Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 497: In Your Place ()

Neveah stood awkwardly to the side, watching as King Jian gently lowered Xenon to the ground within the cavern.

King Jian then walked over to the entrance of the cavern, he did not move a single limb and just stared but Neveah watched in astonishment as flames roared to life from nothing, forming a wall over the cave entrance.

Neveah had never witnessed any dragon with as much control over fire as King Jian, to the extent that he could summon flames with perfect ease even in human form.

Though Neveah knew Menarx could also wield flames in human form, she did not think his ability was this potent... King Jian was even more excellent than a fire mage.

King Jian then walked back over to Xenon, crouching down beside him. King Jian slit his palm open and then held it over Xenon’s neck, letting his blood drip down on the bleeding bite.

A sizzling sound was heard and Neveah watched as the bleeding stopped immediately and the wound closed up, leaving behind a visible scar that Neveah knew would never go away.

Neveah winced visibly when King Jian’s gaze finally moved to her, staring blankly at her for a moment.

"Sit." King Jian instructed.

"I am fine... I..." Neveah began to protest but King Jian cut her off.

"We will be here all night, Neveah. Sit." King Jian said in a tone that gave no room for arguments.

Neveah nodded and slowly lowered herself to a sit, a good distance away from where Xenon and King Jian were.

Neveah’s heart still ached for Xenon and was clenched up in guilt, but she knew it was best she stayed out of King Jian’s way.

King Jian also sat down, leaning his head against the wall of the cavern.

He lifted a hand to brush away the hair from his face, exhaling a heavy sigh as his eyes went closed.

Neveah dared a glance over at King Jian, taking her first good look at him since he had showed up.

It was then Neveah realized just how different King Jian looked, and it was not a good kind of different.

Neveah could not place a finger on what exactly it was, but King Jian looked...drained.

Neveah diverted her gaze away and stared down at her hands, fidgeting nervously for short time.

The silence was nerve wracking and the fact that King Jian had still not said a word since they had entered the cave bothered Neveah greatly.

"Your Grace... whatever you think of me at this moment, you have every right..." Neveah began to say, but her words trailed off when King Jian sucked in a sharp breath.

Neveah lifted her gaze to him cautiously, expecting to find his raging eyes fixed on her, but instead, Neveah found King Jian was in the exact same position he had been.

Leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. Neveah guessed he was asleep, but she listened for a moment, the sound of King Jian’s uneven breathing left her in confusion.

"Is he asleep?...Or not?" Neveah murmured in confusion.

Neveah studied King Jian’s expression from where she sat, concluding that he indeed was asleep, but his brows were furrowed slightly and there was a strained expression on his face...as though he was in pain.

A quiet sound of discomfort echoed from him and Neveah raised a single brow.

"Is he having...a nightmare?" Neveah wondered. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Did dragons even have nightmares? Neveah did not know.

Neveah stared over at the entrance of the cavern, but the sound of discomfort from King Jian came again.

This time, Neveah heard his heart beat grow rapid and Neveah frowned in concern.

"Your Grace? Are you alright?" Neveah called to King Jian as she got up to her feet.

Neveah contemplated for a moment, torn between ignoring King Jian or daring to get closer, but eventually, she slowly walked over to King Jian.

Neveah crouched down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Neveah was just about shaking King Jian awake when King Jian’s hand moved to rest over hers.

Neveah suppressed a yelp of surprise, quickly attempting to retract her hand but King Jian’s hold only tightened.

"What is up with him?" Neveah thought to her wolf, pondering over how she would get away without waking him.

Neveah’s gaze was still on King Jian and so she caught the movement of his lips as he murmured some words.

His words were barely audible, and Neveah had to lean in closer to pick them up.

"Do not leave...if you leave like this, what else do I have to live for?" He whispered in a quiet breath.

Those words, they were said with such thick, intense emotion... the kind Neveah had never known King Jian to be capable of and Neveah was stunned to silence.

Those words...they left a strange, melancholic feeling in Neveah’s heart, one Neveah could not place exactly.

"What exactly have you endured...to make you this way? One broken soul always recognises another... I know my pain made me who I am, so what kind of pain have you endured?" Neveah murmured quietly.

It was only now Neveah thought of it... that the cold Dragon King perhaps had not always been this way.

Back in the memorial hall of Asrig and now, once again, Neveah found herself unable to understand just who exactly the Dragon King was.

Not the emotionless face he showed to the world, Neveah had worn that facade well enough to know... beneath that layer was the darker truth.

Neveah sighed, adjusting her position so she sat beside King Jian, she did not flinch away when he leaned his head down on her shoulder, his breaths still sounding strained and difficult.

"Your Grace, what are you dreaming about that could terrify you so?" Neveah murmured in concern.

Neveah lifted a hand, hesitating for a moment before she rested it over King Jian’s hair, slowly stroking his hair back in hopes to provide some measure of comfort.

"I...I will not let you go...I have seen many centuries and you are just a child...if death must take one of us, just let it take me...."

"I will go in your place...so live...live for me... this is the only thing I can do for you..." King Jian murmured inaudibly, shifting closer to Neveah as his breathing evened out completely.

Neveah was not certain what King Jian’s unconscious murmurs meant, but what she was certain of was the tight feeling in her chest.

And in Neveah’s distraction, she did not notice the pair of dilated onyx orbs that fluttered open for just a moment, before going closed again.