Jason could sense just how much these two women truly cared about each other in that moment. After he became a Changeling, Jason had seen the images of Gillian and Hesabethās friendship. The two women had found each other during the Period of Lawlessness when every person you met was either an enemy or a spy, and even though they were in the midst of a battlefield, they had both decided that they didnāt want to fight and they simply sat on a large hill and watched the sun rising on the large piles of corpses and pools of blood around them! The women had formed a friendship in that insane world, and they began to support one another whenever they were not busy fighting a war. Hesabeth would invite Gillian to the world of Minori whenever she heard that there was a battle taking place nearby, and Gillian would do the same whenever Hesabeth was taking care of any business close to Nox. They were like sisters, and the two women cared for each other like they were truly blood related.
Hesabeth was the only person who didnāt fear Gillian as the Blood Angel of the Battlefield, and Gillian was someone who didnāt harbour any ill will towards Hesabeth, so Hesabethās Bias never affected her seriously. As time passed, Gillian told Hesabeth about her dream to finally leave the battlefield and live a normal life as a normal woman. Gillian had been fighting all her life, but she wanted to have a family and settle down after it was all finished, and even though Hesabeth had laughed at her dream and called it a āchildish fantasyā, Hesabeth had dedicated her life to bringing that dream to life. Hesabeth and Gillian had been two of the first rulers to agree to forming the Primordial Treaty when it was brought up by the Primordial of Order, Cāthluyanu, and they had also agreed to join the Council of Nine and One almost immediately! Hesabeth had been happy because it seemed like Gillian was finally going to get her dream for peace, but before that dream could come true, Gillian had been attacked and imprisoned behind the [Cage of Eternity]!
That was the reason why Hesabeth had been so desperate to find Gillian back then, and Hesabeth had literally turned the Primordial Expanse upside down to try to find her friend. But Hesabeth failed to help Gillian, and till this day, that guilt and pain were still eating away at Hesabethās heart! Hesabeth had failed to give her friend the future that she wanted, and now that Gillian had come back, Gillian had chosen death over any possible future! It was obvious that it would be too much for Hesabeth to bear!
Hesabeth was still crying silently as she mourned her friend, and Jason gently wrapped his hand around Hesabeth and pressed her to his chest! Once Hesabeth felt Jason hugging her, it was as if her entire body locked up from shock! This was the first time that Hesabeth would be hugged by someone in more than two hundred years! Hesabeth had been so hurt by Gillianās disappearance all those years ago that she never bothered trying to form a close relationship with anyone else ever again! So right now, this hug took Hesabethās mind back to the time when she and Gillian spent their days together, and Hesabeth felt her heart shake as Jasonās calm voice reached her.
"Iām sorry you had to go through all that, Hesabeth, but this anger and destruction; itās not is what Gillian would have wanted. Even in her last moments as she faced the Grim Reaper, I could tell that she truly loved you, and her final wish was for you to be happy, Hesabeth. I promise not to leave you alone anymore, so cry your heart out for as long as you need to. Iām right here."
Hesabeth felt a strange feeling surge through her heart as she heard everything Jason had to say, and the sadness in Hesabethās heart fought desperately against her pride! Hesabeth hated having to rely on anyone in this world! She had lived for so long without having to rely on others because she had been so hurt by Gillianās disappearance! Hesabeth had built up a massive wall around her heart to protect herself from ever feeling vulnerable again! But at this moment, Hesabeth could feel all those walls breaking down as he felt the sincerity in Jasonās words, and for the first time in more than two centuries, Hesabeth cried! It was a deep, ugly, heart-wrenching cry of pure pain that echoed through the shadow world, and Jason felt Hesabeth grab his shirt and hold it tight as she bawled into his chest!
"Ahh! I was so lonely! I missed her so much! I tried to be strong, and I tried to hate her for abandoning me, but I was just so lonely! I wanted to find her every day! I wanted to hear her voice! I wanted to see her smile! I felt so useless! So useless! Ahhhhh~!!"
Hesabeth cried uncontrollably as all the emotions that had been hiding in her heart all this time finally came pouring out like water from a dam! Jason felt the pressure that had been pressing down on him slowly vanishing, and he finally managed to relax slightly as he held Hesabeth in his hands and allowed her to cry her heart out! Jason ran a hand into Hesabethās soft red hair and his other hand wrapped around her shoulder as he released his Arcane abilities, and the shadow world slowly vanished from around them. Jason and Hesabeth appeared in the middle of a beautiful green patch of grass filled with flowers of different colours, but all around them was nothing but death and destruction! The typhoon had finally calmed down, and as it vanished, it left behind dead bodies and broken homes that filled the field for as far as the eye could see! Hesabethās power was truly frightening! If she had been able to cause this much damage just from the grief of losing a friend, then Jason could only imagine the damage she could cause if she truly wanted to destroy a world.
But at this moment, Jason didnāt care about Hesabethās power, and he didnāt care about the lives she had taken. Jason just held her close and comforted her as she cried. The pair stayed in that position for a very long time, and it wasnāt until more than ten minutes later that Hesabeth finally started to calm down from her outburst. Hesabeth ran a hand over her eyes as she sniffled, and she slowly sat up on her knees while staring at the floor with an exhausted look on her face. Hesabeth couldnāt believe she had poured her heart out like this to Jason, but she knew that there was no one else she could trust to see her vulnerability right now. If it was Jason, then she felt like it was okay to show him this side of her.
"Iām sure you think Iām such a child for ā"
Jason fell forward and crashed into Hesabethās chest before she could even finish what she was saying, and Hesabethās face blew up in a blush as she almost hit him! But Hesabeth stopped when she saw that Jasonās eyes were closed and his breathing was even and calm. Hesbaethās hand slowly dropped as she realised what had happened. Jason passed out from exhaustion. Jason had fought against the Overlord together with Gillian, and then he had faced the Grim Reaper before fighting against the world itself for the past few hours, so the sheer amount of stamina that Jason mustāve used up to do all of that was just far too much, and he had simply passed out from the drain!
Hesabeth blinked curiously as she ran her hand over Jasonās handsome face softly. There was dirt staining his face, and his hair was rough and dirty from the previous battles, but Hesabeth couldnāt help but feel a flutter in her heart as she stared at his peaceful expression. Hesabethās lips split into a small smile as she wrapped her hand around Jasonās head and hugged him closer to her chest, and she spoke in a soft, loving voice.
"Youāve worked really hard, my love. Just relax and leave the rest to me."
The bright rays of the rising sun cast their yellow light on the battlefield, and as Hesabeth held Jason in the center of the bright green field, she couldnāt help but feel like she had finally found something new to live for.