The Star, The Demon, and The God - 45. An Unfair Trade for Memories

Laneer

I breathe in Yinx’s smell; that same smell that used to relax me so long ago.

How is this possible? How is he here? I saw him die and turn into Raiyo!

My fingers tangle into his soft hair and I refuse to open my eyes.

What if when I opened them again, he will disappear? What if this is all a dream?

“Is this real?” Yinx whispers as he trembles against me.

I shake my head but keep my nose in his neck.

“I can’t tell,” I say. “Are you real?”

Yinx leans back slightly to look up at me.

Seeing his beautiful face once again makes my heart beat even faster.

It has been so long!

He reaches up with both hands to cup my cheeks. He idly runs his thumbs over my freckles like he used to so long ago.

He lets out a small chuckle before more tears fall from his pale eyes.

“You’ve grown quite the beard and hair,” He smiles.

Oh gods, that smile!

Wait a minute...oh gods I look awful right now!

I haven’t bothered keeping up with my appearance for years! I never had my face to work with!

Now I feel embarrassed that he would see how shameful I have become.

For now though, I just want to hold him close to make up for the years I have spent without him.

I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my forehead against his.

He smiles and closes his eyes.

“I missed you so much,” I whisper. My voice is filled with pain and longing, but I don’t care. I am allowed to feel these emotions after the things I have been through.

Yinx moves his hands from my cheeks to my shoulders and leans up to kiss me on the lips.

I happily kiss him back.

A sigh behind Yinx grabs my attention.

I forgot about the others honestly.

Tobias is looking away and stares at a wall. Luno, the one responsible for the sigh, is resting his head on Tobias’ shoulder and is watching us with a happy expression on his face.

Clearing my throat, I bring Yinx to my side to face them.

“Yinx, this is Luno and Laneer,” I say, feeling slightly awkward.

Luno waves with a cheery smile. Tobias only nods in our direction.

Yinx tilts his head. “They are your friends?”

Not really sure how to answer that honestly.

“Yes we are!” Luno pipes up.

“Oh,” Yinx says. “Apologies for trying to kill you both.”

Right...I forgot that was what I was hearing.

Not going to lie...seeing him defeat the both of them when I walked in gave me a bit of pride.

Luno shrugs it off. “It’s fine! You didn’t know who we were so it is understandable.”

Tobias raises an eyebrow at the Star before shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

“Your weapon is interesting,” Is all he says.

If I am not mistaken, the demon might actually be a bit annoyed he lost.

“If it makes you both feel better, he did the same thing to me when we first me as well,” I grin down at Yinx.

He narrows his eyes. “No I didn’t. That was the morning after.”

I laugh and kiss his temple.

I’m glad he remembers that.

This one remembers.

This is the real Yinx.

Not Raiyo.

“How are you here?” Luno asks.

Yes, I am very confused as to how he is here as well.

Yinx’s little smile disappears and his eyes start bouncing between the three of us.

“I...I did this to myself,” He says, a bit quietly.

Did he somehow know he was going to die and created a special needle to hide in? If that is the case, then who is Raiyo?

“Is that it?” Tobias asks in a bit of a rude tone. “Nothing else?”

When I am about to defend Yinx, he interrupts me.

“No,” Yinx says a bit quietly and bows his head.

I’m...confused.

Yinx turns to me and holds both of my hands.

“I’m...I’m not-” He lets out an annoyed sigh and closes his eyes.

“I’m not Yinx,” He says. “I’m not me. I’m made of all the memories that I wanted out of my head.”

No. No that can’t be right.

I shake my head in denial. “No that can’t be true. You feel so real! You even smell like yourself!”

My grip on his hands tighten.

Yinx keeps his eyes down in defeat. “I’m sorry.”

Gods seeing him like that...it makes my heart twist up and ache.

Pulling him close, I rest my cheek on top of his head and stare off with my thoughts distracting me.

