Chapter 160: Chapter 160

"Because, this is my destiny, I am a Goddess and I was destined for greatness, now I realize it, You, on the other hand, you are only dirtying this place with your presence!" once the words left her mouth, Sara regretted saying them, hurting the man she loved deliberately and watching the effect her words had on him was equally devastating to her, her heart was breaking simultaneously with his, echoing in the silent room, visible on the tense postures...

They say actions speak louder than words but Sara knew that no punch was going to cause worse damage than the words she was spitting bluntly, no attack would have wounded him that deep enough to through him in a state of complete stillness, His eyes cast downward, his breathes coming out deep and calm, his shadows retreating to gather around his feet.

Did she really do it? Break his heart enough for him to finally give up on her? Sara thought as she watched him thoroughly, her eyes desperate to make contact with his, unable to stop herself from wanting to make sure he was alright even when she was the one to hurt him in the first place.

She didn't want any of this, Sara almost yelled, feeling her throat tightening with all the anger and sorrow she was feeling as if the fact that she was about to die wasn't enough, she found herself obliged to break the one heart that loved her above all, it was far from what she ever wanted, but it appeared that her destiny hid nothing for her but pain and death...

Destined for greatness, Sara scoffed internally, mocking her own words, she was an abomination that was never supposed to exist, one which only ruined the lives of those who loved her...

Her mother died giving birth to her, her father died while trying to keep her safe, countless humans and demons died because of her, whoever it was, death was the destiny of those who tried to protect her and alter her destiny, and Eren was no exception unless he left her behind...

Maybe that was the decision he made, at last, Sara thought while taking in his strange calmness, maybe he figured out at last that she wasn't worthy of his love, that she wasn't worth dying for, maybe he was giving up on her.

Good...

So painfully good!

It was all she wanted right then, for him to let go of her before her destiny became his, to live, to take all the chances and opportunities, to forget about her and find a lover who can give him real and unconditional happiness, one who could give him children without worrying about a damn curse, one who was safe to love and walk through life with.

It was what she wanted, what she planned to achieve with her verbal and physical attacks, but why did it hurt so much then?

Why was she finding it hard to swallow his surrender to her desire? Why did a part of her scream inside for him to hold on to her, to their love? Why did she want him to resist, even for a bit longer?

How could she be so selfish?

Or was she hoping that it was all a nightmare that would end soon? Was she still the same stupid girl who believed in happy endings?

"You are thinking too much!" This woman...Eren thought as he raised his head, at last, his cold eyes meeting the clear ones, blocking their attempt to see through them, this stupid woman, thinking that he believed her lying lips while her eyes screamed the truth loudly, her pain, her sorrow, her regret, her self pity, her love, everything was there to be read so clearly, even with her failing attempts to mask it with hurtful words.

Why was the question, but Eren knew that she wouldn't just answer, which left him with one choice?

"Have it your way, my fair lady!" Upon hearing the words, Sara felt perplexed, but her confusion was suddenly replaced by alert as the dark shadows rushed her way like hundreds of snakes, jumping high in the air, Sara managed to evade the shadows attack only to be grabbed by the neck midair and then thrown back on the crystal ground, her fall leaving a big impact on the smooth surface.

He was attacking her! Sara thought as she quickly jumped back on her feet, her head tilted up to look at her lover who was already in his demonic form, his eyes resembling those of a beast, showing nothing but bloodthirst and cruelty.

Unintentionally, Sara took a small step back, for it has been so long since he stared at her with those eyes, not the ones of a lover, but a predator, it was that side of him that scared her more than anything in the world, the one which was tamed with love and regret, the monster who tortured her, was right in front of her, looking at her with the same hateful eyes.

Only that this time, she could not blame him, Sara thought as she jumped again, evading the attacks he was throwing her way, his moves were precise, strong, and deathly, with no finesse or carefulness in them...

Was he trying to kill her? Sara thought as she fought back, Were her words enough to steer his madness?

