On Darkling Wings - I
Title: On Darkling Wings
Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defenders
Pairing: Keith/Shiro, Shiro/OMC
Warnings: This is a reincarnation AU. They don't stay dead permanently, but they ARE reincarnated, therefore, must die. A lot. To get reincarnated a lot. Also mentions of non-con (not Shiro/Keith).
Summary: Eons ago, a legend was born about the Darkling; a Demi-God who stole the God Caltek's most prized possession. The reality was far more tragic, for eons ago, the Gods created a perfect creature. Shiro was beautiful and they fought amongst themselves to keep him. Caltek, God of War, won the right and he pampered and cared for this perfect being. His creature was human though, and humans, no matter how perfectly they had been formed, were fiercely independent. When the Darkling fell to Shiro's world, he taught Shiro the nature of love, and of the prison his life was.
Caught in a tryst and on the eve of their escape, the God Caltek cursed the two lovers. Their souls would be forever bound, life after life, death after death, but only one would remember.
His life was perfect. How could it be anything else when he had been created by the Gods themselves? He was given a flawless world to live in and doted on by beings who nearly worshiped him.
They talked about his beauty and how the Gods had graced him with skin the color of sand, and cognac eyes. They said his hair was like the morning frost and his lips the pale blush of a young rose. Shiro pretended not to hear and simply moved past the servants when they spoke thus. Their purpose in this world was to revere him, to cherish him, and to attend him. The great War God, Caltek, had chosen them specifically for that purpose when he'd made this world for Shiro to inhabit.
He heard them talk sometimes, about how kind he was, how they would follow Shiro's every order no matter what.
Shiro was eternally grateful for his beautiful home and his steadfast servants. Caltek was a fierce warrior and a wonderful lover and he never failed to do everything in his power to make Shiro happy. And yet, Shiro stood looking over the beautiful mountains to the east of his wondrous home and wondered what was left for him.
Perhaps it was his creation that was the problem. He knew from their tales that the Gods had created him just to see if they could reach perfection. Perfection in the physical form wasn't a lifelong pursuit though. There was no purpose in his design, and therefore no purpose in his life.
As much as the Gods had perfected his skin and muscle, from his hair to the last eyelash, they had not realized that while they made something, they could not always control what they had fashioned. Like the rest of his kind, Shiro was a creature of deep emotion and the Gods had never known how to handle the humans once they'd been created and set free.
Even now, in the depths of the universe, Shiro heard the stirring of unease as the humans fought against their creators, refusing their divine right simply because they desired freedom. Shiro was in no cell, but sometimes, he closed his eyes and he could imagine what it would be like, to meet another of his kind. To find a kindred spirit.
Shiro turned away from the balcony and saw the servants waiting. "Go see to dinner," he said with a smile. "Something light under the stars tonight, I think."
They left him then, his strange companions. It was they who gave him news of the other worlds; of the God's deeds and the human rebellions. Caltek would be upset if he knew, but they had been chosen to serve Shiro and they loved him too much to keep what little they could find from him.
"Will the Master be joining you tonight?"
Shiro shook his head. "No, Lance, he won't. I'm afraid he's off to another war council. Hopefully, he'd be back tomorrow evening."
It had been like that for too long. Shiro had been left to suffer his loneliness as best he could. Caltek claimed he loved Shiro, that he had built all of this because of that love. Shiro knew though, that if he truly felt love then he'd find a way to come home more often.
Even before the war had started, Shiro had often been left to his own devices. The servants had more of Shiro's time than his lover ever had.
His three servants left to see to the dinner preparations and Shiro walked through the house to go out onto the back patio. A long, low couch waited and he threw himself down on it, trying to remember when Caltek had last been there to make love to him under the stars.
When he had been recently created and newly won, he had come to Shiro every night. Caltek was no gentle creature but he was passionate and caring. Even if Shiro didn't love, he had felt safe there, in his arms.
Now, Shiro felt a distance growing that he could not name. That he would not. To name a thing was to give it power and Shiro wanted nothing to do with the stirrings of his heart. Of the doubt that Caltek had brought him so far from everything so that Shiro would never learn the wickedness of humanity and let it grow in his own soul.
Caltek, creator and God, saw human curiosity as a bane. The quest for knowledge was a curse. Their passion for freedom was a blight.
Shiro craved them all now.
As the evening sky fell to darkness, a falling light caught his attention. It wasn't a shooting star, and no God traveled in such circles. As he watched, the light came closer and closer. It wasn't until its journey was almost over that Shiro realized the destination.
It was going to land on the other side of the mountain.
Shiro didn't hesitate. He'd always been too curious. He wanted to know more than what was on the planet that had been created for his leisure. Something had come from outside his world and he needed to see it with his own two eyes.
His servants, in their ever-growing need to keep him happy, had developed a skimmer that he could attach to his back and he did so now. It allowed him to fly into the air at great speed and distances.
The landing impact shook the area, and the blast of wind nearly knocked him from the sky, but Shiro straightened his trajectory and continued forward. It would have been hours to walk the distance, but Shiro was able to find the landing area in just a few minutes.
When he got to the sight of the impact, Shiro stared in wonder. Where the outer layer of soil and rock and greenery had been ripped away, beautiful glowing crystals now littered the surface. Shiro moved closer and slowly stretched out a hand to touch one. It began to glow a soft violet and Shiro stepped further into the field of crystals.
At the end of the funnel was the resting place of the fallen object. Shiro carefully picked his way among the crystals until he stopped a few feet away from it.
Only it was no meteor or comet that had fallen from the heavens.
It was a human.
Shiro moved quickly then to check and see if the human was still alive. Raven wings sheltered the human's body where it had fallen and Shiro carefully stroked one back, amazed at the soft down-covered appendage. When he knelt, he realized it was a man. Amethyst eyes stared up at Shiro and he smiled down, trying to make himself seem friendly.
"My name is Shiro. Are you alright?" he asked.
The man nodded, though Shiro could see a cut across his face that bled slowly.
Shiro offered him his hand and they both stood. He wasn't as tall as Shiro, but he had the sudden urge to pull the man close and wrap him up warmly into his arms. To hold him close and let his head rest on Shiro's chest.
He let out a deep breath. "Let me take you-," he stopped then because they couldn't go home. Caltek would kill any human who came to Shiro's world, let alone his home.
"I'm sorry. I can't take you to my home. It wouldn't be safe there. There are some caverns close by though. I could take you there for shelter. Night will come soon."
The man looked at him and tilted his head slightly. "You don't have any wings. I thought all the Gods had wings."
Shiro laughed. "I'm not a God. I was created by them and have lived here for ... well ... I couldn't say how many years have passed here. I have this," he turned to proudly show off the skimmer. "My servants made it when I began to explore the world more."
"I can fly," the human said softly. "If you show me where to go. I need to rest before I can make it far though."
"Follow me then," Shiro said as he turned the skimmer back on.
The man followed closely behind and Shiro wanted so much to touch his magnificent wings. When they landed at the mouth of the cave, he frowned. "I had not heard that humans had wings."
The other man snorted. "They don't. I'm a half-breed. A Demi-God. My mother is a Goddess and my father was a human."
