"Your mother... is a goddess?" Razealâs voice came out low.. too low for anyone else to catch the full weight of it but there was a sharpness beneath the whisper that hadnât been there before, a quiet fracture in his tone that betrayed far more than the words themselves, and as he slowly turned his head toward Sofia, his gaze settled on her in a way that was no longer casual, no longer indifferent, but searching... probing... almost as if he was trying to peel something away from her, to see past what she had shown him until now and into something deeper, something hidden.. His eyes usually steady, controlled carried the faintest tremor, subtle but unmistakable, like a ripple beneath still water.
"And you didnât think that was important enough to tell me? Even when i told you everything?" he added, just as softly, but this time the question lingered longer, heavier, because it wasnât just about the fact itself it was about when he learned it, how he learned it, and more importantly, who he learned it from.
There was something deeply wrong about that to him, something that didnât sit right no matter how he tried to rationalize it, because the first person who stood by him without doubt, without proof, the one who had believed him simply because he said so while looking into her eyes...? That same person had kept something like this from him, and he didnât hear it from her he heard it from Riven... of all people? From the one he considered closest to an enemy, and that thought alone twisted something inside him, something quiet but sharp.
What is this...? the question formed silently in his mind as he stared at her, his expression remaining controlled, but his thoughts spiraling beneath the surface, Is this coincidence... or something else? because nothing in his life had ever been simple, nothing had ever just happened without reason, and he knew that better than anyone, Is this some kind of design? he wondered, his gaze tightening ever so slightly, Something planned... by them? By the gods? the idea wasnât absurd to him.. not anymore not after everything he had been through, not after understanding how deeply fate and manipulation ran in his life.
Was she meant to come close to me... just to...? the thought didnât even finish, because he didnât want to say it fully, didnât want to define it completely, but the implication lingered there regardless, heavy and suffocating, and for a moment, something almost like pain flickered behind his eyes not dramatic, not overwhelming, but quiet, restrained, like something he had learned to suppress over time, because if there was one thing his life had taught him, it was this.. nothing good comes to him without a cost.
There is saying that.. even the wind blows in favor if itâs written for one.
And he knew what was written for him, he had seen it, understood it, and so of course... there had to be a reason, there had to be a cause behind everything that had seemed too easy her presence..
Like.. Why their marriage happened so smoothly?
Why everything aligned so perfectly and easily? That it doesnât even make sense?
Why she called him her soulmate?
His eyes lingered on her a moment longer, searching, questioning, doubting yet still holding onto something that refused to completely break.
Sofia, on the other hand, didnât need to hear his thoughts to understand what was happening.. she could see it in his eyes, in the way he looked at her now, the doubt, the hurt, the quiet accusation that he wasnât voicing but was very much present, and her chest tightened slightly as she realized what he must be thinking, I should have told him earlier... the thought came immediately, sharp with regret, because she knew she knew how this looked, especially given everything he had gone through, and before he could sink deeper into that spiral, she spoke, her voice soft but firm..
"Sigh.. I shouldâve explained that to you before," she admitted, her gaze steady on him, "But believe me... this isnât what youâre thinking or everything that in going on in your head right now.." she added, shaking her head slightly, trying to anchor him before his thoughts carried him too far.
"Just believe in me.. Iâll explain everything to you... later," she continued, but even as she said it, her eyes flicked briefly toward Riven, toward the others, toward the situation they were still in, and she exhaled quietly..
"This isnât the time or the place," she finished, her tone calm but laced with urgency, because she could feel it this moment was fragile, and if mishandled, it could break into something far worse.
She reached out then, gently, her hand moving toward his arm in an attempt to ground him, to reassure him but the reaction was immediate, instinctive.. Razeal pulled his arm back slightly, not violently, not aggressively, but enough to stop her from touching him, and the motion itself said more than any words could, because it wasnât deliberate rejection... it was just reflex, something deeper, something his body chose before his mind did..
Sofiaâs hand lingered in the air for a second before she slowly pulled it back, her gaze dropping briefly to it, a quiet sadness flickering across her expression, before she looked back up at him again.
