Moved to epilcgue

"What is this?”

Excitement had instantly spread across Hallkel’s face underneath his helmet.

“Oh! Great Slayer!” He happily said, nearly bouncing up and down. “It’s Ma’hemnsol-num! Or-- um, in your tongue, Mother’s Love! It was a sweet little treat my mother would make!”

Raising up the treat, it was in a cup-- being pink in color with a much lighter pink whipped cream of sorts on top, decorated with little chocolate shavings. Happily, Hallkel held the cup close to his armored chest.

“She would make it all the time after training! Oh, I think I made it for you once, Great Slayer!. .

You didn’t touch it since you were still very tense with us at the time, and I wasn’t able to give it to you in person since I was still healing from a battle that day with Lady Aestrid, so I had my brother give it to you!”

“Back where I used to live it snowed all the time. Never had to wear a jacket back then.” He comments, allowing the warmth of the jacket to wash over him. He was going to have to do something for Hallkel at some point to repay him for everything he had done. Maybe he could help him repair the buildings? Hallkel had show some sadness to the ruins. He hated owing people.

He smiles at the man, glad that he apparently took such enjoyment in helping. It was a trait he wished he possessed. There were a lot of traits Hallkel held that Sid wished he possessed. “Little bit of magic.” He jokes. “You ever have it loose? Like drape it down your back or whatever?”

“Heh, I usually don’t have it loose often.” He admitted, nervously, “I usually feel as though it doesn’t look good. My father usually said that often.” He exhaled through his nose as that was mentioned, but he soon had a hand to his chin as he peered around. “Besides, it’d be easy for it to get into my face, you know? Especially when it comes to fighting demons.” He rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly, as he said that.

“Hmn. .” He lulled his head back to look at the sky, letting out a huff. “Still light out. Perhaps it’d be best to continue before it gets dark out. Are you still able to walk, my friend?” He asked, looking to them as he moved to get his helmet back onto his head. . After having to awkwardly move his long braid a few times. But, excitedly, he spoke again, “I’d be happy to carry you again! It was honestly rather fun. .” Hallkel laughed to himself at such a thought, though. Honestly, it really WAS fun to carry Sidereal-- he was so light!

“…I’m doing this because…because there’s someone I need to kill.” He said, mind flashing back to the day that he lost everything, and his life would be set on course for where he was presently, “When I was seven, my parents were….murdered, right in front of me. I remember…..” The blood, the screams of his mother, the lifeless look in their eyes…. “…The guy who did it was a full cyborg. Military grade hardware. He also had a viper tattoo on the left side of his face.”

He lets out a shaky breath, trying to stop focusing on that day, “Since then, I’ve been working to find him. I haven’t been able to find out his name, but I do know that he’s nicknamed ‘The Viper’, and he has a tendency to start up wars in several parts of the world for fun….and that I’m not the only one who has been a victim to this guy.” Anger starts to leak into his voice, his fists clenching in front of him. “I’ll be honest, this is revenge, but it’s also justice. For myself, and for all the lives he’s ruined. This bastard has to die.”

Hallkel’s eyes had been slowly widening, his eyes staring at Jan’s face as he sat there, his heart feeling like it was being wrenched out of his chest. How could this happen? By god, it sounded like something that’d only happen in Argent D’Nur, in the darker sides of the grand cities, before they had fallen. He swallowed hard, taking a moment to calm himself. By god, he just felt anger bubbling up from within him. He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled as he stared.

Aha. He was in a full set of Night Sentinel elite armor! And held a platter!

“W-Well, before I answer, are you all right, Lady Arla? Oh, by the Ancestrals! I startled you too much! I apologize greatly! Y-You are not hurt, are you?”

@slayers-sentinel asked  “Take my jacket, it’s cold outside.”

Sidereal looks at the cloak for a moment, trying to think how best to wear the cloak and jacket at the same time. He could take it off for a little while, after all he could see his breath it was so cold. The mage slips off the cloak, folding it into his pack and takes the jacket offered. “Thank you Hallkel. I always forget to pack warmer clothes. Lanova had such a temperate climate.”

Hallkel had brightly smiled as he stood there, his hands resting on his hips. “I can understand. I’ve just gotten used to the cold weather-- it never affects me much anymore.” He admitted with a little laugh, rubbing the back of his neck as he kept his fairly cheery tone. Being able to help Sidereal was something that really made Hallkel’s day! He couldn’t help it-- he didn’t have much allies in the ruins of his home, so he did what he could.

