"ARTHUR!" Luke's voice rang through Arthur's empty mind as Luke launched to his feet and exploded towards him, stopping just before his face. Both of them were looking at each other with wide eyes, almost trying to make sure the other was real.
Arthur looked up and down, inspecting the friend before him. Luke still wore the academy uniform, though it was now marred with many holes where it looked like wounds had been healing on the skin beneath. His hair was a disheveled mess, and he was covered in dirt and dried blood—evidence of his own battles in this unforgiving place.
Arthur still wasn't sure if he was seeing things—if this was another trick of the roses or his sleep-deprived mind playing cruel jokes. Instinctively, as if to make sure Luke was real, he reached out with one trembling hand and rested it on his shoulder. The fabric felt solid beneath his fingers, warm with life.
Upon landing his hand on Luke's clothes, Arthur was able to confirm the person in front of him was indeed real and not some phantom conjured by this realm's twisted magic. As if they both confirmed this at the same time, tears began to well up in Luke's eyes as Arthur pulled him into a fierce hug. They stayed locked in that embrace for a long moment, the simple human connection a balm to the loneliness that had been eating away at them both.
Finally, Arthur pushed him off and gave him one more scrutinizing look, his mind still struggling to accept this miracle. "I-I thought you were..." Arthur's voice cracked with emotion. "I mean, h-how are you—" He was at a loss for words, the questions tumbling over each other in his exhausted mind.
'How is this possible? I mean, what are even the chances we get sent here together? They have to be slim to none and yet... here he is.'
Arthur was beginning to look queasy as the adrenaline of the discovery began to fade, the full weight of his days-long ordeal crashing back upon him. He pressed his palm against his forehead, feeling the world swim around him.
"I need to sit down," he muttered. Arthur slowly brought himself to the ground by the wall of the temple, where the ground was mercifully rid of the whispering roses. Instead, a small radius of bare stone surrounded the temple, like a sanctuary from the field's influence.
Luke sat next to him, their shoulders touching, another reassurance that this encounter was real. "I-I can't believe you're here," Luke started, his voice still tinged with wonder. "I mean, how? When?"
Arthur smiled and looked towards his friend with dreary, heavy. "I teleported here after my core formed about six days ago now." He leaned his head back against the cool stone of the temple wall, feeling the first real relief since arriving in this place.
Luke's eyes were still wide with shock. "I can't believe that. I mean, what are the odds of that? Slim to none at best." His voice held the same disbelief that Arthur felt.
Arthur laughed weakly. "That's exactly what I was thinking." Then his laughter ceased, and his face grew somber as he spoke again, the reality of their situation setting in once more. "I would say I'm happy to see you, but given the circumstances, I would rather you be as far away from this place as possible, close to the core."
Arthur looked down sadly, but Luke pushed his shoulder playfully, causing him to glance up and see his smiling friend. "Yeah, well, I'm not." Luke's face showed genuine warmth despite their dire circumstances. "I got sent here, and we can't change that now, but I can definitely say I'm happy to see you. At the beginning, it was really hard being all alone in such a scary place."
His eyes began to hang low at the memory, but Arthur's smile reappeared, a spark of his old self returning. "Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, Luke."
A silence briefly hung over them, the weight of their shared predicament settling between them like an invisible barrier. But then Arthur spoke again, eager to focus on something else. "Sooo... what's your ability?" he asked with a sly grin on his face.
But his smile soon faded when he saw the grim expression that slid onto his friend's face as Luke replied, "I, uh, I didn't get any."
Arthur recoiled back, furrowing his brows in disbelief. "What? What do you mean you didn't get any?" His voice rose with incredulity. "You mean you just haven't figured yours out yet?"
Luke let a smile appear on his face that did not reach his eyes, a practiced mask that Arthur recognized from their days at the academy. "No, I mean I have none at all. I've completely searched my core, and I've got nothing." The admission seemed to pain him physically.
Arthur's shock grew, his eyes widening. "Nothing? That's impossible... has that ever happened before?" The concept was unheard of—all Chosen received abilities when their cores formed. It was a fundamental law.
Luke sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. "Not that I know of... it seems I'm just as pathetic here as I was back home." The self-deprecation in his voice was all too familiar to Arthur. Luke had always struggled with confidence, always felt overshadowed by others at the academy… Just like Arthur.
Arthur was trying to find the right words to say but was seemingly at a loss. Luckily, Luke cut in, trying to force the grim expression off his face. "Anyway, what about you? What are your abilities?" The obvious attempt to change the subject hung awkwardly between them.
Arthur stayed silent for a minute, contemplating what to say, before saying in a sorrow-filled tone, "I'm not too sure on the details, but I have an affinity for darkness of sorts." He flexed his fingers, remembering the strange power that had flowed through them during his night time battles.
Luke's eyes lit up, the previous expression now completely gone, replaced by genuine excitement. "An elemental ability? That's super rare!" His voice rose in pitch. "And wait, did you say darkness?!" He was now leaning way too close to Arthur, causing him to pull back from his excited friend and laugh awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
"Y-yeah?" Arthur confirmed hesitantly.
The glimmer in Luke's eyes grew brighter. "I-I don't believe your luck... I don't think anyone's ever gotten a darkness-related ability before. You're a bonafide rarity!" His knowledge of the Chosen and their abilities had always impressed Arthur, even back at the academy.
Arthur giggled a little, the sound strange after days of tense silence. "Oh yeah, that's me! Lucky as ever, huh?" he spoke sarcastically, gesturing to their surroundings, referencing how unlucky they were to get sent to this realm of death and roses.
Luke pulled back, acknowledging the truth with a nod. "Yeah, you're right, but still... that's so cool." His childlike wonder at Arthur's ability was refreshing amidst the horror they'd both endured.
Arthur laughed again, realizing how much he had missed Luke and, to be honest, as much as he hated to admit it, how much he missed people in general. Talking to himself had been getting really… old. So right now, for the first time in over a week, Arthur could truly say that in this moment of peace with his friend, he was genuinely happy.