At the tunnel's end, there is light

Ten years weren't supposed to be long for a deity.

He had lived for two centuries; his decade-long absence was only 1/20 in fraction, Adel calculated.

Though he couldn't help but think that, in an alternate world, the Chaos Barrier would never expand, and Janis would be fussing over him right now, and he and Dimor would be offloading their work to each other as they did in the past.

Except this wasn't an alternate universe and Adel bet his mountain-sized workload of missions and prayers had piled up over the years he was absent.

He was never a heavy sleeper until after his recovery and had trained his mind to only process prophecies and divination as dreams.

Yet, that night, his dream was not a prediction.

'Was this a prophecy?' he had wondered as he wandered into his consciousness. Adel couldn't help but feel that the place was familiar, too familiar…

'Its image was exact of the past' he realized.

He remembered clearly. Remembered every day he spent with the siblings.

It was three years after he met Dimor and Janis.

.

.

.

It had been exactly three years since he met the wind spirits Dimor and his younger sister, Janis.

Adel liked to count the days he spent with them: the days where they sparred, the days when they fought when they reconciled…

He could proudly and poetically announce, "Meeting Dimor and Janice was and is the greatest gift the Divine has sent to me, and I do not regret breaking my ankle, escaping the palace, and visiting a battle scene that could potentially obliterate me and destroy my ashes along the way." out loud, if it wasn't for the unnerving and suspicious looks many would give him.

He avoided (not really) meeting the Queen, who would - every time he saw her - bring him to the door of the King's chambers, muttering, "Your Majesty, your daughter, Adelaide has come to visit."

After his twin, Artin received the title of crown prince, the Queen was not the second highest power in the palace anymore, and almost everyone knew that. Few still treated her with courtesy; serving her like the noble, powerful leader she once was. But the rest would look at her with hidden contempt - only respecting her for the sake of being respectful.

And when she brought Adel to his father's chambers, the other side of the door replied with a moan, followed by a low grumble.

The Queen would lash out, not at the mistress, but at him.

"If you were a better daughter, our lives would have all been better."

"Mhm," Adel boredly nodded, barely containing his laughter. He enjoyed seeing her pitiful and unstable like this, but a small part couldn't help but want to leave.

He suddenly had the urge to provoke her.

"Our lives?" Adel raised an eyebrow, "Nonono, not ours, but yours-"

And once again, he was slapped.

When he returned, Janis was already preparing medication for him. It happened every time he met the Queen, and the wind spirit had learned to bring salves and balms with her beforehand.

She fretted over his puffy cheeks:

"Again? Adel! If this continues, your face would become calloused!"

He laughed, "Let it be, her expression was worth it,"

Many years ago, the Queen of the Faes was the daughter of the highest-ranking Elder in the kingdom. The King, who back then was still Crown Prince, had held a candidate selection, but only did so his parents would stop pestering him. He already had a sweetheart

"How?" Dimor asked, already imagining the Queen's expression in his mind.

Fucking hilarious, Adel wanted to respond; but for the sake of courtesy and respect, he decided not to.

"Laughable," he replied. After a moment, he added, "Priceless,"

The older spirit sighed, rubbing his reddened face and Adel nuzzled closer. He frowned, "Adel, how are you? Was-"

Adel chuckled, "I'm fine, it was fun watching the drama anyways, like a good play,"

Janis pouted and put her hands on her hip. She raised her head and hmph, "Fun when you're not part of it,"

The Fae defended himself, "I am, and it's still ridiculous,"

Their day continued as normal, with Dimor and Janis having to pull him away from the Queen's palace.

They spent hours taking turns playing the hydraulis, criticizing popular scripts and novels, and pushing each other into the river. Because nothing was ever boring when he was with them, and Adel was confident they felt the same.

In the evening, his twin returned from a jousting competition; dressed in a collared shirt with golden embroideries. Said twin walked right past him without sparing a glance - as if he was pouting - disgust painted all over his face. To the kingdom of the Faes, Artin Bedisa was the perfect model of masculinity and perfection. Every other day, a proposal letter would be sent to him by a beautiful, awe-struck young maiden; fawning over his champagne blonde hair and "delicious amber eyes" - the maiden had described, only for her to be cruelly rejected by his blatant: "not pretty enough, language usage needs improvement".

And every other day, his slight jealousy of his twin would grow.

If he wore the same collared shirt and cut his hair shorter, would he be as handsome?

Though the silk garment he wore was just as comfortable, its long hem would get in the way of his fooling-ahem, training.

He smacked Dimor's shoulder a few times. "Dimor, if I wore a suit, how'd you think I'd look?"

"Who are you planning to woo?" the other questioned him, voice full of contempt. The Fae's questions always had double meanings, and the spirit had become wary with time.

