Chapter 60: Reality
[ Etheome ]
Adeu woke up with a start, his breath ragged as he fell back, gripping the ground beneath him. His body trembled, his mind racing to process what he had just seen.
"What the hell was that?" The memories burned vividly, The Trials, the Ten Chosen, Dune's sacrifice, Darius' death. He had witnessed everything.
"So... this is the Blessing Ceremony?" The words tasted bitter on his tongue.
The sheer number of humans who had died flashed through his mind. Why are we gods so cruel? He understood their history, how humans had hunted them, slaughtered them for generations, how the Great War had left scars on both sides. But these people... they had nothing to do with that war. What is the real purpose of this ceremony?
Adeu stood up, shaking off the lingering shock, and glanced around. The room was empty. Without hesitation, he stepped outside.
The moment he did, the overwhelming noise of the massive arena crashed into him. People stood everywhere, walking, chatting, murmuring about what they had just witnessed. Among them were students, fellow gods who still reeled from the ceremony's revelations.
Then, his eyes landed on someone standing alone amidst the shifting crowd.
Charmy.
She looked different from how he had always known her. The golden-white academy uniform she wore gleamed under the arena lights, and her hair, neatly braided and tied back, framed her face. But her usual warmth, her ever-present smile, was gone. Instead, her blue eyes held something fragile, fear.
Adeu frowned. Charmy was the kind of person who wouldn't even harm a bug, always full of life, always gentle. But now, she stood frozen, shaken by what she had seen in the Trials. And Adeu hated seeing her like this.