#ff aera

You got it!

A soft breeze gently caressed the yellowed grass by the large tree that stood in the center of the valley. Ardyn's eyes looked up at the sky, enamored by the stillness of how quiet the world was. Not even the darkness he took unto his body could scream out and destroy the peace that penetrated his heart.

"Is it over?" Ardyn murmured to himself, wondering if perhaps he finally passed on. Maybe he didn't have to face Notcis in the end, maybe his body finally purged itself and allowed his soul to rest. It was wishful thinking, but Ardyn was desperate to hold onto whatever tranquility came his way. The last of his hope that he had long thought was forgotten much like his name to history, held out in desperation.

That was when he saw her, his beloved standing by their tree. The tree where they first met. She looked just as beautiful as the day she was slain.

"Aera," Ardyn whispered, feeling her name drip from his mouth like honey. He could get lost in her eyes even now. Everything about her felt real. This dream, whatever it was, he didn't want to wake from it.

As Aera approached him, Ardyn walked up to her and fell onto his knees. She too lowered to the ground as tears cascaded down his face. Holding him in her arms, Ardyn cried hard. His face eventually nuzzled into her stomach as he held onto her tight. The clothes on her back felt real, her scent, he was home.

"Aera," Ardyn gasped out loud, placing soft kisses to her abdomen as he looked up at her kind face greeting his tired eyes. "Is it over?"

A morose look crossed her features as she untangled some strands of Ardyn's red hair, moving it to the side of his ear. "Not yet love, not yet."

"I don't want to go," Ardyn begged, whimpering like a child as he clung onto her and shut his eyes tight. "I don't want to go back. Not without you."

Aera sighed contently, looking up as the sun started to rise. She once more looked down, pressing a kiss to the top of Ardyn's head. She could feel his fingertips clench harder into her body. Something she paid no mind to.

"We'll be together again, this I promise you." Aera whispered. "Just one more fight Ardyn, one more."

"I-I can't! I can't do this anymore!" Ardyn exclaimed into her clothing, looking up at her with pleading eyes as he swallowed. His chest hurt from the starscourge, instinct telling him he was soon to wake from this dream.

"You can and you will. Not even the gods can keep me from you for all eternity. You're so close Ardyn, it's time." Aera proclaimed as Ardyn leaned up, their foreheads meeting before he could claim her lips as he inhaled her scent one last time before finding himself in the residence of an inn. Wide awake and cold.

Ardyn rose up, his face in the palm of his hands as he whimpered.

"How much longer?" He whispered to himself, making a fist and hitting the side of the bed.

"Men who pray for immortality are monsters," Ardyn said to himself as he shut his eyes tightly, a vain attempt to stop more tears from escaping his tired eyes.

"To hell with them all."

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