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The forest by the Land of Starfall whispered its quiet song as the wind ruffled the treetops. Lord Chigda, who had rarely left the Temple of Wishes these days, sat by the quiet river, the Aurosa Valley glowing beyond it, and the statue of the Wishing One looming over the Wishing Woods.
A gust of wind howled in Chigda's long ears that could hear every little thing, making them flutter to readjust. He leaned closer to the water and dipped his hand into it, its coolness refreshing like his loneliness. Farewisher Eltinada was probably nearby, conducting another ceremony to say goodbye to another Faewish Sprite suffering from Desperation Syndrome — the pandemic of Chigda's own making, the cause of his people's suffering; yet another mistake that he didn't wish to admit he'd made.
Gazing into his reflection in the river, Chigda found his own distorted face disturbing to look at: eyes sunken, the stars on his skin dim, some glowing with purple Dark Essence that was eating him alive. But, he quickly looked away, his arms crossed.
"Ugh…where is he?" Chigda muttered to himself as he fiddled with the hem of his cloak, before his eyes were drawn to a berry growing in the wilderness. The same kind of berry Chigda could recall throwing at Avicinda — his now closest companion, his devotee, — back when they were young fresh Paladin recruits; back when everything was so different, when the sky was dark purple and the Aurosa refused to bloom yet again.
Eventually, another Faewish Sprite landed on the ground next to Chigda. Graceful as ever, his cloak and robes bright sparkling yellow, his Captain helm glowing in the gentle moonlight.
"Avicinda. You're late," Chigda said, though unable to hide the slight smile from his face.
"My apologies, Lor– Um. Chigda." Avicinda stuttered, his head bobbing forward as if he wanted to bow before Chigda, but held himself back. "The new recruits took too much of my time today. And then, the reports from the Bizarre Wish Hills… Something must be done about the accumulating waste…"
"Oh, Avi." Chigda's hand slowly inched closer to Avicinda's. "You would be a much better Wish Master than me."
Avicinda's ears tensed up as he noticed Chigda's hand so close to his, felt the warmth still radiating from it. "Don't say that. You're a superb Wish Master."
"I was. And then I caught Desperation Syndrome," Chigda said, his voice softening to a whisper, though still sharp with bitterness. "Out of my own damned hubris."
In response, Avicinda heaved a sigh and looked away. Of course he wouldn't know what to say to that: those were simple facts. If only Chigda's ways of getting Wishing Orbs weren't like that; if only there were other, more sustainable ways of feeding himself and his people. Chigda also looked away, his gaze now directed at the water running through the river.
His ears slowly fluttered as Chigda noticed something — a glow in the river. "Avicinda," he breathed and tugged on Avicinda's golden cloak. "Do you see that?"
"Mm," Avicinda hummed, turning his head to the river as well and letting out a soft gasp. "This is…"
Slowly reaching down, Chigda touched the glowing water. It gave him a sharp burning sensation, like touching a purifying fire. He quickly pulled his hand away, hissing in pain and holding onto it. "Whim…" he said in a choked voice, restraining pained whimpers.
"Is this why you called me here…?" Avicinda raised an eyebrow as he touched the water as well, feeling nothing but soft, familiar warmth of the power he wielded. "Whim…hurts you?"
Chigda, still squeezing his burning hand, could only give a nod. The Aurosa blooms bowed before the strong gust of wind, as if in reverence to the Wishing One Statue. "Dark Essence runs deep within me…it is a part of me now," he said eventually, swallowing tears — the reality he didn't wish to face. "Soon, it shall consume me entirely."
"Chigda…" Avicinda breathed; his hand took Chigda's. "What if it's not too late?"
Blinking the tears that had welled up in his eyes away, Chigda looked up, a familiar light blue glow on his cheeks. "And, you mean…?"
"The water here. It contains pure Whim, a residue from the Aurosa blooming…which has strong purifying qualities. The extract for removing Dark Essence from wounds is made of this water," explained Avicinda, his hand clinging to Chigda's with desperation.
Chigda slid his hand away, out of Avicinda's grasp, a soft smile on his face. "It really is too late. If I don't become our new god…I will die. We all will eventually die waiting for the Wishing One's unlikely return. Would it not be better for us to live forever? For us…to be together, forever?"
Avicinda's eye moved away from Chigda, gazing at his hand instead, before he turned towards the statue of the Wishing One, as if trying to hide his disappointment. "I understand, my lord. But…it's hurting you, isn't it? This amount of despair…" His eye closed, the scar across his forever damaged eye shimmering in the moonlight.
A pause. This was another thing Chigda didn't wish to hear, not from Avicinda of all sprites. "Hurting me?" His ears twitched a little. "Ah, so you are still worried about me, are you not?" He teased, taking Avicinda's hand again, another hand making its way to his cheek, yearning to see his face, his caring gaze. "Would you rather run away?"
"I– Pardon?"
"Would you rather…abandon our duties as Faewish Sprites and run away? We could live in peace, free of our sins, free of…Kuroda's ghost haunting us."
Avicinda blinked, looking like a confused Hooded Owl for a few seconds, then took Chigda's hand back, holding onto it desperately with his both hands. "I wish we could do that, my lord."
'My lord'… Avicinda wouldn't let go of the damned title. It did vex Chigda, but the way he said it carried such tenderness, such adoration. As if it was another word he desperately wanted to say instead of 'lord'.
"We can't abandon our duties like that, I'm afraid," Avicinda added, squeezing Chigda's hand. "I can't even fathom being selfish enough to say that I– mm…"
"Ne need, Avi. No need to say a thing."
After giving each other a brief, half-hearted hug, the two reluctantly parted ways. Chigda watched with dejection in his eyes as the robes, ribbons and feathers of the Captain uniform swayed in the air, glittered in the moonlight.
He longed to be healed. He summoned Avicinda to this place for this exact purpose. But, touching the Whim-infused water had made it clear — it was too late. Chigda shed a tear as he realized how much he already was losing himself in despair.
And soon, there would be no Chigda — a truth, and now a secret the Wish Master could never tell even his most trusted companion.