"Yes, We will," Razeal said after a moment, his voice steady again, controlled, though not entirely unchanged, as he glanced briefly around at the others before returning his gaze to her, "Weâll talk about this," he added, nodding once, "Properly," and then, just slightly, his tone shifted, not harsh, not accusing but carrying weight.
"And.. I hope... you wonât disappoint me also.." and with that, the distance between them though small physically felt much larger than before.
Sofia inhaled quietly, her fingers brushing lightly against her own palm as she steadied herself, then lifted her gaze again, "Youâre misunderstanding everything," she said, more firmly now, though still controlled, her eyes meeting his directly, because she refused to let that doubt grow unchecked, not like this.
"Maybe," Razeal replied, the word simple, almost dismissive, but the way he said it made it clear.. he wasnât convinced, not yet, and despite the neutrality of his tone, his mind was already leaning elsewhere.
There was a brief pause after that, a moment where neither of them pushed further, where the tension simply existed between them, unresolved, before Sofia exhaled softly and shifted the conversation, her expression tightening slightly as something else resurfaced in her thoughts, something that had been pushed aside but hadnât gone away.
"Leave that for now," she said, her tone more serious now, more focused, "First... tell me this," her eyes locked onto his again, sharper this time, "What did he mean... when he said youâve died millions of times?" and there it was the question that had been hanging over all of them since Riven spoke it, the one none of them could ignore, because it wasnât just a statement.. it was something far beyond normal comprehension.
Sofia regarded him with a seriousness she herself did not fully understand. There was a quiet weight in her gaze, as though she were trying to grasp something far beyond ordinary comprehension. Truthfully, she did not even know why she found herself entertaining such an idea in first place. It was not something one was meant to understand or even imagine perhaps not even something the human mind was capable of imagining? Right?
Like..?
To die once was already an unfathomable threshold. But to die millions of times? What would that even entail? What kind of suffering would accumulate within a person who had endured death over and over again? Would each end carry its own pain, its own fear, its own different kind of.. imprint of trauma? Or would the repetition dull the experience into something hollow, something beyond emotion?
And more disturbingly could a human mind survive such a reality?
Sofia struggled to reconcile the thought. Psychologically, it seemed impossible. No person could endure that magnitude of repeated endings without fracturing entirely without losing their sense of self, their sanity, their connection to what it means to be alive. The idea itself was terrifying, not because it was clearly defined, but because it was not. It lingered in the unknown, in a space where pain had no limits and identity had no stability.
She could not picture it. Not truly. And perhaps that was what frightened her most. She was just confused so much that she couldnât even believe it.. But then again.. She knows the fact that Gods cant die..
And at this moment, the weight of Rivenâs words seemed to have settle over everyone present like an invisible pressure, suffocating and heavy, as Maria, Nancy, Levy, Aurora, and Yograj all stood there in stunned silence, their expressions shifting between disbelief and total confusion, unable to reconcile what they had just heard with any form of logic they knew.
It wasnât just shocking.. it was just sounding impossible, and yet it had been spoken with such certainty that none of them could outright dismiss it either, and slowly, almost instinctively, their gazes all drifted back toward one person Razeal.
He, meanwhile, wasnât looking at them at first, his eyes fixed instead on Sofia, studying her face in a way that felt unusually quiet, almost fragile beneath the surface, as if he was searching for something specific within her expression, something that would confirm or deny the storm forming in his mind, and what he saw there... it didnât help him, not at all, because her eyes.. those same eyes that had once looked at him with unwavering trust? Were now filled with too many emotions at once concern, unmistakable and genuine fear? subtle but present.
Worry? deep and unhidden and beneath all of it, something softer... sadness?
And seeing that alone made his gaze tremble slightly, because he didnât want to see that, didnât want to interpret it, didnât want to acknowledge what it might mean, so he didnât look deeper, didnât try to read beyond the surface, as if doing so would only confirm something he wasnât ready to face.
"Is this true?" Mariaâs voice cut through the silence, steady but heavy, and when Razeal shifted his gaze toward her also he found a similar expressions if not only more intense, more direct, her blue eyes locked onto him as if demanding an answer not just with words, but with everything she was.
