blogombal Chapter 278: Between Fire and Compassion (2)
Chapter 278: Between Fire and Compassion (2)
When the flames swallowed her whole body, Roxanna had already prepared herself for the worst.
She was ready to feel painful burns covering her skin. She had even prepared herself to immediately use her healing ability on the baby inside her womb first before healing herself.
But when the fire touched her skin... nothing happened.
The flames brushed against her hair, her clothes, and her body, yet she felt no pain at all.
"What?" she whispered in confusion.
She quickly looked around at the fire surrounding her from every direction. The heat was still there. She could clearly feel how hot the flames were.
And yet somehow, she was perfectly fine.
Then her eyes slowly lowered toward her waist. There, hanging from her belt, was the feather Cyrus once gave her.
A faint golden light was glowing from it. The glow was weak, almost hard to notice in the middle of the fire, but Roxanna quickly realized that golden light was wrapping around her entire body.
’Roxanna, kill me.’
Her eyes widened instantly.
She immediately lifted her head toward the sky—toward Cyrus—because she swore she had just heard his voice inside her mind.
"Cyrus?" she called out uncertainly.
Unexpectedly, Cyrus’ voice appeared inside her mind once again. ’Yes. Roxanna, you have to kill me. Shoot an arrow at me.’
Roxanna frowned deeply, becoming even more confused. Was that really Cyrus speaking to her... or was it Falcoln pretending to be him?
Then the voice spoke again. ’The first time we mated was inside the tent, together with Luan.’
’The second time was when we did it with Zeir.’
’You couldn’t stop moan—’
"I BELIEVE YOU! I BELIEVE YOU!" Roxanna immediately shouted, cutting him off before he could continue.
Her entire face turned completely red from embarrassment. Out of all the possible things he could’ve used to prove his identity, why did he choose that?!
"But if you’re really Cyrus, then why are you asking me to kill you?!" Roxanna shouted once she finally calmed down enough to think clearly again. "That doesn’t make any sense! And I would never kill you!"
’But you have to,’ Cyrus replied softly.
His voice was calm and strangely gentle, even in the middle of the chaos around them.
’You have to trust me.’
No matter how much Roxanna thought about it, she still couldn’t understand his request at all because it sounded completely insane.
Was he not thinking clearly right now?
Because even if Cyrus truly wanted to die, there was no way he would ask Roxanna to be the one to kill him.
Then his voice quietly spoke again inside her mind. ’I’m asking this because my heart belongs to you and your heart belongs to me.’
Roxanna froze.
’Just this once,’ Cyrus continued softly, ’I want to die with compassion.’
For some reason, his voice sounded unbearably lonely.
’Death is painful,’ he whispered. ’But if I die by your hands, at least I’ll know I was loved by you until the end.’
His words sounded sweet and painfully sincere, but even then, they still weren’t enough to make Roxanna feel ready to shoot an arrow straight through his heart.
"I can’t, Cyrus..." she whispered shakily. "And why do you even want to die?" Tears filled her eyes again. "Why do you want to leave me?!"
’I won’t leave you,’ Cyrus replied softly inside her mind.
Even surrounded by fire and chaos, his voice still sounded strangely calm. ’Just trust me. This is the only way I can protect our tribe, our home, and our future.’
His voice became gentler. ’So please... trust me.’
Roxanna’s chest tightened painfully. Her mind was a complete mess and part of her thought his request was absolutely insane.
[How could he ask me to kill him like this?] she thought in desperation.
But another part of her, for some reason, couldn’t stop believing that Cyrus would somehow survive in the end.
"You won’t leave me?" Roxanna finally asked quietly as she slowly picked up her bow and arrow.
The flames had nearly burned them earlier, but thankfully, the soft golden light surrounding her body was protecting them too.
’I won’t.’
Roxanna took a shaky breath before slowly pulling back the bowstring and her hands trembled badly.
"Will you come back to me?" she asked in a small voice that almost sounded like a child begging not to be abandoned.
And without hesitation, Cyrus answered, ’I will.’
Roxanna stared at the figure flying high above the burning battlefield.
The fire crackled around her loudly, smoke filling the air until it became difficult to breathe, but at that moment, all she could see was Cyrus.
Her fingers trembled around the bow. She had aimed arrows at birds—her enemies—before, but never at someone she loved.
Never at Cyrus.
"Roxanna!"
Luan’s voice sounded distant behind her, but she could barely hear it anymore.
Her entire world felt strangely quiet, and only Cyrus’ voice remained inside her mind.
’Trust me.’
Roxanna bit her lips so hard they almost bled. Then slowly, she raised the bow toward the sky.
Far above her, Cyrus stopped moving for a brief moment. The eagle beastmen around him seemed confused by his sudden stillness, but Cyrus didn’t dodge anymore.
Instead, he simply looked down at her, and even from that distance, Roxanna somehow felt like the bird was smiling at her.
Tears blurred her vision instantly. "Please, come back to me," Roxanna whispered shakily. "I love you, Cyrus."
For a brief moment, everything seemed to go silent.
The fire, the screaming, and the sounds of battle—none of it mattered anymore.
In Roxanna’s eyes, only Cyrus mattered. Moments later, she finally released the arrow.
Tak!
The arrow shot through the burning sky, glowing faintly gold as it flew straight toward him.
The eagle beastmen immediately realized what was happening.
Falcoln, who was watching from afar, shouted, "DON’T LET HIM DIE YET!"
Several eagle beastmen rushed toward Cyrus at once, trying to block the attack, but it was already too late.
The arrow pierced straight through Cyrus’ chest.
"CYRUS!" Luan shouted in horror because he hadn’t expected Roxanna to actually shoot him like that.