His head snapped up at the sound of the wood breaking, and he leaned over to take Hallkel’s hand, looking for splinters. Finding them, he reached over to a pair of tweezers he had on the table and removed them. “Don’t worry about it. After what you’ve been through, I’d say that’s only natural.” He said, returning a smile of his own.

Setting the tweezers aside, he leans back, letting his head rest against the wall. “If…if it’s alright with you, I’d like to get a bit off of my chest, too.” Jan found himself wanting to tell the Sentinel his story, something he didn’t really tell a lot of people unless he trusted them. “Do you…want to know why I chose this lifestyle?”

He looked down at his hand for a moment, keeping quiet. Okay, maybe the splinters did hurt a little, but he was grateful when they were pulled out. He had to hunch over a bit, just to pick up the bits of wood and focusing on it for a moment-- the carving he had made before snapping it in half with his bare hands looked to take on the form of a man, with long hair, donning armor, and a beard a bit shorter than his own, wearing a cold gaze that could be felt through its little wooden eyes.

However, he peered right back up at Jan as he spoke up, his tone becoming much softer-- much more heartfelt.

Even with how challenging it was for Arla to hear him, or concentrate on what he was saying, she still managed to enjoy the contact and closed her eyes to focus on calming her heart.

His admission that she was so important to him certainly didn’t help, and only served to renew her blush as she again tried to hold him a bit tighter. Still, he sounded so…. well… he sounded if he had been fighting for a very long time.

Arla sighed again, one of her hands on his back slowly brushing up to subtly tease the hair on the base of his neck with her fingertips. She opened her eyes, managing a smile as she pulled back slightly to look him in the face.

“I’m… so glad that I can bring you some comfort. I don’t think I’ve really… been able to be that for anyone.”

Her eyes narrowed affectionately at him as she quietly hugged him a bit tighter, just so that she could be close to him like that for as long as she could- as long as he would let her.

“I feel like I’m part of something when I’m with you…. y…y-you help me find things to fight for.”

She laughed bashfully, grinning at the floor,

“… I would like to fight for you, if that’s alright.”

He was smiling a little bit, hugging her a bit closer as he let his eyes close. Her voice was smooth, like honey slowly dripping from a spoon. It was gentle, soft to his ears. He could swear he could listen to her all the time, but he didn’t want to admit these feelings, not yet. Not right now.

“A-As long as you stay safe, Lady Arla, but I would prefer to keep fighting for you. . But I will not stop you. Maybe I could show you what I have learned from my Sentinel allies long ago?” He asked, tilting his head a tad bit. She was so nice to hold onto, it was something h wasn’t used to. For ages, he’s just been alone, fighting for his life, trying to clear out the demons in Taras Nabad that never seemed to leave, but now that he had someone. .

It brought life into him. He couldn’t stop his dumb little smile, his hands moving back to his long braid, fiddling with the small hairband that kept it all together before opting to remove it. He carefully pulled it out, letting his hair be undone and falling from the braid it was in.

“For now, though, I would like to just. . stay with you.” He admitted softly, letting his head turn to look at outside, letting himself sigh wistfully as he opted to press his cheek into her hair.

. . 

Arla was surprised, staring at him with flushed cheeks and a quiet stutter before forgoing any words and nervously wrapping her arms around him.

She swallowed, resting her chin on his shoulder as she tried not to panic at their close proximity. Difficult, with how loud her heart was pounding in her ears. A part of her was self-conscious that she wasn’t hugging him properly due to how weak he made her feel whenever he was close.

It frustrated her to no end: wanting to be there for him but her own feelings getting in the way.

Twisting her head into the crook of his neck (she hoped he couldn’t feel how warm her face had gotten) Arla tried to tighten her grip, but failed.

“Is… this alright…?”

Hallkel found himself relaxing into her arms in a near instant, his eyes fluttering shut-- though he was noticeably smiling. After running into someone he could call an. . Old acquaintance, he needed this-- just a hug, if anything. He let out a little sigh, letting his head lull as he softly murmured, managing to properly move to wrap his arms around her in return. Safe, strong. . Warm. . Cozy. Instinctively, he had placed his chin onto her head, like a pup.

