บททั้งหมดของ Tears of a Mortal, Regret of a God: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

As Aresios disappeared with Cassia in a flash of divine light, I remained slumped by the pillar, blood seeping from the wound on my head into my collar.I stared in the direction the light had gone, so urgent, so frantic, without a single glance back.I suddenly remembered how he used to be just as anxious about me.My natural gift with herbs and healing had earned me a place on the edge of the divine realm.I was first assigned to be a guardian in the Hall of Ancient Records, where I sorted through old parchments while studying the lost art of mortal herbology.Aresios first saw me in the old border market. When a few fallen demigods started harassing me, he drove them away with a bolt of lightning.In the scuffle, his arm was gashed by a dagger dipped in the waters of the Styx. The poison spread quickly through his veins.I had read in an ancient text of an herb that could neutralize the corrosive poison of the Styx. For three days and three nights, I stayed by his side, using moonpe

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying face down on a soft bed.The slightest movement of my back sent a searing pain through me, as if I were being consumed by fire."Elara!" Aresios immediately leaned down, his eyes bloodshot. "You're awake? Does it still hurt?"I looked at his anxious face and suddenly felt that everything was unreal.In the mortal world, if I so much as caught a cold, he would stay by my bedside just like this, never leaving. He would hold me tight, his war god's warmth a comfort, and press his lips to my forehead to soothe me.But now, I had nearly been torn apart by his own kind, under his cold, watchful eye.And he had only watched.I said nothing and pulled my hand back. I didn't want to look at him for another second.Aresios's body stiffened. He began to explain, his voice urgent. "Elara, it wasn't that I didn't want to save you. But in that situation, the more I resisted, the harsher their punishment would have been.""Oceanus was even considering killing

After three days and nights of grim endurance in the cold and damp, the festering wounds on my body and the high fever finally, barely, subsided.The day I stepped out of the sealed ward, it happened to be the day of the "Star-Bestowal Ceremony," where Cassia's eldest daughter would formally receive the blessings of the gods.The grand ceremony was held on the highest sacred ground of Olympus, a celestial dome suspended in a sea of clouds and orbited by endless trails of starlight.Sacred fireworks lit the sky, the scent of nectar drifted for miles, and the gods in attendance raised their goblets in celebration.The Elder Titan Oceanus and the twelve major gods, all smiles, surrounded the swaddled divine child, graciously accepting the blessings of the entire divine realm.Spiritual artifacts symbolizing authority and rare deep-sea pearls were piled high on the altar."Aresios, this is an honor Cassia has earned." Oceanus presented a jade box. Inside lay the Crown of the Firmament, a t

[Aresios's Perspective]On the day of the wedding sworn upon the Styx, the entire realm of Olympus was ablaze with divine light.As if completing some loathsome task, I fastened the clasps of my ceremonial armor, my fingers stiff.The Styx-vowed wedding. This should have been the sacred ceremony where Elara and I forged our eternal soul-bond in the presence of the laws of heaven and earth. Now, it was a hollow charade with Cassia.A violent, visceral rejection churned in my chest, but I had no other choice."Once the mark of our divine marriage is complete, I will plead with the gods to let you take that human and leave the realm. You won't have to wait for the birth of our son, nor will you have to nourish me with your body."Cassia's terms echoed in my mind like a magic spell. The promise was too tempting to refuse.The thought that I could finally take my Elara and flee to our star sent a tremor through my hands.A divine messenger announced from outside the hall, "Your Highness, th

[Aresios's Perspective]In a single night, Olympus was rife with scornful whispers about the humiliating scandal that had befallen the House of the War God.The Styx-bound wedding had scarcely concluded, yet the groom had already abandoned his noble Queen and fled. Today, that same arrogant God of War was threatening his own life, demanding to descend to the mortal realm to find a mere mortal.The magnificent bedchambers were a scene of utter ruin. Every object that could be shattered by divine power, I had already ground to dust.I stared coldly at the furious elder gods before me and at Cassia, who clutched our daughter, collapsing from her sobs. My grip tightened on the god-slaying sword, its sharp edge pressing deeper into my very divinity."Break the seal and let me go to her. If you do not, I will shatter my own divine essence, and Olympus will lose its God of War forever."Even after listening to Elara's farewell message countless times, I stubbornly believed she had been forced