Alphen had died.
He knew that. He'd lived out a good, happy life.
But something even greater than Chronos wanted his friends and him, and for what, he didn't know.
"What happens now?"
Chronos took a step forward, the clock behind him spinning rapidly. The numbers etched upon each sphere glowing with a reality-bending light.
"Now…" Chronos raised a hand at them, a beam of light building within his palm, "…you start over."
Time-Travel Fix-It AU
AN: Lemme know any spelling or grammar mistakes and I'll get around to fixing them.
Chronostasis – Chapter 2
It had been close to a week since the competition to choose the next Lords for the Crown Contest had come to a close, and all Tarnigen could think of was how utterly he had messed up.
"Tarnigen? How are you feeling?" a small voice drew his attention to the doorway from his place on one of the hospital beds, the door finished opening to allow Fahria to walk in. Tarnigen barely mustered up the strength to smile before flopping back in bed, heart heavy with regret.
"Well… I'm not dead," Tarnigen huffed out, a dry laugh on the tip of his throat but unable to leave, "but that's about the least of my worries. I messed up, Fahria. I really messed up…"
Fahria didn't say anything as she walked closer, only sitting down by his bedside, reaching out a small hand to clasp his own. "We… both did," she said quietly, her short blonde hair covering her green eyes.
A silence brewed between the two of them, one borne of unspoken questions and regrets.
Tarnigen was the one that broke the silence, the unspoken questions that sat in the air becoming too much to hold in.
"I tried to kill Do, Fahria," Tarnigen's throat constricted, his Adam's apple bobbing shakily. "I tried to kill my best friend just to become a Lord… I tried to kill him even after he had won! I tried to backstab him!" he was barely conscious enough of his own actions that he squeezed the hand that wasn't being held between Fahria's own.
After a moment, he let the pressure ebb away from his heart, his right hand relaxing as he found himself wallowing back in regret. "He… He brought me back…" Tarnigen said hoarsely, vividly recalling the way Dohalim's chosen weapon, a shaft of il Qaras gilded in gold and blue, pierced his chest, breaking through ribcage and cloth to crush his heart and come out through his back in one clean thrust. He'd felt his very life force leave his body, the world growing colder and darker until he could barely feel a thing.
He was so very sure he was dead until the murmurings of words pierced through the veil of darkness and a light shone down before he found himself lurching up from Fahria's arms.
Dohalim's fist shattering the bones in his nose.
Dohalim's parting words and the new Lord of Elde Menancia walking out of the combat rooms without another word.
No one had been able to get back into contact with the new Lord of Earth over the last week.
Tarnigen gingerly prodded his once broken nose, healing artes rapidly restoring his bones to their natural state but the pain still otherwise fresh in his mind's eye. "He brought me back from death itself… I didn't even know he was so proficient in healing artes…" he muttered, shaking his head, "…and I tried to kill him. All just to become a Lord." Tarnigen looked at Fahria, unshed tears glimmering in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Fahria… I tried… for you…" Tarnigen let out a weary sigh, "But I don't think it was worth losing Do either."
A tear fell as Fahria slowly began to sob, her clasp on his hand got the slightest bit tighter. The wobbly smile on her face broke as she cried, her forehead leaning into his shoulder. "I was horrible to him Tarnigen!" her tears began to seep into the standard hospital gown he'd been given during his stay, but his free hand rose to comfortingly wrap around her. "I cursed at him, I thought he'd wanted the title so much that he'd killed you to get it! Dear Rena, I was wrong…" she said, less towards him and more towards getting the guilt that had slowly been pressuring her off from her chest.
She looked back up at him, her eyes red and slightly swollen but the regret and guilt in them felt like the mirror-image of what was constricting his heart. "Avakhir tried to talk to Do, but…" she whispered shakily, "…he didn't say anything to him. Avakhir said Do seemed almost catatonic and unresponsive, almost… I don't even know anymore to be honest."
Tarnigen didn't say, only gently cradling her upper-half as she leaned onto the bad, his own body laying prone across the mattress. He needed to do something, apologize to Do at least, but if Avakhir couldn't get to Do, then what chance did he have? The one who tried to kill him?
The two stayed there in silence, regret and grief saturating the very room until it was almost suffocating.
It got to the point where it became just too much.
Tarnigen began to shuffle into an up-right position, his movements instinctively causing Fahria to sit upright in her chair to look at him with swollen but confused eyes. Eyes that widened as he swung his legs over the side of the bed in a bid to stand up. "Tarnigen, what are you doing?" she exclaimed worriedly, flittering around him even as she helped him get to his feet.
