48.- Whispers by The lake

The conversation between Kaili and Sebastián had just concluded, but a silent tension lingered in the air on the second floor of Aurora's dungeon, an echo of the words they had exchanged about the demon queen's cosmic power and her playful nature. Kaili stood before the underground lake, her naked figure still wet from the water, droplets sliding down her light purple skin in shimmering trails that reflected the greenish glow of the gems embedded in the walls. The light highlighted the golden, silver, and red runes pulsing with arcane energy across her body, a constant reminder of her nature as a Throne of Chaos. Her iridescent wings, folded behind her, shimmered with soft shades of purple and blue, though now a darker hue began to tinge them, reflecting the unease growing within her.

Sebastián remained seated on the nearby rock, his green tunic stained with dirt and moss, his eyes fixed on the water as he processed Kaili's words about Aurora as a Primordial Universe incarnate, still growing, and her choice to toy with Eldoria rather than devour it outright. His mind was a swirl of thoughts, a mix of curiosity and reflection about his own existence in the dungeon—a place where he had lived for the past hundred years without remembering his past. Though he had watched Kaili during her explanation, his gaze had lacked the usual lust that had always sparked something within her, a spark that, despite his growing familiarity with her naked body, had never diminished—in fact, Kaili had felt it grow stronger over time, a desire that pleased her and that she had come to expect as a constant. But now, that spark was absent, replaced by a distraction that unsettled her deeply.

Kaili frowned, her runes flaring with a vivid red glow as a strange feeling took hold of her, something she had never experienced in her millennia-long existence as a Throne of Chaos. What was wrong with her gardener? Why was he looking at her without that desire that had always been a constant between them? A possibility crossed her mind, one that left her feeling unsettled: had she done something wrong? Had she upset him in some way with her words? The thought troubled her more than she could admit, an unfamiliar sensation that tightened her chest in a way she couldn't understand. In her long existence, she had destroyed entire universes, annihilated gods, and sown chaos in Aurora's name, always with an arrogance that defined her as a Throne of Chaos. But now, in front of this human she had come to care for in a way she couldn't quite explain, she felt uncertain, wondering what might have caused that distraction in his gaze.

She turned to him, her steps soft against the damp floor, water still dripping from her body as she approached. "What's wrong with you, gardener?" she asked, her voice losing the playful tone she always used with him, replaced by a softness that rarely surfaced, a trace of concern that surprised even herself. She stopped beside him, her naked figure casting a shadow that enveloped him, the warmth of her light purple skin radiating toward him as her wings unfurled slightly, brushing against him with a feather-light touch. "Did I do something wrong? Did I upset you with what I said?"

Sebastián looked up at her, caught off guard by the shift in her tone, his eyes meeting hers as he noticed the unease in her expression, something he hadn't seen before in the confident Harbinger of the Plague. "No, Kaili…" he replied, his voice low but sincere, his gaze softening as he took her in. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's just… sometimes I feel lost here. I don't know my place in all of this, in this dungeon, with you, with Aurora… I don't remember my past, and sometimes I wonder if I really belong here."

Kaili watched him in silence, her runes pulsing with a softer glow as she processed his words, the strange feeling inside her shifting into curiosity. But before she could respond, Sebastián did something that took her completely by surprise. With a slow, deliberate motion, he removed his green tunic, revealing his bare torso under the faint gemlight, and stood to approach her. Without a word, he draped the tunic over her shoulders, covering her nakedness as if it were a cloak, the rough fabric contrasting with the softness of her light purple skin. The gesture was unexpected, an act of care that made Kaili's runes flicker with a golden glow, her heart—if a being like her could be said to have one—racing in a way she couldn't explain.

"I'm really enjoying this conversation with you, Kaili," Sebastián said, his voice calm and sincere as he adjusted the tunic over her, ensuring it covered her completely. "Discreet beauty is the most sensual kind, you know? I don't feel the need to see your body right now… I feel the need to listen to you, without distractions." He paused, his eyes meeting hers with a warmth that disarmed her. "I'm truly grateful to you for staying by my side these hundred years. I don't know what I would have done without you."

Kaili stood still, her dark eyes wide as she processed his words, the weight of the tunic on her shoulders feeling strangely comforting, a gesture that made her feel cared for and at ease in a way she had never experienced in her long existence. For millennia, she had been an instrument of destruction, an unstoppable force created to annihilate in the name of Aurora, her queen and creator. She had faced gods, destroyed universes, and sown chaos without hesitation, always with an arrogance that defined her as a Throne of Chaos. But now, in front of this ordinary human who had stumbled into her life by a twist of fate, she felt different—protected, as if for the first time someone saw beyond her power, beyond her sensuality, beyond her purpose as a weapon of destruction.

"Grateful… to me?" she murmured, her voice barely a whisper as her runes glowed with a softer golden hue, a reflection of the warmth beginning to fill her inside. Her wings folded even closer, as if trying to contain the unfamiliar sensation enveloping her, and for a moment, her dark eyes shimmered with a light that wasn't arrogance or cruelty, but something more human, something that seemed like gratitude. "No one has ever… No one has ever said anything like that to me," she admitted, her voice steady but tinged with a surprise she couldn't hide as she looked down at the tunic now covering her, her hands rising to touch it with hesitant fingers, as if unsure what to do with it.

Sebastián smiled, a warm, genuine smile that made the golden glow in Kaili's runes intensify. "It's the truth," he said, his voice soft as he sat back down on the rock, gesturing for her to join him with a gentle motion of his hand. "You've given me a reason to stay here, even when I don't understand my place. With you, I always feel like I can talk… like I can be myself, even if I don't know who that is."

