The Black Saint is My StalkerCh108 - Immortals were destined

Edited by dreamandwonder

Great poets wrote distinguished poetry. Great bards sang alluring songs. Great kings built prosperous kingdoms and great generals commanded powerful armies. 17dAyl

But when Graham built castles; they would inevitably fall. His written words would lose meaning in time. His friendships built would end while he continued. The traces he left would be forgotten, yet he alone would recall those departed.

Great men and women created great things, immortalized in records and time. But immortals were destined to watch these things pass, history crumble and time forgotten.

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So as the ages waxed and waned, Graham stopped writing records, singing songs, leading others, or even making friends. For none of these things were worth inevitability; the inevitable that he alone endured. So he disciplined himself and his heart, keeping just the appropriate distance from the world around him.

But no matter how long he lived, Graham was still just a man. And a man’s folly was one just as eternal as he. Folly it was, that stole his words and weighted his tongue. He stood there, in that quaint hotel room without a single thing to say. JMakOU

Graham’s sorrows were immeasurable, more than a thousand years worth. Even if he wished to speak of them, where would he even start? Who would even listen? Who was left to understand?

Not Han Li, that was for sure. Even in a mortal’s years, the boy was too young. And yet why was it that Graham yearned to speak of himself? When he didn’t even have anything to say.

Absurd.

As were many things, inconsequential and temporary.

So he watched wordlessly as Han Li shrugged on his shirt. Though Han Li’s hair was straight in quality, strands on the back of his head always stuck out, bouncing cutely as he struggled into his clothes. It made him look fluffy, Graham reasoned. And though the kid looked slight when wearing large sweaters and oversized t-shirts (half of which were from Graham’s closet), he wasn’t by any means lanky either, athletic and sleek in build. Graham thought he resembled a panther when he was quiet and not busy making a fool out of himself.

Yet somehow, it only made Han Li seem even more adorable. If only his mother, Ruyan, had been even half as cute as her kid…

What strange thoughts. Graham shifted his weight.

When Han Li finished dressing, Graham snapped out of his reverie. The kid was ready to bolt right out the door. He felt a little bad but… uSIT1c

“Stay for breakfast,” Graham said, pointing at the paper bag he had set on the hotel counter. “It isn’t much but I bought us something to eat.”

But Han Li was in no mood to overstay. His expression was strained. “Yeah uh, thanks but no thanks I— I have to go back to my team and all. Report in. Get shit done. You know.”

“…”

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.

Graham felt that telltale weight again, strange and stifling, completely unreasonable. He had secretly hoped to have breakfast together but he was out of excuses, for once. ZhMBwr

“P—P ecvfgrajcv. Nfgs kfii. Ktfc, lo sbe tjnf jcs qgbyifwr vb cba tfrlajaf ab—“

“Jjii sbe.” Ljc Ol rwlifv kgsis. Pa kjr uelia atja mtegcfv klatlc Xgjtjw bcmf wbgf. Lf gfjvlfv jc jqbibus, yea atbrf abb boafc gjcu tbiibk. “P xcbk. P xcbk. Aera… cfnfg wlcv. Ktf ageat lr, P’w cba… P’w cba abajiis regf ktbrf rlvf sbe’gf fnfc bc gluta cbk.”

Han Li stood in the entranceway, his hand on the knob. He looked over his shoulder and their eyes locked. It was awkward, to say the least. And though Graham wasn’t normally bothered by awkwardness, there was something that caused him discomfort. If only he understood what. “I’m on your side,” he said.

He received a bitter chuckle in response. “I never know if I can believe you, Grams. Wish I could because I want to.” IlefFy

Graham didn’t even believe himself. He had no evidence of trustworthiness. In the past, he didn’t need it; didn’t care for it. His reputation alone was enough, even if people didn’t believe him he would forcefully string them along. Here, in this tiny little hotel room, he had no reputation at all. Not in Han Li’s eyes.

Short on apologies, Graham stated bluntly, “I want you to trust me.”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

“That makes the two of us.” Finally, the boy turned away his gaze, his cheeks brightened. Even though his hand was already on the knob, he hesitated. “Um, just so you know… You can call me too.”

“…Noted,” Graham replied, only to feel cringe at his own stiffness. He cleared his throat, trying to remember the years in his life when he still cared to speak to people properly. “I…understand. I will do so if I need you.” agkeQD

Still awkward. Cold even. It had been too long.

