Chapter 157: Chapter 157

"The once one shall be one, it must, it is the only way for this frail world to survive the death surrounding it, if not, darkness shall swallow it, the sun shall never rise again, and cold will seap through the fabric of life, cutting off the bonds, chasing away the warmth, children shall die in their mothers wombs, love bonds shall be severed, and the sun shall never rise once again nor shall the moon and stars shine, there will be nothing left of this world unless we save it..."

"What are you mumbling about?" Sara questioned warily, her heart still in the bedroom were she left an angry Eren who was probably raising hell just to find her, a sting of regret erupted inside of her but she quickly pushed it aside to focus on what the three silvered hair men were saying…

It felt like being trapped into that horrible nightmare once again, when the Gods tried to absorb her powers, they looked no different from what they did back then, long white robes, long silver locks, peerless beauty with fair skin and pure eyes, she recognized one of them, Zaman, and from the haughty way one was glaring at her she figured he was non other than Kalan whom she met in his child form, which left the third, who had to be Ebdi.

The three were there in their real appearances, not bothering with disguises and that only meant that the situation was far more serious and dire than she anticipated it to be, their cores remained stable but she sensed the tangible agitation in their words and behavior…

Back up wasn't such a bad plan after all...

"We understand this is all so sudden for you, Young Goddess, same as we understand that you do not find us to be trust worthy, and we do not blame you, we haven't given you any reasons to trust us to begin with, but..."

"But this isn't about trust!" Feeling tired of Zaman's verbally patting the girl to trust them, Kalan interrupted sharply, giving the half Goddess the bitter dose of reality she needed, "It is about fulfilling our task, our destiny, us the keepers of the light, it is time for us to give back what was never ours in order for this world and all aspects of life on it to survive, otherwise, everything and everyone would be lost forever..."

"Give back the light? You mean the creation energy?" Sara's tone was calm and slow but the sardonic smile on her lips told another story of utter rage, "In other words, die?"

"Correct, no matter how strong we are, our bodies can never sustain the withdrawal of the creation energy, our cores will collapse and we will die." Ebdi spoke calmly, his voice relaxed as if he was humming an old song instead of announcing their arriving death...

"Let le guess, you are expecting me to believe this nonsense, or maybe even expect me to go with you willingly and offer you my life for you to take it? You are all fools!" Taking a defensive stance, Sara readied herself for battle, cursing herself for being an arrogant idiot and leaving Eren behind...

Eren!

He must be looking for her!

What if they had a hold on him? Will the two of them be able to defeat the Gods all by themselves? What if they harmed him?

She couldn't let that happen! She couldn't let him find her!

"Are you masking your aura too? Afraid for your special friend I see?"

"We are not going to force you into anything, Young Goddess, in contrary, we are giving you full choice, for it was you that brought some peace into this world, you managed to grow love even in the deadest lands, we believe in you, Me more than these two but only because I have known tou more than them, and believe me, young Goddess, I wish I could spare you this, I wish we could do it on our own while you continue to live with the young Lord, I wish you two could keep on watching after this world, However, it is impossible without the fourth element, it is impossible without you..."

"I don't believe you!" Sara shouted angrily, cutting off Zaman's words, "Why would I believe you? You just said it? While me and Eren and the rest sought out peace, all you did was hide and watch! Even if what you are saying is true, why should I believe in the solution you are offering? Why should I believe in you?"

"Again, it is your choice, young Goddess, and you will believe us when you see it with your own eyes, the darkness in the edges..."

"Don't try to..."

"Do you remember what I told tou in the frozen edge, daughter of Historia?" Kalan asked tiredly, looking at the spoiled brat Through tired eyes, "I did tell you back then, it is either you or him, if you refuse to fulfill your duty, if you are selfish enough to choose yourself instead of this world, then it will be none other than your little lover who is going to die first..."

