There once was a boy who yearned for power.
He was blinded by his own ambition and believed he could be more than he already was. He grew jealous of his younger brother and relished in its bitterness. The Council adored his younger brother. They claimed he was their savior. He believed he could lead them into an era of peace and happiness.
It was then when the boy realized the world would soon forget him.
His younger brother was to be immortal. And the boy would die before he ever had a chance.
The boy sought out power but realized the strongest of things comes from darkness. He was given the same powers his brother received, except the boy had no limitations on his abilities.
The boy tried to convince his brother to allow him to join in the quest, but his younger brother was in the clutches of the Council. His younger brother was ordered to take away the boy's new power to restore balance. They wanted him to kill the boy.
His brother still had some strength left in him to let the boy go free.
But it was the last act of mercy he showed the boy.
The boy grew stronger and created an army to rebel against the Council. The boy believed if he could destroy the Council, he could free his brother from their grasp. He needed to save his brother from them, and he'd do whatever it took.
He created the Chaos Bringers, a powerful army gifted with powers and enraged by the injustice of the Council. He built fortresses, laid siege to cities controlled by the Council, and tried to take his brother's powers from him.
His brother created an army as well and fought against him, trying to "save" him as well.
The boy knew his brother had become a puppet, and he set off to cut his strings.
Time passed quickly, as they were immortal, and their battle became fiercer. Entire worlds were destroyed in the heat of battle. The bond the brothers once shared had almost entirely vanished. Lines were crossed and things went too far for either of their likings.
It wasn't until the Council brought two girls from a magicless world when things finally changed. The two girls were prophesied to be powerful and meant to save the universe from evil. They were only fourteen years old when they were tossed into battle.
The Council seemed pleased with their progress as heroes, but the boy knew they were flawed.
The boy often spied on the girls. He studied their every move and learned their weaknesses. He grew interested in one girl in particular. Juliette, who missed her family too much and was too innocent for the rage of war.
However, she managed to mask her inexperience with her words. Her words were heartfelt and filled with meaning. She often inspired the army to fight for each other, rather than a simple cause. She sympathized with villains, believing they were misunderstood heroes in the wrong circumstance. Her desire to fit in was overpowering, but when she felt safe she was able to stand up for herself.
She'd forget to eat when she was too focused. She sacrificed so much for her fellow warriors. She did everything to make sure people felt wanted and were listened to because she understood how it felt to be isolated.
The boy met her on the battlefield and plotted to kill her. However, she was not what he had expected. To his surprise, she tried to reason with him. To talk him out of continuing the war and promised to help him return to the light.
He thought she was lying and attacked.
She defended herself with fire and fought with violent strength. It shocked the boy into temporarily retreating, clearly having underestimated her power. It was at that moment he realized she wasn't fireproof and she could barely control the fire exploding from her hands.
The boy saw her true power as she burned away. As her skin peeled away, exposing her true weakness, she appeared calm. Brave.
When the boy charged a final blast to end her life, their eyes met and everything changed.
Her gaze softened and stared straight into his soul. Her eyes were saddened, but hope was clear. She looked at him like nobody else had in years.
She saw him as a person.
Not a villain. Not a monster. Not somebody dangerous or evil. Not as Nefario.
She saw him as Orferio. A boy trying not to be forgotten. A boy trying to survive and save his brother from the Council.
He hesitated to kill her and she managed to escape.
He returned to his base, disoriented. He couldn't think straight for days. He swore she had the power to see into somebody's soul, but the evidence wasn't there. It drove him crazy that somebody, a total stranger, could see through him.
He never wanted that. He didn't want to be reduced to a mere mortal when he worked so hard to become a god.
Even so, he couldn't stay away. He dreamt of her and those honey-brown eyes. The vulnerability in her gaze conflicting with the strength in her heart. She was exposed, dying, and terrified yet she felt like the most powerful being in the universe. Her kind gaze was a weapon that disarmed him and caused his guard to slip.
He went to see her again and again. Hiding in her dreams. Watching her from the shadows. Sometimes he'd catch her eye and feel disarmed all over again.
