The Judgement Of Divinity (TMOE #2)

Chapter 35: A brand new look (pt. 2)

Lucius was very uncomfortable on the cold, stone floor where he woke up, not that he'd expected any different.

The first thing his squinting eyes could discern was a fireplace, which seemed to be failing its purpose as Lucius was not the slightest warm in his huddled up state. His eyes begrudgingly fell on the fire poker that was half covered in the burning pieces of firewood, and his mind flashed to the Carner incident. It was a memory he'd rather forget about, but then again his current surroundings didn't seem like a cheerful thing to focus on either.

He let his eyes wander to a tool bench that stretched across an entire wall, and cold sweat chilled his skin. Given the circumstances, those tools were likely not meant for fixing things, after all.

He flinched, gaze landing on another body on the floor further away, and he drew a trembling breath as he once again had to witness the wound in Ethan's head, only slightly covered by gore-caked tendrils of hair.

It was enough to make him retch, but defiant to whatever fate or otherworldly force had in store for him, he exchanged the fear his mind wanted to feel for anger. He'd been stubborn for too long to suddenly stop.

And so, he'd already conjured a withering glare to fire at the origin of his pain before looking up, but to his surprise and disappointment, the person he finally spotted sitting by an old, worn down table was not Derek.

"Ugh, by Dyris, I'm so sick of you," he managed to utter through a hoarse, nasal voice, and he grimaced in pain.

"You're sick of me?" Damien asked, voice not even cold anymore, just filled with exasperation. "It seems no matter what I do you keep coming back like some spindly weed."

"Yeah, well... Feeling's mutual," Lucius tried to sound nonchalant through the anguish. "Though more toxic than spindly in your case."

"Despite everything, I like to think I've been more than patient with you." Damien looked at him with scorn. "Even now, after you've apparently decided that I have to die, going so far as to involve the creature in all of it, I let you live."

"Maybe there's a soft spot for me in there." Even Lucius couldn't help scoff at the idea.

"Hardly." Damien's lip curled. "But I have a soft spot for Anthony."

"Oh, evidently." Lucius rolled his eyes, apparently not too hurt for sarcasm. "You're kind enough to give Anthony's lovers a swift trip to East Kerilia just so he'll focus on your sick organisation, like the good father you are. Not to mention the way you treat your second son."

Damien's brow furrowed, eyes refusing to follow Lucius' hand as it pointed towards Ethan.

"Did he tell you why I'm doing it?" he then asked, and while Lucius held on to his pain-ridden scowl, the sudden grief in Damien's voice unnerved him. "You talked to him about it, didn't you? After you attacked me."

"To further your stupid cause, I guess?" Lucius sat up from the floor, jaws clenched to hide the pain pulsating through his body. "Or you're just an extremely controlling parent."

"My cause could survive without him." Damien's tone darkened into a growl. "If it was about his unwillingness to work, I would never sacrifice his love for others."

"Then what could possibly possess you to do that?" Lucius shook his head. "To— To even imagine that you're in the right? How could you so much as try to justify—"

"Because I can't bear watching Anthony kill himself again!" Damien snapped, hands clenching against his legs, and Lucius' voice choked along with his breath.

"... What?" he finally managed a whisper, heart pounding in distress despite his inability to process the words.

"You think you understand." Damien's voice sank into a whisper as well, a trembling breath betraying his collected facade. "You think just because you've given it some thought, you can understand what three hundred years does to a person. That it's just about progress and inconsequential choices in the long run, but how could you even begin to fathom it from just a fragment of that time?"