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“What about you?” 

The question took The immortal Mage by surprise. Never in his centuries of atonement has he been faced with such a question before, the words nearly rendering him speechless.

“What?-” 

He choked on the little air that had been knocked out of his non-existent lungs, eyeing in confusion to the man who kneels before him, a man he has met many times, yet this was different from all encounters he has made.

“How long has it been this way for you Viktor, how long have you been alone in this wasteland?" 

Something inside The Mage clench uncomfortably by being called upon as Viktor, a name he has longed to forget, yet, the man with a haunting familiar face has no intention of letting him.

“Jayce, you need not to concern yourself with my being, I am not the one you seek, I'm merely a tide to guide you home, a red herring to steer you to a better path, a better future.” 

A huff escaped from the young doppelganger's mouth, shaking his head with a small fond smile pulled to his chapped ragged lips.

“You were never one to ask for assistance, always thinking of others…thinking of me.” 

Any air that would have clung to Viktor- The Mage's non-existent lungs would all be smothered by the pounding of a heart he no longer has as rich golden hazel eyes stare beneath him with such…devotion.

“Jayce.” 

He warned, of what, he wasn't certain, but the way this man looked at him like sweet enchanted nectar, was too much to bear.

“You must go, this place is just the result of what will happen if you fail, but there is still a chance to change the tide before the storm hits your shores Jayce Tails, I advise you to take it, not just for you, but for him as well.”

He doesn't know if his words sway the man enough, a sickening tension hangs in the air on top of his eroded tower above it all, above all his sins, waiting for response.

“Alright.” 

A breath he held is exhaled as a young, dirty, rugged, and beaten down Jayce Tails stands to his feet, grabbing the hammer left waiting for him for minutes now, groaning heavily as he lifts the weapon alive. 

“Thank you.” 

All The Mage can whisper back before yielding the arcane back into bloodless veins, the galaxy within him swirling as the portal is formed, Jayce seeming ready, hesitants, staring at The Mage one last time, his expression uncertain for the path ahead, but his voice firm for the future.

“I'll come back to you.” 

Then he is gone. Leaving The Mage back to his loneliness once again.

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Cicadas chirp in the near distant of the eternal summer buzz while The Mage tends to his little oasis filled to the brim with ripe fruits and floras unlike any natural growth that had once been there before centuries ago, however life is relentless in its will to survive, adapting to the new post apocalyptic world quicker than the former scientist hypothesized, a welcome surprise given the wasteland had nothing else to offer than the burdens of old memories and the absence of the sound of the living. But now The Mage can sigh easily with flickering of leaves trailing alongside his draped over strained white cloak.

Wiping his hands from the rich earthy soil, The Mage did not sense a change in the winds before it was too late, his hood falling over from the sheer force that accumulated in such a short time, The Mage raised an eyebrow, mindlessly waving a hand to stop the winds, yet it did not yield.

Strange

He thought, waving his hand again not thinking much of it, however the weather became more violent than calm by The Mage's efforts. Brows furrowed in a tight line, the old immortal called upon the weakened arcane laying dormant in his inky starlit veins, but the magic was canceled out.

This was his domain, no one or thing that enters and leaves is just by mistake, it was all by his will alone, but this was not his will, it was something or someone else's will he began to realize, a sense of wrongness hitting him as something prodded at his chest, an invisible pull calling him to move.

Dread slowly crept its way to The Mage's mind, the possibilities were endless on what this anomaly could be, it's siren call only growing louder which each second The Mage waits in stand still, the wind now howling with it as it beckons him forward, and before he can realize what he's doing, his feet move in command of this strange pull, the strong winds only helping his unconscious feet move more along till there is no longer a doubt The Mage has been entranced.

The long weary part of his mind pleads to deaf ears to stop, turn around, and to get ahold of himself.

This is dangerous 

It feared. But as stubborn as the weary, the curiosity of his mind spoke louder like a raging waterfall, the excitement of something new, something entirely new and unyielding to his desires made for a feeling of…giddiness in The Mage, a feeling that was rare for him to feel these days as he hobbled faster towards the pull.

Bubbling brooks, discolored mismatched meadows and trees, were all that finally greeted him when the pull stopped, the wind dying down as he looked around to this new part of his self destroyed world. It was a patch of land varying much better than the lands near the old twin cities, however it wasn't a place he visited often, preferring to watch in the distance from his old crooked tower, it was a pleasant sight on clear days, he often talked to Jayce about going there together when he woke up…but he never did wake up though.

Stinging tears built up behind his eyes as The Mage blinked them away now annoyed, there was nothing here, was it even real, or just psychosis finally taking place after all these years?

A huff escaped his mouth before rubbing his temple in annoyance and in a bit of embarrassment, fortunately, The Mage was alone, or so he thought till he heard a pitiful groan coming from behind a rather oddly shaped rock.

