Red Blood Century

73 Reckonings and Revelations

The once foreboding Forbidden Forest now emanates an air of peace and tranquility. Shafts of golden sunlight pierce through the canopy, casting a gentle glow over the moss-covered ground. The dense foliage that once seemed menacing now appears lush and vibrant, with leaves swaying softly in a gentle breeze.

Anastasia chuckled while thinking about something. She couldn't believe how naive she was when she first entered this place.

She was very scared and curious when she was there before. But now... everything was different.

"So... Coming to the place where you were trapped for centuries, how can you be so calm? If it was me I would have panic attacks." She glanced at Ezen's eyes which showed an unreadable emotion.

"Well... to be honest it feels weird but... it's not that bad. People have it worse. Don't you think?" Saying that, he went to open the place which was ones closed.

Anastasia was not buying that. His face was telling something else while his mouth said something else.

"I am genuinely curious. What did you do to deserve this? Why were you trapped here for so many centuries? What type of punishment were you getting?"

"It's... Very long story." All the memories of the past were coming into his head. But sadly, he can't share it with anyone. "I'll tell you everything later. Right now let's just leave. We are already late." He left the lock he was trying to open.

When he was about to leave, Anastasia held his hand, stopping him from leaving. "Not that easily. We have a matter to take care of." Saying that she glanced at the door, from which different types of cries could be heard.

"Please!! Let me out! I wanna go home."

"I want to die. Please. Let me out!"

"Hello! Anyone here!? I am inside. Someone please take me out."

The cries and screams continued as it banged the door.

For some reason, Ezen started to feel nervous when he heard their screams.

"How long are you planning on running away from your past?" Anastasia asked in a soft voice. "You are feeling guilty, that's why you are running away. Right?"

"What are you talking about? Why would I feel guilty about anything?" Ezen became hesitant.

"So... are you not guilty? Trapping people here for centuries just because they couldn't take you out of that dungeon. Does this sound fair to you?" The souls really didn't deserve that. "Accept it Ezen, you were wrong. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes and it's okay. But... you have to pay consequences for your bad actions. This is how the world works."

While hearing Anastasia speak about this, Ezen started to doubt himself. The thing he did was wrong. But as a demon, he is supposed to do things like that. Then why is he feeling guilty? Why is he feeling something that is unacceptable in his world?

"What do you want me to do?" A question came in his mind that he spoke out.

"Take those souls out of their misery. They are your responsibilities now." She didn't know why she was telling him this. Why would he listen to her? What does it have to do with her if the souls comes out or not?

She knew demons are born malicious. But Ezen was different. Unlike other demons, he didn't once try to harm her. Even now, she was of no use to him. He could kill her if he wanted but still, he didn't. In fact, he is protecting her from his own people. If he was bad then why did he do that?

Anastasia was struggling on her own but deep down in her heart, she wished Ezen would listen to her and release those poor souls. It was very hard to hear the painful screams which were coming from inside.