Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch. 63
Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader
Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga
Warnings: Death, blood, gore
Author's Note: This is the final chapter of this story. There will be one more bonus chapter, but this story arc is now complete. Thank you for reading. I welcome feedback on this entire story.
As my feet finally touch the ground, the whispering grows louder again. Whimpers and whining fill the atmosphere with grief. It's almost as if the world itself is weeping for Callisto.
Standing at the edge of the clearing, I couldn't move; my legs wouldn't obey me at all.
I blink once and suddenly find myself in what my soldiers once called "The Grave of the Hunters," the battlefield where, because of my own frenzied, thoughtless, berserking ways, I lost my first love.
There, impaled on stone spikes, I conjured myself, I see him: my first love.
But when I blink again, he's gone, and a certain Callisto lies in my first love's state, his blood slowly seeping out from beneath him.
Between the whispers, I hear something crack, like glass caught between cold and warmth. Slowly but surely, something shatters. But I don't know what yet.
With every blink, I get closer to him until I'm kneeling right next to his still-warm but still body.
Callisto seemed to sense my presence; he raised his head. The same arrogant yet endearing grin, etched into his handsome face, made every wall I'd ever built crumble to dust. I look at him with softening eyes.
“Callisto,” I murmur in a hoarse voice that breaks at the mere mention of his name.
Tears interrupt my gentle, soulful gaze; they flow and drip onto Callisto's sweaty skin. He seems to be in great pain. I wish I could ease it without taking his life.
"I'm sorry," I whisper, unable to raise my voice any further, as all my strength drained from me as I watched the blood underneath him grow from a puddle into a pond.
"Don't," Callisto murmurs back, stroking my cheek with his warm, calloused hand. "Everything's fine... you're here, and I couldn't ask for more."
At that moment, I realized he wouldn't make it, and he knew it. But I can't allow that to happen; I can't experience such a loss again. It would destroy me.
"No!" I say firmly. "There has to be something we can do. Magic, potions, whatever, I'd even pray until I bleed!"
Callisto chuckles faintly, that deep rumble that usually makes my knees go weak. Even the planet's whispers have fallen silent for a moment. But then the chuckles died down, and Callisto's heavy breathing became too loud. It echoed in my head as if I were in a closed, empty space.
"I tried to fight back," Callisto said with tears in her eyes, trying to sound unaffected. "But he was too strong, too fast. None of my blows hit him," he started to breathe heavily. "I did my best, just like you showed me."
The sound of his pride-filled voice fills me with a certain warmth. I'm so happy for him, even in a moment of utter despair for us both.
I take his free hand in mine and leave the one he caress my cheek with exactly where it belongs.
"I'm so proud of you," I smile tightly, trying to hold back more tears. I don't want to make this any harder for him than it already is. "But you have to fight. I can cover you with dirt and bring back Terra, and together we can heal—"
"No," Callisto interrupts me. "I was poisoned. His daggers were coated with a thick layer of toxin."
“Toxins can be neutralized and I can heal your wound-”
The sternness in Callisto's voice almost makes me stumble back. As I try to steady myself, my hand lands in warm liquid. I knew it was his blood before I could internalize it.
My breath caught in my throat, and the tears I shed have dried up. Suddenly, a heavy silence hangs over us, like a deathly veil. A cautious smile plays on my lips as I suddenly realize that my panic and desire for him to stay were turning his last moments into sad memories, not the happy ones he deserves.
I lean forward, place my blood-stained hand on his head, and stroke his curly hair with absolute admiration twinkling in my eyes.
"When the war is over, we should get married," I whisper in his face. "Screw my grandfather and my crown if necessary. If my homeworld collapses, as long as I have you by my side, I can live with the guilt."
Callisto's smile almost blinded me. His white teeth, so healthy, formed a perfect contrast to the moment. His tongue darted out and moistened his chapped lips.
"Sounds like a good plan," smiles Callisto. "You can live on my planet and help me rule my duchy. Maybe you can even take over my homeworld with me, because I have a claim to the throne, remember?"
Despite his deep voice, his tone is so gentle, his words playful yet serious at the same time. I know he wants to ascend his throne, and that could have been possible if it hadn't been for this stupid war.
"Of course, anything for you," I murmur honestly, conviction bubbling in my torn heart. "I would burn down any world to keep you by my side."
The forest around us is plunged into complete silence; in our little piece of paradise, not a sound of the war raging around us can be heard.
I lean further down, trying to capture his lips, to confirm my conviction, the love we share and will always share. But then it happened. Blood spilled everywhere.
Warm liquid runs down my face. Callisto's features are contorted in pain, his lips covered in his blood. He doesn't have much time left.
Callisto himself must have realized that his end was approaching sooner than expected, because he took his hand away from my cheek, albeit with difficulty, pulled a ring from his finger, and placed it on my finger.
