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EPILOGUE

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"So, are you the one to greet me, I wonder," Wolfram had said, his voice hollow even to his own ears. Clearly, it was a statement, not a question.

The figure, head bent low, gave a brief bow in return.

"I…I see…" Even though he knew better, the disappointment was there just the same.

"Only one." Yes, only one person to meet him and that person, obviously, was a stranger to him.

"This way," whispered the hooded figure cloaked in long layers of thin, gray rags which dragged across the ground. A twisted piece of unravelling rope acted as a belt-cinching a slim waist.

As they went, the guide moved forward stiffly into a pearly mist. He continued on without looking back to see that his order was being followed. Wolfram, wrists cuffed before him, followed obediently. How long he'd been doing so, he didn't really know, but it didn't bother him, either.

Nothing mattered anymore. If he could shut down all of his feelings, feel nothing, just continue—just be—for as long as he was able to, it would be fine with him. He knew what was going to happen next. Fearing it would not change the outcome.

He'd done so much.

So many unspeakable things…

To others, to himself…

And, now, he found himself doing this—still slowly tramping forward—still wearing his blood-stained clothing from the Fertility Ball, still bright red from his throat down to his chest. And he had more blood—dried this time—on the palms of his hands. That blood, he knew, was not his.

The damp mist gradually cleared, and he found himself in a circular stone room with a rusty metal door crudely set into the wall to his right and a deep, round indentation in the floor to his left. The guide positioned himself at the foot of a set of rustic stone stair steps which were embedded into the left side of the wall leading up. Wolfram followed them with his eyes to see a second tier where there was positioned a balcony with a shoji sliding door in dark walnut stain seemingly floating on its own. Two black iron sconces burned brightly with flickering yellow-green lights and a shadow man could be seen through the opaque rice paper behind the screen.

Somehow, he was able to watch him, Wolfram knew.

"You have entered The Kiva." The deep voice seemed to come from a faraway place.

"Kiva? That word means 'the sacred place,'" Wolfram muttered to himself in an undertone. He wasn't surprised the place existed or that he'd found himself here. Long ago, he had come across sacred scripture which told him that The Kiva was one of the astral planes of judgment for lost or damned souls.

Eternal punishment awaited. He closed his eyes briefly, cringing inwardly at the thought.

"Do you understand?" came the stern voice.

Wolfram nodded gravely. He understood.

"In your lifetimes, were you not a sage…even a companion of Shinou's?"

Wolfram took a breath and let it out slowly before answering, "That, I was." There was a tense moment of silence. Yes, the simple statement would not be enough, he knew. So, the blond continued with, "Still, there were lives in which I understood what I was but chose not to act on being a 'Great Sage' or as a companion tied by fate to the 'Will of Shinou' …or even as an advisor to a king…but chose my own path." He shook his head slowly at his admission. "My own selfishness…"

"Were you not educated?" the voice demanded.

"I…I was…to learn from my past lives…to remember them…both the good knowledge and the bad…"

Another almost painful moment of silence followed and then the figure behind the screen seemed to scratch his chin at the answer. "But you educated yourself as well, did you not? Look to your hands, and they will tell the tale of who and what you have become."

Wolfram already knew about his bloody palms and what he had done in his last life to deserve the stains but looked down to his hands again anyway. This time, the dark words and symbols, the dark magic he used at the Fertility Ball, appeared again as charred flesh and oozing burn marks on the backs of his hands.

"Oh, the Fates," he breathed, aghast.

"Explain yourself!"

He lifted his head, looking at the shadow man on the screen. "I…" His heart failed him. The words left him.

From the stark black sky above, clean water poured itself into the round basin set in the floor—pooling and splashing brightly.

"Who were you?" the shadow man demanded.

Wolfram continued to watch the water. He knew who he was.

The pool's water began to churn dangerously and then it whirlpooled—casting small sprays which misted upwards in a sparkling column. Images in watercolor began to play across its surface—old pasts, old lives. Shinou meeting him beneath a tree. Feasts and festivals. Leaves falling. Time passing. Face upon face looking to him, smiling at him or talking about things both important and insignificant. And, then…a voice… Wolfram's own voice filled the room. "Yuuri!"

Standing there, cuffed, Wolfram winced as though he'd been struck hard.

