Epic of Caterpillar

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"Hanshuan…" Zagreus muttered, as he saw the scene while gritting his teeth. "Y-You don't really need to go so far… She's already back this is… this is just madness…"

"It was his decision…" Sindarin said, holding his hands. "We can't… do anything else, Zagreus."

"…" Zagreus felt guilty, if he had been stronger, none of this would have happened.

Hanshuan hugged his sister and gave her warmth. The cold made her confused, and also very afraid. She was crying because she didn't understand what happened to her, until her brother told her the truth, that she had died.

While hugging his twin sister, the only family he had ever had, Hanshuan gave her his warmth, all of it. The coldness that made her mind feel so sad, and that brought her so much despair slowly dissipated, embraced by the fiery warmth of life.

"B-Brother? What's… I feel so warm… What's going on?"

Henshian was confused, but her brother didn't say a word, smiling at her like he always did ever since they were two little Fire Monkeys surviving in the Fiery Jungles of the Sun.

It was a life full of challenges, where both of them were always at death's door, trying to survive a single day was a challenge in itself.

And yet they did it together, without the other, they would have never been able to get this far, and Hanshuan owed much to his sister for having saved his life so many times.

"Don't worry sis… You won't feel cold."

"H-Hanshuan, your hands… Why are they so cold?! Brother? W-What's happening?!"

As the girl gained her life completely and her warmth came back to her, as if she had never died, her brother became paler, and the crown of red flames above his head turned blue, with phantasmal, cold flames.

"I gave you part of my life, so you wouldn't suffer through the coldness of death."

"W-Wha…?!"

"I didn't want you to suffer… I failed you as a brother, I let you die… I-I didn't know what to do."

"Hanshuan…"

"I just… I just wanted you back no matter what… I'm sorry if it upsets you, Henshian… But I don't regret this."

"Y-You dummy! Why?! You idiot! Why did you do this?!"

Henshian started crying over her brother's chest, hitting him with her little fists gently, trying to make him see how wrong he was for doing such a thing.

"You didn't have to go so far for me! Just like I was before it was fine… E-Even if it was cold, I would've gotten used to it! I… I had your warmth!"

"But I wouldn't had been able to see you suffer so much, Henshian… Now your heart is finally fiery as always. Carry my Life and my Warmth forever with you, sister."

"…Idiot, I-I… Of course… How could I ever reject this after everything you did… I-I… But why?! Ugh! Y-You're so reckless…!"

"Maybe I am… but I am so happy now, more than if I wouldn't had given it to you…"

"You're so cold…!"

"It's fine because I have you."

"Idiot brother!"

"Yes, I'm an idiot… And I'm also grateful I have a smart sister."

"I'll get your flame back somehow! I promise!"

"It's… alright… I'm fine, seriously."

Hanshuan and Henshian stopped hugging each other, as the two adorable Sun Monkey God siblings relaxed and started talking like normal.

"Seriously? Really? You seem… very cold… I-I don't think you're fine…"

"I'm fine! It is just like taking a cold bath! Nothing serious, I swear."

"If it wasn't so serious you wouldn't had given me your Flame of Life!"

"T-That's… Well, I just did it because you're such a crybaby! I wouldn't had been able to live with you complaining how cold you were all the time."

"Hmph! I wouldn't do that!"

"I bet you would force me to carry a bag full of coats to cover from your own cold, it would be so tedious!"

"Geez!"

Although he said he was fine, he wasn't. He simply held back his pain. The pain of being embraced by the coldness of death.

It didn't quite feel like he just died, but as if he somehow… Lost something very precious. And yet, to him, precious thing he lost wasn't even as comparable to her, to the girl in front of him, which was alive.

The Divine Flame inside of his heart was now gone, and this made his own Divinity become twisted, stranger, instead of the Sun Flames he wielded, and Sunlight, they had become Shadows and Phantom Flames.

"My Divinity though, it sure changed, haha…"

He forced a slight laughter to make his sister relax, he tried his best to tell her was going to be fine no matter what. Hanshuan opened his palms and released darkness instead of Sunlight, and phantom flames instead of Sunflare.

"I-It's kinda weird… Are you sure you like this?!"

"I can't say I like it, but would you have liked it? I bet not!"

"Uhhh… You only make me feel guilty!"

"I'm sorry, but you don't have to feel guilty, what I did was just my own selfish desires!"

As they continued talking, Zagreus, Sindarin, and Glimmerdust greeted them, Henshian's face quickly beamed happily as she saw them.

"You guys! Y-You all made it?! I'm so happy!"

She hugged them all with her big arms and her long tail, she was around twice their size after all.

"Yes, despite everything, we somehow survived…" Zagreus said. "I'm glad to have you back, Henshian."

"Yeah! I-I'm so happy, sniff…" Glimmerdust cried with her big moth-like eyes.

"Henshian! Please don't… don't leave us so suddenly again, okay?" Sindarin asked.

"O-Okay… I know I died, and it was sad… I am still trying to process it…" Henshian started crying as she hugged the two girls. "I'm sorryyyy…"

As they cried, Zagreus walked towards Hanshuan, who suddenly looked grim the moment his sister stepped out.

"Hanshuan…"

"A-Ah, Zagreus! I'm fine, really!"

"You don't seem to be fine… For how long you will be able to pretend?"

"As long as she's happy… I'll be happy too. Don't worry."

"Fine, have it your way then. But don't say I didn't warn you…"

"I know… This was for the best, and I don't regret it."

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