"Do you have a name?"
"Keith."
"It's nice to meet you, Keith. Now, please, let's find a place to settle inside the cave. It is warm and dry. I can bring some comforts to you tonight, but I want to see to your wounds first. Where do you hurt?"
"Hurt? I crash landed into a planet. I hurt everywhere. But I don't require medical attention for most of it."
"How?" Shiro wondered.
"I'm a Demi-God. I may get hurt easier than a God, but I heal quickly and I'm still stronger than a human. I don't need medical attention."
Shiro nodded as they walked further into the cavern. Shiro had explored the area before. In fact, there was not an inch of the planet he had not walked in his many years with Caltek. The caverns were close enough to home that he was within easy reach, should the God come home early and want Shiro's company. There were enough adventures in these caves though to keep Shiro happily exploring while he waited.
"There are hot springs, further in, that keep the cavern warm. The waters are said to be healing, though I have never had a need to find out."
"A human, in a God's world, and you have never been harmed?" Keith's skepticism was clear in his voice.
"The Gods made me and Caltek won me from all the others. Why would he harm me?"
"You know you aren't some sort of trophy?"
"No, of course not," Shiro was affronted. "Caltek made this world for me. He cares for me here. He is a good and just Master and a caring lover. Do not disparage what you do not know."
He led Keith into the cavern but the walk was silent.
In Shiro's head, he counted all the ways he was no trophy, but in his heart, the word sunk in and seemed to sear itself into his flesh. Petted and put on a pedestal, praised and pranced around whenever Caltek wanted to see something pretty. Wasn't that the definition of a trophy?
"Forgive me," Keith said from beside him. "I don't know you and I don't know how you came to live so far away from the rest of the universe, or why you would remain in isolation. I only know the five worlds that have lived under the rule of the Gods. The Gods are not, for those of us on Earth, benevolent rulers. They are tyrants who see us as nothing more than slaves."
"Slaves?"
"Yes. They've been up to-"
"No, Keith, wait. I meant, what is a slave?"
Keith stared at him for a long moment and Shiro felt shame at his own ignorance, but he held his head up high. The ignorance wasn't his fault. If there were books, beyond Caltek's library that he had access to, he would read them. If there was a way to get more than whispered rumors from the servants he would listen.
"Someone who is forced into servitude against their wishes. The Gods treat them as objects to own, items to be bartered, not people."
"That's horrible," Shiro said. He didn't doubt it though. Even the few rumors that reached his ears were filled with bloodshed.
Beyond the rumors, Caltek spoke with him about his campaigns on other worlds. Shiro offered suggestions when the God seemed amendable to his opinion. He had felt the movements of troops drawn across his back many times as he lay in bed with Caltek, sated and spent, when the God reveled in his tales of conquest.
"Being treated like slaves is why we're fighting."
"You are?"
"We all deserve our freedom."
"The Gods created us. Shouldn't we give thanks for that?"
Keith stared at him for a moment and, again, Shiro felt like a naïve child.
"The Gods created us but that doesn't mean they have a right to demand anything they want. We are allowed our dignity. They would take that from us, keep it, as they keep our freedom."
"I don't know anything about the world you're speaking of, Keith," Shiro said. "I'm sorry that's the world you know. All I can give you here is a place to rest and some small comforts."
"You've been kind enough," Keith said. "You have no reason to help a stranger. I don't mean to get you in trouble."
Shiro smiled. "To be honest, it's been kind of boring around here lately. At least your arrival will give me something to think about, after you've gone."
As he finished, he found the inner cavern with the hot springs. He'd left some things here on previous visits. It was one of his favorite places to go, away from his home, so there were mats for napping and towels for drying off after using the springs. Some jugs of water and snacks.
"Wow, this is pretty amazing," Keith said in wonder.
Shiro remembered his first time there as well. The ceiling was high but it was formed of the same crystals that Shiro had seen at Keith's landing site.
"It really is. Caltek made a beautiful world for me to live in," Shiro said softly.
Keith looked up at him and frowned. He didn't say anything but Shiro could see that he wanted to from the thin line he made of his lips and the furrow that crossed his brow.
"I need to go back to my home. My servants will be waiting and if I'm gone too long they might come to investigate. I'll be back at nightfall with some things for you, including some real food," he said. "Please relax until then. Everything here is yours to use as you need."
Shiro turned to leave but Keith grabbed his wrist. "Shiro, thank you. It's been a long time since anyone has shown me this sort of kindness."
Shiro gave Keith a small smile. "Your world must be a harsh one, Keith, for something as small as hospitality to mean so much."
Shiro walked out of the cavern and towards the open air. He was already making plans in his mind. The servants wouldn't think anything of him wanting to camp out tonight. He hated to break trust with them, but it was safer if they didn't know where he was or what he was doing. If Caltek discovered what Shiro had done, he'd be angry.
He couldn't think about turning Keith away though, about contacting Caltek and telling him a human had found his inner sanctuary. It would mean Keith's death and more isolation for Shiro. The last thing he wanted was to be separated from the human when he'd just found him.
He took off into the air, heading home, knowing he'd be back in a few hours. He didn't notice the way his hand clutched at the place Keith had touched him, or how frequently his thoughts returned to that small moment of contact and the look of gratitude in Keith's eyes.
***
"Will you tell me now, what really happened to you?" Shiro asked.
Keith turned to look at him and Shiro could see the way the walls built up behind Keith's eyes. He hated those moments more than anything, except perhaps the moments when he had to say good-bye. He'd been visiting Keith for a month now, every day, spending more and more time with him.
Caltek was still away, always promising to return home soon when he took the time to send messages, but the war wasn't going well for him and Shiro was almost glad for it. At least he had more time with Keith.
"You don't have to," Shiro said quickly. "I just want to understand. Sometimes, you look at me like I'm a child, too young to be burdened with the realities of the world, but other times ... I think you want to talk to me."
"Shiro," Keith's voice was heavy with something that Shiro didn't understand. It happened often. Keith's life, his world, was nothing that Shiro understood. Keith shared a little more each day but it was still outside his realm of reality.
"It's just that you've been here a month and you keep saying you'll tell me in time, but how much longer do we have?"
"What?"
"You said you were only staying until you'd regained your strength. I would keep you here, forever, if I could, but I know it would only hurt you. You have a people to return to, a cause, and I'm only a single man. I know that what I want doesn't amount to much-"
"What do you want, Shiro?"
There was an intensity to his gaze that Shiro was taken aback by. "Keith?"
"He gave you this world, this life. Everything on this planet was made for you. But what do you want? Do you want to stay here, spoiled by a God? Or do you want to leave this place and explore the stars? Not my worlds or his, but explore for yourself?"
"Yes," Shiro said, the desire to reach the stars so much a part of his own thoughts since Keith had come to him. "I want to see what else is out there. I want ... I'm not a soldier like you Keith, but I want to do some good in this universe."
"Then find a way, Shiro. You don't have to stay here, just because he wants you to. Do what you want."
Shiro lowered his eyes as he stepped closer to Keith. "And what if there are things that I want that are selfish and greedy?"