"Yuuri!" he could hear his voice call. "If you do not get out of bed this instant, your schedule will be off and you will be late for your own tea party in the rose garden. A good host never leaves his guests waiting." A light snore came. "Okay, fine. I'll just send in Günter to wake you." A yawn this time and the double black opened a sleepy eye, sat up in bed, stretched- reaching out a hand while doing so and grabbed a thin wrist. Wolfram found himself suddenly tipped off balance and into the bed. "Ten more minutes, my Wolfram," and a cuddle followed it.

Hearing the words, seeing the memory play out, Wolfram could do little more than bite his lower lip. He wanted to cry so badly.

And it didn't stop. It wouldn't stop. It kept going—image after image of their time together. Precious time. And all too short. Then… ""Yuuri…I'll call Gisela." A quick glance down. He was holding onto Yuuri's hand now.

"No, just sit near me. She can't do anything anyway," the double black replied. His face was pained.

Wolfram looked briefly at a chair, pulled it over, and it seemed as though he'd sat down. A gentle kiss for Yuuri followed.

"You'll come with me when I have the surgery on Earth?" Yuuri asked.

"Yes. Though, I don't know why you don't accept the Maou. He can heal your body if you let him. You wouldn't need to get a new heart. You won't have to be ill any longer." The words were a mingling of hope and despair.

"I don't want to change yet, Wolf. I just…let me be me for a little longer? If I have to die, I want to die as me."

"You won't die," Wolfram protested.

"Wolf, I could. I've told you before. There are no guarantees."

"Then I'll change all of fate to find you again. We were meant to be together, remember?"

"And you did change," the shadow man behind the screen told him "so many fates…so many lives…all for the sake of your one selfish vow."

Now, the images on the watery column were filled with burning oil lamps and books. Candles melting down while shaking, impatient hands unrolled tattered scrolls. Blood poured into inkpots and notes written in red script. Precious stones placed in circles of fire while his voice droned in the background, reading from ancient tomes from ancient times. His hands fashioning and setting jewels into the hilts of daggers. Burning books and casting potions which boiled up acrid billowing smoke. Insane laughter, his laughter. "I've done it!" Leaps into darkness. Leaps into yawning chasms of blackened veils. There were more faces: confused, concerned, terrified. Men and women, young and old, familiar and stranger alike. A hand, his hand, stretching horrifically with each contorted movement and then striking out with brutal force… Finally, a blond figure in black clothing looked up, talking to him followed by an expression of realization and alarm. A taunting laugh while the gloom enveloped him from behind—traveling, escaping. Another victim. Heavy breathing. Running. "No! Please!" but no mercy. The stabbing of blades, a cry, and the sound of a body falling.

A new voice. "Have you forgotten the password again?"

"Say hello to Shinou for me."

Another body was quickly drenched in his own blood, the dying man's face puzzled.

"Wallace," Wolfram said to himself, glancing down at the blood on his hands. "That last one… That was his name."

"Answer this!" the voice boomed from above. "Look again and explain yourself."

Wolfram turned from the shadow man to the column of water once more only to see himself pointing a finger at Yuuri Heika but he was speaking to those around him-to everybody. "He was meant to be our reward. Our consolation for all our suffering, for the sacrifice we made for this kingdom and Shinou. That's why…that's how I kept going."

"Is this true?" The shadow man asked in a neutral tone this time. "Was your king and fiancé simply a prize? Something that was owed to you…?"

Wolfram stood there. He lifted his face to the figure on the balcony and a tear slipped from his right eye. "I regret everything…everything. But what I said on that day is probably the greatest regret of them all. And I know that the words 'I'm sorry' will change absolutely nothing. It will not atone for the destruction that I've caused, the lives that I've taken, or the blind determination to alter fate to that of my own choosing… But, with Yuuri…with the only true love in any of my lifetimes…I cannot 'unsay' what I said." Awkwardly, Wolfram tried to rub away a tear with the heel of a bound hand. "Yuuri was my Yuuri. He was not a prize. He was a person. My mind was so…broken back then. I was…" Another tear fell. "But with Yuuri… The truth is that I loved him. No, I still love him…more than myself, my being, my body."

His ramblings could be no more honest than that. And his tear stains were cold against his face. But he deserved it all and then some.

The images on the column faded as the water droplets splashed into the basin and the swirling action came to a halt.

And the room grew silent again.

The end. This was it.

"It's probably a good thing that it ended this way," Wolfram said quietly. "I don't think someone as pure and kind as Yuuri would understand the monster that I've become. I'd rather him remember me the way I was before his death." Wolfram smiled up in a bittersweet way. Now that his soul was here, he knew himself better-what he'd wanted if he'd been given the choice. "Had I known for certain that Yuuri would die…that he would be the one to leave me like that…cast me aside through death...for that's what it felt like… I would have gladly begged The Fates to let me die first. It would have been easier."

