A thin stripe of light gradually widened as the door opened inwards, illuminating the bedroom and the gentleness of Izuku's expression. He leaned up in his bed, rubbing an eye tiredly as he met the other man's gaze. Emperor Katsuki walked forward, sighing softly as he sat down on the bed beside his friend, running a hand along the contours of the flesh-colored scars on his left cheek.

  ?

  "They're getting worse," Emperor Katsuki said in a low voice, watching as the pink-colored flesh began to ripple and pulse, the small cracks filled with pus and other liquids that threatened to burst through. Having fought in wars that lasted decades, tending to injured soldiers, and watching men and women die at his feet, he knew that popping a wound would only lead to more complications.

  "You're worrying too much." Izuku's voice came out soft and collected, his lips curling into a twitching, touching smile.

  Emperor Katsuki shook his head, his hand returning to his side.

  It was only after two to three seconds that the other emperor finally spoke again. "You appear troubled."

  Izuku's words dissipated into the air of the bedroom, flowing out into the wind blowing through the window. Emperor Katsuk fell silent for a beat, fists clenching at his sides. Within his iron gloves, his hands trembled violently.

  "It came to my attention that our circle had been compromised by a traitor, that ambassador bastard I sent to Seraphis Kingdom. Luckily, Kael told me about him, and now he's being dealt with."

  "Oh." Izuku fell silent, his freckled expression telling him he was at a loss for words. Over the last few days, the latter had mostly been experiencing coughing fits, complaining about headaches, and overall not being the best to lead beside Katsuki for the time being.

  "Kael talked about my mother, too. Apparently, when he served beside her, he was deemed 'invaluable' in her eyes."

  Izuku slowly placed a trembling hand on Katsuki's shoulder. "She's been dead for a long, long time. If Kael is still displaying such vigor today, he's worth keeping around."

  "Perhaps, he is. But he recently visited the Indun Empire, bringing back a few competent individuals who will help us," Katsuki mused.

  Suddenly, the slow rising and falling of Izuku's chest persisted, rising and falling at a faster pace. In the crimson moonlight, Katsuki saw that the pulsing flesh on his cheek began to ripple and pulse, making squeamish sounds. Izuku fell back on the bed, breathing heavier as his fists clenched taut into the sheets.

  "Shit!" Emperor Katsuki moved quickly, running over to the counter in his study. Opening the drawers and shuffling through them. He quickly found the rest of the serum he had previously used to help his condition.

  "Open your mouth," Katsuki's voice lowered, slightly commanding.

  The green-haired emperor didn't hesitate, opening his mouth wide enough for the rest of the serum to enter. The moment it touched his tongue, Emperor Izuku gagged softly as the bitter taste diffused, assaulting his taste buds.

  "I'll never not complain about the taste," Izuku grumbled, rolling over. After a few moments of silence and light breathing, Izuku asked in a low, soft voice.

  "Did Hazel tell you?"

  Katsuki nodded. "Yes."

  Emperor Izuku chuckled softly, sinking into the pillows and sheets. "It's good to know my daughter cares about me."

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  "How are you so happy even whilst this is happening?" Emperor Katsuki suddenly found himself asking.

  The other emperor rolled over in bed, facing his long-time friend and ally. He chuckled under his breath, a gesture that sapped a lot of energy.

  "I've already dealt with so much in this world. I've seen friends and allies die, I've won and lost countless battles, watched lives crumble before my eyes. The weapon I carried is still stained with blood I used to exact those wounds. It can't be washed, it can only be forgotten."

  Izuku's gaze found the ceiling, where a small oriel window showed the night sky above, where stars and constellations drifted endlessly in the abyss of the night sky. It was mesmerizing for him, whilst terrifying for others to an extent—nn abyss, unknowable, unreachable.

  "But bloodshed can only last so long. After meeting the love of my life and having a child, I felt the burdens and weight of the wars and fighting lift from my shoulders like a weight I never knew was there."

  "T-that makes it sound like..." Katsuki couldn't finish the sentence.

  The other emperor nodded, bottom lip quivering as he forced a small, feeble smile. "Inevatbility is a constant, unchangeable, unmoveable. You knew the second we started that advancement ritual that it could have gone wrong."

