Revenge: A Path of Destruction -
Chapter 147: Even You Can Find Happiness
Chapter 147: Even You Can Find Happiness
The moment Nyxara’s paws touched solid ground, her massive form slowed to a halt. She let out a low, discontented growl.
"It feels like we’re walking inside the sun," she muttered, whiskers twitching as she looked up at the moonless night sky. "Why is it so hot? The sun’s gone, but the heat’s still punching me in the face."
Alex stepped off her back, the soles of his boots crunching against scorched gravel. He didn’t reply immediately. His sharp eyes scanned the horizon as waves of heat shimmered off every surface, making even the ruins seem to breathe.
They had arrived—Europe. Or rather, what was once Italy, now swallowed by the Firebird’s domain.
The night air should have been cool, but instead, it felt like they were standing inside an oven. Even compared to pre-transformation Egypt—which had once been 96% desert before Khepri and the Earth God reshaped it into a tropical sanctuary—this place was worse.
"Feels like the Firebird’s snoring and it’s setting the whole place ablaze," Nyxara huffed, curling her tail as she glanced around. "Can we find a cave with air conditioning? Maybe a volcano with a breeze?"
Alex gave a tired smile. "If we find a volcano with a breeze, I’ll personally build you a shrine."
"Finally. Proper worship," she said with mock pride—then her tone shifted. "That thing... it’s not hiding."
Alex was already looking northeast, toward the border that once separated Italy from France. He could feel it—no, sense it. An aura so thick it warped the air. It radiated from the direction of Mont Blanc, where the mountain range clawed at the sky like a jagged crown.
The Firebird.
Its power seeped through the land, filling every breath with heat, every step with warning.
"Let’s move," he said quietly.
Nyxara grunted in agreement and began walking beside him, her steps more cautious now as they ventured deeper into the husk of a long-dead city. Streets once paved now lay fractured, overrun by wild roots and tall, brittle grass. What little remained of the buildings was either half-collapsed or swallowed in soot and vines.
"This place looks like a bonfire threw up on a museum," Nyxara muttered, eyeing a melted signpost with illegible writing.
"Rome? Naples? Doesn’t matter anymore," Alex murmured.
More than seventy percent of the buildings were beyond saving—crumbling husks reduced to skeletal frames. The remaining thirty looked like they’d collapse if Nyxara so much as sneezed near them. Occasionally, they spotted low-level scavenger beasts—mutated boars with patchy fur or foxes with ember-glowing eyes—but each time, one glance at Nyxara’s hulking form sent them fleeing into the ruins, leaving only rustling leaves and retreating paws behind.
Nyxara flicked her tail. "Seems like my presence is doing wonders for staying clean. Maybe I should stay in this form permanently."
Alex smirked faintly. "Don’t get used to it. You’re still banned from eating my socks."
"That happened once. And I was still a cub. Also, your socks smelled like a public sewer."
They wandered the ruins for nearly an hour, combing through shattered districts and toppled statues. The silence was suffocating, broken only by the distant groans of falling stone or the whisper of wind threading through windowless buildings.
Eventually, they found what could generously be called a structure: a rectangular building—maybe a courthouse or hotel—that still stood defiantly in the center of a collapsed plaza. Its facade was scorched black, but most of its roof remained, and a portion of the interior hadn’t yet caved in. Ivy choked the walls, and soot turned its windows into blank, opaque stares.
"Better than nothing," Nyxara sniffed. "Doesn’t reek of beasts. No nests. Might even have functional walls."
"Let’s check it."
They entered cautiously. Alex kept his hand near his weapon, though his instincts whispered that no danger lingered. Nyxara prowled behind him, her massive paws surprisingly quiet for her size, ears rotating as she sniffed the air.
Inside, time had stopped.
Dust lay on everything like snowfall. Burnt furniture and shattered tiles littered the ground. Old portraits—charred at the edges—still clung to the walls like ghosts. The scent of ash lingered faintly, but there was no rot. Whatever had lived here was long gone.
"I think this used to be a hotel," Nyxara said, eyeing a rusted plaque near a collapsed reception desk. "Or maybe a courthouse for overly dramatic weddings. Either way, I claim the third floor."
Alex chuckled—short, but genuine.
He made his way upstairs as Nyxara shifted to her smaller form and leapt onto his shoulder with practiced grace. Sleek and agile, her weight was barely noticeable.
"You’re heavier than last time," he noted.
"Did you just call me fat?" she gasped theatrically. "Alex, did you just call a respected lady like me fat"
Alex’s lips twitched.
’A lady, my ass,’ he thought.
"You’re just weaker from all that brooding," she shot back. "Try smiling once a week. It burns calories."
"Remind me why I brought you again?"
"Because I’m pretty, smart, and I stop you from turning into an edgy statue."
He didn’t respond, but the corner of his mouth tugged slightly. They walked down a hallway lined with broken doors and peeling wallpaper, finally choosing the most intact room at the end.
Alex pushed the door open, revealing a bedroom draped in years of neglect—but still mostly whole. A faded bed, a battered wardrobe, and a cracked table were all that remained of what once was.
He closed the door behind him with a sigh, placing his pack on the ground.
"I’m sleeping," he muttered, loosening his shirt and unstrapping the worn harness from his shoulders.
"Good," Nyxara said, leaping from his shoulder onto the bed. "I’ll keep watch. And judge your sleeping posture."
Alex lay down without another word. The bed creaked beneath him—the mattress thin and uneven—but after three days of sea spray and lightning-charged winds, it felt like a throne.
A few minutes passed in silence before Nyxara spoke again, softer this time.
"You know... after all this revenge thing, what do you want to do?"
Alex didn’t open his eyes, but he answered. "I don’t know. Honestly... I never thought about it."
"I know. But maybe you should. Life isn’t always a bed of roses, but it’s not all thorns either. You should try to find something—some kind of happiness. Go on a date. Start a family."
Alex was quiet for a long moment before replying.
"You really think... after everything I’ve done... I could settle down and have a family?"
She frowned. "Alex, even the worst people can find a reason to smile. You’ve got more than most."
He turned his head slightly, eyes half-lidded from exhaustion. "Do you ever stop talking?"
"Not when the conversation’s this good. And don’t try to change the topic. Just think about it. Even you can find happiness. Life’s full of surprises—you just don’t know when they’ll show up."
Alex closed his eyes again.
Several quiet minutes passed. Nyxara assumed he had drifted off.
Then he spoke.
"By the way... did you use my phone again to watch those K-dramas in the storage space?"
Nyxara’s body twitched.
Alex didn’t need her to answer. Her silence—and the shudder—was all the confirmation he needed.
He smiled faintly, letting his body relax for real this time.
But as sleep claimed him, a single image floated to the surface of his mind.
A girl.
Blue hair. Blue eyes.
Then, finally, sleep embraced him fully.
Outside, the ruins whispered beneath the heat-soaked sky. Far away, near Mont Blanc, flames stirred. And above the sleeping continent, the Firebird’s domain waited—watching.
In the shadows of the ruined city, something else—older, quieter, hungrier—opened its eyes.
But for now, Alex slept.
And Nyxara watched.
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