Tomorrow, it had always been…. tomorrow.

The first thing Chanyeol could ever remember was the deep, ever lasting voice calling for him.

“Come!”

It still rang in his ears, ever since the first seal of the book had been broken and he was released into the world. He knew about his three comrades that had followed, knew about the destruction that was his faith.
He knew humans to be despicable, a failure of a race, judged to be punished with nothing less but death. Chances too many, the earth has to finally be wiped from the realm that god had created, for it was a mistake that even god himself had acknowledged.
It was not Chanyeol’s place to judge about this god’s mistake, although he must admit there was failure and blemishes all over. His sole existence was proof of that.

As the first horseman of the apocalypse, it was him that led the final destruction onto earth. “Come!” Would it echo in his ears as he roamed the planet he was ought to destroy. Bow and arrow on his back, it was the sheer curiosity of a dark creature like him, that led him to explore earth. Each horsemen would be given some time to carry out their task. The destruction of a whole world wouldn’t get second chances. God had acknowledged his flaws already, so Chanyeol’s duty needed to be carried out with precision. He would have to find the perfect target for his arrow to strike. It was only then, that his three comrades could follow and implement their purpose. But for now, it was only Chanyeol and his white horse.

He spent his days roaming around the lands to find the perfect aim. He would come across ghost towns and cities, but also some places still inhabited by humans, albeit they seemed like only hollow versions of what humanity used to be. The world had been a dark place for such a long time now, human made destruction scarring the earth until it was all grey. His distaste for humans never ceased throughout his journey, for their behavior was grim and cruel and something made solely for hell. A place where most of them would find themselves in soon, Chanyeol always thought.
With every town he crossed, with every meter he wandered on his horse, his mind was blooming with the desire to end the abomination that was this planet. Chanyeol longed to see it cease. So there were no ill feelings when he would navigate through a town, submerging it in the unsettling reality of the apocalypse that was about to be conceived, leaving every living being to be timorous

It was when he, supposedly, obtained what he had seeked, that Chanyeol’s mind, set on starting the destruction of the world, started to wander.

The day had been gloomy, Chanyeol using it to ride around the wideness of dead fields that haven’t seen a successful harvest in almost a decade. Dead and dried out blades of grass moving with the wind, being powerless to its force. It got stronger everyday. The world knowing it was counting its last days. Yet Chanyeol knew it would not happen until he carried out his mission.
The world was ending, it was as clear as day. But the days would become grayer and grayer, on their way to morph with the night. Dark clouds would mix in with stars. It was not bright enough to showcase the lightweight beauty of the whiffs, but also not dark enough for the stars to shine in all their gloryness. A quite ugly sight.

The sun was setting, at this point the golden ball nothing more than a faded, ugly shade of yellow. The world was not pleasant anymore. But it was this moment when Chanyeol would see a figure marching over the dead fields, looking around as if there was anything for him left to pick. Fog was enveloping Chanyeol, a natural occurrence whenever a human was in his presence, to conceal himself. It would not make him invisible, but most humans never bothered to look to look too closely, for his sheer presence was confounding. Yet with this particular human, Chanyeol wanted to be seen, so he moved closer. The fog around him listened to his will, still present, but the closer he came, the more perceptible he was.

It was a young man, still a boy almost, he guessed. Kneeling down onto the dried out ground, dirty hands digging into the soil, trying to find something, anything. He seemed small as he was hunched over his spot, a pathetic mirror image of what humanity was at this point.
Yet, there just was something looming over him, something not to be seen by vision, but Chanyeol still felt enchanted.

Since the sun was only left to be a bland round shape on the sky, there was not much sunlight and without much sunlight, shade was not a common occurrence anymore. Everything was just a dull concoction of what this earth used to be. So for the human on his knees to be submerged into the darkness of a shadow was something anomalous. The dirty hands stilled and the human turned his head.