His intentions didn't matter, Sara told herself while launching herself at him with her full speed and using her whole body to attack his massive one, her intentions were the one that mattered and she intended on getting him out of the center before it was too late.

It wasn't an easy task though, Sara thought as she tried to attack him over and over again, only for him to counter-attack harder, dominating their small battle from the very start, she couldn't give up though, Sara urged herself while evading his dark claws that came right at her shoulder, Sara was quick to send a kick his way only for him to catch it midair and twist it painfully before lifting her whole body in the air and then hitting it on the crystal floor once again with twice the force, making Sara groan as the cracking pain throbbed in her head, just as she expected, Eren knew her far too well to be tricked by her sudden attacks, he always watched her too carefully, and just as he once told her, he was far more experienced when it came to direct battles, he was better at reading her moves even when he was the one blinded by madness.

What else could she do? How to force him out of the center without irrevocably hurting him? How to defeat him and keep him protected at the same time?

"This is all you got, Goddess?!" Questioning venomously, Eren surprised the exhausted Sara by appearing in front of her suddenly, his fingers quick to circle her delicate neck before he lifted her up and then smashed her on the floor, the impact causing her breath to hitch as her head buzzed with pain and her throat burned with the lack of air.

She was defeated! Sara thought, she barely even put on a fight.

The damn ritual…it was already happening…

And Eren...he was still there...

He had to go...

But he wasn't going, he wasn't bulging, he just kept pressing on her neck as she laid helplessly under him, he squeezed and then released, glimpses of light flashing through his darkness as he stared down at her, his body returning to its human form.

He had promised not to hurt her, yet here he was, hurting her...

Was that what their love was meant to be? An endless circle of pain and hurt and betrayal brocaded with happiness once every blue moon?

"Fucking why?" Screaming angrily, Eren tightened his hold on Sara's neck to a dangerous degree, his emotions coming all out at once, raw and unfiltered, "I thought we were happy! I thought you were happy! You fucking said so dammit! You said that you loved me! And you know how much I love you, you know that you are my only reason to live, and you still pushed me away and left!! You fucking left me! You left us! The future we could've had, the life and happiness that we fought so hard for! You tossed it all aside! And for what? Just tell me for fucking what?! You heartless bitch! Why did you do this to me?!" As his grab tightened around her neck, Eren's angry roars broke into desperate cries, his resolution breaking with the fact that he had hurt her once again, tears falling like rain from his eyes just to stain his fair lady's face as she laid under him, not holding back her tears either, "Sara, please, I am begging you! Don't do this! Don't go where I can't find you!"

"Allow me to answer you on the lady's behalf, Young Lord..." Turning sharply to the source of the voice, Eren was met with the annoying fatherly eyes of Zaman, however, it wasn't the eyes or the affection in them that bothered the lord but the position the man was in...

It wasn't just him, Eren thought, alarmed as he released Sara's neck to look at the three Gods who circled them, an invisible thread of energy which he failed to notice before imprisoning him and his fair lady in the middle...

"W...what are you doing?!" Lifting herself on her elbows, Sara asked warily, the scene reminding her of that nightmare when the Gods trapped her in her sleep as they tried to steal her energy.

"We have told the lady that if she doesn't join us, the whole world will die and crumble, including you..."

"Especially you..." Kalan finished, not bothering with making the truth sound more appealing to the annoying couple "We told her that if she doesn't agree to join us in this ritual to return the creative energy to where it belongs so the world could survive the upcoming collision, the thickening darkness in the edges would consume all life, starting by you as you are a creature of darkness who stole some of the light, the weakest guardian, if you could be called that, you would be the first to die the most painful death, the little lady here was just trying to protect you..."

"Sara?!" Looking back at his fair lady with stunned eyes, Eren called for her softly, waiting for her confirmation or more accurately, her denial, the Gods words made the whole situation not only more reasonable as his fair lady's action finally made sense, but also more painful as he knew it was his weakness that was used to force his fair lady to sacrifice his life, however, no confirmation nor denial was given as his fair lady's eyes and attention were glued on the Gods who surrounded them in what looked like a.…trap?

