HBWnovel Chapter 378 A Break (2)
Chapter 378 A Break (2)
"But that's all in the past now," Athena added, her smile returning, though it was tinged with sadness. "I left that life behind when I escaped the ravine. I've tried to make a new path for myself, but... the bloodshed is something that never quite leaves you."
Cyrus remained quiet for a moment, processing the depth of what Athena had shared. He could feel the rawness of her story, the harshness of the world she had come from. But there was a strength in her as well—a resilience that had carried her through it all.
"I didn't expect that," Cyrus admitted softly, "but I'm glad you told me."
Their coffee and breakfast arrived, but the atmosphere between them had shifted. The awkwardness had dissolved, replaced by a quiet understanding. It wasn't just about small talk anymore; it was about two people who had shared their pain, and their pasts, and found a strange, unspoken bond in the process.
"Now, what about you?" Athena grinned, leaning forward intently.
Cyrus sat back in his chair, fingers lightly tracing the rim of his coffee cup. For a moment, he hesitated, but the openness Athena had shown gave him the courage to share his own story.
"I was an orphan," Cyrus began, his voice calm but edged with the weight of distant memories. "Grew up in a little fishing village by the coast. It was small—maybe a couple of dozen families. Everyone knew each other, and life was simple. I spent most of my childhood there, helping with the nets, mending boats, fishing whenever I could. It was peaceful in its own way."
He paused, taking a slow sip of his coffee as the memories of the village seemed to surface, gentle and bittersweet.
"But I knew I wanted something more. Even as a kid, I was fascinated by magic—stories of magicians who could bend lightning, create storms, and wield the elements. So, when I got older, I left the village and went to the neighboring city to become a magician. I trained hard, learned all I could, and even picked up something rare—lightning magic. Not many people can control it, but I managed to make it my specialty."
Cyrus' eyes drifted, recalling those days of success, the pride of achieving something so few could. But the glimmer in his gaze quickly dimmed.
"Everything was going well... until the plague hit," he said, his voice dropping. "It spread across the continent like wildfire, wiping out entire towns, villages... everything in its path. About seventy percent of the population was gone in a matter of months. And it wasn't just the weak or the sick—ordinary people, healthy people, anyone with a normal amount of mana... they were all vulnerable. My village, my home, wasn't spared either."
Cyrus clenched his fist slightly on the table, his knuckles turning white. The painful memories of the devastation, of the lives lost, were still vivid in his mind.
"After that, I couldn't go on with being a magician. I left the city and went back to the village... or what was left of it. Once a cure to the plague was found, I focused on rebuilding it. I couldn't save everyone, but I could at least help restore what was lost. With time and effort, I managed to connect the village with other places, and made use of the connections I had made during my time as a magician. It wasn't just a fishing village anymore—it became something more, almost a town where people came and went, trading, fishing, building lives."
Athena's lips curled into a faint, appreciative smile. "I felt that. The water, the way it engulfed everything. I thought I was drowning for a second, but then... it was like it let me breathe, move, as if it wasn't real for us but was deadly for everything else."
Cyrus nodded, his gaze meeting hers. "It's the Kingdom of the Sea of Life. I didn't know it could do all that until I used it, but I guess it recognized the danger we were in. The way it targeted that monster—like the ocean itself decided to tear it apart—it was brutal."
"Brutal, but necessary," Athena added, her tone resolute. "That thing was far too dangerous to leave standing. And the sea itself choking the life out of it... it felt right." She leaned in slightly, her eyes narrowing with thought. "But there's something about that creature—it didn't feel like just another monster. The dungeon itself... something was off. You remember that blue crystal we saw deep inside, in that old church?"
Cyrus tilted his head slightly, recalling the glimmer of the crystal in the shadowed ruins. "The blue one?"
Athena nodded, a flicker of concern crossing her face. "Yeah. I have a feeling it had something to do with that monster's power. It wasn't just a coincidence that we found it so close to where we fought that thing. The energy coming off it was... strange. Maybe it's connected."
Cyrus frowned, the pieces falling into place. "You think the crystal is behind the creature's strength? Like, it was feeding off of it somehow?"
"Could be," Athena replied. "Or maybe it was protecting it, boosting its abilities. Either way, I can't shake the feeling that whatever we fought wasn't acting alone. Something's deeper here, tied to that crystal."
Cyrus sat back, digesting the possibility. "So, what do we do? Go back and check it out?"
Athena shrugged, though her expression remained serious. "It's a risk. But if that crystal is the source of what made that monster so strong, there's a chance it could cause more problems. Maybe there are others like it, or worse, something else down there tied to it."
Cyrus chuckled dryly, though there was no humor behind it. "Great, because the dungeon wasn't dangerous enough already."
Athena cracked a small smile, but it didn't last long. "Whether it's tied to the dungeon or not, we need to be sure. There's no telling what else might come out of that place."
They both fell into silence, the weight of the conversation settling over them. The hum of the café was a stark contrast to the chaos of the dungeon, a strange reminder of how close they had come to not making it out.
Athena broke the silence first, her voice soft but determined. "We'll need to be ready next time. Whatever's down there, it's not done with us yet."
Cyrus met her gaze, a steady resolve growing in his chest. "Agreed. We'll go back. And we'll figure it out."