Lawrence blinked before his eyes grew wide with realization. “Keith? My Keith?”
And they were hugging. Lawrence leaned down to press his forehead against his as tears ran down. “I- I woke up as Ren, from that book you love and I just, I don’t know what to do.”
“I’m still Keith but I’m Oryath’s reincarnation now too. I missed you.”
For a moment the two stayed like that, holding one another. For once, feeling safe as they used to. Then, Lawrence took a shuddering breath.
“Are the people alright? I tried to evacuate as many as I could. Still, Tiamat is not pleased with my betrayal.”
“The crane feathers, they’re yours… And that circlet, I think Oryath remembers it, it’s a limiter isn’t it?” he mumbled in understanding, a concerned frown on his face.
Ren nodded, once, twice, and his grip became tighter. “It’s the very same circlet you saw on one of her generals. I can’t- I have a guard of some sort now. I’m too valuable of a servant to lose, so I may fight against you, in the future.”
Keith buried his head on the other’s shoulder, ignoring the sting in his eyes. “I don’t think I can fight you. Never you.”
They stayed silent for a moment. Reluctant to face their current reality. Green flames burned in the distance and boats were leaving the port. Presumably it’s the people finding refuge in Seipodon. In their hearts though, they knew that the moment they depart any hope of continuing their relationship is nothing but a fool’s dream.
“… I’m sorry.” Keith says, “We promised this life and the next.”
“Before we end this,” His voice wavered, separating the hug. “Can I kiss you, one final time?”
Seeing Ren, Lawrence, heartbroken and caged under Tiamat’s wrath, was like seeing a songbird with broken wings. Trapped and unable to fly, only able to cry out in longing. Nodding his head, he leaned, lifting up a hand to cup the other’s face and wipe away the falling tears.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“One last kiss. And then we’re enemies from here on out.”
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“Keith!”
His ear swiveled to the left. He didn’t care. He can think about saving the world from a fiery doom but for now, he’ll be selfish. Just for now.
“Keith! You filthy mongrel, answer me!” Hyacinth’s voice floated, straining with the hint of worry.
They broke the kiss.
Ren looked at him, sorrowful. “They’re looking for you.”
“Let them. I want to be able to end this properly. It’s only right.” His tail flicked.
And just like that, a gentle smile grew on the other’s face. “The next time we meet, we may have to fight. I don’t know what I’d do.”
“I…” He closed his mouth. What could he say? It wasn’t like he had a death wish and asking Ren to ‘fight him like he means it’ was hypocritical because he couldn’t offer the same.
He can hear footsteps to their left but didn’t leave Ren’s arms. Laying his head on the other’s shoulders he said, “Treat it like a spar. That should keep her from flaying you to bits, right?”
“As you wish.”
“Keith! There you are-” Hyacinth stopped, his eyes taking in the scene.
“That’s my cue to leave.” Ren sighed. Reluctantly, Keith released his hold and walked towards Hyacinth.
Picking up his mask and his fan, he righted himself and bowed towards the two. “Take care of him, alright? That is my only request.”
To Keith’s surprise, Hyacinth bowed back. “So it seems we’re on opposite sides, friend. I’ll do as you requested.”
Ren nodded and gave Keith a smile. “Stay out of trouble and… You can still summon me if you need help.”
Shaking his feather fan, he danced, disappearing in a flurry of white feathers.
Keith fell to his knees and sighed, wiping away the tears on his face. He must look terrible since Hyacinth’s not even asking him questions. Instead they stayed quiet while Leonith and Silon rushed up the hill to join them.
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you, Keith! Not even my spirits could find you, it was like you were hidden behind a barrier.” Silon gasped.
Leonith rushed to his side, glancing over him for injuries. Seeing his distressed state, Leonith said, “Are you alright? Who did this to you?”
Truly a big brother. Keith thought dryly in his head. “Give me a moment, I’ll explain. Just, settle down alright?”
And so on that hill, the four of them sat down and prepared a little campfire. The time it took to settle down was enough for Keith to calm down. His eyes never left the fire as he began to explain.
“That was my lover, at least as Oryath,” He lied. It’s not like it makes a difference. Lawrence, Ren, they’re the same person now. What’s a single lifetime of difference? “Ren, the tengu Oryath used to summon. We fell in love, and Ren betrayed Tiamat to become the guardian of the Seal.”
“That was the original Seal’s problem,” Leonith mused, “I had assumed Oryath had fixed it but to think that someone merely volunteered…”
“Oryath’s original plan was to become the Seal’s guardian but Ren walked into it.” His tail curled as he closed his eyes. “Now he’s being controlled by a Circlet of Pain, Tiamat’s design in order to control her more unruly subordinates. Which means he has someone watching over his back.”
Hyacinth hummed, his face solemn. “No wonder he looked as if he walked to his doom when I first met him.”
He turned to Hyacinth in shock. “First met him? As in, in this life, as Hyacinth?”
“Yes, I saw his body drifting in the waters of Seipodon and I nursed him back to health, assuming him to be a trader from Wuhe who had unfortunate luck with the sea. As we or rather, Amaryllis tended to him, all I learned was a false name, Lawrence.”
“Wait, the Seal is all the way in the ruins of Uruk, how could he have-” Keith paled. “No.”
Silon frowned. “The Seal breaking would have been explosive, and Uruk sits between the rivers Raitesh, and Grish. A demon’s constitution is a lot stronger so he would still be alive, barely, but alive if he floated from those rivers down to the Coral Sea.”
Keith hung his head, curling in tighter on himself. It wasn’t fair. The only one from his past life, the only person who meant the world to him, was now his ex and they’re forced to fight each other. And Lawrence, he wanted freedom more than anything, he had an entire album dedicated to it!
The atmosphere grew to a morose silence, each of them lost in thought. The fire may be warm but he was feeling anything but that. A hand landed on his shoulder, joined by another and a hand over his. He looked up to see Hyacinth and Leonith at his side, and Silon kneeling in front of him, a comforting smile on her face. His ears lowered and he smiled at them, sad and tired.
“Thank you.”
Sorry, only one chapter this week cause Life decided to kick me with deadlines and due dates! Now that Lawrence/Ren is introduced, I feel relieved ahahah I’ve been looking forward to these two and also how Hyacinth and Ren would interact together. Ehehe, look forward to the next chapter! I’ve got a bit of it written today. As for this chapter, if you do catch any typos and the like, please do point it out, because no matter how many times I look through it, it will somehow someway have a typo. Ah, the curse of being an author OTL
Thank you for reading~!
😭😭😭😭 I was hoping for a great reunion but what I got was a tearful breakup. 😭😭😭 That’s to sad! They meet again only to be separated and forced to be enemies. 😭😭 😭
Yes! taps the Lovers to Reluctant Enemies tag I finally got to show the reason why I placed that tag there ehehehe
I have to admit, I didn’t see the tag. I only check the tags to make sure there is no horror tag there. 😅
👋