Chapter 18

"W-What?"

The seconds ticked on, and the words seeped in like a sponge absorbing water. Not even the heat within him could stop his blood from running cold.

"I'm cursed?"

"The armour is a curse," Mothra replied, her antennae drooping in front of her face, "it...is a curse hidden as a blessing,"

"Be it as it may, I do not blame you," She continued, "the extraordinary power it gives is unparalleled to the limit we moths can touch,"

Darthra kept quiet, the energy flaring with anxiety within him.

"but, the cost is far too great-"

"Just...tell me," Darthra interrupted her, his voice a bit shaky, "what's going to happen to me?"

"When one dons the armour, they receive its energy. That is the green glow you hue and ooze," Mothra answered calmly, gazing at the stars in the sky, "however, those who wear it...meet a tragic end,"

"Tragic?"

She shifted on the spot, "Your body cannot handle such energy..."

Mothra breathed in.

"...your body will crumble. Crumble into a large green mist."

Silence floated in between the two, the waves rolling onto the beach the only reminder of where they were.

Then, Mothra heard it.

Laughter.

It came from Darthra beside her.

It was more of a sulk, but she could hear the desperation and hopelessness that seeped into that laughter.

Through the scrambled chuckling, he spoke.

"I'm...supposed to just accept that?" Darthra trembled, his wings shook with his denial, "Are...Are you lying to me? I-Is this some sick joke? Tell me. Tell me it's just a joke,"

His heart sank as Mothra's expression didn't change.

"Why...Why would I ever lie?" She asked, her face softening to his questions, "that would be just awful if I ever did such a thing,"

Fear gripped Darthra's heart as he moved uneasily on the sand, trying not to believe what he just heard.

"I'm going to die? Th-That's it?" His wings lowered, "Is there a way...I can..."

"You poor dear," Mothra spoke, her chest aching, "the second you wore that armour was the moment you signed your life away,"

She moved closer, trying to comfort him.

"That's why...you brought me here," Darthra added, his body boiling to destroy something, "Not for fucking thanks, but to tell me this BULLSHIT!?"

Mothra sighed.

"I was really glad to see you, you know?" She replied, her voice sincere, "And my people needed to know I was not their only ally,"

"..."

"Even when my wings shook when I laid eyes on your appearance, that was not the only thing on my mind," Mothra continued, "but, when the time came, I had to ask you, just in case..."

"You graciously explained it to me as well!" Darthra added, frustrated over his situation, "I bet you could talk for hours on how I'll disintegrate, and by then maybe I will-"

He paused. Darthra could feel something heavy pushing him down.

"When will I...d-die?" He choked. No one would've expected themselves to ask such a question, especially Darthra, "I...don't want to...die..."

"I'm not sure," Mothra answered grimly, "but, once the energy reaches its breaking point, you may show signs of heightened emotions, heat, and random but sharp pains."

Darthra's heart dropped as if it had its rope cut, and it plummeted to the neverending bottom of his chest.

By his account, he experienced all three.

"No," He mumbled, slamming a wing onto the sand, "I..."

"FUCK!"

He turned to Mothra.

"I...I'm sorry," Darthra spoke, his eyes almost hollow, "please, can you...leave me?"

For a moment, she stared back, despite showing some disagreement, Mothra understood his intentions.

"It is I who is sorry, my kin," She said, slowly flapping her wings, "if only we moths were not fragile nor prone to death...if only our lives were not so disastrous..."

Mothra flew away, presumably to the ongoing party.

To describe Darthra, he was stuck in a lake of tar.

He couldn't move, not because he was stuck, but because of the ongoing emotions that bombarded him like an endless orchestra of cannons and fire.

Some thoughts slipped in too.

'I'm dreaming, I ain't gonna die,' He thought, his antennae dropping, 'Oh my word, I'm worrying over nothing, that's right! I'm worrying...over...'

A cutting sting sliced at his chest, paralysing him for a second.

'No,' He shook his big head, flinging sand around, 'I'm not going to die, I ain't Heisei Godzilla. I won't meltdown,'

'I'm not David Martinez, and I am not Joe Yabuki,' Darthra thought, his body shivering, 'I want to live, I don't want my life to end like this, for it to end in a slow-motion train crash,'

His wings lowered themselves to the ground.

'I failed again...' Darthra sighed, his cracks gleaming, 'I left my cracks open...no, that's not what Anguirus meant! This is too literal,'

In his distress, Darthra fired a bolt of green into the sky.

"Fucking trash," He told himself, "You're a piece of shit..."

"You're useless,"

"A waste of space and oxygen,"

"It was right that you died..."

"You FAILURE!"

Darthra heaved, his body heating up.

'I can't change anything,' He inhaled deeply, 'I wish I had more time to impress....'

At the thought, his mind went to work, and Darthra slowly chuckled.

He laughed quietly and almost crazily for a minute.

'Who am I trying to impress?' Darthra thought humorously, 'I'm such an idiot,'

He walked forward, the waves stretching to touch him.

'Insanity,' He pondered, 'To do the same thing over and over and over again, expecting something to change...'

'I'm insane,'

Darthra let out a massive sigh, feeling some of his worry disappear.

'I did this for people who don't exist anymore,' He turned, 'I...still tried to impress those who think I'm dead,'

Darthra slowly walked across the beach, his green cracks lighting the way.

'I should try and please myself, rather than trying to please others,' He stopped, 'wait...'

'Didn't I have a dream?'

Darthra faced the inland.

'Oh my word,' He thought, 'I did.'

As he realised his long-forgotten dream, Darthra noticed the rising sun on the horizon.

Did time fly that quickly?

He was not sure.

But what Darthra was sure of, was his dream.

'I may not be that kaiju, but I can still carry out that dream,' He watched as the sun peeked into view, lighting up his surroundings, 'not as Darthra, but as Dominic,'

Another pain rebounded inside his body, crippling Darthra for a moment.

'I don't have time to worry about my past failures, nor do I have time to sulk about my fate,' Relief began to shine its light onto his fur, much like the morning sun, 'I'll do everything in the present, everything I can,'

He laughed.

'This energy...brimming within me, like a boiling volcano,' The spot on his chest pulsed, 'I'll use all of it,'

Darthra screeched.

'I'll do what makes me happy,' His wings, injected with life, began to whip through the air, sand blowing far into the distance, 'No more will I be Darthra, a moth. I'll finish this as Dominic, that human with a dream,'

As he sprang into the air, Darthra flew inland, trying to find Mothra.

'I suppose I'll take some inspiration,' He thought, flying over trees, 'I'll go over the edge, and burn brightly...'

"Burn. Burn until there's nothing left...but pure, white ash."