Chapter Text
something is different when cale wakes up from his coma.
obscured by the black orb and numerous shields, he looked fine; he had stopped writhing in pain from the white star’s attacks, and while his condition probably wasn’t good, they figured it wasn’t something they couldn’t handle either. after the 2 years of blood spilt and multiple comas, they were almost confident they could bring him back from death itself if the bastard didn’t do it himself first.
and yet.
cale henituse woke up, yes, and as they dropped their shields-
the smiles on their faces fell. choi han was the first to recover, and rushed over with an intense frown on his face. “cale-nim,” he said severely, “these…”
everyone else closely followed behind and surrounded cale. raon and the kittens pressed against cale, as if afraid he would unravel before them, as the others carefully assessed his condition.
ron broke the silence first. everyone was staring at his body with intense and inscrutable expressions. “young master.”
cale looked up at them, with the blank expression they all knew meant that he was so confused that he didn’t care. “yes?”
ron stared at him, and lifted up one of cale’s arms for him to see. “your body, young master. what happened to your body?”
his arm, which was as skinny as the branches he woke up on, was carved with deep and old slash marks. the scars littered his body and left no skin untouched. it looked as if cale had ran through barbed wire his whole life, and then rolled around in it for good measure. cale’s party tensed as if the sealed god itself was before them.
cale froze in their arms with a gaze that could freeze the world solid. his mouth tightened into a thin line. he took a moment, beyond aware of the weight of his people’s eyes on him, and then came to a conclusion.
“it’s that piece of shit god’s fault.”
and with that, the atmosphere lightened. the dark musk that began covering their minds lifted to reveal a common enemy; those fuckers that interferes with them over and over again, and the one that now has marked their commander with these horrific scars.
“of course!” raon cheered and spun in the air. “those gods, all they know how to do is mess things up!”
“youngest is right! after we defeat that stupid sealed god and the white thing, we should definitely-”
“yes,” rosalyn muttered. her hair shone like a rising ember. “we must-”
“destroy them all.” choi han finished.
cale looked between them and smiled. “later,” he said. “we will definitely destroy them. but eruhaben-”
the dragon had left at one point and came back with a flashing communication orb. he looked at them with an exhausted expression. “the crown prince has requested a video call.”
cale nodded as if he had expected this and waved away his party. the war came first.
–
- you-
cale smiled at alberu’s disheveled appearance. “it’s been a while since i’ve seen you, your majesty.” his face was refreshing to see after only hearing his voice through the black tiger, though he would never admit it under torture.
- cale, your face- even back there it wasn’t-
alberu’s expression tightened. his eyes frantically darted around, searching, as if he didn’t understand what he was seeing.
cale waved his hand dismissively as if nothing was wrong. it was wrapped with scars. “my face means nothing. how are things going?” he maintained his normal expression and fought his rising shame. his skin was so tight around his body. he could feel how his scars brushed against his clothes and the furniture he was on.
alberu hesitated, and then hardened his expression. he opened his mouth to speak.
–
the henituse family. the battlefield. clopeh sekka. everywhere he went, those disgusting scars that he had left behind as kim rok soo haunted his interactions with others like a disease. every time he spoke to someone, or fought, or breathed- eyes were following his every move, from every motion of his arms to every time he took a step. his people, who only meant well, suffocated him from every angle.
and yet he still won the war.
cale, no, kim rok soo was a master at saying what only needed to be said. he took full advantage of the fact that they were fighting a war, and easily handled any question that came his way.
he traced the marred skin on his arms with an equally marred hand. the smooth, the rough, and the borderline invisible scars- they littered his skin, and he wished he could jump into another body.
he wouldn’t do this to another innocent person’s visage, though. he won’t hurt others any more.
they won the war. cale knew his hell was only beginning.
-
"i'm not going."
alberu frowned and leaned forward in his chair. "dongsaeng, the citizens want to celebrate the end of the war. what would we do if the person who won it didn't come?"
cale henituse rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. "what are you saying? all i did was move a few people around and get stabbed. why invite me as the main event if i didn't do anything?"
is this guy serious.
“you’re literally the supreme commander.”
“it was a convenient position, wasn’t it?”
though cale held the same smug smile he always had in conversations like these, alberu knew this issue ran deeper than cale was letting on.
when he came back from that test, his body torn by age-old wounds-
he became skittish. while he was the same conniving, genius, powerful young master, he now curled into himself when he thought no one was looking. even though his wardrobe was already long sleeves and modest coverage, buttons that were previously left undone suddenly were fixed. cale made sure that his sleeves never chafed past his wrists, and he even began wearing gloves in battle.
“cale.”
a shiver ran down his spine. it felt as if alberu’s eyes were staring into his very soul.
“it’s because of your scars. am i right?”
cale stopped breathing. his skin, so, so tight, and once so pristine-
he gripped his arms tightly and answered. “it’s none of your business. i just want to silently fade away from the public eye and live my slacker life. is that too much to ask?” he worked so gods damned hard for this. if cale had to do even one more thing-
“your slacker life, huh…” alberu considered this for a moment. “alright. how about a deal?”
cale’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “go on.”
alberu smiled confidently. “you go to the event. you-” he tuts when cale goes to interrupt, “-stand there and look pretty. all right? and at the end, i’ll announce your retirement.”
ah, cale thought. retirement . the word that was worlds away from kim rok soo. hearing it here as an offer reminded cale of a long-gone dream.
“if i do this.” cale wrings his hands, and admires how few callouses they have. “i’ll never need to appear again. right?”
“correct.”
it wasn’t a bad idea. to the public, he was finally getting out of their hair, and he could finally settle down in the forest of darkness with the children and the plots he planned on tending to.
he could finally get his slacker life.
cale looks up and opens his mouth. “first. i will actually be retiring. i will not become your prime minister or paper pusher.” alberu flinches but nods. “second. if anything happens to this world again and you need me and my family, we will move in the shadows this time.” alberu brightens at this and accepts with a laugh.
“of course, of course. yes. we have a deal! so, the outfit you’lll wear…”
once more, then. he’ll show himself one last time.