Chapter Text
Raine knew their fate by now.
They were going to die, trapped in Belos' horrible goop, pent up on the wall like a decoration.
They let out a long sigh. They had worked so hard for the chance to defeat him- and they'd failed. It was their fault.
The guilt of failure came in a chorus of voices in their head, repeating what they already knew.
Their own voice, telling them everything they'd done wrong.
Edas voice, whispering how much they'd disappointed her.
Darius' voice, yelling about how much they had ruined their entire mission.
Eberwolfs voice, hissing how hard they had tried and how Raine had ruined everything.
And finally, their mothers voice, sighing in quiet sadness for what had become of their once happy child.
Maybe they should just let themself die. It would be easier for everyone, wouldn't it?
No. I can't give up. I can't let him win. One part of their brain thought angrily at the other.
But he already has, hasn't he?
He won.
We lost.
I lost.
They let their thoughts wander. It was pointless to think of anything in particular. They were going to die, so why did it matter?
Their thoughts turned to the only light in their life- Eda the Owl Lady.
They had a few flashbacks of when they were young and dumb and in love, but they were… blurry. Like a dream they couldn't quite remember.
Sometimes during these flashbacks their glasses fell to the ground, stained with tears.
Then, their thoughts turned to a painfully clear picture. The breakup.
It was a horrible day for them both. Raine hadn't truly wanted to leave Eda- she was an amazing person, and she didn't deserve to be left at her worst. But in the grand scheme of the revolution, they couldn't have anyone. They knew that to truly start something, the Emperor couldn't have anyone to hurt them with. Eda being incredibly closed off from them only added to it.
They just wanted to forget about that. Escape. They were so glad, happy even, to find her again. And then, that was broken, since they almost lost her, three times.
The first was their little requiem.
When they were trying to- essentially- murder Darius and Eberwolf and themselves- for the revolution. They were ready to die, but they weren't ready for Eda to die. She had someone that needed her. Raine couldn't let her kill herself for the revolution if she had children.
The second time was, obviously, the Day of Unity. That was one of the only times that they were happy with their decisions. Ripping off Eda's arm came with guilt, but also her life. Sacrificing themselves was the bare minimum. They ended up staying alive, but only for Eda to try and fight the Collector one on one. They remembered how much fear they had pumping through their veins as they watched her, tears in their eyes, as she was turned into a puppet. They remembered, faintly, running for their life as the Collector chased them, taunting them- addressing them as "Eda's forbidden love."
The third time was when they were possessed. She didn't almost die, per se, but there was a chance Belos would pull some shit and use them to kill her. It was off and probably wouldn't happen, but it lived in the back of their worried mind the entire time they were possessed.
They didn't know why they were reviewing the worst moments of their life, but what else to do than be miserable?
They involuntarily started to whistle- their song. Raine's Rhapsody- Eda's Requiem. It was a reflex, when thinking about her.
Only a bit into the song, a loud crash echoed from about fifteen meters away.
He's here. I'm going to die.
They'd already embraced it- years ago. But it was sudden, sort of. Not quite yet. Just let me see her one more time.
They yelled some pointless, empty threats and telling Belos to stay away from them.
They braced themselves for the cold - yet relieving - embrace of death.
But it didn't come.
Their glasses were returned to their face.
What?