Finally as her anger cooled down Sophia stopped her attacks. She had almost killed the mist woman.
Then again she couldn't possibly let something as vile as this slide, not to mention her words of hate were aimed at Sophia's son.
A child who wasn't even old enough to understand the difficult matters of trust and revenge.
The woman with pearl white hair spoke many things, pouring her heart out —yet it consisted of nothing but hate. But something told Sophia that this woman wasn't speaking the truth at all.
"Don't lie to me. I don't believe you,"
Sophia looked at the woman, only her head was there as for the rest of her body, it dissolved into formless mist swirling around her.
Needless to say, it was all Sophia's doing.
The first thing anger does is take away one's capability of rational judgement.
For someone else, it would've been a barbaric act to hurt someone like this. But Sophia was shaped by war, it wasn't until now that she had found peace within her life.
However, there were some lingering connections, strands of ideas that could never be erased properly.
It may be insensitive but Sophia doesn't regret her decision to hurt the woman.
She deserved it. But the truth that this woman saved August's life was also true, no one could discard the notion that she had defended Sophia's son.
Hence, Sophia couldn't just take her life.
"You are lying," Sophia said calmly. "You never enjoyed his suffering, you never wanted to hear him scream. Stop lying to us, to yourself."
It was terrifying how quickly the anger in Sophia's eyes had been replaced by a warm and gentle feeling. Or perhaps how quickly it appeared was the actual thing to fear.
The mist woman sobbed, tears falling freely despite her non-human form. Her body had been severed from the neck with ruthless cruelty and yet—she still felt pain.
After a while when her tears finally dried up she turned to Sophia,
"I don't know what kind of person you are, my lady. Hell, I hardly even know about myself. There are few things in this life that I know. That is, my hate for your husband and his friend Aurelion. But can you blame me? These two took my very name from me..."
She contemplated her words for a moment then spoke,
"...but my vengeance lies with you, not your son. He is a good child. He is kind, forgiving …that one day I saw him trying to help a small creature out that had stung him many times but August still did not let it drown in the puddle."
She heaved a sigh, finally accepting the lingering subconscious thoughts,
"... honestly at first I thought of many ways how I could use him in my revenge but with time as I watched him take small steps, speaking simple words I didn't even realise when I became so attached to him. That's why whenever he fell into the agony of echoes I heard all of his cries and it didn't quite give me the pleasure I was hoping for. Quite the contrary actually."
Staring straight into Sophia's eyes the woman continued,
"...unlike you my lady, I've had the misfortune of hearing more of his cries. You won't probably know but he hides his pain from you. Do you wish to know why?"
Sophia wiped the tears off her face as she turned her gaze away. While the woman continued,
"Because he didn't …want his momma to cry. To shed her tears on his pain. Every time he encounters those painful experiences in your presence he feels guilty. He thinks that you cried because of him. He thinks that …that he is the one at fault."
The woman closed her eyes as she said something so unexpected, something that changed the somber atmosphere into hopeful one,
"...and after all this I've finally found the solution to his problem."
Valerius' eyes widened in shock as he spoke immediately,
"Nonsense, like there is a cure for Ambivalence in this world."
The woman however answered calmly,
"Why would I lie about something as important as this?"
A glint of hope appeared in Sophia's eyes,
"What? Does that mean you do have a solution?"
The mist woman nodded,
"Indeed, August can be relieved from his agony. It is possible."
Valerius knitted his brows together in a frown. Unlike his wife, he wasn't easy to deceive.
"So you're saying you can cure Ambivalence?"
The woman shook her head,
"No, but I can help with August's condition. And believe me it will help him greatly."
"How does that even make sense?" Valerius sneered.
The mist woman continued,
"There is a sound plan in my mind but I doubt you'll be pleased by it. August had to go into the forest by himself."
Sophia let out a frown while Valerius gave her an expression of disagreement.
"...only by forming a bond with a velvian creature could help him."
"Velvian?" Sophia spoke her tone hesitant, "A creature born of purest essence. Isn't that just a legend?"
The woman looked at Sophia, "it is a real thing. Indeed, there aren't many velvians out there."
Looking at their faces the woman could tell the husband and wife were having a hard time believing her, however she continued,
"...Their birth chances are one in a million that too in different species. Normally it would be difficult to find one however—"
Her eyes shone with light,
"... I've found one inside the forest that is under my control. There is a velvian cub born to a species of creatures. Their group is currently residing here, very close to us actually. And they will remain here maybe for some more years?"
Valerius clicked his tongue,
"If you know everything and control the forest then why don't you just bring the creature here. Why put August's life in danger. If you want I can go there myself."
The woman shook her head,
"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that my lord. There are rules to be obeyed and somewhere deep within the forest there has emerged another power. Someone we know very little about."
"Who's this powerful figure?" Valerius asked with a frown, "...and why am I only hearing about this now?"
The woman stayed silent for a while before answering,
"There is another soul creature in the forest whose soldiers you just faced in the battle. A mysterious leader, powerful enough to conceal her presence from me.
They call her …Queen Monarch."
— — — — —