Chapter 99

Chapter 99
Note: Hi everyone, I'm sorry for not updating. I had my reasons which might really sound selfish but I hope you understand. When I started this book, I had high hopes for it. I know a lot of you enjoyed this book which surprised me by the way, but in terms of my earnings, I had better hope. Well, I just recently had this thought of finishing what I started. So yes, I will try to complete this book hopefully before this month ends. Thank you so much for giving this book a chance. I'm filled with gratitude. Lots of love.



Dyvian had no recollection of how he crossed the threshold between the realms, only that he was racing onward, swiftly than he had ever moved. Each breath seared his lungs like fire, and every thought was consumed by a singular name.

Avaris.

The initial jolt he felt was a cold and unmistakable pull that tugged at the corner of his mind dreadfully. It was the bond between them, the fragile link that refused to break even after he’d walked away, mistakenly thinking that distance would shield Avaris from the chaos in his veins and the darkness of his name.

Now, the silence echoing from that bond felt like a punishment.

His boots struck the scorched stones of the underworld, and the deeper he ventured, the louder the cries grew... the sound of the cracked walls, the tormented souls trapped within, and his own heart thrumming in his chest. He pressed on, his wings grazing the jagged tunnel edges, as shadows coiled at his sides, whispering his father’s name.

The traps lay in wait. Blades of black flame sliced through the air as demons erupted from the fissures, snarling with broken wings. Without hesitation, Dyvian plunged into battle, moving with the deftness of instinct and rage.

He felt faster now as every swing of his sword was fueled by guilt rather than rage. As the last demon crumpled to the ground, silence engulfed him once more.

He didn't need to look up to sense who awaited him.

“Finally,” came a smooth voice tinged with a hint of amusement. “The prodigal disappointment returns.”

Dyvian froze in mid-stride. Azrakel loomed in the center of the hall as if the world had frozen in place around him. Same eyes. Same voice that tormented his dreams as a child. His father appeared untouched by time, clad in black, polished armor, radiating a heavy presence that weighed on the air.

Dyvian's inside coiled with hatred while Azrakel looks amused as ever. He had been thinking of how to handle the greedy Lord Callum when he learnt about Xaren and how he was involved in the story. And somehow, Xaren had helped Avaris escape. It's just amusing how weak creatures tend to seek escape when the situation clearly shows they had no way out of it.

Dyvian’s hands quaked. He kept his sword raised. “Where is he?”

A smirk creased unto Azrakel’s lips. “Straight to business, I see.”

“Don’t toy with me,” Dyvian spat. “You’ve caused enough trouble.”

“Oh, so I’m playing? Do you think this is some sort of game?” Azrakel let out a small laugh. “You burst into my domain, shedding blood like a child throwing a tantrum, demanding what? Answers? Forgiveness? Your little pet back?”

Dyvian clenched his jaw. “Where is Avaris?”

Azrakel's grin expanded, something dark flickering in his gaze. “Ah. So that’s the name keeping you awake at night.”

A low, sinister laugh wound through the chamber, crawling under Dyvian’s skin. “Tell me, boy, did he confess his love for you before you left him? Or was he too preoccupied saving you from your own darkness?”

Dyvian acted before thought could catch up. His sword launched through the air, fire sparking as Azrakel effortlessly parried it with a lazy movement of his arm. The impact shuddered through the floor.

“Where. Is. He.”

“You mean,” Azrakel drawled, pushing him back effortlessly, “the Angel of Kindness?”

Time halted. For a heartbeat, Dyvian’s mind blanked, his brows raised in confusion.

“What?” he gasped.

Azrakel grinned. It was a satisfactory smirk. “Oh, you didn’t know. Of course, you didn’t. Always too blinded by emotions to see what lies before you. The boy you’re obsessed with isn’t just some fragile human. He’s the key I’ve been perilously seeking.”

Those words struck harder than any sword.

Angel of Kindness.

The phrase circled in Dyvian’s mind, twisting and sinking until it became difficult to breathe. The gentle light in Avaris’s eyes, the warmth that remained even in darkness, it now made sense and ignited a fury in him that yearned to dismantle the world.

“Stay away from him,” Dyvian warned, his voice quivering.

Azrakel stepped closer. “Or what? You’ll kill your father?” He cocked his head, amusement sparkling in his eyes. “You couldn’t even save your mother. Do you genuinely think you can save him?”

Dyvian's breath caught. An image flashed in his mind... his mother’s trembling hands, the desperate look she gave him before dying. He had buried that memory for centuries. Azrakel just excavated it with a vacant smile.

“Shut your mouth,” he seethed.

But Azrakel continued. “She once implored me for mercy. The same way that boy will when I track him down. Perhaps I’ll allow him to live, long enough to witness the monster you will eventually become.”

Dyvian’s rage surged, power igniting around him, firestorming into life. He charged forward, driven by pure fury.

Their clash ruptured the hall as sparks of flame flew around. Azrakel laughed amid the conflict, even as dark blood trickled down his cheek. “That’s it. There’s my boy. Let me see what you’re truly made of.”

Dyvian remained silent as he thrust his sword through the air, clashing with Azrakel’s blade, both locked in an explosive dance of power. Dyvian was thrown back, crashing down onto the stone. Pain coursed through every fiber of his being as Avaris’s image flooded his mind. Avaris's smile, his expectant eyes, his lovely gaze... He’d abandoned that.

He’d abandoned him.

Azrakel advanced his attacks even more. “You’ve always been weak,” he declared. “Do you truly believe that love empowers you? It is what transforms you into a weapon; it is what renders you easily shattered.”

Dyvian propped himself up on quaking arms, coughing up blood. “At least I can love,” he answered. “Something you will never comprehend.”

With a swift motion, Azrakel’s hand struck out, dark energy coiling around his fingers forming fire that twisted into a lethal spear. “And that’s why you’ll perish. No son of mine would be this weak just because human blood flows through him”

He hurled it.

Dyvian barely flinched before the blast struck, tearing through the floor and sending shockwaves through his chest. His wings expanded instinctively to shield him, but the force broke through regardless. He gasped, his body ablaze and his vision fading.

Azrakel stepped nearer. “You’re pathetic,” he murmured. “You should have stayed gone. I should have gotten rid of you after the death of Heaven.”

He raised his hand again, poised to conclude it all but then the flames dwindled. In a blink, everything disappeared, the heat dissipated and the pressure evaporated like air escaping from a sealed chamber.

A voice floated through the stillness. “Still tormenting your own child, Azrakel? You really haven’t changed.”

The shadows split apart and Nana emerged from within them.

She appeared neither rushed nor afraid. Her cloak swayed gently with each step, her eyes as cold as ice. Her magic enveloped the room with an authority that caused even the walls to tremble.

Azrakel pivoted, surprise momentarily flickering across his arrogance. “You,” he said. “I expected you would eventually crawl back.”

Nana smiled faintly. “Crawl back? Hardly. If I were ever to crawl, it’d be over your grave.”

Her gaze shifted to Dyvian who looked bloodied and barely upright, then back to Azrakel. “You’ve always favored attacking those who cannot defend themselves against you. First your brother, now your son.”

Azrakel’s visage darkened. “Tread carefully, witch.”

“Careful?” she chuckled softly. “I ceased being careful the day you killed the man I loved.”

Her magic flared. The entire chamber vibrated.

In that moment, Dyvian glimpsed the fierce rage in her eyes.

Nana positioned herself between them, her silhouette stretching ominously across the ground. “Step away from him, Az
rakel,” she commanded gently. “Because I swear, if you don’t, you’ll wish your brother had finished you first.”