"Shiro, you're the least selfish person I've ever met. In all the five realms."
Shiro looked up and his eyes met Keith's and he saw then the moment of understanding; the slight widening of Keith's eyes, the way they looked to Shiro's mouth as he licked his own lips.
"Shiro?"
"I thought I was happy. I thought I had everything but I never realized there were things I wanted, because he always gave me everything. You made me realize that happiness and complacency aren't the same thing."
"Shiro."
"You made me see that I want the choice. I ... I deserve the choice, Keith."
Keith nodded. "We all do. That's what we're fighting for."
"When you leave, I want to leave with you. I don't know what I'll find out there or where I'll end up, but I have to try."
"Of course, I'll take you."
Shiro stepped closer again and brought his hand up to touch Keith's cheek. He and Caltek didn't touch like this. He'd never, in all his life, touched another this way. "For now, I want this, Keith. I want you. I choose you."
He had thought about it, had words planned out to convince Keith that his feelings were earnest and that he had never loved Caltek, only thought he understood love because he'd been expected to love the God and give him everything he asked.
Keith didn't let him though. Keith pulled Shiro close and their lips met.
It was different from the way Caltek touched him, and the tenderness of it was nearly his undoing. He wrapped an arm around Keith's waist and pulled him closer. Keith was so much smaller than Caltek that he was almost afraid to hurt him, but he'd seen Keith's fall and he knew that he was stronger than he seemed.
Keith's arms wound their way around Shiro's neck and his fingers twined through his hair. Shiro thought he could stay like that forever, just holding Keith and being held.
"Shiro," Keith's voice was breathless and Shiro wanted to savor the fact that he caused that; the man with so much power and conviction was brought short by a single kiss.
"Keith," Shiro answered, but he didn't know what Keith was asking. Whatever it was, Shiro would give it, if it was within his power.
Keith smiled up at Shiro and took a few steps back. Keith slowly stripped out of his clothes and after a moment of watching, Shiro did the same.
"Join me, in the hot spring?"
Shiro followed Keith, unable to look away from the pale skin of his back and the dark wings that rested so beautifully between his shoulder blades. Keith stepped into the pool of water and Shiro watched him disappear, little by little. He walked with purpose towards a seat that Shiro had carved into the side, years before. Keith sat there and Shiro realized it was perfect for Keith. His wings still dipped into the water, but he could rest back on his elbows on the rock face and relax his shoulders so that his wing joints weren't pressed against anything.
Keith smiled and held a hand out towards him.
Shiro answered with another smile and he dropped quickly into the warm water. He felt lighter in the hot springs, the warmth seeping the worry that clouded his mind. When he reached Keith, he took the other man's hand and allowed himself to be pulled closer. Keith brushed his lips against Shiro's and it was more than Shiro could take.
"You keep asking me, but what do you want, Keith?" he asked.
"You," Keith answered without hesitation. "Here. Now. I want you."
Keith looked like he was about to say more, but Shiro stole his words with his mouth and spent the night buried in his arms.
***
Shiro felt Keith roll his hips up underneath him, trying to speed him up as his heels dug into Shiro's back. He leaned forward and nipped at Keith's ear and whispered, "You know what they say, Keith," he teased, as he pulled his fingers from Keith's body. "Patience yields-"
"Don't you dare say it!" Keith groaned.
"Focus," Shiro finished as he pressed his hips forward and entered Keith's body. He felt the sharp bite of teeth against his neck and moaned at the way Keith felt around him, under him.
This, with Keith, was nothing like sex with Caltek. The God was an ardent lover but there was a give and take that was absent between them. Shiro was always satisfied, but Caltek took what he wanted and he never asked what Shiro wanted. It was unlike the lovemaking with Keith. There was a passion between them that Shiro found unmatched elsewhere in his life.
Keith cared for him, like what Shiro wanted mattered more than his own desires. Keith's touch incited fire under his skin, and his heart beat faster just at the sight of him. Shiro had heard of love, had even imagined he knew it, but what he had before was nothing compared to the all-encompassing love he felt for Keith.
He made love to Keith in their cave, by the warm water of the hot springs, and Shiro had never felt more fulfilled or more sated as he fell back against the pillows and blankets with Keith in his arms.
They lay there together for a few minutes before Shiro felt Keith begin to move restlessly. At first, it was small, just the brush of his fingers over Shiro's stomach. Then Keith began to reposition his head - always settling back against Shiro's heart but never for long.
"Keith?"
Keith looked up at him and there was the intensity that Shiro felt so drawn towards.
"What are you thinking about?" Shiro asked.
Keith looked away, but Shiro cupped his face gently and pulled his eyes back up. "Tell me, please?"
Keith let out a deep sigh. "I have the strength to return home now," he confessed.
Shiro had been waiting for the day, dreading it but excited at the same time. Keith had promised to take him and Shiro knew he'd keep that promise, but what happened after that was unknown. Until Keith had come into his life, Shiro's days had been nothing but routine. There were no surprises to be had and no unexpected adventures to waylay him.
Now, he was thrilled at the prospect, but he knew he needed to talk to Keith because there was a reality he had never spoken of.
"You want to leave," Shiro said softly.
"I'm a soldier, Shiro. I have to return to the battle," his voice was sad but it conveyed the depth of both his convictions to rejoin his people and his love for Shiro.
"I know," Shiro said. "I would never try to keep you from it. And I want to go with you, but I'm afraid Keith," he admitted.
"I'll take care of you, Shiro," Keith sat up on one elbow and looked down at Shiro. "I won't let anything happen to you."
"I know, but as much as I want to leave, I'll put you in danger."
"What are you talking about?"
"Caltek. He will come and find me missing eventually. He won't just let me go. He'll turn over the galaxies to find me."
"I don't care," Keith said. "You said he fought with the Gods for you, that he built this world for you. When I said I would take you away from this place, I knew what that meant. Maybe we will be hunted in this life, but I would rather take the chance with you and see where it leads us than live my life regretting, and knowing that you were left behind to regret it as much as I did."
"Keith... he ... he tells me of what he does. Knowing what I do now if he ever caught us, he would be cruel."
"The Gods are cruel, Shiro, but I have fought them all my life and will continue to do so until I die. Freeing you from this place will not make me any more a target for them," Keith reassured him.
Shiro let out a deep breath and Keith leaned over to press a kiss to his lips, something sweet and gentle and unlike the words that they had been speaking. "I love you," Keith said softly against his lips.
"How many times will you tell me that, Keith?" he asked as he cupped his lover's cheek.
"As many times as it takes, for you to remember it forever," Keith confessed. He kissed him and whispered the words again, "I love you."
"I love you, too."
"Master!" Lance shouted from the cavern doorway.
Shiro sat up and looked across the cavern to the servants - Caltek's slaves, Shiro had come to realize - as they tried to enter the cavern. He watched as Lance, then Pidge and Hunk fell to his knees by some unseen force, but Shiro understood.
They had come to warn him that the God had returned. As Shiro looked past them in the doorway, he knew they had been too late. Caltek stood behind them, larger than life.
"I made this world for you, and this is how you would repay me?" The God asked.
