Since it's summer and I'm basically doing nothing productive apart from writing, I almost forgot it was Saturday today oops. The days are blurring because I don't have a schedule to follow rn.

This chapter is... ugh. All I can say is I'm sorry. Just keep in mind that we still have a whole other part so at least we have that to look forward to. 

Take a deep breath. A really big one. Keep on taking them. You're going to need it to get through this chapter. I needed it to write this.

Warning: Suicidal thoughts. If this triggers you, please don't read the last part. This chapter is already depressing as it is without it.

............

Adrien moved lightly across the water, holding Marinette in her arms as if she was just a feather. Her head was tucked in. The redness on his neck was becoming less noticeable. Neither of them attempted to speak to each other, though, not because it was awkward or embarrassing. It was just that right now, the silence paired with the closeness of their hearts was more comforting between them. 

Besides, they had something more important to do and Adrien was focused on running across the water as fast as he could in the direction of that portal. 

Meanwhile, Marinette... 

Her mind had been focused on the future not even far from happening. 

Back in the cave, when she had been asleep in Adrien's arms, she had another vision. It was why she had been so frantic when she had woken up. But she had just thought it had been a bad dream, she hadn't thought for one second it could become true. And then they had jumped down and he had told her about the portal. She tried to keep her cool, she tried her hardest to act as if nothing was wrong, but eventually, she broke. 

She clung to Adrien as close as she could, holding onto him tightly, as if, the moment she loosened her grip just one bit, he would slip away and she would lose him forever. She very much could. 

Her vision, it was of him dying. 

It was of the both of them going to that portal, only a step from going through, but a sword soaked in the dark power Luka possessed went straight through Adrien's back, and was pulled out with a force so strong, it sent him staggering straight to the floor. Blood spurted out, first from his chest, then from his back, onto a nightmarish version of Luka, even worse than the one she had seen outside of his house. He grinned madly as the blood splattered onto him, and didn't even seem phased that the blood had gotten onto his clothes and even on his chin, all the way to below his right eye.

In the vision, Marinette could only scream his name and watch as she tried to reach the love of her life, but was dragged back by his murderer- who she now understood wanted nothing more than to keep them apart.

But it wasn't supposed to be a vision. Adrien wasn't supposed to be easily killed by a sword like that. It was supposed to be a nightmare.

Yet she realised as soon as they were down the cliff, as soon as he started talking about that portal, that maybe, just maybe he wasn't as invincible as either of them thought. She knew, of course, she knew that he could still get injured, he could still be physically hurt, just like he was now. Never, though, had she thought for one second that there was something out there which possessed the power to strike into his heart like he was a mere mortal and render his body and soul useless. 

That sword... whatever it was which had taken over Luka, using his body as a vessel to spread evil and aim to ruin their lives, using Luka's own hatred- for the man holding her so dearly in a way that not even his own people had ever envisioned- as a way to shape that, to make it more destructive. 

The idea that it could kill Adrien, or at the very least, majorly injure him, instilled fear into every inch of her being.

"Do we..." she finally broke the silence, "Do we have to use this portal?"

"What else?" he hummed. 

It seemed that even if they had been overcome with a sombre atmosphere, he still felt deliriously happy from being kissed by her. Her heart warmed at that, touched by the thought that she could make him so ecstatic just from the kiss they shared. She had forgotten, being so overcome with the sadness of the future she had seen, that she should have enjoyed the present for a bit longer. 

"Isn't there a portal that can take us straight to the heart of your realm? Would it not be easier to go through there instead?"

He sighed and slowly shook his head from left to right, "During the war, we closed most of the portals that connected us to the mortal realm. We didn't want to get them involved so the only one I know which had been left open was the one we are heading to. Of course, my brother opened them again but I haven't even asked him yet about where each of them are?"

"Wouldn't they be in the same places?"

"Um. Not exactly the same. It's been 70,000 years since the war, and a lot has also changed in the mortal realm. There's only a few places where they would be in the same spot because the magic there is very abundant. Like the one we're heading to. I don't know if you remember, but the two of us had used our own powers together to create a place full of magic in order make sure that the portal was stabilised. It is also powerful enough to fend off the humans. It will give us some time before he can find us which is why I chose to come this way through the cave anyways."

'We don't have enough time though.'

"Can you go a bit faster?"

He obliged, increasing the speed of his steps, making the water splash harsher as it met the force of his feet. 

It only took a minute before he completely stopped, patting her back and whispering in her here, "We're here. I'm gonna put you down."

She looked down to where they were, wondering where he would put her down, and almost sighed in relief to find that they were finally on land. It was more like a large slab of stone, much like the one they had been on before, only larger and full of life. It was covered in mixture of blue and green grass, with an array of flowers in colours brighter than the different shades of the sky during a sunset. 

