Lord Shadow

This time it is not a slow kiss. 

It is a passionate kiss. 

And Azief respond even more passionately. Because for some reason they both knew it was the last time

And because they know this, they kiss more passionately than they ever did. 

But it was not sloppy. It was not something that is dirty. Instead it is something that is beautiful, the desperation of wanting to be together

The passion of the feeling is felt by both of them.

And then they broke off the kiss and just look at each other again

Azief did not smile. And she also did not laugh. She is in tears again and Azief shakes his head as he closes his eyes

‘Don’t’ he said

Sofia bring her hand to his cheek and caress it.

‘I once said that I would never choose to walk away from you just because I knew that it would never be. I said that I would be the judge of that. When my heart felt more pain being with you than it is not being with you, then I will leave. And when that time comes, if you still did not have an answer, then I got my answer.

Azief opens his eyes and look at her and he could see sadness in her eyes even though she is smiling and she said

‘I got my answer now’

Azief remains silent, his eyes are still closed, feeling the touch of her hand on his cheek. 

‘I guess I love you more than you love me. And the one that loves more is always at a disadvantage’ she said

‘It is more painful’

Azief slowly grabs her hand on his cheek and he holds it so tightly, never wanting to let it go

‘I’m tired. I’m in pain. And I could not do this anymore. I am turning to the worst version of myself. I find myself obsessing over you, questioning you. I became distrustful of you. And I know I could not ask certain things from you’

Azief still did not open his eyes. If he opens it, tears would fall down from his eyes. He felt pain in his heart. A certain pain that he had forgotten

The pain of a heartbreak. And because of that, he could not let go of that hand. But knowing he has to let it go, he dreaded every moment of it

He did not say anything. No words could change this. Because she had made her mind. Sofia is also crying. But she did not sob. Still……still…. he could feel the hot tears falling onto his hand

People said that there is a beautiful farewell. How could a farewell be beautiful? He wanted to ask. 

At least, not this. It is painful. He asks his heart and he thought too simply of things. Still, he could not blame her.

Then a voice like whisper spoke to him.

‘Let me go’ But Azief hands tightened. 

He did not want to see her crying and he didn’t want her to see him cry. The moment passes slowly to him. 

He wishes that right now, right at this moment, the words would come to him. A word that could make her stay, a word that could make her love stay

In this moment, right at the moment of separation, he felt so alone. He wished that she had said yes

He wished there is something he could do. He wished for a lot of things. But none of these wishes seems to be fulfilled. 

He thought of all the first times that he had experienced with Sofia. 

The good moments, the bad moments.

And it is not something he could easily forget. Even in the memory of pain, there is a trace of hope and love

But that is because she was there. Sofia seems to be waiting for him to make the decision. She is waiting patiently for him to let go of her hands. 

And then he slowly and gently let go of her hand. He felt a kiss on his forehead

Then he felt the kiss on his nose.

And then on his lips. The wind breezes by and he could smell her sweet scent and then the sound in the tent seems to become empty. 

Azief slowly opens his eyes and tears falls down from his eyes. In front of him, there is only the bed

Sofia is gone. The tent is empty and only the sound of the wind could be heard, the whistling of the leaves and the songs of the birds

‘It’s over’ he thought to himself

>>> 

The world seems colder now even as the sun shine brightly in the sky. Such a beautiful day. It is a day to go outside and play around or hunt some beast. For hunters this kind of day is a good day to hunt large beast and eat them together with the villagers at night

For those who wanted to enjoy, this is the good time to enjoy the beaches and the sea.

That is how beautiful today is. Every element of nature that is around him seems to hold perfection in every move

But Azief could not found anything beautiful about today. Everything look bleak to him. Bleak, grim and cold. It is curious how one mood affects the way one views the world

He is still in the tent. The sweet scent is slowly dispersed by the blowing of the wind. Yet, the sensation of touch on his hand still lingers like an inerasable memory

She had leave him with a memory of pain. 

She might not think about it that much but he too had pain.

The pain of being rejected by the person you love.

This is not the same as before. In the past, he loves one-sidedly. He determines when it ends or not. 

But with him and Sofia, she and him were truly a couple

Regardless of her reason and justification, Azief still feel a little bit hurt. But he did no show it on his face.

‘You are really determined’ he said to himself

She had say all the things she wanted to say. So, she left. And he could only let her go. This is the only things he could do for her.

Azief wipes the tears that is falling down and then he brought out the ring case and look at the ring.

No one could see the strongest man in the world shedding tears. He wipes it off as quickly as it falls down.

It has been quite some time that he had ever drop a tear.

‘I…think…. I still wanted to believe. I wanted to believe in us. I wanted to believe that you would come back to me.’ He sighed. His feeling is stormy. 

If he wanted right now, he could scan the world and there is no way for Sofia to hide from her. 

But one thing that he had learned is that if you could everything in the world, you must know when to close your eyes.

He did not search for her. Doing so, would only leads to more argument. And he knows he must respect her choice

Even though, it is not a choice he wanted her to make. He put back the ring to his personal space storage.

Then he sighed.

He is stunned right now. Rejection is something that he had experienced a lot in the past. So, it is not the rejection that made him feel like this. 

No, it is the fact that after all that he had tried to do he still hurt her. He knew it. But when the times comes, he does not even have the courage to face her tears.

He takes a deep breath. It is hard to regain one focus when this kind of things happens. But he is Death Monarch, the strongest man in the world

The world is right now in a crisis. He could not be weak at this moment. He still has to save Katarina and bring her back to Earth.

He also has to try to redeem himself, to rectify the wrong that he had done. The Multiversal Convergence happens because he wanted to see the future

He did not make excuses for himself.

He felt that if he did make an excuse for himself, saying things like the World Gate that the World Government had created is also a large factor for the Multiversal Convergence, he would be the person he hated

What he hated the most in the world before the fall is the self-pity of the powerful. Everything could be justified.

But, a person should learn to shoulder one own personal responsibilities. He did not want to make excuses for what he had done.

He also need to maintain balance between the seven great powers now that there are all kinds of new continent.

Azief had been thinking about this. He also believes that he once again had to organize another World Distribution event 

It is a pity that he had to do it again but he thinks it is necessary 

There were around a few dozen continent that had emerged from the bottom of the sea or formed by the mass concentration of energy.

The land expanded, the sky is taller, changes are numerous and people are uneasy. The world in chaos, and other than him, there is no other force that could pacify the world right now.

>>>>