He didn't know where the courage came from but Shiro stood, naked, between Keith and the God and didn't waiver. "You created a cage to keep a favored pet, but I am no kept thing any longer. I will be free of this place."
"You think this scrawny Demi-God can take you from me? That I, Caltek, God of War, Warfare and Retribution would allow such a creature to take what is mine?"
"I am not yours!" Shiro shouted.
"We made you and I won you with steel and blood from the others who coveted your perfection! I made this place for you to live, this perfect beast to carry you through the universe, always within call so you could be brought to me. You are mine!"
"I was never yours," Shiro's voice was quiet against the rage of the God, but he felt Keith behind him and it gave him strength. "Caltek, you are a God and I could never be anything but a plaything to you. Please," he tried to reason with him. "Let me go. Let me find happiness."
"There is nothing I cannot give you," Caltek said. "There is no reason to let you go."
"You cannot give me love. I don't even know if you are capable of it."
"And that dark-winged abomination is?"
"Yes," Keith said as he stood by Shiro's side. "I love him, and I will love him for all eternity. I won his love and because of that, he will be mine, for all time, no matter what you do to me."
Caltek's eyes grew wide and they began to take on the feral yellow glow that Shiro rarely saw. He grew larger in size and his skin turned a dark shade of purple.
"You should have heeded my creation's warning, son of Krotivania. The Goddess of the hunt was never as wise as she claimed to be. She never taught you to fear me, but she should have at least taught you never to steal from me."
"She was wise enough to see love for what it was," Keith said. "To know it, to accept it, and to pass that love to me."
Caltek laughed then and it scared Shiro more than the anger.
"Is that what she taught you, Demi-God?" he laughed again. "I have been chasing you for years, Darkling child, and here I find you, in my own home, with my perfect creation. Do you really believe that love will save you?"
"I believe that loving Shiro is worth anything."
Caltek moved quicker than Shiro could see. He saw a flash of black, as Keith was thrown against the wall, and then he was caught tight in Caltek's grasp. The God dangled Shiro in the air, his hand grasping Shiro's wrist.
"Is forever what you want, my pet?" he asked, his grip tightening on his wrist.
"Caltek, please," he tried to push away from the God but the more he struggled the more the pain radiated down his arm. He used his knees to brace against the God's chest and he pulled his other arm back. He had never been violent but he refused to give up his freedom without a fight. He brought his full strength to bear on the God and punched Caltek in the face.
The God roared and Shiro was thrown into the wall. He struggled to his feet and he saw Keith on the other side of the room, trying to stand.
"If you want forever, Shiro, I will give it to you. You want forever with the Darkling, then I will give that to you too. I will give you another gift as well, something to remember me by, for all eternity."
Shiro felt pain radiating in his arm again and he screamed in agony. He clutched at his arm as purple light began surrounded it.
"Leave him alone, Caltek!"
Shiro looked up through his throbbing pain to see Keith as he attacked Caltek. He moved quicker than any human could and he dodged the blow Caltek threw at him. Keith countered with a strike to the face, a knife in his hand that Shiro had never seen before.
"You dare to attack me!" Caltek bellowed. Blood poured down his face from an open wound across the bridge of his nose. He countered Keith's next strike and sent him back towards the wall. Keith snapped his wings open and only that stopped him from hitting the wall.
"Know this, Darkling. Any mark you leave on me, I will give to him."
Shiro screamed again as he felt a blow across the face. He understood what Caltek meant then when he felt the blood dripping down his face.
"Stop!" Keith yelled.
"Any strike you give me, I will give to him. It's your hands that betray him now." Caltek said, his voice laced with dark humor. He looked back at Shiro then. "As for you, wear my mark, forever Shiro, and know that you could have lived happily with me. I would have kept you safe and sheltered, pampered in my sanctuary for all eternity. Now, you will always be hungry. You will never be satisfied with the world you find yourself in."
"Caltek, what are you doing?" Keith demanded.
Shiro felt the flesh of his arm begin to harden and grow cold as the purple light pulsed. The pain became too great and he could barely breathe through it as he doubled over. He could hear Keith shout but he couldn't make out the words or see his lover.
Blood dripped on the floor from the wound on his nose and when Shiro was finally able to breathe in gulps of air, he tasted blood in his mouth as well. The pain began to recede and when Shiro looked, his eyes fell upon cold metal where his right arm had once been.
"Caltek," he sobbed the name, but he knew then that there was no mercy in the God.
"The symbol of my followers, the metal arm, unstoppable and inescapable, and yours for all time."
Caltek walked over to Keith and Shiro could see how much his lover wanted to lash out, but his eyes fell on Shiro and all fight died there. Keith would never bow to Caltek, but he held his attack for fear of what it would do to Shiro.
"You want him forever, Demi-God? You can have him. He was not like the others we created. We gave him long life and a soul able to withstand a life in servitude to the Gods. Do you understand what I can do to him, with that?"
"Leave Shiro alone," Keith demanded.
Caltek picked Keith up by the neck and Shiro staggered up to his feet. "There is no hope for you in this life. I will take it, as is my due. The arm I give him in remembrance, so that you will always know he was mine before you stole him."
Keith clutched at his neck, trying to break free. "You will both die this day for this betrayal, but I am not a creature, as you think, who is unmoved by love. Even now as you struggle for him, I see how he yearns for you. You will both wake after this death, after each death, life after life, for all eternity. But for your betrayal, only one of you will remember. One of you will know the love you have shared and the other will forever be ignorant of this crime."
"Please, don't do this," Shiro begged. "If you can see that we love each other, just let us live out this life together."
"Which will it be?" Caltek ignored his pleas and asked Keith. He dropped the Demi-God to the floor and Shiro watched the two, unable to move from his spot. "Will you keep the memory of your beloved, or will you pass that right along to him?"
"I will keep it."
Caltek shook his head as he looked over at Shiro. "Your Darkling is a selfish one, Shiro. You have given up an eternity of leisure to live life after life of torment for such a creature."
"You misunderstand," Keith said softly. "Shiro will never remember me. He will never look across a crowded room and see me with another person and know what he's lost. He'll never come to the end of a bitter life, having never found me. He will never know the loss. I will find him. Until we find a life where we can be happy, I will always find him." He looked over at Shiro then. "As many times as it takes."
Shiro stood then, hand still clasping his metal arm and faced Keith; the Demi-God, his Darkling lover. Caltek turned on Shiro and he saw the blade coming as Caltek drew near. "Keith, I love you." They were his last words in this life. The last thing he heard, was more a sob than his name, but Keith was at his side as Caltek pierced him with the blade as well.
"Shiro, I love you, too. I will find you. Always."
They died together, in the cavern, unaware of the fate of the world around them. Unaware of the servants that Caltek sent to their graves, cursed by the blood on the blade to follow their Master into the other lives.
Eons later, only one legend spoke of them. The story of a Darkling God who fell in love with his uncle's most treasured prize. They died for love and while the God destroyed the surface of the planet where their home had been, in the deepest caverns where they died, life began. Even as their blood soaked the ground, the first Balmera was brought to life as witness to their sacrifice.
