Aven had imagined what death felt like many times, having been close enough to touch it more than once in his time. It always seemed a cold truth, an inescapable inevitability. But... why do I feel... warm? He looked down to the blade embedded in his chest, the steady pump of his heart ebbing dark particles from the wound. As they floated away, however, something strange began to occur: the dark particles metamorphosed into light, and dissipated into the rays of the setting sun.
Aven's eyes widened, as the same began to happen to his body, light spreading along his torso and down his limbs. It wasn't painful, he found, but... peaceful. It was as though a great burden was being lifted from his shoulders. No, it was more than that: he could feel his dark matter corrupted soul brighten, free of the shackles by which it had been chained.
As the transfiguration ended, the last of the darkness leaving his eyes, all that remained were the steel-grey eyes of a man who'd lived too fast. He'd seen the world, battled evil, lived for both his ideals and for love: but tears welled into those eyes as Aven saw, for the first time in twenty five years, drops of red blood, falling from the blade in his chest. A peaceful smile fell over him, the final wish of his love, Hakon Kilandre, finally come to fruition, even if only for a short while: he was just a normal human.
Blood began to fill his chest, and he looked slowly toward Thera, his voice just a whisper. "Tha... nk... you." With that, the newfound light in his eyes dimmed, twinkling one last time, just like the Emerald eyes of the eagle on his wedding ring. The Father, watching nearby, would feel a small holy presence lift from the corpse... or did he imagine it?
Jace was having a strange day, that was for certain. He'd learned quite a lot about the new world he was in, it's customs and nuances; Apollonia had been very helpful. Still, he'd reached Reahj, and still hadn't found a single trace of his father. He'd wandered for so long through the city. A scene caught his attention, a large chanting crowd. It was chanting to kill something... no, someone? Jace's stomach twisted, it was probably a Mage. Still, curiosity drew him to the spectacle.
Nudging his way to the forefront as they people began to cheer, he came upon the sight of a man in a blood dyed shirt, impaled on a glowing blade. Those spectacles really were gruesome, he didn't know how people stomached that kind of scene and be joyous. Suddenly, his gut twisted in pain as he recognized the man. No... His golden eyes broke into tears. No, it can't be...! "Dad...?" He croaked, his body cold. That was his father, that was Aven! "DAD!!!?"
He tore out of the crowd, sprinting forward toward Aven's lifeless body. "DAD, NO!" He got halfway to them, before he caught glimpse of his father's eyes: grey, not a single spark of life left. He collapsed onto his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks, eyes wide. "Why?"
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