Of course this isn’t him. Nothing could be that easy. Nothing ever is.

Why did Drulai send me here? Is this some kind of statement? Did I do something to offend her and so she wanted to twist the knife in my heart even more?

“What memories?” Luno asks hesitantly. “Does Raiyo not remember anything from his past? Nothing at all?”

“Uh,” Yinx tries to pull away. “Everything about you.”

It takes me a moment to realize he is talking about me.

“What?” I say, a bit hurt by his words. “Why?”

He pulls on his fingers and stares at the ground.

“I thought I killed you,” He says. “I thought I had killed you and when I never saw your soul anywhere, I thought I had completely destroyed you! I had tried to move on but I couldn’t!”

I stay silent as I listen to him.

“The Gatekeeper had originally wiped my memories but they were coming back. Eventually I got to remembering you. The day we met, the way you smelled, how sweet you were. Everything.”

“When I realized I had killed you...I couldn't live with those memories of you anymore.”

“After failing an attempt to bring you back, I came here and extracted all my memories since the first day I saw you in the tavern. Somehow those memories had taken form into...well, this.”

Oh.

That explains a lot with why my experience with Raiyo went the way it did.

Gods I hated that day.

I think I hate this one too. It isn’t everyday where you find your lover and then learn that it isn’t you lover. In fact, the real lover doesn’t even know who the fuck I am.

A lovely day.

I should probably stop calling Raiyo my lover then. Clearly that dream is dead.

“There’s something else about me,” Yinx says. “Do you remember Morgoren’s mark on me?”

I nod.

“Well...I still have it. I was strong enough to separate the bond from my body. I think that is what keeps my memories here.”

That is interesting. It definitely doesn’t make things better. Perhaps a little bit worse.

“Is there a way we can fix this,” Luno frowns. “Can we bring the memories back to Raiyo and then show him that Laneer is still alive?”

Yinx shrugs and shakes his head. “I’m not sure.”

Honestly, I am not sure I want that to happen. He is so scary and cruel now. Would he be the same when he gets those memories back?

I feel like he wouldn’t which probably shows just how little I believe in that ever working.

“We are here for something,” Tobias butts in. “Any idea on what could be so important here?”

Yinx shakes his head. “No. Maybe the needle? I’ve only ever been in this room.”

Oh gods!

Why must he sound exactly like him? His voice makes this hurt even more since he sounds so different now.

More like he is so different now.

This is both weird and a mood killer.

Why couldn’t this just be my Yinx? Why?

“Did the door open with the necklace?” Luno asks, standing up.

What are they talking about?

Tobias stands and they both walk over to some random door that I didn’t notice before. I was very distracted by seeing Yinx.

Wait a moment...where is the rest of the floor, and why are there spikes?

What the hell is this place?

We follow the other two towards the weird door with glowing lights.

Seriously how the hell did I miss this of all things?

Is that a needle in the ceiling?

You know what...forget about it!

“Yeah look!” Luno points to a silver pressure plate on the door. It shows a symbol of a hand with a drop of water on the palm.

Just as Luno is about to press his hand onto the button, Tobias quickly puts his there instead.

Luno pouts and sticks out his bottom lip.

Tobias shrugs. “It could have been a trap!”

Parts of the door begins to spin like gears on a machine. They swirl around and then the door pushes out and open.

Ever eager, Luno walks in with Tobias quickly following him.

When I look next to me, I notice that Yinx is standing a fair distance behind me.

Frowning, I hold my hand out to him.

He looks a bit shocked that I would do such a thing. He hesitantly takes my hand.

“I know this is not really you,” I say to him, “but it is still a part of you. Don’t think I would shun you for this.”

A small smile crosses Yinx’s lips.

“Of course you’d be so accepting,” He says while squeezing my hand. “You were never against any of my decisions in the past.”

I smile and kiss the top of his hand.

“You know I would always choose to be by your side,” I say.

