--Rememberance--

Epilogue

I was in a void.

I didn't know how I got here, or when, and what this infinite darkness even was. After some hard thinking, I barely knew who I was either.

There was simply nothing. I sat for what seemed to be an eternity in this empty plane.

Neither time nor space touched this place. It was simply a dimension that transcended it.

I waited for something. I didn't know what, but my emptied mind told me so.

But I was all alone. Perhaps nothing would ever come. Maybe my brain was just creating mirages of hope to keep me sane.

And then he came.

A young man with peculiar fox ears and cute, delicate features. He moved his slim body towards me.

As he walked a trail of greenery emerged behind him. Beautiful, nourished plants. All sorts of them.

Before I knew it, the whole void was surrounded by plants, as if I were in a forest. The figure was now inches away from my face.

He closed in to my face, and our lips intertwined.
As we connected, I remembered everything.

I was Cyno, the General Mahamatra of Sumeru. Murdered and erased.

But somehow, I felt at ease. Because he was here.

As my memories came back, I recognised my surroundings. We were in the middle of the Avidya Forest- in a specific clearing. Where I befriended this figure. Tighnari.

...

I snuck through the undergrowth, observing a peculiar Forest Watcher by the name of Tighnari.

He seemed wise from the words I could make out from his fast yet clear speaking to his colleagues. And what a wonderful face he had... an adorable, doll- like appearance. Yet he'd but anyone in their place. It frightened even me, the General Mahamatra, sometimes.

Our first official meeting was back in our Akademiya days. We never really talked after that encounter, although I'd notice him glancing at me from around the school once in a while.

I shook the thoughts out of my head, and focused on my main objective. Many scholars had praised Tighnari for not only being an innovator in the Akademiya, but also massively improving the way of the Forest Rangers.
They were much more efficient under Tighnari's lead. Elders of Gandharva Ville said that he was definitely the best Forest Watcher they've ever had.

My job as the General Mahamatra was to find any suspicious activities and apprehend criminals. A sudden surge in success and talent always had the chance of being obtained via illegal means. Forbidden knowledge capsules, performance enhancers illegal dealings, you name it.

I clambered up a tall tree to get a better view of Tighnari and his fellow Forest Watchers. They seemed knackered after a long patrol of the forest. Everything they did was so wonderfully efficient- It made my suspicions grow ever more.

"Good job on the patrol today- We covered lots of ground," Tighnari announced, "You can make your way back to Gandharva Ville now. Ashpazi's already made some dinner. I just have some small things to finish off. Remember to have a good rest!"

The Forest rangers obeyed his words and walked out of my view.
I focused on Tighnari even more. Sending all witnesses away... perhaps to do something suspicious? This could be an opportunity to catch him red-handed...

"How long have you been watching me?" Tighnari muttered, looking straight at my direction with a displeased expression.

I was completely caught off guard by that. I made sure to be so quiet and yet... I supposed that nothing could escape those massive fox ears.
Suddenly, I lost my footing on the branch I was on and fell backwards. Tighnari noticed, and raced after me as I fell into a clearing.

I landed painfully onto the ground, but got up quickly, ignoring the burning pain in my shoulder. Tighnari walked towards me, arms crossed. I unsheathed my polearm and pointed it towards him while holding my shoulder with my other free hand.

"G- Get away from me. That's an order," I muttered, trying not to wince.

Tighnari simply rolled his eyes at me, batted my weakly held polearm away with one swipe and walked ever closer towards me.

Was this it? Was he going to feed me poisonous plants? Was this the embarrassing end for the mighty General Mahamatra? Oh Archons...

"Sit down. You're injured."

My body automatically obeyed those words, and I got down onto the ground. What was I doing? He was just going to wrap my body in a big banana leaf and throw me into Chinvat Ravine... I'm so done for-

Tighnari observed my shoulder, and seemingly came to a conclusion after a matter of seconds.
"You dislocated your shoulder. Congrats, General."

"...Well that was quick-"

"What did you expect? For me to sit here all day poking at your shoulder and muttering weird medical terms?" Tighnari cut me off, sounding extremely offended.

Yes, to be honest. But of course I wouldn't say that to his face. He would probably sedate me and turn me into a mushroom hodgepodge. Or whatever he eats.

After a brief sigh, Tighnari grabbed my dislocated arm and positioned it at the back of my opposite shoulder. With a small tug, it clicked back into place.

"And there we go. Now let me see if I have any anti-inflammatory medicine with me..."

I blinked, watching Tighnari dig through a bag. The doctors at Bimarstan were very professional, yet they seemed to take so much more time to do anything than Tighnari. So the rumours were real indeed...

I was close enough to his bag, so I decided to take a peek while he was rummaging for medicine. It seemed normal enough, with loads of herbs, notes, labelled bottles and packets and a thick notebook with around a thousand bookmarks.

"Ahah. There it is."

Tighnari handed me some medicine, and his waterskin.

"...Uh. Did you drink from this? Should I... Erm."

Tighnari gave me a cold stare so I just shoved the tablet inside my mouth and used the water to swallow.

"And yes, I did drink directly from it," Tighnari muttered, snatching the waterskin back as I finished.

But why was he smiling?

...

Tighnari pulled away from the kiss. I felt rather dazed from my memories flooding back into my brain.

"So is this the afterlife or what?" Tighnari murmured, admiring the surroundings with me.

I grabbed hold of his hand instinctively.

"Honestly, I don't care what this is. All that matters is that I'm with you, Tighnari."

(1037 words)