Snake and Flower, Sun and Moon (2)

Even in Leguardia, the twins, Man Ho and Man Ching, seemed completely impervious to pain. They charged into any enemies, no matter how strong they were, with a look of calm on their faces. Even if blades and claws and arrows dug into their bodies, the very most that you would see is them gritting their teeth to endure it. But that was to be expected of brothers raised in the mafia to be the next heads of their families.

They would show no fear. No weaknesses would be revealed so that no one could gain an advantage against them. And more than anything, loyalty was what was required. Such vows were ingrained into them like breathing.

"Mister Architect!"

"Mister Architect!"

That devotion was currently directed right at the Architect, the man who had saved them. Despite growing distant in the midst of clan succession wars, they were still brothers by blood. They aimed to excel and challenge each other in the pursuit of the apex. Yet, they did so with a lack of animosity towards each other.

Their methods may have run distinct from each other, but they had a common goal of seeing to the growth of the mafia. Their interests and hearts aligned. Even if one succeeded over the other, there was an understanding that their roles would be like day and night, different but crucial.

However, their underlings weren't quite so acknowledging. They wanted the pride of having their 'family boss' at the top. They wished to reap the benefits of being the 'main family', allowing them to gloat with pride at the branch families.

It was exactly for that reason that Man Ching was poisoned one day. Man Ho's followers had taken advantage of the younger brother's tendency to be careless and headstrong. In an act of desperation, Man Ho tried to suck the poison out, thereby spreading it to him. Even if they could act tough, a strong enough poison would end their lives.

But as the two began to pass out, a white light surrounded them. And before they knew it, a strange language surrounded them as everything turned black.

The two of them awoke, surprised to find out that they were alive still. Under an unfamiliar ceiling with a foreigner by their side, the glow of something magical helped them regain their vitality.

A man walked into the room, giving them both an expression of confirmation. Somehow, they knew that he had saved them. He approached them and simply said in their native tongue, "Come work for me. I think you'll have a good time being your own bosses for a change."

Man Ho and Man Ching found themselves in a fantasy-like world, much grander than the scope of the city that their mafia was based in. The sudden freedom threw them in for a loop. So much so that they had to cling onto some chain of command – they turned to the Architect for that.

They became his defenders, his bodyguards, and his hitmen for what was needed to save the world. That was their new responsibility and nothing else would keep them from losing a role that allowed for both of them to be in it. They were a set, no matter what anyone said.

But it was also precisely this reason that they couldn't live without the other.

A twin pair of gods, holding the blessings of Defense and Magic Defense. One would shatter without the other's protection, but together, they couldn't be torn down. But if anything ever got in between them…

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Your plan failed, God of Magic Defense, Man Ho!" yelled Wen Lu.

"Thought you could one up us, didn't you, God of Defense, Man Ching?" echoed Wen Zhi.

The two gods fell backward, shaken by the outcome. For the first time in a very long while, they felt pain. They looked down at themselves, covered in their own blood. Their eyes were in a panic, like they had discovered this sensation anew.

These bodies were supposed to be puppets, disposable avatars that they used to do their bidding. Using their god-like abilities, they could generate a limitless number of puppets within this domain. At least, that was how the Architect had arranged.

Yet, they could feel the pain of the attacks delivered straight to them. Looking up at the Sun twins, a bit of fear dotted their eyes. Memories of losing each other resurfaced.

"How? We had made sure with this Apostle system that we would be-"

"Untouchable?" Wen Lu finished for Man Ho. "I guess you forgot all about that little incident where the Architect came down and slayed everyone… Or rather, he made all of you forget it."

Wen Lu looked over to his brother, sighing.

"Looks like the memories that Lady Kaguya woke up to were from these guys. I thought it was a bit strange, given what she told us about our 'past lives', since we were never a part of any mafia."

"Someone must have kept things secret like how our Master tried to. But I don't blame her. She had our best interests in mind." Wen Zhi smirked cheekily. "Not to mention, I was kinda digging the nice threads we had on."

Lady Kaguya had mistakenly believed that the Sun twins had gone through drama prior to their deaths and summoning. But it had been the twin gods' original lives that she saw. The twins had a laugh, denying that there was any friction between the two of them.

"The two of you were supposed to be eternal rivals! Unable to stomach your own differences and constantly trying to one up each other in the process!" Man Ho pointed at them and shouted. "You were never meant to work together in harmony!"

That had been built-in parameters given to all of the incarnations created by these two gods. They were always born as twins, but with vastly different talents. These differences were meant to be highlighted, to weight on their minds, and ultimately, cause them to drift apart.

