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Chapter 691 'You win'
After Lilith explained everything, Zeres dropped his head and his hands against the pillars. After some moments frozen that way, his hands clenched into tight fists. His jaws worked before his voice came out with so much struggle. Lilith saw his mouth opening and closing a few times, but nothing seemed to be able to be said yet by Zeres.
He bit his trembling lip so hard his lower lips started to bleed. He could not believe that she did not go ahead and died in peace, going into the afterlife. She was even willing to sacrifice her one and only chance to rest in peace. This was just too much for Zeres to take in. It was just too much. When will the world be satisfied? What more does it want from him?
As Zeres trembled and fell into utter silence, Alicia averted her gaze from his pitiful form and looked over at Lilith. She could see how much the truth had broken him all over again. Just looking at him made her worry increase by leaps and bounds. It was obvious that he could not accept what she did.
"Lilith, I need you tell him about this spell. With it, he would be able to see and hear me," she quickly instructed, and Lilith blinked at it.
"What?! There is such a spell like that?" Lilith sat up at attention.
"There is, apparently. The knowledge just came to me right now. It seems there are hidden information that can only be accessed by the dead and now it keeps coming to me in batches ever since my spirit left my body." She explained. Alicia was confused as well and did not know why this was happening either. Why would this new information come to her only when she was dead? And where are all these information coming from? Could this be the ability of spirits? To know everything the living dont?
Alicia tried to refocus as there was too much going on with her since her spirit had left her body. She must focus on Zeres right now. That is the most important thing right now.
After she uttered the spell into Lilith's ears, the young girl faced Zeres again. She was thankful that Zeres just quietly listened and did not anything to complicate things even morw. Once she was done, without wasting a moment, he uttered the spell even faster and quicker than Lilith had done, and Alicia's spirit seemed to waver before finally solidifying and appeared before his eyes.
He was frozen for a long while, eyes wide as if in shock. He was just staring at her until Alicia spoke.
"You can hear me now as well, right? Zeres?" Alicia's voice floated out softly. Then out of the blue, Zeres moved forward, his arms slightly curved as though to envelope her in a bear hug. However, his body passed through her visible form, and he stumbled behind her. Zeres gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tight before abruptly turning around to face Alicia.
Alicia appeared before him again and tried her best to console him. "I'm sorry…" she said and Zeres just brokenly stood there, staring at her forlornly. "I am so sorry for always being so selfish. For making you go through all this. And I am so sorry again because I am not regretting what I did, and I never will." She lifted her hands and ran her fingers across his face, though she knew very well that he would not be able to feel her touches at all.
"I need you… we need you… and that's why I did everything I could to keep you alive. I've told you before, right? I will do everything for the witches, my queendom." She added and Zeres stumbled backwards. Despite everything, and the numbness inside him, he could not help but smile bitterly that this woman even in her spirit form would never change. She was still all about the witches, her queendom. She saved him because of the witches too. And even gave up her chance to go to the afterlife just so she could save the future witch queens and to watch over them as well. Somehow, it was so funny that the woman he was trying so hard to save and would even give his life and soul to save was also the same woman so hellbent in sacrificing herself for her subjects. She is still such a stubborn woman even in death. But perhaps, that was why he loves her so.
This woman was just incredibly indescribable. He did not know how and when but perhaps, he had fallen in love with just the way she was. The way she cares so much about her people. The way she selfishly does everything for them. Her willingness to sacrifice for them. He wondered why she was doing this when many witches would not even serve and love her as much as she loved them. But then, he smirked inwardly, remembering that he still could not stop loving her despite knowing she does not feel the same way for him. And he could only accept that this was the way it was.
"That's why, Zeres…" she spoke again as she took another step closer towards Zeres, "I need you to –"
"Alright, Queen Alicia," he suddenly cut her off and his broken expression changed a little. "You win," he added wretchedly, "I will listen to everything that you have to say. I will also do everything that you want me to do but on one condition," he stared intently into her eyes, "if I ever find a way to bring you back…" he paused and gave her a slightly hopeful and forced smile, "please, just let me."
The moment he said those words, he turned his back from her, not letting her speak and broke the spell. So, he could no longer see and hear her anymore. He then stared at Alicia's body before he left and headed towards the exit, leaving Lilith and Alicia's spirit inside the cave.
"W-where is he going?" Lilith asked.
"Don't worry. I think everything will be alright now. I'll follow him." Alicia said and also disappeared.
In the heart of the Black Forest, the vampires were quietly waiting while the other witches were surrounding them. Though the witches were hiding behind the trees as if they were the intruders and not the vampires.
