Hope - a fateful moment (Vol.4) ✅️

Chapter 11

Sereph decided to stay away from Hope for the time being. This wasn't particularly difficult, because Hope hadn't left the room since. The food was brought to his room and the empty dishes were picked up again. In addition, there had been several riots in his area. Sereph had to go to the commanders of his divisions to clarify their further course of action.

Jaden was getting fed up, so he made his way to Hope's room. Without knocking, he opened the door and entered.

Hope lay wrapped up in his blanket on the bed. His head lifted and he looked at Jaden. "Jaden, what do you want?"

That he was able to recognize him without seeing him fascinated him for a moment, but then he became serious. "Hope, we need to talk. Sereph isn't there, which means you have no reason to lock yourself up here. Come with me to the garden."

Hope knew it was a politely worded instruction and obviously Jaden knew to some extent. Hope clenched his fist and sat up. He didn't want to talk, he didn't want to leave that room. He had thought a lot in the past few days, but he hadn't been able to bring order to the chaos inside him. Maybe Jaden can. So, he got up and followed the demon into the garden.

Once outside, the two sat down on the bench. Hope nervously played with his fingers and sat bent forward. It was clear to Jaden that he wanted to be anywhere but here. But it was enough, so Jaden began to talk, "Hope. I have been living for more than a millennium now and have seen a lot, heard a lot and felt a lot."

Hope looked up, unsure what Jaden was alluding to.

"You've only lived a fifth of a century and a lot has happened in your life. Then there is your death and the descent into hell. We don't know what happened before your auction. In this short time here, we have tried everything so that you feel comfortable and you can heal. It wasn't fair what happened to you – but fate sometimes goes cruel ways to reach its destination.

As a human being, there is something you can never comprehend – being a demon. Just as we can never comprehend what it is like to be human. We live in a different world, have a different sense of time. The length of your life so far is only a moment for us. It's a completely different point of view, so we can't know how you see things – and you don't know how we see them. The only way to come together is to talk."

Jaden paused.

"I'm going to tell you something that every demon takes for granted. Every demon carries a kind of second self, we call it inner demon. This shows up when something happens that throws us off balance. A terrible event, an immeasurable loss, the loss of all control. It's a state where we aren't ourselves, where our instincts take over.

The older the demon, the more control they have. But at the same time, it's even worse if they lose control and the inner demon appears. This isn't an excuse, it's a fact that our species can't change, it's just how it is."

Hope tried to understand the whole thing. "Has Sereph's inner demon taken control?" he asked quietly.

Jaden looked at the person who had wrapped around his legs. "First, there's something you need to know. We eat like human beings, but there is also a second component that gives us strength – blood. We call it feeding, but I think you already know that. The body gets used to a certain amount, which we consume at certain intervals. If these periods are stretched or there is no feeding at all, it becomes more difficult to keep our inner demon under control."

"But he drank from me, why-"

"That was the problem, Hope. He hadn't taken blood for too long before. When he drank from you, it sent his inner demon into a frenzy. Don't get me wrong, this is no excuse. Sereph has no excuse. He is an old demon, he mustn't lose control. Ever." Jaden looked ahead.