Adel tilted his head, "Well, are beautiful and men are handsome. I'd like or accept anyone with a good face and personality." he stopped for a moment, and added, "Though they must be wealthy, intelligent-"

"The person you're speaking of does not exist." Dimor interrupted his rambling.

Adel whined, slapping his friend's shoulder harder. "What, not even you will accept me?"

"…what are you saying?" Dimor made a face as if the thought of liking Adel repulsed him.

His younger sister glanced awkwardly between the two, before tapping both of them on the shoulder.

Janis replied earnestly, "N-no! Adel is very handsome! Men or women, he can anyone he wants!"

Adel smirked, obviously enjoying the praise, "And?"

She started counting her fingers, "Voice, height, talent in music-"

"Janis, his ego is already high, don't support it,"

Adel appeared offended. "Dimor ah, always so mean…and to think most of the songs I made were dedicated to you,"

He shook his head, whacked his hair in the spirit's face, and hmphed. Seeing the Fae's obvious dejected expression, Dimor reached out to ruffle his hair. "Not mean,"

"Mhm. I'm giving all my next compositions to Janis,"

Janis worriedly looked at Adel - who was now sneaking glances at the fish in the river - already guessing what he was about to do.

And she was always right.

The Fae ripped a part of his dress and leaped onto a stone in the river, arms balancing his body from falling into the clear water.

The kingdom's architecture was different from the human realm: its main palace was located in a forest glade, surrounded by lush green trees and sparkling water bodies.

Dimor tried to run after him, "Adel! Careful!"

"Of course!" Adel laughed, pulling out the silver flute strapped to his waist. He began to play a mellow melody, stopping a few times to breathe in more air. When he finished, the pair of siblings had already caught up to him.

Janis was the first one to speak. "Sounds good but…"

"It's too short, right?" Adel sighed, crouching down to brush his hand in the water. A few small fish immediately came to him; their small mouths nipped at his pale hand. "The song is uncompleted,"

"When do you think it'll be finished?"

"In two months…or two years? Maybe it'll take another century,"

Writing a song was never easy.

Ideas come flooding to his head every second - each one better than the other - though Adel usually had a hard time deciding on which to use for his newest compositions. Many times after he decided on a melody, the others would be forgotten - and not that he couldn't, but music annotations were hard to write, even if he wanted to memorize his songs.

Dimor sighed, "How about your last one? Is it completed?"

"Yep, and guess what?"

"…what?"

He grinned, poking Dimor's hips, "The founding festival is near, I'm planning to perform my 'latest composition' on its first day,"

Janis tilted her head in confusion. "But why choose that? Won't your other compositions be more fit for the festival's liveliness?"

The founding festival - celebrated once every decade to honor their race and lineage - was the largest celebration of the Fae kingdom. During the festival, all Faes - whether good or bad, peasant or noble - shall be allowed to celebrate in the outer palace. A feast of meat and other delicacies will be prepared in every room, and a red carpet will line every hall and corridor. In short, this founding festival was as grand as the ascension celebrations in the Divine realm.

"Surprise! I finally found an element to wield!" Adel clapped his hands, congratulating himself.

"And your 'latest composition'?" Dimor interrupted.

"An experiment to test the capabilities of my new element," Adel twirled his flute around.

Dimor let out a soft laugh at his friend's glee. "Which is?"

As his other self's voice quieted and the dreamscape slowly cracked into separate pieces, Adel found himself reaching out; as if to embrace what was left of the past.

Their other-selves shattered like glass until what was left was only crystal-like dust floating in his surroundings.

This was not a prophecy, but did it have any other meaning?

"Can you bring them back?" Adel found himself speaking to the void.

The air pressure within the voice lessened, and it felt like the void sighed.

"Should…can-I?" Its speech broke.

As the sound echoed through the scape, a faint light shone through the abyss. When he moved, it moved with him, and Adel subconsciously reached up to his earring.

When its wearer is in danger, the Star Jade will reflect the constellation in the sky to lead them to a safe place.

Was he in danger? Adel didn't know.

Even during wars and plagues, the mineral never once lit up, nor "reflected the constellations in the sky" to lead him to a safer place.

Was this void that dangerous?

Nevertheless, Adel still followed its faint flashes.

As he walked through the void, the groans became louder, until it was almost a scream.

"No-go, help…"

But Adel continued.

Until seconds become minutes, and minutes turned to hours, he followed the gleam, and at last, a small crack in the abyss led him "out".

Out from his dream which he had wanted to hold on, to be replayed.

A familiar figure clad in dark silver stood at the bright end of the tunnel, his light irises wavering as his eyes met Adel's green ones.

The light dimmed, and the Fae's body fully emerged from the, falling into the spirit's arms. The other's breath hitched, and his body became stiff wood as Adel buried himself deeper in his broad chest.