It was late at night and Damon sat on the large bed. By his side was Ranar who refused to sleep without her father close and on the other side was Evangeline who slept soundly in a loose night gown.
Damon sighed.
This had somehow become normalized thanks to Ranar.
She refused to sleep with Evangeline alone and constantly feared Damon would disappear somewhere again so she always insisted he stay close too.
This had unfortunately created the image that Damon and Evangeline were married.
Of course people gave them looks.
That however wasn’t what was keeping him awake.
He had far too much on his mind.
There were enemies that needed killing and mysteries that needed solving.
Most importantly there was the question that had been bothering him constantly.
Where was the Pillar of Conflict.
He had to find it.
But even if he did...
What exactly would he do with it?
The unknown god was far too dangerous and the goddess of doom seemed completely uninterested in helping them.
If anything she had plans of her own.
Plans that did not necessarily include their survival.
The outsiders were another problem entirely.
They used to simply be visitors.
Now they might very well become the reason for the end.
Every single one of them was a walking calamity, all searching for the Pillar of Conflict.
Then there was the more immediate concern.
Aetherus.
The god of this world.
Damon had no idea what or who to expect.
He knew almost nothing about Aetherus aside from what Lazarak had once told him and from what he had heard this was no peaceful god.
He was a god of war.
A god who brought blood and death.
"What to do..." he whispered quietly.
"Sleep."
The sudden voice beside him made him glance sideways.
"At least I’m not pretending to sleep..." Damon muttered before lowering his head onto the pillow and staring at her.
Evangeline didn’t answer immediately.
She simply stared back at him quietly, golden eyes reflecting faint moonlight leaking through the tent.
"I don’t know what you’re thinking about..."
She shifted slightly beneath the blanket.
"But you’re thinking too much. Come what may you will not be facing it alone... don’t shut other people out."
Her words were comforting.
But comfort did not change reality.
"I doubt that..."
His eyes drifted upward toward the ceiling.
"People might just shut me out."
"I wouldn’t."
She answered so quickly it almost startled him.
He slowly turned his head back toward her.
"Even if I was unjust and cruel... even if I had done something truly atrocious."
Her golden eyes narrowed slightly, almost glowing in the darkness.
"Unjust..."
She whispered the word softly as if tasting it.
"To define that word would be to define what justice truly is and I have pondered that question for years..."
She paused.
"I never did find the answer."
Her gaze shifted toward the ceiling now.
"Truth and justice are fickle things Damon, especially in a world this chaotic."
"Absolute justice is absolute cruelty."
"The world isn’t defined by the colors we think they are."
"What seems good may very well be evil..."
"And evil may simply be misunderstood and broken."
He stared at her quietly.
Damon hadn’t expected those words from someone who so strongly believed in justice.
"The nature of people and things are rarely what meets the eye." She whispered.
There was a thin smile on his face now.
"Then how would you judge me..."
He turned fully now looking directly at her.
"A traitor... a liar... a murderer... and a heretic."
She shook her head slowly.
"I do not know."
Her voice remained soft.
"I did not live in your shoes nor do I know what circumstances forced you into making those choices."
"Perhaps in order to truly be just... one must also be all knowing."
"And therefore justice is beyond the reach of humans."
She blinked slowly.
"For only an all knowing god has the capacity to be just."
"That’s a paradox Eva..." he whispered.
"If they are all knowing then they should have prevented the cause."
"Prevention is better than cure."
"If they were all knowing and still allowed evil then how can they possibly be just."
"Gods are not just..."
He looked away bitterly.
"They’re simply indifferent."
Slowly Evangeline reached forward, her fingers brushing against his cheek.
She moved closer.
Close enough that he could feel her warm breath.
"I’m not talking about gods here..."
Her fingers rested gently against his face.
"I’m talking about us."
"While you may be a liar... a murderer... or whatever else..."
Her voice softened further.
"I still love you..."
Then she smiled faintly.
"And that is justice."
He froze.
Caught completely off guard by those words.
Maybe she didn’t even realize what she had just said.
He stared at her for a long moment.
Then quietly asked.
"What if I became a demon."
Her smile didn’t change.
Not even slightly.
"You would still be Damon."
He didn’t know why but for the first time in a very long time he felt relieved.
Trusted.
Accepted.
Even then he couldn’t tell her the truth.
Not because he didn’t trust her.
But because she was better off not knowing.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"So you love me huh."
Instantly her entire expression changed.
She immediately shut her eyes tight.
"Good night."
"Wait wait Eva don’t fake sleep."
She instantly turned her back toward him beneath the blanket.
What he couldn’t see was the bright red blush spreading across her face.
He stared at her for several seconds before chuckling quietly.
Yeah.
He was ready for the Holy City now.
Slowly he reached toward his chest.
Dark shadow energy emerged from the Heart of Shadow buried within him.
Carefully he guided the darkness inward, spreading it across both his Seed of Depravity and his Divine Spark.
Then to be safe he layered several rune formations over both energies, carefully weaving concealment over every trace.
For the next few days he had decided to hide everything.
After all...
Aetherus was a god.
And gods...
Were creatures full of mysteries.