Chapter Text
Mercury faced outwards, letting the Sun’s heat burn his back rather than his face. The Sun had grown hotter than ever, larger too. Everytime Mercury tried to even look at the Sun, the blinding light of being so close immediately burned through his retinas. He could feel the swells and welts that had planted their seeds and taken growth on his body from the sheer heat and radiation being emitted by the star. Even the slightest bit of movement ignited a strong whiplash of searing pain on every inch of his body.
The star refused to even look at him anymore, always facing away to stare off into the distance. He seemed to accept his fate, or maybe he just didn’t care. Either way, it made no difference for Mercury. Occasionally, the planets would try to visit him but the heat was far too great. Mercury couldn’t leave his orbit either, over the billions of years Mercury had spent within his orbit, he seemed to be stuck in it. Or maybe it was just the universe telling him there’s no way to escape fate.
Secluded in his orbit, he had nothing better to do other than spend the rest of his days moping and thinking. He tried to sleep, but the constant blinding light and scorching heat made it nearly impossible to drift into the sweet bliss of unconsciousness. Due to his elliptical orbit, he was provided with momentary breaks from the pain. However, this just made the closer side of his orbit that much more agonizing.
He knew it was only a matter of time before the Sun’s flames would engulf him as the speed of expansion only increased. As the Sun’s size increased, Mercury’s size decreased, as the radiation and heat made his surface and skin peel and break away. To say it was painful would be an understatement.
The only good thing was the fact Venus couldn’t pick on him anymore. The heat was, “just too much” for him. Mercury laughed at him, and the only reason Venus didn’t throw an asteroid at him was probably because he would split apart with how dry and brittle his surface was.
He missed Luna. Luna seemed to be the only one who ever happily carried a conversation with him. Especially since they both loved collecting SolarCards. But now he is gone, and the SolarCards had long been lost and burnt up into a crisp.
Mercury would’ve teared up if it weren’t for the fact every time he tried to, his tears would immediately evaporate into space.
He was stuck, alone, small, in pain, and couldn’t even cry.
By now, talking had gotten difficult too. When he tried to speak his throat would close up and burn as if he were about to cough up an entire fireball from his lungs. Everything hurts. Both mentally and physically.
Mercury half-wished his ultimate demise would come quicker, so he wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. Even Pluto had come by to say his final goodbyes, though he tried fruitlessly to try to hide it saying he “just wanted to hang out like the good times!”
Even if Pluto was unfathomly far away from him, he still considered him a friend. The thought alone made his heart squeeze.
Mercury sighed, closing his eyes as he let the still increasing heat envelop him. At first it was painful, he could feel his core shaking, breaking apart as his surface ruptured, degloving and ripping away from his body.
Though, eventually, it was a comfortable warmth. Surrounding him as earthlings used to describe a winter fireplace heating up a house. It was a pleasant feeling, especially compared to what he was feeling just a moment before. Images of his friends flashed in front of his eyes, first Venus, then Earth, then everyone else in the solar system. His eyes began to become sore as all the moisture was being sucked out of them, causing them to slowly shrivel up along with the rest of his body.
As his vision faded in and out, he breathed his last breath and laughed his last, hoarse laugh as he succumbed to his fate.