Disclaimer: This piece is in no way affiliated with line webtoon, Jeho Son, Kwang Su Lee, or the Noblesse manhwa. Please enjoy the fan work.
'Which one of your otp is the one to die and which is the one to sit in the middle of the street holding their dead body, rocking back and forth, screaming "come back, come back?'
Hello Loneliness, my old friend.
Never before in his life—before the time of the great Tsars and Kaisers, before the reign of the Dynastic Emperors and rule of Pharaohs; through and through the rise and fall of entire empires, entire cultures: the throngs of civilisations built up, and stomped out before he could blink an eye— had he ever so much as bent his knee to a soul. Not to Kings, not to so-called Gods, and not even to the Lords of Lukedonia.
But he was here, billions of years from the time the first life on earth crawled from the seas, since they'd grown amok: fruitful, exasperating to behold, awe-inspiring and ever-changing. And here he was; his knees sunk inches-deep into dirt on the ground; his sleeves hanging heavier all the time as they dampened with blood—human blood; his arms trembling with the body of his longest friend growing colder, colder.
He'd never so much as asked for a thing in his life, but now he would beg; beg and plead and grovel to the one who'd first bowed at his feet centuries before, and never wavered. Their souls were intwined as one; and it was peeling back, cleaving apart as one heartbeat grew slower, weaker. Pain bloomed within them, making one lurch forward and the other retch desperately into the air: barely conscious and half-way delirious.
Tears welled in his crimson eyes, and they trickled down without him blinking, striking his servant's body as their souls chiselled away—collapsing them both. The Noblesse was gasping for breath, breaking apart, and now every exhale was punctuated with a plea.
"Frankenstein!"
Gasp.
"Frankenstein! "
Gasp.
"Frankenstein—please!"
Gasp!
Panic washed over Cadis Etrama di Raizel, and he concentrated what power he had left, surging it to cloud the other man's pain. What Frankenstein felt, he felt, and he was fraying apart from the seams, the walls of his mind shredded. Hanging on by a spider's web. Raizel wrapped one bloodied arm under Frankenstein's body, cupping a shaking hand on his bruised face. The scrawling purple of Dark Spear coiled back at his touch, and it sunk below his skin, revealing more bruises, a cracked lip. Frankenstein lay languidly in his embrace, flustered by an action a hundred times worse than sitting in the presence of his liege, but too weak to suggest otherwise.
"Frankenstein!" Raizel croaked, voice hoarse, heart palpitating.
"FrankeNSTEIN!" He pleaded, shaking him in his grasp despite he was shaking too. And it startled him, making him wince. Hearing his voice ring so loud against the obliterated terrain made it echo back in a ghostly mock; and it was as alien as feeling the blood flow slower though Frankenstein's veins, as alien as feeling Frankenstein's life force flicker away like a fragile candle light. Mankind had yet to invent the wheel the last time Raizel had raised his voice, and he had screamed himself hoarse.
"No, no, no."
He was drowning without water.
"Nonononononono"
He was dying despite immortality. "No." Their souls spasmed with a convulsion, and their connection thinned out, closing off like the last light of the dusk. Frankenstein's mind was stifling, wandering further into the distance as seconds drew to minutes. Soon, finding the bridge between their minds was like looking into a thicket of fog, recalling a long forgotten memory.
No.
"—ster." Raizel gasped for breath, resuscitated—snatching at a last hope.
"…Master."
"Frankenstein!"
"Mas…Master. I'm sorry. I…please…" Frankenstein paused, swallowing the blood in his mouth. "Please accept my humble apologies. I've failed you."
Something lurched within Raizel, and he tugged the man closer, wincing at his groans. There was an intensity in his eyes, a desperateness to make him understand. He had to understand.
"No, Frankenstein, you've never, you've… I don't care, I don't care."
"No, Master…I've failed, I…" His voice cracked. Frankenstein's vision was blurring in and out of focus, making colours blend and disperse like water rippling. Blue eyes swam around his face, finally meeting red.
"I'm failing you right now. I'm going to die, Master."
The unspoken promise that had bound him to his Master was breaking away. The contract doesn't bother me. I want to stay by his side. He could be at his side no longer. For Raizel, nothing would have changed even if he was told, right now, that the world was ending. Nothing was fair, nothing was alright. Their souls were crumbling, pain spasming from them in unison.
"I am sorry, Master…My Lord…eheh, hehe, but I assure you, this was my best-case scenario." His voice was cheery, and Frankenstein sighed, smiling wryly. The blurry world blinked into disarray, making the red of his Master's eyes merge and elude him. He plunged into darkness. The blue in his eyes dulled, painting them in melancholy. Frankenstein laid motionless in his arms, starring squarely where he last saw Raizel's face.
"It was always my hope that I'd meet my end before you. This is the natural order of things, after all. I am human, Master." His smile grew wider, putting wrinkles on his deceptively young face, and he was beaming through his bloody teeth. Frankenstein lingered there a while, trying to think over the sound of Raizel's thumping heartbeat.