But it was no rock to his horror, but a person, a person he recognized instantly despite the aging lines, graying hair, and sparkling scarring on his face.

Jayce.

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The easiest solution for The Mage was to send Jayce home, but seeing the graying man unconscious and vulnerable, made that line of thought much harder to conceive.

So the old immoral brought his slumbering uninvited guest to an old cottage near the meadows he stumbled upon. It was a small rickety old thing, not lived in years, yet was still in pristine condition besides the collection of dust. There was also furniture from the previous owner left there, not much, but enough to make do for now.

The Mage laid jayce tenderly on a old bed, the springs squeaking upon the presence of the added weight over them, The Mage relieved to find Jayce unstirred from his sleep, giving him time to look over the aged man's features better in the dusted sunlit room.

Just as he observed before, Jayce had aged, his skin no longer as smooth by youth as it is now wrinkled by age, his once primary dark locks that reached to his nape has grown grey a little, shaggy strains that form a halo where he laid, are a mixture of brown and silver with the addition of starlight white, something they both had in common as they both used the arcane’s power for some amount of time, something more evident of the iridescent kaleidoscope scarring taking form on a side of Jayce's face, reaching his left eye, and surely reached more across his body, but that was covered by various of articles of clothing, one most eye catching was his black leather trench coat which reached almost to his ankles to his neck which was cushioned by a fur collar.

The Mage couldn't help but smirk by the “rugged” appearance of a man he once knew as more polished and refined, the Jayce he knew would never in a million years take up such attire, and that amusing line of thought soon turn dark, because this wasn't his Jayce, no, this was a different man, a man who has an unknown motive for being here, a fellow mage of the arcane.

A chill runs through The Mage's spine, chastising himself for already getting too close for comfort, wishing he just sent the man back instead of giving into his heart, that being said, it wasn't like he couldn't just send him back right now, however The Mage concluded to himself of being too exhausted himself to pull such a spell, even if a deeper part of him knew it was a lie, The Mage quiet his mind, leaving Jayce to his slumber till sunrise.

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The Mage has long gone without sleep, while he does have moments of blankness, he cannot recall ever needing the need of sleep let alone any other bodily function he had centuries ago, it's not something he thinking of often, however picking blooming ripe fruits from a tree, he can't help but wonder what it would be like again, a thought laughable given all his attempts to rid himself of such natural things.

He can only now think of the lone slumbering man that lays in the cottage near of here, his body is filled with the same bitter magic as The Mage, yet he still sleeps, breathes, heart beating in rhythm, The Mage almost envies him if not for the fact he also yearns for him just as much, maybe even more so.

“But he is not yours to keep”

A bitter voice warns, echoing in the cavity in his skull, bringing him back to the uncertain reality he has put himself in, another bitter thought after another assaults him again quietly in the sunlit eve of a darkening bruising sky, The Mage's hands begin to shake underneath their vile words.

“He is not yours, you killed him along with everyone else, you are alone in this world, there is no salvation for you, only suffering and atonement you monster” 

Tears spill over his cheek before he realizes it, just as they are quick to spill, The Mage is just as quick to wipe them away with his sleeve, he has grown soft with old age, and it shows as he makes a soft broken sound between his lips before picking the last of the fruit for his uninvited guest, the cottages leftovers far from edible at this late in the game.

Sniffing back any remaining tears, the old immortal picks up the basket he found suitable for picking near the cottage and heads back to where it resides, each step careful as the little wooden residence gets larger in near view.

The doors hinges groan as the old immoral lets himself in, the house only stirring dust in its wake, but he knows better than to let his guard down, knowing the presence of another right away before even looking.

“I was wondering when you awake.” 

Placing the basket of ripe fruits down, he still doesn't look towards the looming shadow behind him, his gaze fixed over the fruits he clutches one by one to check for any bruises he may have missed along the way.

“You drain much of yourself just on your travels here, not eh- very smart if I do say so myself, but I suppose you thought you would be able to handle it….quite egotistical, no?” 

Turning, The Mage tries to play an easy smile on his lips, but that falls quicker than anticipated. Hazel and ice blue eyes stare back at him, Jayce's expression is unreadable as a column of sickening weight is looming in the air before it inevitably snaps.

Covering himself with his own arms, The Mage expects to feel a spike of pain headed his way, but he only feels the rush of a fuller body encasing him in…tenderly.

Confused, The Mage doesn't move nor speak for several minutes, only listening to the labour breath of the graying man who holds him hostage in the gentle embrace.

“Jayce?-” 

He starts, feeling the heavy arms around him squeeze tighter as Jayce exhales before removing himself enough to face The Mage.

“I told you I'll come back to you.”