As the two walked through the thickening forest, the path seemed to grow narrower and more overgrown with each step,
The earlier migraine had left Veneri a bit shaky but he pushed through. His hand occasionally brushed against Asenane's for reassurance, though whether it was for her or himself, he couldn't quite say. Asenane kept glancing at him sideways. Her frost subtly cooled the air around them, which was a silent way of saying she was still on high alert.
Then, abruptly, the foliage parted like a curtain drawn back by invisible hands, revealing a massive clearing ahead. Vastarael's eyes widened as he stopped dead in his tracks. There, sprawling before them was a colosseum, or what was left of it.
Massive stone walls crumbled under the weight of centuries. Vines grew through cracks. Pillars that must have once towered proudly were now half-buried in earth and overgrown with moss. The arena floor, visible through gaps in the walls, was a chaotic mess of weeds and shattered flagstones, with hints of ancient carvings peeking out here and there, worn smooth by time and weather. It looked like it had been abandoned for millennia,
"Is that what you've been looking for?"
"Yeah, it is. I don't know how this is here but this is it."
He caught her look and sighed, running a hand through his hair, still a bit disheveled from the earlier episode.
"Look, Asenane, I'm really okay. Seriously. Maybe it's just residual memory lapses from meeting Greshina Emberforge back in the Sucking Void. That whole encounter probably scrambled my mind a bit."
The name hit her like a slap and her mood flipped in an instant from supportive wife to a judgemental one. Her eyes narrowed with frost crystals forming at her fingertips involuntarily.
"You met Greshina Emberforge? When the hell did that happen?"
Vastarael winced, realizing he let that slip without thinking. He shifted awkwardly on his feet, glancing away at the ruins as if they might offer an escape.
"Uh... yeah. After I took down Diov, she just appeared out of nowhere and snatched his Divine Core right from the aftermath. It was quick. Didn't stick around for chit-chat."
"And you're just telling me this now? Why didn't you say anything before?"
"I didn't want you or the others to know. It felt personal. Only Phaenora knows and that's because she was there in the thick of it. I figured it'd just complicate things more."
She crossed her arms. Her breath came out in visible puffs of cold air despite the mild forest warmth.
"Complicate things? Vastarael, it's okay if you want to dig into your memories, chase down whatever ghosts are haunting you, I get that. I've supported you through all of it, haven't I? But this is getting worse. You're not just forgetting little stuff anymore. It's like your whole foundation is cracking."
"Hey, you supported me on this from the start. Remember? You said—"
But she snapped, cutting him off with a sharp gesture.
"Supported you? Yeah, I did but I didn't expect it to put you in actual danger, you idiot! I thought it was just a mental adventure or whatever, and not this nightmare where you're glitching out and bleeding from your damn eyes!"
She paced a few steps away, then whirled back.
"Ever since we got here, your memory lapses have been appearing like crazy. One minute you're fine, singing that dumb song like nothing's wrong, and the next you're dropping to your knees in agony. You remember bits and pieces, flashes of whatever you experienced but then poof, gone. Most of it's just vanished into thin air. And don't even get me started on your sleep. Last night you were mumbling and spitting out words in some ancient language that's not even English."
Vastarael blinked, trying to process that.
"Wait, another language? I know Italian too. Maybe it was—"
"No! That's not the point, Vastarael! Italian, English, whatever it is, it's not about the language! It's about you unraveling right in front of me and I'm scared shitless! I'm worried about you, okay? You've always been the one who worries us all with your reckless, suicidal bullshit, charging into voids, taking on danger single-handed like it's no big deal. We've dealt with that, patched you up and yelled at you for it. But this? This is on another level entirely. It's not some external threat we can fight together. It's inside you, eating away at your mind."
She stepped closer, jabbing a finger at his chest. It was not forceful but enough to make her point.
"This is the first time I've actually been terrified of your past life. I said I'd support you digging it up, uncovering whatever buried crap is there. But if this keeps going, if it leads to you dying or enduring some extreme, soul-shattering pain, I'm out. I won't go along with it anymore. I can't watch you destroy yourself like this."
He reached out tentatively, but she pulled back, shaking her head.
