𝕻𝖔𝖊𝖙𝖊𝖘𝖘 - (Wilbur)

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟒

Ranboo offered to revive Inka. And to the objection of Kristen - everyone was on a boat to Styx. Wilbur was still playing, he was playing his guitar as he often did on boat trips to take up his time. Mercury was focusing more on Artenos: she was gazing into the ocean with the same wonder as Inka did, though that was taken with a grain of salt since she didn't have pupils to take it off of. They all did their own thing, Tubbo was talking to Ranboo, Mercury watched over Artenos and Wilbur played his guitar while his parents spoke to each other. Never had a ship been so divided.

They arrived at Styx and walked through with the troops and the people watching curiously, until they reached the white castle. Nothing exciting from the mean cold and the tall houses, nor the colourful stalls and the cobblestone paths with their frozen fountain and their marketplace. Entering the castle was a completely different story however. Standing by his throne was Dream and Hertha. The girl was talking to Dream with disinterest mostly, but also chivalry. He looked less enthusiastic than he usually did, it wasn't up to Hertha alone surely.

"Hello there." Hertha greeted and waved to the people below her. Mercury couldn't deny the woman was cute, and Tubbo waved at her halfheartedly. That was while Wilbur gripped onto the red book in his arms and narrowed his eyes at Dream, who waved. "Are you here for Dream?" She asked and nodded to the man, who made his way down.

"Let's go try and revive someone." Dream offered.

"Hold it." Hertha ordered, the short blonde girl had quite the voice, it made Dream turn around and look at her slowly, "death isn't something to meddle with. We shouldn't toy with the Fates so much so I'll be the one to say: I hope you have a good reason for trying to revive someone." She made her way down, her black dress glimmering against the white interior of the castle.

They were taken to a quiet room, Wilbur alone with Ranboo and Hertha, who sat across the table from him as he slid over the red book for them to flick through. "She was... well she wasn't but I wished I had realised sooner that... I loved her. I loved her so dearly and with around a month of her gone, I thought I would get better.. b-but no. I... I just miss her more. It's making me go insane because I'm so guilt-ridden and... and I just..." he sighed and paused for a moment. It was silent as Hertha and Ranboo sat unmoving, waiting for Wilbur to collect his thoughts in a respectful manner, "would you... like to hear a song... the pair of us made?" Wilbur asked quietly, she was gone and with such a frail mind, her singing in the back of his head was the only thing playing.

"If it can persuade us..." Ranboo shrugged as Wilbur pulled his guitar up and played their second song together. The song he had grown so fond of keeping a secret from her. But if he didn't then maybe he would have the courage to say no to another woman. He didn't, however... and he was left with none in the end. What a story of hubris.

His song couldn't even bring tears to his eyes. Sure, he had spoken to Tubbo and Mercury as if nothing had happened on his behalf - the boys never asked how he felt about the situation because from what Wilbur could see; it was either too clear or beyond their range of care. But he spent nights, restless and hating himself. Awake and thinking of how she would have been sound asleep had he not let it get to him. He didn't blame himself for blowing up on them. But it wasn't as if he blamed her, he still made it seem like that. So there was something there to regret clearly. There was so much he wished he could have done differently, to the point where her body would just wait to visit him in his dreams. Wilbur couldn't sleep properly at the loss of her. The suffocating sadness twisted around him and constricted him like a snake to prey. And to an extent, Wilbur was prey. He fell victim to everything. Himself, his feelings, Inka, life itself.

And then, he finished his song. No tears, but barely a voice to croak the words as he rested against the back of the chair. Hertha nodded in understanding of the song, but Ranboo sat unaffected. A man of his word. Which was unfair as he was the one to offer, and now he was opening the idea to rejecting it entirely. Consider it a waste of time. Wilbur picked up the guitar and played once more. Not the same song but their first. The one he tarnished. The one he could rightfully cry about. Because it did hurt. It hurt so much, he couldn't feel it. It hurt that he had replaced her, pulled her on a string and claimed he wouldn't be loved by anyone to the same girl who loved all of him. Every single feature, she adored. He hadn't done the same because he was in love with a woman who was already invested in someone else. And that made his eyes leak with water he didn't even know he had left. He didn't even know why he was crying. He felt he had done far worse to Inka than just play their song together behind her back, yet there he was, hearing sensitively as his stray tears collided with his guitar base.