"We both knew this day would come, one way, or another…My life was eons longer than it should have been—and I'm honoured to end it in your service. At…at your side."
He chuckled lightly, feeling Raizel's grip on him tighten. His hands were trembling so hard, and for an incredulous moment, he wanted to forget his place, embrace him back. But he could never—his arms were so heavy—and he needed to finish this: apologising.
"Forgive me. Master. I am so, sincerely sorry. I hope you can forgive me…I'm sorry. Don't think too bad of this, please. Just think of it as—me fulfilling my humanity." He stared vacantly into what he thought was Raizel's direction, trying to look him in the eyes. His blue eyes were grey now, hazy, and the gesture made Raizel cringe.
"Frankenstein, don't do this…don't do…don't you dare say that. It can't be this way—don't you dare…we can still—"
"—Master, I,"
"You?"
"I"
"Frankenstein!"
"Let me…let me request something of you, Master. "
"…"
"Take care of yourself. Look after yourself. Make yourself the first priority, for once. For me… if I may dare say so." He added, furrowing his brow. But his voice took on a conviction, all the intensity a whisper could muster.
"Live, Master. Live the rest of your millennia however. Do things just as you wish, please—don't imprison yourself in your mansion, don't waste away the time you've left. You…please. Please. Please.
"You must live, Master."
Loneliness;
Loneliness.
Once, the quiet was deafening. He locked himself, alone and lonely, away before that open window that draped him in moonlight—lampooning his every desire. The Master of an empty mansion.
There was a soundlessness that could suffocate, drive man into madness, nobles to insanity. And he'd drowned alone for a billion years.
Forgetting the sound of his own voice.
Courting inconsequential oblivion.
And the feeling of nothingness permeated his skin, gripping him in a silent symphony— inescapable, irrevocable. In his mind, there was desolation. His window was both sanctuary and a prison, estranging him from everything and nothing. The solitude came creeping back, creeping back, to the forefront of his mind.
The loneliness hurt so bad, he could die.
The loneliness hurt so bad, he was already dead.
Dead, and gone; numb, and rotting.
He remembered how it felt, being alone.
How did he forget? How did he ever, forget?
"Frankenstein."
He breathed. Blond hair blew into his face, and Raizel brushed it back with a reverence.
"Frankenstein?"
He murmured.
"Frankenstein!? Answer me. Answer me, Frankenstein."
Silence reigned between them.
"Don't leave." He breathed. "Frankenstein, don't leave me."
He could resort to ordering him, he could command him, force him. But what good could it do? The contract was nothing more than a haze; the link that bound them was wisping away—like smoke.
"Don't leave me. Don't leave me."
All the power in the world—the so-called being of divinity, and he could do nothing.
"Don't leave me. Don't leave me. Don't leave me."
Nothing made sense, and he was pathetic, unable to save the one who had saved him in every way possible—continuously, relentlessly; loyal and constant. He was pitiful, childish; as illogical and selfish as his plea was.
"Frankenstein! Don't leave me, please don't leave me. Frankenstein! Don't leave, don't leave me don't leave me don't leave.
"Don't leave me."
Raizel's tears flowed crimson, and they burned down his face, each drop falling on Frankenstein. It trailed down, marring his blonde hair, his bruised face; making him cry tears of blood too.
His breathing became the loudest sound for miles.
"Frankenstein?"
He whispered.
"Frankenstein?"
He begged.
Raizen snapped up, tilting his face in his palm. Frankenstein stared back, his cloudy eyes blank and still, unseeing and unknowing. The light had already left them. In a short, deft moment, everything vanished as abruptly as a flame going out. The lull of his presence in his head, the familiar link at the back of the mind, the contract bound by blood, and—
Gone.
"Come back." He clenched his grip on his body, pressing his nails into his skin.
"Come back." He shook him lightly, once, twice, and his head fell backward, baring his neck.
"Come back. Come back." His blood was drying, and it was cold against his sleeves.
"Come back. Come back. Come back. Come back. Come back."
Raizel sighed, the world crumbling within him. He closed his eyes, falling forward, leaning his head on Frankenstein's chest.
Here he was, millennia on, again the Master of an empty mansion; the Master of no servant.
Frankenstein was dead.
And the Noblesse was alone.
Notes
Thank you for reading, hope my first Noblesse fic was enjoyable.
So, this was the prompt it was done for : 'Which one of your otp is the one to die and which is the one to sit in the middle of the street holding their dead body, rocking back and forth, screaming "come back, come back?"'
Rai and Franken are platonic partners for me (don't get me wrong-I love me some romaance too~), but oh god- technically it's Frankenstein that's going to go first...should Raizel not die of being too nice for other ppl. Perhaps I'll write a reverse version later.
I would love nothing more than a review, one or two words, even. Many thanks!
-earl