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Word Count: 884
Warnings: Cult summoning/ritual stuff, blood, brief mention of cuts
Created for the Tropetember Event - Reunions
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Thunder roared above the temple, accompanied by the rhythmic patter of the rain against the roof, sending faint echoes into the empty structure below where Rue was, kneeling on the marble floor. He held a withered old book in one hand while the other held a lit candle that dripped wax onto his fingers, something which would sting any other day but he didn’t even notice it now; his body already numb from the effects that knife that lay discarded on the ground had caused.
His eyes were set on the book, darting from one side to the other, faintly mouthing along the words until he came to a sudden halt. He took a sharp breath, easing his mind for just a moment before reciting the words written before him.
“Immortal God, keeper of love, I come to you with a heavy heart. Lend me your power and grant me this wish tonight under the first rain of fall so that I may reunite with whom I lost.” His eyes darted to the carvings on the floor in front of him, watching as the faint smear of dark red liquid arranged in a circle with a star in the middle started leaking the more time went by. Just a bit longer and the pattern would be unrecognisable and thus the spell would be in vain. He had to hurry and pray real hard that it would work; there were no second chances. “I beg of you to hear my voice, oh giver of love. Anoint me with your hallowed flame.”
He lowered the lit candle onto the liquid, holding it down as the flame spread across the trail he created, igniting the summoning circle in flames. He set the book and candle down, grabbing a hold of his necklace in both his hands as he rubbed his blood-stained fingers over the cool object, feeling up its shape one last time before pulling it off and pressing a final kiss to it before tossing it into the fire.
The fire reached out in rage, extending its fiery limbs far into the domed ceiling, forcing Rue back to avoid its heat. He shielded his eyes from the blinding light with an arm until a loud sizzle marked its finality and the fire slowly died down to reveal a figure standing in the wake of the flames.
A gasp fell from Rue’s lips, eyes growing wide as he stared intently at the vague silhouette surrounded by smoke that stood before him; too scared to move but too impatient to wait. “Charlie?” he called out, voice meeker than he had intended but it was loud enough to be heard.
A low thunderous laugh echoed across the empty temple, freezing Rue in place where he could watch with wide eyes as the smoke cleared to reveal a most familiar figure standing before him. Tall, much taller than any human should be, not that they were human at all, that much was obvious, though definitely humanoid in appearance with long silver hair cascading down their shoulders, and just a few too many limbs.
The god stepped out of the circle, the cold of the marble floor extending across their skin and they sighed softly at the feeling, speaking in a hushed scratchy voice, lined with the voices of everything dead and gone. “Charlie…? No one has called me that in a…” their two pairs of uncanny white eyes looked up to finally meet with the summoner kneeling in front of them. “…Rue.”
“Oh my gods, it worked–! Charlie, it worked!” the human exclaimed, quickly rising from the floor and hurrying towards the god, barely even reaching their chest in his full height. He stared up at them, eyes glimmering with tears as he reached a bloodied hand for their face, gently cupping their cheek as he smiled, relieved. “I got you back… Finally, I got you back”
The god smiled, reaching a bony clawed finger for Rue’s head and gently brushing away a strand of his blond hair, careful so as to not injure his frail human frame. “How long has it been?” they asked, eyes narrowing as they inspected their human for any changes which much to their surprise weren’t nearly as many as they expected. He barely even seemed to have aged at all, the only difference from the last time they met really being the cuts that lined his arms, staining the skin around them red.
“Too long…” Rue breathed out, lowering his head. “Way too long” his eyes fluttering shut as he collapsed into the god’s embrace, caught in their arms as they frantically tried to shake him awake.
“Rue? Rue!” their voice thundered across the temple as they held his limp body in their hands, trying to get him to wake up to no avail. They held him up, pressing their ear to his chest and immediately sighing in relief upon hearing that faint little thud exactly where it belonged.
They grumbled a swear under their breath as they scooped their human up in their arms, carrying him away from the summoning circle within the temple they weren’t supposed to be in to someplace safe, leaving a trail of ash in their wake to mark their return.
The god of war had risen once again.