Xerxes held Leiya, his eyes wide with disbelief. Conrad had just been murdered in the most gruesome way, and it made Xerxes realise that within this fallen kingdom, there were a few words that described it. Harrowing, debilitating, and terrorising.
Amongst all the words that came to mind, the one that held the most precedence was 'loss'. First, Xerxes had caused the ones he had loved to experience loss, and now Xerxes was punished with that very same feeling.
It was as if he couldn't take his eyes off the sight he had just seen, as if staying still, trapped in time, would reverse or even dismiss what had just happened.
Leiya whispered a word that shook the permanence Xerxes was attempting to uphold in his head, "Dad?"
Looking at Leiya, Xerxes saw her mouth open, the words to formulate an expression of rage or grief stuck. She gnashed her teeth, grinding them as if sharpening her fangs to devour Yves for what he had just done.
"He killed him, Xerxes... Yves just killed my dad. THAT BASTARD KILLED HIM!" Leiya shrieked, sounding more monster than human. She pushed Xerxes aside and began stumbling forward, dragging her feet through the broken earth.
What could Xerxes say? He didn't blame her for wanting to kill him.
After everything, after the smoke, the silence, and the blood, Xerxes found himself returning to a particular question he had asked Aemon.
"Would I ever want to kill a human being, the way I wanted to kill the beasts of the fallen Kingdom?"
Back then, the answer was uncertain. Distant.
Now?
'Now it screamed in every part of me. I didn't just want Yves dead, I wanted him broken, helpless, just as I am. I want him to feel a punishment so cruel, so utterly consuming, that death would seem like mercy.'
'If I had the power, I would have torn the sun from the sky just to use its fire as a weapon.'
Xerxes' mind began to run wildly with wicked thoughts, his skin blistering, melting, bones turning to ash. His blood boiling inside his veins. His lungs filling with flame instead of air.'
'I want to erase him. Not just from the world, but from memory. From time. Because what he did today, what he caused, went beyond pain. It was betrayal carved into the marrow of the innocent.
And for that, there could be only one answer. Justice. Not the kind written in laws, but the kind written in rage.'
Though life wasn't that simple. He couldn't, and he knew that. If Aemon was struggling, then what could Xerxes possibly do? He wanted more than anything to kill him, just like Leiya. So, with the words that felt unrepresentative of who Xerxes was, he spoke bitterly.
"Leiya… don't, please. You're going to die. I can't let that bastard take you."
Furrowing her eyebrows and screaming with rage, she spat, "What the hell would you know, Xerxes! You've never lost anything meaningful to you. You're just a kid who wants somewhere to belong, but how can you if you've never had anywhere!"
Jabbing a finger towards Yves, she continued, "I'm losing everything standing here, and I don't care if I die, because he's only going to take more! If you try to stop me, Xerxes, I'll never forgive you."
The words struck Xerxes harder than anything he could have ever anticipated. Maybe she was right. Maybe he didn't know what it was like to lose something on this scale. But despite that, he wasn't going to diminish Aemon's wishes. He wasn't going to let Leiya die.
Xerxes despised himself; when had he become so selfish? He tried to reason the fact that he promised Aemon to keep Leiya safe, but deep down, it was different. Xerxes didn't only respect Aemon's wishes, but he also had his own wishes.
He couldn't bear to see Leiya die when she had so much to live for.
Her intrigue and dreams began replaying in his mind. Her voice from that many months ago was as clear as day.
'So you think I can believe you when you say to me that there is a tree that cuts through the clouds in the Kingdom of Eros?'
'There are magic academies where thousands of people go to, so that they can become stronger!'
'Will you take me to that port city in Amento where there's rivers running through the entire kingdom, that'd be so amazing!'
'You mean to tell me your buddy Dorian has an actual dragon? Can we ride it?'
Xerxes shook his head, and tears began streaming down his face as he drew his blade. "I'm sorry, Leiya, but I need to take you from The Fallen Kingdom... if that means fighting you, then I'll do as I must."
Leiya took a step back, not even recognising the person she was seeing before her. She questioned him, "Why, why do we need to run?! Are you some coward, are you a man who goes against his words? When have you ever run Xerxes? You stayed behind till the very end..."
Xerxes knew exactly what she was referencing. But life wasn't that simple. "Back then, Leiya, I stayed behind because I knew there was a chance that someone could survive, and now, Aemon is doing exactly what he can do to make us live, to fight another day."
'Was this how Aya felt? Deep down, she must have known that there was no other way, but she needed that one final push to realise all hope was lost.'
Leiya then asked one last thing, "Why does it have to be like this?"
Xerxes' expression darkened, knowing what he would have to do to make her lose all hope, just like Aya had, "Because I've gone against our destiny." Memories of the initial message from his soul began replaying in his mind, 'Leave the fallen kingdom with Leiya'.
But he had gone against that.
All this time, he thought that simply ignoring it would eradicate its meaning, but comparing his thoughts to the very foundation of the universe was foolish. Maybe this was the price he had to pay, maybe this was destiny proving how ignorant Xerxes was.
"A month ago, when I reached tier 5, I was transported to my soul core. I kept it a secret from everyone. I was warned to leave The Fallen Kingdom with you. I was told that you are a key, but to what door I don't know. In the end, I refused. I went against that decree, and it's led to this moment. I'm not sure if things would have gone differently if I had told you back then, but I realise now that this is the price I must pay and I'm sorry..."
She didn't say anything back, and although Xerxes knew where this would likely head, he screamed desperately to her, "Say something, Leiya!"
An eerie silence fell over the area where Xerxes and Leiya were.
He observed Leiya, whose expression he couldn't make out, but he didn't need to see it to understand what was developing within Leiya.
Gripping at his chest, Xerxes' worst fear had come to fruition.
She then activated her mana, with coils of disasteful water wrapping up her fists, "I hate you, Xerxes."