"How long are we going to wait here for?" Alex asked, his brows creasing into deep lines, when suddenly, Zeres materialized before them.
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A/N: Thank you for waiting.
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Chapter 692 I know
Just after asking his question, Zeres suddenly appeared before all of them. Alex was surprised, seeing that Zeres had actually came out and was now looking a little less broken than how he was when he disappeared with Alicia's dead body earlier on. Though he still looked wretched, somehow, there were little signs of him showing some life within those deep eyes again. What had happened? Something major must have transpired for this kind of change to occur in him. And Alex hoped that it was a really good something.
The thought that this man had just found out something he needed to fulfil came to Alex's mind. He was all too familiar with the kind of pain Zeres was going through right now and Alex remembered the past again. He remembered that after he had buried Abigail's body, he too, went to fulfil her last wish and that was to kill Lexus. If not for his pain of losing her driving him on that time, Alex thought it might not be possible for a mortal like him to kill the dragon back then. His pain had driven him to do the extreme and he only continued living and fighting because of that one purpose.
Looking at Zeres now, Alex suspected that the same thing must be happening to him now. He seemed to have snapped out of his despair much quicker than he had ever expected.
"Zeres…" Alex approached him but before he could speak any further, Zeres' hoarse voice echoed.
"I need all of you to leave the forest now." He said, rendering the vampires gathered there speechless. "Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything anymore." The weariness in his voice was apparent and though his eyes were still cold and a little lifeless, Alex could tell that he was not telling a lie and that he meant what he said.
"You're saying that… you're not going to try and die anymore?" Alex spelled it out clearly to double check, just to make sure if what he heard was right.
Zeres' stared back at Alex for a long time before nodding without any hint of hesitation in his eyes. "Yes. You heard me right." He confirmed and everyone fell silent again.
Now this was unexpected! What a twist. Alex thought. Because he knew that Zeres had truly made his decision. No matter how unbelievable it was, he just knew that this man would never lie about something like this just to send them away.
"Mind telling us why you finally decided to stop now?" Ezekiel's deep voice echoed suddenly, and everyone's eyes flew towards him. He met Zeres' gaze and continued. "Is it because of Alicia?"
Another long silence reigned between them as Zeres and Zeke stared into each other's eyes. No one could tell what silent communication was made between the two as their silence stretched for a while longer.
"Yes, you're right." Zeres admitted after taking a deep breath, "it's all because of her. I will live…" his voice cracked a little before he cleared his throat and continued his explanation, "I'll continue living in this damned god forsaken world… just for her. Just for her…" He whispered the last statement, seemingly like a promise made to himself.
The bystanders could not help but feel sad for him. They realized it was not because he finally came to terms with himself and gave up his desire to die but because he was actually forcing himself and the saddest thing was that he sounded like it was because he did not have any other choice. He was doing this for someone else and not for himself.
And for some reason, everyone felt as though he was saying all those just for Zeke to know.
"I see…" was all Ezekiel replied in his usual calm voice and unreadable expression.
Alex finally let out a deep sigh and he patted Zeres' shoulder. He could not tell him he did the right thing when he knew he was forcing himself. Moreover, Alex knew there was no amount of comforting words that could relief him right now.
But he needed to know the matters about Alicia and her funeral. Aside from the fact that the witch queen had been such a great ally to them and even helped him and Abi in many ways before, Alex was worried about how to bring this news to his pregnant wife. How would Abi react to this news of her friend's passing? He was certain it would devastate her. He could only hope it would not adversely affect her and the baby she as carrying.
"How about… the queen's funeral?" Alex finally asked, "Once my wife hears about this, I am certain she'd be devastated. I must at least bring her to see Alicia for the last time. Alicia's been my wife's good friend so the witches can't possibly not let her come pay her final respects."
When Zeres took another long period of time to form any response, Alex spoke again.
"If you're thinking about not giving Alicia any proper funeral or banning all non-witches from seeing her, forgive me but I'm going to insist, and I won't agree with you no matter what reasons you will be giving. I will still be bringing my wife here to see her." Alex said. He knew he might be being too forceful, but he just believed that whatever the reason, depriving Alicia's friends and even them the chance to see her for the last time is definitely something too inconsiderate.
Zeres stared at Alex mutely. But a moment later, Zeres sighed, as though he suddenly felt an intense wave of fatigue crash over him. He wearily nodded at Alex.
"I know, I know…" he finally said. "But we will arrange everything first. For now, I need all of you to leave the forest first. Just please wait for my message before you barge in here. And this applies especially for you, Alexander."
