[89.3] I Will Give You Everything

[Author's note: This part of the chapter is from Zephyr's perspective.]

"HAZEL! HAZEL!"

My cries shattered the stillness.

I…

I don't…

I don't want to lose her!

Please!

This has to be some cruel joke!

I just got her back!

I-I-I-

I don't want to be alone-

Please!

Please let this be a joke!

Her voice was so soft it was barely a whisper, "Please… Zephyr… Leave me…"

"NO! I WON'T!"

HOW DARE YOU EVEN SUGGEST THAT!

"You… You need to be safe…"

"I DON'T CARE!" My scream pierced the air and even damaged my throat, "YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME AGAIN! I WON'T LET YOU!"

A small smile crawled across her lips as her eyes gradually became dimmer.

Seeing her look like that, panic took control of my heart. I didn't care about the woman slowly approaching me with a sword pulsing with Holy light.

"I-It's okay Hazel… This… This is just a small wound."

I desperately tried to put her arm back to where it was, but nothing changed. It didn't reattach, but I kept trying.

"Y-You can heal. Y-You used to grow arms… And-And eyes… You can heal a-any wound… You'll-" 

My voice cracked as her dull eyes continued to stare at me without change. With trembling hands, I reached out to her face. There was blood all over my palms, a combination of both hers and mine.

They left a streak on her bruised cheeks as I gently ran my hand over her cheek.

"Hazel… Hazel… Please… Please don't leave me."

Hazel stared into space, her eyes no longer moving and her chest no longer breathing.

"No… No, no, no!!" I sobbed, pulling the lifeless body closer to me, "Don't look at me like that… Please… Please don't…"

My limbs are so tired…

I feel… So weak…

I leaned my head down, crying into her chest as I hugged her despairingly, "No… Alora… Hazel… Please don't leave me… Please… I can't… I can't be alone… I need you… Please… I need you…"

Vira rolled her eyes, laughing mockingly at my cries, "Oh, boohoo. It's not like she won't come back."

I turned to her with burning red eyes, "YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!"

She smirked, "I do. Abadi wants nothing more than to spite me. That evil woman. She always had it out for me. When she saw my daughter, she took the chance… And she will take it again."

She stepped closer to him, her sword dragging on the ground behind her, "And again… And again… And again…"

I tried to put more effort into my illusions, but pain erupted from my head. I could feel blood dripping down from my broken horn as I drifted into unconsciousness.

It's… No use…

Vira pointed her sword at me with a mocking tone, "Such a sad display of emotions."

I succumbed to my fate and faced away from her. In my final moments, I only wanted Hazel in my sight. I nuzzled my head against Hazel's forehead, "Hazel… I'm sorry for not believing in you… I'm… I won't leave you this time."

I…

I don't want to fight anymore.

What's even the point?

I can't spend another thousand years by myself.

As Vira lunged towards me, I slowly closed my eyes.

If I'm going to die, then at least it's by her side.

As I prepared for the piercing of my chest, a scream echoed behind me.

My fur stood on end as an overwhelming presence was at my back. It was so strong, my breath was sucked in my chest. It was as if a giant was at my back. Yet, a comforting scent mixed with flowers reached my nose, bringing back memories from over a thousand years ago.

Time itself seemed to slow as I gradually turned to see the very person who was standing behind me. 

"...Mama?"

Her back was to me and her clothes were shredded, but nothing could hide that charred skin and protective stance my mother always displayed. Even after a thousand years, it was a visage I would never forget.

As much as I wanted to believe my eyes, I couldn't bring myself to have even the slightest bit of hope.

She languidly knelt down in front of me, carefully wiping away each tear and blood that was blotting my cheeks. Her face was a blinding light that hid any identity she had.

Yet, her voice was the most gentle tone that anyone could ever have.

"Hello, baby boy."

More tears rushed out as everything I ever held back came flooding out.

For a thousand years, I tried to get the image of her dying on the mountain out of my head.

For a thousand years, I was desperately clinging to any semblance of warmth that reminded me of her.

I had tried to be brave.

I tried to pretend nothing mattered.

But it did.

It did.

At this moment, staring up at her, all that guilt…

All of the pain…

Everything was flooding out without end.

Behind her was another woman, but I didn't care to see who. The other person was holding Vira by the hair, ignoring her screaming as she watched with a nostalgic smile.

But who cared about that?

The only thing I wanted was to be held in my mother's arms. However, I was terrified it was an illusion created by myself so I held back.

"Am I… Dead?" I sucked in my snot, "Is this heaven?"

She reached out to rub the tears forming in my eyes, "This is real life… It's real."

"But… But how?"

My mother paused for a moment before asking, "Want to hear a story?"

I looked up into her eyes waiting for her to speak just like I had so many years ago.

"Once upon a time, there was a Korean-Japanese child born into a family who had high expectations for their children… Her name was Reika Kang."

I flinched at that name and peered into her blinding face wishing I could read the look in her eyes.

She continued with a soft voice, "Reika Kang was a stubborn and confident child. She felt she could tackle the entire world because she had her older brother beside her. She didn't care who it was, her mother or her teachers, she would only follow her own rules. It was only when she lost him did she realize how vulnerable she was. Yet, she still endured. Even when she didn't fit in, she was still stubborn. When she attracted the eye of a man, she wanted to give him the world. That was the kind of person she was. Harsh and blunt to strangers, but a soft pushover who would do anything for someone she loved. Even when that person would take and take. Even if that person would hit her. She would still stay. She would let the wind knock her over if it said it loved her first. However, the world didn't appreciate her sacrifice. It took and took until she had nothing left to give. That world made her give up on love. Even when she got a new name, she was still bitter. It was all because she lost the very thing that made her who she was."

A pair of footsteps came across the rubble and paused when he heard the storytelling. Cyrus stood on top of the destroyed building and watched with a relieved smile as the woman across from me slowly rubbed my head as she always did when I was a child.

"Thanks to you, Zephyr… Thanks to all of you… I think I got that gentle part of me back."

She let out a laugh as soft as a summer breeze.

I choked back my tears as I watched the blinding light fade from her face.

Finally…

After more than a thousand years…

That blinding light no longer hid who she was.

It was a woman who had been burned to a crisp in a fire, but the parts that had been used to shield a meaningless piece of paper she valued more than her own life remained.

My tears fell freely as I took in just what she had gone through a lifetime ago. Even with all the harsh treatment she had faced in the past, her smile was so gentle it felt like I was basking in a blanket of warmth.

She slowly bent down and kissed my forehead, "...And thanks to you, I think I know who I am now."

She pulled away from me and stood up. Soft blondish-brown hair grew from the roots and grew with waves, but left the tips black. Dark black irises lightened up with streaks of green. As she fluttered her eyes, they shimmered green while the charred skin receded, turning to a porcelain shade. She looked just like the woman who was holding Vira down.

Vira shouted in frustration, "Who are you!?!"

She closed her eyes with a smirk, "Who am I?"

After a long pause, she finally opened her eyes and turned her attention to Vira. Her expression was harsh and cold unlike it had been with me, "...I am Reika Marlow."