The path to the hot spring cut through a dense bamboo forest. A tall wall stood to their left, probably to divide the men’s path and spring from the woman’s, and along their right stood a series of stone lanterns which illuminated the path. The sky remained clear, though when Caineghis glanced up he found unfamiliar stars that were befitting this unfamiliar land. Even the moon looked… incorrect.

He hadn’t been put on many nighttime assignments, but he’d never get used to that feeling.

He’d never want to get used to it either.

While it only took them a few minutes to reach the spring, the walk over was silent aside from the distant sound of running water and the sounds of their footsteps on the stones that paved the path.

Caineghis took some small comfort in the fact that he had taken the lead and that Greil was behind him.

He wanted to enjoy this trip, and he wanted to enjoy it with Greil, but if he couldn’t stop examining his every action, his every word, maybe it was best to have him out of sight and out of mind.

Of course, by pondering that he had already failed to focus on something else.

The spring came into view as they reached the peak of a small hill and Caineghis slowed down.

Azama wasn’t there.

“…Maybe he’s still bathing?”

They couldn’t have seen Azama from behind the wall by the exit and while Caineghis hadn’t thought to check before they left, Greil’s tone suggested he hadn’t either.

“That’s probably it.”

He shrugged and resumed his approach of the hot spring.

The monk was… whimsical. It wasn’t worth the effort to try to puzzle through what he might be thinking or planning, because often he hadn’t been doing either.

Regardless, they had reached the spring.

The steaming-hot water in the outdoor spring was the same limestone color as the water in the indoor spring, though instead of the edge of the pool being constructed out of wooden planks, this time the water was enclosed by large rocks. Several of the rocks had been chiseled away to have a flat surface on top instead of a rounded dome, including the large stone that the path lead to. That stone seemed to be where they were supposed to enter and exit the water, so perhaps the others were for placing things, such as their towels?

Caineghis took a step up onto the ledge and peered into the water. He hadn’t gotten a good look at it before, but it was almost completely opaque. If he disregarded the color, it wasn’t too dissimilar to looking at milk tea, though that connection made Azama’s warning from earlier flash again in his mind.

It seemed safe enough, so he removed his towel, tossed it on a rock to the side, and climbed in.

“Ohhhhhhhhhh…”

The water was only up to his waist here, but the heat felt good and he let out a low groan.

“You alright?”

“Yeah. It’s…” Caineghis took a moment, relishing in the feeling, “Azama was right,”

He moved further in the spring as Greil climbed in behind him.

The water was up to his chest now, and it felt heavenly.

He had spent plenty of time in saunas before, but this was beyond comparison. The water had a weight to it that no amount of steam could hope to produce, and it was like he was being massaged all the way to the bone.

Caineghis continued until he reached the far end of the spring, his hair flowing behind him as the water grew deeper and deeper. There was a ledge a little under a meter underwater that seemed to run all the way around the spring, and he turned to sit on it, catching a glimpse of Greil moving to do the same thing on a different side of the spring.

He let out another contented sigh as he spread out on his ledge, the water coming up to his neck as he leaned back.

The steam had no particular odor, and it kept the cool night air away…

Such was the marvels of Hoshidan engineering, it seemed.

It was so easy to relax in the water, as it enveloped him and melted his tension away…

Maybe going through all the trouble of coming out here

hadn’t been such

a bad idea

after

all…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

..

…

Caineghis woke with a start.

“Yes! Yes yes yes!”

He was standing on an altar of sorts, one that was on roof of a building -perhaps a castle?- and open to the sky. There was someone in front of him adorned with a white cloak with bronze accents, shouting as if they had just won some tremendous prize. Behind them stood an impatient-looking red-haired beorc woman and a man wearing a ceremonial outfit of some kind, his eyes shut and his bushy brown hair erupting from behind the headdress that he wore.

“Are you done with summoning for today?” the woman asked the cloaked individual.

Summoned?

He had been summoned?