She felt her heart drop.

So full of life yet a life would be lost right on top of it.

The portal was there, taller than either of them, wide enough to fit double of them. It was made from a ring of rock or possibly mud- she couldn't tell from where she was standing, especially because it was lit up by a blue fire which turned purple to an orange at the tips. The actual portal was almost transparent, only if looked at closely enough, sometimes a green and sometimes a red glint could be seen, distorting the shape of the scenery behind the side of the portal they were on. 

He gently helped her down but she still couldn't let go of him. Her arms moved down from his neck to grip his elbows tightly. She kept an eye out behind him, and slowly (but not too slow) moved back, guiding him to the portal without a word. He followed, letting her take the lead. 

"What are you looking at?" He asked when he realised her gaze wasn't on him but behind, and he turned his head in order to look in the same direction also. He was unsuccessful in doing so however, because she immediately grabbed the side of his face and moved it to face her again.

"I'm just going to be on the lookout to see if anything is behind you. You have to do it for me too. This way, we can protect each other.  You never know, Luka could come from behind me as well," she felt bad to lie to him, for she knew that there was only one way he would come. And she needed to be ready for it.

He didn't seem to find anything amiss in her statements so he placed his hand on her waist and the two of them moved to the portal in sync. He kept on switching between looking at her and looking behind her, but she didn't even glance at him. His eyebrows furrowed in concern. She had been acting very peculiar at times, and he didn't know if it was just because she was anxious, or if it was because of something else.

He lightly squeezed at her waist, and she finally looked at him, giving him a short smile which told him she understood what he was trying to tell her.

'I'm here for you.'

'I know.'

And then every hope he had that they would get back to Luneith safely came crashing down.

............

"Ma-Marinette?" 

They had almost reached the portal. He had almost gotten her to safety. All it would take was a few more steps and he could ensure that she was out of harm's way.

He didn't realise that was all she wanted for him.

He had been looking at her intently as she kept her gaze behind him, feeling confident that they were at the brink of falling out of the danger zone. He had been slightly lost in his own thoughts as he looked at her, wanting to reach out and touch her face, trace her features from her thin but full eyebrows, to her cute button nose, to her slightly plump lips. He wanted to hold onto her for the rest of his life and for the rest of hers.

He was a fool.

All it took was a second for the calm wind to change into a ferocious one.

They had only been a few steps away when she suddenly turned the both of them around and, with as much strength as she could, she pushed him away. He stumbled, shocked at the abrupt turn of events and didn't even comprehend what was happening when he looked up to question her.

The moment they locked eyes he felt the world around him stop.

"Ma-Marinette?" It wasn't him that said it. It was Luka, holding onto the sword he had plunged right through her abdomen. The only reason it hadn't gone straight through her heart was because at the last second he had recognised who was on front of him and his hold on the sword faltered. He looked at Marinette- whether it was because she was the one he hurt or because she had willingly jumped between the two, as if she knew what was going to happen- and he was  shocked, "I- I-"

Marinette looked down to where the sword was and then looked back at Adrien who had been frozen in his spot, "Take it out Luka."

Luka was also frozen, his senses almost shut down from realising what he had done, "Wh- what?" 

She coughed harshly, and blood was already starting to come out from her mouth but she didn't even turn to face Luka as she said, "Take the sword out. Now!"

"You'll die!" He cried, his hand shaking as it held the hilt of the sword, "You-"

"I'll die either way so do as I say and take the sword out!" She demanded, and then desperately, she added, "Let me go to him. Please."

Luka's eyes widened as he realised that even now, even when she was so close to the end of her life, all she could think about was him. She was in the clutches of Destruction so tightly that she would even sacrifice herself for him. 

Angrily, he realised this picture felt familiar.

He screamed loudly, bitter, frustrated, depressed, as he followed through with her demand to take the sword out. Once he did, he reached out to try hold her but she was already taking a step towards the person who was supposed to meet the end of his sword. Not her.

'Don't go,' he wanted to tell her. 

But she was already too far out of his reach. The only thing he could do was watch. It was always like that for him. It was always him watching her from afar, wondering when she could be in his grasp and how long he could keep her there. He thought for a while that maybe he had her, maybe taking that step forward to become her friend would prompt her to accept his hand and maybe he would be able to hold on. But he was really just there to offer his hand, only for her to always make the other choice. 

Even dying she would rather make the other choice.

Why would she hold onto you when you are the one who killed her?

"I didn't mean to. It wasn't her that I was going for."

It's your fault regardless. Look at how reckless you are. Look at how irrational you've become. It's all your fault that she's become this way. You've lost her before you could even grab onto her.

"Shut up!" He dropped the sword and grasped at his head painfully, "Shut up!"