"Out."
Tarnigen grunted as he stood up properly for the first time in a week, his chest incredibly tender even with the healing artes that had been applied during his stay in the hospital and by Dohalim following their match. "We're going to go around outside for a bit. I'm not going to stay here and wallow, Do's out there and by Rena I'm not going to stay here while he suffers for what I did to him," Tarnigen growled, the frustrations of staying in a hospital coupled with his own self-regret causing him to become impulsive.
Fahria didn't do anything to stop him, only giving him a worried look before moving to grab a pair of hospital shoes for him to use which he quickly placed on before linking her arm through his to help and guide him through the hospital. The passed by the front office to temporarily sign him out before exiting the hospital.
A few moments passed after they exited the hospital. "Where do you want to go?" Fahria look at him.
In his mind there was only one place that Tarnigen could think of where Dohalim would most likely be.
"The Civilian Park Zone."
"Where we all go to play music?" Fahria asked surprised, "That's… that's through a lot of residential zones… are you sure about that?"
Tarnigen nodded. A walk through a few residential zones wouldn't kill him. Besides he'd be damned if he'd let a walk stop him from seeing Dohalim.
The two began their way through Residential Zone 16, 4, and 21, small talk between the two of them in an effort to dispel the lingering regrets that followed them. It took them twenty minutes before the reached the entrance to the Civilian Park Zone, the familiar sound of children and families filling the air like chimes and the rushing water of the fountains a calming backdrop to listen to.
It was missing the sound of instruments and it was all his fault.
The two walked through the entrance and took in the sight of the park, the rushing water within the water fountains and children playing while parents and grandparents watched from afar. In his heart of hearts, Tarnigen almost felt a pang of melancholy but shook it off before it could take root.
He pointed a finger to an empty set of benches that was parked under a small tree to provide shade. "How about over there?"
Fahria nodded but before they'd even taken ten steps in the direction of the bench Tarnigen noticed something strange about the civilian park. Amongst the bright silver-white of the streets and cream-whites of the standard Tunica Rene clothing stood an individual clad in black staring deeply into the water fountain they used to play music at. During a time before the Crown Contest Candidacy which felt like a lifetime again now.
"Do?" Fahria whispered.
What?
Tarnigen's head shot up as he took in the black clad form. Dressed in a strange pair of shiny black shoes, pinstriped pants which was held up by a strip of leather connected to a buckle, a white-collared shirt and silky black vest that was all topped by a black coat with flowery blue accents stood Dohalim staring deep into the depths of the fountain's waters. His dark skin and naturally wavy crimson hair recognizable as Tarnigen took him that he wasn't sure how he'd even missed Dohalim in the first place.
"Do?" Tarnigen called out as well, hesitantly, hopefully.
Dohalim didn't respond, only continuing to look into the water fountain.
Tarnigen desperately wanted to take a step forward, but his feet felt like they were fused to the street below him preventing him from moving but he knew why they refused. He was scared. Scared he'd burned a bridge he wouldn't be able to rebuild.
But he still had to try.
"Do!" Tarnigen yelled, his voice causing others in the park to look over at the commotion being caused, but he didn't care. He needed to talk to Dohalim.
"Dohalim!"
"Please, allow me."
Tarnigen was taken aback when someone passed by him and Fahria. It was a woman.
No, not a woman, a girl really. She must have been somewhere between sixteen to eighteen-years old. She had pink braided hair that was coiled with golden leaves and wore a set of clothing, black with gold and white-striped accents that was so strange to look at he wasn't even sure he'd seen anything like it before on Lenegis. She moved over to Dohalim uncaring of the fact she was approaching a Lord.
"Hey, wait-" Tarnigen started, taking a step forward but was stopped by a tight grip on the back of his hospital gown. He turned his head to see what it was and found Fahria staring ahead at the woman who'd just passed him with a clenched fist clinging to his robe.
"Fahria? What's wrong?" he couldn't help but ask as something close to… surprise? Something close to surprise shone in Fahria's eyes as she looked at the woman who was walking up to Dohalim.
"Tarnigen…" Fahria said the slightest bit breathlessly, "She's-
"ARGH!"
A short scream of pain and confusion rang through the park as the woman reached out to touch Dohalim, all before dark astral energy emitted from her fingertips to constrict Dohalim's shoulder in a wreathe of thorns.
