The scene was unusual, almost surreal. Lucius had never felt like this since his reincarnation, since he first claimed a human body. He had gone through various emotions over the past month, but this….this very one was different. It was new to him, new to this body he lived in.
Surprisingly, they weren't even close. They only shared a common goal, and that was it. That was the only thing that brought them together, to a common mind. Yet, the pain Lucius felt in his chest was unimaginable, and for the first time, Lucius felt sorrow, real, unfiltered sorrow.
The reason? It was unknown to him, too. Maybe it was because Cophey was the first one he had a real conversation with after reincarnating, or maybe because they shared a common goal, and she helped him achieve it.
Or maybe it was because she only helped him and was innocent of the punishment she was bestowed with. Either way, she had paid dearly for an action he committed himself, only with her help.
He pushed himself away from the engraving and knelt close to Cophey, staring at her withered body. He still couldn't believe she was the one.
The silence in the room was palpable. It was almost choking. Everyone could feel it, everyone standing or sitting in the room.
'Why did they do this to you? I know…I know you are an accomplice, but still….. they shouldn't have. They just shouldn't…'
Seraphine sniffled behind him, earning herself a glance from him. There were no tears dripping from her eyes when he turned. She covered her face with her palms, then pulled it away slowly and stared at Lucius.
"We knew each other. She was a friend. That's how I know her." She murmured beneath the silence, cleaning her runny nose.
Lucius turned fully, raising an eyebrow slightly. "You did? How come you didn't say anything when I mentioned her?" He asked curiously.
"It's not that I didn't recall her when you mentioned her earlier. It was more of sarcasm, I was just vibing with the mood. You forgot you had mentioned her when we first met, and that was the reason I let you in, so I thought you were kidding about everything."
Lucius thought hard at her comment, trying to recall anything. From the looks of it, absorbing the core of the sun god may have messed with his memories, causing him to forget shallow parts.
'I don't remember how we first met…come to think of it, I never questioned how I got to know her. It was almost like my body knew, but my mind forgot.'
He raised his head at her, nodding slowly to not alarm her. "I remember, partially, but it doesn't matter." He turned back to Cophey.
"She's gone now, and that relationship you had with her has been severed. The only thing we can do at this moment is keep her memory alive and take revenge, and make her death worth it."
Seraphine nodded slowly, but deep down, she wanted to explain to Lucius how she knew Cophey, but it was not the time yet. One day, the time would come.
Valeria remained standing at the door, her hands loose by her sides. As usual, there were no clear expressions on her stoic face, but her body movements could relay a certain emotion: anger.
This certain stranger who laid on the floor lifeless was in the same situation as her. And it could be clearly seen that she fought back, hard, taking as many angels along with her before her fall, but the angels didn't give her mercy..
The same mercy they were always told as kids that heaven shows: "Everyone under the heavens is shown equal mercy, no one is loved more than the other. Even villains have the right to be shown mercy, that is, our law."
Yet, they made sure to forget that statement when dealing with her. They destroyed everything she had, including her, shattered her from the inside out and left her body lying on the ground.
They didn't even spare the city. Destroyed, killed, ruined a once surviving city, struggling past the drought They were supposed to take care of, yet haven't.
This information pissed Valeria so much off. She felt like taking a trip to heaven and laying her complaints with her fists.
'This…. This will not be left unchecked.' She took in slow breaths, controlling her grievance mixed with anger with sharp, deep breaths.
"Heaven will get what it deserves. They, each and every one of them, will get it served directly on a platter of gold. None will be spared for this. If taking the innocent lives they were supposed to protect is their method, then there's nothing left for me there."
Lucius turned, his eyes widened. This was the first time he had seen Valeria react out of context. Even she, the ice queen, was pushed by the sight before her.
That meant it was that bad, Lucius couldn't help but hold back a smile. Seeing her react like that made him realise she was human after all, not a robot like he thought she was.
Snapping himself back to reality, he agreed to Valeria's conviction. Releasing an untamed, vast amount of pure solar energy, he glared back at Cophey's corpse.
"Yeah, you're right. Each and every one of them will have to pay for what they did to her, to every one of them. This time, it's no longer a mission but a goal, a goal that won't go out of sight until it has been fulfilled." Veins appearing on his face as he struggled to control the amount of mana emanating from his body.
"This time, we're going for all of them. And nothing, absolutely nothing is going to stop us from achieving this goal." Seraphine added, pressing her fingers around a locket on her neck. She vowed to whatever heard her.
Lucius slowly eased off the mana, radiating off his body, pulling it back to its normal state. Then he took one last glance at Cophey and noticed something glinting at his solar energy.
Close to where she laid, there was an emerald ring reacting to his solar energy. It drew his attention, and he went closer to it and picked it up.
"This will serve as a reminder. You will get your justice Cophey, you will. I will make sure of that"