"The Fates and spirit guides do not strike deals regarding the gift of life," the shadow man returned. "You, as a sage, should know that much."

"I do…and I don't." The illogic of it fit somehow.

"But shouldn't a wise one, such as yourself, know that difference? And know better?"

Wolfram shook his head slowly. "Then, I renounce being a sage. I was never very pleased with that life anyway. There was always so much pain wrapped up in it."

The door to Wolfram's right opened slowly on its own and a sooty, rolling smoke entered the room from it. "The doorway to the abyss," Wolfram told himself, steeling his nerves. There was no mistaking it. It was a realm of "death" for the "dead.

He looked up again at the shadow on the screen, briefly contemplating this moment. "Thank you for hearing me out. You seemed less like my judge and more like a mentor I once had long, long ago." And with a reverent bow, Wolfram turned—making his way to the door.

A hand on his shoulder and Wolfram turned to see his guide from before.

"Wha-?

The guide's hand gripped his hood and yanked it back with a jerk. "Hi, Wolf. Remember me?"

Green eyes widened impossibly and filled with tears. "Oh...Yuuri," he sobbed before the double black grabbed him-pulling him into a tight embrace. "How…How can you be here? I don't…I don't…" Wolfram looked up to the second tier and saw the screen slide open all the way back with a thud. There was no one there.

There never was.

"I don't understand." His hands were still cuffed uncomfortably but Yuuri seemed oblivious to it—his arms around his shoulders affectionately, still hugging him.

Wolfram looked around himself—confused. "I thought…"

"This is your place of judgment," Yuuri agreed, "but you never understood The Kiva." Yuuri motioned with his hand. "You are this place, you are the stairs and you are the judge…and, in the basin, you poured out your heart. Admitting the truth is hard, Wolf. But you can't move on until you do."

"Move on… Move?" Slowly, realization set in. "Oh, I see now," Wolfram said. A bitter chuckle followed it. "I'm allowed to see you one last time before…" He turned to the doorway with the black, billowing smoke. "A pleasure and a punishment…both in one." He rested his brow against Yuuri's briefly, wishing he could at least hold him.

"You saw me at my worst."

"Look how it started," Yuuri countered gently. "Look how everything began…leading here." Yuuri took Wolfram in closer to his body, holding him, and whispered, "You were afraid and you were angry…lonely."

Wolfram nodded shakily. "I was afraid but that's not the kind of thing I could tell you. It was my job to be strong…my burden alone."

"You were never alone." Yuuri looked hopefully into his eyes. "But once you face the worst…the worst that can possibly happen to you…there's nothing left to be afraid of anymore. Nothing."

"Still, you saw me at my worst just now and…"

Yuuri smiled back in the way he always did. "And, now, it's time to go."

"Go?" Wolfram dug in his heels. "You can't go in there." He pointed to the doorway with bound hands. "I won't let you. It is a one way door and that place is not meant for you. I can't let you! In fact, I won't!" He took a side step to block the way. "Our separation will be fine this time. I can live with it knowing that you will be okay."

"Same old Wolf." Yuuri tried to hold back another smile, but it didn't work very well. "But, you know, I wasn't talking about that."

He took the blond's arm and began to guide him in a new direction. The pearly mist returned and they walked through the stone wall, much to Wolfram's curiosity at it.

"It's somewhere else."

"Yuuri, wait," Wolfram said. He stopped them from going a step further. "You know what I've done. You've seen it. There is absolutely no way that I can enter a heavenly realm with you. It simply isn't possible for me and you deserve better… You deserve to be in a better place when you die."

"Sometimes, Wolf, for such a smart guy you really don't get me at all," he told him while producing a rusty key and unlocking the cuffs. Almost instantly, the metal shackles disappeared in his hand. "The things you did, you repented…you said you were sorry and you meant it. Do you know how many souls come through here denying what they did and how they hurt people? But, I knew you could do it, Wolf. I had faith in you. That's why I waited here for so long."

"You waited?"

"Yeah... I did," Yuuri admitted and gave him another embrace followed by a soft kiss on the lips. "I had to. I wanted to."

"I'm sorry for that."

"For what? For making me wait?" Yuuri asked, taking Wolfram's hand and leading him forward. "Well, it gave me time to think, too. And that was a good thing, you know. "

They continued on through rolling, misty white clouds. A simple stroll together.