Alex's expression finally became better and did not take offence to Zeres' pointed warning at the end. "Alright, we'll all leave for now…" Alex then said, "My wife will be in Reigns castle by tomorrow. So don't make us wait long."
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Chapter 693 Helpless
As soon as the vampires left, Zeres seemed to have lost all the strength that he had shown earlier and just slumped onto the ground. He weakly leaned against the tree trunk as if he was now beyond exhausted. As if the weight of the world had finally brought him to his knees. God knows how much he had held back his emotions that were still not quite stable just to be able to appear before all those people and talk to them as normally as he could. It almost caused him to break down all over again.
"I can't believe you are doing this, Alicia!" he groaned in a weak voice as he tugged his hair with his one hand.
A while ago when Alex was questioning Zeres about Alicia's funeral, Alicia's voice suddenly echoed in Zeres' ear. If only he knew how much Zeres had struggled not to show the shock that zapped through his body to escape into his expression. He never thought he would suddenly hear Alicia's voice at that moment! Did she not say that once the spell was broken, he would not be able to see nor hear her? What had happened? Was that a discrepancy? Only a one-time occurrence?
Truthfully, Zeres did not want to conduct a funeral for Alicia. Even if Alicia's body was dead, her spirit was still here. No matter what anyone else says, Alicia was yet not dead to him. How could he conduct a memorial remembering someone who have died, when she was clearly alive to him? His heart, his mind, his everything… all of him still could feel her spirit close to him. Thus, Alicia was still very much alive to him. So, how could he possibly agree for her funeral to be carried out when she was very much still here? He could never… and would never… because he was going to find a way to bring her spirit back to her body. No, he will find whatever way necessary. She would not die… she would not disappear. He would search the world to make it happen. No matter how long it will take. He would not let her truly die. Not again. He could not let this last chance to get her back to him slip through his hands… no matter what. Zeres swore to himself that he would achieve this at the cost of his own life!
But Alicia came to him all of the sudden and told him that she must agree with Alexander's demand and that there must a funeral to be held. She told him it was the right thing to do, not only because of her friends and comrades but most of all, because of the other witches. It was a way to give closure for everyone who had known her in life. The funeral must also happen so the coronation of the next queen would finally commence. She had also reasoned out that everyone might suspect something else was amiss, not just the witches but the vampires as well if a funeral was not carried out.
Zeres wanted to argue. He had wanted to tell her she was not dead yet. But he was helpless when she uttered the word 'please' and told him it was her wish. She told him she was physically dead and thus her death must be honored formally as per the witches' tradition. And Zeres could do nothing but relent to the request of the person he still loves more than his life itself. Hating the fact that he was still this helpless against her even though he can no longer touch her. Zeres balled up his fists in frustration and helplessness before sighing in defeat. He knew there was no way he would win against this woman.
"How the hell did you that?" he gritted his teeth as he dropped his head and stared at the ground. "You're supposed to be seen and heard only if and when I utter the spell." He added, frustration was evident in his voice but he doesn't sound angry at her at all.
"I don't know but perhaps, you can actually hear me if I speak when my body overlap through yours. Or this must be one of your special abilities for being a silver-haired witch." Alicia replied and Zeres could only fall speechless.
This was not good for him if Alicia could actually speak to him like that however and whenever she wanted. She would definitely interfere with his plans now.
"Thank you for agreeing and going along with my wish, Zeres." He heard her voice and the genuine gratitude he can detect in them made him feel even weaker. He could only face palm internally and realised that he had zero tolerance to this woman.
Zeres was not physically worn out. He was not lacking from any power and magic despite everything that had happened in the past whole month. But he was emotionally shattered, like a plant that had received too much water but was not exposed to even a single ray of sunlight for an entire month now.
He buried his face into his hands. He just wanted to pass out now. Even for a single blessed moment. He needed it to forget about everything.
"I hope… you won't do that again, Alicia." He said weakly as he leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. "Unless you changed your mind, and you want your existence to be revealed to everyone else."
"That was because I knew you were going to refuse Alexander's request. I had no choice but to pipe in. It was truly a miracle that you can actually hear me. I tried a lot of things to get your attention before that time, even talking to you while having one part of my body go right through you but that didn't work as well." Alicia protested and gave her immediate explanation.
Zeres opened his eyes. "Does this mean, you are sitting exactly where I am right now?"
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Chapter 694 His forte
"Does this mean, you are sitting exactly where I am right now?" Zeres asked.