***
On to Chapter II
Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defenders
Pairing: Keith/Shiro, Shiro/OMC
Warnings: This is a reincarnation AU. They don't stay dead permanently, but they ARE reincarnated, therefore, must die. A lot. To get reincarnated a lot. Also mentions of non-con (not Shiro/Keith).
Summary: Eons ago, a legend was born about the Darkling; a Demi-God who stole the God Caltek's most prized possession. The reality was far more tragic, for eons ago, the Gods created a perfect creature. Shiro was beautiful and they fought amongst themselves to keep him. Caltek, God of War, won the right and he pampered and cared for this perfect being. His creature was human though, and humans, no matter how perfectly they had been formed, were fiercely independent. When the Darkling fell to Shiro's world, he taught Shiro the nature of love, and of the prison his life was.
Caught in a tryst and on the eve of their escape, the God Caltek cursed the two lovers. Their souls would be forever bound, life after life, death after death, but only one would remember.
His life was perfect. How could it be anything else when he had been created by the Gods themselves? He was given a flawless world to live in and doted on by beings who nearly worshiped him.
They talked about his beauty and how the Gods had graced him with skin the color of sand, and cognac eyes. They said his hair was like the morning frost and his lips the pale blush of a young rose. Shiro pretended not to hear and simply moved past the servants when they spoke thus. Their purpose in this world was to revere him, to cherish him, and to attend him. The great War God, Caltek, had chosen them specifically for that purpose when he'd made this world for Shiro to inhabit.
He heard them talk sometimes, about how kind he was, how they would follow Shiro's every order no matter what.
Shiro was eternally grateful for his beautiful home and his steadfast servants. Caltek was a fierce warrior and a wonderful lover and he never failed to do everything in his power to make Shiro happy. And yet, Shiro stood looking over the beautiful mountains to the east of his wondrous home and wondered what was left for him.
Perhaps it was his creation that was the problem. He knew from their tales that the Gods had created him just to see if they could reach perfection. Perfection in the physical form wasn't a lifelong pursuit though. There was no purpose in his design, and therefore no purpose in his life.
As much as the Gods had perfected his skin and muscle, from his hair to the last eyelash, they had not realized that while they made something, they could not always control what they had fashioned. Like the rest of his kind, Shiro was a creature of deep emotion and the Gods had never known how to handle the humans once they'd been created and set free.
Even now, in the depths of the universe, Shiro heard the stirring of unease as the humans fought against their creators, refusing their divine right simply because they desired freedom. Shiro was in no cell, but sometimes, he closed his eyes and he could imagine what it would be like, to meet another of his kind. To find a kindred spirit.
Shiro turned away from the balcony and saw the servants waiting. "Go see to dinner," he said with a smile. "Something light under the stars tonight, I think."
They left him then, his strange companions. It was they who gave him news of the other worlds; of the God's deeds and the human rebellions. Caltek would be upset if he knew, but they had been chosen to serve Shiro and they loved him too much to keep what little they could find from him.
"Will the Master be joining you tonight?"
Shiro shook his head. "No, Lance, he won't. I'm afraid he's off to another war council. Hopefully, he'd be back tomorrow evening."
It had been like that for too long. Shiro had been left to suffer his loneliness as best he could. Caltek claimed he loved Shiro, that he had built all of this because of that love. Shiro knew though, that if he truly felt love then he'd find a way to come home more often.
Even before the war had started, Shiro had often been left to his own devices. The servants had more of Shiro's time than his lover ever had.
His three servants left to see to the dinner preparations and Shiro walked through the house to go out onto the back patio. A long, low couch waited and he threw himself down on it, trying to remember when Caltek had last been there to make love to him under the stars.
When he had been recently created and newly won, he had come to Shiro every night. Caltek was no gentle creature but he was passionate and caring. Even if Shiro didn't love, he had felt safe there, in his arms.
Now, Shiro felt a distance growing that he could not name. That he would not. To name a thing was to give it power and Shiro wanted nothing to do with the stirrings of his heart. Of the doubt that Caltek had brought him so far from everything so that Shiro would never learn the wickedness of humanity and let it grow in his own soul.
Caltek, creator and God, saw human curiosity as a bane. The quest for knowledge was a curse. Their passion for freedom was a blight.
Shiro craved them all now.
As the evening sky fell to darkness, a falling light caught his attention. It wasn't a shooting star, and no God traveled in such circles. As he watched, the light came closer and closer. It wasn't until its journey was almost over that Shiro realized the destination.
It was going to land on the other side of the mountain.
Shiro didn't hesitate. He'd always been too curious. He wanted to know more than what was on the planet that had been created for his leisure. Something had come from outside his world and he needed to see it with his own two eyes.
His servants, in their ever-growing need to keep him happy, had developed a skimmer that he could attach to his back and he did so now. It allowed him to fly into the air at great speed and distances.
The landing impact shook the area, and the blast of wind nearly knocked him from the sky, but Shiro straightened his trajectory and continued forward. It would have been hours to walk the distance, but Shiro was able to find the landing area in just a few minutes.
When he got to the sight of the impact, Shiro stared in wonder. Where the outer layer of soil and rock and greenery had been ripped away, beautiful glowing crystals now littered the surface. Shiro moved closer and slowly stretched out a hand to touch one. It began to glow a soft violet and Shiro stepped further into the field of crystals.
At the end of the funnel was the resting place of the fallen object. Shiro carefully picked his way among the crystals until he stopped a few feet away from it.
Only it was no meteor or comet that had fallen from the heavens.
It was a human.
Shiro moved quickly then to check and see if the human was still alive. Raven wings sheltered the human's body where it had fallen and Shiro carefully stroked one back, amazed at the soft down-covered appendage. When he knelt, he realized it was a man. Amethyst eyes stared up at Shiro and he smiled down, trying to make himself seem friendly.
"My name is Shiro. Are you alright?" he asked.
The man nodded, though Shiro could see a cut across his face that bled slowly.
Shiro offered him his hand and they both stood. He wasn't as tall as Shiro, but he had the sudden urge to pull the man close and wrap him up warmly into his arms. To hold him close and let his head rest on Shiro's chest.
He let out a deep breath. "Let me take you-," he stopped then because they couldn't go home. Caltek would kill any human who came to Shiro's world, let alone his home.
"I'm sorry. I can't take you to my home. It wouldn't be safe there. There are some caverns close by though. I could take you there for shelter. Night will come soon."
The man looked at him and tilted his head slightly. "You don't have any wings. I thought all the Gods had wings."
Shiro laughed. "I'm not a God. I was created by them and have lived here for ... well ... I couldn't say how many years have passed here. I have this," he turned to proudly show off the skimmer. "My servants made it when I began to explore the world more."
"I can fly," the human said softly. "If you show me where to go. I need to rest before I can make it far though."
"Follow me then," Shiro said as he turned the skimmer back on.
The man followed closely behind and Shiro wanted so much to touch his magnificent wings. When they landed at the mouth of the cave, he frowned. "I had not heard that humans had wings."
The other man snorted. "They don't. I'm a half-breed. A Demi-God. My mother is a Goddess and my father was a human."
