Inspired by the Death tarot card in both the upright and reverse position.

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Drifting over a lush planet, a male hummed to himself with fascination. The area was clean, unravaged, simply beautiful, and astonishing. It wasn't anything new, certainly, but he was overjoyed at the prospect of touring the area. Surprisingly, he noted an intense amount of civilization. From what he speculated, the locals must have been around since perhaps 400,000 years prior. That would explain the technology they had managed to build up while displaying a stunning amount of natural greenery.

Sometimes, it was interesting to note just how much people had managed to do in such a short amount of time. He barely blinked and they went and prospered past the last group. How amusing it all was. They should be rewarded for their architecture. For their advanced defense systems, education, government, for everything, really. Clapping his hands together, the male lowered himself to the highest building on the face of the planet. A neutral zone of all the little tribes they made, it was almost unbelievable. Typically, they would have been throwing hissy fits over someone taking a step past an imaginary line they called their "borders". But lo and behold, they managed to put aside such a belief to come together agreeably.

It must have been his lucky day, for the moment he had kicked down a transparent pane, he stumbled upon all sorts of leaders speaking with one another. Marveled, he placed his feet on the ground and took an extended look around, hands behind his back. While he did so, the leaders looked on in both awe and shock. He shrugged his shoulders. That planet must not have ever seen people with abilities such as his. Then again, considering the precious little symbol they displayed everywhere, someone he knew very well had taken it upon herself to introduce her own abilities.

He bit down on the corner of his lip as he traced around the insignia, finding guns and other harmful technology pointing at him. Now that wasn't very nice of them. Ignoring them, the male continued to lovingly trace around the gold symbol. It had been too long since he had caught a glimpse of it. How beloved it was. Or at least, it must have been, considering how much pain the beings courted with their insistence on protecting it. Like he would corrupt it. He shrugged again as he recalled that silly thinking others had. What was it again? Touching one so passionately would have caused them to be pregnant? How cute.

"Step away from the goddess' crown!"

"Ah - Now why would I do such a thing? That doesn't seem quite right to me. Besides, we both know this isn't the real deal anyway. I doubt she'll be mad at me for touching a little insignia like this. I've certainly done worse."

The glares directed at the male made him shiver with...well, boredom. It wasn't like their pathetic toy guns were going to hurt him. Shaking his head, the male turned back to the sight of the emblem that belonged to the pure little goddess he had been chasing for eons. It was immediately when those around him began firing. They did so without a thought of what was to become of the symbol if they had missed him. It was only lucky for them that he put himself in "harm's way" to protect its luster.

"My word, how disrespectful. Shouldn't you ask my name before trying to stop my heart?"

The white-haired male gave a smug grin before whistling, slowly lifting up his balled hand before opening it slowly. When all his fingers were shown, he then tilted his hand to the right before the sheer action obliterated everyone in the room. They crumbled to dust, leaving only their skeletons and personal belongings to drop and scatter across the floor. In feigning shock, the male placed his hand over his mouth. However, it was nothing more than mocking, the male knocking his knuckles on the emblem before chuckling.

He then grabbed one of the badges that used to belong to the skeletons that littered the floor and looked at it curiously. Humming again, he playfully put one step in front of the other, almost skipping. He then began to explore the technology the (h/c) haired deity's world had created. It was not terrible. Rather, it was perfectly average for the infinite worlds she'd created. He always did enjoy the subtle things they could come up with. Perhaps his favorite was the creation of the television. What a great way to pass time.

He noted a lot of said televisions along the top floor among other screens. Still, he couldn't quite understand why it was that some of them simply showed a barely moving scene of fish. What was the point of even having it there? Regardless, there were a few people who sought to escort him outside of the area, but they were swiftly dealt with. It wasn't him that lifted a finger to do so. Rather, it was his own little creations. After quite some time, (Y/n) had found that, if he wanted to, he could have destroyed any number of her worlds and gone to collect whatever prize he thought he was entitled to.

As such, she took advice from some of her "fellow" deities, creating followers, or as she called them, guardians. They took over the protection of her worlds while she fell into a slumber; a common side effect of using so much energy to create a heavenly body. Unlike her, the white-haired male could not create worlds, only taint or tamper with them. That meant he would not have fallen to sleep. No, he suffered through the very real problem of boredom. How was he to solve such a thing?

The first option was to mimic (Y/n)'s guardians. He made brutes, his own variation of her minions. They were far more entertaining than any mortals, not only making a bit of fun but providing lovely conversation. Ever eager to please him, they lowered themselves deeply, so much so that they followed his every step. Three of his most powerful brutes followed behind him respectively through the halls of the new world's highest building. They sought to take care of any who tried to get in their master's way but remained silent as the white-haired male immortal thought.

