Chapter 2: The Price of Regret
Chapter 2: The Price of Regret
Kael refused to leave.
For days, he remained near Ava's home.
He brought rare flowers.
Sacred treasures.
Even fragments of lightning crystals worth entire kingdoms.
Ava accepted none of them.
"You owe me nothing," she said.
His voice broke.
"I owe you everything."
Yet every attempt only widened the gap between them.
Because Ava had already found what she had spent her entire life searching for.
Peace.
One evening, Kael made a desperate decision.
Standing before her cottage, he drew a divine blade.
The heavens immediately darkened.
The Fallen God stepped forward, eyes narrowing.
But Kael raised a hand.
"This is between me and her."
He pressed the blade against his own throat.
"If you refuse me forever..."
His voice trembled.
"...then I have no reason to live."
The world seemed to stop.
Ava stared at him quietly.
Long ago, such a scene would have destroyed her.
She would have rushed forward.
She would have sacrificed herself to save him.
But not anymore.
At last, she understood something important.
Love was not proven through suffering.
Nor through guilt.
Nor through manipulation.
She looked into his eyes and spoke softly.
"If your life depends on my return, then you never truly loved me."
Kael froze.
Ava continued.
"Because real love wishes for another person's happiness, even when it isn't with you."
The blade slipped from his fingers.
For the first time, he realized what he had become.
Not a man seeking redemption.
But a man demanding forgiveness he had not earned.
And there was no lightning powerful enough to erase that truth.
Without another word, Ava turned away.
The door closed gently behind her.
Kael remained standing in the darkness.
May you like
Alone.
At last, he understood that some losses could never be undone.
