Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 712: If I Must ()

"You see?...In this world, there is only me on your side. Without me, everyone will keep hurting you..." Alessio stated.

"I already know... that none of this is real. Drop the act." Neveah spat hatefully.

Neveah had grown weary of it now, she would have much rather battled the sorcerer by Imagor’s side than this result.

The uncertainty was creeping up strongly on her, eating at her fortifications and attempting to expose Neveah to a feeling she had long taught herself to never give in to... fear.

"Real or not, you will be happy here... with me by your side, being just the right man I should have been to you all along."

"All will be what should have been. You will be happy and revered above all else... I can give you everything you desire and I am willing to give it without reserve."

"This version of me only exists right here and all you need to do is to stay...what does anything else matter?" Alessio asked Neveah, not even attempting to deny her claim.

Neveah laughed mirthlessly, shaking her head.

"Everything I desire is on the other side of this reality... you cannot do anything for me, not the real you... and not the ’you’ in this mirage." Neveah made clear,

Neveah’s words were slurred and her vision grew increasingly unfocused as the rapid loss of blood finally took its toll. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

She was going to lose consciousness and though she had held it back this long, there was no stopping it now.

"Sleep...do not fight it. Do not seek answers or find solutions... just rest easy and let it all be as it should have been." Alessio coaxed,

Reaching a hand to Neveah’s hair, he stroked gently and tenderly and the heaviness in Neveah’s eyes intensified.

Neveah blinked furiously to keep away the darkness but she knew it was of no use.

"In time, you will forget that there ever was a real world, Neveah Vairheac. Your true body will go into external sleep... and you will find true happiness in this reality. I will help you begin your new life... tonight, you will stand at my side as I face the Eclipse council, there I will let the world know, that you are my Queen." Alessio’s words were haunting to Neveah as the darkness claimed her consciousness.

"As for them...how can you stay true to a love you will be unable to remember?" Were the final words Neveah heard before she lost consciousness.

______________

The council room of the Eclipse Palace was filled with pack elders, all staring at Neveah in a mix of awe and shock and it was to this scene Neveah regained consciousness, her mind still foggy.

But weirdly, she was neither laying down nor seated but was standing before the council and saying words she barely recorded until that very moment.

"Alessio and I will be wed on coronation day, invitations will be sent out to all the Eclipse packs and the domains beyond..." Neveah trailed off, catching herself before she could complete the words.

’What was this?! What in the Creator’s name was she saying?!’ Neveah wondered in alarm.

"Beloved, you can tell them. Don’t be shy." Alessio encouraged from where he stood by Neveah’s side, their fingers intertwined.

Neveah glanced up at Alessio and a loud ringing sound made a sudden appearance in Neveah’s head and Neveah winced visibly, lifting a hand to her ear.

’In time, you will forget there ever was a real world...’ The haunting words echoed in Neveah’s mind, blending with the loud ringing sound that seemed intent on banishing Neveah’s every thought.

But Neveah recalled those haunting words and she finally understood the meaning.

’Was this it? Would she slowly lose awareness in this manner?’

The mere thought of it horrified Neveah. She understood it now, why the dragons so detested dark magic and its ability to alter the clarity of one’s mind.

"Beloved?" Alessio called again.

’Beloved...there were only two who could use that word on her, and Alessio was not one of them.’ Neveah thought, again the loud ringing intensified, as though furious at the thought Neveah had just entertained.

Neveah’s gaze roamed around the council room, the quiet murmurs echoed much too loudly to her hearing.

Her heart was beating rapidly and she could distantly hear Alessio’s calls,

The door to the council room came open, someone walked in but Neveah could not identify who, her vision was once again growing blurry.

Neveah feared if she lost consciousness again, she would truly be lost in this reality for good.

The door went shut with a loud bang that resonated through Neveah’s aching temple.

Behind the door, there was something... Neveah squinted slightly, and there it was...a ripple in the air, larger and stronger than any other she had seen, even the red mist was sparsely visible, woven into the seams of the ripple.

Neveah recalled a scene she had somehow let slip.

’They had come here, Jian and Xenon both. They met Lothaire in the council room to claim Neveah in exchange for Dragon gold... this was where the exchange had taken place, where Neveah had finally been sold by her father...’ Neveah recalled,

But what was most significant about this memory was that they had both been here... together, at the same time.

And for that, the ripple was as potent as it had been at the point in the forest where the black dragon and golden dragon had battled.

But Neveah knew from experience that this potency was all the more short-lived, she only had a single breath’s worth of time, perhaps even less... could she make it?

She had already failed many times, but with her losing awareness in this reality while the reality itself solidified, banishing the ripples, she could not afford another failure.

Neveah wasted no time, leaping up to the council table much to the surprise of the gathered council, she ignored the sharp pain in her ankle and the pandemonium her action caused and made a dash for the ripple.

The burning pain from the other times she made contact was still ingrained in Neveah’s mind, like a terrified awareness, attempting to deter her with the promise of unbearable pain if she dared make this leap.

’You will burn...’ That awareness warned her.

’Burn... I am of dragon blood, if I must burn, burn I will...’ Neveah thought.