Kaili sat beside him, the tunic covering her body as her wings adjusted behind her, the rough fabric against her light purple skin feeling oddly comforting, like an embrace she had never received. For the first time, she didn't feel the need to use her sensuality to draw him in or to tease him with her usual playful tone. Instead, she allowed herself to simply be there, listening to him, sharing a moment that wasn't defined by physical desire but by something deeper, something that made her feel more alive than she ever had when destroying universes.

Sebastián remained silent for a moment, his eyes drifting over the lake as a shadow of concern crossed his face. Then, as if the words he had been holding back finally found their way out, he spoke, his voice low but filled with a sincerity Kaili couldn't ignore. "Kaili… sometimes I feel like I'm not enough," he confessed, his gaze lost in the shimmering water as his hands clenched in his lap. "It's been a hundred years since I came here, a hundred years of training with you and Aurora, but I don't feel any stronger. Everything I've learned feels… useless. I'm not like you. You and Aurora are incredible, powerful, capable of things I can't even imagine. And me… I'm just a gardener."

He paused, his voice trembling slightly as he continued, his eyes lifting to meet hers, a flicker of insecurity crossing his expression. "I feel like I'm an obstacle in your plans, Kaili. I don't feel useful in all of this. Aurora is a Primordial Universe, you're a Throne of Chaos, a force that can destroy gods… What can I offer? All I know is how to tend to plants, work the soil, observe. I don't belong here, not with you, not with what you are."

Kaili watched him, her runes pulsing with a softer glow as she processed his words, the warmth she had felt from his gesture now mingling with a deep curiosity. Before she could respond, Sebastián went on, his voice taking on a tone of admiration as his eyes traveled over her face and then her figure, now partially covered by the tunic. "And you, Kaili… every time I see you, you captivate me," he admitted, his voice low but filled with a reverence that caught her off guard. "The softness of your wings, like they're made of light and shadow, always makes me want to touch them, to feel them. The glow of your runes—golden, silver, red—shimmering with every emotion you feel, it's like watching a starry sky that exists just for me. The softness of your light purple skin, so perfect it feels unreal, and your way of being… every gesture you make is perfect, Kaili. The way you move, the way you speak, even when you tease me, everything about you is a work of art I can't stop admiring."

He paused, his voice dropping even lower as a flicker of sadness crossed his eyes. "But that's the problem… you're perfect, and I… I don't fit in. I'm not on your level, or Aurora's. I'm nothing more than a gardener, someone who should be tending plants in some forgotten village, not here, in a dungeon, by the side of beings like you. I feel like I'm not worthy to be here, that I can't contribute to what you are, to what you want to achieve."

Kaili watched him in silence, her runes pulsing with a brighter golden glow as she processed his words, the admiration in his voice filling her with an unexpected warmth, but also noting the sadness that accompanied them. For a moment, she didn't know what to say, her mind searching for words that could ease the insecurity he felt, an insecurity that, to her, was incomprehensible. How could someone like him, someone who had managed to touch her essence in a way no other being ever had, feel this way?

"You're not an obstacle, gardener," she said finally, her voice firm but soft, laced with a sincerity that contrasted with her usual tone. "You don't understand… it's not about strength, or power. You do something that neither I, nor Aurora, nor any being in this universe could do." She paused, her dark eyes meeting his, a glimmer of warmth shining in them. "You make us feel… human. You give us a purpose beyond destruction, beyond the game. Your presence, your way of being, your warmth… that's what keeps us here, with you."

Sebastián looked at her, surprised by her words, his heart racing as he processed what she was saying. "Human?" he murmured, his voice low as his eyes searched her face for a sign that she might be joking, but he found only sincerity in her gaze. "But… how can someone like me do that? You're… you're beings beyond my understanding. I'm just…"

"No," Kaili interrupted, her voice firm as her hand rose to take his, her fingers gripping his with a gentleness that belied her destructive strength. "You're not 'just' anything, Sebastián. You're the gardener who's been by our side for a hundred years. You're the one who's taken care of us, who's given us a home in this place that sometimes feels so empty. Your strength isn't in your power—it's in your heart. And that… that's something neither Aurora nor I could ever match."

Sebastián felt a lump in his throat at her words, his eyes shimmering with a mix of surprise and emotion as he squeezed her hand in return, the warmth of her touch filling him with a peace he rarely felt. "I don't know if I can believe that," he admitted, his voice low as a sad smile curved his lips. "But… thank you, Kaili. Thank you for saying that. It means a lot to hear that… from you."

Kaili smiled, a smile that wasn't mocking or cruel but genuinely warm, a rare glimpse of humanity in a being who had destroyed universes. "Then believe in me," she said, her voice soft as she looked at him, her dark eyes glowing with a warmth that contrasted with her destructive nature. "Because I believe in you, gardener."

Sebastián felt a warmth spread through his chest at her words, his fingers tightening around Kaili's with gentleness as he looked at her, the tunic draped over her figure a silent symbol of the care he had shown her. For a moment, silence settled between them, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence—it was one filled with understanding, with connection, with a bond that had grown over a hundred years and was now growing even stronger.

Kaili moved closer, her body gently resting against his shoulder, the contact warm and comforting as her wings adjusted behind her, the glow of her runes softening to a golden hue that reflected the happiness she felt in that moment. "Don't tell anyone about this, gardener," she murmured, her voice low but carrying a sincerity she rarely showed, a hint of happiness in her tone as she spoke. Together, they gazed at the shimmering lake, the lights reflecting on the surface like a starry sky, their breaths syncing in a silence that spoke more than any words could.