"Do you have a name?"
"Keith."
"It's nice to meet you, Keith. Now, please, let's find a place to settle inside the cave. It is warm and dry. I can bring some comforts to you tonight, but I want to see to your wounds first. Where do you hurt?"
"Hurt? I crash landed into a planet. I hurt everywhere. But I don't require medical attention for most of it."
"How?" Shiro wondered.
"I'm a Demi-God. I may get hurt easier than a God, but I heal quickly and I'm still stronger than a human. I don't need medical attention."
Shiro nodded as they walked further into the cavern. Shiro had explored the area before. In fact, there was not an inch of the planet he had not walked in his many years with Caltek. The caverns were close enough to home that he was within easy reach, should the God come home early and want Shiro's company. There were enough adventures in these caves though to keep Shiro happily exploring while he waited.
"There are hot springs, further in, that keep the cavern warm. The waters are said to be healing, though I have never had a need to find out."
"A human, in a God's world, and you have never been harmed?" Keith's skepticism was clear in his voice.
"The Gods made me and Caltek won me from all the others. Why would he harm me?"
"You know you aren't some sort of trophy?"
"No, of course not," Shiro was affronted. "Caltek made this world for me. He cares for me here. He is a good and just Master and a caring lover. Do not disparage what you do not know."
He led Keith into the cavern but the walk was silent.
In Shiro's head, he counted all the ways he was no trophy, but in his heart, the word sunk in and seemed to sear itself into his flesh. Petted and put on a pedestal, praised and pranced around whenever Caltek wanted to see something pretty. Wasn't that the definition of a trophy?
"Forgive me," Keith said from beside him. "I don't know you and I don't know how you came to live so far away from the rest of the universe, or why you would remain in isolation. I only know the five worlds that have lived under the rule of the Gods. The Gods are not, for those of us on Earth, benevolent rulers. They are tyrants who see us as nothing more than slaves."
"Slaves?"
"Yes. They've been up to-"
"No, Keith, wait. I meant, what is a slave?"
Keith stared at him for a long moment and Shiro felt shame at his own ignorance, but he held his head up high. The ignorance wasn't his fault. If there were books, beyond Caltek's library that he had access to, he would read them. If there was a way to get more than whispered rumors from the servants he would listen.
"Someone who is forced into servitude against their wishes. The Gods treat them as objects to own, items to be bartered, not people."
"That's horrible," Shiro said. He didn't doubt it though. Even the few rumors that reached his ears were filled with bloodshed.
Beyond the rumors, Caltek spoke with him about his campaigns on other worlds. Shiro offered suggestions when the God seemed amendable to his opinion. He had felt the movements of troops drawn across his back many times as he lay in bed with Caltek, sated and spent, when the God reveled in his tales of conquest.
"Being treated like slaves is why we're fighting."
"You are?"
"We all deserve our freedom."
"The Gods created us. Shouldn't we give thanks for that?"
Keith stared at him for a moment and, again, Shiro felt like a naïve child.
"The Gods created us but that doesn't mean they have a right to demand anything they want. We are allowed our dignity. They would take that from us, keep it, as they keep our freedom."
"I don't know anything about the world you're speaking of, Keith," Shiro said. "I'm sorry that's the world you know. All I can give you here is a place to rest and some small comforts."
"You've been kind enough," Keith said. "You have no reason to help a stranger. I don't mean to get you in trouble."
Shiro smiled. "To be honest, it's been kind of boring around here lately. At least your arrival will give me something to think about, after you've gone."
As he finished, he found the inner cavern with the hot springs. He'd left some things here on previous visits. It was one of his favorite places to go, away from his home, so there were mats for napping and towels for drying off after using the springs. Some jugs of water and snacks.
"Wow, this is pretty amazing," Keith said in wonder.
Shiro remembered his first time there as well. The ceiling was high but it was formed of the same crystals that Shiro had seen at Keith's landing site.
"It really is. Caltek made a beautiful world for me to live in," Shiro said softly.
Keith looked up at him and frowned. He didn't say anything but Shiro could see that he wanted to from the thin line he made of his lips and the furrow that crossed his brow.
"I need to go back to my home. My servants will be waiting and if I'm gone too long they might come to investigate. I'll be back at nightfall with some things for you, including some real food," he said. "Please relax until then. Everything here is yours to use as you need."
Shiro turned to leave but Keith grabbed his wrist. "Shiro, thank you. It's been a long time since anyone has shown me this sort of kindness."
Shiro gave Keith a small smile. "Your world must be a harsh one, Keith, for something as small as hospitality to mean so much."
Shiro walked out of the cavern and towards the open air. He was already making plans in his mind. The servants wouldn't think anything of him wanting to camp out tonight. He hated to break trust with them, but it was safer if they didn't know where he was or what he was doing. If Caltek discovered what Shiro had done, he'd be angry.
He couldn't think about turning Keith away though, about contacting Caltek and telling him a human had found his inner sanctuary. It would mean Keith's death and more isolation for Shiro. The last thing he wanted was to be separated from the human when he'd just found him.
He took off into the air, heading home, knowing he'd be back in a few hours. He didn't notice the way his hand clutched at the place Keith had touched him, or how frequently his thoughts returned to that small moment of contact and the look of gratitude in Keith's eyes.
***
"Will you tell me now, what really happened to you?" Shiro asked.
Keith turned to look at him and Shiro could see the way the walls built up behind Keith's eyes. He hated those moments more than anything, except perhaps the moments when he had to say good-bye. He'd been visiting Keith for a month now, every day, spending more and more time with him.
Caltek was still away, always promising to return home soon when he took the time to send messages, but the war wasn't going well for him and Shiro was almost glad for it. At least he had more time with Keith.
"You don't have to," Shiro said quickly. "I just want to understand. Sometimes, you look at me like I'm a child, too young to be burdened with the realities of the world, but other times ... I think you want to talk to me."
"Shiro," Keith's voice was heavy with something that Shiro didn't understand. It happened often. Keith's life, his world, was nothing that Shiro understood. Keith shared a little more each day but it was still outside his realm of reality.
"It's just that you've been here a month and you keep saying you'll tell me in time, but how much longer do we have?"
"What?"
"You said you were only staying until you'd regained your strength. I would keep you here, forever, if I could, but I know it would only hurt you. You have a people to return to, a cause, and I'm only a single man. I know that what I want doesn't amount to much-"
"What do you want, Shiro?"
There was an intensity to his gaze that Shiro was taken aback by. "Keith?"
"He gave you this world, this life. Everything on this planet was made for you. But what do you want? Do you want to stay here, spoiled by a God? Or do you want to leave this place and explore the stars? Not my worlds or his, but explore for yourself?"
"Yes," Shiro said, the desire to reach the stars so much a part of his own thoughts since Keith had come to him. "I want to see what else is out there. I want ... I'm not a soldier like you Keith, but I want to do some good in this universe."
"Then find a way, Shiro. You don't have to stay here, just because he wants you to. Do what you want."
Shiro lowered his eyes as he stepped closer to Keith. "And what if there are things that I want that are selfish and greedy?"
