HBWnovel Chapter 231: Grief
Chapter 231: Grief
Chapter 231: Grief
If you want to support me check out my patron at /athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them. Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only
I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.
---------------
23rd March 2012, Wakanda
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
He looked around and said, "It's time. I just wanted to tell you that it was an honor staying beside you all these years, being your friend, comrade, and partner. I don't regret a single thing, not a single moment or decision. Goodbye, old friend."
Before I could respond, he flew at me, turning into a shadow and enveloping me. I felt my very existence change and burn. It was agonizing, and yet I wasn't feeling pain because of what was happening to me, but because of the death of my oldest friend.
My last thoughts before I blacked out was of my friend and the regret that I didn't say goodbye. I didn't even thank him for his sacrifice. I saw as my teardrops fell into the sand, and the astral plane shattered like glass.
I didn't know how much time I spent in the darkness. I was conscious and yet I was not. I could feel myself changing on a fundamental level. But I didn't care. All I thought about was Erebus and his sacrifice. He was my oldest friend, my oldest companion. He's been with me ever since I was a child, learning at the Academy in Atlantis.
In many ways, he was like a brother to me. He saw me at my worst, and at my best. He was there when I defied Death itself, and he picked up the pieces after Atlantis sunk. He was there every single time someone I cared for died, leaving me alone. He wasn't always there; we both wanted to travel, and to learn, but whenever I needed him whether I knew it or not, he always came.
Five thousand years, that's how long we had been together, and it was over, just like that. I never wanted anyone to die for me. It was horrible, the guilt, the pain, the agony. It was my fault. Perhaps, I should have stayed as Death's avatar. I didn't mind staying enslaved to a cosmic entity if Erebus got to live.
Suddenly, I felt that whatever was going on was done. I gasped, and I realized that I was fully back to the waking world. I opened my eyes and saw that I was back in the cave. The vibranium walls were glowing very intensely from the magic and cosmic energy released. The runes had disappeared completely, consumed by the ritual.
However, I didn't care about what happened to me. For now, I just wanted to mourn. I don't know how long I spent there, but for now, I just wanted to vent.
It wasn't fair. Why does this always happen to me? Why do I have to watch everyone I care about even the slightest, die? For thousands of years, there have been two constants in my life, Erebus and Selene. I would shudder to think about Selene leaving me as well. I was certain that it would break me. I wouldn't be alive anymore, just an uncaring woman waiting for the inevitable death of the world, hoping that it would take her with it.
That smile was gone in a fraction of a second when she noticed that something was wrong. I sometimes wonder how well she knows me, that she noticed something was wrong even when I'm trying to pretend to be fine, "What happened?"
I shrugged, "There was a complication with the ritual. I nearly didn't make it."
Wanda looked at me, pleadingly, "But you're okay?"
I nodded, "Yes, I am."
Selene didn't seem to believe me, "no, something else happened."
I sighed and steeled myself, "Erebus is gone, Selene."
My voice visibly cracked at the end of that sentence, and even Selene's eyes widened at the implication. Erebus was an immortal creature, a being of death and rebirth, the fact that it was gone meant that what happened to me had to be very serious for that to happen, "Is he going to reform?"
"Yes, him and Fawkes, but it's going to be like a reincarnation. It won't be Erebus, you know."
Selene looked down, "I'm sorry for your loss."
I nodded. There were very few people who knew how close Erebus and I were, and Selene was one of them. She understands that the moment we're alone, I'm probably going to break down in tears and that I was holding on for the sake of the kids.
Speaking of the kids, I looked down to Wanda and Rose, "So, did you spend the whole day worrying about me?"
The two young women shared an odd look before Rose spoke out, "Jasmine, you've been gone for six months."
Ah, fuck, this was going to be problematic.
---------------
On the other side of the galaxy, an energy projection of an ancient being lifted its head with its eyes wide, "Oh, how interesting. This is the first time something like this happened. Looks like I'll have to give Terra a visit shortly.