"I hereby declare you the interim Duke of my lands. Please return my body to my homeland and protect my younger brother, the next duke. My uncle is not safe."
Callisto's warning echoes in my burning mind. How could I not promise to protect what and who he loves?
"I will," I promise quietly. "Whatever it takes, I'll do it to protect your little brother, just like you protected mine earlier."
I try to stay calm and not let him see any more of my tears. Gently, my hand stroked his head and cheek again. I try to memorize the sparkle in his hazel eyes, now that this will be the last time I see them alive.
"I love you, (Y/N), with all my heart," Callisto whispers with difficulty, the words clearly costing him more energy than he has left in his badly damaged body.
But all I could do was smile. Despite the pain, I feel a sense of warmth, witnessing the loss of another loved one.
"Fuck," I grumble hesitantly. "I love you too, Callisto… too much, honestly,“ I admit sheepishly.
I quickly capture his lips before they grow cold, before the rest of what we had could be erased by the horrors of death.
The warmth of his calloused hand vanishes from my cheek. His entire arm falls limply to the side.
“NOOO!” I scream loud enough for the forest to wake up again.
Birds fly from the trees, and small animals run frightened through the undergrowth. But my scream won't stop, nor do the tears streaming down my cheeks as I clutch Callisto's lukewarm body and pull him to my chest. He is still breathing, albeit shallowly—still alive, but he will never wake up again.
"Please! Leviathan of Stone, help me save him!" I plead on my knees. "I would do anything—burn every world, destroy every solar system—but please, don’t let me say 'goodbye' again; don’t let any more love slip through my fingers!"
My tearful 'pleas' should be enough if the Leviathans weren’t heartless monsters.
"I can't," the voice of the Leviathan inside me proclaims. "It's not possible to bring someone back from the brink of death!"
"No, please," I beg again, torn and blinded by tears. "There must be a way!"
“Young Prince, please accept-”
Another voice echoes in my head, one that makes me dizzy just by its tone. My vision disappears for a moment, repeatedly, if only for a second, and I see everything through someone else's eyes.
“I will do anything, just save him!”
A deep chuckle follows, and the next moment, I could no longer feel anything; my mind is pushed back so that I can only be observing everything from my head, but I have no control over anything.
In this place of my mind, I can see the stone Leviathan, in his human form, which he showed me before. He sits there, sighing heavily.
“If you release him, even a little bit, it could end badly.”
Before I can comprehend what he said, an immense magical force flows through my heartbroken body.
I watch from my mind as the true Leviathan of my family, the hidden one who is never spoken of, raises his hand and, with a simple thought that echoes through my head loud enough to silence all other thoughts, stops time for Callisto's body.
Suddenly, the stone leviathan disappears, and outside, I see a stone sarcophagus engulfing Callisto, filling it with healing earth infused with magic that is not of this world and probably not of this universe.
"I have granted your request, young prince," a voice that wasn't mine escapes my lips, deeper but kind. "Now you fulfill mine. I will keep your body until this war is over, since you seem unable to conquer the other Leviathans' hearts."
It was neither a question nor an idea, but a command, and I knew it immediately. How could it have been clearer?
He merely nodded and continued, as if my opinion meant nothing, leaving the sarcophagi in the clearing without even a moment's hesitation.
I scream in my mind, begging him to take Callisto with him, but my family's protective Leviathan, the original, doesn't listen. Instead, we suddenly find ourselves standing at the stairs directly in front of Red Fountain Academy, the forest no longer in sight.
My stomach growls, and I feel nauseous creeps up, but the Leviathan that has taken over me doesn't seem to mind. He continues on and reaches the archway, but what lies beyond shatters something inside me.
As I feared, the specialists weren't as effective as the fairies. The academy is completely destroyed, the towers are crumbling, and scattered red stones now cover the ground along with endless pools of blood. Only a few specialists remain, but they are already completely exhausted.
The Leviathan clicks its tongue, and my mouth makes sounds I didn't even know I was capable of. A golden sphere appears next to the statue of the legendary founder of the academy and his dragon, displaying something that resembles a clock. It ticks slowly, but after just a few moments, the wounds of some of the surrounding specialists heal.
About a third of them get back up, while some remain broken and dead.
“Not strong enough yet,” the Leviathan murmurs in his own voice.
“What did you do?” I ask within my head.
"I brought back the time when these young men were still unharmed. However, I could only bring back those who hadn't been dead for long."
My family's protective Leviathan, who has been banished and chained by the others, sounds pretty... depressed about this? I wouldn't have expected something like this from an evil, dangerous, universal threat.
Suddenly, my body starts moving again. Even though I'm not in control, I feel everything that's happening. It's a strange, distant feeling.
