When Ari was settled into a room, Ari made note of the flimsy windows and the door barely hanging on its hinges. The sun was shining through the cracks of the shutters. Ari could see the bits of dust and pollen floating through the air, it was so bright. He covered his eyes and found the darkest recess in the room to take shelter. Once night fell, he would sneak out and visit the temple he saw coming here.

The Khaeo was known to restore old temples to their glory and to worship their gods beyond all else. Slaying demons was doing the gods work. Even that came second. Ari found it odd that they would leave such a temple in ruin when it was close to the encampment. What he found even stranger was the fact that they worshiped such gods even though they are demons. Do they know such a truth or would they call it blasphemy and refute the idea entirely? It would debase every value the Khaeo held dear, after all. It would cause chaos.

Ari looked at the door, feeling the presence of some other on the other side of it. When the door opened, Ari quickly rose and backed against the wall. His shoulders slumped once he realized it was Rein. The sun had darkened him and left him with tan lines on the outside of his arms. His hair had also grown longer as well. Ari could tell by his bangs. Freir would want him to cut it, Ari knew. He liked to see his face which Rein hid well.

"And so the imprudent son has finally made his return." Ari stared at him, looking at his clothes speckled with black blood. He had a fresh scar decorating the side of his neck. The smell of the moss and medicine on it made it to his nose. He did not like the smell of it. "Come out from there. I will do you no harm."

Slowly, he stepped out from the shadows and let Rein look upon him.

"Already you have become more of them than one of us. Look how you shy away from the light now."

"It is what I am. Why must I pretend to be something I am not?"

"What makes us human is not our blood but the values we share. You share the same ones as us, do you not?"

Ari scoffed and threw away a smile. "And what values must they hold? The evil, lecherous, tempestuous ones that the Book of Forbearance warned against? Do not lecture me anymore in regard to some religion that is built on the foundation of blood and lies. Your gods are the same gods whom you despise."

"Are they now?"

"You will see me as a demon no matter what I do. Those words are words Freir begged you to say, I am sure. You do not have to act in front of me."

Rein crossed his arms and stared at him, assessing him as he always did.

"Does Freir know?"

"Know what?"

He turned his head slightly before a smile crept onto his face. "Was it the blond or the black-haired one that you fucked?" Ari's eyes grew wide before they lowered to the ground. "Freir may be slow to these things, but I am not."

"It does not matter," Ari muttered.

"Because you are in love with the both of them," Rein added, "so you are blinded by what beasts they are. You can only see the prettiness of their faces and not the wickedness that lay in their eyes and in their hearts."

"What wickedness is that? All I see is the pain in them. Their hearts... they are much more genuine than the hearts I have known. You do not understand them... us because you are too blinded by hate."

"Hate? And is it unwarranted? They may have some haunted past, but so do I. Is mine worthless because I have lived lesser years than them?"

"I am not saying they are without their wrongs... as you are not without your own... There must be some understanding formed between us or the results of this conflict will end badly for one side and I do not want that."

"Yet you still want to be with someone that does?" Rein said, growing closer to him now.

" Yes, I do... because I believe he is in pain and he is not without his mercy or heart."

"Would that be before or after he tried to kill you?" Ari shook his head. "If you were human, he would have killed you, you know."

"If I was not worth something to this order, you would have killed me. Do not draw statements that apply to you as well."

Rein sighed and nodded.

"So what will you do now?" Rein grabbed his wrist and brought him further into the light. He could see his own reflection clearly in the brown of Rein's irises. He was tired and weary. In his eyes, he could tell how much he wanted to ask about Freir and how he was. However, Rein always had too much pride. He would never ask such a question if it threatened it.

"Nolan has sent you out to maintain the fallen borders and keep the encampment safe. You and I both know it is not because of your rank or skill that he had stationed you there."

"And what of it?"

"Because of me and me leaving... is that not right?" Ari did not wait for his answer. "You love Freir as I love him in my own way... However, you cannot have both him and your unshaken belief in this order and the gods. You know that. Nolan knows that."

