DENTED AND BROKEN

Tower hung over a landscape of stone which was slowly growing further away from it. Crescent moon above, surrounded by starlit sky, cast weak light atop of it, while lanterns and torches lit the streets of a small city. At the very top of the Tower, overlooking the entirety of Skyfire Paradise, Y’se drank directly from the bottle, air around her melancholic.

It has been almost three months since she arrived back here. While the city itself thrived, with atmosphere that could suffocate the agony itself, she, for the most part, avoided it, oftentimes coming to the top and drinking until she’d pass out. She couldn’t help but look up to the sky and sigh, shaking her head as she bitterly smiled. Memories of long time ago gently flooded into her mind and, despite her best attempts, they didn’t stop pouring. Just as she was about to give in, a familiar voice jolted her back to her senses, echoing inside and outside her mind. She opened her eyes and glanced left where she spotted a mirage of Lynne, smiling at her.

“You look like shit, sis. What’s wrong?” he asked.

“… what the fuck are you doing here? Rather, where the hell have you been? More importantly, why are you still alive?” Y’se rebuked, using a bottle to hide her faint smile.

“Oi, what’s with this barrage of hostility? I just wanted to let you know I’m fine, but from the looks of it I should have just died.”

“I know you’re fine,” Y’se said. “A bug like you can’t possibly die that easily.”

“You do realize you’re related to that bug, right? By extension, you’re a bug yourself.” Lynne said casually.

“I’m at least a butterfly. You’re like a cockroach.”

“Yeah, well, at least it’s hard to kill me. It’s something.”

“How’s it going? What did Ely say?” she asked, finally turning towards him.

“That’s a secret!” Lynne said, smiling. “Well, you’ll find out soon enough anyway.”

“You seem pretty happy,” Y’se said. “Good for you.”

“… so, what’s wrong?” Lynne asked, casually leaning against his arm.

“Hm?”

“Don’t ‘hm’ me. Right here you’ve got a guy who can read people better than books--”

“--that’s just sad.”

“--yeah, but it counts for something.” Lynne added. “For better or worse, I can at least listen.”

“Aren’t you interested in your damned Kingdom? Or the shit you’ve stirred up?”

“Oh, right. There was also that.”

“Your subjects would die from crying if they knew they’re just an afterthought.”

“I’ll do my job properly… one day…” Lynne said, smiling lightly. “So, come on, talk to me. Unfortunately I can’t drink with you, but you can just drink for both of us.”

“That was the plan.” Y’se said, sighing as she looked up. “… I just happened to learn who was the leader of the other side.”

“… shouldn’t that be a jolly news?” Lynne said. “Now you guys know where to strike.”

“’You guys’?! What the fuck do you mean ‘you guys’? This is as much your problem as it is ours.”

“… no way.” Lynne shook his head firmly. “Who the hell thinks I’ll be dealing with the main bad guy? I’m here for the small fry only. So, who’s the leader?”

“… someone I used to know.” Y’se said, smiling bitterly.

“That’s an odd was to phrase it, no?”

“Hm?”

“Saying you ‘used to know’, as though you don’t anymore.” Lynne said.

“I don’t,” Y’se said. “The man I used to know wouldn’t be doing this.”

“…”

“What’s with the sudden silence?” Y’se asked, looking at him oddly.

“Somehow, I’m getting the feeling that this particular star-crossed lovers story doesn’t and won’t have a happy ending.” Lynne said, sighing. “So, who is he?”

“… how old are you?” Y’se asked.

“Twenty-two,” Lynne said. “Old enough to understand the turbulent waters of love, so don’t worry! I’ve got a heart full of advice I can give you!”

“Ha ha, no, that’s not it,” Y’se laughed lightly as her mood improved somewhat. “Twenty-two, huh… I see. I was almost thirty when we parted.”

“… just how old are you anyway?”

“Don’t you know you’re not supposed to ask the lady for her age?”

“Ah, I guess to Magus age is irrelevant.” Lynne added. “So, why’d you part?”

“Because I begged him to leave.” Y’se said.

“… it couldn’t have been easy.”

“Damn… I’ve never told this to anyone else. Why am I telling it to a brat like you? You’ve already got enough worries on your own.” Y’se said, wiping the corners of her eyes. Lynne’s expression dimmed as his eyes fluttered for a moment.

“… when we first met,” Lynne said. “I didn’t know you… and you didn’t know me. Yet, still, based on something as vague as Bloodline, you accepted me unconditionally. Even when I did something as terrible as ripping someone’s Soul apart, you reserved a place for me by your side. Through it all, I’ve never once see you even look sad, let alone cry. Yet, I don’t even have a heart to make fun of you…”

“… is there a point to that speech of yours?” Y’se asked, taking a gulp.

“… Heavenly Ale is really bitter,” Lynne said suddenly. “It’s good when things are calm. Only then.”

“Shut up. Everything else sucks here anyway. So, the point?”

“… the point, huh? I don’t think I really had a point. I guess I just wanted to remind you that you should calm down before climbing down from this place.”

“… well, that was one shitty way to do it.”

