Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 512: Impasse ()

"I do not think I can explain what I felt or how I felt it. I can only say it was enough to keep me conscious up until this moment." Xenon murmured quietly.

Xenon’s words were followed by a mirthless chuckle as he thought back to that indescribable certainty that dawned on him, that what was between Neveah and Jian all along was a true bond. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

It had been a hard pill to swallow, it still was and Xenon knew it was no one’s fault, no one had predicted this turn of events so with whom could the blame lie?

Him? For pursuing his brother’s bonded? Or was the blame on Jian for discovering his true bond at the worst time possible?

Fate was laughable, it always had been.

Xenon moved his gaze from Jian so he stared up ahead at nothing in particular.

Jian also leaned back on his chair and stared out ahead of him, and a moment of silence dawned between the two.

"Isn’t this a rather ironic twist? My brother whom I cherish the most.. I wished for you to be blessed with the greatest, truest bond so you would never know the pain I did."

"And it happened exactly as I wished it... the world’s most precious woman is yours." Xenon broke the silence after a short time.

"Yet her heart lies elsewhere." Jian admitted.

Xenon passed a look over to Jian, shrugging casually.

"It is hard not to be besotted by a man like me...you would know." Xenon agreed.

Jian scoffed beneath his breath, turning his face away as he had no intentions to indulge Xenon’s arrogance.

"It must be hard on her..." Xenon muttered with a heavy sigh.

"It would be. She feels guilty to you... especially about the mark." Jian revealed.

Xenon lifted a hand to his neck subconsciously, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

Xenon had not expected Neveah would place a claim on him, but he had never been more satisfied in his entire life.

"I will not let her go, Jian." Xenon made his stance clear.

"You have never been a man to back down, this is a fact I am aware of." Jian replied with a nod.

"And neither are you." Xenon said knowingly.

"Indeed." Jian concurred.

"Hence, we find ourselves at an impasse." Xenon announced.

Jian chuckled quietly at Xenon’s choice of words, spoken in the elegant fashion that was more like Everon than any of the six brothers.

"Veah... where is she?" Xenon asked out of the blue.

"In her quarters with Kaideon." Jian replied.

"Is she? I could faintly feel her presence earlier...but I do not feel it anymore." Xenon murmured with furrowed brows.

Jian frowned slightly, getting up to his feet.

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The quiet and serene atmosphere of the forest was exactly what Neveah needed to sort through her thoughts and she had come a long way to find it.

After the events from earlier, Neveah was certain the dune city would still be unsettled, perhaps word about what she had done would have spread too.

Neveah had chosen to avoid the city completely and any other place she could encounter a familiar face.

Instead, she had come out to the forest at a more isolated part of dune city, a place Neveah knew was not so often frequented except by hunting parties.

And who in their right minds would be out hunting after such an eventful day?

Neveah breathed a quiet sigh as she got off her horse and pulled it over to secure the reins to a tree.

The path through the forest had ended and Neveah would have to continue on foot.

It was just as well, walking was a welcome distraction.

Neveah trudged through the forest, pulling her coat tighter around herself as she walked.

It was early evening already and Neveah was not sure how long she had slept but she was pretty certain it had already been noon when they had faced the death gale.

Perhaps it was still the same day, or a whole other day entirely, Neveah could not bring herself to care.

What day it was would not get her out of the situation she was in, nothing could.

Neveah had been walking aimlessly through the forest for a short while now,

She was quite deep in the forest when she caught sight of a person huddled over up ahead, a completely strange sight to find in a forest at this time of the day.

Neveah’s brows narrowed in suspicion as she slowly walked over to the man,

Just as she arrived a short distance behind him, he turned around and surprised to see someone standing there, he stumbled backwards, losing his balance on the slippery mud, falling right into a groove of flowers.

"Scales! I’m sorry, I did not mean to startle you." Neveah apologized instantly as the man was covered in mud and dirt, his cloak completely ruined.

"Don’t we always meet in the most unusual circumstances?" He asked.

Neveah raised a brow, but her expression changed when the young man pulled off his hood and fixed Neveah with a dirty look.

Neveah was surprised to find that it was infact a familiar face.

"Kaz?" Neveah recognised the man she had met quite a few times around the city’s most frequented bakery.

They had met first at the city infirmary when Neveah had reset his dislocated ankle and they had crossed paths a few times after, particularly at the city’s bakery.

He had also been arrested a few times by the city guard for breaking one law or the other and so Neveah guessed he was right to say they met at unusual circumstances.

"What are you doing out here, huddled over like you are up to no good?" Neveah asked with a raised brow.

"And what are you doing out here creeping up on random people? Are dune enforcers allowed to do that?" Kaz reiterated.

Neveah’s lips twitched in amusement as she offered a hand down to him, helping him up and out of the flower groove.

"A year of hard work, all ruined and it’s all your fault." Kaz accused, pointing at the smashed flowers from his fall.

Neveah grimaced visibly, an apologetic smile on her lips.

"There’s a stream not far ahead, you might want to shed some layers of mud before apportioning blames." Neveah suggested.

Kaz grumbled beneath his breath as he picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows before gesturing for Neveah to lead the way.