Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 422: Chapter 422: Hey, I am here [T30 Bonus Chapters 1/7]

Chapter 422 – Hey, I am here [T30 Bonus Chapters 1/7]

[You missed, Emrys.] Artemis said with a flat, teaching tone, looking at the dead body of the monster still hanging.

The hellhound had the whole of its chest burst away, leaving a gaping hole, its blood gushing down so much that the whole golden pillar was soaked in it.

’Guess so.’ Emrys replied, looking at his bow, ’I was targeting the head, but I failed to control my aim when the arrow got too powerful.’

[What could you have done to avoid missing a stationary target, Emrys?] the Virgin Goddess pushed her Blessed further. And the Chosen One did what he was supposed to do: think.

He began to reflect about the use of his blessing, and slowly, as he felt it deactivating because the strain of using it was strangely high, ’I think I could have done better if I had lowered the strength of the arrow. Or instead of making it all powerful, just made the tip of the arrow a concentration of power. That would have been enough to give me enough aim accuracy and the strength to blast its head.’

Artemis smiled, her eyes glimmering, [Exactly. You don’t need to always do more than necessary, Emrys.]

’I wanted to impress Naia, Artemis.’

[I know. But don’t do it at the expense of losing control. This is what I want you to get into your head.] her voice hardened, [You can do everything you want as long as you are not turning into a fool. That’s my bottom line.]

Emrys nodded, just in time for his Blessing to deactivate on its own. Then he frowned, looking around him...and noticed that nothing in the ice room had changed at all.

Despite the strength he had used and the black fire of the beast...not a single scratch could be seen. It was as if the ice world refused to be scarred by memories of the battle.

To add, he had ignored it since the beginning, but his own power was oddly suppressed. Not very much, but enough for him to feel it.

’And since when does my Blessing deactivate on its own?’ He frowned deeper, looking around, and his eyes landed on the throne of Ice the Hellhound had been...protecting, maybe?

Behind the throne, on the wall, were the heads of all the women — all the sacrifices were women, for some reason — lined up in a way that felt a bit too deliberate.

’What is this ice?’ He crouched down, inspecting more seriously this ice, and saw some strange patterns. ’What in the world is this place?’

Emrys became so focused that he had forgotten about Naia, whose eyes were wide open.

Witnessing, and looking at the dead corpse of the monster she had called god felt like growing up and realizing that the fairytales your mother had been telling you were lies.

And that feeling of loss was as if everything she had believed until now was nothing but constructed lies aimed to trap her into a bubble.

And those lies had reached such a height that now, with eyes still gawking at the monster, she was wondering if her own self was not made by lies.

What did she believe in? What kind of foods did she like? What kind of activities did she want to do? What kind of life did she want to live?

Suddenly, everything was blurry, foggy and smoky.

The past had become nonexistent to her mind, as if nothing true and meaningful had ever happened, except, maybe, the love she had for her mother and sister.

A love that was now memories. And memories have this habit to hurt in a way nothing else could.

This time, Emrys didn’t stop her in time. This time, Naia fell on the ground, her knees crashing down on the ice, making her bones rattle, and heart pulse in pain.

She kneeled not because she was afraid of a god like minutes ago. But because the death of the god meant the death of the Naia Au Folkcat that had existed until then.

The future looked empty and filled with uncertainties, and her mind couldn’t bear the weight of them.

"Ah...ah..." Naia gasped, breathless.

Her sudden fall, however, snapped Emrys back to the situation, making him remember that he had a beautiful woman with him.

Momentarily, he pushed aside this strange and dreadful ice and whirled his attention on the woman.

"What is going on?" He asked, approaching her, crouched down, holding her arms, "Hey? What is happening with you?"

"I...don’t know. I don’t know." Naia said, looking at him with tears in her beautiful yellow eyes, "I am just lost Emrys. I do not know what to do. I have lived my life knowing that I will die by being a sacrifice to the god who protects us. That I will find my family in Eden, and be happy with them forever. But this...this is all lies!"

Naia suddenly shouted, sobbing, her face soaked, "All lies! This is not a god! And if we die, nothing happens! We just die! I won’t meet my mother again! I won’t meet my sister again! They all died by being lied to! They have lived their whole lives in lies!"

She held Emrys tightly to seek warmth because of the cursed coldness, but also because he was the only being she could turn to at that instant.

She hugged him, hugged him in the way a son hugged his father on his deathbed, knowing that letting go meant never to touch him again.

"I don’t know what to do. I just don’t."