There was another option to cure boredom, and that was a very sensitive topic. Azevas couldn't recall when it had happened, but he did fall in love with the (h/c) haired deity. Teasing her was his favorite hobby, but with that little problem she had - falling into centuries-long slumbers - he was left to himself most of the time. So, often he satisfied himself with visiting what she had created. Touring around, seizing all of the young woman's "artifacts", messing with the guardians, and everything in between, he looked around for traces of her. In fact, the greater motivation was to find where - in the thousands of worlds the woman created - they stashed her resting grounds.

"Do you boys want to eat anything?" the white-haired male chuckled, placing his hands above his head while ignoring the way one of his brutes smashed an individual's head to the wall.

"Eat?"

"Yes, eat. I'm absolutely famished, and I'd like to see what this place has to offer. I bet my dear's little guardians have all the good shit."

The brutes shrugged, following along with the whims of their master. When they had eventually tired of touring around the boring and vain building, the males shattered windows and jumped far down to the earth of the planet. They then glanced around, giving a bored passing glance to the people looking at them strangely. More interested in the attractions the area had, they all looked at different things or beings. However, each of their eyes turned to the blinding light of the overly lavish shrine dedicated to their goddess.

"Shouldn't they know by now she absolutely detests such altars?" one of the brutes snickered, being given a smirk from the white-haired male.

"Well, she's not awake to tell them otherwise, is she?" another one retorted, placing his hands over his chest, "But I'm sure her guardians love commemorating her that way. Think they do it on purpose?"

"Ah, speaking of brats..."

A guardian lowered themselves on the ground, glowering at the unwelcome guests. Her silvery wings and white attire elaborated her status as being related to the (h/c) haired deity. Perhaps one of the younger ones, she was less restrained than her elder peers. Of those in charge of the original world - of which Azevas had already subjugated - they were passive and harmless. Never would you see one sneer or show hatred. The white-haired male bit down on his lip with frustration. If one of her guardians was to be showing such animosity towards him, it must only be because (Y/n) held similar emotions. Or...perhaps it was the opposite.

"A brat is more akin to one as young as you," the guardian huffed, the brute growling at the mention of his meager age, "And this world does not welcome you. Leave."

Azevas gave a blank look to the guardian before briefly ignoring her. Instead, he made his way toward the shrine without a second care, his brutes following closely behind. The shrine was just as lavish as it was from afar. With thousands of the world's people coming to beg for assistance or give thanks, the white-haired male was put into a state of great annoyance. He flicked his hand, sending all of them out of the temple and down at the bottom of the lengthy marble stairs, many with broken bones. Clearly, he wasn't wanting to share his personal tour of the shrine, especially not with mortals that could grow to be barely older than a juvenile griffon. But it still was a show of restraint for him not to kill them on sight.

Moving elegantly through the giant lobby of the temple, the brutes looked around at the marble pillars and golden accessories plastered everywhere. Most notably, the deity's emblem was postered everywhere and anywhere, including numerous mortal artistic recreations and reiterations. At the top of more stairs sat a growing set of white lilies - the diety's favorite. The first guardian stood there, watering them, her eyes narrowed and closed off, barely wanting to address the intrusion before her eyes.

"I've come to the right place then," Azevas smiled widely, pressing his lips delicately, "If you're here, Hagaeli, then your mistress is, too. Care to show me? Or do I have to turn the whole world inside out to find her?"

The guardian remained silent, narrowing her eyes at the male. She barely wanted to make eye contact, but there was no tearing oneself away from his astonishing eyes. Those heterochromia eyes, blue and pink alike, were fascinating. Even (Y/n), the gifted deity, could never find it in herself to look away. The thought left a bitter taste in the guardian's mouth. Her mistress was captivated by that aspect of him, but the rest of him was as rotten as the skin of an undead. Perhaps it was that protective instinct within all guardians to be wary of someone with that much hold over their mistress. Nonetheless, they couldn't stop themselves from building hatred for him.

"I see, then."

The male gritted his teeth together in absolute resentment. It was always such a pain dealing with her annoying guardians. A long time ago, they had started to fight to keep him away from their mistress, but they should have come to the conclusion it was useless. Without their goddess, they were - at best - a match for the male's brutes. However, they weren't imbued with rage as his creations were, limited in what they could do.

"Occupy them."

The brutes accompanying their master gave small grins, one of them cracking his knuckles intimidatingly. They were pleased to be able to entertain their master in such a way, especially since it was so rare to find a way to put a smile on his face. At the moment, it wasn't the best example, but they knew that when he found where the deity was resting, that smile would come back. So they did their best to help him accomplish his goal.

What ensued was a flash of violence. Guardians and the three select brutes clashed with one another, sending chaos to break out among the onlookers outside the temple. There were a few that attempted to throw themselves in the white-haired male's way, but their attempts were futile. He barely had to look at them before they were pushed away and then evaporated by his aura, guardian or no. Yet still, it didn't stop others from standing in front of him with whatever false bravery they had cooked up for themselves.