  At this moment, Katsuki's mind froze, flashing over with a burdensome memory. The two of them, a little younger than they were now, were in the central training hall of the castle. Katsuki's stubble had been completely shaved clean, and Izuku's expression was calmer, more joyful; he no longer carried the burdens of sickness and guilt.

  This memory wasn't a new one, nor was it old—it was a constant circulating within his mind. He had nightmares about this moment countless nights and countless days.

  Izuku's voice suddenly broke the illusory scene. "I'm not afraid of death; I welcome it with open arms."

  "Y-you can't do such a thing! Do you know how much I'd have to bear, how much your daughter will have to suffer if there isn't a hand to guide her along the way?"

  "But... I see her every night."

  Izuku's eyes seemed to glaze over, losing their sense of color for a moment as his voice dropped, gazing at the ceiling. Within the stars and constellations in the sky, a figure seemed to take shape. A figure—clad in a long dress—running through a field of flowers, laughing to herself. Behind her were two other figures, one taller, and the other was the shortest of them all.

  A sudden surge of green energy burst from Izuku's palm, surging upwards to the oriel window. It didn't break the glass or stain it, simply merging with it. At this moment, the glass fractured slightly, different portions in between the cracks giving way for a new image to surface.

  "She's radiant, like the stars in the sky, like the sun that beams onto the Earth to give us light. If I were a fool, I'd think she was the sun itself," Izuku continued.

  Within this visage of glass, constantly warping and changing, Ochako turned to look at him standing in the field, picking up a small flower and tucking it into her hair.

  Katsuki looked up at the window above, watching this scene take place. This was usually an ability used for strategizing and planning for militaristic purposes. Now, Izuku was using it to play the same scene over and over.

  "It's not healthy to gaze at this every night." Katsuki's voice was low as he spoke, squeezing Izuku's hand.

  Izuku finally stopped looking at the stained glass, scoffing. "And what are you, a professor, to diagnose me with an illness—an illness of guilt, of suffering?"

  "No, I just don't want you to believe there's salvation where you can't see it. You're not afraid of death because you think she's there waiting for you."

  Hearing this, Izuku's breath hitched. He leaned up, breath slightly raspy as he looked towards his friend. "If I shall not die, perhaps I could bring her back?" Izuku's voice came out dual-pitch, containing a malevolent, depraved undertone.

  Katsuki's eyes widened, hands habitually reaching to conjure a mystical weapon. "Izuku... are you in there?"

  The other emperor's eyes narrowed, scleras fading to ink-black, his green pupils contracting inwards and beaming with malevolent energy. His hands reached for his hair, pulling and tugging at the green strands.

  "G-get out!" Izuku's voice emerged, still layered and guttural.

  The rippling flesh on Izuku's left cheek turned a dark color, spreading outwards and engulfing more of his cheek. It extended, branching out, reaching his mouth and nose, slithering inwards like snakes.

  "No, I can't leave you like this!" Emperor Katsuki protested, mind racing with countless possibilities and ideas on how to assess the current situation.

  He clenched his fists, fingers seeping with radiant orange energy. With a burst of power, tendrils emerged from in between his finger tips, sticking into Izuku's temples like daggers not inflicted to kill, but to neutralize with medical precision.

  This was an ability of the Barbarian pathway, meant to ease and calm soldiers that were feral, mentally ill, or restless and unable to sleep. Katsuki had never anticipated having to use this on his own friend—an ally he's spent centuries with.

  "Calm your mind, go to sleep..." Katsuki's voice lowered as he closed his eyes, breathing deeply and whispering affirmations under his breath.

  The affirmations acted as a channel, flowing through the tendrils of energy stuck inside Izuku's temples. Emperor Izuku writhed and struggled under the influence, but eventually found himself succumbing to sleepiness. His body fell slack, but the essence and signs of his corruption didn't diffuse. The ink-black marks on his skin still remained, having evolved from the fleshen-colored marks that originally sat under his skin.

  "Izuku..." Katsuki approached the bed, eyes filled to the brim with worry.

  A sudden thought entered his mind—a thought that terrified him to the core. Izuku was torn with grief and corruption; he struggled to find a balance between emotions, rationality, and malice. The failed ritual—that advancement to Order 5—must have done something.

  Katsuki wanted answers, but he didn't have the time. He was an emperor, not a nurse. His people depended on him, he had countless responsibilities. For now, this problem was to be closely monitored yet put on hold.