Hoid Slayer

    “No.” Aytun froze, realization finally setting in.

    “No?” Asvønik asked. Aytun detected a light confusion in his voice.

    “No,” Aytun repeated. He was sure now. It was obvious. How had he not seen it?

    “What do you speak of?”

    “No,” Aytun repeated, turning to face Asvønik again. The scape around them was nearly gone now, nothing left. For the first time, Aytun saw a flash of concern flit over the elf’s face. But Aytun didn’t stop. “No, can’t you see? Of course. It all makes sense.”

    “It… does?” The world around them was all but void now. All that remained was the two of them, and the small stretch of land that connected them. Even that vanishing. Falling. But as the earth beneath his feet fell away, Aytun raced across it, bridging the space until he stood directly before Asvønik. Feeling his breath on his head. Inches apart.

    “Yes. It does. You see, there is no ‘you’. There is no ‘me’.” The panic that had consume him just moments ago still thrummed in Aytun’s chest, but now, it was backed by a giddy exhilaration. He looked up, meeting Asvønik in the eyes. “There is only us.” And with all the passion he had, Aytun grabbed Asvønik’s arm. And held. The elf gasped, and the last dirt beneath their feet vanished, but the two of them remained. Floating in the silence.

    “What are you doing?” Asvønik looked around, seemingly shocked.

    “Binding us. Finishing what was begun months ago.”

    Asvønik himself was beginning to fade now, his extremes dissolving and falling into nothing. Yet as they did so, things began to flow into Aytun. Ideas. Sensations. A boy, laughing as he played in the river beneath a looming mountain. Innocent. A man, sworn to his queen, receiving the badge of a soldier. Proud. Weeping next to the body of his friend in his first battle, the blood of two races washing around them. Hurting. And a guard, steeled from years of conflict, watching his kingdom fade into dust at the hands of human mages. Promising to preserve it, by any means necessary. Aytun felt it all. And felt tears stream down his face.

    “It’s like you said. We are intertwined. You are fading, and you are bringing me with you. But you don’t have to. Because I can preserve it. This. The world will never know you, Asvønik. They will not know your story. But I will. I will remember.”

    For an endless span, the pair floated in the void, tethered together. Aytun smiled, and saw a smile begin to tear at the edges of Asvønik’s mouth. Then it left, and his eyes shone with fear as the nothing continued to spread. Consuming. On an impulse, Aytun grabbed onto him with his other arm and pulled him close. He closed his eyes and buried his head in his chest, and felt the weight of the elf’s chin resting on his shoulder. He felt the flesh beneath his fingers begin to dissolve, and gripped even harder. Asvønik may have been dead, but in this instant, his body felt warm. His heart beat to a frantic rhythm. Alive, just for an instant. 

    Then he was gone, and everything was plunged into darkness.