that is."
Taehyun glared at Kai, but the other simply raised his eyebrow and stuck the papers into Tae's hand. He looked at the series of words and rhymes he'd grown to despise.
1
In a day like all others,
Two souls will battle.
Among sisters and brothers,
their own lives they'll rattle.
Each boy descended,
from Apollo and the dead king,
one life must be ended,
and the bells of Olympus will ring
"Then let them fucking ring, and leave me alone."
He was subconsciously grateful that Kai obviously knew what he was going through, and didn't hold the cold tone he used against him. The other rolled his eyes and said, "Read the second one, dumbass." So he did.
2
When all is done and one is dead,
the victor will truly be blessed.
Through the worlds their power will spread,
But the true hero is the God that is best.
"What is this accomplishing, Kai? Why are you making me read this?" The other responded by sighing, and saying, "I'm glad you asked."
He knelt down next to him, and began pointing at lines on the paper. "It seemed weird to me at first. Like, something was off about the way they wrote the ending." He pointed to the first two lines. "It says one of you will... well, you know. So now, you are apparently truly blessed."
"Oh, yeah. Fucking loving life right now," Taehyun deadpanned.
Kai ignored him and continued. "It means you have powers. Of what kind, I don't know. But then I got to thinking. It says their power will spread through the worlds."
Taehyun began to catch on, and immediately put his hands on the soul beside him. He tried with everything he had to bring the boy back, but noticed no change. He cursed himself for being so stupidly hopeful.
Kai witnessed everything. "That's what I thought at first too, that you could bring him back. But that wouldn't make sense." He gave a heavy sigh. "I think...I think you can go to other worlds. Like, besides school and the Underworld. I think you can travel beyond the ancient grounds."
Taehyun tried to follow along, but the day had been draining to say the least. His brain wasn't catching up. Kai continued trying anyway. "Why else would the slip mention Olympus? Why would it talk about a true hero, if the winner was just the winner?" Taehyun was now very lost, and Kai sighed.
"Think Taehyun. Who in all of existence is known to be the 'God that is best'? Who is known for excelling at everything? And who, for Titan's sake, is the God of healing and has the power to heal someone?"
Taehyun began to understand, and spoke in one hushed word.
"Apollo."
Kai nodded enthusiastically, relieved that the other was finally getting it. "We go to Apollo. We force him to help put life back into...into him." Even Kai knew better than to utter the boy's name. "He finally does something right for his son. He gets to be the hero. We aren't cheating The Fates, it's all laid out in the slip."
"I still don't think The Fates are gonna like this, Kai."
"Well, there's only one way to find out, right?"
Surely, there was a problem with this. It seemed too good to be true. Taehyun spotted the flaw easily. "Kai. No one can even visit a god, let alone an Olympian God. How on earth are we supposed to speak to Apollo if he lives in the fucking sky?"
Kai stared at him as if he was the dumbest person in all of existence. Perhaps he was.
"Gee, if only one of us had powers that allowed them to travel to other worlds."
Taehyun blinked, starting to realize that this plan might not actually have a flaw, that it could actually work, and it was all created by the boy next to him. Without speaking, he wrapped Kai in a crushing hug. The other returned it easily, regrets and apologies myriad, yet unnecessary.
For the first time in their fourteen years as best friends, words seemed of the least importance to them both.
----
obviously (and unfortunately) Hades isn't dead. but he sucks, so he can suffer for a while.
(think the end of Hercules where he's just rotting forever)