"No! No!! It can't be. It's a lie. She wouldn't. She... She would have told me. You lying witch."
"Lying!?" Ciri suddenly felt insulted. "Why don't you ask her yourself and see what she says?"
The images suddenly cleared up, and he came back to the present world.
The bright scenes were no more.
Once more, he could see the bright red of the blood moon.
Slowly, he wiped the blood off his face, "Is it true?" He asked softly.
Athena frowned. "What the fuck did you show him, Witch?
Hector, don't believe this woman. Their kind are liars.
I have never met anyone else besides you. Never! and you know it. I love...
"Shut up! It's not that." He walked up to her and took her by the shoulders, "Athena, I... I want you to tell me. Don't lie to me. There is no secret between us, right?"
Athena nodded. "None at all, my Marsh mushroom. I'll tell you anything!"
Athena could see the extreme worry in Hector's eyes, and she could feel his fingers slightly shake as they dug into her shoulders.
She knew him well. They had spent the majority of their lives together, fighting side by side, thrusting against the world and against all odds.
He would not act in this manner if something did not eat him up from the inside.
He wanted to open his mouth and ask, but she could see him hesitate as they opened and closed back, his tongue unwilling to spit out the words.
It was almost as if he would rather remain in the dark than voice this concern.
However, she knew he was still going to say it.
After all, he was a pretty simple person and was not the type to hold back mysteries that would upset his state of mind.
His hands weighed heavy on her shoulders and, in turn, on her heart.
She suddenly had a foreboding feeling.
After all, the Witch had said that she was showing Hector her heart.
"A444... My Father!" Hector whispered lowly.
Instantly, it was as if it were not his arms but a heavy hammer dropped on her shoulders.
A pain unlike the one she was expecting suddenly unlocked in the core of her heart, and a chasm of despair suddenly flowed out like spilled milk.
Her eyes quivered a little, and she wanted to talk, but the words held still on her lips.
She quickly realized that a secret she had kept deep and hidden had been revealed.
This was a secret that was meant to remain deep and hidden.
Of course, she hoped that one day she could summon the courage to pour out her heart to him and beg for his forgiveness.
But procrastination had always been a closer friend than the comfort of admitting the truth.
She suddenly recalled an old memory of them together.
As they sat on the corpse of a giant lion, one of the many beasts of the Arena, he looked into her eyes, and they swore truth and togetherness with one another.
She couldn't help but feel she was abusing that memory.
Hector saw it in her eyes. She didn't need to use words.
He saw it.
He had known her for a long time. There was practically no scar on her body from any beast or demon that he did not know about.
Also, he knew her body language like the palms of his hands.
His love was expressive, and it was as true as a clear day and a dark night.
He suddenly remembered when she had come to him for the first time.
That was only a couple of years ago.
They were little then. She had taken his hand in hers as he watched the life leave his father's body.
All these years, he had thought that that day, when he was alone, the feel of her touch in his hand was the most comfortable and beautiful thing.
A little light in his darkest hour.
He never knew he was finding warmth in the embrace of his enemy.
This revelation struck him with devastating force, sending an avalanche of disbelief and anguish crashing over him.
The woman he had cherished, who had once been his solace, now stood as the architect of his father's untimely death.
The betrayal cut deep, and the foundations of trust were obliterated in an instant. Every shared smile and every whispered promise now felt like cruel deceptions.
The memories of his father, once a source of warmth, were tainted by the knowledge that she had played a part in stealing him away.
Emotions collided within him, a tempest of sorrow, anger, and confusion. The pain of losing his father merged with the agony of realizing his lover's role in the tragedy.
He questioned the authenticity of their connection, wondering if any of their moments had been sincere.
The shattered pieces of his heart refused to fit back together as he grappled with the paradox of mourning two losses simultaneously—the loss of his father and the loss of his faith in the person he had loved.
In the wake of this revelation, he found himself adrift in a sea of conflicting emotions.
The woman who had once been his sanctuary had become a source of torment, and the weight of the truth bore down on him like an unending storm.
Hector suddenly took several steps away from her.
The feel of her skin against his, where he had once found pleasure and comfort, was now overwhelmed with Unimaginable disgust.
This was not just disgust for her but also disgust for himself.
A part of him felt like ripping apart his chest and throwing it away.
It was an instantaneous feeling that woke a certain dark entity inside him.
"Hmmm, who could have seen this coming? I did!" It spoke in an eerie, aggressive manner, rousing the fire in Hector's heart.
"Didn't I tell you? You could have used the voice of Bedlam on all of them. All of them are the same. Even your so-called ATHENA."
(Author's note: Damn! That's a lot of pain for one heart. I had to go back to My Figures of Speech to flush that one out. I hope you felt it like I did. Thanks fams)
This chapt𝙚r is updated by fr(e)ew𝒆bnov(e)l.com