One, two.
Daerios rapped on Bethesda's garish-looking door, sweating in anticipation. Doubts started to run through his head, but his thoughts were interrupted when the door swung open. Bethesda greeted him with open arms, a beaming smile on her face.
"Back from treatment already?"
Daerios nodded, his fingers resting on a swollen cheek. After wearing a mask for such a long time, his exposed skin felt strange.
Bethesda seemed to notice but didn't say anything, opting instead to welcome him inside. "You look just like how you looked then," she remarked. "I can almost picture you with your hair in a ponytail."
Doubt was written across Daerios' face. Even though he hadn't seen a mirror yet, he knew she was viewing him through a rosy lens. He would've smiled at her remark, though, if not for the burns around his mouth.
"Thank you, Bethesda. I very much appreciate your kind words," he replied after some thought.
Bethesda chuckled in response. "Anything to make you feel better, love."
*
"You've been sleeping an awful lot lately," Bethesda remarked. "Are you alright?"
Daerios hesitated before responding. "I am. It is just that living is very tiring at this current moment. I am sure you understand."
She wrinkled her forehead. "Living shouldn't be like that, love. What's wrong? Is it Azazil again?"
Daerios looked down at the floor, almost ashamed. "No. It is a problem created by my own doing. It was before Azazil."
"What do you mean by that?" Bethesda asked, leaning forward.
"I have always felt this way, Bethesda. It is ... nothing new."
"But what do you mean, you created the problem? You must be mistaken."
Dareios sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Before Azazil came, I had a good life. And yet I have always felt like this. I have always been ungrateful in spite of the luxuries I abuse."
Bethesda placed her hands on Dareios' shoulders, looking at him with worry in her eyes. "But it's not your fault. You didn't choose to feel this way."
"I ..." Dareios opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. "I have said too much. Forgive me. Please do not allow me to burden you for any longer."
"But-"
"Please, Bethesda. Go."
YOU ARE READING
The New Helel
FantasyAll his life, Azazil was expected to be perfect. He rose from the ashes of his namesake Helel, so he was expected to become even greater. But what happens when you have to become greater than the most perfect of God's creatures? Unfortunately for Az...