"Shiro, you're the least selfish person I've ever met. In all the five realms."
Shiro looked up and his eyes met Keith's and he saw then the moment of understanding; the slight widening of Keith's eyes, the way they looked to Shiro's mouth as he licked his own lips.
"Shiro?"
"I thought I was happy. I thought I had everything but I never realized there were things I wanted, because he always gave me everything. You made me realize that happiness and complacency aren't the same thing."
"Shiro."
"You made me see that I want the choice. I ... I deserve the choice, Keith."
Keith nodded. "We all do. That's what we're fighting for."
"When you leave, I want to leave with you. I don't know what I'll find out there or where I'll end up, but I have to try."
"Of course, I'll take you."
Shiro stepped closer again and brought his hand up to touch Keith's cheek. He and Caltek didn't touch like this. He'd never, in all his life, touched another this way. "For now, I want this, Keith. I want you. I choose you."
He had thought about it, had words planned out to convince Keith that his feelings were earnest and that he had never loved Caltek, only thought he understood love because he'd been expected to love the God and give him everything he asked.
Keith didn't let him though. Keith pulled Shiro close and their lips met.
It was different from the way Caltek touched him, and the tenderness of it was nearly his undoing. He wrapped an arm around Keith's waist and pulled him closer. Keith was so much smaller than Caltek that he was almost afraid to hurt him, but he'd seen Keith's fall and he knew that he was stronger than he seemed.
Keith's arms wound their way around Shiro's neck and his fingers twined through his hair. Shiro thought he could stay like that forever, just holding Keith and being held.
"Shiro," Keith's voice was breathless and Shiro wanted to savor the fact that he caused that; the man with so much power and conviction was brought short by a single kiss.
"Keith," Shiro answered, but he didn't know what Keith was asking. Whatever it was, Shiro would give it, if it was within his power.
Keith smiled up at Shiro and took a few steps back. Keith slowly stripped out of his clothes and after a moment of watching, Shiro did the same.
"Join me, in the hot spring?"
Shiro followed Keith, unable to look away from the pale skin of his back and the dark wings that rested so beautifully between his shoulder blades. Keith stepped into the pool of water and Shiro watched him disappear, little by little. He walked with purpose towards a seat that Shiro had carved into the side, years before. Keith sat there and Shiro realized it was perfect for Keith. His wings still dipped into the water, but he could rest back on his elbows on the rock face and relax his shoulders so that his wing joints weren't pressed against anything.
Keith smiled and held a hand out towards him.
Shiro answered with another smile and he dropped quickly into the warm water. He felt lighter in the hot springs, the warmth seeping the worry that clouded his mind. When he reached Keith, he took the other man's hand and allowed himself to be pulled closer. Keith brushed his lips against Shiro's and it was more than Shiro could take.
"You keep asking me, but what do you want, Keith?" he asked.
"You," Keith answered without hesitation. "Here. Now. I want you."
Keith looked like he was about to say more, but Shiro stole his words with his mouth and spent the night buried in his arms.
***
Shiro felt Keith roll his hips up underneath him, trying to speed him up as his heels dug into Shiro's back. He leaned forward and nipped at Keith's ear and whispered, "You know what they say, Keith," he teased, as he pulled his fingers from Keith's body. "Patience yields-"
"Don't you dare say it!" Keith groaned.
"Focus," Shiro finished as he pressed his hips forward and entered Keith's body. He felt the sharp bite of teeth against his neck and moaned at the way Keith felt around him, under him.
This, with Keith, was nothing like sex with Caltek. The God was an ardent lover but there was a give and take that was absent between them. Shiro was always satisfied, but Caltek took what he wanted and he never asked what Shiro wanted. It was unlike the lovemaking with Keith. There was a passion between them that Shiro found unmatched elsewhere in his life.
Keith cared for him, like what Shiro wanted mattered more than his own desires. Keith's touch incited fire under his skin, and his heart beat faster just at the sight of him. Shiro had heard of love, had even imagined he knew it, but what he had before was nothing compared to the all-encompassing love he felt for Keith.
He made love to Keith in their cave, by the warm water of the hot springs, and Shiro had never felt more fulfilled or more sated as he fell back against the pillows and blankets with Keith in his arms.
They lay there together for a few minutes before Shiro felt Keith begin to move restlessly. At first, it was small, just the brush of his fingers over Shiro's stomach. Then Keith began to reposition his head - always settling back against Shiro's heart but never for long.
"Keith?"
Keith looked up at him and there was the intensity that Shiro felt so drawn towards.
"What are you thinking about?" Shiro asked.
Keith looked away, but Shiro cupped his face gently and pulled his eyes back up. "Tell me, please?"
Keith let out a deep sigh. "I have the strength to return home now," he confessed.
Shiro had been waiting for the day, dreading it but excited at the same time. Keith had promised to take him and Shiro knew he'd keep that promise, but what happened after that was unknown. Until Keith had come into his life, Shiro's days had been nothing but routine. There were no surprises to be had and no unexpected adventures to waylay him.
Now, he was thrilled at the prospect, but he knew he needed to talk to Keith because there was a reality he had never spoken of.
"You want to leave," Shiro said softly.
"I'm a soldier, Shiro. I have to return to the battle," his voice was sad but it conveyed the depth of both his convictions to rejoin his people and his love for Shiro.
"I know," Shiro said. "I would never try to keep you from it. And I want to go with you, but I'm afraid Keith," he admitted.
"I'll take care of you, Shiro," Keith sat up on one elbow and looked down at Shiro. "I won't let anything happen to you."
"I know, but as much as I want to leave, I'll put you in danger."
"What are you talking about?"
"Caltek. He will come and find me missing eventually. He won't just let me go. He'll turn over the galaxies to find me."
"I don't care," Keith said. "You said he fought with the Gods for you, that he built this world for you. When I said I would take you away from this place, I knew what that meant. Maybe we will be hunted in this life, but I would rather take the chance with you and see where it leads us than live my life regretting, and knowing that you were left behind to regret it as much as I did."
"Keith... he ... he tells me of what he does. Knowing what I do now if he ever caught us, he would be cruel."
"The Gods are cruel, Shiro, but I have fought them all my life and will continue to do so until I die. Freeing you from this place will not make me any more a target for them," Keith reassured him.
Shiro let out a deep breath and Keith leaned over to press a kiss to his lips, something sweet and gentle and unlike the words that they had been speaking. "I love you," Keith said softly against his lips.
"How many times will you tell me that, Keith?" he asked as he cupped his lover's cheek.
"As many times as it takes, for you to remember it forever," Keith confessed. He kissed him and whispered the words again, "I love you."
"I love you, too."
"Master!" Lance shouted from the cavern doorway.
Shiro sat up and looked across the cavern to the servants - Caltek's slaves, Shiro had come to realize - as they tried to enter the cavern. He watched as Lance, then Pidge and Hunk fell to his knees by some unseen force, but Shiro understood.
They had come to warn him that the God had returned. As Shiro looked past them in the doorway, he knew they had been too late. Caltek stood behind them, larger than life.
"I made this world for you, and this is how you would repay me?" The God asked.
