Marius shouted and yelled until his voice was raw. Dante could hear his muffled voice. He heard the words he spoke. Dante clenched his fists as he attempted to stand. But all the strength he could muster was only enough to hold him up to his knees. 

CRASH! 

The eighth bolt of lightning. 

Dante refused to fall back to the ground. He was still kneeling on the ground. Blood spewed from his mouth once more, dripping down his chest. His ears were ringing. Blood covered his face too. He could barely see anything before him.

“Dante,”

He heard a familiar voice. Dante looked up, turning his head left and right to look for the source of the voice. 

“Dante!”

He could sense the urgency of the voice. He knew whose voice this was. 

“Lai…Laina,” he called out her name as he reached his hand out. 

His vision was blurry, but he could feel a warm presence envelop him. It felt as if she was hugging him tightly. It felt as if Laina rested her head on his chest. 

“I’m here, Dante. I’ll be here, every step of the way.” It was her voice, he was sure of it. 

Perhaps this was just an illusion. Maybe it was his brain’s attempt to help him pull through it. But for a second, he felt as if Laina was really there, hugging him. She held him close. 

Dante struggled as he got back up on his feet. 

CRASH!

The ninth bolt came crashing down. 

He fell back down, one knee on the ground. He refused to fall any other. He was going to make it. There was only one final bolt left to endure. 

“One more, Dante! Just one more!” Marius yelled. 

As he banged his fist against the barrier, he realized the Soulium Locket in his hand was glowing. He could feel warm heat radiating from it. 

“He can do this, Laina, he can do this,” he muttered as he watched on. 

With sheer willpower, Dante got back up on his feet. The tendrils that held him down no longer felt that heavy. He looked up at the sky, watching the dark clouds carefully. 

The clouds parted,

Light shone down upon him, blinding his eyes. The final bolt of lightning impaled him with great force. Everyone in the vicinity shielded their eyes from the light. It was the most intense physical pain Dante had ever felt. 

Still, it was nothing compared to the pain of losing the one you love.

~

At first, Laina did not know what happened. It was in the middle of the night. She was startled awake by the crash of thunder. Laina jolted up, sitting upright on her bed covered in sweat. She looked out towards the balcony, only to realize it was pouring. 

Then, a sound caught her attention. It was the sound of someone wheezing and grunting in pain. Laina clicked her fingers, lighting up the lamps in the room at once. She got out of bed and cautiously followed the source of the sound. 

“Thorne? Is that… Thorne!” 

He laid on the ground in great agony. He was sweating profusely, clenching his jaw. Though he did not suffer any visible injuries she could see, she knew something was wrong. 

“What’s going on? Talk to me, Thorne! Thorne, can you hear me?”

Just as she reached out her hand to check and see if he was injured, Thorne swiped her hand away. 

“Don’t touch me!” he yelled. 

The moment their hands touched, Laina could feel an electric current surge through her body. She fell back, wincing in agony. 

“Laina! Argh!” Thorne wanted to sit up but another surge of pain coursed through his veins. 

Laina recovered relatively quickly. She went back to his side. 

“What’s going on, Thorne?” she asked, her voice filled with concern. 

“It’s… It’s Dante…The Celestrial Tribulations…it is happening now,” he said through gritted teeth. 

“Now?!” she gasped. 

Due to Thorne’s unique connection with Dante, he must be suffering because of what Dante was going through. Laina clutched the Soulium Locket that he had given her. She could not sit back and see him suffer like this. Not Thorne. Not Dante. 

But what could she do? 

“Is… is there anything I can do to help?” she asked shakily. 

Thorne shook his head as he squinted his eyes closed, “No… no there isn’t. He has to go through this on his own.”

Just as he finished his sentence, another jolt of pain coursed through his veins. Thorne shot up and spat out blood. Laina gasped in shock. She had to do something. Anything. 

She could not sit here and watch him suffer. With tears in her eyes, she wrapped her arms around Thorne. She did not know what else to do. All she could do was hold him. As soon as their bodies made contact, she could feel a fraction of the pain he felt. 

“Laina… you have to let go! I… I cannot let you get hurt,” Thorne pleaded. 

He was barely able to remain conscious. He tried to push her away but Laina refused to budge. She tightened her hug. 

She was never letting go. 

Bright blinding light enveloped both of them.  When Laina opened her eyes, she noticed something was different. For a split second, she realized the person she was hugging was Dante. 

Tears flowed down her cheeks. She could see the countless scars he had littered across his body. She could see the extent of the Love Curse. 

“Dante…Dante…” she called out his name. 

“My sweet moon kiss.”

“I’m here Dante. I’ll be here, every step of the way.” 

The next morning, Thorne woke up.When he tried to sit up, he found himself in Laina’s bed with a towel rag on his forehead. He could barely remember what happened the night before. He turned to his side, only to see Laina still sound asleep next to him.

He carefully got out of bed, hoping not to wake her. But she stirred awake soon enough. She rubbed her eyes as she let out a yawn. 

“Thorne?  Thorne! You’re awake!”  she exclaimed happily with a smile on her face. 

She hugged him without thinking, happy to see he looked well. Thorne froze. Then, a dizzy spell sent his head spinning. Laina quickly helped him to lay back down. 

“You need lots of rest. Lay down,” she instructed. 

“Your Majesty, I-” she stopped him from completing his sentence. 

“Whatever you wish to say, keep it for another time,” she said as she got out of bed and walked over to his side to change the towel rag on his forehead. 

Thorne held onto Laina’s hand. He looked deep into her eyes. For the longest time, he had been conflicted. He was a blood rose, given life to serve his Master’s purpose. Thorne carried Dante’s memories of the past. What Dante did not know, was that he too carried a little of Laina’s memories. 

He understood he love they shared for eachother, as if they were his own. Sometimes, he could not tell if he genuinely loved Laina too, or was it simply because of their memories that exist within him. 

Regardless, he knew one thing was for certain. He wanted to protect Laina at all costs. 

“Master… Dante passed the Celestial Tribulations,” he explained.

Laina lit up at the news. She was happy to hear. 

“But…”he was hesitant to share the next part. 

She could tell from the expression on his face that it was not good news. Still, she had to know. 

“But what?”

“He’s unconscious and has yet to awaken.”