With great effort, Lumi was able to push himself around his hideout to the bathroom.
Panting heavily, he stared into the mirror.
His robes fell off his body as he entered; their white color stood out against the wood floor. His cape fell with it.
What he was staring at now was a man, a muscular, beautiful, amazing–
Well, Lumi was staring at himself.
The clock over the door told him he was around two hours from midnight.
Which meant–
[???] Lumi.
His only pieces of clothing were a matching white shirt and pants with a diamond-like pattern imitating that of a jester's garments.
His arm clenched the table hard at the sound of his voice; it sounded as if he woke up.
A man who always dimmed his mood.
[???] "Good night, isn't it?"
That idiot didn't even get the expression right.
[Lumi] "When you wake up, you say good morning."
The voice in his head scoffed.
Usually, the scoff came with sly comments, but today, he was especially quiet.
[Lumi] "What's wrong?"
No matter how much Lumi claimed he hated the voice, the fact still stands that they were–
[???] "Brother, I… have a question."
His voice paused midway through the sentence, trailing off before revealing what had been on his mind.
The suspense was killing Lumi, so in the mirror, he motioned for his brother to get it over with.
[???] "Lumi… What are you the God of?"
Was he serious?
[Lumi] "–––––"
A noise akin to laughter erupted from Lumi.
[Lumi] "That's what you were concerned about?"
Still, silence was his only reply. Even his own thoughts were quiet.
[Lumi] "If you must know, I'm the God of Joy. If that refreshed your memory, hurry this up because you don't have all night."
A sigh came from his head, which always weirded Lumi out; no matter what, he would never be used to someone else sighing in his head.
[???] "Brother… I know what you're the God of. But… do you?"
In an exasperated tone, Lumi's brother asked a question.
A really easy question.
[Lumi] "Of course I know, I just told you."
The random, idiotic questioning, along with the depressive tone of voice, was making Lumi impatient.
So, Lumi flicked his hands, and a wave of energy was felt in his heart.
Always so impatient that one was when he smiled–
Some of the diamonds in the pattern on his shirt began changing color. They blurred and eventually turned purple after a while. Staring into the mirror, Lumi also noticed his shirt turning Black.
The robes and cape, too, followed that same pattern.
Of course, these aspects weren't a surprise to Lumi, because he had endured this all his life.
The one part he didn't enjoy was the pain of his body being reformed.
A scream sounded from Lumi's mouth, and he crumbled down to the floor on his knees. Without the soundproofing enchant on the interior of this house, Lumi was sure even the people at the banquet would be able to hear him.
His bones began to rearrange themselves, his facial bones and muscles began to tear, and his spine gradually lowered itself, easing into a slightly bent posture.
Of course, it hurt.
But thousands of years of enduring this pain builds resistance, you know?
What emerged next was a man that you could only describe with two words.
A fallen angel.
Contrary to his brother, a young, sharp-featured boy, this man was softer.
But his eyes could drill a hole in a man.
An alarm went off, causing the newly formed man to look at the clock.
Midnight, 12 sharp.
His brother surely had his timing down, regardless of whether he was intoxicated or not.
He stared at his face once more, then looked backward as if confused.
Oh right.
Slowly, he walked by the door, a relaxed, slightly slouched posture made him appear shorter than he actually was.
Soon, he made it. What he saw was a rack.
There, two strange white masks were hanging—one, a mask with a smile, another, a mask with a frown.
Tragedy and Comedy.
Those were their stage names.
But Crescent never liked his name, regardless of his appearance and mood; calling his life a tragedy just felt like rubbing salt in the wound.
A long arm extended and grabbed the frowning mask.
With one last glance at the door, Crescent opened the door and jumped.
Not because he was happy, but because his brother was unable to keep the bile in his mouth.
[Crescent] "What a shame…"
Even with a mask on his face, Crescent was able to smell outside, so once he got past that bile, he looked up and inhaled the fresh air.
Good, the bile would wash up anyway. The air smelt like–
A water droplet fell on his mask.
Then another.
It was raining.
Strangely, his mask was the only thing that was hit; his clothes remained perfectly fine.
Crescent smiled. It would be a good time to show his brother how to make an entrance.
With an almost effortless jump, he made his way onto the roof of the building where their hideout was built.
Then, Crescent jumped off that building, and he began to float.
Being a God had its perks.
The ecstasy running in his veins felt amazing; despite his name, Crescent couldn't find a reason to be sad in that moment.
He moved midair, throughout the streets, he saw posters, he saw advertisements, he saw his own face on posters, he also saw–
[Lumi] "You're that popular already? How much have I missed?"
Crescent did the same thing Lumi did when he had control of this body. Crescent scoffed at him.
[Crescent] "You should be asleep by now. Good morning."
All he heard in reply was a scowl.
One day, Lumi would catch on.
Regardless, he kept flying until he reached the top of the highest building in the city.
For a while, he stood there. The moon shone brilliantly upon his figure; the rain avoided him like the plague.
[Crescent] "People, deities of the Empyrean accord!"
Thunder struck in the background.
[Crescent] "Hear me, Bearer of sorrow!"