"Wolf, I admit that you were right in a way. In life, I should have had more faith in myself and The Maou within me. He never really wanted to take over my life, control me, or live through me. I should have realized that I could have made some sort of peace with him, be a team…just like in baseball…and he could heal my body and, maybe, there would be things I could learn from him to help Shin Makoku."

Wolfram shook his head, "No." Yuuri was just giving in to what he wanted out of guilt. "No, Yuuri. You had the right to your opinions, your feelings about your life and your body. I had no right to be selfish and to tell you what to do."

"You're being kind, Wolf. But I know how things were…and I had a long time to think on that while waiting for you. Even now…" He turned to Wolfram and the blond's face reflected surprise as Yuuri's eyes flicked into snake-like slits for a brief moment. "In the end, we did work out a 'peace' between us and I still have a fragment of The Maou inside of me."

Wolfram's jaw dropped a little. "This is…"

Yuuri laced fingers with him. "It's a good thing because…"

"Because what?" Wolfram asked.

"I found out something really interesting."

"What?"

A sheepish grin and he rubbed the back of his head—black hair spiking up a bit. "The Maou really likes you. In fact, even now, he's got a crush on you, too." Yuuri seemed almost bashful when he slowly admitted, "Truthfully, it is more than just a crush."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

Wolfram gave a deeper look into the double black's eyes—knowing that The Maou part of him was in there somewhere. "Are you fine with that, Yuuri?"

Another reassuring smile, a "yes" and Yuuri tugged him along. "You're worth loving, Wolf. We both agree on that."

The mist gradually parted and Wolfram saw stretching before him a floating bridge with sprays of water splashing up against it, creating a cascading iridescence. The blond leaned forward on his toes and saw dark, churning waves beneath. On the opposite side, thin clouds partially cloaked what appeared to be a lone, grey structure with a long walkway leading towards a series of steps leading down. There were pine trees dotting the horizon and the rest of the picturesque landscape was hidden from Wolfram's eyes.

"Wolfram, I think I've found a new home for us. But you have to want it, too."

Maybe, this was some kind of small joke on Yuuri's part, but he would enjoy it for the moment just the same. He had Yuuri. He was with Yuuri. Anything else was fine, was agreeable. Heaven.

"A home?" Wolfram smiled to himself. "So, you went house shopping without me? It is a good thing my fiancé has excellent taste."

"Well, I picked you, didn't I?"

A sidelong glance at him. "By accident, maybe."

"You were no accident. You were meant to be." His voice was warm now. "I learned that, too, among other things."

"I see…" A sheepish grin in return as the mist thinned.

"Where we're going… It's a small Shinto shrine. There are thousands all over Japan. This one doesn't have a guardian spirit to care for it. So, I thought two guardian spirits would be even better, you know?"

Wolfram pointed to himself taking the hint. "Would that even be allowed?"

A boyish shrug. "Well, being a king in my last life does have its privileges." He met eyes with him and asked, "So, shall we get going, Wolf?"

"I suppose," and Wolfram took a step forward toward the bridge, but paused when Yuuri suddenly did.

The double black snapped his fingers. "Oh, and one more thing." He turned and ran his fingers along a blue lapel with the dark red stains standing out against it. "Wolf's covered in blood and that's not good for a shrine, huh? Everything has to be clean and pure." Yuuri studied his soul mate. "We can come up with something better than this, I think," and his words were followed by a caress and a soft kiss.

Heartfelt, gentle. Welcomed. Wolfram closed his eyes to it.

When Yuuri stood back, he was wearing an entirely new set of clothes—a white kimono with gold dragonflies embroidered on it. Wolfram looked down at himself. His kimono was white, too, but with a tumbling leaf pattern in antique silver thread.

He turned his hands over and back again. "Yuuri, my hands…"

"The blood's gone. I know."

The double black motioned for him to follow as he went on his way. And, then, he put a hand out and Wolfram took it gladly.

"How long can we stay at the shrine?" the blond asked, treading with a slightly awkward gait in his new geta sandals.

"For a moment or for eternity. The choice is ours," Yuuri replied.

"I like the sound of 'eternity'."

"I had hoped you would say that."

"You did?"

"Yup."

Green eyes smiled at him.

Just like old times. In a way, just as it once was, but better this time. They would make it so.

They stepped on the wooden bridge together.

"Then, let's go home, Wolf."

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THE END

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