Twilight of the Gods ✔️

Chapter 26: Tristan's Visions

Daeva wasn't the sort of person to change her mind often, especially when it came to revenge. But Vivian's words haunted her as she walked back to her room.

They brainwashed us into being their servants and removed our free will. The sentence echoed in her mind. She shook her head, trying to banish Vivian's voice. But the more those words repeated in her head, the more she couldn't deny that the Elysian was telling the truth.

Anhel and the rest of the Gods were monsters. Granted, she already knew what he was capable of. Nearly all of her killing sprees were motivated by his bloodlust. But she never thought that he would go as far as to enslave an entire race of people. She was still reeling from the shock of it. Her Anhel, the reliable old chaos God, was an interdimensional evil. The Elysians who tortured her were his victims who wanted revenge. And Daeva, who had been an innocent mortal before the events of the last few years scarred her soul, was caught in the middle of their eternal struggle.

But the most surprising thing of all was Anhel's silence as she screamed her thoughts in her head.

Are you there? She was afraid that he had left her body again.

Yes, he said. You've been awfully quiet since we left Vivian's room. You had to eat her raw heart without my assistance. Are you faring well?

Truthfully, Daeva was feeling extremely unwell. The taste of Vivian's blood refused to leave her mouth. The newfound knowledge that Vivian implanted in her brain was making her nauseous.

On the bright side, Anhel could no longer read her thoughts without her consent. Their minds were finally separate. The suffocating closeness that Anhel had complained about before would no longer be an issue.

I think I need to lie down, she said, finally answering Anhel. Privately, she thought she needed Uriel. It had been a while since she spent time with him. Lately, he was off on his own, doing things she didn't know of. While she was glad that he was making his own decisions, she missed him.

You're not a monster for doing what you did, he interjected. You did what you had to. I'm sorry you had to face that on your own. I'll kill Vivian for what she did.

She suppressed the urge to laugh at his attempt at comfort. No need to kill her. I just want to forget that I did anything at all. She slumped on the cushions, getting comfortable in front of the fire.

For the first time since Nyx's game started, Daeva realized that she was tired. Every round was wearing her out. She was having countless nightmares from having to relive her trauma. It felt like she was sacrificing more than she bargained for. She was starting to wish that Nyx would never return. Frankly, she wasn't sure if she could play another round, much less crawl to the Board to begin another game.

The memory of eating Vivian's heart replayed in her mind. She could feel her teeth grinding against the sinews of the flesh and the warm blood dripping down her chin. She consumed Vivian's body in an endless loop, feasting with a ceaseless appetite.

She felt a warm hand rest on her shoulder, snapping her out of the trance. Her eyes traveled up to see Uriel who was looking at her with concern.

"I'm alright," she said, sensing his worry through their Blood Bond.

"You feel guilty," he replied. "I wouldn't call that 'being alright.' You can tell me what's bothering you."

She sighed, the turmoil within twisting her guts into knots. How could she tell him that it was everything that bothered her? It was the air in Otherworld that made her itch to climb out of her body. It was the monster she was turning into by playing Nyx's twisted game. And more importantly, it was her grasp on her sanity, which seemed to only grow looser with every second she remained there with him.