“Yeah,” they turned to the man beside her, “And Azama, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Only for you, summoner.”

From the man’s tone of voice he seemed displeased with something, but did that make the person in the cloak the one who had summoned him?

They watched the two others leave the roof and then turned back to Caineghis, a warm smile on their face.

“Sorry, looks like I got ahead of myself again,” they laughed awkwardly, “I’m Kiran and this is Askr. I’m working here as a summoner, which is how I brought you here. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, being suddenly pulled from Tellius, but…”

Kiran went on to explain the current situation in Askr, how he was a ‘Hero with a capital H’, and everything that entailed. The contract, the rules, the responsibilities, and everything else that was now forced onto him without him having any say in the matter.

Caineghis wasn’t happy with it.

More than anything else, he needed to return to his duties in Gallia, but they had an explanation for that too.

“Sorry, but it’s not… okay, so first things first, it’s not like you’re… missing in Gallia right now. Time here is… it’s traveling in a different direction. Not parallel, but more… skewed. Like this.”

Kiran held up both hands in front of their face, and traced two lines with their index fingers, one going upwards and one heading away from their head.

“So keeping in mind that this is mostly just theory, if you mapped the timelines of two variants of one world, normally they would travel in parallel, and every variant of that world would do so too, forming a single ‘sheet’ of that world. Then, other discrete worlds form their own sheets with their own variants, and while these sheets may be flowing in other directions-”

Kiran held their hands out, one on top of the other this time.

“They’re layered on top of each other.”

“Variants? I’m not sure I follow.”

“Oh, uh… so you hail from Tellius, right? Every variant of Tellius has certain ‘core’ constants which set it apart from other lands that aren’t Tellius and allow it to give rise to itself. I don’t know for sure what they might be, but if I had to guess, it’s the continuing presence of the divine into the modern day, as-”

They took a deep breath.

“Sorry, I’m getting distracted. Basically, think of it as different worlds that nonetheless have a number of similarities. Askr runs… perpendicular to all of that. It fits in between the holes you’ll have when looking from the top, and while it doesn’t touch, it comes close enough for limited interactions between the worlds.”

“And how does that-”

“While in Askr, you’re not moving in any direction that would displace you when you’re returned to Tellius.”

“And why are you not sending me home now?”

Kiran made a face, as if there wasn’t a good reason for keeping him here.

They clearly didn’t have a good reason for keeping him here.

He frowned, and Kiran took a deep breath, an action that Caineghis recognized as preparing to make some half-baked excuse.

“We need all the strength we can get, and… speaking personally, I hold a tremendous amount of respect for you and your leadership skills. There are other people here from Tellius, and from what they’ve said about you, even if you weren’t to set foot on a single battlefield, we’d appreciate basically all of your skills.”

He was getting angrier and angrier, and was losing interest in trying to hide it.

Kiran began to shrink away from him and assume a more defensive posture.

They were panicking, their happiness from moments before having disappeared without a trace.

“-But it’s not as if you don’t get anything out of it! I can promise that our library contains the most extensive set of books that you’ll have ever seen, and you’ll have the chance to speak with leaders and gain perspectives you couldn’t get elsewhere. You’ve met Queen Nailah by now, right?”

How would they know that? Was she trapped here too?

“Think of it as something like that, except with more people. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, so-”

“Kiran! Azama told me you wanted to see me?”

A voice called out from behind Kiran, a voice called out from down the stairs.

A voice Caineghis knew well.

A voice Caineghis hadn’t heard in close to four years.

A voice Caineghis last heard scream in pain as a divine sword pierced its chest.

A voice whose owner climbed up the stairs and into sight.

“…Greil.”

“Caineghis.”

…

..

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…An unpleasant memory.

Caineghis didn’t really want to be here, in this situation, and even less so in Askr. Even if Kiran had been correct about how time (and, according to Azama, the lack thereof) worked here, even if Kiran had been correct about how Askr presented opportunities that he could benefit from with literally no cost to himself or anyone else, he didn’t want to be here.