To his horror, he enjoyed it. He liked how she could make him feel like the weakest man in the world. Only she could do that. It was thrilling. Invigorating. The only person in the universe that could destroy him.
He grew to be obsessed with her. He calculated her every move. He fought every battle she would be at. His generals began to question his leadership, but he paid no mind.
She trained hard and became bolder than before. She learned to control part of her power but there would be accidents. She was powerful. Wild. Dangerous as fire itself. He was the moth drawn to her light. Her flame.
In the final days, she came to him and claimed she betrayed the Flowers, his brother's special army.
He knew it was a trick and saw straight through her lie. Even so, he welcomed her into his ranks and held her in his fortress. He finally was near her. They no longer had to fight against each other. And he enjoyed every second of it.
He loved her company and was around her at all times. He showed off his powers and offered her anything she could have wanted. Her mind fascinated him beyond belief. He couldn't pull himself away from her.
The strangest part is that she enjoyed it too. She lied about her betrayal, but she sympathized with him. She wanted to help him return to the light. Juliette understood his motives and encouraged him to let go of his anger and focus his energy elsewhere.
His generals began to doubt his motives for keeping her there. They claimed it would be safer if they killed her, but he never made the order.
Something changed in his heart.
Love seemed too pure for the emotions he felt. He admired her strength. He treated her nicely and found himself encouraging her to relax. He wanted to give her everything he had.
"What if things were different?"
His mind wandered to the insane possibilities. What if they weren't sworn enemies? What if she was on his side? What if there wasn't a war?
One night, he heard her wandering the fortress. He believed this would be the end of their time together, that she would finally betray him. Instead, he found her in the kitchen trying to make cookies. She claimed she was only hungry, but he knew she was having nightmares again.
Another time, he found her training alone. She struggled to gain control over her fire and almost burned her leg off. He caught her and healed her immediately, frustrated she would risk her life so easily. He promised to help her train since he had gone through many trials as he trained to control his own powers.
The terror he felt while he trained never went away.
He remembered the fear he felt when he accidentally turned a person inside out during a fit of rage. He never wanted her to experience that fear. He wanted to help her avoid that pain and taught her different techniques of control.
He didn't care if she'd one day use these skills to kill him. He wanted to protect her, in exchange for everything she did for him.
Under his watch, Juliette finally controlled her fire. She was beautiful as she tamed her flames. She practically danced with them. He watched in awe as her outfit burned to pieces as she twirled around her flames. Her eyes lit with fire and glowed with amber in the flickering lights. Her skin was coated with ashes. Her curly hair singed at the edges, darkening to pitch black. She was the embodiment of passion and he couldn't resist.
She conquered her fears and used her weakness as a weapon.
Juliette was his masterpiece and he hungered for a taste of the power she held.
Afterward, he showed her new things. He revealed his precious secrets when she revealed her's. They drank coffee at midnight, slept by the fireplace, they held hands as they walked the grand halls of the fortress.
His generals believed he was distracted with the Flower. They thought he was a fool for allowing her to be close to him. He was chasing a fantasy, dreaming too much, but he ignored their warnings. He never wanted his bliss to end. He found happiness in her and discovered paradise hiding in her heart.
He stopped acting like King Nefario, conqueror of worlds and bringer of chaos. He became Orferio once again. The boy who wanted to protect his family. The eldest of a family torn apart by his father. He started to doubt his own motives for ruling the worlds.
His world was standing in front of him. He could never let her go.
Juliette showed him the beauty in the worlds he once yearned to destroy. He pulled back his armies and began retreating from war-ridden places. He hated how the war broke her heart.
His second-in-command, General Kilorn tried to warn him once again. He tried to remind her of her true intentions but he knew she had changed. Juliette was different now. He thought they stood a chance.
General of the Shadow army, End, became furious upon hearing the news. End questioned him and threatened to remove the Shadows from his armies. End defied him in every way until severely punished.
Unfortunately, everything fell apart as all dreams do.