And as he finished and dropped the instrument, weak for his words or to even look up at the pair, he heard a pair of applause. And Hertha sniffed slightly. She never seemed the one to cry first, but when he did manage to look up, she smiled and nodded at him with tearful eyes like his. Ranboo was applauding with a look of astonishment and pride, before standing up.

"You've moved us, Wil. Alright, let's try to revive her." Ranboo offered his clawed hand to Wilbur, who took it with an uplifting smile and followed them out of the room as he wiped his eyes.

Wilbur found himself in a room with Dream, who sat at one end of the room with a book. The taller man sat with his guitar and waited for the ritual which Philza had joined for. Phil pulled out a totem and with Artenos, both were put in the middle of the room. Dream presented the red book Wilbur was shocked to see; when Dream got it, he wasn't sure, but felt reassured to see it put in a chest and taken out of the room. And then, Dream threw green salt over the two - the whole room began to glow, the room felt it grew vertically and suddenly, a man appeared. Tall, green and with a floating head. Halos and wings, a large cloak of dark mint ebbed with gold and hooded. It was a literal God. Prima. He looked around; saw Dream, who waved; saw Wilbur and then crouched to Wilbur's level. Which meant he shrank himself to size - he was naturally 2080' rounded, so shrank to 6'3", where Wilbur looked down at him.

"And so, you've summoned me for Inka?" Prima asked and moved his robes around to get comfortable. His voice was difficult to understand, he constantly sounded jeering and it sounded like his voice was heard through water.

"Yes." Wilbur said confidently, looking at him, "I... I need you to revive her..." he nodded as the God in front of him turned to look at the totem and Artenos.

"I know. I don't really know why you want me to though." He shrugged, placing a clawed, green finger onto Artenos's forehead. It was a strange statement for a God to say he didn't know.

"Why... don't you know?" Wilbur asked and Prima shrugged once more, digging his finger into the child's skull until it was fully submerged in her bleedless wound.

"Mortal wants and the hidden hypocrisy behind it will never cease to amaze even the mightiest of gods. My creator, the Fates, me myself and of course, your mother and father. Soon to be joined with Technoblade and maybe Venus. I don't look into that woman's future. She bores me." Prima blabbered without looking at Wilbur, he was carelessly twisting the finger into the girl's skull, and though Wilbur winced at the state and had to look away before he felt like vomiting, the questions continued.

"Well... can you... bring her back?" Wilbur asked slowly, without much else to say on the topic already.

"Have you got a sacrifice?" Prima turned to him, before throwing his hands up and splitting Artenos's head open; to which an older version of Artenos appeared and kicked away the shell she crawled out of. That was beside Wilbur's disgust however, as he realised he hadn't brought a sacrifice for Prima. "I still ask," the God suddenly laughed, "just to see the regret and fear in your face. Of course you haven't got a sacrifice, you didn't think you'd make it this far did you?" He poked fun at Wilbur as Artenos crossed her arms and looked up at Prima.

"I'll sacrifice myself!" He suddenly exclaimed. The low humming of Prima's presence silenced and the man turned to look at Wilbur. As did Artenos who shook her head.

"Don't play with your mortality, boy." Prima warned lowly, "you're in the midst of a God, realise you cannot lie. Your true feelings sit clear for me to witness and know. You cannot hide anything from me. And still, here you sit, telling me you would want to swap your life for hers so you can see her again. Not only would you die before I consider making that choice, but I also know you're the same coward to take it back when it is done." Prima berated him with sovereignty. "I should kill you for that." He scoffed as the humming resumed and he turned to Artenos, fixing her up and offering two crushed gems. One green, one pink. Artenos chose the green one, swallowing the stones and vanishing. "But here, have her ghost." Prima dropped the pink gems to the floor and watched it go red, and suddenly, grey. Wilbur hadn't seen anything like it. And then, Inka stood, looking around. A scar on her back, to the right side close to her hips; and a scar on her bottom left chest, both dripped with her orange insides as she spun around her new scenery.

She was just as beautiful off colour as she was coloured with life, and when her eyes rested on Wilbur, she smiled and waved.

"I-Inka?" Wilbur asked and smiled, he ran towards her, but the second he stepped away from where he sat, and tried to grab onto the nymph - she melted. All that was left in the room was the teasing echo of Prima's laugh. Nothing was left behind.