Michael met her gaze, his own expression a mixture of weariness and... something else. Regret? Guilt? It was hard to tell, even for him.
"What do you want, Rowena?" he asked, his voice a low, steady rumble. "What do you want me to say?"
But Rowena ignored his question, her focus fixed on the one thing that consumed her, the one question that echoed through the empty chambers of her heart.
"Why, Ghost?" she whispered, her voice breaking. "Why did you kill him? Didn't you... didn't you feel even a... a spark of... of love for him? Even though... even though you never grew up as... as family?"
Michael didn't answer. He couldn't. The truth, the messy, complicated truth, was tangled up in a knot of guilt and regret, a knot he hadn't yet figured out how to unravel.
He'd seen the aftermath of Noah's death. The eternal darkness that had descended upon the mortal realm. The fear. The despair. The way it had twisted people, amplified their worst impulses.
He had felt it too, in the prayers of his followers, in the whispers of the wind, in the very air he breathed. The weight of that loss, the ripple effect of his actions... it was inescapable. To be honest, he hadn't wanted to kill Noah. It had been... a necessity. A choice made in the heat of battle, a desperate act of self-preservation.
He wasn't proud of it.
And he certainly wasn't... happy about it.
Back when he'd been an assassin, a nameless shadow in the mortal realm, he'd made a rule. Never kill innocents. Never kill anyone he... knew.
Taking a life was one thing. Seeing the ripples, the consequences, the way it shattered the lives of those left behind... that was another.
And Noah... Noah had been innocent. Naive, perhaps. A bit too... righteous for Michael's taste. But a good person, nonetheless. Manipulated by Skyhall, twisted into a weapon against his own brother.
He'd believed, with a conviction that Michael had found both admirable and infuriating, that darkness was inherently bad. And Michael, with his growing power, his embrace of the shadows, his ruthless methods...he'd fit the bill of the villain perfectly.
So Noah had done what he thought was right. Tried to stop him. To save the world.
And Michael... Michael had done what he had to do.
He'd survived.
But as he stared at Rowena now, at the shattered remnants of her faith, her love, her hope... he couldn't help but feel a pang of... regret.
"Did you even think about his family?" Rowena's voice, choked with rage and grief, pierced the frozen silence. She stepped forward, grabbing him by the collar of his armor, her fingers digging into the cold metal.
"Did you think about what killing the God of Light would do to this world? To our world?"
She shook him, her own body trembling with the force of her emotions, and then, unable to contain her fury any longer, she slapped him. Hard.
"You and your goddamn power! You've destroyed everything!"
Michael's head snapped back from the force of the blow, but he didn't retaliate. Didn't even flinch. He simply stared at her, his gaze unwavering, the shadows in his eyes deepening.
It had never been about power, not for power's sake. His entire life had been a struggle for survival, a constant climb up the food chain. He'd learned, the hard way, that you were either the predator, or the prey. There was no middle ground.
He'd reached the top of the food chain on Earth, become the world's deadliest assassin, a ghost who moved through the shadows, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.
"What did you do?" he asked, his voice a harsh whisper, his grip on her tightening.
Rowena's body went limp in his arms, her head falling back against his chest.
He eased her down to the floor, gathering her into his lap, his gaze frantically searching her face for any sign of... anything.
He picked up the vial, the empty glass container cold and slick in his hand. He brought it to his nose, inhaling cautiously. The scent that hit him was pungent, acrid, like a mix of rotting seaweed and bitter almonds.
Poison.
"It's... from the deep sea black serpent," Rowena rasped, her voice weak, fading. "One of the... most potent poisons... in the realm. The Holy Maidens... they're given a vial... in case... in case of capture. A last resort..."
She coughed, a harsh, rattling sound that made Michael's heart clench.
"I'm using it... as a... a last resort," she whispered, her gaze meeting his.
"You're going to... be my brother this time. You're going to... find a way... to bring Noah back. I don't care... how you do it... but you will fix this. Fix your... mistakes. You're a god now, Michael. You have the power."
Her eyelids fluttered, her breath growing shallower.
"This poison... it'll... it'll kill me... in a year. You have... a year. To figure it out. And if you can't... if it's... impossible... then at least... at least bury me... as your sister. That much... you owe me."
Michael stared down at her, his face a mask of shock and... something else. Fear? Despair?
However, what Rowena didn't know was... Michael had a secret weapon.
"System, neutralize that poison. Now,"
[Host, neutralizing Deep Sea Black Serpent venom will require 100 million Badass Points. Do you want to proceed?]
"Do it!" Michael ordered. He lost enough people already and he wasnt willing to lose rowena too. Besides, he had enough badass points to do whatever he wants. Thus, curing her poison wasn't a big deal to Michael.
[Confirmation received host. Deducting 100 million Badass Points. Neutralization process initiated. Estimated completion time will be 72 hours. Subject will experience no noticeable side effects during this period.]
Michael let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. One hundred million points... it was a hefty price, but a small one to pay for Rowena's life. And for his own sanity.
He watched as the color slowly returned to Rowena's face, her breathing becoming more regular, the erratic thumping of her heart calming to a steady beat. There were no outward signs of the System's intervention, no glowing lights, no magical fanfare. Just a gradual, almost imperceptible easing of the poison's grip.
Rowena, unaware of the miracle that had just occurred, continued to mumble deliriously, her words a mix of grief, regret, and desperate hope.
Michael listened patiently, his expression a carefully constructed mask of concern. He'd play along for now, let her believe she was still on borrowed time, that her desperate gamble had worked.
He wasn't a fool. Bringing Noah back... even if it were possible... it would be a logistical nightmare. And honestly? The last thing Michael needed right now was his righteous, judgmental brother running around, complicating his plans and questioning his every move.
Rowena wanted him to find a way. That was all that mattered. He'd... figure something out. He could always... stall. Pretend he was working on it, searching for some ancient ritual, some lost artifact, some magical loophole that could undo the impossible. He could drag it out, buy himself some time, until he'd dealt with the more pressing threats.
Because bringing Noah back now, before he'd dealt with Andohr, before he'd secured the mortal realm, before he'd faced down the Omegas... it would be... anticlimactic. Pathetic.
And if his life were a novel, if there were some cosmic audience watching his every move, judging his choices, they would throw the book across the room and curse his name if he brought Noah back now. It would be a betrayal of everything he'd fought for, everything he'd sacrificed.
He had to play the long game. For Rowena. For Noah. For himself.
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