“Hah, what else can I do?” Lynne chuckled lightly, looking up. “What can a shitty brat like me possibly say that would help you right now? Who knows how many years have passed… yet you’re still crying for him. Anything I say will hold absolutely no water. So I may as well just listen.”

“So you do have at least a little bit of common sense in that head of yours, huh?”

“It comes with all the wisdom I’ve acquired over the years.”

“… when I first met him, I didn’t know,” Y’se said as Lynne listened carefully. “I don’t even know how many years passed before I learned who he is. However, by that point, it was too late… too late to even pretend I was capable of saying goodbye. I think, on some level, I always knew it would happen… but I chose to believe. I chose to believe that a human and a god can be together…” Lynne’s eyes widened in shock as his entire body shuddered for a moment. “Insane, isn’t it?”

“… yup, pretty much.” Lynne said. “So he’s a False God…”

“Yeah,” Y’se nodded. “There, now you know my own sad backstory. At least, if nothing else, it felt slightly good to get it off my chest after so many years…”

“… you probably know I’m not the greatest romantic in the world.” Lynne said after a short silence.

“You don’t say.”

“However, because of it, I never felt stumped if one love didn’t work out.” Lynne said. “For better or worse, each time your heart gets broken, you learn something new. Sometimes, circumstances simply won’t allow two people to stay together, no matter how much they love each other.”

“… ah, just how many times have I told myself it’s time to move on…” Y’se said as she glanced at him oddly.

“I’m not telling you to do that, though. Not yet, anyway. For the time being, maybe open your heart to a new possibility. After all, it’s pretty preposterous of you to think there’s only ever one person you can fall in love with.” he said, grinning.

“… aah, I’m being lectured by a kid. Just how far down have I fallen?”

“Lectured? What are you talking about?” Lynne said. “It’s just a brother having a conversation with his sister, no?”

“… no lil’ bro of mine would lecture me like that, though. Most of them just kneel in fear when they see me.”

“Sorry for not being a proper little brother.”

“… you didn’t even comment on a fact that I fell in love with a God. How noble of you.”

“I have, though.” Lynne said, blinking in confusion. “I said it’s pretty insane.”

“…”

“… don’t give me that look. You said it yourself.”

“I suppose I have.”

“… aah, you really surprised me,” Lynne sighed, suddenly lying down. “Truth be told, I never expected to see this side of you.”

“Disappointed?”

“A little bit,” he said. “But, I guess that everyone’s broken in their own small ways.”

“… oi, isn’t it kind of harsh to call me broken?”

“But you are,” Lynne said calmly. “Just like me, just like everyone else. So it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“… no, no, at best I’m just slightly dented. You are the one who’s truly broken.” Y’se said.

“…”

“Wow, I hit right where it hurts, huh?”

“Nah,” Lynne said, sitting back up. “But, if it helps you, I truly am broken beyond repair! Can’t even comfort my own sister in her time of need! Can’t help her heal her bro—I mean dented heart! Just how terrible am I, truly?!”

“… you’re strong.” Y’se said suddenly, surprising him.

“Of course! Look at these muscles! I started working out every day!”

“… so, for tonight at least, let me borrow some of that strength of yours.” she said as the tears suddenly trickled down her cheeks, glistening underneath the moonlight.

“… go ahead,” Lynne said, smiling gently. “Take however much you need. Just promise me that, come tomorrow, you’ll be taking proper care of my Kingdom.”

“… can you even call it your Kingdom anymore, you damned brat?!” Y’se shouted through her sobs.

“Of course it’s my Kingdom!” Lynne said, puffing his chest out. “Don’t take away my achieved dream from me!”

“Your dream sucks. You suck too. Why do you leave so often?”

“It’s the sense of adventure, I tell you! I just can’t help myself!”

“Why did you leave?!” she shouted into the empty sky. “You should have stayed!!”

“I had to leave!” Lynne said, still smiling. “Winds called for me, m’ lady! How can I ignore the winds?”

“And what are you doing now?! Starting pointless wars, causing deaths of millions!! Why did you become like this?!”

“It’s a game, game of life and death, I say! Who can withstand? Who can prevail? Who can claim the top and wear the crown? I’m getting excited just thinking about it!”

“… why can’t I just forget you already?!”

“… isn’t it because you never tried?” Lynne said, his voice almost a whisper, as he extended his arm and put it on Y’se’s head. Although he was only mirage and couldn’t touch her, as though warmth of his palm reached her, her trembling body calmed down. “Sometimes, some things… must be let go. No matter how much they hurt.”

“… you really are strong…”

“… not nearly as much as you think…” Lynne mumbled.

“Huh?”

“Nothing, just getting embarrassed over all this praise. Can’t you say something terrible to balance it out?”

“Your dick is small.”

“I said terrible, not life-ending!!” Lynne shouted.

“Pft, ha ha ha…”

Amidst laughter and tears, Y’se looked at the mirage in front of her, mirage of a boy whom she met only recently, and whom she thought she knew better than he knew himself. At that moment, she realized just how wrong she was; rather than knowing everything about him, she felt as though she knew nothing at all. Just bits and pieces of his journey that seemed irrelevant right now. So irrelevant that she’d forgotten all about them, and started looking at the person who was right here in front of her. Someone she could rely on, no matter the time or place.