Emrys listened to it all, staying silent. He was not the type to know what to say when someone was sad.

He had never learned anything like that because his whole life had been training and obeying orders.

But at that instant, seeing someone so pitifully innocent depending on him, needing him, he felt this urge to say something. To say one sentence, or maybe a word to appease her.

Yet nothing came.

His mind was blank like the world of frost around him, and all that coursed inside it was the fact she was beautiful, and everything would be okay.

For a moment, he wondered if this was why Love left him. Or even Thesia. Maybe because he never knew how to be there with them, despite being with them.

That sudden realization made him aware that he had been acting with them the same way his family had done to him: take what he wanted, without caring about what they wanted.

[I need you to be better, Emrys Stormblessed. Better than him, you see. Don’t disappoint me, don’t disappoint us.]

These were the words he had dreamed about one day, said by a flaming white bird.

Maybe that bird was talking about strength. But Emrys had learned another way to be better lately, by observing Cassius Desdemona.

So he hugged Naia tenderly, and used his lightning to soothe the coldness in her body. Then caressing her hair, he whispered:

"I am sorry, I struggle with words as I have never found them useful when power resolved everything." He said honestly, "I don’t know what to say to you that could help you at this point, or even what you need to hear. But hey, I am here."

His body began to crackle with lightning, and the whole ice room began to shake as Emrys, for the first time in a while, showed the true power of his lightning.

In a freaking instant, the whole ice room was bathed in lightning, and that lightning began to be shaped into a girl, a girl who looked eerily like Naia. But that lightning girl was not crying...she was smiling.

"I am here." Emrys repeated, "And I might not be good with words, but look upon this earth and try to find someone at my age stronger than me. It’s impossible. And give me 5 years, and no one under the heavens will be my equal, no matter the ages. Then give me another 10 years, and the Sky will be mine to command." He smiled, "I am not saying all of this to boast, Naia."

He broke the hug, and looked at her with seriousness, seeing she was calming down,

"I am telling you this because it’s a fact. I am Emrys Stormblessed. I am strong, and nothing will happen to you as long as I am here. That, at least, I can promise you. And besides,"

He grinned.

"I think I need a teacher in Jola. I will lose my ability to speak it in less than a day. We might need to learn Sign language to communicate then."

Then he tried to do some signs, and it was catastrophic. But Naia smiled, then chuckled and giggled, before laughing.

Emrys saw this, his heart warming, and looked at the lightning smiling woman he had created, and cocked his head, "Hm. Your smile is so beautiful my skill had failed to capture it. That’s supposed to be impossible."

"Because you are Emrys Stormblessed?" Naia said with a giggle, face still teary, but her heart oddly at ease, looking at this insane man.

Emrys smiled at her words, then shrugged, "Yes indeed." He closed his fist, and all the lightning disappeared, "you learn fast. Good, Good!"

Next he stood up, stretched a hand towards Naia, "If you have one last thing to say to your family, it’s the time. If not, we better get out of here fast."

He frowned next, looking around the room.

"Something about this ice makes my skin crawl." He breathed, "translation: it’s very dangerous."

He grabbed her hand and lifted her up, "So let’s go. We have the kingdom, or Death’s Gate, if you wish, to discover!"

"Is that a nice place?" Naia asked while getting up.

The Chosen One grinned,

"Depends on who you’re asking. But for me, Emrys Stormblessed..."

Naia secretly rolled her eyes in amusement.

"...it’s a fabulous place, because I am a Tier One." He winked at her. "So don’t you worry. No one dares to disrespect a Tier One."

...

"GET OUT OF HERE CHEATER!!"

Cassius found himself rolling on the ground, thrown away by the guards of the Casino, their faces red in anger.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Do you know who you’re talking to? Cassius Desdemona! A Tier One Heir!" Cassius shouted at the guards, standing up, feeling wronged, "and I did not cheat!"

’Technically.’ He added inwardly.

The guards looked at him, their faces clearly showing they wished to do more than throw him out,

"Our Lady, Rose Bishop, said you are forbidden to ever enter any Casino under her name!"

Cassius’s eyes widened, "wait what?! Guys, come the fuck on! Why so serious?!"

[HEY! HOW ARE WE GOING TO SCAM PEOPLE THEN?] Tysche screamed outrageously, [CASSIUS! KILL THEM ALL!]

Ananke, meanwhile, just closed her eyes, regretting the day Cassius had obtained the Luck Blessing.

[Sigh.]

—End of Chapter 422—