Beauty among this world was hard to locate at this point, but Chanyeol was sure he had found everything that was left on this planet. It came with messy brown hair, tired eyes and a sickly, ashen toned face.
The boy squinted his eyes, momentarily confused at the tall figure sitting atop a majestically presented horse. He crooked his head, probably wondering how an animal could look this healthy, a person sitting so gracefully on it. But then he turned his head again, away from him, voice barely audible with how the wind was getting louder.

The boy had just walked away that day and Chanyeol had stood there and watched.
„I have nothing you could take, don’t waste your energy.“, he had said.
Voice so drained of hope, it immediately made Chanyeol fall.

Baekhyun had long been ready, the world had never been a desirable place for him. It had welcomed him with plagues, famine and sickness that had taken everything from him. He faintly remembered family and friends, but they were long gone. There was no one anymore, he was left to wander around, sleep in abandoned sheds and hope for the next day to harbor a meal.
Knowing the last days of the world were approaching, it was more curiosity than the actual will to live. There was just something about being witness to the greatest happening in humanity, the unpreventable end. He wondered how it would come about.
At first he did not know that he had the answer right beside him. The strange man with the greyish hair on the horse was not leaving his side. He was never doing anything, never talking, never approaching. Just watching.

Originally, the route Chanyeol had planned on taking differed greatly from where he was going now, but something inside of him would only led his horse to follow the small boy. It was not even exciting, chasing behind this pitiful lad on a desperate hunt to survive. He would watch him comb through the abandoned fields one by one, would occasionally find something that he could eat. Would watch the boy drink from dying ponds and puddles. Sometimes he would watch the boy climb on rocks or little hills, could see him giving thoughts to just using the height for a salvation that nothing on this earth could give him anymore. But for some reason the boy would always climb down again, his search fruitless most of the times.

Fruitless were also Chanyeol’s attempt to get closer to the human, not like he would do anything to initiate any kind of interaction. Actually, most of the time he would be gone anyways, still occupied by his mission, he would never wander too far off so he could always go back to the young man. Watch every exhausted step he made towards his own misery.

The human would never acknowledge him, he never ever batted an eyelash at his out of this world appearance, at the constant fog that would surround them. He would catch his eyes linger onto his horse a couple of times though. Chanyeol wasn’t sure what it meant, it confused him greatly, but he at last he figured the imposing height of the animal and the long white man was something impressive for him.
Chanyeol did not get any of that though, the most he would do was scowl at his silent companion that would follow him around. Would watch him sleep at night. Chanyeol was not human. He needed no sleep, no food, no water, no rest. He had no needs.

Yet the cavalier would find himself longing for something peculiar every night when he was watching the boy sleep. The permanent scowl on his face replaced with an almost peaceful expression on his face when he drifted into sleep.

He would hear him speak only one sentences every night.
“I am Baekhyun.”, uttered, solely for the boy so he would never forget his name.

It was the only words he would ever say, every night before he fell asleep on the dried grass and the hard soil. So Baekhyun was his name, spoken with the voice that seemed to be made for angels, soft yet deep. Weak but still so strong.

It was probably this strength that made Baekhyun ignore him so much, ignore the death that was following him.

It was one fateful night, a mistake perhaps, where Baekhyun had given in and would finally acknowledge him into his world.
Chanyeol’s horse was actually what he was curious about. With his white fur, standing tall and proud, looking so unbelievably healthy and kept, it stood out like a sore thumb in their dull surroundings. He did not care much for the tall man sitting on it at first, for he was just another person that he saw throughout his life. He looked a bit different though, both so wild and sophisticated. With the horse and the armor like attire, it was torn to shreds on some ends but still looked strong as ever, ready to protect his wearer at any given moment despite its battles that it must have endured already. Baekhyun assumed he was a deserted soldier for whatever war that was still going on. Humanity never stopped their cruel behavior, he thought, even when facing the end. Morality seem to drop lower with every passing day.
Maybe it was a day where Baekhyun felt weak, where the heft of this dark world would weigh his shoulders down and, he could not remember exactly. But it was this one day, day and night only hardly making a difference so his body felt restless and alone. It was cold and there was no one and nothing. Not even a thought left in his head to sooth his mind.