“Absolutely. .” He replied with a satisfied huff through his nose, his shoulders slouching a little. “H-Hopefully this is not too much for you, Lady Arla? I know it is. . Rather sudden, but. .” He trailed off, exhaling a little. The warrior was tired, weary, exhausted. He had raised his hands up to the braid his hair was in, his eyes drifting around the dilapidated home he used to call his childhood safeplace during the golden age of Argent D’Nur. . It was lightly drizzling out-- nothing concerning, far from it. It almost looked like the raindrops were glowing in the moonlight. .

/nightmare/ Doomslayer being the one who betrayed them to hell

It all happened so fast.

Smoke plumed around him, blinding him, leaving it impossible for him to see, his lungs being choked of air as he found himself in the heat of the battle. Blades clashed with talons and claws, shields bashing into the bodies of these unholy beasts, and Hallkel could feel his body tense up, ramming his large glowing shield into an imp before swinging his blade from behind it, his wrist lightly snapping in order to to properly strike its neck. It let out a screech of agony, its eyes peering up at the Sentinel as the man cleaved his sword into its neck, soon roughly slicing through its skin and bone, watching as its head toppled off of its place.

He could feel himself breathing heavily-- he couldn’t remember how long he had been fighting, but his eyes grew wide when he could realize the place he was in. He was in the front of the army, fighting against the horde, ripping and tearing through them effortlessly, his hands moving like their had their own mind. He slashed. He swung. He slammed his shield into another, and if he couldn’t make it work, he sheathed his sword and grabbed at the demons with his own bare hands, yelling as he had grabbed at an unlucky demon’s jaw, then its hip, pulling it apart with a feeling of unending rage. “RRRAAAAUUUGH!” He let out a mighty war cry, watching as blood splattered onto the ground. Dropping the pieces, he was breathing heavily.

Kar En Tuk. Kar En Tuk. That’s all he could hear. However, his eyes widened when he could hear the panic of his fellow Sentinels,

“WAIT, WHERE’S THE SLAYER?! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BRING US REINFORCEMENTS!”

“T-THE PORTAL--!” Another Sentinel cried. This had caused Hallkel to turn his head, and the color drained from his face as he could hear a distant Sentinel-- a voice he could recognize. His brother, with his deep voice, filled with seething anger, crying out the words Hallkel had cried ages ago, “BETRAYER!”

Fear was the first thing that could be seen on Hallkel’s face, though it was luckily hidden by his helmet, his head raising to look off to the portal in the distance, and he could see him. The Slayer, donning his scuffed, modified Praetor Suit, his eyes staring them all down with an emotionless gaze, apathetic, a smug smirk spread across his face as he watched them from afar, only to soon, then, back into it with a deep chuckle, his eyes gleaming red. As Sentinels rushed to try to reach the Slayer, the portal had suddenly fizzled and closed in on itself, leaving them to rot. Hallkel found himself frozen, like time was slowing down before him. No. No. Everything was going wrong. Everyone was going to DIE.

However, what snapped him to reality was when he could feel his brother’s hands on his shoulders. Karthak. Hallkel looked up at him, though he managed to speak before his elder brother could.

“Karthak! I need you to get out of here-- away from this place! I will hold the beasts off for you!” He spoke worriedly, watching the color drain from his older brother’s face. Atlans had begun to power down around them, with the Sentinels controlling them rushing to get out of their large mechs in order to battle the demons below.

“Hallkel, you will be killed!” Karthak argued, but Hallkel grit his teeth, “There is no time for arguing! Someone needs to survive in this place-- and the eldest should! Now, go! I won’t argue with you about it anymore! One of us needs to live in order to tell the story! People have to know about what happened here! What the Outlander did to us, betrayed us all!” He snapped. Karthak visibly paused, but at this rate, he knew how hi brother could be. He was stubborn as hell. He wouldn’t be able to argue with him. He hesitated, just for a moment, before backing up a few steps, and turning, before breaking into a sprint, gripping at his sword, and regretfully leaving his baby brother there. Hallkel watched him leave, before turning, his teeth gritting as he unsheathed his sword.

He would kill them all. All of those damn unholy creatures, and he wouldn’t let them kill his brother. If Hallkel were to die here-- he would die fighting.

With one more mighty cry, he charged forwards into the horde, his head craning as his helmet was forced off of his face, leaving it splattered in blood. .

. . Hallkel had awoken from this dream with a startled yell, his head slamming into a shelf above his head as he let out a slightly strangled sob.

In his frantic state, he peered around, before letting out a breath as tears began to brim his eyes. He couldn’t believe he dreamed of it, but. . To switch roles. Situations. Karthak helping him, but. . The Slayer. . being the Betrayer?