Chapter 38 - The Weight of Choices

The silence was heavy in the hall with the deep blue stained-glass windows, where filtered light drew arabesques on the smooth floor. Saphira Noctielle sat on the edge of a large armchair, her hands clasped, her gaze lost beyond the windows that overlooked the infinite dream skies. fatigue was etched in every line of her face, but it was primarily the shadow of deep doubt that marked her features she awaited, or rather, she dreaded Diva's arrival.

When the door slowly opened, a cold presence filled the room Diva entered, majestic, her complexion pale, almost translucent, her eyes piercing like shards of ice she approached, relentless, and fixed a scrutinizing gaze on Saphira. 

—"You seem burdened. I just traveled thousands of light-years in one second throughout the multiverse just to wait for you, so tell me everything," she finally said, her voice calm, almost distant. "What weighs so heavily on your soul, my queen?".

Saphira took a deep breath. She didn't have the strength to mask her weariness or her helplessness:"I created something I cannot control," she replied in a broken voice, almost a murmur. "Nekridhal, my reflection my anger incarnate he is out there, somewhere, and he is growing in the shadows i feel his power, but I don't know what he will become."

Diva tilted her head slightly, her expression betraying no emotion, but her gaze was as sharp as a razor. "You are not the first to fear your creation," she murmured. "The weight of a mistake is always heavier when you bear the responsibility for it."

A silence settled, heavy with unspoken words Saphira lowered her eyes, nervously playing with a lightning-shaped pendant: "I want to flee," she confessed. "To go far away from all this, to let the multiverse manage without me but I know it would be worse If I leave, who will protect the dreams? who will silence the nightmares gone wild?"

Diva sat opposite her, placing her slender hands on her knees:"You are the only one capable of doing it, Saphira the only one who can appease this chaos but that doesn't mean you have to carry everything alone let your allies help you."

Saphira raised her head, finally meeting Diva's icy gaze:"I am tired," she said, "more than I've ever been every decision tears a piece of myself away i don't even know who i truly am anymore, beyond this crown, beyond this power."

A strange, almost imperceptible but sincere light flickered in Diva's eyes:"You remain a queen, even in the storm and even a queen must sometimes rest, accept the help offered to her."

Saphira closed her eyes for a moment, letting the words resonate within her then, slowly, she stood up:"Then, I'm leaving, but i won't come back the same."

She walked past Diva, who also stood, silent, almost like a loyal shadow. "May the breath of the stars guide your steps," Diva murmured.

Saphira left the room, her cape of starry mists floating behind her, while the first glimmers of dawn began to break on the horizon.

End Chapter 38 - The Weight of Choices