Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 458: A Place ()

Emptiness... that potent hollow feeling that stretched down to the very depths of the soul, like a virus eating up every ounce of emotion in it’s path as it bores it’s way down.

And it kept eating and eating, insatiable... until there was nothing left but all consuming emptiness.

This was the kind of feeling Neveah awakened to, a feeling that to Neveah seemed far worse than the numbness she had always known.

It had been a short while since Neveah’s eyes fluttered open, but she had not moved in the slightest nor said a word, she just lay still on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

It was ironic how the first and only thing Neveah had taken note of since she awakened was the distant familiarity of the ceiling in her line of sight...it was the ceiling of her own quarters in Dragon Keep, a place she had not been to in a long while.

To Neveah, it was like her mind was far detached from her body, Neveah could hardly process much thought, she could only lay still and stare for fear that if she moved even the slightest bit, the whole world would shatter all around her.

Or at least what was left of it...

The bond, Menarx’s bond was gone. Neveah could feel it so alarmingly clearly that she was not certain how to react.

That tender, blooming bond, Neveah had not expected it would leave behind such a deep void, it seemed she had given more of her heart to Menarx than she had even realized.

And what use was realising it now? Now when her heart ached with each breath, every pulse of pain reminding her that once again, fate had taken from her and here she was, still alive because living was all she could do.

Living was the only thing she still had within her control and that was exactly the answer to the question ’what now’.

Live, unapologetically and for herself, was what Neveah would dedicate her efforts to, for she still had so much to live for.

There was her father Kaideon who would move the earth and heavens for her and his dune dragons, a family she was yet to know but could already tell how valued and adored she was.

There was Estelle and Dante, the pair that somehow had become a strength and confidant to Neveah even if she would never admit it.

There was the Winter Domain and her mother’s family who waited for the day she would return.

And above all, there was the mystery behind her mother’s disappearance and the enemies she needed to punish with her own hands.

This life of hers... Neveah knew it had only just begun. And as painful as every moment felt, it was just a reminder that she still lived.

Neveah blinked away the tears that gathered in her eyes, glancing down at the presence she had not even noticed was by her bedside.

Kaideon was seated by Neveah’s bedside, his head laid down on the bed but Neveah could tell he was awake, it would be difficult for him to find sleep when she had caused so much concern.

Kaideon had not noticed Neveah was already awake, he seemed to be as lost in his own thoughts as Neveah had been and judging from his hunched shoulders, Neveah could already guess amongst his thoughts was self blame.

"Father..." Neveah called to Kaideon.

It was a word she had not used in a long time, even back in the Eclipse Domain, Neveah did not get to use the word so often.

Lothaire was Alpha King and Neveah had quickly learned he did not favor hearing the word from her except in the occasions were they were in the midst of others and had to keep up appearances.

Truth be told, there was always a part of Neveah that doubted the possibility of Lothaire truly being her father and Lothaire himself had showed many signs.

Neveah had thought it would take her years before she would be comfortable addressing Kaideon as her father, given how the term father had never meant anything good to her.

But walking in on the scene in the audience hall, it had slipped out of her before she could even realise it and now, it was perhaps the only thing left in Neveah’s existence that felt right.

Kaideon glanced up immediately, his eyes reflecting his relief as he saw Neveah staring back at him.

"I..." Neveah began to say, unsure if she wanted to apologize for the troubles she had caused Kaideon or express how grateful she was that he had come, or simply cry her heart out.

"Hush now, I know... father knows your heart." Kaideon hushed Neveah, pulling her into a tight hug.

And Neveah knew in that moment that her world would never fall apart, Kaideon would always be there to hold it together.

"Come home with me, Veah. Your home is a place of endless plains of white sand... the dune castle is no towering keep, the white dunes is a border stronghold, a place of battles and warriors."

"It will lack the noble air of the citadel and my people are accustomed to the simpler things in life, unburdened by rules and propriety...but I swear to you that all the freedom and love in the world will be yours to have." Kaideon said to Neveah earnestly.

Neveah had already made up her mind the moment she stepped into the audience hall, Dragon Keep could never be home and this was a truth Neveah had always known,

It was only that she had come from an even worse place, she had nowhere else to go, no place to call hers.

But it was different now, Neveah did have a place, far off it was, and truly it was a place she knew nothing of but it was her heritage, her father’s legacy...it was home. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"I will go... to the White Dunes." Neveah finally said.