He didn't know where the courage came from but Shiro stood, naked, between Keith and the God and didn't waiver. "You created a cage to keep a favored pet, but I am no kept thing any longer. I will be free of this place."
"You think this scrawny Demi-God can take you from me? That I, Caltek, God of War, Warfare and Retribution would allow such a creature to take what is mine?"
"I am not yours!" Shiro shouted.
"We made you and I won you with steel and blood from the others who coveted your perfection! I made this place for you to live, this perfect beast to carry you through the universe, always within call so you could be brought to me. You are mine!"
"I was never yours," Shiro's voice was quiet against the rage of the God, but he felt Keith behind him and it gave him strength. "Caltek, you are a God and I could never be anything but a plaything to you. Please," he tried to reason with him. "Let me go. Let me find happiness."
"There is nothing I cannot give you," Caltek said. "There is no reason to let you go."
"You cannot give me love. I don't even know if you are capable of it."
"And that dark-winged abomination is?"
"Yes," Keith said as he stood by Shiro's side. "I love him, and I will love him for all eternity. I won his love and because of that, he will be mine, for all time, no matter what you do to me."
Caltek's eyes grew wide and they began to take on the feral yellow glow that Shiro rarely saw. He grew larger in size and his skin turned a dark shade of purple.
"You should have heeded my creation's warning, son of Krotivania. The Goddess of the hunt was never as wise as she claimed to be. She never taught you to fear me, but she should have at least taught you never to steal from me."
"She was wise enough to see love for what it was," Keith said. "To know it, to accept it, and to pass that love to me."
Caltek laughed then and it scared Shiro more than the anger.
"Is that what she taught you, Demi-God?" he laughed again. "I have been chasing you for years, Darkling child, and here I find you, in my own home, with my perfect creation. Do you really believe that love will save you?"
"I believe that loving Shiro is worth anything."
Caltek moved quicker than Shiro could see. He saw a flash of black, as Keith was thrown against the wall, and then he was caught tight in Caltek's grasp. The God dangled Shiro in the air, his hand grasping Shiro's wrist.
"Is forever what you want, my pet?" he asked, his grip tightening on his wrist.
"Caltek, please," he tried to push away from the God but the more he struggled the more the pain radiated down his arm. He used his knees to brace against the God's chest and he pulled his other arm back. He had never been violent but he refused to give up his freedom without a fight. He brought his full strength to bear on the God and punched Caltek in the face.
The God roared and Shiro was thrown into the wall. He struggled to his feet and he saw Keith on the other side of the room, trying to stand.
"If you want forever, Shiro, I will give it to you. You want forever with the Darkling, then I will give that to you too. I will give you another gift as well, something to remember me by, for all eternity."
Shiro felt pain radiating in his arm again and he screamed in agony. He clutched at his arm as purple light began surrounded it.
"Leave him alone, Caltek!"
Shiro looked up through his throbbing pain to see Keith as he attacked Caltek. He moved quicker than any human could and he dodged the blow Caltek threw at him. Keith countered with a strike to the face, a knife in his hand that Shiro had never seen before.
"You dare to attack me!" Caltek bellowed. Blood poured down his face from an open wound across the bridge of his nose. He countered Keith's next strike and sent him back towards the wall. Keith snapped his wings open and only that stopped him from hitting the wall.
"Know this, Darkling. Any mark you leave on me, I will give to him."
Shiro screamed again as he felt a blow across the face. He understood what Caltek meant then when he felt the blood dripping down his face.
"Stop!" Keith yelled.
"Any strike you give me, I will give to him. It's your hands that betray him now." Caltek said, his voice laced with dark humor. He looked back at Shiro then. "As for you, wear my mark, forever Shiro, and know that you could have lived happily with me. I would have kept you safe and sheltered, pampered in my sanctuary for all eternity. Now, you will always be hungry. You will never be satisfied with the world you find yourself in."
"Caltek, what are you doing?" Keith demanded.
Shiro felt the flesh of his arm begin to harden and grow cold as the purple light pulsed. The pain became too great and he could barely breathe through it as he doubled over. He could hear Keith shout but he couldn't make out the words or see his lover.
Blood dripped on the floor from the wound on his nose and when Shiro was finally able to breathe in gulps of air, he tasted blood in his mouth as well. The pain began to recede and when Shiro looked, his eyes fell upon cold metal where his right arm had once been.
"Caltek," he sobbed the name, but he knew then that there was no mercy in the God.
"The symbol of my followers, the metal arm, unstoppable and inescapable, and yours for all time."
Caltek walked over to Keith and Shiro could see how much his lover wanted to lash out, but his eyes fell on Shiro and all fight died there. Keith would never bow to Caltek, but he held his attack for fear of what it would do to Shiro.
"You want him forever, Demi-God? You can have him. He was not like the others we created. We gave him long life and a soul able to withstand a life in servitude to the Gods. Do you understand what I can do to him, with that?"
"Leave Shiro alone," Keith demanded.
Caltek picked Keith up by the neck and Shiro staggered up to his feet. "There is no hope for you in this life. I will take it, as is my due. The arm I give him in remembrance, so that you will always know he was mine before you stole him."
Keith clutched at his neck, trying to break free. "You will both die this day for this betrayal, but I am not a creature, as you think, who is unmoved by love. Even now as you struggle for him, I see how he yearns for you. You will both wake after this death, after each death, life after life, for all eternity. But for your betrayal, only one of you will remember. One of you will know the love you have shared and the other will forever be ignorant of this crime."
"Please, don't do this," Shiro begged. "If you can see that we love each other, just let us live out this life together."
"Which will it be?" Caltek ignored his pleas and asked Keith. He dropped the Demi-God to the floor and Shiro watched the two, unable to move from his spot. "Will you keep the memory of your beloved, or will you pass that right along to him?"
"I will keep it."
Caltek shook his head as he looked over at Shiro. "Your Darkling is a selfish one, Shiro. You have given up an eternity of leisure to live life after life of torment for such a creature."
"You misunderstand," Keith said softly. "Shiro will never remember me. He will never look across a crowded room and see me with another person and know what he's lost. He'll never come to the end of a bitter life, having never found me. He will never know the loss. I will find him. Until we find a life where we can be happy, I will always find him." He looked over at Shiro then. "As many times as it takes."
Shiro stood then, hand still clasping his metal arm and faced Keith; the Demi-God, his Darkling lover. Caltek turned on Shiro and he saw the blade coming as Caltek drew near. "Keith, I love you." They were his last words in this life. The last thing he heard, was more a sob than his name, but Keith was at his side as Caltek pierced him with the blade as well.
"Shiro, I love you, too. I will find you. Always."
They died together, in the cavern, unaware of the fate of the world around them. Unaware of the servants that Caltek sent to their graves, cursed by the blood on the blade to follow their Master into the other lives.
Eons later, only one legend spoke of them. The story of a Darkling God who fell in love with his uncle's most treasured prize. They died for love and while the God destroyed the surface of the planet where their home had been, in the deepest caverns where they died, life began. Even as their blood soaked the ground, the first Balmera was brought to life as witness to their sacrifice.
***
On to Chapter II