The King's Beloved

[Music Recommendation: "The Heart's Tale" by BigRicePiano - available in Youtube] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this scene ~

"I, myself, can't lift the curse since I'm incomplete," Amare continued, "but I can at least transfer it to another's body."

"In that case, transfer it to me," Elliot said without hesitation—just as all the other Guardians predicted of him.

"No!" Calum firmly disagreed, his face turned horrid. "T-there's no way I will allow that! Haah… I'd rather die than have someone sacrifice their life in my stead! Elliot, y-you can't—cough… cough… urghhh."

  "Elliot, no!" Rania disagreed as well. "If it needs to be transferred then—"

"Not you, Rania," Elliot shook his head.

"Then, why don't I—" Clavis and Illuminaire chorused.

"No one will!" Calum shouted. With his remaining strength, he tried to stand up and cast magic on his palm, trying to teleport out of that place. Only Elliot caught him and stopped his magic.

Elliot stared at Calum's eyes with great resolve.

"You will NOT do this, Elliot, or I will hate you forever," Calum threatened him.

But Elliot's eyes didn't waver.

"Yes, I will do it," he replied. Then, with a smile, he continued, "And even if I do it, you still won't hate me."

Calum's eyes widened in surprise. He was reminded of little Elliot's cheeky and confident smile back when they were children. A smile that was so reassuring that even if he was a year older than him… somehow, his heart whispered that it was okay to trust in him… to rely on him.

But no—he couldn't possibly risk his beloved cousin's life. He would rather let the curse kill him like what happened to his father than to live knowing Elliot was suffering instead. He knew how painful it was through all the years he carried the curse inside him. And knowing that he was the Anointed King of the Supreme, all the more should he refuse. 

How could he dare let the Chosen suffer? He was extremely precious. He was irreplaceable. He understood why the Guardians refused to tell him the truth. For he, too, believed the same. Elliot was not someone they could lose if they wanted to save their planet. Compared to him, he was just—yes, like the term he used to describe others—this time, it was him that was… "dispensable".

  "No, please. I-I can't let you do this," Calum pleaded Elliot. Unfortunately, like how stubborn he was, all the more was Elliot, and everyone else with them. 

Time passed by as they discussed amongst themselves. Amare told everyone that it was impossible to transfer the curse to any Guardian. Their bodies were still different if compared to a Magi, and especially to a human. Therefore, Guardians and humans—Rania and Selena, were out of the question. 

Seeing the desperation in everyone's faces, arguing on who would be allowed to carry the curse in his stead when he was the rightful bearer of it, a stinging pain ached Calum's heart—but not the one brought by the curse. Instead, it was a pain brought by guilt for he knew very well that he was undeserving of their kindness.

'Why? Why are they all trying to save someone like me?' Calum thought. 'I'm a wicked man, a wretched and sinful person. I don't deserve this… kindness.'

Clavis, Illuminaire, and Elliot remained as the options but Elliot disagreed for the twins to do it. As their discussion went deeper, Amare stopped them.

"All of you, please stop," Amare said sternly. "No matter how much you argue, there is only one person who could bear the curse once it's transferred—someone who had the same strength, or even more, as the bearer," Amare explained and everyone's faces went dim.

"In that case, it's settled," Elliot said. "I will take the curse. Please, transfer it to me."

Calum tried to flee once again but Elliot placed a barrier around him to make sure he wouldn't go anywhere. Amare and Elliot went to him and knelt down, preparing for the transfer of the curse.

"Guardian Amare, please… no," Calum tried to beg for the last time. "I don't… haah… deserve this."

Amare's and Elliot's face furrowed. To think that all this time, he felt that way when truly, who could blame him? Losing his parents as a child, seeing the people he loved die before his very eyes, and being used as an instrument of their deaths… someone so innocent. And without the people whom he cherished, he grew up cold and hard-hearted. Truly, the burden he had carried all those years had been extremely heavy.

"It's not true that you don't deserve this," Elliot corrected him. "Even if you say that your hands were filled with blood, or you already sinned too much… still, you are very much worth saving. So please, with all your might, be strong and take heart and live."

"N-no… you don't understand. You're—pure! I can't let you be tainted with—"

"No, I'm not," Elliot said firmly. "If it's regarding sins, I, too, have sinned. Back when we were children, it was me who opened that box and urged you. In that sense, all the deaths after that are on my shoulders. My hands, too, are filled with blood."

Calum flinched. "That's not true! You're innocent! You were a child. You didn't know—"

"Exactly! Just like you. You didn't know either. So stop blaming yourself," Elliot reprimanded him.

Calum's body trembled and large droplets of tears fell from his eyes.

"B-But I…"

"Calum…" Elliot called him dearly, "Stop living in guilt. Instead, live in peace and hope and freedom, and in the grace of the Supreme. We all have sinned and did lots of bad things. Maybe that's why our planet is on the verge of collapse right now, I don't know. But one thing I know is that… the Supreme has a plan."

"A plan? After all the bad things that happened?" Calum scoffed. Still, it was hard for him to believe in the Supreme. Not after everything he had been through.

In contrast, Elliot was firm on his belief. And nothing could shake his resolve.