He smirks and tilts his head. “Is that so? How close are you with new me?”

Oh...he had to ask that didn’t he?

Yinx must sense my distress because he says, “No matter. I have my time with you now and I plan to cherish it.”

I give a bit of an awkward smile because he makes it sound like he won’t be leaving with us when we get out of this place.

“Laneer, come look!” Luno’s voice calls ahead of us.

It is a few moments after walking past the door when I realize something.

“Can you see me?” I ask. “Are you still blind like this? Your eyes are pale again.”

Yinx smiles and looks up at me when we are walking.

“Sadly, I still can’t see anything unless it touches the ground, but even then, I can see so much more than before! If I concentrate, I can see the pretty orange and gold of your outline. I also can see those adorable freckles of yours and that thick beard and long red hair.”

Oh gods...my face is actually blushing.

I don’t think I have done that in years.

“Apologies for letting myself go,” I chuckle nervously and scratch the back of my neck. “It is rather embarrassing for you to see me like this.”

“Nonsense! You’re still as handsome as ever,” He coos and leans up to kiss my cheek.

Unable to help the grin on my face, I turn and wrap my arms around his waist before leaning down to kiss him full on the lips.

He sighs against me and runs his fingers over my freckles.

When he pulls back, he gently tugs on my beard.

“You could still use a trim,” He laughs.

Oh I definitely plan to.

As soon as we get out of here, I am going to cut my hair and trim my beard to the way I used to like it.

This is something I have missed more than anything throughout these lonely years.

Yinx’s teasing.

Gods it feels good to hear it once again!

This feels like time has rewound itself back and now I am reliving the good old days when we started our adventure together.

“I must say,” he runs his finger down the middle of my chest. “I quite like this outfit. You should have shown more skin back in our day.”

I burst out laughing when I hear that.

“Ever the charmer,” I shake my head with a loving smile.

Brushing the hair out of his eyes, I kiss him once again.

“Come,” I say. “Let us hurry before they grow irritated with us.”

We do not hurry at all.

“I must ask,” Yinx says as we walk, “Have you bedded anyone throughout these years?”

I snort when I hear him say that. “Of course not!”

“Oh!” He raises an eyebrow and smiles. “With how handsome you are, I find that very hard to believe. Especially when you are out there flaunting your chest hairs like that.”

Laughing again, I scratch the back of my neck in nervousness.

“Some have asked, I won’t lie, but I never went along with any of them.”

“Really?” He fakes surprise. “Why?”

My neck heats up a bit but I smile while looking at his pretty face.

“None of them were you,” I say, almost reverently.

Yinx bites his lip through a smile and turns his gaze to the ground, a blush hinting on his cheeks.

“Finally!” Tobias’ voice says ahead of us.

“You both took forever! I get you haven’t seen each other in forever but damn! We kind of have the world to save, remember?”

Yinx blinks at his words. “What?”

Luno flies down out of nowhere from behind Tobias.

“Morgoren is trying to destroy the world and Raiyo is trying to kill all the gods!”

He says all this with such a cheery attitude, I would be surprised if Yinx truly believed this was world ending.

“That’s...a lot,” Yinx says. “Am I really trying to kill the gods?”

He looks to me for confirmation.

I nod.

Drulai said he was going after them so it is safe to say it is true.

Though that could have been a lie. Another trick by her like this stupid one she sent me after.

A stupid one, but also a lovely one.

Yinx listens to Tobias as he explains the situation we are in and our quest Drulai has sent us on.

All the while, I watch him.

I take in his slender jawline, his full lips, his sharp cheekbones, his long lashes.

His ass!

Gods he’s too gorgeous!

How did I get lucky with getting him to fall for me back then? I was such a...such a puppy!

Yeah this is definitely a lovely trick by Drulai.

I am not sure if I should be grateful for this moment or not.