'It's my fault. It's all my fault,' he dropped to the ground, his knees harshly hitting the rock they were all on and he bowed his head, his face twisted sadly, "Its my fault."

............

"MARINETTE!"

With every step she took towards him, she felt more numb to the pain inside her. Nothing mattered more than getting to him, not even the blood that was slowly gushing out of her and making every step harder to take. One of her hands covered her stomach, the other reached out towards him, who was screaming her name with so much emotion that his voice was already hoarse. 

She smiled as her vision became more blurry but she could still see as his silhouette became larger, she could still feel as he finally was able to grab onto her hand and then put his other around her shoulder, slowly bringing the two of them to the ground. He looked down at her, his body trembling as tears and tears came down his face. He was crying loudly, the sobs he let out were more gut-wrenching to her than the pain of her injury.

"No please. Marinette- you can't- you-"

She slowly brought her hand up with the help of his own. Her fingers brushed against his wet lips, "Shh," he dropped his hand to where her injury was, already ready to create a barrier to stop the bleeding so he could take her through the portal and get her to a healer immediately. She shook her head and her already bloodied hand held onto his, "Don't. It won't help. Nothing will. At least... at least it wasn't my heart. It gives me time to talk to you."

He looked up and squeezed his eyes shut, biting his lips as he breathed in heavily, "How can you say that? How can you let me just watch- just watch you die?" He choked on his words as his voice became higher and more painful to hear. He sucked another breath in and looked back down at her, his eyes were drowned in the pool of his sorrow, "I wanted to protect you."

She coughed, this time more intense than the last. She couldn't help but grimace at the metallic taste of her own blood as she squeezed his hand, her other still reaching out to his face. She smiled despite knowing her teeth would be bloody,  "This time it was my turn to protect you, my love."

His breathing became more erratic as he let out an agonizing whimper as he heard her words, "Please- I am begging you- please don't go. Don't leave me again."

She let out a small laugh, her own eyes becoming blurrier as seeing him cry felt like she had been stabbed a thousand times more by that sword, "Do you remember? The first time I died? I guess the deities were just playing with me. They just let me think that I could come back to life only to take it back as a punishment for trying to change our destiny."

Shakily, he let go of her hand and held her face instead, wiping the tears which were coming out of the ends of her eyes, down the side of her face, "We can. We still can. Just let me save you. Please."

She mimicked him, trying her best to wipe his tears as they continued to come down. But the tears would not stop for either of them. Some of his tears slipped down onto her own face.

"Being able to protect you this time, seeing you alive. It makes this punishment worthwhile."

"Why?" His fingers lightly stroked her cheek, "Why does it have to always be like this? Why can't we be happy? WHY?!" He looked up and screamed the last part, wondering why they had to be born with this unfortunate fate. 

He had always thought it was unfair, he had always thought in the back of his mind that even when his actions were his, even when he made his own decisions, it was as if eventually, they would fall into the trap that was their destiny. It was as if Creation was always supposed to fall at the hands of Destruction. Even when they had become friends and then lovers, it had ended that way the first time because she sacrificed herself for his sake. This time, it had happened again but it happened quicker than the first. As if her very existence was an anomaly that should be taken out. 

They had always been leading to this, whether they liked it or not. Whether they wanted or not. One of them was always going to die.

Because for anyone who tried to change their destiny, the very fate that was chosen for them to fulfil, the consequence of doing so could be dire. Changing one small thing could mean changing the direction in which the wind blew, could mean changing the way in which the leaves would fall, could change the path that the leaves covered and therefore change a person's decision in taking that path to take an entirely new one. 

From his experience, destiny hated change and would fight to bring order back to the realms. Adrien thought when he realised she had come back, that she was always going to come back to life, that they had been able to evade destiny. But when she came back, it came back with her and fought harsher than ever this time around. 

This time around it won.

"Adrien," his name brought him back to the reality on front of him, and he blinked his eyes to see her more clearly, not wanting to forget even the smallest of freckle on her face, "You think it's unfair don't you?"

"Don't speak. Save your energy. Please," he stressed.

"No. I want to tell you. I'm glad..." she paused to take a gaping breath, "That even if it wasn't for long, I got to meet you in this life. I got to- to fall in love with you all over again."

"Marinette- I- please."

"Do you remember what I said? You don't always have to be strong. You have Felix and Kagami and I'll always be present in that beautiful, chaotic mind of yours," she moved her hand down to his chest half because she barely had the strength to hold it up for much longer, "Moreover, I'll always be here, in your heart."

"Do you have to go?" His voice was quiet, pleading, aching. 

She smiled up at him as her hand fully dropped. He noticed and grabbed onto it, leaning in as close as he could without crushing her. He could tell that she was taking her final breaths.

