Chapter:23-Liana(2)

Liana felt like a doll, broken and discarded, forgotten in the dark. Her body had been shattered by the goblins, but it was her spirit that had broken first. When the days blurred together in the suffocating cage of misery, she had lost count of how many times she wished for it to end. But when the black and red nightmares of their faces haunted her even in the silence, when the faintest whiff of blood reminded her of them, the desire to die faded, replaced with a gnawing emptiness she couldn't escape.

But now, this man—Edwin—held her. His warmth, though foreign, was a small comfort. His steady presence was the first thing she could grasp without fear of it slipping away. For the first time in so long, the noise in her head seemed to quiet.

The soft, almost apologetic way he held her was so unlike the rough hands that had violated her. She wanted to pull away at first, but his touch was gentle, and his voice, though deep and strong, was soothing. "You survived, Liana. That doesn't make you broken. You survived,didn't you?.That already gives you one up on them. Know that they cannot hurt any people anymore..."

Her chest tightened at his words, and she wanted to scream at him. How could he say that? He didn't know. He hadn't been there. He hadn't watched her guards bleed out one by one. He hadn't been forced to witness them—her own allies—sink into madness just to survive. He hadn't been made to feast on the rotting corpses of those who had died defending her.

But then, why did his words sound so real? Why did it feel like he was telling the truth?

Liana pulled away from him, wiping her face with the back of her hand. She couldn't stop the tears; they still came, slow and steady.

She couldn't bring herself to look at him, not yet. Her head was spinning, tangled with everything she had been through. And the memory of that... that man—the goblin who had treated her like a prize to be paraded—still burned in the back of her mind. Gruak. She could still hear his voice, thick with his cruel laughter.

Liana turned her eyes to the painting she had been working on. A picture of a forest, but so different from what it should have been. It was twisted, bleeding—her memories bleeding out onto the canvas. She had painted the trees to look like dark claws, twisted and reaching, their limbs skeletal and jagged. The ground was a mess of blotchy red. The clearing she had once cherished was gone, replaced by a gaping blackness that seemed to swallow everything.

A familiar ache crawled in her chest.

"Why did you leave me alone?" she whispered, almost to herself.

Edwin, who had been silently watching her from across the room, stepped forward. His expression was unreadable, but his voice was soft, kind. "I...was weak.I was selfish. I will admit,I was scared of death,not the concept,I was scared that I would have experienced the pain of death without any benefit. I won't say that I was not to blame,I won't take any pride in the fact that I contributed to your survival,blame me as much you want,I deserve it."

Edwin said. Edwin was regretful,he coule have killed all of the goblins. But he only killed 11 in total. Why?

Because he was weak. Yeah,but he could also die eternally. Right?. So did his miniscule hundreds of deaths not amount to atleast one full life of person.

Why did he not save them then and there. Because that was not required?. That is a lame reason,and Edwin knew it.

Liana shook her head, not trusting her own voice. She hated feeling like this, like a helpless little girl with no control over her emotions. She couldn't even fight the tears that slid down her cheeks.

"I—" She paused, swallowing hard. "I couldn't protect them. I couldn't protect anyone. And now, everything's broken."

Edwin knelt beside her again, close but not too close. His voice didn't hold pity or judgment. "You didn't do this, Liana. No child nor adult should have had that done to them. Don't try to dwell in the past and let it hurt you...please."

"But I should've," she whispered, clenching her fists in her lap. "I should've been stronger. I should've—"

"Liana," he interrupted, his tone firm but gentle. "Liana listen,do not blame yourself,whatever you do..do not blame yourself."

She wiped her face, sniffling, her voice barely audible. "I don't know how to be... me again. I don't even remember what it felt like to not be afraid."

Edwin sighed softly. "Then don't do that. Try to be something different. Try to be better. Try to forget. Try to be strong.No,don't 'try'..be strong. Be better."

Liana stared at the floor, the words mixing with the weight in her chest. She felt like she was drowning in her own grief, yet something about his words gave her a flicker of hope—something she had forgotten existed.

For a long time, neither of them spoke. But it wasn't uncomfortable. It was like the air had softened, like the silence wasn't something to fear. Edwin's presence wasn't the pressure she had expected. It wasn't the suffocating weight that had crushed her for weeks. Instead, it was... kind. Quiet. Understanding.

Her sobs gradually slowed to sniffling, and after a long while, Liana finally looked at him again. Her eyes were raw and puffy, but they were searching for something she couldn't name. "Do you think I'm... broken?"

Edwin looked her in the eye, his expression serious, but not unkind. "No. But you're hurt. And that's okay. Even dragons hurt themselves before they learn to tear the clouds" He reached out, gently brushing her hair away from her face.

A tear fell down Liana's cheek, but this one was different. It wasn't just grief. It was the first tear of something else—maybe hope.

She swallowed hard and nodded, her voice trembling with the weight of her thoughts. "I... I don't want to be afraid anymore."

"Then don't be," Edwin whispered back, his voice a steady promise.

For the first time in weeks, Liana didn't feel completely alone.

End of Chapter