Maya, the second Chosen One, broke into the fortress to rescue Juliette, thinking she was being held hostage. He understood what was to come and knew Juliette would have to betray him. But he couldn't accept it.
As Maya rigged the fortress to explode, he pleaded with Juliette to stay with him. He promised to keep her safe.
She stood before him, bathed in flashing red light, and haloed by darkness. She reached out and tenderly took his hand. Her vulnerable eyes were saddened as if she wished she had more time. She didn't want to leave.
She whispered his true name, one of the few times she said it. "You know I have to go."
His chest ached. He closed his eyes and held her hand tightly. "You don't have to. You could stay a while longer." He smiled weakly, "I could kidnap you. Take you somewhere else."
"I can't do that," her voice broke with emotion. "I can't hide from them anymore. This has been..." She pulled him into a tight hug and held him tightly, "Please, don't make this harder..."
"We'll see each other again," he vowed. "I swear I'll find you again."
She lowered her head. Light flashes across her face revealing the deep sorrow in her eyes. "I don't think we can do that. I think this has to be the end."
He stared at her feeling his heart ache. "No. This isn't the end," he argued. "You can't say good-bye to me. Not like this."
Juliette dropped his hand. "We can't continue..." Her breath caught as if she were holding back tears. "We have to do what's right and I don't think we can continue. In another life... another time... But right now..."
His eyes narrowed with anger. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him, "Don't do that! You can't give up like that! We can run away, Juliette. We can forget everything and leave this place! We don't have to leave each other!"
She stared at him in shock. "You're willing to end the war?"
Without thinking, he dropped her hand and stepped away. His mind clouded with doubt and confusion.
Am I?
Juliette's eyes filled with pain. She stifled a cry before taking a step back. "Oh."
He snapped his head up, realizing what he just did. "Wait, Juliette I didn't mean—!"
"Juliette!" a voice screamed from behind her.
Juliette whirled around, raising her hands to defend herself. Juliette screamed back but he couldn't hear her over the sound of the explosion.
Fire swirled through his vision as he watched Juliette disappear into the blinding light.
He screamed for her, ran through the flames to reach her with an outstretched arm. For only a second, he saw her look back at him.
He stared into the eyes of the girl he fell in love with.
Vulnerable. Brave. Loving.
Before they disappeared into the flames and were swept up into the smoke.
He barely made it out alive and managed to find the remainder of his generals. He sank into a deep depression, mourning for the girl he fell for.
The damage was too great to repair immediately so the last of the Chaos Bringers and the sub armies ran to the surrounding fortresses. However, in the explosion, his brother had lost their beloved saviors.
The Chosen Ones were dead, according to the public.
There were rumors of their survival. Theorists believed they could have escaped at the last second with the power of a portal, but it was unlikely. However, he began to delude himself into believing she was alive and chased every clue.
Juliette wasn't meant to die so soon. She was too precious. Too important to die in the explosion her friend created.
He dreamt of her every night. He imagined her alive and well, surrounded by poppies under a lush midnight sky. He saw her dancing among flames that couldn't harm her.
He remembered sneaking into enemy territory and hiding among the Tribe of Stars, worshippers of the stars and the gods of wrath, to watch the girls play diplomats. The violent tribe, but welcomed them with open arms because their silver-haired prophet deemed them worthy of entry. That night, he watched her dance with the savage tribe dressed in nothing but raven feathers and war paint. Her dance was chaotically seductive. Her voice was made to sing the ancient language of the tribe.
He never realized she was his light until she was gone.
His generals believed he'd gone completely insane. Fighting broke out among his ranks but he didn't care. His reason for life had disappeared. He could care less of who took his throne as the King of Darkness.
Then, just a few weeks later, he heard news of his brother discovering a portal to the other world. To her world. He was desperate, mostly drunk, and searched desperately for the portal.
He saw his brother for the first time in months.
He was surprised to see his brother appear as miserable as he felt. He had the same lovesick desperation in his eyes. It was as if he lost his entire world.
He realized his brother was still looking for the girls and was willing to risk his safety by traveling through a mysterious portal.