The animal seemed so peaceful, soft, so Baekhyun moved on its own. Hand reaching out to touch the soft mane, combing his hands through it and the horse would move its head, not bothered by the small, dirty hand touching him. Chanyeol crooked his head as he looked down, watched as this human touched his sacred companion. This creature that was meant for destruction, was meant to be a symbol of the apocalypse, was here to be Baekhyun’s comfort when he was close to falling apart into shambles. It was ironic, yet Chanyeol couldn’t bring himself to laugh. Instead, he watched the childlike innocence, that was so rare to see nowadays, consume the small boy. At the end, he would even look up and it was the first time he would look at him. Really look at him, those dull eyes pulling onto Chanyeol’s mind. It was the firsts time that the man realized what was happening.

With the first barrier broken down, Baekhyun would sometimes offer his hand, covered with a couple of grains, ready for the animal to be taken. The horses didn’t need food, but Baekhyun did not care. The wet sensation of the animal up the grains enough to spark this little glimmer in his eyes, something that Chanyeol found to be addicting. It was the contact with another living being, one that couldn’t be as cruel as humans were, that seemed to be so dear to Baekhyun, even making him accept Chanyeol’s presence. He would still not speak to him.

The second time was when Chanyeol had found the boy stumbling midst the fields when the rain was crashing down on him, hailstones almost as big as his fist were thrown onto the earth, as if to finally wipe humanity from it’s ground. It made Chanyeol painfully aware of his duty, but he ignored it in favor of moving towards the boy. Drained off almost every energy left, he stumbled onto his knees, the stones hitting him, bruising his skin but his cries were left unheard, for the thunder concealing every other sound there could be. The small boy was already too exhausted to find a safe shelter, not that there was any to begin with.

The horsemen’s animals were sacred, only reserved for the equestrians themselves and no one else. But at this moment, Chanyeol found nothing to be sacred anymore, for his infatuation with the small human became a sin almost as big as humanity itself. So in an act of foolishness, he had scooped up the bruised boy, barely conscious and more dead than alive. Drained so heavily of life and nutritions it was easy for Chanyeol to pick him up. His body could not support itself any longer, so he needed Chanyeol’s broad chest to provide support as he leaned against it, the man holding the reins tightly, making sure his body acted as a shield for the small human.

Chanyeol was neither human nor god, for sure not an angel. His body was just a shell, a manifestation of the apocalypse, he was not one to decide about the end of the world, he was the end of the world. Whatever happened on earth was not for him, so the hailstones and the rain would hit against his skin, but there was no impact or sensation for Chanyeol to be felt. It made for the perfect protection of the small boy, so he continued to lean over him, strong arm wrapped around a malnourished waist.

Fog surrounding them, the horseman gave a go, his four legged companion galloping over the dead fields right were Chanyeol remembered there to be a small shed. Thunder crushing behind him, lightnings striking over his head and rain attempting to soak his holy garments in that of common rainwater, he arrived after what seemed to be like an hour. His body unharmed, his clothes dry. Baekhyun, however, was drenched in water, body bruised and freezing up to the point where his lips would tint into a blueish color.

The land was said to be unfit for an equestrian like Chanyeol to put a foot on, for the dirty human ground would only offend him. But the tall man didn’t care, for when his horse came to a halt in front of the wooden shed, the animal uncaring to the storm that would roar around him, it had no effect on him either way.

