363: Human Nature

Human Nature

Lucas stared at Rosalind's sleeping face. She had been reading the book since they arrived in this room.

The next thing he knew, she had already fallen asleep.

Slowly, he lifted her up and brought her to the small two-seater couch across the fireplace. This was the only place that can be used as a bed in this study as it had been a very long time since he came here.

Then he took his coat and used it to cover her body.

Staring at her, Lucas could not help but smile.

Her long flowing gray hair framed her angelic face, giving her a very peaceful aura. In the soft light of the fire across them, she looked like a goddess, peacefully lost in slumber.

It was entertaining how when she woke up, her expression would change drastically. Her serene countenance would give way to a fierce determination, her eyes blazing with both curiosity and life.

The contrast between her tranquil sleep and her resolute wakefulness was simply mesmerizing. She would ask questions about everything, her curiosity driving her to explore and learn with an insatiable appetite for knowledge. Her eyes would widen in surprise at new discoveries, and her childlike wonder would fill the air with a sense of excitement.

Her fiery temperament was equally captivating. When she was angry, her eyes would blaze with an intensity that was simply too beautiful for him to ignore.

She was a spectacle.

Something that he would want to hide away forever. She was something that he wanted to own.

However, he knew better than to put her in a cage just for his eyes to feast on.

He lifted his hand and was about to caress her cheek but he stopped before he could touch her.

Out of nowhere, the softness in his eyes vanished.

He got up and took a few steps away.

His chest raised and fell in an abrupt motion.

He— He found it increasingly challenging to rein in his emotions!

Control, he chanted inwardly.

Being around her was making him struggle to contain his impulses.

He needed to stay away!

Almost immediately, his body vanished inside the study. He reappeared on a cliff where he stared at the large moon up above.

It took him a few minutes to calm himself.

"I have been looking for you," a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Belisarius."

"Benjamen…"

"Do not call me that name," Lucas said, his voice quiet, low, and dangerous.

Belisarius laughed in response. He then stood next to him and the two of them stared at the moon quietly.

A subtle gust of wind swept by, leaving a soothing sensation in its wake.

For a few more minutes, the two of them stood as still as a statue, without saying another word.

"The barrier is weakening…" Belisarius said, his voice calm. He did not take his gaze away from the moon. "But you already knew this, no?"

Lucas said nothing.

"How long?" Belisarius asked.

"What do you mean?"

"How long have you known that a piece of her essence, a piece of her soul, was contained within that form?"

"What does it matter?"

"I found something…"

"Tell me."

"Before she disappeared… I believe she used a relic to hide her soul. She must have used some sort of special instrument to hide it or maybe even a rock. I cannot find out what it was. However, not just anyone could use the instrument without suffering its repercussions."

"You are telling me that the soul is laying dormant inside that form."

"Isn't it so? She would have died if a part of that soul would awaken… " Belisarius looked at him. "You would have died… if a part of her soul would awaken."

"It was just a fragment, no?"

"Do you understand how powerful she was?"

Lucas nodded. He does… He was the only one who understood how powerful she really was. After all, he had been with her for the longest time. It was just the two of them.

It was just them.

Then the humans came.

He narrowed his eyes at the moon.

"I will be leaving… to the Howling Mountains," Lucas said.

"You— That place— Are you trying to— you will be with her?"

He nodded in response.

"So, you are going to make her stronger. Was it because you wanted her to withstand her soul?"

Lucas said nothing.

"You are still greedy Benjamen," Belisarius chuckled. "You always wanted more… " More of her, Belisarius wanted to add. He shook his head instead and focused on the reason why he came here. "The barrier is weakening. The ones from the other continent are slowly gaining access to this place. I can sense it."

"I know a few of them."

Belisarius pursed his lips. "You did not kill them."

"Why would I?"

"Does it affect me in any way?"

"Lucas, how could you?"

"How could I what?"

"Those Demons… you know why they are here! You know why we ran all those years ago!"

Lucas only laughed in response.

"Convince me why I should care, Belisarius."0

"You— You—" Belisarius was speechless.

"The humans have nothing to do with me. They can burn and I will be watching them in the comfort of my home, drinking my bitter tea and reading a book." Lucas shrugged.

"Lucas, how could you? If the Demons arrive in this place—"

"Do I have any reason to care about them?"

Belisarius turned silent.

"For so long… the Barrier protected them from the real horror," Lucas added. Beasts? Demonic beasts? A tide?

Those were nothing compared to the horrors that would come once the barrier collapsed.

"You are not planning to protect them," Belisarius stated. "Even if that was what she wanted."

Lucas only chuckled in response. Protect them?

With all that had occurred in the past, protecting them was the least of Lucas's worries.

Humanity's greatest threat was not the demon that lay dormant, waiting for ten thousand years for the barrier to break. The real threat was often found within.

Humans needed protection from their own nature!

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