"I am afraid this is the truth, young Goddess." Seeing the terror on Sara's face, Zaman confirmed with an apologetic tone, "I love the young Lord as if he was my own child, I have watched him grow since he was a child, it pains me to say this but what Kalan is saying is the truth, with such a small amount of energy inside of him which he took from Ayartma, darkness will target him first and the world would drain him, he will go among the first ones, and the rest of us will follow..."

"So this is your plan?" Sara slowly nodded like a maniac, her head thinking about a thousand possibilities at the same time, but none came close to what the bastards were saying, how could it? And how could she believe it? "You want to threaten me with Eren's life? Well think again, you mutts, for I will burn the whole world before I let you go anywhere near him!"

"You will see it with your own eyes once you meet him again, until then, we will be waiting for you in the center..."

"The choice is yours, young Goddess, either you or the rest of the world, including him..."

"You will die both ways, but at least your love can survive..." The Gods spoke one after the other as their bodies faded into thin air, leaving a breathless Sara behind, by the time she wrapped her mind on the situation, the three figures were no where to be found...

Liars!

They were nothing but liars...

Dragging her feet back to the castle, Sara tried to not stamble and fall, she didn't fight but she felt as if she just lost the greatest battle, her head was about to explode with all the thoughts, one in particular…

Death...

She lost her mother to death...

She lost her father to death...

She lost Dhalia to death...

Death wasn't a lie, it was as true as life, and the mere thought of losing Eren was shredding off her sanity...

It couldn't be real! Eren couldn't die! He was the strongest man she knew...

"Sara!" Looking up, Sara was met with the pair of eyes she loved the most, and in no time she was engulfed in tight hug that felt like home, his hug, his eyes, his scent, his voice…him...

He was alive...

Raising her arms to hug him back, Sara stopped midway as she felt something strange radiating from his core, something so faint and unstable.

The creation energy, it was losing its stability inside of him, leaving his body like tiny, barely noticeable rays...

And then the harsh reality slapped her...

It wasn't a lie...

Her demon was going to die...

"You stay away from me!"

******

"You stay away from me!" Those were not the last words she wished to say to him, Sara thought as she stepped inside the remains of the Gods' castle, she had so many other things to say, so many things to express, apology, gratitude, sorrow, love, and regret...

She wanted to say sorry for not putting more efforts in their relationship, for not expressing her love enough, and for going behind him and then hurt his feelings the way she did...

She wanted to tell him how thankful she was for having him in her life, for everything they had been through, bitter and sweet, that she had forgiven his past mistakes and was willing to forgive the next, for his love to her was the greatest gift, his selfless, unconditional love was like a midnight sun in a world that never knew day light...

She wanted to tell him, that even though she didn't say it enough, she loved him, with all of her, she loved his edges, his darkness, his softness, his broken shards, she loved every single flaw and prone that made him the man he was, she loved every moment in her life knowing he was there by her side, she loved herself while being with him, her love to him was bigger than words, bigger than expressions, and no matter how many times she told him about it, it never felt enough...

Sorrow, for leaving him, for no longer being able to wake up next to him in their bed every morning, for no longer being able to kiss his lips, or look into his eyes, sorrow for thing about what would happen to him without her...

If she could only bring back time, she wouldn't waste a single second in being far from him, she wouldn't spend a day without him, she wouldn't let a moment pass without showing him how much she loved him...

Only if.. Sara held back her dreams as she saw the Gods standing in the middle of the large crystal hall, waiting for her, and even when she wanted to be over with things as quick as possible, she still walked slowly, savoring the last bits of life, it was a good life, she told herself, full of bitterness, but a single man managed to make it all worth it, and for that man she was walking towards her death...

She would die...but at least their love, her love, her lover, would live...

"You have made the right choice, Young Goddess.."

"I never had a choice and you know it..." Sara wanted to snap and shout and rage at the three bastard who had their fill of life and then asked her to die by their side but she had no energy to do so...

"Sadly no, I just hope the life circle would be kind with the two of you..." Zaman mumbled apologetically before raising his hand for the young Goddess to take in order for her to join them in the final ritual, but before her shaky hand touched his, dark shadows emerged around them, engulfing the princess in their safety...