Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 370: Chapter 370: It’s Always Easier to Hate [T30 Bonus Chapters 2/5]

Chapter 370 – It’s Always Easier to Hate [T30 Bonus Chapters 2/5]

The ball of lightning arced high above, then began to fall. But before it even reached Emrys’s hand, it had already turned into a ball of condensed black water.

One second in his hands, and the water shifted to wind. Then he threw the wind ball into the air, and it transformed into lightning, then immediately into water, back to wind, then lightning again, right as it touched his palm.

Over and over.

Emrys Stormblessed kept up the little routine he’d picked up from his master. It had been hard at first, but now it was so effortless he was looking for ways to make it harder.

Still, it was good enough to pass the time while he thought through his next moves.

At that moment, Emrys lay on the couch inside his master’s training room. Teacher Kai wasn’t there — off attending to other matters — though he’d ordered Emrys to train seriously before leaving.

Which wasn’t exactly what the Stormblessed heir was doing, but he couldn’t bring himself to care what his teacher, or anyone else, wanted from him at this point in his life.

After all, he’d spent his past years doing whatever others wanted of him. It was something Emrys had never really questioned; he’d assumed it was simply normal.

Only now did he realize it absolutely wasn’t.

Because now that he’d taken the time to sit and think, things were starting to come together for him.

Anesthesia, for instance, did everything she did because she wanted to, not because her family told her to.

Love was the same. She chased her modeling career harder than her own power progression, because she wanted to, not because it was forced on her.

There were plenty of people around him living life on their own terms. Only he had spent it obeying his family like some gods-damned puppet, incapable of thinking for himself.

Realizing that flipped something inside him, a click that freed him from the shadow his family had always cast over him.

’I’m still grateful for everything they did. I’m still a Stormblessed, and my family, no matter what, still matters to me, still means something. My goal to heal my mother and to grow strong hasn’t changed,’ Emrys thought, as the ball shifted from wind to water and he tossed it upward again. ’I just want to do it my own way now.’

He smiled faintly at the thought, and finally, Theophane — sitting a few meters away in a chair, book in hand — couldn’t hold herself back any longer.

"You’ve changed, Emrys," she said, watching him carefully, like a hunter circling a beast she’d never encountered before.

Emrys, without breaking his little rhythm, answered calmly, "You think so?"

"I do. And I’m not the only one who thinks it," she replied. "Teacher Kai is worried about you."

"He’s not worried. I can tell he’s actually interested."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Emrys glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "These days he’s watching me a bit more seriously. And you, Aunt, you’ve gotten cautious around me."

Theophane suppressed a shudder at his tone. It always unnerved her, in the worst way, watching a calm, reasonable, thoughtful Emrys.

He was already too strong for anyone in this generation, save maybe Cassius. If he was starting to actually think for himself, she’d need to take him more seriously, meaning treat him with the same care she gave Cassius.

The White Seer sighed inwardly, shaking her head. "Cautious, you say?"

"Yes."

"Tell me, nephew, do I have a reason to be cautious around you?"

"No," Emrys answered immediately. "You don’t, Aunt. You’re my mother’s sister, and I see you as someone very important to me. Which is exactly why I keep wondering... why do I sometimes feel your coldness towards me?"

At that, Theophane knew it was time to shift tactics. If her old approach no longer worked, she needed a new one.

And the one weakness she was still certain Emrys carried, even now, was his mother. That wasn’t something that would fade easily.

So,

"You already know why I sometimes feel that way," she replied, narrowing her eyes. "You know, Emrys. I’ve avoided talking about it, so it wouldn’t make things awkward between us, but here we are. Sometimes... sometimes I can’t help but look at you, and remember my sister’s sorry state."

"It’s not—!"

"It’s not your fault, I know," she cut in. "I never said it was. It’s just a thought I can’t seem to shake, an emotion I can’t stop. But I know, Emrys."

Theophane smiled, it was a sweet, gentle, almost motherly smile.

"I know you’ve done nothing wrong. You were simply born as you are. You never chose it."