"Why are you saying it like that? As if what you have told me wasn't the truth?!" unable to get up due to the sudden exhaustion she was feeling, Sara leaned on Eren for help, not caring that she was fighting him a minute ago as she had sensed the maliciousness in the Gods' posture, the bastards, they had already started the ritual with Eren still in there, knowing well that he would be affected by the ritual as well.

But what if that was their intention all along? Sara trembled with fear at the thought, her eyes shooting daggers at Zaman whom she trusted the most among the Gods, he would never hurt Eren! She tried to calm herself, but the pitiful look on his tired face told her otherwise.

"There has to be another way, Sara, I am sure of it, if not, then why did your mother appear to me just to tell me about the ritual? Don't you see, my love? She wanted me to save you because she knew this wasn't the only way!" Sara looked up at Eren, his face resembling that of a scared and desperate child, holding on to what he thought was the smallest of hope, he looked so painfully pitiful, her mighty demon, trembling like a child for her.

"My...mother?"

"Yes, love, I have seen her in the depths of the river where you have first seen her, she appeared to me, and told me what the Gods had in mind and where to find you, so please, Sara, let us leave!" How was that possible? Sara while Eren tried to drag her out of the trap the Gods formed around them, her mother's energy was all passed to her, all that was left of her was the vision back in the shack which faded once it served its purpose, so how...?

"YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!" Eren didn't know what it was in Sara's growl that made him feel as if something inside him broke, was it the intensity in it or the terror her voice carried as she tried to steady herself enough to confront the Gods...

About what though?

"Tell me this is not what I think it is!"

"We are sorry, young Goddess, but you left us with no other way!" Zaman lowered his head, looking more pathetic than ever, especially with how dangerously the light in his core was fading...

It wasn't just him though, Eren thought, it was all of them, including himself and his fair lady...

"It was you precious demon's fault all along, for he had stolen something that wasn't his in the very beginning, if he didn't, then he would be safe once the ritual was over to continue his life, but with Ayartma's energy inside of him, we are afraid that he can't be spared."

"We understand that we had lied to you when we promised that he would be spared in order to make you irresponsibly join us, same as we showed him that vision to him in order to lure him to join us, however, you must understand that it was all for the greater good.…"

"You think of us as the bad people, the evil ones, and that is due to your selfishness, not that we blame you, love makes people selfish and unreasonable, we have seen it in our sister, Historia, how love did not just alter her nature but end her, same as your love would not end just you, but everything else..."

"We are only looking for the greater good, same as we have since the beginning of history, it might look like evil to narrow minds but it is this inescapable evil that allowed life to survive all these millennials..."

"Fuck your greater good! Fuck life! Fuck your morales and fuck anyone who isn't us!" Grabbing Sara's hand firmly, Eren growled at the Gods, threatening them to not dare get on his way, "Let us go, love..."

"Eren...I can't!" Hearing her faint and broken answer, Eren glared sharply at Sara, wondering why was she still opposing him when she heard the Gods with her own ears...

"I am afraid you are not going anywhere, young Lord, for the ritual was never a part of our lie, and it had already started, it is just a matter of minutes now and it will be all over..." Zaman spoke calmly, his energy draining out of him leaving him barely able to stand, yet he felt like he owed the young Lord and his lady that much.

"Few minutes are more than enough to kill you and leave this damn place!"

"Eren..." Swallowing hardly, Sara squeezed Eren's arm to get his attention, unlike him, she was perfectly able to see and sense the trap they were in, a trap, that was it the whole time, they trapped them both with lies and then took advantage of their dispute to lock trap them in the center and started the ritual…

It was over for them...

"I am so sorry, Eren! You are in this because of me! I am terribly sorry..." Sobbing softly, Sara held on to Eren who was quick to wrap his arms around her, his face a masque of horror and denial…

"Why are you apologizing, my fair lady? Don't you believe them! I will get you out of here..."