Razeal said nothing, and the silence stretched again, longer this time, as his gaze moved on, passing over Levy, Aurora, and Yograj, and though their reactions werenât as intense, werenât as openly emotional, there was still something there in their eyes something quieter, something more restrained, but just as present... a kind of implicit judgment, or perhaps worse, pity?
And that was the one thing that made his just close his eyes slightly.. because he could recognize it instantly, even if it was faint, even if it was subtle, and he hated it.
Slowly he opened his eyes.
Then finally, his gaze returned to Sofia again, and for a brief second, something unreadable flickered through his expression before he spoke, shaking his head slightly, "No... it isnât," he said, his voice calm, controlled, almost dismissive as if brushing the entire thing aside.
"Heâs lying," and he nodded once, as if confirming it not just to them, but to himself as well.
But Sofia didnât accept it not even for a second "Gods canât lie... and you know that," she responded immediately, her voice sharper now, not aggressive, but firm, grounded in what she believed to be an undeniable truth, her eyes fixed on him as if trying to pull him back from whatever path he was starting to walk down.
Razealâs expression didnât change much, but his gaze hardened just slightly as he replied, "I said he is," his tone carrying more weight this time, not loud, not forceful, but resolute, "So now... Who are you going to believe?" he asked, looking directly at her, "A god... or me?"
And that question simple as it sounded.. It wasnât.. it cut deeper than it should have, because it wasnât just about truth anymore, it was about trust, and Sofia felt it instantly, the sting of it, the implication behind it, her expression faltering for just a fraction of a second before she spoke again, softer now but no less serious.
"I know youâre hurt," she said, her voice steady but carrying genuine concern, "I can see it... because I didnât tell you about my mother," she admitted, not avoiding it, not denying it, "but believe me... thereâs nothing like what youâre thinking," she continued, shaking her head slightly, her eyes not leaving his, "I didnât even know about your fate... or your problems with the gods... until just a few hours ago," she added, her tone earnest, almost pleading now.
"There was no plan... no involvement from anyone above," and she took a small breath before continuing, "I didnât tell you because... it wasnât the right time," she said honestly, "but I was going to," and then, her voice tightened slightly, "You canât actually think... that I married you because my mother told me to... just to keep an eye on you... can you?" and there it was the question she hadnât wanted to ask, but had to, because she could see where his thoughts were heading, and she needed to stop it
Razeal looked at her for a moment after that, his expression unreadable, before he exhaled lightly and said.. "You know what? I donât care," his tone returning to something almost indifferent, almost dismissive, as if he had already decided something internally.
"Itâs fine... even if you had other intentions," he added, nodding slightly to himself as if closing that matter entirely, not because it was resolved, but because he chose to set it aside for now.
Then his gaze shifted again, this time toward Riven, and his expression sharpened just a little, "And as for him... spouting this nonsense," he continued, his voice carrying a faint edge now, "you canât seriously believe it," he said, glancing briefly back at Sofia.
"Someone dying millions of times? Thats total nonsense.." he scoffed lightly, "Thatâs just him trying to get back at me," his eyes flickering toward Riven again, "because he canât accept what I did," he added, "That it was deserved... that those were just the consequences of their actions," and then, after a brief pause, he continued more quietly.
"And actually even if..." he began, his voice lowering slightly, "Even if.. Lets say it were true," and here, his tone shifted not defensive, not aggressive, but something more distant, more detached, "Whatâs the point of asking about it?" he said, his gaze drifting slightly away, not focusing on anyone in particular, "Whatâs be done... be done," and there was a strange calmness in that statement, something almost unsettling.
"If anything... it just proves I was strong enough," he continued, "that I had reasons strong enough... to walk through that kind of hell hole," his lips curved faintly, not quite a smile, "And still stand here," and then, finally, he looked back at them all of them.. his expression composed once more.
"So whatever youâre seeing right now... whatever with those looks and eyes," he said, his voice steady, "donât," and there was something firm in that single word.
"Iâm not someone to be pitied," he added, "Not for what Iâve been through... and not for what Iâve done,"
"I am not.. NO matter which version of the story you choose to believe."
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