The god beneath the skin

The temple Xarion raised from stardust stood quiet.

Not silent waiting.

Aure stood in the center, barefoot on floors made of his own forgotten prayers. His sigil burned red and gold, pulsing like a second heartbeat. He had come here alone—left the others in sleep, in fear, in love.

But this wasn't betrayal.

This was reckoning.

Xarion appeared without sound. No thunder. No glory.

Just heat.

Bare-chested, crowned in the curling gold of lost stars, eyes like molten memory.

He walked straight to Aure, cupped his face gently.

"I would never hurt you," he murmured. "But gods are not gentle when we love."

Aure caught his breath.

"Then don't be gentle."

---

The Ritual of Return

Clothes vanished in whispers.

Chains shimmered, then kissed the floor.

The temple walls flickered with visions—moments they'd shared in lifetimes before.

A kiss under a sky full of falling moons

A sword laid down at Aure's feet

Xarion's name burned into his thigh like a sacred vow.

And now…

Flesh met flesh.

It wasn't lust. It wasn't tenderness.

It was claiming.

Xarion's hands mapped every inch of the body that once bore his mark. His mouth spoke nothing but kissed confessions into Aure's throat, collar, hips.

And when Aure arched beneath him, the stars blinked.

"You never forgot me," he gasped, buried in him like a devotion made form.

Aure's voice shook.

"I tried."

"But you were made to be worshipped."

He didn't collapse when it ended.

He rose.

Dripping in divinity.

Wrapped in stardust and ache.

Eyes glowing with every lifetime that had come before.

Xarion knelt yes, knelt before him.

"You are no longer mine," he said quietly. "But for one night, I was yours again."

🖤 Back in the mortal realm...

Lian woke screaming.

His sigil burned black. Not in warning. In jealousy.

He felt it.

So did Kael. So did Sylis.

Not rage. Not fear.

Loss.

And now… they have a choice to make.