None of them were strong enough to properly challenge him, brushed aside like a leaf caught in a tornado. Over time, Azevas became so infuriated with the attempts of insolent beings that his anger was not able to be contained within his body. Rather, the amount of power that was contained by the flesh and bone he had created himself burst at the seams. Leaking from his retaining medium, it surged into the earth and split it into countless pieces. From the cracks in the earth sprang forth molten rock, fumes killing some and incapacitating most of the rest of the mortals. Guardians were the only ones left, but even then, the brutes were killing them faster than they could keep up with.

There was only one piece of information that the white-haired male had. And though it was a relief to find he was less than a world away from the deity, it didn't give him any indication of where to start. He growled and bunched his fists tightly before turning to the first guardian. Grabbing at her throat, he squeezed tighter and tighter, watching as the woman he held only gave an animosity-filled kick. It didn't prompt him to move an inch, rather letting him remain stagnant as he had been the entirety of his torture of her.

"Tell me where she is? I'm going to find her quite soon, so why don't you make it a lot easier for all of us? I wouldn't want to wake her up with the news that her first creation is now dead."

The guardian remained silent, accepting it when the male began to squeeze her tighter, eventually snapping her neck completely. He dropped her to the ground with a growl, letting her dying body convulse before she suddenly fell limp, her eyes draining of color and wings being lit aflame by the surfacing molten rock. They burned quickly, licking at her skin soon after, leaving the other guardians to shiver in fear. It wasn't as if the fate of those that were killed by the brutes were any less painful, but it was still petrifying.

"Who else wants to put up a front?!" Azevas howled, "All of you who proclaim you know what your mistress wants, answer me! Do you believe she would want to awaken with her world in ruins and her closest companions butchered beyond recognition?!"

The brutes chuckled in nervousness, knowing that was the last straw the male had within him. It was close to breaking, bending dangerously close to obliterating the entire world. With the fumes and fires spreading due to the core of the earth reaching up through the ground, the area looked like an apocalypse. There were no more beings besides the guardians and brutes that resided on the ground, the creations burned alive - conscious or otherwise. What was the point of continuing to resist? That was what the youngest of the guardians believed, cowering while the brutes confronted them.

"Please stop," one of them cried, their left-wing broken while the other one was being cracked slowly, "Stop! I'll tell you!"

The male turned his head to see the guardian whimpering as the brute behind her tore her wing from the bone fiber by fiber. Immediately, Azevas punched the brute, launching him through the walls of the temple. There was so much raw power in that punch that when he flew through the wall, it crumbled everything around it. Only one wall remained, the others crumbling down with a noise akin to an avalanche of boulders. Even the bells at the top of the majestic structure fell with a resounding "dong", its cry so loud it rendered the guardians near it deaf.

"Spit it out then. Or I'll bring him back to finish the job."

"She's west of here! West! In a cavern filled with lilies! I can show you!"

The brute that had been sent flying back had returned, the side of his head bleeding. Despite that, however, he showed pure, unadulterated joy at their victory. The male quickly caught up to the others, teleporting to an area the young guardian described. The white-haired antigod then tossed the guardian to the brute that had been abusing her. He gave a look to the male, warning him to do anything to her, lest he punch him in the gut again. They both knew he wouldn't survive the next hit.

Waiting patiently for the good news, the brutes remained outside the cavern while their master entered. Azevas wandered around with a bored look. If he were to say, he wasn't particularly trusting of the little guardian. She gave in a bit too easily for his liking. However, he nonetheless had no other choice for the time being. As such, he walked deeper into the cavern. Time passed slowly. Whether it was because he was anxious to finally see the diety again or because of some other unexplained reason, he couldn't know.

Yet, still, he wandered about with a glisten in his eyes as he found crystals lighting up the inside of the area. It was a faint blue color but helped him find the way, fostering the lilies. Kneeling down, the male picked one of them up from a lone crystal, finding it was more reluctant to part with it than he had been led to believe. Its stem acted more like a vine, latching to his arm gently. He chuckled, almost caressing its light petals.

Taking the thing with him, he followed the white flowers, eventually being led to a large enclave. Flowers encompassed the area along with the crystals, making the open casket that stood upon a small rise in the ground all the more spectacular. Stepping through the flowers, careful not to crush any of them, he arrived at the coffin. Looking down into it, the male smiled wide, gazing at the (h/c) haired woman that lay perfectly still.

Relieved, he sat on the edge of the raised table, grabbing at her circlet. It had that little emblem that he so loved, adorned with crystals and lilies alike. The flowers tried to get back to their goddess, stretching their vine-like stems towards her. The male placed his hand in the way, the lilies wrapping around his finger. They must have realized he wasn't the one that they found solace in, trying to shrink away from him. But they had made him mad. They were the goddess's favorite flowers, the things that kept her company even in sleep. When they tried to shrink away from him, they rejected him. It was as if she was. That was precisely the reason they withered away, crumbling to the floor, done in solely by his discontentedness.

