Destroy My Life In You
Chapter 75: "From the Close Doth, the Dawn Arises."

Chapter 75: "From the Close Doth, the Dawn Arises."

"You have gone mad from centuries of drowning in anger."

Darkness. Cold, suffocating darkness.

Alaric stood in the middle of a ruined house, as that familiar voice filled hus ears, tormenting him. The scent of blood was thick in the air, staining the ground beneath his feet. As for whose blood it was, he didn’t know.

Light footsteps attracted his attention and a few metres before him, stood Ravenna, her face twisted with something he had never seen before. Pure seething hatred.

"You killed me," her voice was hoarse, and hollow.

Alaric’s breath caught in his throat, taken aback by the look in her eyes. He tried to move forward to reach her, but something was in his hands. Something warm, wet, and yet pulsing, though its pace reduced every splitting second. His gaze dropped.

A heart.

His fingers trailed its delicate shape, trembling, dark blood trailing down his wrists like chains. It beat weakly and eratically, as if resisting its own demise.

His vision blurred. No. No. This was not real. It couldn’t be. But the moment he raised up his eyes, the hollow space on Ravenna’s chest made him slightly stumble backwards.

"Ven..." His voice crumble as he stumbled back again, shaking jisbhead in frantic denial. "Not... again. I... didn’t. I would... never..."

But Ravenna only took a step closer, the emptiness in her eyes tightening.

"You have taken everything from me," She whispered, her voice carrying the weight of centuries. "Just like you did before."

A harsh wind echoed in the room, carrying with it echoes of laughter. Ravenna’s laughter. Another figure emerged beside Ravenna, though her face was not visible. But no matter how long, Alaric could recognise those gleaming blue eyes. They were Astrid’s.

Her once gentle eyes reflected the same scorn as Ravenna, the same unbearable sorrow.

"You let me die," She said. "You’ll let her die." She added, meeting Ravenna’s gaze.

"No!" Alaric dropped the heart, staggering back as he hit the ground with a thunder.

Ravenna stepped forward and picked up the heart slowly. She held it in her hands, staring at it for a long moment before lifting her gaze back to his.

"You don’t deserve my heart, Alaric."

Then, with a final piercing glare, she crushed it in her hands.

A wretched whimper tore from Alaric’s throat. He lunged forward, reaching for her, but only ended up grasping air.

His gaze desperately wandered around, and he saw standing beside Astrid again, holding hands.

"Ven, please..." His voice died down when he saw Astrid disappear into thin air, leaving only Ravenna. "Don’t go."

Ravenna turned her back to him. Alaric dragged his body forward, but before he could reach her, the world around him shattered like glass.

And then...

"From the close doth, the dawn arises."

The voice drifted through the darkness. Soft and familiar.

"From the close doth, the dawn arises."

It repeated again and again until Alaric’s eyes snapped open. His chest heaved as he shot upright in bed. His heart sounded violently like never before, the echo of his own plead still lingering in the silence of his dimly lit room.

Then he heard it again.

"From the close doth, the dawn arises."

This time, it was a whisper, barely audible. His breath stilled. That voice, it was Ravenna’s.

But she wasn’t there. She was in her room on the second floor because earlier, she had refused to go with her until she had punished him to her satisfaction. He reluctantly let her go. He was sure she was not there with him because he could not hear her heartbeat near, but her voice was loud and clear. He could never mistake it.

His gaze darted towards the window, and in a sprang, he was standing there watching through the night. His mind was sluggish from the nightmare, but words refused to fade. The clung to him, heavy and urgent, until he couldn’t take anymore and fell on his knees.

What did they mean?

And why had she whispered them?

For the first time in centuries, an unease that he could not define crept into his bones. After a while of calming down, he walked back to the bed and grabbed his phone.

He wrote the phrase down. The phrase meant something must end for something new to begin. For a moment, Alaric fell into confusion.

"Something must end... for something new to begin." After putting one and one together, Alaric heaved a sigh of relief. Probably, it meant Astrid had to die for Ravenna to be born. That was the only logical explanation that he could calm up with.

But still, he had questions. He quickly dialled Zander’s contact, and after two rings, the other person picked up.

"Where’s Astrid’s core? Do you still have it?" His voice was full of haste.

Zander was quiet for a moment before he replied. "No. It disappeared on 15th May... twenty years ago."

Alaric hissed and was about to break loose when something flashed in his mind. "15th May?"

"Mm. Only two weeks away, and it’s also when Ravenna was born. The core is in her body."

Fear, anger, and confusion flashed in Alaric’s eyes. "She will be twenty-one in two weeks. Does it mean..."

"No one knows. The event might repeat itself just like centuries ago." Zander stated.

Alaric pinched the space in between his nose before roaring on the phone. "Why didn’t you say it earlier, damn it!"

"You left in a hurry," Zander replied, unwavering.

Alaric paced slowly around his room before lastly asking, "Will she remember the past?"

Zander did not reply immediately, and when he did, his answer was unsatisfactory. "I don’t know either."

Alaric hanged up and tossed his phone on the bed. He gripped his hair, pulling it, frustration all over his face.

He could not afford to lose her again. But in two weeks, the possibility of that happening was unknown. He admitted it himself. He was damn scared. Scared of losing her again. He had survived once, but if it happened the second time, only hell knows what he would do.

Like a possessed person, Alaric rushed out of his room and jumped down from the stairs, up to the second floor. In a blink, he was standing outside Ravenna’s room, debating whether to go in or not. At the moment, his emotions were unstable, and did not want to scare her but if he didn’t see her, his last self control would break and the only thing that calmed him down was blood. Hot and fresh blood.

Still in confusion, he raised up his hand, ready to knock, but the door swang open before he could do it.

"Alaric, you are here!" Ravenna exclaimed in surprise, but joy was visible in her face.

Alaric froze for a moment, his eyes gazing at her as if she was the only one who mattered in the entire world. And she really did.

"Mm. I’m here," he replied, his voice soft and warm.

Ravenna blushed but strongly tried to fight it off. She was supposed to be angry with him. "Why are you here?" She crossed her hands on her chest, feigning anger.

Alaric felt his heart leap watching her awful act, then pulled her into his arms unannounced. "I just want to hug you to sleep." He murmured into her ear, his hot breath kissing her skin.

Ravenna gulped, taking in the warmth radiating from his body. That was all it took for her long build up resilience to be broken down by him. She unconsciously nodded and by the time she realized it, Alaric was already dragging her to bed.

"Hey! No. You can’t sleep here," She tried fight him off but he overpowered her and made her lie down. "What are you doing?"

Alaric spooned her, his long legs placed over hers. "Sleeping. What else?"

"You... I don’t trust," She retorted wiggling around.

"If you continue moving I’ll do more than sleeping," he warned, placing a light peck on her temple. "I won’t do anything. I only want to hold you so I can sleep. You wouldn’t be so heartless to deprive me of it, right?"

Ravenna did not answer verbally but her movements quieted down indicating her reply.

Alaric smiled and made himself comfortable. His heart was finally calm like he had not been on a verge of shedding blood some minutes ago. She was all he needed and before that day arrived, he would make the best of their time together. He would keep her around him all days and nights. If any harm came her way, it would have to face him first. This time, he would jot allow her to be on her own. He had protected him once now it was his time to keep her safe. For the sake of his and the world peace, she had to be fine.

With one last glance at her, he murmured, "My star. My light." Then he slept off.