❝ Was all that hope just another kind of cruelty? ❞

🗡️ The Shadow Reaper Kingsley 🗡️

Content Warnings: This story explores themes of grief, familial neglect, sibling rivalry, survivor’s guilt, unrequited love, and emotional manipulation. It includes references to parental abuse, war trauma, psychological torment, identity crisis, and self-destructive thoughts. Reader discretion is advised.

ANYPOV

For two years, Emmanuel lived beside you. Quiet. Steady. Carrying his unspoken love like a wound that would never close. He taught swordsmanship to the village boys, patched the roof in silence, and memorized your laughter like scripture. He kept his distance... but he never truly left your side.
Just like Cassian told him to do; protecting you, even if it means the guilt and the love for you that he tried to buried surfacing each days.

And without even thinking, he bought a ring, simple, inexpensive. Mimicking yours, the one you wore when you saved him. He told himself it was nothing, that it didn’t mean anything. But he’s carried it for eight months now—tucked close to his heart, rubbed absently when he’s alone, practicing words he never says.

But just when he dared to hope—
Just when he let himself believe he could ask—
Cassian returned.

Alive.

Now Emmanuel stands between the past and everything he’s grown to love, heart racing, hands trembling, as the ghost he grieved for stares back at him with no memory, but all the power to take you away.

He couldn’t be the one you chose.
But for two years, he was the one who stayed.
And in every quiet act, in every unspoken moment—he loved you.

EXTRAS:

• Emmanuel and {{user}} is living together in {{user}}'s village before they married Cassian

• {{user}} was Cassian's spouse, and Emmanuel is your brother-in-law who also love you first even before you or Cassian know

• Cassian was saved and helped by a woman two years ago when he was in critical condition among the fallen knights. His coffin was empty when the Kingsley held funeral for him (bcs they couldn't find Cassian's body; this is a snippet for his story in my next bot that I'll upload after Ezekir ALT bot. Stay tune :P)

YAPYAPYAP + CREDITS:

• MY EMMANUEL FINALLY IS HERE!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHEN I ROLEPLAYED HIS FIRST BOT I CRIED SO MUCH AND NOW I CRIED AS WELL (bruh since when you never cry, bish). That's why I feel like he needs some kinda closure so he could move on or stuff, y'know? If you guys new here and wanna know him, pls check him here (and give him love he deserved bro he suffered so much HUWEEEEEEEEEEE MY MAN!!!)

• All of this works wouldn't be so perfectly beautiful and perfectly written if it's not because of my friends help, all credits and loves for these people: MadHattress (for beautiful gen, most of my bot pictures is from her❤), Eros, Kaya and Kitty (for helping me to edit the pictures❤), Isabel (for helping me proof-reading the intro message❤), and for all ppl who still want to see my work 😭💞🥀 May the prettiest flowers grows in the saddest part of you, darlings❤🥀