It is when I find myself moving closer to Yinx that I realize I am invading his space in the middle of their whole conversation.

Without thinking, I was about to hold him close in front of all of them…

Gods the embarrassment I always brought to myself from before is coming back again.

If only Beatrix were here to slap some sense into me again.

Oh how I miss her.

Her spirit is safe. I made sure Drulai kept a special place for her and her family. I asked the same for the twins, Nalgon and Nelga.

I should share that information with Yinx. I am sure he would like to hear about those old friends.

Like before, I notice how much quiet Yinx is with strangers.

He is silent as he listens. He doesn’t nod or hum along with the conversation. He just stands there and listens.

Meanwhile, Raiyo will interrupt you and try to be the one on top of the conversation while slipping in small threats or teases here and there.

Sure, Yinx will tease me, but Raiyo does it to literally everyone.

I always knew Raiyo couldn’t possibly be Yinx. He is so different to the person I knew. As soon as I heard about the things he was doing in the world, I knew this wasn’t my Yinx.

The day I heard he killed my father, it was what made me try to speak with him.

It seemed too much of a coincidence that it was my father of all people. I had assumed Raiyo remembered my father and therefore would remember me.

I was wrong.

Years later, I learn that Raiyo did remember me at some point, but he completely removed it all and stuffed it into his secret building full of riches.

Why couldn’t I have spoken to him when he remembered me? What if that was my one chance at making the most of this second life?

Now that the memories of me are here...what do I do?

Should I stay here? Should I stay with this personification of Yinx’s memories?

Gods I don’t know!

“May I speak with you in private? Yinx finally speaks.

I blink and look up, thinking he is talking to me.

Disappointment is all I feel when I realize he is speaking to Luno.

Both of the white haired ones move off to the side to speak in silence.

What could they be speaking about? This is odd. Shouldn’t Yinx be telling me the same things?

That sounds bad, but what could he be needing to hide from me?

Unless...this is to talk about the fact that Luno looks like he could be related to Yinx.

When I first met the Star, I was in shock to see someone who looked so much like Yinx.

At first I thought it was his brother, but then I remembered he had died long ago.

Seeing Tobias act so rudely with him on the boat ride to Enfierna made me angry. It made the wolf angry yet confused because this looks like his mate!

It is funny that now they are very much into each other now.

Tobias acts like he isn’t sometimes, but he forgets to keep that act up all the time.

He should give in and be happy with Luno while he still has the chance.

“How are you holding up?” Tobias breaks the silence.

I shrug and watch both of our little love interests interact.

They look like they are standing in front of a mirror, honestly.

Was Yinx always that short though, or is Luno just slightly taller?

Luno’s eyes widen in shock and he glances at me.

Was it me? Or Tobias?

Either way, why does he have that look on his face?

It has grown pale and he shakes his head before grabbing one of Yinx’s hands with both of his.

“What are they talking about?” I ask Tobias.

He grunts next to me.

“How would I know?”

So helpful.

I would have been able to hear their conversation before, but Luno has cleared away that curse from the wolf.

Never thought I’d miss it till now.

Bang!

A loud slam comes from behind us.

The ground begins to tremble as an unknown foe can be heard running through this underground palace.

At first I am confused by what this could be, but when I hear the birdlike cries and the awful moans, I know what it is.

“Run!” Tobias shouts and sprints for Luno and Yinx.

My body runs forward without thinking, chasing after them all while glancing over my shoulder, waiting to see the Undead Angels.

We run through deserted halls with soft blue lights. They lead deeper and deeper into this maze of a palace.

I never got to explore it much before, so now I am completely lost!

I gasp when the sound of a wall being broken through erupts behind me.

“Don’t look back,” I shout. “Just run!”

Everyone sprints down the halls with Yinx leading us in the front.

We reach a room that opens up into a giant cave.

In this cave, there is a giant two layered pyramid.

At the top of the pyramid is a glowing silver plate that drowns the room in a soft white glow.

