A/ N: My poor Tenebrae. Time to focus on him a little bit. These two are not in a really good place.
Xxxxxx
Death was out of the realm, looking for clues about the attack on the Realm of all Beginnings. He specifically told his son that he couldn't leave the realm in his absence and they had to wait until his return to eventually leave the place. Needless to say that upon learning this, Tenebrae threw a hissy fit. His father left, cold as usual, seemingly uninterested by his son's reactions and feelings and it left the prince extremely upset at the whole situation. He was stuck in the End realm without any possibility to leave and he couldn't even take Lux to the end of it, far beyond Elysium, where the monsters resided because she didn't have her powers back. The old Lux would have been able to follow him because she was powerful enough to withstand the monsters but in her current state, it was suicide to take her there. The prince was limited in his moves. He could take her to visit Elysium and its splendor. The city was beautiful and full of diversity in the people and the designs of the houses of the dead. If they had time, it would have made a fascinating walk for the daughter of Life, because she would have seen the history of men unfold before her very eyes. Perhaps, another time.
He still took out outside of her room and to the royal garden. There, various plants that are known to men to be lethal were cultivated in a very luscious garden. It was the only colorful spot of the whole castle but it didn't bother Lux. Outside was already an improvement from the inside since she wasn't locked in her chambers. As they walked in silence, she looked at Tenebrae's youthful face. The prince had clenched his jaw ever since they left their chambers and he had not said a word ever since. His features seemed sharper than usual, his black orbs seemed even emptier than before. She didn't have to touch the deity to notice how cold it felt. Her warmth was already an anomaly in such a realm, her lifeforce seemed an error. She was the living walking among the dead and therefore, as such, she always felt the cold emanating from Tenebrae, Death or the likes. She wrapped her arms around her chest as they finally stopped by a bench. The prince gestured for her to have a seat and she did without resistance.
« You seem... angry. »
« I am angry. » -He retorted, his ebony orbs focused on the Actaea Pachypoda that were in front of them.-
« What has you this angry, Tenebrae. » -Her voice was almost a whisper as she was hesitant to ask the question.-
« Everything. » -He finally said as he looked at the distance.-
Everything...Of course, the prince was mad at everything. He couldn't figure out why their parents had decided to separate the two of them and still blamed them for the attack on the Realm of all Beginnings and Lux' death. He still blamed them for the loss of his beloved and the fact she was reborn with no memory of them. He was angry at the Keeper of secrets for not being able to provide a clear answer to his question. How could defeat his father if he had no clues as to what the vanishing point was, where to find it and what happened there? He couldn't understand who the chosen ones were supposed to be and even less how he was going to keep his promise to help restore her memory? The prince was mad because he felt imprisoned by his own father, unable to leave the realm he hated so much. He had a particular distaste of Elysium. It was supposed to be akin to the Christian Heaven but it wasn't at all. Good souls were just regular souls. People would still lie, cheat, and deceive but none of them had claimed a life, at least, not intentionally. He would remember the stares when he was younger, how to frighten of him those souls were. He had the power to destroy them for good and summon the void, so of course, they would fear him more than they did his father. Tenebrae was unpredictable and because he was, sycophants were surrounding him. All of them sucked his energy and tried to suffocate him with praise in an attempt to not anger the prince.
They didn't anger him, at least, not to the point of him losing control. He quickly learned how to spot a liar as he grew older and sniffed around those who were trying to get in his good grace in order to ensure their survival in case he would become angry. They were afraid of him, everybody was...Except for the other primordial entities such as Death, Time, Fate, and Life. They were afraid of him, so the prince of Shadow was used to being on his own, with the harpies as his wet nurses who would follow him everywhere until he became powerful enough to fight off the monsters inhabiting his personal realm.
The prince was known to have a temper, one of those that was terrible. He would lash out at monsters, fighting them off and slaying them until he had enough and needed a break. He would be cruel, break the hearts of those who were infatuated with him, torture the souls of the damned in their personal hell. He would try to get his father's attention in vain. Many would say that the prince was hot-blooded, selfish, unpredictable, maybe even unhinged. Many would say that he shouldn't have been born and perhaps was Death's greatest regret. Others would insist that Tenebrae was unable to feel and they would all be wrong. In truth, the prince was lonely. He had always felt the void inside of him and had tried to fill him with anything. He tried anger, contempt, pettiness, kindness and everything else but never did he feel complete until he met Lux.
Lux changed everything for him. For the first time in his whole existence, he didn't feel empty. He simply was himself, and surprisingly enough, Tenebrae cared for her. He was not part of the living but near her, the prince could almost feel a heartbeat inside of him. He was icy cold in a normal state but as soon as he heard her voice, he became a little warmer. She had melted the barriers the prince put up in order to protect himself from the disappointment and resentment he felt towards his father. She accepted him the way he truly was, and he lost everything. The thought alone was enough to lit a fire inside of the prince who clenched his fist. Nobody had ever seen the true face of the prince of shadow, except for Lux. Like his father, this beautiful pale face with long silver strands and jet black eyes wasn't his true form. Like his father, his true face was a skull. The prince was so angry that he didn't even bother to hide his true-self anymore and a perfect ivory skull was now facing the princess who looked at him with eyes wide open. She felt the familiar tingle in her heart and knew that he had shown her his true self but given the loss of memory, it all felt like it was the first time. His skull was shining and a golden flame lit it up. It was unlike his father, she thought to herself. It was far beyond Death itself. Her silver eyes stared at him, but unlike what he expected, she wasn't afraid of him. Instead, Lux cupped his sharp bone, where the cheek should have been and looked into the dancing flames in his eyes.
« I understand how upset you must be. I am upset too. I do not remember...I don't have my powers. I know that I have lost something important to me. I can feel it in my bones. » She trailed off.
« You tell me what's worse, Lux. Not being able to remember or be able to remember? You are just right next to me and yet, you are not with me. » He said, his voice sounding deeper and colder in this form. Lux sent a shiver went down her spine and swallowed a lump.
« I am sorry. I have been focused on my problem without truly understanding why it was so difficult for you to know that I don't remember you. I never asked. »
« You are everything to me. You quench my thirst, you fill the void. You used to not be afraid of me when I fully unleashed my powers. I saw you, the way you looked me and the fear I saw in your eyes... » He shook his head. « I need to find out who attacked you so we can destroy them. If you can't remember me, I might at least avenge your old self. » He said, holding her hands in between his cold ones. « I will avenge you and your mother for what happened to you. »
« I wish I could help, Tenebrae. I don't know what to do. » -Her voice broke-
« You can't help me right now. »
He returned to his previous form. His beautiful face and mid-long silver hair returned and his black gaze felt even emptier than before. She could feel the weight of the World on his shoulders and realized that deep inside, Tenebrae was hurting. She had never seen him this sad since he found her again and it worried her. Without hesitation, the young deity cupped his cheek again and gently stroked it before he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his head against her shoulder. He was the shadow prince, the loneliest soul of all realms, the child Death wasn't supposed to have, the man Lux wasn't supposed to love. He was an anomaly, one that shouldn't exist and yet, he was here.
-TBC-
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