Prologue: Secessus Detectus
The Plane of Entertainment—a plane that was once known for how much fun it offered- was now under a major lockdown, thanks to the now known threat called Vesperess. After Phoenix (Alias name: Burner) reported the entity for the first time, no officer from the UCC dared to believe him
It wasn’t until their database got a massive attack from a self-proclaimed Visionary & Vanguard of Memoriam. They got into a massive alert, asking everyone to stay in their houses, homeschool, do homeoffice, etc.
Months have passed since the last incident regarding Vesperess, Asher, and Phoenix, who continued with their daily lives. Sometimes—even when life felt like a burden to carry, both of them had their own back. They’d figure out how to survive eventually.
They moved into an apartment together once again; however, sometimes they still got mad at each other, for example, Asher HATED the fact that Phoenix left his socks wherever he wanted.
“Phoenix!”
Asher’s voice spoke through the early morning, disturbing Phoenix’s needed sleep.
“You left your socks on the sofa. Do you know how much laundry I’ve done just to find out… the missing socks I spent 30 minutes searching for. Were. On. The. Sofa.”
Phoenix groaned. He always forgot about that tiny detail.
“It’s ass o’ clock in the morning baby… let me sleep.”
Phoenix let out a soft tch, at some point he had to get up anyway. So he woke up and slowly sat on the edge of the bed.
“Fine… I'm sorry, alright? I’ve always forgotten about it. I’ll make it up to you.”
He finally looked up at his boyfriend. Grabbed his hand and gave him a gentle kiss on the back of his palm. The other guy couldn’t help but blush gently. He looked away and pouted.
“I’ll do the rest of the laundry. You just lie there and look pretty.”
Asher groaned. He always fell too easily to Phoenix’s flirty words. The man had a way to get with everything at that point.
He finally looked down at the Phoenix.
“Fine… but if you ever forget again. You’re sleeping on the couch for a week.”
The detective chuckled, standing up and going to the bathroom. As he walked on the linoleum floor, he could feel the other man’s eyes on him. He turned to look at him.
“Let me just… do my morning routine? Please?”
Asher’s arms crossed in disapproval. He let out a soft huff. Phoenix couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the man looked under morning light, even if his clothes were a damn mess.
“I’m not leaving until you get in that damn laundry room.”
* * *
Hours later, Phoenix sat down on the couch as he let out a groan. He stretched for a bit and fell limp on the couch again.
“Honey! Do you want to watch something together?”
In the meantime, Asher was scrolling on his phone as he ate a quick snack he prepared himself.
“What do you want to watch?” The other man replied.
Phoenix finally turned his head to look at Asher eye to eye, shrugging his shoulders as he patted the space next to him on the couch.
“Fine.” Asher stood up from his seat and walked over to the sofa to sit next to the man. Phoenix couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy as their thighs touched.
“But… What if we talk instead? A little chat?”
Phoenix smiled at the thought, nodding gently as he slung his arm around the other man’s shoulders.
“What do you want to talk about?” Phoenix asked, his tone edging on a small tone of curiosity.
“Do you ever think of… what does Venaris think of you?”
Phoenix’s shoulders tensed, his smile faltered as his brows furrowed.
“Why do you want to know about that?”
…
“Well… I was just thinking alright?”
The other man looked away, he could feel Phoenix’s strong gaze on him. He scooted a bit away, but the other man tugged him back.
“It’s… difficult, alright?”
Asher tilted his head. The soft hum of the fridge and the chirping of birds were a bit deafening now.
“I’m not sure what she thinks of me. Or if she even does.”
…
“But the weight I carry… it’s something I can’t understand either.”
He sighed, his grip on Asher tightened as he smiled gently, but it didn’t reach his eyes at all.
“I don’t want to burden myself with it.”
“I try to justify it. What if… being with you, doesn’t necessarily mean weakness?”
He looked down at the floor. His other hand held the grip of the couch armrest.
“But I know it’s futile. I know Venaris has always been against any type of weakness.”
Asher huffed, letting his hand wander on Phoenix’s thigh and squeeze it, he smiled sympathetically as he held back the smallest tear.
“Well… Phoenix, you’re still the strongest man I have ever met.”
He chuckled gently, giving a small peck to Phoenix’s cheek.
“I know. But I still can’t live up to my own old standards.”
…
“Every investigation, I try my best, but it’s not the same. I still feel like she was watching me, judging me.”
Asher huffed, he didn’t know what to say, especially because he couldn’t say something if he had never been in his lover’s situation.
* * *
Hours passed, as the sun setted, and twilight started arriving, Phoenix grabbed the first jacket he saw and left the apartment. Not before leaving a small note on the desk to tell Asher he’ll leave for a bit.
He walked and walked—until he found what he was looking for. The small garden he loved, the one where Vesperess trapped him in his own ego.
As he observed the new flowers, and the old remnants of the rosemary and black dahlias that Vesperess brought upon the garden that day, he couldn’t help but smile.
As he stepped into the garden, he saw the new flowers that emerged; lavenders, sunflowers, lotuses, every kind he could imagine.
“I should’ve brought you here, it’s lonely without you.” He chuckled gently.As he sat down on the grass, he couldn’t help but look at the night. The beautiful aurora, the stars, the void of the night, the nebulas of dying stars.
“Venaris.”
He had the smallest hope that somehow, his god could hear him from afar.
“I will be honest. If you’re even hearing me from here.”
He let out a soft exhale, he gripped the grass to ground himself.
“I don’t care if I’m not the ‘prime example’ of what you wish for anymore, or if I ever was.”
…
“But I once knew what was strength to me—Be brave and live through, no matter what.”
He took a small flower in his hands, ripping it from the root and looked down to watch it delicately. He started to pull out every petal and crush it.
“I was very wrong, that’s not strength. That’s coping.”
…
“Strength to me—is to be able to be honest, to live a truth. Not a lie.”
He looked up and reached out for the sky, his eyes focusing on the not-so-far planet where Venaris ruled.
“I ask you this, Venaris.”
…
“You once fought Morsus-Maxilla, redefined its doctrine, and won. Now I keep asking—do you understand me? Or are you too arrogant to notice?”
He let out a soft groan, letting his arm fall to the ground.
“It doesn’t matter now.”
…
“I want to live my truth. Not yours, Venaris.”
He crossed his arms, looking down at his own legs.
“Accept me or not, I will follow my own concept of strength, my truth.”
And with that—he stood up, took off his jacket, and hung it on his shoulder, his steps were confident and final. But he was interrupted by what seemed to be a young woman.
“Hey! Hey! Here!”
Phoenix turned his head, he was caught completely off-guard and in a vulnerable moment.
“What the—Who are you? Were you watching me?!”
The other girl instantly shook her head, blushing deeply in embarrassment.
“What? N-No! I’m not some creepy stalker!”
…
“Well—kinda.”
Phoenix rolled his eyes. But he let the other woman continue speaking.
“You must be Burner! The famous detective!”
…
“There are a lot of suspicions that you might’ve abandoned your ideology. Is it true?! Please, please! I need to know—our database can’t be outdated!”
Phoenix’s breath hitched.
“Who do you work for? Tell me!”
The girl instantly made a dismissive wave with both her hands, taking a step back.
“I’m Luna! I work for the Sacred Gallery—no need to be too aggressive!”
Phoenix let out a soft tch.
“Remove my name from the Pete Infirmos database.”
…
“That’s all you should know.”
Luna let out a “huh?”, but Phoenix continued his walk. Not even minding to answer or justify his response.
[PROLOGUE END]