"Yes. It seems my body has to be overlapped through yours so you would be able to hear me even without chanting the spell." She replied and an ironic weak laugh escaped Zeres' lips before he shook his head slightly.
"Why? You don't like it?" Alicia asked. He could imagine her raising her elegant brow.
"I'd rather utter the spell than having you do that, Alicia." He said and then he suddenly uttered the spell. "Now, get off me." Zeres said dryly and sighed heavily.
Alicia rose and looked down at him. She was about to say something, but after looking at him, she seemed to change her mind and she closed her mouth instead.
"You should rest now." She told him after a moment and Zeres closed his eyes again, not to sleep but so he could stop staring at her. He wanted to keep seeing her but seeing her like that cause him pain. Somehow, he found it easier to cut off all visuals for now. At least until he feel a little stronger emotionally.
"How about you?" he asked weakly without opening his eyes.
"I'll speak with Lilith. I have lots of things to teach her after this. It's kind of nice, since I felt like I have all the time in the world right now. I don't even need any rest and other mundane things like eating or sleeping anymore." Alicia gave a little laugh that sounded like multiple bells tinkling merrily.
Though Zeres thought the sound was extremely beautiful to his ears, his facial muscles worked a little. He did not like the way she sounded as though she was truly glad that she was a spirit now. As if she was truly alright now and had accepted what she was now. As if her, being a spirit now was a good thing.
He did not know what to say… and his chest hurts so bad. So, he could only keep his eyes and mouth shut close. Knowing that he would not know what to do either and would still feel the same if she was crying now or regretting everything.
After a short while, Zeres suddenly broke the spell before he opened his eyes. He rose and was about to leave when he halted.
"Don't follow me… I'm going to take a breather and wash up." He said tiredly before disappearing from the area and materialized at the Moon Lake in the northern part of the Black Forest. It was his favourite hangout spot. And it was the place he where he usually bathed since he came here.
He called his attendant named Lior, the young male witch Alicia had assigned to serve him since she first brought him to the forest. "Go get me a change of clothes…" he ordered. Lior nodded obediently then disappeared as Zeres began to strip off his filthy clothes and dropping them to the ground.
He was still covered with blood and dirt. But to his surprise, his wounds were all gone. He had initially thought he just gotten numb when he did not feel any more pain caused by his large wounds because that had been the case when he was fighting. But it seems he was wrong. He had completely healed. There was not even a hint of a scar left on his perfect skin now.
Dipping himself slowly in the clear water, Zeres stayed underwater for a long time. His heart was aching again, knowing that the reason he healed was because of Alicia's sacrifice. Why did that annoying woman had to give so much of herself without allowing him to give back some to her? Why did she had to be so strong and capable? However, he knew that was part of the reason why he fell in love with her.
When he emerged from the water, he stared up the sky and wondered if his invisible wounds would ever heal one day. What price must he pay to stop all this pain?
Zeres thought that the only way to make him feel better again was when he could finally bring her back to life. So, until then, all he could do now was to endure. This was his forte after all. To live in pain.
…
Meanwhile, the vampires had finally reached the Reigns castle. The group slowed down the moment they reached the forest right at the back of the castle when Lucas spoke.
"Is this really alright?" he asked as they walked under the trees. "I mean… is Zeres really not going to cause any trouble anymore? After what I've seen… and all the things he could do… I honestly found it too good to be true that he had truly given up now. It seems a little suspicious…"
"Do not worry, I can assure you Zeres won't be doing anything for now." Alex was the one who responded before his gaze shifted to Zeke. "Right, Zeke?"
Zeke simply nodded and that was all it took for Lucas to close that topic. However, just as the men was about to leap to enter the castle from the back walls, Kyle's voice echoed out softly but still crystal clear.
"Brother," he said, his voice filled with hesitation.
Everyone halted and looked at Kyle who was behind them all, except Zeke. The man did not turn to look at his youngest brother, but Kyle was more than determined. He looked as though he was not going to delay or swallow whatever it was that he wanted to say anymore, no matter how scary it was.
He stared fixedly at his brother's back with an intense look in his eyes. He took in a fortifying breath before opening his mouth.
"Who…" he paused for a while, and then he took the plunge. With his voice filling with courage, he asked, "what are you exactly?"
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Chapter 695 One day
"What are you exactly?" Kyle's loaded question was followed by utter silence.
Lucas had his eyes wide opened in shock as he looked at the young prince behind him. He never had expected Kyle to actually come out and ask. He had underestimated the bravery of this young man. Well, how could he forget? Kyle had been so fearless that he even dared to defy Ezekiel not once but a few times now. And now, here he was actually questioning his brother on this sensitive question! And right in front of everyone else, no less!