The Leviathan guides my body directly past the people it has brought back from the brink of death. In the distance, I see golden particles raining down in a seemingly circular pattern. The people inside are fighting as if there were no end, as if the pain were negotiable and their courage limitless.
It looks both beautiful and grotesque. A truly gruesome sight. Some specialists fight covered in wounds, others with severed limbs, but without interruption in their movements. They are the last line, and they know it.
With a heavy, almost annoyed sigh, the Leviathan sent out four golden spheres. The first transforms into a clock again. The second creates a field the exact size of the gold particles and encases them all in a golden bubble. The third golden sphere pulsed and slowed the monster of darkness, while the last seemingly did nothing.
The clock hands move painfully slowly. But Sky and the others move normally. Confused, they turn to each other and effortlessly dodge the enemy's slow attacks. The Leviathan's voice booms across the courtyard, urging the specialists not to attack the enemies but simply to stay out of their way while remaining within the golden circle.
Discomfort is clearly visible on the boys' faces, but for some reason, they couldn't resist the words of the Leviathan that currently controlled my body.
It took a few hundred more enemies of darkness before the ball, which did nothing, changed color and began to pulse slowly.
But slowly, the circle became too small. The specialists huddled together in a crowd, some with their eyes closed, apparently already resigned to the end of their short lives.
I try to get the Leviathan that has taken possession of me to do something, but the stone Leviathan holds me back. No matter how much I beg and cry, he won't let me go.
Then the golden ball turns black and falls. Before it touches the ground, the black ball becomes a hole, sucking everything around it into itself, except for the Specialists, who don't move an inch. And within moments, the courtyard was almost empty; the remaining enemies stayed back out of the way. Fear apparently can even hold back the monsters of darkness.
Immediately after the hole disappeared, the clock ticked full circle. The specialists' healing: their severed limbs reappeared where they belonged.
Smug and content, the Leviathan leans back and grins to himself. Just when everything seems to be in order, the Leviathan suddenly turns around and conjures a stone wall. Not even a moment later, thunder, ice, and balls of confusion crash against it, breaking it down.
He sighs heavily and looks up. "You three are pathetic imitations of the ancient witches who once terrorized the universe."
His words confused me at first. Who were the ancient witches? But slowly, memories of my childhood flood back. I remember the stories of the ancient witches, who once partially dominated the universe, attacking the planets under the control of fairies and specialists—until they fell into a trap and were killed.
I couldn't even say a word or form a coherent thought, as the witches obviously didn't like the degrading words directed at them.
They continue to attack, but the Leviathan takes a step back, and we appear directly in front of Sky with Riven at his side.
For a long moment, the Leviathan stares at Riven without emotion. I didn't understand why he stared at him for so long, but before I could ask, he turned to Sky.
“I need your heart,” says the Leviathan clearly and firmly, but not unkindly, as if this were perfectly normal.
Sky looks stunned, surely confused by the whole situation. But that quickly dissipates, as if he's not alone in his thoughts.
“Buy me a meal first,” he suddenly flirts.
It sent a shiver of disgust down the Leviathan's mind and my body's spine.
"Not like that." The Leviathan rolls his eyes in annoyance. "The Leviathan's heart within you."
With my finger, Leviathan points at Sky's chest. A core near his heart glows golden, like the color of the legendary golden lion Leviathan, which protects Sky's family.
“I-I can’t give that to you!” Sky says in a panic, holding both hands in front of her chest.
But as another witch's volley rushes toward us, the Leviathan snaps. My hand digs into Sky's chest, rips out the core, and pushes it into my own.
A burning, searing pain shoots through me as the core moves through me until it snaps into place next to the Stone Leviathan's heart.
Sky falls to his knees. There are no injuries, no blood, but his eyes appear hollow.
The Leviathan mutters something to himself, and I quickly cover Sky's ears with my hands. Barely seconds later, an ear-piercing scream shatters the surrounding silence. Simultaneously, the Leviathan forms another slowing circle around us, shielding us from the witch's attack for the time being.
When he removes my hands from Sky's head, Sky collapses to the floor, fluid seeping from his right ear. The other ear releases what appears to be the remnants of something resembling a mix between a maggot and a worm.
"Not maggots," the Leviathan interrupts my thoughts. "Those are the children of the lizardmen you've been fighting and killing for years. Their children need hosts to grow. At first, they reside around the host's brain, growing too large and starting to consume it slowly, over several years. Afterward, they gradually devour the rest of the host's insides, ultimately replacing them with their own adult bodies. They become lizards disguised in human skin... quite repulsive.
"We need to check them all. But first—" Out of thin air, the Leviathan summons golden spears, its magic seemingly stronger. "It feels good to slowly regain my powers and have a second Leviathan under my control. Now we send the witches back to where they came from, and then we'll free everyone from these disgusting lizard children."
