Death Before Defeat

Chapter 19

Whhhaaaa I'm so sorry for leaving again! My motivation left like right after I finished the last one :(
I'm back home after months away! It looks like it's staying that way and I've got a lot of free time in between shifts, so I really hope to get back into the swing of writing frequently haha

I've been so busy for the past few months, I'll tell you guys about it a little at the end! :D

Here's the actual next chapter! I'm hoping to keep this motivation I've found (:

Hope you guys like it!

TW: Abusive relationship

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"How can we help?"

It was such a simple question. Not long ago, Elias would not have hesitated to ask for anything that could be of use. He would have asked for them to keep him updated on Cyrus' plans and movements. He might even have asked for them to sabotage Cyrus to buy him more time.

Now that he knew how cruel and determined Cyrus was - he had experienced it first-hand after all - he decided he couldn't ask that of them. Most of them were around his age, and just starting to settle down and build a life for themselves.

They all had families waiting for them at home.

He worried his lower lip and glanced at their faces, hoping to find any sign of doubt, but they all looked him in the eyes without a hint of fear in theirs. Finn gave him an encouraging smile, but Elias had made up his mind. Under no circumstances were these people going to die because of him. Too many already had.

"Just let us cross the border and tell us everything you know about Cyrus' next move. Other than that, try to keep your heads down." Elias finally said.

"That's it?" Finn asked after a beat. He exchanged confused looks with the other men. "Surely we can do more from the inside?"

Elias frowned. "In theory, yes, you can, but don't forget that Cyrus has a God on his side. I don't know what the extent of his power is. He could figure out you are working with me instead of following his orders."

Finn raised an eyebrow. "A God you say?" He glanced at Aza and Xavier, who had been silent up until that point. "Your friends forgot to mention that."

"We only had time to explain that Cyrus," Xavier grimaced, as if the name itself left a sour taste in his mouth. "killed you and was planning something awful before you woke up." He said sheepishly. "Sorry."

"No worries." Elias said a little too cheerfully. "I'll fill them in on the basics then-"

"Should we be telling them this? I'm sure the Gods have their reasons for not revealing themselves to anyone." Aza asked, looking a little worried.

"They didn't explicitly tell us not to tell anyone about them, did they?" Elias shrugged. "Plus, it's not as if we're going around explaining the whole thing to everyone we meet."

"Fine, but if we get an angry God knocking at our door we all know whose fault it is." Aza said hesitantly.

Elias blew her a kiss and turned to the soldiers, all still sitting on the ground and watching the exchange with interest.

"How long have you guys known each other?" Finn asked, cocking his head.

"A couple of days, give or take. Why?"

The Captain hummed. "No reason."

Elias gave him a weird look. "Right."

"So apparently there are a lot of Gods, each taking care of their own bit of the world. There are four of them who are in charge, if I remember correctly."