[ Two halves of an arch, bowed in support of one another. That was how Liem had described 'friendship'; it was not that he did not comprehend such things, for between he and Isis had been a long, devoted companionship that he had imagined stronger than any force in the world. A bond of their choosing, different from that of marriage. Something more like what Ra had described, when she had claimed that goddesses had been made with the right to choose among gods again and again, unhindered by marital bonds. By human shackles and chains.

His hand fits into Liem's, when taken. Smooth fingers pressing across his palm, gathered so gently. ]

Of course I would have. Like you, he matters to me beyond the trappings of faction and victory.

[ Like Rudbeckia, goes unsaid but equally obvious. He devotes himself to guarding her from the battle she wants no part of, and she rests with Meridian because that is where Set is. Even Liem, had he remained with Zenith, would have been mourned but accepted; some people were just worth more than the side they found themselves on. And Set had always been a traveler of far, foreign lands and people. Always sought understanding, even among those who would become his enemies or were immediately antagonistic to him.

It hurts, to think that Gen could drift further from him, and it wasn't even his fault. ]

I sent him there, where he wanted to be. Whatever happened to him, he thinks he is only worth ending. I think he is so painful, Liem. You are painful too, in another way that wants me to be close to you. I am a god, and one of the only ones. I have to feel the weight of your lives once again, and love you in secret.

[ He says it, like he's been punched in the stomach. ]