My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 1051: Chapter 1053: Falling Out

Damon said a few things. Xander countered. The exchange went back and forth, each word sharpening the edge between them.

Then Damon said something that finally crossed a line.

Emilia flipped the entire table.

Plates, cups, and food scattered across the pavilion as wood scraped violently against stone. She rose to her feet with a fury that made even the knights nearby hesitate. Flames flickered faintly at her fingertips as she threatened to burn the house down where they stood.

Damon’s expression never changed.

Luna and Lilith immediately began apologizing on his behalf, trying to calm Emilia down before she truly lost control. Eventually Emilia realized she had allowed her anger to run far ahead of her reason, despite the weeks she had spent mentally preparing for this meeting.

Damon only shook his head slightly at how easy it had been.

Xander pressed his fingers to his temples. Even he was afraid of his wife’s temper, and Damon kept provoking her without pause.

Not long after, Damon found himself standing on a balcony with Xander. They spoke about the war, both very clearly avoiding the subject of Xander’s child.

”We’ve made progress toward the city of Lysithara. However we are currently dealing with a strange entity in the forest. Another hindrance to our advance.” Xander pressed a hand to his chest as if the weight of it sat there.

”A small part of me is starting to think this might just be impossible to achieve,” he added.

Damon was quiet for a moment, looking out over the capital.

”Yes, I understand how you feel. Things you believe are impossible are often doable, and things that seem simple can feel impossible.”

He exhaled softly.

”Just like you being a father, or even me. I never pictured any of this a few years ago. Honestly, I was convinced I would be dead by now.”

Xander fell into thoughtful silence, then bit his lip.

”So did I. However, I pictured myself here at this moment. I was trained to be a noble, so my life did not really go off course. There were strange moments, but this is where I was meant to be. Right here.”

Damon did not understand it. Did Xander truly have no doubts anymore, or was he so convinced of his own convictions that they left no room for doubt.

”What is this ideal of yours that you hold so closely, and is it really worth giving up everything. Xander, Emilia looked so happy. This child means everything to her.”

Xander paused.

”Is it worth giving up everything. No. I am not giving up everything. I am giving up something to gain another. It is a fair trade. I understand you do not want it anymore.” He glanced at Damon slowly.

”A man’s promise is his bond. You made a promise. An oath was signed that day. I would give you my firstborn on the very day he says his first word, and you would honor your promise and give me a fair chance to kill Amon.”

Damon took a deep breath, the soft wind of the capital brushing through his hair.

”We were young. So were you. We know better now. Just let it go.”

”No!” Xander snapped. ”I will never let it go. I will never let my brother’s faceless killer go. I will never forgive and I will never forget. You said it yourself. An eye for an eye. So what if the world goes blind. At least I am not the only one with one eye.”

Damon closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

”Yes, you are right. I understand that. Even I cannot give up revenge right now. I want to kill an outsider named Morticai. He is immortal and extremely powerful. He could kill me like an ant.”

He paused, realizing as he said it aloud just how uneven those odds were.

”But I would never do it if the price was my Ranar. Even if it meant I had to hand her over to someone for an hour, much less a day or even years. I would never be able to.”

Xander narrowed his eyes.

”What are you trying to say.”

There was a long silence before Damon finally spoke.

”I want to cancel our contract. If it is mutual we might be able to bre—”

Crush.

A deafening crack tore through the air as part of the balcony collapsed, stone breaking away and crashing to the ground below in a cloud of dust.

”You will keep your word,” Xander said coldly.

”We had an agreement. Should you break it, the payment I will demand shall be gruesome. If you want to break this contract, then I demand the apple of your eye. Put the head of little Ranar in a box and send it to me.”

Damon’s hand shot forward and grabbed Xander by the throat, lifting him into the air. His eyes had gone completely cold.

”You will not speak of my daughter.”

Shadows rose around them, spreading like a living frost. A chilling air flooded the entire palace. Every soul within felt the unnatural cold as Damon’s dark eyes bored into Xander’s.

”Your hubris shall be your undoing. You have grown arrogant, Xander. You have grown selfish. More than that, you are spineless. I cannot believe there was a time I envied your rigid morality, but now I see that it might have fallen.”

He pushed him backward toward the edge of the broken balcony.

”I am glad I am taking your child. No child should grow up with a parent like you.”

He slowly turned away, his footsteps causing the fractured stone to crumble further behind him.

No one truly knew what they discussed that day. Those present only remembered Xander’s forlorn expression and the last words he said to Damon as he left.

”Do not forget your oath. I will hold you to it no matter what. Do not forget the consequences of going back on that promise.”

Damon turned to him, poison in his eyes.

”I hope you do not regret it. When you finally accomplish your goal, I hope you still wear this same expression and hold this same attitude.”

Luna and Emilia did not know what it had been about. Disagreements between Damon and Xander were not unusual. It was almost part of how they interacted.

Still, something about this one felt different.

As hard as Emilia tried, she could not get Xander to tell her what the fight had been about.

She slowly stroked her stomach and told herself it was nothing, even though she felt a terrible premonition settle deep in her chest.