Rein furrowed his brows.

If Ari could get Rein on his side, Freir would easily follow.

"As I know I cannot constantly keep hanging onto this precipice of the unknown any longer. Tell me all of what you know as I will do the same."

"What would you do to help in this situation and what knowledge exactly would you be asking for?"

"As I said before, it is a matter of choice. Freir is here for you and not for himself. Never once had he cared much for the gods himself, but he cared because you cared. He loves them because you love them. And he is here because you are here. Because he loves you."

Rein wet his lips and looked away from him. There was guilt in his eyes now.

"Which do you value more and you will have your answer from there. There are things that must be done for a much greater cause than ourselves."

"What meaning do those words hold?"

"You believe Auovin to be this terrible thing, but there is someone somewhere far worse than he that slumbers as we lay awake. If we do not come together and see what we can do, I fear the worst to happen. He does not want that nor does this order."

Rein looked towards the door before motioning for Ari to go through it.

The floorboards groaned under their feet. Cracked doors creaked as they walked past. Ari spared a glance into each one. The scent of herbs and ale made it to Ari's nose first before he saw the bandagings and the men and women laying on soiled beds. Their moans were low and haunting. Ari did not want to stay there for much longer. Rein pointed to the stairs going down to the third floor. When they reached the bottom floor, Ari rushed outside and took in a breath of fresh air. He never liked the smell of death and the decay that came with it.

"Where are we going?" Ari asked once he regained his breath.

"Nolan would like for you to be fed and dressed before bringing you to him later tonight."

"Before that... let me go to the temple."

"You do not believe in the gods. What reason would you have to go there?" Rein pointed to the small temple that was within the encampment. Ari shook his head and stared off into the opposite direction.

"That one out there. That is the one I would like to visit."

"What awaits you there?"

"... I do not know. But there are truths that lay unearthed beneath those ruins. I can feel it."

Rein's gaze was on him. He could feel them boring holes into him.

"There are demons there."

"Perhaps... Would you like to come with me?"

"Ari, there are reasons some temples are left abandoned." Ari could make out the concern through his voice.

"Because they hold secrets," Ari answered, "secrets you are afraid of knowing or taught to fear. But knowledge should not be feared, Rein, ignorance should be. And how long would you last living in darkness?"

"It is against..." There was a battle going on inside Rein that Ari was not sure of the outcome. For as long as Ari had known him, Ari knew he was a devout believer in the faith that followed their teachings so blindly but faithfully. Ari was envious of it at one point in his life; how easily he could dedicate his life to something and live passionately for it. Secretly, Ari wanted to feel that as well.

"Loving Freir is against this orders teachings as well. A rule is a rule and you have broken it no matter what fancy words you use to displace such thoughts."

Rein's eyes shot up. His nostrils flared and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"Let go of this order now or at least do not follow so blindly anymore. If you do, you will forever be living under Nolan's thumb and forever feeling the guilt that nestles in your stomach when all you have done was love someone. Why should you feel guilty of that?"

"Nolan warns of it because there are some things that are best left unknown," Rein said, ignoring the last bit.

"And what things are those? Love? Desire? Truth?" Ari laughed. "It is okay to question the things that are said to you as fact or as truth. It does not make you any less of a believer when you do, Rein. I am not attacking your beliefs as you are not attacking mine. I am just saying."

Instead of saying anything, Rein shielded his eyes away from the sun and headed off in the direction of the decrepit temple. Ari followed silently behind him. He smiled more to himself than anything. Rein was harsh and callous as they came, but there was no doubt in Ari's mind that he would choose Freir over anything else. He would do anything to be with Freir. That was how strong their love was and Ari thought of it as nothing but beautiful.

