A vast darkness enveloped him coldly. Loneliness tortured him with bitter memories of when he tried desperately to bring his light back.
"We are the only ones who have not given up on Cale" whispered Alinys' voice in that memory "They are trying to stop us from bringing him back, because they know his judgment is unfair."
"His life is shrinking" Yvaine murmured, watching a star lose its brightness in the palm of her hand "Something is happening in the World of Chaos."
The memories came and went like sand blown by the wind. Like a painful exposure that made Aries scream and refuse to see. But his body was too heavy and tired, out of his control. He was being forced to watch his five hundred years of suffering.
Five hundred years where he failed day after day to bring his master back.
"I know that you're suffering more than me, Aries" the voice of Yvaine whispered while taking care of his wounds "You lived with him for a month, accompanied him beyond the duties of theiodesmos. You have created a bond that goes beyond subordination."
"Don't bullshit. This bond is what makes me pathetic in front of that weak boy."
Yvaine's starry eyes rose to Aries, staring at him with sadness and understanding.
"Your mouth says it, but your eyes cry begging for the return of your master."
The face of Aries became red and tears ran stubbornly on his face. The agony spread in his chest, and his throat screamed for a name that never answered the call.
He was exhausted.
A month he braved deserts to reach a ruin where he would find an opening for the World of Chaos. By the time they got there, humans had already sealed off the place at Ruen's command.
The next month, Aries and Yvaine were clearing forests, being ambushed by Guyel's creatures who closed the portal before Aries could reach it.
In the third month a human war prevented him from crossing the river to reach the opening.
Failure after failure.
Every time someone appeared to stop him. Whether humans or gods, they always stood in his way. Until the openings became scarce, making it difficult to track them. Aries' obsessive behavior placed him under the watchful eye of the gods of Keonna, resented by the punishment given by Ereghast.
"Damn it!!!" growled Aries clapping his fists against the table "Until when this will keep going!!! At least free me from this infernal feeling! Do not dare to die without giving me my freedom back, you ungrateful boy!"
The suffocated screams of Aries always carried lies contradicted by their tears. The frustration was so true that everyone shared. Gaspar and Yvaine were the only ones to embrace him in his pain and encourage him never to give up.
Even if Aries said it was for his freedom. It was because he wanted to see him only to yell at him and tease themselves as they did in the academy of Othea... It didn't matter. Aries just needed to see it.
In the end, his nights were adorned with nightmares of the boy being handcuffed by Nuria's shadows and dragged away from him. It was such a surreal and disturbing scene that Aries even deprived himself of sleep just to avoid seeing his face.
"Why would you dare to appear in my dreams with a face full of despair? Do not think how it destroys me inside?"
Aries shrank in his own darkness, feeling empty and lost.
Just when he was finally about to find something that would bring a shine to his life, the gods took it away from him.
Just when life finally seemed to begin to show him a new face, she took it from him.
Give back.
Give it back...
Return my master.
"Aries."
A distant voice called him. But the darkness continued to wrap him in a suffocating and cold embrace. He could not lift his head, nor did he worry about that call, because soon the agony continued to feed on his despair.
His arms became too heavy. His head weighed. Everything weighed as if the world fell on his shoulders and crushed him against the ground.
He was exhausted.
"Aries."
The eyes closed slowly in surrender.
Ah... I wanted to see him once more. Those purple eyes that shine as if there was a secret. That cheeky smile that always showed how much fun it was to tease him. That voice calling by cheap nicknames, in a joke that belonged only to them.
Would it be too selfish to ask to see him once more?
A pair of arms enveloped Aries in warmth embrace. The heat embraced him possessively, bringing a voice that made Aries raise his head immediately.
"Look at me, Aries."
There was nothing.
But Aries could feel it. He felt that hug, he would recognize it anyway. How not? After all... Having the moon as a witness, Aries took him to himself and felt that embrace devouring him in lust.
Ah.
"Aries, look at me. Your master has come for you."
Ah, yes…
Cale had already returned.
The memory of him returning to the temple where Cale was judged five hundred years ago, came back in detail. The moment he saw him lying on the ground, where he hugged him and finally felt relief.
The eyes lost in whiteness rose up, surprised to see a purple silhouette embracing him. Gradually the silhouette took shape, and Aries already recognized him to the point of his heart accelerate.