The barrack seemed to be abandoned for quite some time, but there was still furniture to use, even a bed with a mattress that seemed to be unaffected by the storm. It was still cold, he knew Baekhyun would not make it if he did not warm up soon.
Chanyeol’s body was not affected by the outside world, his temperature did not drop so he figured he was the only way the boy had a chance to survive. Thought crude, the equestrian let out a dry chuckle upon remembering his mission and how fruitless his attempt to save Baekhyun would be in the long run. But nevertheless, he found himself lying inside the small bed just seconds later, long arm wrapped around the thin, now undressed, body. His skin was wet, Chanyeol noticed it, although it had no effect on him, thus all he was left to do was watch the droplets melting down his skin. Bow and quiver with his arrows abandoned next to the bed, probably one of the most offensive act he could ever perpetrate.
The thunder outside loud and distracting, yet all Chanyeol could do was watch the exhausted boy. He was painfully aware of what the pull towards the small human meant, but he chose to ignore it in favor of savoring the moment when there was finally movement from within the frozen limbs.

“Is it time?” He asked, quietly but not even the roaring thunder could conceal his angelic voice.
“To die? Will you take me?” Baekhyun’s eyes fluttered open, meeting Chanyeol’s surprised orbs.
Even amidst the destruction of this world, humanity was still selfish, it was all about surviving longer than the other, even if it was just mere minutes. So Baekhyun’s calm delivery of his question surprised him.

“You should sleep.” Chanyeol replied, watching Baekhyun’s eyes widen for a split second upon hearing the man’s voice for the first time. Deep yet soft, something so out of this world. Baekhyun fell back asleep.

It became a routine even after Baekhyun had long recovered. Chanyeol would be gone for a while only to come back to the shed, that had now become Baekhyun’s home, and then lay down with him.

Baekhyun wanted to deny it so badly, but Chanyeol’s body against his seemed to be everything he needed. The man liked to hold him, have Baekhyun pressed against his chest for him to listen to a heartbeat that did not exist.
Their relationship was seldom to say the least. Baekhyun never questioned anything. Never questioned where Chanyeol came from and where he would go when he left. There was nothing he needed to know.

They barely talked, there was nothing in this world to say. They shared kisses and touches as the only way of communicating. Baekhyun liked to stand outside of the small wooden housing, liked to watch Chanyeol approach. Watch him sit atop of his white, big horse, fog surrounding them like a cloud. If the sun had shown itself that day, it would be gone the moment Chanyeol would enter the scene. Wherever he went, the setting would become gloomy, everything fading into a dull mix of greys.

Baekhyun would watch the imposing bow on Chanyeol’s broad back, the intriguing lines on his quiver, picturing the doom that was approaching. The human hadn’t seen another human in months, he liked to avoid them, but he was sure no human in this planet could look like Chanyeol. Even with all the misery the equestrian carried, it would probably never match humanity’s. It was impressive, really.

He would be easy to strike with his arrow, Chanyeol thought, every time he approached him. The figure small, but there was nothing that could distract him from his aim. The world was already dead, only humanity was left.

By now, Chanyeol knew that time was running out for him. And Baekhyun. The man knew that his duty needed to be fulfilled, otherwise he would await punishment from god. But Chanyeol saw no greater punishment than what he was destined to do.

Just one more day, Chanyeol would always tell himself when he got off his horse, Baekhyun claiming he did not hear as he embraced the tall figure. The man was of imposing height, robe almost a distorted masterpiece, so different from what the human world knew.
Yet Baekhyun had never questioned it at any point. It took awhile for him to realize, but by now he knew who Chanyeol was, what Chanyeol was. He now understood Chanyeol’s role in this. he knew what he was going to do. And he was waiting. There was a prophecy that was awaiting to be fulfilled.

And waiting he would, the days would pass, the world around him shatter, but it did not end.