Now that definitely looks like something that is important and needed for our quest.

For now, we have killer angel corpses chasing after us.

“We need to climb,” Tobias calls out. “The high ground will give us a chance!”

Luno grabs Yinx by his arms and then both fly up into the air.

“Get on my back, old man,” Tobias says to me. “And don’t make it weird.”

Like a chameleon changing colors, his body morphs into a white tiger with horns on its head.

Gods if only transforming was that easy for me.

I hop onto the giant tiger and grip onto the fur of his neck.

Tobias quickly sprints and jumps onto any blocks of stone that stick out of the sides of this pyramid.

In a matter of seconds, we reach the middle of the pyramid.

Yinx stands at the top.

Luno made his way back down.

“I’m going to help fight them off,” He says with determination.

Tobias shakes me off and transforms back.

“Absolutely not,” He scowls at the star.

While they bicker over that, I quickly climb my way up to Yinx.

By quickly, I mean take forever because this stupid thing is hard to climb and it is incredibly steep!

The entrance we came through explodes into a cloud of stone and dust.

Green angels begin to pour into the cave like water breaking through a dam.

The sight of a sea of green coming for us makes my heart beat faster.

Grunting with the effort, I try and climb a bit faster, needing to get up with Yinx.

When I look up, I see he has his old black and gold bow in his hands.

He leans down and offers me his hand.

“Have you come to be my knight in shining armor this time,” He says with a smirk.

I grin and grab his hand.

“Only to save those princesses, remember?” I chuckle.

He rolls his eyes. “Hilarious.”

I jump slightly when a stream of fire rains down onto the angels below.

“Dammit Luno!” Tobias shouts.

“I want to help!” Luno shouts back.

Tobias starts shooting strange orange, swirling bullets down onto the angels who are trying to crowd around the bottom of the pyramid.

“You make weird friends,” Yinx says next to me.

I smile and playfully push him with my arm.

This is weirdly not that terrifying.

I mean...I can’t die so I have that going for me, but knowing that we have Luno and Yinx on our side, this does not feel like much of a threat.

Yinx draws his bow string back and when I am about to ask where his arrows are, a glowing white arrow materializes into place.

He releases his hold of the string and the arrow flies through the air.

The glowing arrow pierces one angel and then small explosions of moonlight spread around to other angels, making them explode into nasty black goo.

“Whoa,” I say in awe. “You need to teach me how to do that!”

Yinx laughs and readies another arrow.

A giant stone wall is formed in front of us before Luno slams it down on the crowd of angels.

As I said, not at all a challenge.

More and more angels continue to come through the only entrance in here.

Now the ones who can fly have made an appearance.

Tobias shifts his aim from the ones down below to the angels in the sky.

Luno switches between the two.

He would push the angels who get too close to the edge with air and then freeze the air around the angels to turn them into ice.

Unfortunately, since they aren’t mainly focusing on the ones below, the angels on foot have begun to climb further up for Yinx and I.

Yinx fires his arrows, killing multiple enemies at once.

I use my sword and shield to kill any who get too close to us.

What do these things want? They somewhat ignore Tobias and Luno and comes straight up here.

Do they want the shining silver plate as well?

Too bad for them Yinx and I are here!

Yinx switches to his scythes and takes out waves of enemies with each swipe of his weapon.

He is careful not to hit me and has to dance around me to make sure I don’t get hurt.

Somehow this does not make the fighting that much harder. If anything, it makes it more fun!

I would duck under his attacks and strike low when the angels would try and hide from his high swings.

Sometimes Yinx would slide or press himself against me as he moves around, even going as far as leaning his head on my back.

Each time he does that I smile but keep up the fight.

Such a distraction as always.

After what feels like only a few minutes, the angels begin to retreat though some still attack.

Yinx and I seperate as we take care of any angels close to the different sides of the top of this pyramid.