"It is too late, my love..." Grabbing his face with her shaky hands just as the Gods began to collapse, Sara gathered what little energy she had left to say her last words, leaning on the strength Eren still carried within him from being a half-demon, he was going to be the last one to die, her demon, cursed with such fate...

"Before starting the ritual, I wished if I could be granted with one last wish, I...wished to have one last chance, to look at your face, feel your touch, hear your voice, the things I was blessed with and didn't cherish enough before, I wish I did, I wish we had more time, and it was unfair, but you made each day feel like a lifetime, each time I closed my eyes next to you I felt like this was the happily forever after all princesses dreamed of, you gave me enough love and enough happiness for a thousand lives, you brought me back to life, and made me fall in love not just with you but with it, you were my reason to live like I was yours, and for all of this, I am eternally grateful, my love, my demon, the night that gives me solace and pacifies my fears, my home, my everything, I love you, so very much…"

"Hush now, love, we are going to be alright..." Unable to hold both of their bodies up, Eren gently bent his knees to sit on the ground with his fair lady in his arms, the sudden fatigue and cold he was feeling resembling that of death as well as the crumbling bodies of the Gods and his woman made him realize the reality of the situation…

His fair lady was dying...

"It might take us a thousand lives to be together again, my love, but I am sure we will be, this can't be it! I know there is more to our story than just this, I know that there is more, and maybe this wasn't our life, to begin with, I just know, deep within me, that our life is stronger than death, I know it will survive, I know we will be found, until then my love, wait for me, look for me, be mine even when we are not together, just as I am yours, now and forever..." Smiling faintly throughout her tears while the Gods' bodies hit the ground, all signs of life leaving their bodies, same as herself, and same as her demon who was trying to smile back at her, his face stained with tears and sorrow…

"Tell me Eren, I want it to be the last thing I hear, not a goodbye, Eren...

I love you…"

Lowering his head slowly, Eren captured the cold lips of his fair lady with his, feeling them move ever so slightly to form the smallest of a smile as she whispered his name, urging him to tell her what she wanted to hear the most...

"I love you too my fair lady...

I have only known what love was when I met you, my love, my light..."

Feeling the once warm body grow colder and heavier, Eren's smiled while looking up to the sky, his smile tired and joyless, a smile of utter despair and surrender, submission even to the reality he fought so hard to change, his arms holding on to the mass of lifeless flesh as if he feared it might turn to ashes the moment he let go...

"I am sorry, my love, for everything I have done, and for everything I wasn't able to do, I am sorry for all the pain I have caused you, I am sorry for all the time I have spent away from you, I am sorry for all the lies I have told you, I am sorry for all the time I broke your heart, I am sorry for not being a better partner, one that deserved you, I am sorry for my inability to give you what you truly deserved, I am sorry for being this incompetent lover, I wanted to give you so much more, I wanted to give you everything, I wanted to make you the happiest, I wanted to give you more love, more joy, and laughs, more beautiful memories, a happier life, a home, and a family, I wanted a ife with you, to be able to grow old with you, and laugh as our children chase after our grandchildren, I failed, many times at that, and for that, I am so sorry..."

"I love you, my fair lady, I love you with all of me, I live you even, You were the sun that shed warmth and light on me when there was nothing but mad darkness, I don't think I said it enough nor do I think I can say it enough...

And this indeed was never our life.." feeling the clutches of death finally grabbing his heart, freeing him from the absolute torture of existing without his fair lady, Eren kissed the cold lips once again, savoring their taste to recognize it in the next life…

"Our love is too great for one life, so I will wait for you, my fair lady, I will look for you on the shores of each river, I will look under every jasmine tree, and inside every tower, I will not wait for a confidence to reunite us, I will find you my love, and I will be yours in that life as well, I will be even more selfish and obsessed and paranoid when it comes to you, and hell with your growth, I will not ever let you out of my sight to let you do the stupid things I know you would, I will make you happy, I will always be yours and you mine, nothing can separate us, not even death, I love you, my princess, now and always...

Wait for me…"