Chapter 1485: Unrequited Eternity, Serpent’s CourtshipLove’s False Gospel

Danton had repeatedly assured the Lord that Shekinah’s return would turn matters in their favor.

Her mighty had never required such assurances.

She was the Female Angel Progenitor, and the Lord needed no account from the J?rmungandr to understand the magnitude of her awakening. What Danton had been considerably less accurate about was how readily she would lend that might to his wishes.

It seemed rather late to complain about her influence now that he had discovered she intended to exercise it herself.

He could also have mentioned that Danton was behaving remarkably like an aggrieved husband for someone who had just been reminded he was not her lover.

Either answer would have provoked another outburst, so the Lord held his tongue and let the J?rmungandr resume his bitter march.

For all his amusement, however, Shekinah’s refusal had surprised the Lord too.

Melissa’s name had scarcely entered their discussion before she forbade any attempt on her or harm her. The firmness of that decision had left little room for argument, and Danton, despite everything he was now saying, had understood it well enough to obey.

He had plainly expected her support.

He might even have hoped she would assist them personally, sparing them much of the care Melissa’s abduction would otherwise require. Instead, she had rejected the undertaking, and the Lord found himself returning to that refusal with rather more curiosity than resentment.

Shekinah was a Genesis!

That alone ought to have discouraged them from assuming she had acted out of sudden tenderness towards an expectant mother. The Lord understood that presence that had stood before existence; what remained uncertain was the full reach of her powers and what her awakened Soul was capable of perceiving in this particular matter.

Could she discern something that escaped their perception and Sense?

He had no certain answer.

Perhaps she had perceived something surrounding Melissa, recognised some significance in the pregnancy or discovered a reason to leave the Young Dragon’s pregnant woman untouched.

The Lord had witnessed enough extraordinary happenings around Phei Ryujin Tiamat to hesitate before assuming they had exhausted or seen all the boy’s surprises.

Shekinah being just sentimental remained possible too.

Maybe an old memory might have stirred at the mention of Melissa’s pregnancy, or the twins might have awakened an affection she had never shown Danton. The Lord could accept that possibility without being satisfied by it, particularly when he considered everything else she had done during their discussion.

Her refusal concerned Melissa alone.

She had approved the other plans, listened to their intentions and examined their preparations with an understanding that had repeatedly obliged the Lord to reconsider his own judgement.

Several of her alterations of their original plans had been so remarkable that he found himself wondering how they had ever been content with the original arrangements to not see the flaw in them.

Difficulties Danton had spent days attempting to overcome had yielded to her with astonishing ease. She had exposed weaknesses the Lord himself had overlooked and strengthened portions of their schemes that previously depended upon uncertain circumstances.

Where they had hoped events would favour them, she had shown them how to prepare more carefully, leaving far less to chance.

The Lord had expected an Original Progenitor’s knowledge to surpass his own, but even Danton’s too?

Even so, seeing her unravel those particular plans so soon after her awakening had afforded him considerable satisfaction. Danton had used his own cunningness and the Lord had considered them from every direction he could imagine.

Shekinah had found answers they had both missed, with an ease Danton ought to have admired if he could bear to think of anything beyond his wounded pride.

If she wished to ruin their cause, strengthening nearly every other undertaking was a peculiar way to go about it. Her refusal to permit Melissa’s abduction deserved consideration for that very reason. She had helped them too much elsewhere for the Lord to dismiss her objection merely because she had not offered the explanation they wanted.

’She might know something we don’t.’

Danton’s acquaintance with her might still offer some insight into that decision.

He had known her ancient self for so long, and a few of his stories concerned encounters the Lord had not witnessed. Those personal experiences could perhaps shed light upon her disposition, though the supposed romance had already given him reason to question Danton’s interpretation of them.

Her power was another matter entirely.

The Lord knew the might of his race’s Female Progenitor without requiring Danton to recount it, and he had little use for another tale of her greatness when the question before them concerned Melissa.

His gaze returned to the J?rmungandr, and his amusement stirred again.

Perhaps the abandoned abduction was simply the grievance Danton could bear to discuss.

He could complain at length about their preparations, their sacrifices and Shekinah’s refusal; admitting how deeply the reunion had humiliated him would require an honesty he had so far avoided.

The tale of their romance had reached the Lord through and beyond— Every ancient being knew the tale of the Shekinah and her supposed eternal partner— Danton. Even beings who had never met Shekinah believed it, and the J?rmungandr’s fond recollections had given them little reason to question that particular claim. Now she had returned and made her feelings clear in front of the very person he would least have wished to witness it.

Derek and Maddie— if those two knew — and they might’ve since there was no other reason why Danton hated them— had known all along, the ancient grievance might have been considerably less grand than the Lord had imagined.

He could almost admire Danton’s nerve in allowing the tale to endure, although admiration proved difficult when he remembered the expression on his face during the reunion.

A low chuckle escaped him and carried beneath the radiance of his wings.

Danton stopped pacing and narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Nothing," the Lord replied, regarding him serenely.

"You’re laughing." Danton turned fully towards him. "Don’t play games with me."

"I was merely considering how much Shekinah has already helped us." The Lord’s smile softened, which did nothing to improve the look Danton gave him.

"Helped us?" His disbelief made the Lord incline his head.

"Indeed. Apart from Melissa, she has approved almost everything we intended. Several of our plans are now considerably better because of her, and I find some of her alterations rather extraordinary." His expression grew genuinely thoughtful as Danton’s jaw tightened. "If she forbade one particular plan while strengthening all the others, perhaps we should consider whether she knows something about Melissa that we do not."

Danton looked away, the darkening of his expression suggested that he had at least heard the reasoning, however little pleasure it gave him: "Or perhaps she’s simply being sentimental."

"Perhaps," the Lord allowed. His golden-white radiance illuminated the faint cracks Danton had left in the stone, and he glanced down at them before returning his attention to the J?rmungandr. "Although I wonder whether her refusal would have troubled you quite so much if your reunion had gone the way you expected."

Danton turned sharply, his robes stirring around him, and the Lord’s smile widened. "Surely one disagreement over Melissa should not cause such misery when you have finally reunited with the love of your ancient life."

"DON’T!"

The roar thundered through the corridor as golden Essence surged from Danton’s body.

Saint Stage might swept over the enormous pillars, shaking their delicate carvings and stirring the sacred light beneath the vault. His hair lifted, his eyes blazed gold and the stone fractured beneath his feet, adding fresh wounds to the floor he had spent so long pacing.

The Lord stood within the brilliance of his six wings and continued to smile.

Danton’s fists remained clenched, his breathing deepened and the Essence around him pulsed as he struggled to decide whether words could suffice. Attacking the avatar would scarcely persuade the Lord to forget what he had witnessed, and every further outburst only gave him more to enjoy.

Danton had schemed against the Legacy Families, drawn the Heavenchilds and Maxtons into his designs and endured defeats that might have broken others. Yet he could find nothing to say that would make Shekinah acknowledge a romance that had never happened even once.

In fact, she seemed to not know about the rumors of their relationship.

The Lord knew it now, and the satisfaction on his face promised Danton very little peace whenever her name arose between them.

His complaints had filled the hall, his Essence had scarred its floor, and still the Lord had heard nothing that explained Shekinah’s decision. Danton could rage over their reunion and the prohibition upon Melissa for as long as he pleased; as for the woman in question, her reasons remained her own.

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A/N: A bit sloppy today guys, I am kinda sick, sorry guys.