My love brings his bow back out and bashes an angel’s head in with it.

Gods he is amazing.

When I glance down, I see an angel creeping up behind Tobias.

“Tobias, heads up!” I shout before throwing my shield down like a disk.

He looks back and up at me before grabbing the shield and using it to slam the angel’s head into its neck.

Nice!

Yinx shoots a piercing arrow of moonlight at a line of angels. In a blink of an eye, they all fall into a giant pool of their own black puss.

I elbow an angel’s throat before stabbing it through the chest.

Black gunk spills from the new hole on their chest and I wrinkle my nose in disgust.

Looking back, I see Yinx spin on one knee, pulling the string back and readying another shining arrow out of thin air.

He slides to a stop, kneeling and aiming straight for me.

We both stop moving. He pants slightly, a bit out of breath from being amazing as always.

Seeing him aim at me with his bow brings memories of when we first met. Back when he found me tied up to that tree.

Thinking of that memory and seeing his gorgeous face brings out a smile on mine.

Slowly releasing his draw on the string, a smile slowly appears on Yinx’s face as well. A beautiful smile that I have missed all these years. It makes a warmth blossom in my chest just like it did over a thousand years before!

Over his shoulder, I see an angel flying through the air, it’s sword thrust forward, straight for Yinx.

Without thinking, I run forward after him, desperate to keep him safe.

He smiles brightly at me, standing up straight. His arms opening for an embrace.

“Behind you!” I shout as I reach him.

Grabbing him, I twist him away and put my back to the angel.

A hot pain pierces my back as the angel’s sword strikes into me.

I growl through the pain.

Gunshots go off down below and then I feel the nasty blood of the Fallen splashing onto my back.

Tobias shot the Angel for me.

“Laneer?” Yinx says with a choked voice. He looks up at me with a pained look in his eyes.

He pulls back slightly and looks down between us.

My heart stops when I see the blade not only went through me, but also through Yinx. Right beneath his chest.

“No,” I gasp out quietly.

“No, no, no!” I cry out in despair!

Yinx loses his grip on me and almost falls onto his back.

I carefully go down with him and rest him on my lap, cradling his head with one hand.

His pale eyes are wide open in shock. He stares up at me, his mouth moving but no words coming out.

“Heal him,” I shout down to Luno. “Please! You have to! Save him, please!”

He quickly flies over and kneels in front of us, his hands glowing as they move around the ugly wound on Yinx’s body.

The blood seeping into his clothes slips back into the gash. Luno then presses his hands over the wound, his hands glowing twice as before.

The skin around his hands are not glowing. Why isn’t it glowing? It did for me!

When he removes his hands, the blood spills back out once again.

“I-It’s not working,” Luno’s voice trembles and looks down at Yinx’s face. “He’s not truly alive.”

Yinx lets out a shaky breath, a small smile on his lips.

“This was supposed to happen I suppose,” He whispers with a small, pained laugh. “We know this was never truly me.”

My voice shakes as I try to shush him. Even my finger trembles like a leaf when I brush it over his lips.

My eyes begin to water as his words register in my brain.

“Don’t speak,” I say.

I grab onto his wrist and bring his hand to my cheek, desperate to feel his warmth.

I can’t believe I have to watch him die again.

Drulai replayed the events of Raiyo’s birth for me when I had asked. Seeing my father pierce his sword through Yinx’s heart broke me.

Seeing the love of your life die right before your eyes can ruin the strongest of people.

Now it is happening again.

Yinx’s eyes grow heavy as he stares up into me. His thumb lightly runs over the freckles on my face.

“Do you remember when we were in the magic forest,” He asks, his voice so soft and weak that I can barely hear it.

I nod and choke on a sob.

I’m trying my best to keep it down. I must be strong for him.

He brushes my tears off of my freckles. “I love you, you big buffoon.”

Closing my eyes, I kiss the middle of his palm.