"Don't. Just listen. I'm your wife now, Vastarael. Your partner in this eternal mess. It's my responsibility—no, my right—to tell you straight up that pushing forward with this could cost you your life. And the worst part is I know I can't stop it. We're knee-deep in the Second Epoch Cycle now and for some fucking reason, it all seems to revolve around you. Your memories, your past, your whatever-this-is. It's like the universe is conspiring to drag you through this and fighting it feels hopeless. But that doesn't mean I have to like it or stay quiet while you suffer."
"Asenane, I—"
"No, let me finish! I'm just... so worried about you. The glitching? That's new. You've never done that before, not in all the years we've known each other. You're the healthiest being I've ever met. You've got Body Reconstruction, for fuck's sake! It heals everything physical in a heartbeat. But this? It's like your mind is shattering at the edges and I can't just freeze it back together. I feel helpless, Vastarael. Me, a Divine Being who can freeze armies solid, helpless against whatever's breaking you from the inside."
She paused, taking a shaky breath. She continued but her tone was lower.
"I know you won't stop. You're too stubborn and driven by whatever pull this past has on you. And I'll stand by you because that's what we do. But you have to stop hiding shit from me. Stop bottling it all up, trying to handle it solo like you're some lone wanderer. I'm not Greshina Emberforge, okay? I won't abandon you like she did for six decades, leaving you to rot in whatever void she tossed you into. I'm your wife so rely on me, damn it. Let me in. We face this together, or we don't face it at all."
Veneri rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a small, almost awkward look.
"For the record, this is the first time I've ever heard you curse and talk that much."
Asenane stared at him, unamused.
"And you're right. This is on me. I should have told you."
There was no deflection in his tone. She crossed her arms and she was still angry.
"Yes. You should have."
"I don't plan to die, you know. I'm not stupid enough to chase memories if they're going to kill me. I calculate risks before I act. I don't pursue suicide missions blindly. I'm a father and a husband. I know I can't die yet."
He hesitated before asking, almost cautiously, "Can I touch you?"
"Why do you have to ask for permission?"
"Because you're mad?"
She gave a short nod.
He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. The hug wasn't forceful or desperate. It felt like he was measuring her reaction. She stayed stiff for a second before her hands slowly moved to his back, gripping his clothes.
"I don't like involving people in my problems. I've always handled things alone."
"That's not your choice anymore. We're married. You don't get to isolate yourself just because it's convenient."
He said nothing.
"You don't have the right to carry everything alone anymore. If you care about someone, you share the burden. That's how this works."
He let out a slow breath and finally pulled back. His expression was more serious now.
"The reason I've been looking for this colosseum is because I've been here before. When I went to Minafallen Academy, there was a requirement for enrollment. It was a Timeskipping Event. Every candidate had to survive one."
"You never mentioned that."
"It wasn't relevant at the time. Or at least, I thought it wasn't. Everyone in Sentina Erideae went through one. My first Timeskipping Event sent me here."
"..."
"I ended up in this exact arena. It was active then with crowds, gladiators fighting for entertainment and slaves dying for sport. I didn't play along. I freed the gladiators and helped them retaliate."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"The slaves fled into the forest. I helped them escape. I found Arletta here, by the way. She was among the gladiators so I took her in."
Asenane stared at him.
"The slaves didn't reintegrate into society. They stayed in the forest and formed a tribe. They also resented the town that allowed the colosseum to exist. And at some point… they annihilated the town."
"..."
"The reason there are barely any people in Cassandra might be because of me."
Asenane stepped back slightly. Her mind was racing to connect the pieces.
"You freed them. You gave them the means to survive and they… wiped out the civilians?"
"I didn't stay long enough to see what they became. I left after ensuring they were safe."
"You think your intervention created a militant tribe that slaughtered an entire town."
"I think it's possible."
The casual way he said it made it worse. She ran a hand through her hair, stunned by the sheet absurdity of the situation.
"You saved them and now you're blaming yourself for what they chose to do?"
"If I hadn't interfered, Cassandra might still be populated. But no, I'm not blaming myself for that. Actually, they deserved it."
Her frustration spiked again but it wasn't anger this time. It was disbelief at how calmly he was shouldering something catastrophic. Then again, he did kill everyone in Erna Isles apart from the Spheraphasians just to make Narisva a Divine.
He wasn't a good person. Well, neither was she anyway.