"Adrien," the last words she uttered as her eyes fluttered to a close were, "I love you."

............

Never had Luka thought he would be there to witness the day Destruction wept like a saint who was crying for the fall of humanity. 

Through his own tears, the picture on front of him was almost as serene as much as it was melancholic. Destruction- no- Adrien (because calling him anything other than his name right now seemed wrong, even to him) was sat hunched over Marinette's body, cradling her as his head tucked into her shoulder. 

He cried, not loudly like he had been whilst she had been awake, but silently, as if making noise would disturb the peace she needed to rest. 

The scene was more heart-breaking than he had initially thought it would be, probably because it didn't go to his expectations. Probably because it wasn't him that was dead, it wasn't him that the sword went through. It was her.

'Because I killed her.'

It was that thought which sent his senses into a frenzy and Luka screamed as loud as he could but even as he shouted out, it was like nothing and no one payed attention to him. He screamed again and again, banging his fists onto the hard floor, and he let the tears pour out as he called out to the deities and the fates, screamed for the world to change. To bring her back. To let him go back and make the right decision this time. 

But no one heard him.

Instead he was blasted back, into the gushing water, further away from her body, his own powers being the only thing that kept him stuck in that spot on the water. His clothes quickly became soaked. He lifted his head to look at the person who blasted him, only to meet the cold glare that he knew all too well.

"You don't deserve to beg for her life," the man finally spoke loudly, still holding the lifeless body of his lover firmly in his hands, enough for Luka to hear him over the loud, thrashing waves and crashes the water made, "Not when you were the one who took it."

Luka gritted his teeth, all of a sudden remembering why he hated this man so immensely and his urge to kill the right person came back, "It was meant to be you! You were the one who was meant to die. Why did she have to die for you?"

He stood and started walking back towards them, quickly locating where he had left that sword, ready to once again attempt too fulfil the promise he had made. The small respect he had for Destruction tingled inside him, but he ignored it. He was too angered.

Adrien didn't respond loudly, only looked back at her and whispered, "I wish I could know why as well," He pressed his lips to the crown of her head for a few seconds before connecting their foreheads together, "Would you be angry if I come to you sooner rather than later?"

He could sense that Luka had gotten up and was hurriedly walking towards them. He heard as the other man picked up the sword- which bizarrely sounded like a regular metal sword despite it's appearance. He could tell that the man was once again overcome with the poisonous energy of what possessed him. And he was coming dangerously close.

But Adrien didn't care.

All he could think about was, 'Why?' 

Why didn't he notice? Why didn't he question her actions more? Why didn't he sense that something was coming their way? Why did he let his guard down even when they weren't completely out of the danger zone? Why did he let himself get distracted?

Why did he ever let her out of his sight?

Why couldn't he protect her?

'WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?' 

He couldn't find himself to care about anything other than her. Other than wanting to be with her. Wanting to be where she was. 

In fact he hoped, he prayed that he would be impaled. He wanted everything to end. He wished that he could die. 

'Kill me. Please. Let me die with her.'

Because what was the point of living this life when the one person he held on for was her. 

It was Marinette who had been there for him from the very beginning. When his father had been tough on him and made him question the point of his life, it had been her who had come in and given him the most wonderful point to live. 

Herself. 

Even when they had broken up by the time the war had started, his will to live had counted on the fact that after, he would apologise to her and try his best to win her back. When she had died the first time and trapped him in that prison, it was her voice in his head and all around which begged him to stay alive for her. When he had finally gotten out, it was the hope that they would soon meet again, it was the relief when he realised just who she was that got him through every day after. 

He lived to see her smile. He lived to hear her voice. He lived to repent to her in order to take him back. He lived to see her live happily with him.

Now... 

Now there was nothing to live for.

How could he live, when she was dead?

'I want to die. I want to die. I want to die.' It was like a mantra which he chanted in his head, unable to leave his crumbling thoughts.

He wished for death, ready for his life to end, but death told him to wait a little longer.

"Not yet. It is not your time die yet."

............

That was so depressing. I need something to cheer me up now. This has probably been the hardest chapter to write yet (update from the future- this was definitely a hard chapter to write but I just finished writing another one which I found even harder. Furthermore, I just know that the chapters I am just about to write are going to be even harder. Ugh why do I do this to myself!!!!). I kept on hesitating on actually writing it and it pushed back my writing schedule a lot but, here it is. 

Are you guys crying? When I said this story made me feel evil, I meant it. But now I just feel sad. And this isn't even the end of the depressing moments I've planned.

For me the saddest part is the last part. The fact that Adrien finds living so pointless without her makes my heart hurt. But also, I found the part when Luka realises what he has done really sad as well. Luka I'm sorry for doing this to you.

See you soon Lovelies <3