Irritated, Azevas leaned down to kiss the deity's lips, nuzzling her with adoration. Like a select few others, he could inspire her to wake up by his sheer energy. Greedy for energy, she woke up, subconsciously reaching towards his core - or what others would call his heart - she grabbed at his shirt. He smirked against her lips, petting her head possessively. It was only in that state that she would seek him out, but it was alright. It was perfectly fine. He understood.

(Y/n)'s eyes fluttered open, her blurry vision trying to focus on who was in front of her. Her eyes softened when she realized who it was, looking at the crumbling flowers that used to belong with her circlet. She reached out to take it from him, tears falling from her (e/c) irises. The white-haired male kissed them away, hugging her close. He smiled. That time was far different than the previous times. Typically, she would have pushed him away, but she seemingly found comfort in his embrace.

"It's been a while," he chuckled, speaking huskily in her ear, "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Why?" she trembled, clinging onto his arm hard enough to draw blood.

"What was that, hun?"

"Why do you have to do this every time? All of my children...my worlds...my creations. You always kill them all. Why, Azevas? Why?"

The white-haired male pressed his lips to hers, feeling her tears drop down to his cheeks. It was bliss. He held her closely and reveled in the way she gave in to him, pressing her body flush against his. Unlike his, her body was warm, flooding him with comfort and relief. It was about time he felt such a thing again. Despite her crying, despite the way she looked at him, she still gave in without any resistance, even clinging to him desperately.

"Shouldn't you know already?" he chuckled, licking the blood she drew from his arm, "I despise sharing you with what you make. Guardians included. Didn't I know you first? I loved you first, that's for damn sure. So, shouldn't you give me a bit more consideration?"

The (h/c) haired deity remained silent, her brows furrowed as she stared up at the taller male. She frowned at him, showing her discontent in a very childish way. Then again, he always knew she was far less mature than others made her out to be. Cute and juvenile compared to the other immortals, she was nothing more than a child trying to be like her betters. Then again, that was why he was so dearly attached to her, the precious thing.

"I understand though. You love what you make. Not that I can relate," he sighed with amusement, nuzzling her forehead, "But because I love you, I'll make you a deal. I'll let you make another world and fall asleep there, and I won't kill it. But when you wake up, you're mine. We can live there if you want, rule over them or whatever you desire. It's got to be with me though."

"I can't trust that. You're just going to kill them again."

"Do you want assurance?"

The white-haired male reached into his body and pulled out his core, presenting it to her with a tilt of his head. She gawked at it with teary eyes, feeling a shock when she touched it. The deity then held it in her palm, feeling the massive amount of energy swirling around inside of it. In the meantime, the male shivered as she touched it, their energy meshing together. Her holding onto what represented his heart was mind-blowing. How he'd waited for it.

"You could kill me," he chuckled, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, "but you won't. So keep our deal in mind, okay? Now, let's go up to the surface."

Holding his hand out to the goddess, the male helped lower her down to the ground. However, as she had taken her first step, she fell immediately, all strength leaving her. It was a common occurrence for her when she awoke, but Azevas could only grin. Picking her up in his arms, he led her through the lilies. She clung to his hand, the other supporting her gently. Her weak body relied on his to do something so simple as moving. How sweet victory tasted. Or rather, smelled, considering the lily-like fragrance the deity gave off.

"Will you...really wait?"

"I've been waiting since the beginning of time, (Y/n). I'm not going to stop just because you go to sleep one more time. Don't you worry. You know I've always been there for you."

The strange part was that what he said was true. As the deity rested her head on the male's shoulder, she thought on the countless eons they'd known one another. Even when she had just begun to exist, he was there. Cruel and hypocritical though he could be, he had always put himself in harm's way to protect her. Survivor's guilt plagued her for the way he slaughtered the beings she made. But, in truth, perhaps she had wanted him to exhibit such jealousy.

No matter the century, when the other deities ignored her - her who had been created because of her father's shame - he held her tightly. Though he wouldn't admit it, there were two reasons he killed her creations. The first was because of his jealousy and his need to "protect her" from her own beings. However, the reason he had started was because of the way it reflected on her. Having someone such as him fighting her and causing a balance between celestials and underworld beings gave her more acceptance between immortals, not that he believed they deserved her. He just wanted her to feel validated.

"It's alright if you hate me," Azevas murmured quietly, "I love you, (Y/n). More than life itself."

A pause. Then her wavering voice spoke, so quietly that the male could not hear, the lily on his wrist lighting up in a pink luster, symbolic of its mistress's hidden expression.

"I know. How could I not?"