He had no obligation to these people.

That was simply the reality of the situation.

And yet he couldn’t return to Gallia.

He wasn’t allowed to, and it infuriated him.

“Hey.”

Greil’s tone was reluctant, almost reserved, and, still more than a little grumpy from the dream he just had, Caineghis wasn’t excited to hear what he was going to say.

“Hm?”

But it wasn’t about what he wanted, was it?

“I think we need to stop pretending that everything’s fine.”

Great.

Caineghis sank deeper into the hot spring, allowing the water to come up to his chin.

He didn’t want to talk about this, to dredge up these feelings again, these feelings he had sorted through and buried back in Tellius.

“How so?”

“I died, Caineghis. I died after I ran away without explaining anything. Surely that’s worth at least some discussion? Surely there are things you want to ask me, to satisfy your obligations to your country if not to satisfy yourself?”

Caineghis submerged himself further, the water almost to his nose.

What was there left to discuss?

“Please, ‘Ghis! Say something! Anything! We can’t keep going like this!”

‘We?’

“I know you’re upset at me-“

Just ‘upset’?

“I know I messed up-“

Just ‘messed up’?

“But I can’t take it anymore! I can’t-“

“AND I CAN’T EITHER!”

Caineghis yelled, his voice booming though the night as he shot to his feet, the water around him erupting to make way for his massive body.

He was sick of hearing this, and as he glared at Greil, that feeling only grew stronger.

It had been a long time since he had been this angry. It had been a long time since he had allowed himself to be this angry. He had to restrain himself when he was in Tellius because his actions would have irreversible consequences, but the only thing stopping him from tearing into Greil right now was the nonaggression clause in their contracts.

He had no choice, and that only made him angrier.

“You think that you can come back into my life after dying? You didn’t just die, Greil! You didn’t just die after running away, you didn’t just die after not explaining anything! That makes it sound like you suddenly left your kid with your parents so you could elope! You knew Ashnard would turn Tellius on its head to find the medallion and instead of talking to literally anybody in order to find a good way to keep it out of his hands, instead of trying to find a way to warn any of the nations that you were endangering that Daein might attack, instead of returning the medallion to the remnants of the Heron tribe where it belonged, you did the one thing that would ensure that Daein would invade Crimea and that Crimea wouldn’t be prepared to stop them. You did the one thing that would ensure that Daein would be in a position to turn to Gallia next and we’d have to deal with them too!

“Maybe despite all that we could have made this work, maybe we could move past everything that’s happened, but can we? Can we really?

“Can I reconcile what you did to Elena, can I reconcile how you allowed that to happen knowing full well how dangerous the medallion was with the man I loved? Can I reconcile you running from Gallia, avoiding responsibility for what happened, avoiding facing the costs of your actions with the man I loved? Can I reconcile with you willingly walking into a fight you knew you couldn’t win and dying in front of Ike’s eyes, in front of the eyes of the boy I loved as if he were my own son, can I reconcile with you choosing to die right in front of my own eyes, mere hours before we were slated to see you again?”

Greil flinched.

Apparently he hadn’t heard about that part.

But Caineghis continued nonetheless.

“How deep must my love for you run for me to forgive everything that you’ve done? How deep must my love for you to run for me to forgive every death you’ve caused? Before being summoned I was content with accepting that nothing could have been changed, I was content with telling myself that I had accepted that nothing could have been done different, I was content with burying my feelings for you from doubts to anger to affection for the sake of moving into the future, but now that you’re here in front of me?

“Now that you’re here in front of me, I have to confront that nothing about you has changed. You’re the same man who always ran away from his problems, whether it be Daein, the Medallion, or killing your own wife and scarring your son for life. Was being impaled your way of getting out of your commitment to take care of Elincia?”

Caineghis’s voice grew louder and louder.

“I wanted to keep pretending, I wanted to keep lying to myself, I was willing to hold my tongue to pretend that this could work, but no! You needed to call attention to the elephant in the room! You needed to highlight why it we can’t make this work right now!