They couldn't be allowed to work together in sync. They couldn't be allowed to grow powerful together like Man Ho and Man Ching were. Jealousy over one thing or another was meant to drive a wedge in their brotherly bond.

But that had failed to materialize in this latest pair of incarnations.

Wen Zhi stabbed his spear into the shoulder of Man Ching, looking him in the eye.

"So what if you set us up to be enemies? Did you really think we wouldn't find a common thread at some point and compromise, just like you two had? We vowed to each other in the past that we would 'ride together and die together'!"

Wen Lu and Wen Zhi had been part of a biker gang. And while the two of them had been the best on the team, their respective styles of calculated timing and gutsy approaches were appreciated by their underlings alike. They made it so that both would be so.

The two gods swung their weapons upward, but the Sun twins stepped back. Even so different in how they were, they moved perfectly as one.

"How?! How can the two of you move like that?! Don't you hate each other?! Don't you think the other one is annoying because they won't do things the way you want them to?!" cried Man Ho.

Wen Lu and Wen Zhi looked at each other and nodded.

"Yeah, sure. We get on each other's nerves," Wen Zhi said, "but you know why that is? Because society told us that we were supposed to. Our parents treating one smart and one dumb. Classmates treating one strong and one weak. Eyes judging each of us all shallow."

"So we decided to just say screw them all and joined a gang. We went somewhere that didn't look at us under some lens," said Wen Lu. "When we did that, we just realized that we could do much better if we worked together."

"Though, one of y'all decided to off us after coming to that realization, so we never made the connection after being summoned as Electi. Our Master was able to bust down that memory block, so now, we see the big picture."

"Besides, these settings of yours… it seems to me like you made them due to insecurity between yourselves…."

Wen Lu's comment drew sudden, sharp breaths from the two gods. Perhaps, that had really hit the mark. The strength in their arms faltered for a moment, enough for the Sun twins to realize that something was off.

"That's exactly what it is, isn't it?" Wen Zhi aggressively marched forward. "You don't truly trust each other. You both wanted a place and were forced to accept the outcome, no matter what! Because you were 'expected' to…."

The two gods gritted their teeth and turned away from each other, further confirming the accusations. After years and years of being labeled as two sides of the same coin, they had grown tired of each other. They would hide it behind duty, asking for someone to lead them so that one wouldn't succeed the other.

For that reason, they had suggested the Apostle system, a way to maintain lives much like their own but separate.

Perhaps, it was because the two felt like they had no one else but each other, that they felt compelled to protect the other. But over time… that became a source of conflict.

"I want him to see how it feels to be me!"

"I want him to suffer in my place for once!"

Their affections for each other were flipped when it came to the incarnations that weren't truly themselves. And the more that they chose to be an inseparable pair, the more tragic of an end they wished upon their stand-ins – Man Ho and Man Ching secretly felt relieved.

That it wasn't them. It wasn't the ending that 'could' have happened to them.

They could simply shrug it off and move on to the next set of lives.

But now, the twins before them shone brightly. They were never driven to jealousy and hatred. They had come together and become more powerful than they were separate. And the reason for that was…

"Lady Kaguya, grant us your blessing and allow us to rid these unfortunate saps that do not know what it means to truly care for another!"

A blue light spilled from the Resonance Stone on their armors and coated their spears with it. Using the empowered weapons, they swung at the two gods. Though they were repelled a few times, eventually, a blow penetrated their bodies.

Immediately, a great weight could be felt for Man Ho and Man Ching, like their souls had been shackled to the Earth. Despite their feet remaining nimble and swift, their souls couldn't escape from the heaviness around them.

By now, the two of them had realized what the Sun twins' attacks had actually done.

All the way back on Leguardia, Kaguya was channeling a spell through the Resonance Stones and onto the weapons of her Electi.

'Godfall'.

The magic was focused so that its touch would force a god to be trapped in a vessel they were tethered to. And with nowhere to escape, Man Ho and Man Ching's very lives were being shaved off by the twins.

They tried to work together. They tried to scrape up a strategy between themselves. But it was far too late by then. After being complacent for millennia, it was too much to ask for them to trust each other again. Their hearts were like strangers, brothers only due to a connection that had faded with time. They had lost all reason to protect the other.

And with that, Wen Lu and Wen Zhi cut them both down. The bodies exploded in a burst of white light before the surroundings also begin to fade white as well.

But even in the blinding glow, Wen Lu and Wen Zhi managed a fist bump. They could feel each other far beyond any appearances. And between their fists, a blue aura held them together with all its might.