Chapter 265: Warmth

?Just like that, I had won against Sia. The world around the both of us warped and we found ourselves back on the floating platform.

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?The moment I opened my eyes however, I was assaulted by impact, my body swayed, but before I could get a grip on the floor, came another impact.

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?My body tilted backwards crashing into the floor.

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?"Brooo! We thought you were dead!" Dion whined as both he and Aric hugged me tightly to the floor.

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?"Okay, I expected this out of Dion but not you too Aric. Would you two get off me, you’re making us look like fucking homos before the entire world." I whispered the last part.

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?And it worked like magic, Dion and Aric basically flew off me. "Damn, can’t a man peacefully come back from death?" I said, dusting my clothes after I stood up.

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?It was after I finished that I saw everyone staring at me. "What?" I shrugged. "Never seen a guy come back from the dead before?"

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?"You bastard, so it was you making my life a living hell these past few days." Calum was the first to break out of trance.

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?"It’s good to have you back, Damon." Alistair smiled. The bitch was right beside him, looking away from me.Qhile it might have looked like id forgotten about her, not in the slightest. She was scheduled to die tomorrow after all.

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?The rest meanwhile only looked at me with what looked like acceptance, I didn’t have a particularly good relationship with them either way.

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?It was then that Rose stood up, her eyes fixed on me as she slowly took her time walking towards me, making me all the more nervous.

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?’Why am I feeling like this.’ I was way stronger than Rose, but this dead state she was giving me almost made me step back, almost.

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?The moment she was finally before me, I smiled.

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?"Hello, Sis...ukhh!" Her fist landed straight into my gut, cutting my sentence short.

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?"I will allow that." I raised a finger, holding my stomach. "Hey hey hey, wait a damn second!" I exclaimed seeing Rose raise her hand towards me again.

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?"What was that for? You know attacking someone on this platform could lead to disqualification right?" I looked towards the proctor for confirmation.

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?But the bastard simply shrugged.

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?"Technically, everyone on this platform is currently disqualified except for Kaal and yourself, so it doesn’t apply to her."

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?"Is that so?" Dion muttered, as he and Aric punched into their palms, sensing a chill down my spine, especially as Rose also moved her gaze back to me.

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?I instinctively took a step back, but I felt my back hit something. I turned back, only to see Sia’s hand stopping me dead in my tracks.

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?"Wait wait wait, let me tell you something! Let me tell you something!" I exclaimed as the four zeroed in on me.

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?A short pummel later, I was finally freed, but not without a few bruises marring my otherwise gorgeous face.

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?"That’s what you get for making us believe you were dead." Aric said dragging me up to my feet.

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?"That wasn’t very cool you know, is that how you welcome a brother back from the dead?" I wheezed, massaging a a bruise on my arm.

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?"How did you do it, make everyone believe you were dead, I mean." Rose asked.

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?"..."

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?"Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but it’s a out time everyone goes back." The proctor interjected just in time, saving me the lie I was about to sprut out.

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?The next moment, everyone was teleported back back to the large hall.

?"Let’s go, you have a lot of explaining to do." Sia beckoned, and along with Rose, Aric and Dion, we proceeded to leave the hall.

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?However, the first step we took outside the hall made me shudder as a chill wind brushed past me.

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?"Am I the only one, does everyone feel this chill?" I turned to the group.

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?"Nah, it’s definitely isn’t you, bro, it was a lot warmer when we left earlier today." Dion replied, mm along the others agree with him.

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?"I think I know the reason." Rose said after what seemed like a moment of thought and everyone turned towards her. "Sometime after you revealed your identity, I got a message from Emmett..." She paused.

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?’Couod it be...’ My eyes widened a fraction, but I quickly concealed it.

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?Instead of continuing, Rose instead raised her graphic mirror, showing us the screen. The message from Emmett said; "Dear Sister, you must be overwhelmingly surprised, and not by the fact that I took care out of my time to send you a message of course, but because it looks like our failure of a brother is still alive..."

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?I paused my reading there, my thoughts forming into a curse. ’Did that bastard have to call me a failure of a brother?’

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?I ignored the gazes of the rest and continued reading.

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?"That aside, it looks like you also lost, dear sister, how pathetic...." I stopped once again, took a glance at Rose who seemed seemingly in bothered by that line,before going to read the last line.

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?"P.S: Be ready for a blizzard, Mother is on her way."

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?’My gamble worked, that bastard took the bait."?

"So, you mean the legendary Winter’s herald is here?!" Dion exclaimed, his eyes shining like stars.

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?"So what, it’s not a big deal anyway." I clicked my tongue looking away from him.

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However, the moment I took a step forward, I felt shrouded in a warm embrace, long waves of silver hair filling my view, and the surrounding temperature dropping to minus degrees.

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?The warm embrace soon slipped after a while as the one who embraced me stepped back to look at me.

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?"Damon..." A soft voice emerged from her lips as her hand reached up to my cheek.

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?Almost instinctively, I tilted my head backwards, refusing the gesture. Her hand froze for a bit, before moving to my head as a smile blossom on her otherwise ageless face.

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?"My baby..." She ruffled my hair slightly, making me somewhat shudder.

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?When was the last time she called me that, or ruffled my hair, or even smiled? That was like forever ago.

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?"... Is alive."

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?Why the hell is she acting like this, this is far from the detached mother I knew. Granted, I banked on the fact that after revealing myself, Emmett would break it to her in hopes of her leaving the Vorde continent, which was at the moment, the most dangerous place in Nahaar for her.

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?But even still, I knew there was somewhat no chance of that happening even if Emmett took the bait, there was only a point zero percent out a hundred that she would actually come here.

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?I played on the fact that she might still process some maternal love for her last born, but I hadn’t been ready for her to show up here looking like a kid loving mother.

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?That was the reason why my brain shut down for quite a while.

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?"Yes, I am alive, Mother." I managed a smile but even I could tell it was crooked. She probably noticed, but instead of her showing it, her smile grew warmer.

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?"I’ll never let anyone hurt you again" She whispered, raising her hand to my cheek once more, but this time, I let her.

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?It felt warm, her hand on my cheek, despite the continuously chilling environment.

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?"I should go back to the empire." Yvonne withdrew. "We shall talk when you’re back, you too Rose." She glanced at Rose who seemed every bit shocked her Icy mother could act warm.

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?But more than Rose’s shock, something else rang inside my brain.

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?’Go back to the empire after everything it took to get you here?’

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?As much as I disliked what I was about to do next, and how much aura is lose, I had to do it.

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?"Wait... Mother." I said.

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?Her attention returned to me almost instantly.

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?"Would you.... Would you stay until I win tomorrow?" I asked trying hard not to cringe at my own words.

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?She paused for a moment.

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?"Please?" I added.

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?"Fine," She smiled. "I’ll go meet your father." She said and then simply disappeared.

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?The moment she disappeared, I felt a snicker behind me and my body shuddered. I didn’t even have to check who it was because I already knew.

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?"What? Is there a problem?" I turned and directed my attention at Dion who was barely holding his laugh, only to see a pair of hundreds of eyes staring at me.

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?"Oh mommy, can you stay? Pretty please?" Dion mimicked in a voice that sounded nowhere close to mine, like a little girl’s voice, before bursting out in laughter.

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?Not only him, youths all around, were mocking me in the similar way.

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?"I just flushed out reputation down the drain, didn’t I?" I muttered, turning to Rose, who had at some time taken a step away from me and was looking me with a gaze that said; "Who are you?"

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