Fall from Grace

INTERLUDE

Current day.

Alpha turned to Saiya and asked what he saw.

"What was that? A reenactment of the past?"

Saiya shook her head. She then turned to him.

"What you were seeing was something that's now part of history, and not a reenactment. You saw Sol, a kingdom that existed long before the current arrangement of this world."

Sol, a kingdom that existed long before the world's current arrangement?
How long ago are we talking?

"Longinus was the ruler of Sol, and you and Zheoyon were both two of his loyal children."

Zheoyon?

Ah... that's right. Zheoyon was the guy who was with Alpha of then as he walked out of the tunnel and through the streets of Sol. But... something I don't get...

"Who's Zheoyon?"

"Zheoyon is the Minotaur King, and I was the Saiya of back then."

Alpha was surprised by the news that Zheoyon, who seemed like a good person, was the man responsible for everything happening in the current. He wasn't surprised that Saiya of now was the same as the Saiya as back then.

What happened with Zheoyon? Did he go insane?

Why would he turn his back on Sol and attack it all? He and Alpha seemed close, so why would he turn on Alpha and attack him? Was he corrupted?

...I suppose I'll eventually have that question answered by Saiya and Laplace. They claim they'll show me the truth of this world and this war, so they have to show me what happened to them.

"...What was Saiya of then to Alpha Longinus...?"

This questioned bother Alpha, for a multitude of reasons.

"The Saiya of then was the significant other of Alpha Longinus, and shortly after this meeting, she became his bonded wife - forever. She is nothing less than an equal to him, back then and now."

Saiya stayed quiet as Laplace explained what she was to him.

"...Then... Why haven't I heard of you until now? If Saiya is who she is claimed to be, why has she only shown her face to me now? Why did she never come and help beforehand? Why has she stayed away?"

"Alpha..."

Alpha didn't stop for Laplace.

"For Augustus Cesar's entire life, and for my own up to this point, Saiya has stayed far away. She's apparently my wife, she was apparently Cesar's wife, but she never came to save either of us from the suffering inflicted upon both of us from our surrounded enemies. ...How can she be some caring, gentle wife when she's never done anything for either of us?"

"You and I both know why that never happened."

He shook his head in response. The answer he received from her wasn't good enough.

"Being captured by vampires isn't a good enough reason. If you're supposed to be my equal, you would have no problem escaping the vampires and eviscerating them into specks of forgotten ash."

She shook her head.

"You weren't ready, Alpha. You weren't ready to handle the responsibility that came with me being around you."

Alpha was stunned by the response, and not because of the obvious reason.

He looked at Laplace and then back to her. He was stunned by how ignorant her reply sounded.

"Huh?! What type of a bullshit excuse is that, Saiya?! What the fuck type of a pathetic excuse is that! I wasn't ready? I wasn't fucking ready?!" he punched his chest. "What the fuck do you mean I wasn't ready?! I have pure Dragon blood derived from Alpha's damn veins! I stopped the entire Legion of Death on my own with just my fucking Inquisition! How the fuck am I not ready for some insignificant woman like you, Saiya!! How the fuck am I not ready when I've sacrificed the lives of many just to defeat my adversaries?!!"

He turned his back to Saiya and chuckled.

"You know nothing... Nothing at all! You're just some forgotten wife of Alpha who's come back around after having nothing left for yourself. That's right... That's who you are. You're a woman who saw an opportunity by coming back to refill your pockets with riches, and once you've done so you'll leave once again," his crimson eyes illuminated themselves. "Well fine!! Fill your fucking pockets!! Fill them all up!! Do whatever you must, just get the fuck out of my sight you disgraceful bitch!!"

Laplace sighed while Saiya shook her head.

Saiya must've been unhappy to be dealing with such an emotional Alpha. When she claimed that he wasn't ready, was this why?

"You weren't ready because I said so."

"Huh?!!! Because you say so?!!!"

Despite Alpha's criticism, she doubled down.

"I know you more than you know yourself, and if I came to you earlier than now things wouldn't be the same as they are now."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?!! Have you seen what the Minotaur King has done to Orion?!"

She sighed.

"There are still questions lingering in the back of my head, wondering whether you are ready. The hatred and anger for everything around you have been building up for a long time now, and it has a foothold within you. It's eating at you, and you refuse to admit it. Only one name needs to be said to make the hatred and anger inside of you bring you crumbling to the ground, which would guarantee the Minotaur King's victory against Domination."

"Then what?! Then what?!!"

Alpha gritted his teeth and angrily turned to her.

"Tell me!! I demand to know!! What do I have to do to beat the Minotaur King?!! Huh?!! If you're my wife and some all-knowing bitch who knows more about me than I know myself, what's the way to victory?!! How am I supposed to defeat him?!!!"

"Pay attention."

He angrily shook his head and pointed a finger at her.

"Why should I even bother with you, Saiya?!! You know nothing! Nothing!! You're a liar!! You and I have no connection, and it's just something you fabricated with this guy!!"

"I'm not lying, and neither is Laplace."

That answer wasn't good enough.

Alpha marched over to her and angrily grabbed her face. He stared down into her listless crimson eyes that were a reflection of his own, and he saw something he didn't want to see.

He saw images of Violet, Merelona, and even Isabella Athena. The images were of moments he cherished with them, and it reminded him of how much fun he had with them. It reminded him of how important they were, and how close he was to them.

Because of those images, tears swelled in his eyes, and he quickly released Saiya's face as he turned away from her.

"...I don't care about what you and Alpha Longinus used to be... You are nothing to me, and you will always be nothing to me..."

He then turned back to her with sharpened eyes that expressed danger.

"Cross any boundaries, Saiya, and I won't hesitate to slice open your neck and throw you in some ditch just to get rid of you..."

Saiya shook her head.
Despite the threat, she wouldn't stop.

"No matter what you say to me, my feelings will never change."

She then marched over to Alpha and grabbed his face - doing the same thing he did to her.

"You will pay attention, and you will learn everything. Not because you want to, but because I tell you to do so. You will listen to me because I know what's best for you and because I have determined this path to be the best course of action."