“Have you looked at your son? Have you stopped to look at what Ike has become because of you? I loved him as if he were my own son and you’ve destroyed him! You just had to thrust him into a role he wasn’t prepared for and, and, and-”

He emotions reached a breaking point and Caineghis let out a deep roar of frustration, a roar of anger that came from the deepest parts within him to pierce the silence of the night.

Everything was still for a moment.

“I loved Elena, I loved Ramon and Renning, I love Ike and Mist, I love Gallia, and even still I love you, but…”

He took a deep breath.

“I want to be able to let you back into my life, but until I find a way to reconcile with all the ways that you’ve hurt what I love, I need you to stay out of it.”

Caineghis waited another moment.

Perhaps Greil had some sort of rebuttal, some sort of excuse, but if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t care to hear what Greil had to say.

Greil had his chance to say something in the years they spent together in Gallia, and Greil had his chance to get in touch with him in the decade they had spent apart in Tellius, and Greil had his chance to say something in the months they had spent together in Askr, and he never took those chances.

As he leapt through the air and transformed into a lion, intending to make a mad dash back to the bathhouse, it occurred to him that he hadn’t really been looking at Greil. He had been so mad, so deeply and utterly angry, that despite his eyes being on Greil for the entire time, he didn’t register that Greil was there. He hadn’t been paying attention to Greil at all: he had been staring right through him and for all he knew Greil had been trying to speak to him the entire time.

Maybe if he waited he would have calmed down and heard how Greil would defend himself.

But Caineghis was tired of waiting. He was tired of being patient. He was tired of being patient with the Order of Heroes, with Kiran, and with Greil.

Maybe this was just him lashing out, frustrated with everything that had been forced upon him here in Askr, and maybe he would cool down given enough time, and maybe he would come to regret what he had said, but in this moment it felt good to let loose and release his feelings, and in this moment he cared about nothing more.

 

 

---

 

 

After confirming that it was unoccupied (hardly a surprise, given the time of night), Azama had climbed over the wall into the women’s bath to give Caineghis and Greil some space and to have some space of his own. He wasn’t supposed to be on this side of the fence, but if nobody else found out and nobody was affected by it, wasn’t it basically a victimless crime?

He had been under the impression that they were romantically involved, and he hadn’t been given any reason to believe otherwise. From the way Greil looked at Caineghis while on the battlefield to that one night in the Aether Resort last spring where he caught a glimpse of them sharing a bed, all signs pointed towards them being together, but after Caineghis’ outburst, it became clear that there was far more to their relationship that what could be seen on the surface. They had a lot of baggage, both personal and interpersonal, and he suspected that he hadn’t even heard the half of it.

Maybe it had been a mistake to leave them alone, but… Caineghis had a lot to say, and emotions like that wouldn’t stay dormant for long. It was only a matter of time before something lit the fuse, and tonight it just happened to have enough sparks flying for it to finally happen.

It took a moment to process what had happened, but once his brain got going again, Azama knew he needed to take responsibility for letting that opening occur.

He grabbed his towel, wrapped it around his waist, and rushed back into the baths.

 

 

 

 

Azama was out of breath by the time he reached the lobby, but he managed to get a few words out before he collapsed against the reception desk.

“Has Caineghis left yet?” he wheezed.

Nanase jumped at the wet, nearly nude man slamming into her desk, but her surprise quickly turned to anger.

“You better have a good reason for being on that side of the building and tracking water into my lobby, Azama,” she roared as she got up from her chair and approached him.

He took a few steps back before he hit the wall behind him. She had him cornered, so diplomacy was his only option.

“I wanted to give them some space. It’s the first time they’ve had the chance to be together in months. Has he left?”

“No. Why?”

She seemed to be momentarily appeased.

“Stuff got rough and I wanted to make sure he was alright.”

“What do you mean by rough? Did they do anything to my springs?”

