Chapter 6: The Bonds that Bind

The ebony forests enveloped them, a dense mist coiled amongst the old trees like phantoms of lost and forgotten lives. Silently navigating through the undergrowth, Damon's senses were sharpened and every muscle in his body tensed and prepared for action. Though neither of them would say it out loud, Elysia was a few steps behind him, her presence a continual source of comfort that remained silent.

They had been traveling together for weeks, encountering perils that would have felled lesser people. They had come to this abandoned woodland, where the air pulsed with evil energy, thanks to the system's most recent mission. Damon was aware that he was up against a formidable force that the system required him to subdue. However, as usual, his thoughts were on something far more intimate—how to manipulate this assignment to suit his needs.

Damon said in a rough voice, "Stay close," slowing down to let Elysia catch up. Without saying a word, she walked to stand alongside him, her wings lightly caressing the foliage.

Ever since they would first met, Elysia had confused Damon. She had been a heavenly creature of unrivaled elegance and strength before being sent to earth for undisclosed reasons. Similar to how he was a fallen monarch, she was a fallen angel. Damon saw a reflection of his own destiny in her, a strong person dragged low by uncontrollable circumstances. However, there was something more profound that pulled at him whenever she was in close proximity. More than any of the penalties in the system, it was a feeling he hadn't had in ages and it made him feel uneasy.

Elysia whispered quietly, "You don't have to worry about me," her voice resonating with a faint melody that seemed to have once bewitched the skies. "I'm not as fragile as you seem to think."

Damon's mouth tensed. He detested how she was able to see right through him and sense the worry he was making a concerted effort to hide. "I am aware of that," he said, sounding harsher than he meant to. However, you are still mortal today. You don't have to slow me down."

Elysia looked at Damon for a long while, her eyes gleaming with something other than melancholy that Damon couldn't quite place. "You believe you can push them all away, please. She spoke, sounding almost nostalgic. "That by keeping your distance, you can remain the villain you believe yourself to be."

Damon came to a standstill, his fist gripping the sword's hilt. His visage hardened as he turned to face her. "Elysia, I am the antagonist. I have been for all time. I don't need you or anybody else, at least not right now."

His remarks didn't make Elysia wince. Rather, she moved in closer, bringing her body close enough to Damon's flesh to feel the warmth of her breath. Her eyes met his, and she muttered, "Then why are you still here?" "Why do you keep me by your side, even when you could have left me behind long ago?"

Damon felt his heart race—a strange feeling that both excited and alarmed him was in his chest. Like a moth to a flame, he could feel his attraction to her, and it took all of his resolve to resist touching her to check whether she was as genuine and warm as she appeared to be.

Though his voice lacked his customary firmness, Damon hissed, "Don't mistake my actions for something they're not." "You're useful, nothing more."

Then Elysia smiled, a kind, melancholic grin that caused Damon's insides to twist terribly. She responded, "Keep telling yourself that, Damon," taking a step back to give him the room he didn't know he needed. "But I think you're more afraid of what you're feeling than you are of this system, or even the God who cursed you."

Although Damon wanted to dispute and rebut her statements, the reality of them hurt too much. His fists tightened around his hands; he turned his back on her. He mumbled, "We should keep moving," but his voice was hollow.

They had a heavy quiet as they moved through the forest, full with unspoken words and feelings that neither of them was ready to face. The part of Damon that cried out that he didn't deserve this—didn't deserve Elysia—and the part of him that was becoming closer to her caused his mind to race. But despite his best efforts to put the feeling out of his mind, he couldn't escape the conviction that she was correct.

When they made up camp for the night a few hours later, Damon discovered observing Elysia while she attended to the fire. Her face took on a warm glow from the flames that gave her an almost unearthly appearance, reminiscent of the celestial entity she once was. A desire that Damon had long since given up on throbbed in his heart.

More than any of the struggles they had overcome together, he realized he was falling for her, and that fact worried him. Love might tie him to a life he had spent decades trying to escape; it was a weakness. But the harder he fought to ignore it, the more ingrained it became in his entire being.

"Why do you stay with me?" When Damon did ultimately ask, he sounded gruff and almost unwilling. You understand who I am. You are aware of my actions."

Elysia softened her demeanor as she glanced up at him. "Because I see who you could be, Damon," she retorted softly. "And because I care about you, even if you don't believe you deserve it."

Her words hit him hard, and for a few seconds, Damon didn't say anything. The weight of her admission covered him like a shroud. The thought of someone loving him and recognizing the good in him was nearly unbearable for him since he had spent so much time being the bad guy and felt that he could not be changed.

Damon instinctively extended his hand and caressed Elysia's cheek. There was an electric shock that went through them both. Instead of restraining herself, Elysia leaned into his touch and met his gaze, shutting as though enjoying the occasion.

"Elysia..." With a voice that betrayed the turmoil raging within him, Damon muttered. Though the words would not come, he wanted to beg her to stop, to get over him before it was too late. Rather, he saw that he was pulled to her in an inexplicable way and was bending closer to her.

However, the system's icy, mechanical voice sliced through the air like a sword, right as their lips were about to connect.

"An incomplete mission. Penalty: About to Happen."

Damon pushed back, his face tightening again as the moment broke. Elysia gave him a smile of gentle understanding, but her disappointment was there in her eyes.

Gruffly stating, "We should rest," Damon averted his gaze to conceal his unhappiness. "We're going to fight this among us."

Elysia nodded, but as she slept off, Damon stayed awake, gazing into the fire's last dwindling embers. He was feeling completely disoriented for the first time in eons, as his mind was a whirlwind of contradicting feelings.

Damon was convinced of one thing as the night went on: he and Elysia were becoming more and more bonded, and soon he would have to confront the reality of what that meant for both of them.