Tales of gossip, and the cries and moans of the sick and dying faded off into the distance. When they passed through the gate, Ari could barely make out the sounds of the horses neighing and the squeaky wheels of the carts being pulled behind them. Bunches of apples and potatoes were strewn on top of the wheat from the fields on the carts. In the others, there were bodies of the dead. Some were missing limbs, others heads, and fingers. Eyes were gouged from their sockets and their skin was covered in deep lacerations. Rein did not bother to throw a glance in that direction and kept his head forward.

Outwardly, nothing seemed to bother Rein and that was something Ari greatly admired about him. The fact that Rein despised him was the only thing that kept Ari's feelings to grow close to him at bay. Like Freir, Ari wanted to look at Rein as something like a father to him, but the thought of that seemed like something revolting to Rein, Ari was sure. When Ari looked back up at him, Ari saw his eyes on him before they veered off in some other direction.

"It is strange... seeing you this way... how much you changed. Still, to me, you are very much the same. It is confusing, but not so much because I have known you for so long," Rein mumbled. "To think you would ever speak up against me."

"That is only because I have dealt with blood demons with far worse dispositions than yours."

Rein scoffed. "Is that so?"

"And I believe... I would like to think... I have fallen in love with one as well."

They passed through the grass field, filling with pansies and milkweeds. The grass was taller than himself, so Ari had to keep close to Rein to make sure he would not lose his way. Ari quickly noticed Rein had followed the trail they had made coming there. Rein had always been one to improvise and think fast on his feet. It was another reason why Nolan may have wanted him out of the encampment.

"Think? Believe?" Rein finally said after a long silence. "It is either you do or you do not."

"I do."

"Does he?"

"I do not know. My heart is split in half with one holding each piece. And then there is another... "

"Gods," Rein said laughing, "is it love or is it the thing below your belt that is making you feel all of these emotions?"

"They each compliment me in their own way. I cannot see Auovin without Cyrus or me without the either of them. They are attractive, but that is not what makes my heart beat the way that it does."

The temple was coming up now. Ari could tell by the debris surrounding them. They passed the graveyard of fallen sculptures and soon came across the temple that was in ruins. When Ari stepped closer, glass cracked under his feet. There was dirt smeared over many of them, but Ari could still make out some of its faded colors of sunset. The temple was in such ruin but it was still imposing in its own way. Ari could imagine it in its once glorious state at the thought.

Stained glass covered the top of the dome and its windows. When the light shone through the painted windows, it sent hues of beautiful yellows, pinks, and purples inside. Immaculate sculptures decorated the outside. It spoke of past battles with great demons and lesser ones. There were whyhils, xems, seeres, and wisps. Others were of human soldiers. The very few of demons with horns protruding from their heads. Ari touched one of the fallen statues near the wall.

"Useless." Rein's voice brought him out of his thoughts. Instantly Ari saw it in the state as it was again. The outside of it was covered with blankets of moss and thick vines. It was hard to make out an entrance if there was one still. Rein walked around the front and shook his head. "It is caved in. We will have to climb in from the top."

"The top?"

Rein started to climb the larger stones, hopping from one to the next. With each step, he came closer and closer to the top. It was like a winding staircase. Perhaps they once were. Ari followed his lead and balanced himself on the first small stone before stepping onto another. The larger the stones became, the more jagged and harder it became for Ari to reach. The stones were still wet from the past rain, so it made Ari's footing unsteady. He slipped and hit his chin against the stone. Before he could fall off, Rein caught his wrist and pulled him up to the top.

"Are you okay?"

Ari nodded, making the mistake to look down into the fallen temple and saw nothing but darkness and fallen staircases. A strong gust of wind blew from the bottom of it almost as if it were breathing and on its breath, it whispered words only Ari seemed to hear. Ari pressed his back against the wall, wanting to move away from the edge. He looked at Rein with wide eyes filling with a mix of fear and curiosity wondering if he had heard it as well.

"Steady. Steady. This mortar is old. Who knows when these stones will become undone."

"Did you not hear it?" Ari whispered.

"Hear what?"

"The voice."

"What voice?"

Ari shook his head feeling as if something was wrapping around his throat.

"What did it say? Tell me."

"Come to me."