“No, no, it wasn’t physical, they just-”

“We had a bit of an argument, that’s all,” Caineghis interrupted as he walked out of the men’s changing room, having finished getting dressed.

The difference from when they entered was staggering. Caineghis was by no means a small man, nor was he by any means someone who came off as timid, but the man who came through the doorway was immense. Titanic. Monolithic. Not much had changed, but the subtle change in posture, in how furrowed his brow was, in how he held his head a bit higher and stared at you a bit more intensely, in how his frown was a bit firmer… all of it built up to turn him from a man who exuded a firm but fatherly aura to someone who stuck a deep, primal fear in the hearts of those who saw him.

Caineghis was a king and he wanted to make sure you to knew it.

It was like how animals would make their hair stand on end or puff out their chest to appear larger and more threatening, except this was Caineghis’ default state and knowing that he had been holding back all this time made it all the more daunting.

This was a man Azama had fought alongside countless times in the past half year and the sheer intensity of him right now, as a person, was like staring into the sun.

“I-” Azama started an apology, but Caineghis cut him off.

“I know where you were, Azama. I suppose you meant to give us some alone time? Do you think that went well?”

“That not… it’s not my place to comment on what’s happened between the two of you, but… I’d still like to speak with you before you leave, if you wouldn’t mind?”

Caineghis’ eyes narrowed.

“Why should I?”

Every part of Azama’s brain screamed out for him to run, to hide away from the enraged king before him, but he summoned all of his willpower and stood his ground.

“Because I’m your best shot at convincing Kiran to give you what you want. If you’re going to be stuck here, it might as well be something you have a chance at enjoying, no?”

Caineghis stared at Azama for a moment. His gaze was cold and the contempt he held for him was overwhelming.

“Get dressed before I change my mind.”

Azama blushed, having forgotten that he was effectively naked.

He gave a quick bow and ran into the men’s changing room.

“We’re not done, Azama!” Nanase called after him as he ducked past the curtain.

“I’m not leaving just yet, Nanase,” he called back, not checking to see if she had heard.

His clothes were right where he left them -not that they’d’ve been moved this late at night- and as he rushed to put them on he could hear bits and pieces of a conversation between Azama and Nanase.

“I’m sorry that…”

“No, it’s… going to happen anyway…”

“Did you…”

“…no, I enjoyed… plan to…”

“Ah! That’s…”

“I’d like to…”

“We’d be glad...”

Nanase and Caineghis’ voices died down.

It seemed like Caineghis had said his piece and stepped outside.

Had he left? Or was he just waiting?

Azama finished up in record time and went back to the lobby.

“He’s outside,” Nanase said, having returned to her book.

“Thanks.”

“Azama?”

“Yes?”

“Next time you come I’ll be expecting something to make up for the stunt you pulled today.”

“Sure thing.”

“Don’t you mean ‘yes ma’am, won’t happen again’?”

He chuckled.

“That too.”

Azama gave Nanase a quick wave and left the building.

Caineghis wasn’t outside.

Great.

It had been a couple minutes since Caineghis had left, which was enough time for him to make some progress back to the castle.

It was also enough time for him run off into the town here and disappear like Lugh and Iduun had last spring.

Which way did he go? Which way should Azama try to pursue?

 

 

No, the answer was obvious.

He went around to the back of the bathhouse and broke out into a light jog down the path.

He was going to return to the castle, and if he caught up with Caineghis along the way, then they’d chat about what needed to be done. If he already made it back, they’d talk in the morning, or whenever Caineghis decided to take him up on his offer. And if Caineghis hadn’t returned to the castle? If he had chosen to go somewhere else, like Idunn had months earlier? If by some means he managed to he never come back?

Kiran would be upset, and Anna and Alfonse and Sharena wouldn’t be pleased, but…

Azama would be happy for Caineghis, for him finally being able to do whatever it was that he needed to do.

 

---

 

Afterword

Thanks for reading! My notes got long because there was a lot I wanted to cover, so you can find them here