Daevas -I- ✔️

Chapter 10.2: Ultimatum

When Ari was settled into a room, Ari made note of the flimsy windows and the door barely hanging on its hinges. The sun was shining through the cracks of the shutters. Ari could see the bits of dust and pollen floating through the air, it was so bright. He covered his eyes and found the darkest recess in the room to take shelter. Once night fell, he would sneak out and visit the temple he saw coming here. 

The Khaeo was known to restore old temples to their glory and to worship their gods beyond all else. Slaying demons was doing the gods work. Even that came second. Ari found it odd that they would leave such a temple in ruin when it was close to the encampment. What he found even stranger was the fact that they worshiped such gods even though they are demons. Do they know such a truth or would they call it blasphemy and refute the idea entirely? It would debase every value the Khaeo held dear, after all. It would cause chaos.

Ari looked at the door, feeling the presence of some other on the other side of it.  When the door opened, Ari quickly rose and backed against the wall. His shoulders slumped once he realized it was Rein. The sun had darkened him and left him with tan lines on the outside of his arms. His hair had also grown longer as well. Ari could tell by his bangs. Freir would want him to cut it, Ari knew. He liked to see his face which Rein hid well.

"And so the imprudent son has finally made his return." Ari stared at him, looking at his clothes speckled with black blood. He had a fresh scar decorating the side of his neck. The smell of the moss and medicine on it made it to his nose. He did not like the smell of it. "Come out from there. I will do you no harm."

Slowly, he stepped out from the shadows and let Rein look upon him. 

"Already you have become more of them than one of us. Look how you shy away from the light now." 

"It is what I am. Why must I pretend to be something I am not?"

"What makes us human is not our blood but the values we share. You share the same ones as us, do you not?" 

Ari scoffed and threw away a smile. "And what values must they hold? The evil, lecherous, tempestuous ones that the Book of Forbearance warned against? Do not lecture me anymore in regard to some religion that is built on the foundation of blood and lies. Your gods are the same gods whom you despise."

"Are they now?"

"You will see me as a demon no matter what I do. Those words are words Freir begged you to say, I am sure. You do not have to act in front of me."

Rein crossed his arms and stared at him, assessing him as he always did. 

"Does Freir know?"

"Know what?"

He turned his head slightly before a smile crept onto his face. "Was it the blond or the black-haired one that you fucked?" Ari's eyes grew wide before they lowered to the ground. "Freir may be slow to these things, but I am not." 

"It does not matter," Ari muttered.

"Because you are in love with the both of them," Rein added, "so you are blinded by what beasts they are. You can only see the prettiness of their faces and not the wickedness that lay in their eyes and in their hearts." 

"What wickedness is that? All I see is the pain in them. Their hearts... they are much more genuine than the hearts I have known. You do not understand them... us because you are too blinded by hate." 

"Hate? And is it unwarranted? They may have some haunted past, but so do I. Is mine worthless because I have lived lesser years than them?"

"I am not saying they are without their wrongs... as you are not without your own... There must be some understanding formed between us or the results of this conflict will end badly for one side and I do not want that."