Back at the Battle Maiden Sect, a few hours after the torture broadcast, Maria's head was in Mira's lap as the latter stroked her head gently. Mira couldn't think of anything other than this to try to soothe her lover.
Suddenly, Maria's eyelids quivered and slowly lifted for the world to see. However, unlike their usual beautiful appearance, red veins spread all throughout her eyeballs.
She had a blank expression on her face as if she didn't even realize she had woken up. Maria looked around the room and froze when she saw Mira looking down at her. That's when a bit of clarity shone in her eyes, and she realized she wasn't in a dream.
This was reality.
A reality that she wished was just an illusion…
"....M-Mira?" Maria's voice came out hoarse as images of what happened replayed in her mind, "M-Mira… m-my parents… hic…"
Tears welled up in the corner of her eyes, but Maria forcefully suppressed them. She didn't want to start bawling as soon as she woke up.
Mira didn't say anything and just kept stroking Maria's head. She felt it'd probably be better this way. If she were to say some consoling words, Maria would immediately know that she didn't really mean them, even if she did feel bad about this whole situation.
The two sat in calm, peaceful silence, basking in each other's presence. Words didn't need to be shared as they both understood what was going on in each other's minds.
Maria knew that Mira was trying her best to comfort her, while Mira knew that Maria was trying to regain control of her emotions.
pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 Many minutes passed before Maria calmed down enough to speak.
"You know, Mira… I always knew there'd come a day when my parents left this world before me. I hoped it wouldn't happen and they'd be able to continue down the path of cultivation with me, but after exploring this world and broadening my horizons, I understood their talent was just too poor for that to happen. However, I at least thought they'd stay in my life for another few hundred years."
Maria took a few breaths to calm herself down before continuing.
"My mother… she was just an ordinary commoner in Lunar Fox City before she met my father. She helped her parents at a local bakery and occasionally picked herbs and ingredients outside the city. She lived a very normal life, but it was one she was happy to live."
"My father, on the hand, grew up under strict supervision as he was going to be the next head of the Zaria family. He had to learn politics, know how to fight, cultivate, and gain a proper education as well. He was a busy man that didn't have time for love and women."
"However, everything changed when he met my mother. It was like flowers blooming at the beginning of spring; love at first sight. They both had similar traits and values, were equally intelligent, and complemented each other very well. While they had their ups and downs, they both knew at the end of the day that they loved and supported each other."
"My father offered my mother a chance to experience a new life, and my mother provided unwavering loyalty, love, trust, and support. It was almost like a positive feedback loop; the more my mother supported him, the stronger my father got, and conversely, my mother, which in turn helped her provide more support."
"Those two have always followed their hearts, staying true to their word. They were good people who were nice to everyone around them. They only killed violent criminals who did something worthy of death. Even then, they tried to treat each life as preciously as the next, no matter their sins."
"This is how they raised me to be; someone who thought of life as something precious. Yes… Life is supposed to be precious… it's supposed to be… However…"
Maria's eyes hazed over and became lifeless and dark. The shine and luster in her eyes were all but gone. What was left was a pair of dead, blank eyes that looked at the world as if there was nothing good in it.
"W-What did people like that, people who treasured life so much, do to deserve such a death? What did my mother do to be t-t-torn apart like that? What wrongs did my father commit that he had to sit there and watch as his wife was skinned alive?!"
Tears streamed down Maria's face as she looked up at Mira, her expression looking extremely pitiful.
"Tell me! What did people like that do to deserve such a gruesome death?! Even beasts don't treat each other so cruelly, so why did people of their own race do such a thing?! They didn't do anything wrong; they've never done anything wrong, at least not enough to warrant a death like that!!"
Maria screamed and then began bawling her eyes out as she couldn't contain her emotions anymore. The images of her mother skinned alive and her father covered in said skin were imprinted into her mind, and she couldn't get them out. No matter how hard she tried to push them away, they returned stronger.
Luckily, her last memory of her dad was of him smiling, telling her that he loved her, or else she didn't know if she'd ever be able to recover from this.
'At least, even until the very end, my dad was able to smile like that.' Maria thought as more tears fell down her face.
Mira took everything in stride, but Maria's words hit harder than she expected. The guilt that she didn't think she had slowly invaded her heart. It wasn't much, just a little prick of guilt, but that prick was enough to consume her attention. Thus, what was a mild annoyance became something Mira could no longer ignore.
A lump formed in Mira's throat as she looked at Maria. The more she thought about it, the more she believed that none of this would've happened if she was never in Maria's life. She would've lived her life happily with her parents, blissfully ignorant of what Mira was going through.
She would've never had to experience this trauma while knowing that her own lover was the reason behind it.
"....I'm… I-I'm sorry, Maria." The volume of Mira's voice wasn't much higher than a mosquito's, but with Maria's cultivation, she managed to hear it.
However, she was too overcome with shock to say anything. She immediately stopped crying and looked at Mira with wide eyes.
'D-Did Mira just apologize?!'
She's been with Mira for a very long time, and not once has she ever heard anything resembling an apology come out of her mouth. It was almost as if the word didn't exist in her dictionary.
"...If you hadn't met me… none of this would've happened… For that… I sincerely apologize…" Mira closed her eyes and bowed her head, another thing she never did!
Maria didn't know how to react for a second, but after she comprehended Mira's words, she nearly sat up and smacked her in the face!
"What are you saying right now, Mira?! Do you seriously think that all of this is your fault?!"
"..."
Mira's silence was all the confirmation Maria needed to know that the answer was 'yes'.
Taking a deep breath to calm her raging emotions, Maria stared into Mira's with the most severe expression she could muster. She wasn't mad at Mira for saying this, but even in her emotional turmoil, she knew this was an opportunity for their relationship to grow.
"Listen, Mira! I never once thought of blaming you for all this. Since the day I wanted to be your lover, your partner, your wife, I resolved myself for a situation like this. I knew what I was getting into! I knew we'd make enemies that might one day hunt down my parents for revenge. So, if anyone's to blame for this situation, I'm as much at fault as you are."
Mira looked like she wanted to say something, but Maria interrupted her before she could.
"HOWEVER! I refuse to sit here blaming one another for someone else's actions. While some of the blame certainly lies on our shoulders, we weren't the ones to pull the trigger! That was them! They were the ones to commit this atrocity! They are the ones that deserve to die!" Maria yelled in Mira's face, her eyes leaking both tears and killing intent. She'd never forget this grudge between her and the Unorthodox Faction!
Although Mira felt weird that the one who ended up being comforted was her, she was deeply affected by Maria's words.
Her fists clenched, and her jaw tightened as she almost fell straight into the trap the god and Sue Ming wanted her to fall in! Her eyes flashed a crimson light, but she quickly suppressed it, so she didn't kill the mood.
Maria sat up straight and grabbed Mira's shoulders while glaring into her eyes.
"We're a team now! What's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine! This doesn't just include physical items or money either, but mental and emotional states as well. If one of us is at fault for something, we both are! So, don't ever go off trying to take all the blame on yourself! It's not fair to me, you, or my parents!"
Mira subconsciously nodded at Maria's words.
"....I understand."
Maria released a faint smile and subtly nodded, "...Good. Then, why don't you stop talking nonsense and hold me tight to make me feel better?"
Mira nodded and picked up Maria, putting her in her lap. Without another word, Mira wrapped both of them in her warm, fluffy tails.
"Sniff… sniff…hic… sniff… hic…"
Mira's sobs echoed in the silent room as the two embraced each other in an intimate, love-filled hug.
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