"We.... we did it...."
Garroth could hardly believe what he was seeing. Lady Aphmau, the one he had sworn to protect at all costs all those years ago, rose into the sky from the ground, holding the fragment of Shad the Destroyer.
Her knowing, gentle eyes scanned over the battlefield. Her divine aura radiated from her like she was a beacon, washing over everyone who had survived this long. The Angel wings that had sprouted from her back when she embraced the power of Lady Irene had erupted into flames, with a matching tail of blazing feathers. A phoenix.
One by one every survivor on the battlefield turned to her, the outcome of the battle clear on which Divine Warrior had emerged victorious. The bodies of humans, Werewolves, Meif'wa, Witches, Warlocks, Elves, and Shadow Knights littered the burning grounds. Some of them were friends, some of them were allies.
"She.... she really did it, huh....?" A weak voice whispered from behind him, making Garroth turn around.
Approaching him was a weak and bloody Laurance, a Shadow Knight who had been in allie in Lady Aphmau's army. He was also one of her guards, and had been a potential love interest. Garroth and Laurance had been best friends for a long time, almost like the brother each of them never had. If he was being honest, Garroth had had a small crush on the brunette quite recently.
"It wasn't just her that did it, Laurance." Garroth whispered back, supporting him as he almost fell. "We all did it. We all won this war."
"But she did most of it." He responded, blinking slowly as his eyes faded back to a soft baby blue color.
"Perhaps." He smiled, blushing lightly as he looked into the now calm set of eyes.
Laurance slowly looked to him, a small smile showing at the corners of his lips. He looked so tired, so worn down and wounded... Garroth just wanted to pick him up and hold him forever. But all he could do right now was support him standing up, and then he could take care of him after they returned to Phoenix Drop.
That is... if the two of them returned to Phoenix Drop.
Laurance had an entire life in the Nether. He had been one of the two leaders of the rebellion against Shad, the group of Shadow Knights that had assisted Lady Aphmau and her army in the war. Laurance was a Shadow Knight, a highly discriminated against species. As if the discrimination hadn't been bad enough before, it would only get worse now that Shad the Destroyer was, well, destroyed.
Ironic. The God of Destruction being destroyed.
"Garroth! Laurance!"
Garroth looked ahead of him, seeing the black haired warrior they would both give their lives to protect. Her phoenix/Angel wings had disappeared into her back, the holy white glow to her eyes diminishing. She was being followed by Katelyn the Firefist, another old companion of theirs, who was carrying a severely wounded soldier.
Looking closer, Garroth easily recognized them as Aaron. Aaron was Aphmau's love interest and partner, the father of Alina and descendant of Shad the Destroyer. He had also been the Lord of Falcon Claw at the time it was massacred by one of the Amulets. He had given his life in order to free Garroth from Lady Irene's Dimension, and to finish off Zane once and for all. Unfortunately, Shad had brought both of them back, using Zane for information and using Aaron's body as a host.
"By all the Gods, you're both alive!!!" She cried, tears falling from her eyes as she hugged them both.
"Aphmau...." Laurance replied slowly, not even flinching as she touched one of his wounds.
"Laurance.... you're wounded..." She gasped, taking in just how badly he was hurt.
"Isn't everyone?" He joked, getting a small punch in the arm from Garroth.
Garroth huffed, crossing his arms. He hated when Laurance made those kinds of jokes. Being severely damaged to the point of possible death if not treated properly was nothing to joke about. Of course he couldn't stay mad at the brunette.
"We habe to get you medical attention, and fast." Aphmau said, biting her lips. "I can try to heal you, but after using up most of Irene's power to defeat Shad...."
Not finishing her sentence, she pressed both of her hands to Laurance's chest. The brunette bit his lip, making a small sound of pain as the Divine Warrior tried to heal him. His legs started to shake as the light from her hands faltered a bit, collapsing when it sparked out completely. Garroth caught him on a natural reflex, picking him up and slinging the brunette over his shoulder.
"Garroth!" Katelyn started to yell at him, shifting the unconscious body of Aaron in her arms. "You can't just carry him!"
"Why not? You're not homophobic, are you?" Garroth questioned in turn, narrowing his eyes.
"Garroth, I'm dating Lucinda." She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm just... I'm worried about him, more than I should be. This is Laurance we're talking about, he's next to impossible to break. For him to be reacting to his wounds like this... I fear there's more to it than we may know...."
Garroth could feel a ball of dread and fear dropping in his stomach, but he pushed it aside as he carried Laurance back to their base headquarters. Zoey and Lucinda began to heal his wounds immediately, alongside with working on Aaron.
"Laurance is strong, Garroth. He'll be able to make it through this." Dante said to Gareoth as they headed to the dungeons, going to either free or kill any prisoners they had.
"I know. Not even a radiation infected rhino could take him down." Garroth responded, walking down the stone steps. "I just... I just hope Katelyn's gut wasn't right this time..."
~~~~
"W... W-Why....? Why..... why why!?"
The tears rolled down his face as he held the brunette in his arms, staring into his (soulless dead--) eyes, bloodshot and (filled with saltiness--) dull, almost entirely gray. His breathing was slow and had to be forced, as he was nearing his death.
"This is why I... kept throwing myself at... the others.... so you would not see this...." Laurance managed to say, coughing up blood afterwards.
"You knew this would happen if we killed Shad?" Aphmau asjed between tears, kneeling beside the two guards. "Why didn't you say anything...?"
"Shad couldn't live anymore... he was too far gone for any hope... of him living and being redeemed..." He explained slowly, forcing himself to blink. "The survival of everything in existence was at stake... compared to the destruction of all that, my death is nothing..."
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT, LAURANCE!" Garroth screamed at him, making the brunette visibly flinch. "You're worth everything to me! You're my best friend, I loved you more than anything!! You went through the literal Hell and back just for us!! You fought against the Shadow Soul within you to keep those you cared for safe!! We wouldn't have even made it this far without you!! How can you just say that about yourself!?"
"Garroth, don't scream at him like that!" Katelyn growled, tears brimming in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Garroth.... I'm so, so sorry....." Laurance apologized quietly, making the blonde's heart crack even more. "I'm a Shadow Knight... it was the only way...."
Garroth hugged him tightly to his chest, sobbing into his hair. Laurance slowly wrapped his arms around what he could manage to in such a weakened and dying state, resting his head against Garroth's shoulder.
"Garroth....?" He started slowly, pulling back to look into Garroth's tear filled eyes.
"Yes, Laurance...?" Garroth asked, blinking away some of the tears.
"I love you.... I always have..." He whispered, forcing a weak smile.
"I love you too...." He said in return, touching their foreheads together.
"Goodbye, Garroth..." He whispered, before kissing him on the lips.
Knowing that Laurance would die very soon, Garroth kissed back as gently and softly as he could. One of Laurance's hands was caressing his cheek, and a few seconds later it slowly fell to his side.
Laurance was gone.
Letting go of the now lifeless body, Garroth could feel the hole being ripped open in his heart. This was a different kind of hole, much different than the ones he felt when he saw Laurance and Aphmau kissing in the forest, or when Laurance disappeared into the Nether. This was a hole of grief, one that could never be filled until he finally accepted that his beloved one was gone.
"LAURANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!"