“…’Kay.”

The door clicked open and Graham was left by his lonesome.

The Saint of Eternity took his paper bag and sat on the uncomfortably cheap mattress. Inside were two paninis, still fresh with warmth. He had meant to only have one but he didn’t mind having two. 6yuRL

So he sat there and ate in silence.

With a memory as expansive as his own, Graham at times struggled to recall events in the far, far distance.

Sometimes, they would come to him like flower petals tumbling in the spring.

And often they came to him, vague and blurred. InKdQs

Like a distant echoing voice, fingers combing his hair and someone who patted down his tunic, chiding and smiling. “Dimitris,” the voice was soft and wispy, a ghostly impression of what it had once been. “You are so handsome when you smile, but I love you even more when you speak of yourself to me.”

Graham as a teenager was extremely clumsy with words but also very forthcoming. “Wife despises Vespara. Why would I speak of myself?”

She had pricked his cheeks then, scolded him before kissing him on the lips. “Stupid husband. I would never despise Vespara as much as love you, my little darling. If not your history then tell me of your heart. What is it that you feel right here, right now?”

A pale finger poked his chest. Nl9j32

Shamelessly, he confessed without missing a single beat, “I feel that…I wish for my wife to kiss me again.”

“You don’t have to tell me that, Husband!” she laughed, “Just kiss me!”

And so he did.

Back then, his words were as blunt as his feelings. His heart he wore on his sleeve and he knew only how to speak honestly. 6Eu9Po

And no matter how much Graham tried to remain as he was, a thousand years prior, he changed with the ages.

He swallowed, lowering the second panini with no will to eat. The bread, meat, and cheese tasted stale on his tongue. Graham wore a gaze of apathy, his dark eyes reflecting his fatigue.

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He imagined Aoibhinn’s finger against his chest. ‘What is it that you feel right here, right now?’

“Nothing,” he said to no one. aVZm9J

“…” No, but that wasn’t true. And this time, he wasn’t lying to anyone but himself.

So he frowned, trying to discern the mess buried within his chest; the tangled knot of feelings accumulated over hundreds and hundreds of years, so messy that there was no hope for any of it to be resolved.

Grief, anger, sorrow, denial, acceptance, longing, joy, and despair…

It was much too chaotic of a concoction to unravel, much less admit even if it was only to himself. I4R3AZ

He looked down at the ridiculous panini in his hand, growing colder by the second.

Ah. The Saint of Eternity smiled without any humor. He knew. He wished that Han Li was there to eat with him.

That was all.

… Z9kzLW

Valtteri only returned at noon.

By coincidence, Han Li arrived at the same time.

There was no time for a scolding because a briefing was to be held, their mission having changed due to an updated status. An A-team was hastily assembled and now they found themselves demoted. But that did not mean that they were free of their duties yet, Oscar explained.

And until the Crimson Witch was hunted down and destroyed, they were tasked with providing the Edelstein Pillar with additional security detail. Under no circumstances was the Pillar allowed to come to harm. COqs4K

“And you,” Oscar addressed Han Li sharply. The team wore grave expressions, huddled around the messy living room in their hotel suite. “I don’t trust you.”

“…Noted,” Han Li couldn’t help but use the same word that Graham had used on him prior. He felt silly and possibly childish for doing so, for Oscar had no idea about the true source of his bitterness.

“Look mate,” Oscar scoffed, “it’s not personal, yeah? But you’re a demon. A higher demon. See the problem?”

“…I suppose,” Han Li said through gritted teeth. 1VHjO

Leonie kept looking between the two, her lips downturned but unable to find a place to cut in.

“Anyway, if you had let me finish earlier, you wouldn’t be all sneery at me. I don’t trust you, Han Li. But if push were to come to shove I expect that you will perform. I don’t care if it’s with your claws or your teeth or that creepy eye on your head. You better do what’s asked, lest I report you to the Association.”

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Trevor scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Then might as well get it over with and report him now.”

“Shut your mug, Trevy,” Oscar clicked his tongue. d9iYx6

Valtteri perked up from the book he was reading. Despite his disapproving frown, he didn’t cut in.

Leonie sighed but she remained silent too, seeming to concede.

“…That sounds like a threat,” Han Li said, doing everything that he could to maintain his calm.

Oscar didn’t shy away from stating bluntly, “Oh you bet it is it, chap. You best bet that it is.” f2bwhu

Author: u_u i have nothing to say for myself