His brother was looking for a miracle, and so was he.
He entered the portal without thinking of the dangers.
If Juliette was alive, it was all that mattered.
Her world felt backward to his, but similar in some ways. He used his powers to create a house for his stay. He brainwashed the teachers of every school he visited to allow him to walk free without drawing attention to himself.
One fateful day, he passed a restroom and heard somebody crying.
It was too familiar to ignore.
He entered the restroom without hesitation, climbed up onto the toilet in the nearby stall, and leaned over the wall, and found the girl he loved sitting in the corner, crying her heart out.
His new mission began.
This was his chance. It was his chance to change things and start over. She said if they had another life, at a different time, then they could be together. Surely she could love him again.
He decided to act like himself again. He watched her carefully for each reaction. He listened to her thoughts to decipher that beautiful mind of hers. Her memories being erased was almost too good to be true.
In her mind, he had a clean slate.
He could fix everything.
And he found her first. Before his brother could remind her of the past and drag her back home to turn her into a puppet.
Juliette was his.
He knew it was reckless to leave his generals behind. End and the Shadows have probably assumed full control of his armies in his absence. But he didn't care.
If this went the way he wanted, he'd never have to return to that life. He will never go back if he has Juliette.
And he swore never to let go of her again.
✸✸✸
The room fades into nothingness leaving them suspended in the air. He cradles Juliette in his arms, whispering his apologies into her ear. Tears slid down the side of her ashen face. Dark circles emphasize her pale face. Terror leaves its mark on her expression, even as she sleeps.
Exhaustion forces his tense body to relax. He takes a few shaky breaths and manages to lift his head to stare into the void.
A presence floats through the empty space.
Using the last of his energy, he begins to create a forcefield to protect them from whatever may lurk in the emptiness. His eyes sharpen, focusing on the moving shadows before realizing they are surrounded.
His expression sours as fury begin to blind him.
"Nefario..." a deep voice whispers. "It's been a while."
He glares at the specific Shadow and holds Juliette close to his body. The forcefield's energy solidifies ensuring their total safety.
The Shadow laughs before swooping around them. "I am pleased to see you are still alive. Many doubt your survival, my lord."
He stares down the Shadow but he understands his word has no power over a Shadow. The Shadows only follow End. Ever since he lost interest in universe domination, End has been plotting to overthrow him. The Shadow ranks were eager for that day, he assumes it finally came.
Even so, he doesn't believe leaving was a mistake.
"You've been gone for too long," the Shadow purrs, "You have been overthrown. End has taken your spot as a ruler and will soon lay waste to the entire universe. All because you were tricked by a simple Flower."
He can't help but feel enraged.
Slowly, the consequences of his actions begin to sink in.
He doesn't regret leaving, however, he should have thought things through. He should have established Kilorn as the new ruler in his absence. He should have secured his spot on the throne by punishing End once more. That or kill End as an example.
If you were your brother, this wouldn't have happened.
Probably not. But his brother was a coward.
"You'll suffer for your mistakes," he growls in return. "I'll see to your deaths for daring to challenge me."
The Shadows surrounding the shield begin to howl with laughter. They swirl around the darkness before soaring up into the air, disappearing into the pitch black. Their echoing voices fade away leaving the couple in suffocating silence.
He sighs and looks back down at Juliette. He twirls his finger around one of her curls and kisses her forehead.
Did I make a mistake in finding you? Are you worth losing my empire?
Juliette doesn't answer and continues to sleep peacefully.
He traces his hand along her jawline. He adjusts her to be laying in his lap before he lowers them back into reality. They settle down on the floor of the living room.
He inhales deeply, smelling the sweet smell of pancakes, and leans his head back. He stares up at the ceiling. Shadows slip across the corners of the room as the sun sets. A sense of peace settles over him.
For just a few moments, he pretends like nothing is wrong.
There is no spirit trying to possess Juliette. There are no Shadows destroying his world and taking over his armies. His brother isn't in this world.
Nothing is wrong.
It's just Orferio and Juliette.
Fated for the rest of eternity.