"Mas... ter."
(...)
A gale and earthquakes turned that dream space into ruins. The cry that escaped from the lips of the ghost of Aries had brought a painful calamity to his own memories and traumas.
Cale could not bear to see it and ran towards the ghost, crossing the specters that clung around the huge hands. Even if he stumbled and fell, even if the tremors unbalanced him, Cale clenched his teeth and ran without taking his eyes from that blonde ghost.
When he finally reached him, he felt Aries' body.
The shock was immense, after all before he could not touch it. But now Cale managed to hold his arm.
Determined, Cale turned him hard making the ghost stare at him.
"Aries! Aries, look at me!"
That ghostly being trembled, lost in his own madness. The huge hand sank into that world, creating cracks under their feet. Cale pulled the waist of Aries and moved as far away as he could.
If that was a dream, the unconscious world of Aries, then he did not have to worry about his own impotence. His curses would not be activated there, unless something happened to his real body. He could really stop being useless and save Aries.
So, Cale did not stop running while holding tight the waist of the ghost.
"Aries! Wake up, damn it!!! I need you to go back to your senses!"
A huge crack split the earth in two. The huge hands sank into the earth, and the ground shook causing Cale and Aries to fall on the dry grass. Instinctively Cale pulled Aries down from him, and used his own body to protect Aries from any danger.
Looking down, Cale realized that the ghost was far from returning to normal. Clenching his teeth, he held him firmly, afraid that he would not touch him again.
"Aries!! Look at me. Your master came to get you."
The ghost shuddered, and the lost eyes seemed to seek him in the vastness. Although they were a few centimeters from each other, they seemed so far. That reaction gave hope to Cale, who squeezed his fingers around the ghost's arms.
"Mas... ter."
Those words shocked Cale. It was the first time he saw Aries call him that way. His voice sounded so fragile and small, trembling and nostalgic. Ah, Cale felt the longing in that tone of voice.
Hugging him tightly, Cale felt his own shadow begging him never to abandon such a dragon. His warmth enveloped that ghost, and he instinctively sought for its smell by holding trembling in the robe of Cale. Small reactions like those made Cale tighten it more.
"That's right, little dragon. Your master and lover came for you. So be a good boy and come back to me."
"Ah...." a wheeze escaped from the lips of Aries.
The Dream world continued to crumble. Cale did not know if Aries could also disappear. He was risking that ghost was some anchor to bring his theiodesmos back. If it was not, then it would be too late, because everything was ruining.
No more time to look for new chances.
"Stay with me, Aries. Come back to me! Enough of looking for me, this time it's me who is looking for you!"
Between Cale's legs, he stopped feeling the body of Aries. He was returning to be a mere specter. Before it was too late, Cale kissed him.
It was not a brilliant idea, nor did it make sense to do so now. But Cale needed to do something to stop that ghost from disappearing. And a kiss was the only thing that elicited any reaction from Aries.
The tremors stopped, the dream world was quiet.
Cale opened his eyes and turned his lips away from those of Aries, witnessing the ghost become a flesh-and-bone Aries. The white eyes returned to the green glow of spring, his body brought back the heat that Cale was accustomed.
"Cale?"
Hearing his name coming out of those lips caused a wave of relief. Cale leaned his forehead on Aries' chest, holding firmly in his arms to prove that he had succeeded.
But outside the arms of Aries wrapping him he secured it. Unexpectedly Aries hugged him tightly, in a rare and precious gesture. Cale found himself shrinking in his arm and looking for his warmth too.
"Haa... your sly little dragon. I was worried..."
It was not the same thing as embracing the real body, they were still in a dream. However, Cale could not get away from this embrace. He needed to feel it, he needed to make sure that he had succeeded.
Raising his face, Cale's body stiffened when he saw someone behind Aries. An ethereal figure with deep eyes and face covered by a veil.
"Who..."
"Son of the Universe, I can finally see you."
Her voice sounded so... serenely, that the divine pressure ran through Cale's body and suffocated him like vines. It was not overwhelming as the divine presence of Nuria, but his curse turned into a frightening nuisance.
Belice.
That was the goddess of dreams.
Only a god could make him feel so uncomfortable.
Cale's pupils dilated and no reaction other than fear involved him. Aries' arms wrapped around Cale, turning over his shoulder calmly.
"Could you not play with him... mom?"