Emrys stopped playing with his ball, staring at Theophane, his eyes going slightly wide, his heartbeat quickening.

This was only the second time, after Anesthesia, that someone had said something like that to him. And this time it hit even harder, because it came from his own aunt, his mother’s own sister.

Emrys clenched his jaw and turned his head away, his body trembling faintly.

Theophane watched him, and for one brief moment, she saw Emrys as Emrys: a boy born with power, used for it, hated by his own mother because of it.

She saw the lonely boy, abandoned by everyone around him, despite being surrounded by people his whole life.

She saw the boy trying to save a mother who hated him, with nowhere to turn, since everyone around him only wanted to use him, manipulate him, or kill him.

Even herself, she was no different.

Theophane Celeste felt pity for her nephew for the first time, because his situation reminded her too much of the day her sister had abandoned her.

’You left your sister for a man, and now you hate your own son because that man made you hate him. Ah, sister. Évangile... you... you really are the worst of the worst. And yet,’ she bit her lip, bowing her head, ’yet, despite everything, I miss you. I want to see you again. I want to save you. I... I...’

She closed the book, drawing further into herself,

’...I love you more than you deserve. And I hate your son, my own nephew, more than he deserves.’

Because she knew it was all because of the gods. Emrys was, in a way, innocent.

But it was too late for that now.

She’d already chosen to hate, because she needed that hatred. Without it, she’d fall apart, and if she fell apart, she might end up forgiving this whole family.

So she’d keep hating.

Because at this point in her life, hatred was easier than trying to love again. And to love again meant opening herself up again, and opening herself up again meant risking being hurt all over.

Again. And again.

’I’ve had enough of being the one who suffers.’ Her eyes turned cold. ’Now, I want to be the reason someone else does.’

"I, ahem, I’m sorry," Emrys said, shaking his head to clear the lingering sadness. But his smile came back bright and unburdened. "Thank you for saying that. You have no idea, but it means a lot to me. I thought I’d never hear something like that from my own family. Thanks again."

Theophane nodded, smiling back, jaw clenched tight. "Don’t thank me for that. It’s only natural."

"You know, I could help you," Emrys said, smiling freely.

"Help me?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Your little follower, I don’t remember his name, the one Cassius killed during the Entrance Test."

"Omar?" Theophane said.

"If that’s his name, then probably. I don’t bother remembering useless men."

"Useless women, then?"

"Every woman’s useful, in her own way," Emrys said with a grin.

’Guess some habits never change,’ Theophane thought, chuckling, then, "What about him?"

"He’s being held by Head Teacher Sera. With my master’s help, I could get him released for you. You might need him."

"Oh?" she exclaimed, thinking of Seraphim and her striking beauty, her expression darkening as her heartbeat quickened. "I’d love that. It would help me a great deal."

"Then don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it," Emrys replied, and went back to playing with his ball.

Theophane stayed quiet for a couple of seconds before speaking again. "You do know Anesthesia turned down the mission, don’t you? She took one with Prince Raven instead. They left today."

"I know."

"Doesn’t that bother you?"

"It does," Emrys replied, and for a moment his eyes went dead cold, lightning crackling within them, before he steadied himself and regained his calm. "But there’s nothing I can do about it right now. Besides, I’ve received a new mission of my own."

"A mission, where?" Theophane asked, tilting her head.

"In the village of Kaizen, east of Castria City," he replied. "More precisely, in the Nest of Worms."

"Oh? That’s a well-known, well-avoided spot infested with all kinds of dangerous worms. What are you doing there, and when do you leave?"

"For what, huh..." Emrys mused, glancing at the panel in front of him.

[Virgin Goddess of Hunt and Wisdom is looking at you with newly satisfied eyes.]

"I’m going there for a little hunt. And..." he replied, tossing the ball upward. It burst, and the lightning, water, and wind gathered into the shape of a woman holding a bow, a deer standing beside her.

"I’m leaving tomorrow."

—End of Chapter 370—