THEY COME TO US

It's strange, isn't it?

How your heart burns and burns and suddenly turns to ice.

-Pinterest-

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The first sound that she heard was her own heartbeat. This rhythmic voice sounded so soothing to her ears, as though it was a greeting for her for being alive.

The sound was strong and steady and Tarsa didn't have a hard time guessing what had happened to her when she saw her own room, with IV drips etched on her left hand and all kinds of medical equipment.

Her parents must have done everything that they could to bring her back. Did it mean she got a new heart transplant?

Though it sounded hard to believe, Tarsa still always wondered, how long this heart would last until she got a new one?

Tarsa lifted her shaking hand and touched her chest, where she could feel the strong beating of her heart and she was grateful for whoever this heart belonged to, nonetheless.

"Thank you," she whispered softly.

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It has been a week since Xierra passed away and Damon still couldn't believe it really happened.

His clouded mind always told him that she would come back one day. It was like when she went to another continent without him, she was with another protector at that time, because Damon had done another important thing here, as he was the only person that Xierra trusted to do that job.

It felt almost like that. Damon just needed to wait and eventually she would come back…

At this rate, his denial had grown into a dangerous state.

He didn't even think about the fact that he would face his punishment next week, or there was a huge possibility that he would end up dead if he was sentenced to go through the gate of hell.

Walking through the gate of hell was the highest punishment for all the protectors, mostly those who failed to protect their respective Kairi.

The subject would be pardoned if they managed to return alive, but the problem was, no one knew what kind of evil or creatures were waiting for them inside because not a single soul came back alive once they crossed the gate.

Such a terrifying situation and that punishment were, safe to say, akin to a final verdict. However, that didn't matter now for him…

Since the very beginning, his sole purpose of life was to protect her, and now she had gone, there was nothing that could make him feel the way he felt when he was with her.

The life in his eyes dimmed significantly when he remembered the blood in his hand and how he thrust the dagger through her chest. She softly whispered about not telling him about what actually was happening, so no one would know the true story that he was the one who had killed her…

Damon himself, who had drilled the sharp blade through her chest and took her precious life…

He closed his eyes and felt the wind caressed his skin, as he stood at the balcony, watching how another day died along with the sunset on the horizon.

Yet, he heard a commotion from the men below him. They were talking about something in a hushed tone, and from their facial expressions, Damon could tell that it was something serious.

He didn't care about it, since nothing was worth his attention anymore, but when he heard Xierra's name being mentioned, he opened his eyes and stared at them intensely.

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"I have told you that it will lead to something like this!" Russel roared at his wife, he just received a threat from the Duvessa.

Duvessa was a very old spiritual association that had a stronghold in this country. Their power and importance were on par with the president, though not many people were aware of them since they tended to keep everything under the radar.

However, all the people in the government knew them very well and gave the same respect as the way they gave to their country's leader.

The head of Duvessa called Kairi, the person would be a woman with strong spiritual power.

The alliance between the government and the Duvessa was a long and sacred story about the origin of this country, therefore no one would take the members of Duvessa lightly.

"So, what will you do then?! Let your only daughter die?! When can we do something?!" Claire roared back at her husband.

They were in the president's office and the tension between the two was very thick and suffocated.

"We can find another way!" Russel shouted back.

"There is no time! You know that as well!" Claire glared at her husband. She knew what kind of situation that she had put Russel in, but she didn't want to admit it and let him blame her, as this was the thing that they should do as parents.

Russel grabbed his hair in frustration. He sat down on his chair, as the room fell into silence.

From the window, they could see the dark sky as night came in and rustling trees, as the wind hit them hard. It seemed this would be a rainy night.

Claire sighed, she took a deep breath and walked toward Russel. "Did you explain it to them about our current situation? What did we do to save someone's life? Our daughter's life?" This time Claire softened her voice as she massaged her husband's neck to reduce the tension.

"Ariana didn't want to hear any excuses." Ariana, the ninety-seventh Kairi, didn't even want to hear any words that came out from him when they found out about the heart transplantation. "We had breached all the rules between the government and Duvessa, and now they will come to us."

Russel closed his eyes and balled his fist until the vein bulged. This situation was out of hand already…

"What do you mean they come to us?" Claire furrowed her brows, she knew that she wouldn't like what Russel would say.