He felt like he was trying to wade through the forests of Ganath Haros, where its moisture caused one to feel like walking through soup. It was almost an out-of-body experience as he tried to follow the events of the past, his min shorn in two, split between trying to figure out if this was a lucid dream where he could do whatever he wished, or if it truly was reality.
He went through the motions following his ascension as a Lord, filling out the necessary documentation provided by the Lenegis Council and speaking to his own family, informing them about his new rise in position. It was strange to see his mother and father again, younger, and hale, a lack of stress caused by trying to keep Lenegis' infrastructure from falling apart without the back of a Sovereign made them look all that older with white hairs and weary faces.
It felt all too familiar to be honest.
He'd gone through the Crown Contest Candidacy, became Lord of Elde Menancia, and was now doing his ceremonial preparations for his departure to Dahna.
Half the time he wasn't truly sure if this actually was a dream or if it was reality.
He hadn't seen hide nor hair of Tarnigen or Fahria over the past weeks o there was no real way to see if what had happened during the Crown Competition Candidacy did happen or if hadn't. Avakhir did make his rounds just as he remembered, and even then, his words were so close to what was seared into his memory he couldn't truly recall what Avakhir had been saying just a few days ago when they'd come across each other.
It was for that very inability to at times separate his nightmares from this reality that he'd ended up discarding the traditional clothing of House il Qaras in favour of a black Dahnan/Renan clothing that had come into fashion a few years after the merging of the world called a 'suit'. It was black, a colour that he normally wouldn't wear due to the way it would clash with the clothes of il Qaras, but he found it worked quite nicely with these clothes. However, it served as a constant reminder that this couldn't be a memory, that somewhere out there he'd saved Tarnigen.
But the mind was a treacherous thing, lying and unwilling to believe until he'd seen with his own two eyes. But for now, his clothing from a future he'd once lived and weaponry and clothing within his hammer-space would new serve as a constant reminder of-
!
Dohalim gave a short scream of pain as the feeling lightning coursed throughout his body, starting from his right shoulder that quickly spread like a malevolent force burning its way through his system. He hadn't even realised the burning pain had stopped until he found himself braced on his knees; shuddering breathes wracking his chest as he tried to get his heartrate under control.
"-lim! Dohalim!"
Dohalim groaned, the pain of whatever it was having shorted his hearing momentarily.
"What did you do to him?!"
"I gave him a small shock, but… I may have over done it…"
He staggered to his feet before looking around, his eyes taking in-
"Tarnigen!"
Dohalim's body moved before he'd even realised what was going on. His arms wrapped around his friend, confirming he truly was alive. "Y-You're alive…" Dohalim wasn't going to lie and say he wasn't close to weeping; he was already crying tears of joy and relief.
It wasn't a dream.
This was real.
"D-Do?!" Tarnigen cried out in shock as Dohalim let go of him to hold him at arms-length and take him in. Even though Tarnigen was the slightest bit pallid, still recovering from the amount of blood he'd lost a week ago and dressed in a hospital gown, looking a far-cry better than a cold corpse.
Using the back of hand, Dohalim wiped his tears away while giving Tarnigen and off to the side, Fahria, a relived smile. "Your health brings me relief my friend. I'm glad to see you recovering," he said truthfully. Dohalim was dismayed that rather than provide comfort they cause Tarnigen's expression to fall, grief and anguish contorting his features, marring them till they looked so much like the sheer desperation that showed on his face during their fight.
"How… How could you say that Do?" Tarnigen's turned away, his face shadowed even in the artificial lights that shone down throughout Lenegis.
Dohalim stopped.
Was…. Was this merely a continuation of his nightmares? Were they growing more than just mere memories that haunted him?
"I tried to kill you Do!" Tarnigen grit out, teeth gnashing as their eyes met, the regret and anguish shining within and self-loathing raw in his voice. "How can you say that as if I hadn't tried cheat! Underhanded tactics! How?!"
Ah…
Regret.
Anguish.
Self-loathing.
They were all feelings he was more than familiar with.
This wasn't a memory growing into something worse. This was Tarnigen experiencing the very same feelings Dohalim himself had felt for years after his death, and just like Dohalim it was consuming him, wrapping around him like a cloak and growing with each passing moment until it burrowed its way into his soul.
Dohalim's eyes softened as clasped a hand on each of Tarnigen's shoulders.