For someone like Baekhyun, that had always waited for the end, it came with irritation. Every passing day he would observe Chanyeol, waiting for the man to tension the bow that was secured on his back. He waited for those deadly arrows to hit his target and finally, finally, initiate the end of the world.
But the day where he did it never came. Baekhyun’s eyes were always soulless, but it actually drove him mad.
Most days, the gruesome reality could be shoved away behind the fog Chanyeol usually carried within himself wherever he went. Baekhyun was able to forget about the misery that was life, but it was one particular day.
The small human had wandered around aimlessly, farer than usual, with Chanyeol being his silent company. Baekhyun’s stomach had rumbled extra loud that day so it seemed unsurprising that his eyes lit up momentarily as he spotted a lonely apple hanging onto a malnourished tree. Like a prize, sitting almost in the crown of the pathetic sapling. Baekhyun fastened his steps, the dull red of the apple still enough to stand out among the grey surrounding them. Chanyeol followed the human with his gaze, watching as he extended his arm and raised onto his toes.
A sigh escaped Baekhyun’s lips upon noticing that it sat too high for him to reach.
Baekhyun, as he was stretching and reaching, suddenly felt like crying for the first time in years. Was this what life was supposed to be? A world that had nothing to offer anymore? A life that was worth living out of reach?
When was it over?

Chanyeol gave him the answer, as he approached the boy and the rotten tree, his height and position on his horse making it easy for him to grasp the branch and lower it. The apple now right in front of him, only for Baekhyun to take. Once again, Chanyeol had extended his existence on this godless world. For one more day.

The bland red of the apple that had looked so enticing just mere seconds ago, was now mocking him, serving as the saddest metaphor there could be.

Baekhyun gritted his teeth as he looked up at Chanyeol. No matter how many times they kissed, no matter how many times they touched, no matter how good their bodies would feel against each other, Baekhyun had enough.

“Why.” He asked, tired. Chanyeol crooked his head.
“Why are you such a coward? Do you want me to continue like this?” The human asked, anger rising inside of him as he picked the apple. The desire to devour it long gone.

“All I do is wait. All I do is wait for it to be over. But you keep… coming.”

Baekhyun felt like a coward himself for embracing the equestrian, this creation of god. He felt like a hypocrite because he as tolerating the man that was here to disclose the apocalypse. If it wasn’t for him, for Chanyeol’s attachment towards him, all the suffering would be gone by now, because humanity would be gone.

Baekhyun knew, he was the target Chanyeol needed strike but couldn't.

“Just ing do it, there is nothing left in this forsaken world.”

Spreading his arms like a bird ready to take off, Baekhyun waited. Apple still in his hand and Chanyeol just watched. This time, there was pain in his chest, he was not aware of his ability to feel pain.

He had not expected for this task to feel like dying himself. When he raised his hand, gathering one of the silver arrows in his quiver, his chest stinged. Suddenly, the arrow laid heavy in his calloused hands.
Chanyeol did not expect to look gracious at all as he docked the arrow against the chord. He tightened his hold, silver string taut against the sacred material.
His aim was perfect, of course, it was what he was made for. So he knew he would not be able to miss. Baekhyun did not feared what was about to welcome him. It was the opposite, his mind already picturing how the apple would fall from his lifeless hand and shatter onto the ground that would start breaking in the same moment. He could not wait for the moment they could finally be free. He and Chanyeol. Baekhyun closed his eyes.

It was the peaceful expression on Baekhyun’s face, that hurt the most. The horseman stilled, silently observing the soft features of the human that was the sole reason the days in this world were still passing.
The sickly face that was surprisingly soft. His hollow cheeks that he had seen getting fuller when he smiled. Those rosy lips that had the biggest impact on his body anything could have when they met his.

When the messiah had broken the seal of the first book for Chanyeol to be released, shouting the words, Come!, he had probably be not been aware of the final mistake god had brought up on this world. The was something greater than the doom of this world, the apocalypse Chanyeol was said to be bringing onto this world. The messiah had not taken into account that Chanyeol could fall deeply in love.

The world could not end yet.

Chanyeol lowered his bow, like the coward he was. One more day, he would tell himself. A lie.