Prelude to Chaos: Part II — The Kiss of Death

High above the misery of the slums, the air in Silver’s office was stale and heavy with smoke.

Vanessa sat on the leather couch, hugging her knees and staring off into space while Silver paced behind his desk, lighting his third cigarette in ten minutes, clearly affected by the revelations.

"A Witch," Silver muttered, exhaling a cloud of grey. "And not just any Witch but the daughter of Solace herself, you gotta be kidding me. Is there anything else you’d like to share with me before this rodeo gets more complicated?"

"I don't feel like a goddess, I feel like a burning target is blazing on my back" Vanessa whispered.

"It is" Silver replied bluntly. "Malevolent is the Serpent God and if the texts about him are true, then he hates you, specifically you. But, you probably didn’t need me to tell you that now did you? Just what have you been hiding from me, Vanessa."

The elf closed her eyes, and suddenly, she wasn't in the office anymore, reliving a memory of hers from a past life.

She saw herself running through a burning forest, holding the hand of a man she had once loved, a simple farmer with kind eyes who ran frantically.

"True love is a weakness," Malevolent hissed.

"And I will break every heart that beats for you."

Vanessa gasped, jolting back to reality, trembling from the fear of the memory, as if the Serpent God would burst into Silver’s office at any given moment while the death mage watched her, his expression unreadable as he held up a piece of paper, a crumpled letter they had found in Meline’s belongings.

"Kami wrote this to Meline. I have a feeling she engaged Noah’s emotions so she wouldn’t have to reject Kami and he would simply walk away. How depressing...this letter led to her death when it was intended for something else ..."

Silver then read the letter aloud, going through it completely, giving Kami’s emotions the importance they deserved, his voice getting softer and softer until he reached the end.

"You are the cure. I love you so very much. Yours forever and always."

He finished, placing the letter next to the ancient scroll from Roman Valentino and the contrast was sickening; one, a declaration of innocent love, the other, a warning of ancient hate.

"Malevolent destroys love. Every time I loved someone in my past lives... he killed them. He tortured them to hurt me, without exception."

Vanessa revealed as she looked at the death mage.

"Silver," she whispered. "If you stay close to me like this... if you care about me…. If you love…"

"I know," Silver interrupted, crushing his cigarette in the ashtray before walking around the desk and kneeling in front of her, bringing himself to her eye level, his eyes locking onto hers. They were burning with a resolve that terrified her, but also, strangely, thrilled her.

"I've killed men, monsters, and memories. If a God wants to come for me because I chose to protect you... then I'll find a way to kill a God too."

He assured, giving her no time to argue as he leaned in, his hand sliding up to cup her jaw, his thumb brushing against her trembling lip, kissing her passionately.

When he kissed her, it wasn’t a gentle peck but rather a defiant claim, enveloping the elf with a searing heat that chased the cold fear from her veins and filled her with the warmth of passion and security.

Vanessa gasped against his mouth as she retreated for a split second to catch her breath, only to fall back in immediately, her hands instinctively clutching the fabric of his shirt around the shoulders, anchoring her to the only thing in her chaotic and turbulent reality that felt solid.

 "Silver!" she called out his name 

Suddenly, all ceased to exist as there was only the pressure of his lips and the promise that he would burn the world down before letting anyone touch her. She felt safe for the first time in a century as the death mage pulled back slowly, resting his forehead against hers.

"Let him come." he whispered against her lips.