Title: God, Monster, Demon, Devil.
Summary: [One-Shot] They could call him what they willed; for it was him whom would cast upon them the shadow of destruction; for it was foreshadowed with his birth. He would erase it. All of it. He would leave nothing left upon the earth, and be the last one alive to sift through the ashes of destruction.
Characters: Ryner
Rating: T
Status: Complete.
Disclaimer/Letter from the Author: I just finished watching the anime, and wow! Where can I read this, huh? Am I right? This is brilliant. This is splendid. I have so many ships in my head for this show that it is unreal.
A little more into the summary: this one shot examines the effect the ones Reyner love most impact his life (Sion, Kiefer, and Ferris)
LOTHL and its plot and characters are not my own. The poetry excerpt comes from the poem, "We are the Hollow Men" by T. S. Elliot. However, the original plots and ideas are my own. Please ask permission before any reuse of any part of this fanfiction.
God, Monster, Demon, Devil
|"This is the dead land/This is cactus land/Here the stone images/Are raised, here they receive/ The supplication of a dead man's hand/ Under the twinkle of a fading star.
The eyes are not here/There are no eyes here/ In this valley of dying stars/ In this hollow valley/ This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms.
Sightless, unless/ The eyes reappear/ As the perpetual star/ Multifoliate rose/Of death's twilight kingdom/ The hope only/ Of empty men. "|
He was a God.
He was a Demon.
He was a Monster.
He was all that was within the world, what came into it, and what left it just as quickly. With a steady gaze, and determined hands, he froze the very movements of the hands of Time itself, and within those same instances, levelled its very make-up to chalked up ice and snow.
He was the harbinger of nothingness. Emptiness, by definition, was the very cloth which he sewed; for with his eyes he erased everything, and sent all in his path into the abyss of darkness.
It was a simple matter, really. Except for him, all other things within the world were flies. Buzzing in swarms, toppling one another to feast upon the waste and carnage that he considered to be, by definition, the world that they lived in.
Meaningless. insignificant. Unnecessary.
Flies.
And he, in comparison, was that anomaly within the natural selection of things that swatted them where they stood.
Eradicated. Destroyed. Erased.
Oh, how the world around him burned brightly when he spread out his hands! How the hearth moaned and trembled, the upheaval swallowing the cries of humanity.
For he was a god; and when he willed it to be light, there was light; and when he willed the world to be consumed in fire, it was consumed. And there he stood, amidst the anguish, arms spread wide like a savior, reigning down the hellfire of salvation; purging the ground of its sin, its taint. And even when the embers of his hatred illuminated the entire world, with a movement of his hands and with a slight intake of breath, he snuffed it out completely.
Such was his power. Such was his might.
He was invincible. Undefeatable. Indestructible. He was an indestructible being, whose only want was to reign down destruction, help erase the tarnish of an already withering world.
He was a Devil; the Lonesome Soul, feared by all, desiring what he would never have. Happiness. Completion. Kindness. Acceptance. Once, he yearned for such sentiments. Once, he wished for them, but they were gone now. Reduced to ash and rubble like the very world he sought to destroy; erased.
After all, what did it matter? Why fight it? Why be the hero? Why care? Give in to the need, the urge, the desire to erase. To eradicate. To destroy. To erase. To purge.
Let the hate consume him completely, until there was nothing left inside him. For only that would bring him joy.
Because he was a god. He was a monster. He was a demon. He was the devil.
And everything would fall before him. Everything would be erased by his hands. He would find the lights of the world, and he would thrust them into everlasting darkness.
Yes! Yes! Yes! And how the world will fall! Oh, how it will be nothing!
And just when the voice within his head becomes his own, just when the manic laughter begins to slip passed his lips and his eyes are widened with the new-found truth that it all must end, his heart resonates within him, shouting desperately.
You are no monster! You are not!
Close your eyes. It's okay now.
"Open up your ears, and listen to me!"
The voices within his heart blend, turning into a thunderous roar that sends a jolt through him, and makes his breath catch. With that powerful jolt there comes a light - light that is spreading within him, erasing the hate. Erasing the darkness.
Reyner!
Reyner!
"Reyner, damn it!"
There's something...sliding down his cheeks. Moist. Cool. Overwhelming. He darts out his tongue and a droplet of the liquid lands upon, and he finds that it is tears. He finds that he is crying.
Crying...
And as a palm covers his gaze in darkness, and fingers deftly slide along the lids of his eyes, he feels nothing. Nothing, but a numbing stillness. Warm and encompassing - rendering him useless as his strength leaves him and his body sags on to the hearth which he has desecrated.
And he feels relief. An instant weight lifted from his shoulders now, as he finds himself truly breathing. Finds himself aware of the Light around him.
For he is a god, demon, monster, and devil.
But some call him a hero.
Some call him a Saviour, too.