[Private] Ｇｏｏｄｂｙｅ ｍｙ ａｌｍｏｓｔ ｌｏｖｅｒ

His eyes widened, seeing Rythian in such a state. The man he'd watched proudly defend him on several occasions, who had walked with him and told him things he was obviously reserved about, discussing the world, building and thinking of ways to get the magic back they had lost-- that man was gone.

She had saved him, yet it seemed he was not saved at the same time.

He did not look happy to have been saved by her, no. His eyes were wild, and his speech was desperate, craving more. More of what had caused the issue. He wanted to be rid of it sure, but it was apparent he had not been taking care of himself in the meantime.

Mother was not whispering nice words about him, but yet She spoke of him being saved. Yes. That's what Garnen had wanted, Rythian to be safe, just like him and Nano. Ridge did not want them safe, though he tried making them as comfortable as possible inside the Treedom. The demigod wanted the Taint gone, he wanted Her to leave, he could save Nano and Garnen himself. He promised. But Garnen wanted to trust both him and Mother, yet that wasn't good enough. He had to chose; Ridge or Mother.

But that did not matter right now.

He could tell what Mother could do, and this was not saving Rythian. He must have been in so much pain.

Garnen choked out a sob, covering his mask with the back of his hand, his brows furrowing. This was not what he wanted. Rythian was not safe. Rythian was not safe and Mother did not want him safe. He did not want Rythian to die. Rythian would not speak to him. He had avoided Garnen for so long and decided to come back like this.

"Ｒyｔｈian， ｐleａｓｅ．. ." he tried again, but Rythian was focused on Ridge, and the taint he had in his hands. Rythian was hellbent on destroying it all... but he did not see it was destroying him in the process.

"Ｒｙｔｈｉａｎ．．．"

Rythian never expected it to hurt this badly.
Then again, he hadn't known what to expect.
Being Tainted was certainly not an experience the mage was prepared for, nor one that (under most circumstances) would he ever have to worry about. Unfortunately, there was no one else but himself to blame. Rythian was well-aware of the risks when he took it upon himself to seal the Taint away. Now, he was paying the price for his selflessness. He had been infected in the process of removing the Taint. The others would be safe this way, of course.. but at what cost?

The pain itself was almost unbearable. It felt as if some hellish creature was ripping him apart from the inside out. Several times during the trips back and forth from the cylinder to town, Rythian had paused, trembling, to wait out the erratic spasms of pain. Then he was off again, wiping away unseen tears, ignoring the malicious whispers, to continue the task in front of him. He could not stop. He wouldn't. If left unattended, the Taint would only continue to spread and cause even more suffering to the others. This way.. this way would mean safety. He was doing what had to be done, for the good of everyone else, and he sure as hell wasn't planning on giving up yet.

"Ender Magic and Taint don't mix." Shadow's unforgettable statement echoed through the mage's mind. Oh, how right he had been..

Rythian's eyes were fixated on the Taint Ridge held. He couldn't quit now; he couldn't break down. Not here. Not in front of Ridge. His pride wouldn't allow it. Soon, though, it would be all over. He could finish this once and for all. He had to stay strong, just a while longer, and then he could rest..-

Rythian's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of Garnen's voice. He sounded desperate. Weakly the Enderborn turned to face his cherished friend. "Ｗhａt?" The mage wheezed, struggling to keep his voice from cracking. He couldn't hold out for much longer.

He wanted to grab Rythian, shake him, ask him why. God dammit Rythian... Why. Why.
Why did he have to get himself into this? So deep into this... into yet another mess Garnen had brought upon others.

He bit his lip underneath his mask, unsuccessfully stopping them from quivering.

Rythian... Despite being his arguably his closest friend, the blondes throat was met with a tight knot as he tried to form words. His thoughts scattered, he screwed his eyes shut tightly, blinking away tears.

He could see through those dead eyes Rythian wore. How much pain he was in, and so much more.The mage's eyes were always a story being told, a story Garnen would want to hear from Rythian one day, but could never even imagine Rythian being okay with telling, even to him.

Especially to him.

He was just a silly kid who made everything go to shit, but... Being with Rythian though, he felt comfortable. He could open up more, smile underneath the mask, and he noticed Rythian doing the same. Their friends had always taken their openness as a sign of affection, and were always trying to get the two together. No matter how awkward it made everything between them, Rythian would still be fine being with him.

Garnen let out a pained sob, his hand clutching to the front of his own shirt. His heart was in pieces. "Ｌoｏｋ aｔ me， Rythian．．． Ｐleaｓｅ， ｊuｓt．．． Foｃｕｓ ｏｎ me， ｏkaｙ？"

By this point Rythian was too tired to fight. It took less energy to simply do as he was told than to disagree. He was in a tremendous amount of pain, the Voices were loud and grating, and he just wanted to hide away from the world until death came to greet him. In response, the weary mage turned to face his friend, his facace of strength crumbling as he saw the tears in Garnen's eyes. In some twisted form of guilt he looked away, unable to meet his friend's gaze.

The Enderborn never wanted this. He never wanted anyone to be hurt, and he certainly didn't want Garnen to cry. It was too late to fix things now, of course, but that wouldn't stop Rythian from trying. Thus, after a moment's hesitation (or physical struggle; one of the two) he looked back up at his friend with a sad smile. He would focus on Garnen, if that's what it took to make him feel better.

"Ｈeｙ.." Rythian replied softly.

The story-filled eyes were working on a chapter, one Garnen never wanted to exist, and it was coming to an end.

Rythian was being killed by the Taint. It wasn't hard to figure that out.

Garnen hadn't even thought to ask about Mother, about her promises to save and keep safe. Empty promises. Garnen was used to them at this point, but just everything about Rythian right now wasn't right. And he had no idea how to go about fixing it, let alone himself or even Nano. Being saved by Mother wasn't any sort of safety other than Mothers spread. It consumed their everything and torn them apart from the inside.

Rythian looked away though, and Garnen knew exactly why. It hurt him too, but god damNｍｎＩＴ ｉＴ ｗＡｓｎ＇Ｔ ｆ ＡＩｒ！ Nothing was okay. He glanced to Nano, then Ridge, sniffling a bit. No, they didn't have any clue what was to be done, and were just giving Garnen the chance he--

Oh.

It clicked.

It made sense now, everything.

He stared at Ridge for a moment, thinking back to old words. Thinking back to the time he had thought he had lost Nano. How desperate the Demigod was to find her, to tell her, to say it because he thought it was too late already. He thought he'd lost her without ever getting to tell her.

And all those times in the bar...

Garnen was losing Rythian. But how would he tell him? His gaze turned back to Rythian, and his heart sunk again. There was no making this better, but he was out of time. It had to be soon. They were both dying, and it was something that had to be said. "Rythｈｉaｎ， Ｉ．.."