“I love you too. More than anything!”

A smile and a single tear falling from his eye is all I recieve before his hand goes limp against me.

He makes his final breath.

He’s...He’s gone.

Again.

My eyes become clouded with tears and I bury my face into Yinx’s hair. My body heaves with each shaking sob that comes out of me; no longer caring to hide it.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, and for a moment I think it is Yinx, but when I look, I only find Luno looking down at me.

Silent tears run down his cheeks.

Tobias stands behind him with his head bowed and a frown on his face.

Looking back down at Yinx’s lifeless body, I see that it is beginning to change.

His body gives off a soft white light.
It does not hurt my eyes, so it allows me to see the changes occuring.

Yinx’s white hair and eyes slowly begin to fill in with color. His hair turns black, but not at all as black as Raiyo’s. There is a large difference between the two.

What really gets me is his eyes.

The white cloud that was always there disappears. Instead, the beautiful green eyes I first saw in the forest of Drulai come out in full bloom.

They are as pretty as I remembered, only they look so lifeless right now.

When all the remnants of the moon’s mark are gone, a ball of light slips out of his head. It drifts upwards and into the air. It goes through the ceiling and is gone.

Pulling him closer to me, I press a kiss to his temple, my tears happening to fall onto his face.

As I am about to wipe them away, his body slowly dissolves into a black smoke. It starts at the top of his head and drifts all the way down to the ends of his toes.

The smoke then drifts upwards, seeping into the cracks of the palace ceiling.

I press my hands and forehead to the ground where the last of the smoke disappeared. I close my eyes and silently weep over my love.

Luno’s hand massaging my shoulder is the only comfort I can grasp onto.

~~~

~~~

Luno

“May I speak with you in private?” Yinx asks.

Tobias had just told him why we were here when Yinx all of a sudden interrupted him.

“Me?” I ask.

Yinx nods.

“Oh,” I say, stepping closer and away from Tobias. “O-okay!”

Yinx leads me a fair ways away from Laneer and Tobias.

“What’s wrong?” I frown. “Are you fine? Is it Laneer?”

He shakes his head.

“No,” he says. “This is about me. I’m what you’re here for. You were sent to destroy me.”

I have a double take hearing that.

“What?” I frown. “No you’re not! Drulai wouldn’t send us here to kill you!”

He raises and eyebrow at me. “Would it be killing me if it would restore my memories to myself? Raiyo?”

My eyes widen when I hear that.

“I...I can’t!” I shake my head and grab his hand. “We couldn’t possibly kill you! Have you seen Laneer? He's so happy to see you! It would ruin him!”

Yinx sighs and closes his eyes. “I know. That is why I am telling you this right now. Someone needs to know. It might as well be the one who is supposed to look like me.”

He knows that?

“Listen close,” He says. “When I am gone, my memories will be sent back to Raiyo. He will have no idea any of this ever happened. It will be reset to when he had removed them all.”

“Morgoren’s mark will officially be removed as well. That is what that god has been looking for out here. He hasn’t been able to make a new champion because his mark was never claimed. Once I’m gone, he will try to mark someone else. Possibly you.”

I blink and feel like my mouth has run dry.

This is so much information to take in!

“One last thing,” he sighs. “When I die, the curse that keeps Raiyo from dying will be destroyed with my body. As when I moved the mark, I had also moved that specific curse as well, though the ghost of it still remains in Raiyo. That will also be removed once I am gone.”

“If what they say is true about me, if I were to kill those gods and take their souls, it will kill me. Taking souls weakens the body until it is nothing.”

Well...that is very concerning.

“Sorry to burden you with all of this, but I really needed to tell someone this now that someone has finally come down here.”

I shake my head. “But...but there must be something else we could do!”

A loud bang goes off in the distance, grabbing our attention.

I turn back to Yinx and plead with my eyes for him to help me.

He doesn’t.

He gives a sad smile before we are told to run.