The vampire could not help but feel worried for Kyle. Tensed, he sneaked a peek at Zeke and saw that the man remained immobile. He silently hoped that Ezekiel would just walk off and leave now and would be in favour of ignoring the question.
"Please, say something…" Kyle prompted again, not caring about the tenseness that was so thick in the air, causing Lucas' anxiety to rise to its peak. He whipped around and pleaded the young prince with his begging eyes to just drop the matter. But Kyle had to be the epitome of stubborn right now. Lucas could feel his heart sinking when he saw the burning determination in Kyle's eyes telling him that the young prince would press for an answer no matter what.
Lucas looked at Alexander. Knowing that Alexander was most probably the only one who could stand in between these two royal vampires in the event if things were blown out of proportion.
However, to the ginger-head's dismay, Alexander was already leisurely leaning against a tree, as if waiting for an interesting play to start, wearing the 'devil may care, but I do not' look on his handsome face. Damn it all to hell, Alexander! Lucas pressed his fingers to his temple.
Left without a choice, Lucas was about to move towards Kyle when Ezekiel finally moved.
He turned his head slightly and spoke. "What am I?" his voice came out as calm and unruffled as usual, but the air suddenly turned incredibly suffocating. "I am a vampire. Nothing else." He added and it did not escape everyone's notice the unusual and rare emotion in his voice for a moment as he said those lines. Vicious hatred and utter disgust. Nothing but pure dark emotions.
Then he was gone, leaving Kyle standing there unsatisfied. It was as good as not having his question answered at all and only ended up with him clenching his fists tight.
Seeing his dejected expression, Lucas patted his back comfortingly. He had somewhat anticipated the outcome. They were talking about his prince and master Ezekiel here, so what more could the young prince expect out of him?
"Why is he lying and pretending everything is alright?" Kyle murmured as his jaws clenched. "All of us have already seen it. Yet here he is, insisting that he's a vampire and nothing else… can't he even try to make me understand? Or is it because I am not worthy to know anything at all?"
"Please don't say that, Prince Kyle. Even I know nothing. I think even the king knows nothing about this too. I think it's just Alexander who has any inkling on what is going on, right?" Lucas looked at Alex.
With a deep sigh, Alex pushed himself away from the tree trunk and walked over to them.
He stared at Kyle and then his hand landed heavily on the boy's head – not unkindly though. "Listen, little vampire." He started with a serious look on his face. "I know you are curious to know more about your elder brother's secrets, but I'd like the both of you to keep quiet about this for now. Don't worry, one day, I know you'll eventually learn the truth… though I'm certain you'll learn all of it not from Zeke himself. I'm sure you already know, but I'm just going to say it again. That guy is impossible to crack so don't bother trying." Alex explained as he shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Also, you don't need to worry about his dangerous abilities, he won't cause any trouble again any time soon."
"A-any time soon? You're saying he'll cause trouble one day… later on?" Kyle's eyes widened and Alex tilted his head slightly.
"Well, with that kind of power, it's almost impossible that he would be able to avoid huge problems from literally falling into his lap." Alexander said a little apologetically as he scratched at his nose. "However, it had been so long… hundreds of years to be exact and nothing had happened so far. Like I said, Zeke's the toughest nut to crack in this universe that even his own tremendous power could never control him… he controls everything so well. Still, we don't know if one day something or someone might manage to do the impossible and crack this invincible rock that is Zeke. But I don't think it will happen any time soon. I guess if that happens, it's still in the far future… so for now, we can all just relax."
Alex calmly flashed a small but confident smile which made Kyle and Lucas knew that though Alexander was always that reckless god of trouble before, they knew that his words were still absolute when he was serious. They also knew Alexander was an even more ancient creature than Ezekiel, so it was only a given that this man knew best about Ezekiel and more than anyone else did.
"Alright… now forget about this matter for now. And I should warn you, Kyle… not to ask that question again. Let's just say Zeke hated it more than anything else in this world so try not to ask anything about what he is. Got it? Now I shall take my leave."
"You're not coming to the castle first?" Lucas immediately asked just as Alex was about to run off.
"Inform Zeke I've gone home. I can't let my beloved wife wait for me any longer than this. I worry she might be missing me so damn much right now." He smirked naughtily and then he too, was gone.
Lucas sighed. "It's obvious it was you who are missing her to death right now, though…" he mumbled dryly before he turned to Kyle and the duo finally headed back into the castle.
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