"I can say it because I have no wish for you to perish Tarnigen," Dohalim said, capturing his friend's attention. "I understand the reasons for what you did, why you went to such lengths. I may not be condone them, but more than anything, I understand."
Tarnigen looked at him stunned.
"I have no wish to lose a friend, Tarnigen," Dohalim repeated resolutely, giving a firm shake to the man's shoulder with a small solemn smile, "And above all, you are my friend."
Tarnigen continued stare at him.
A smile, small but still a smile spread from Tarnigen's lips even as he apologised repeatedly. "I'm so sorry Do! Please… I was wrong! I-I'm sorry!" Tarnigen devolved into repetitive apologies, sobs wracking his body but the smile of relief never left.
"I know my friend…" Dohalim held him close, relishing as that small seed of regrets and self-loathing that had planted itself so deep into his heart vanish with the very same relief Tarnigen was feeling, "…and I forgive you."
As those words left his lips and registered to Tarnigen, the man stopped his apologies and froze, taking the time to turn to Dohalim wide-eyed.
Tarnigen collapsed bonelessly to his knees, only the fact that Dohalim was still holding him preventing the man from accidentally splitting his skull open across the park floor. Even so, Dohalim lurched as he held Tarnigen's limp body close, heart racing with panic as he positioned his footing properly to hold him.
"Tarnigen!" Fahria tried to step forward but was stopped by a figure that Dohalim had unconsciously dismissed alongside everyone else in the park in favour of Tarnigen.
A dainty pair of hands shone with healing artes, hovering just above the limp man's head with a green light.
"He's okay, just recovering," the person, a woman… no… a girl more like, said, "He's still recovering from his injuries during his fight with Lord Dohalim. Coming back from the brink of death leaves a toll on the mind. Those that are unprepared are susceptible to fainting if they go beyond a certain level of mental strain."
It took a moment for Dohalim to even recognise her. Her clothing was the biggest difference; gone was the white with gold hemming, dark blue gloves, and thigh-high heels, and even her glowing azure accessories were missing.
Instead, she wore her hair in a messy braid, wreathed with golden leaved while she clothed in a black, white, and gold lace leotard, ones that seemed to allow for ease of movement. Her legs were clad in lace leggings with thorn-like patterns that led to black, white, and gold open-toed knee-high heels. Her arms were clad in a material similar to her heels, but only wrapped around her shoulder to her elbow before being replaced by criss-crossing vambraces that ended with a length of lace to each of her middle-fingers.
"Shionne?" Dohalim asked, almost choking as he took in her younger form.
Shionne only lifted a single finger to her lips, miming silence but gave him a cheeky wink. Around her finger crackled dark astral energy in the shape of thorns. Dohalim's eyes widened as the sight of her Thorns, finally realising what had caused that extremely painful sensation from earlier.
"It's good to see you again Dohalim, we have some things we'll need to discuss later but for now…" Shionne turned to Fahria, "…would you be able to assist Tarnigen back to the hospital? He'll need sleep to recover. Healing artes won't do much for him in this case, I'm afraid."
"O-Of course Your Lordship!" Fahria stammered, helping Tarnigen who was groggily getting back to his feet.
Your Lordship?
The two left with a short farewell a low bow to the two.
Dohalim turned to his companion to address the metaphorical bomb that had been dropped. "Why did Fahria call you 'Your lordship'?" Dohalim couldn't help but ask as he took her proffered hand.
As he stood up and dusted off his pinstriped slacks, he realized what he'd just done.
He'd grabbed Shionne's hand without her Thorns activating.
"Like I said, we have some things we need to discuss. As for why she called me 'Your Lordship', that would be because…"
Shionne smiled, that twinkle in her eyes growing the slightest bit.
"I am the new Lord of Water and Ganath Haros. Lord Shionne Vymer Imeris Daymore."
A/N: Imma gonna go down with this goddamn fic. My muse is eating me alive and I will see this thing fulfilled or give up halfway and be a failure! Also, I forgot how hard it is to go off-script with a fanfic while making it plausible.
Current Clothing for Characters
Dohalim –
Hair: Natural Wavy Hair (Default Hair)
Body: Principal Coat B (Black Suit)
Attachments: None
Weapon Skin: Pulque Shaft
Shionne –
Hair: SW-IVY
Body: SW-EQ02F
Attachments: None
Weapon Skin: Sclopetum Rene
Current Chapter – 7 1/2 years before start of Canon, 1/2 year before the start of the Crown Contest
Dohalim – 22 years old
Shionne – 16 years old