Hellbound Heart

Chapter 317 Voice

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"That was my choice, Zeke!" Sebastian's voice echoed through the dungeon, loud and impassioned as he spoke. His emotions were like a raging storm, powerful and intense, surging through him with a force that he could barely contain.

For so long, he had kept his feelings bottled up inside, buried deep beneath the surface. But now, with Zeke standing before him, all of his anger and resentment had come rushing to the surface, spilling out of him in a torrent of words and emotion.

"And I didn't do it for you! You never needed to feel guilty about it!" His voice cracked as he spoke. He felt like he was on the verge of exploding, like he was standing on the edge of a cliff and one wrong move would send him tumbling over the edge.

And yet, even as he spoke, he felt a strange sense of release, like he was finally purging all of the toxic emotions that had been poisoning him for so long. It was a cathartic experience for him. 

"I don't care if your reason is because you no longer want to live back then." Zeke's voice cut through the tension in the room like a knife, sharp and pointed as he spoke. His words were like a cold, hard truth'

And yet, even as his tone turned sharp, his voice remained calm, almost detached. It was as if he had already made peace with everything that had happened between them, and he was simply stating the facts as they were.

"The fact that I was able to continue living in this world because of you...that fact would never change," he said, his words echoing through the room. "Your reason for doing it never mattered to me. And I am your older brother, Sebastian. I will do everything for you, whether you allow me to or not. I've sworn that to our sisters whom I've failed to save."

As he spoke, something dark crossed Zeke's eyes. For all his calm and detachment, it was clear that he was still carrying a heavy burden, a weight that he had been carrying for centuries.

Silence reigned between them for a while. 

And when Sebastian's shoulders shook with emotions, Zeke's hand reached out and gently guided him to rest his head on his shoulder. The contrast between Sebastian's vulnerability and Zeke's stoicism was almost palpable. It was as if they were two halves of the same whole, complete only in each other's presence. Elle felt a lump in her throat as she realized the depth of their bond, a bond forged through blood, sweat, and tears. She wondered what it must have been like for them, growing up together, surrounded by darkness and cruelty. How many battles had they fought side by side? How many scars did they carry due to those battles? Were those scars physical and emotional? Do they still carry these scars up to this day? The answer was honestly obvious to her even though she didn't know much about their story. 

She smiled as she thought about Sebastian's vehement claims of hating Zeke, even though it was clear that he did not. And then there was Zeke, this unfathomable older brother, with his unreadable expression that seemed to hide a thousand emotions. Yes, these two brothers indeed had a unique love language that was beyond what most people could understand. 

Soon, Sebastian pulled away. 

"I still hate you and your non-consensual ways." Sebastian muttered when Gav decided to pipe in.

"Oh, come on, Younger Bro. Stop being difficult and just admit how much you love your elder brother." 

"Who the f**k is this guy? Zeke?" Sebastian pointed rudely at Gav who was smugly smirking. 

"He's the future king of the Underworld." Zeke answered in a way as though he was simply stating that today was Monday. 

Elle's mouth hung open while Sebastian paused for a long while, lost for words. His face was an alternating canvas of shock and disgruntlement. Shock that such an annoying person was actually the future king of the Underworld, and disgruntlement that such an extremely annoying person like him was actually the future king of the Underworld! 

Gav, on the other hand, tilted his head a little, finding the alternating expression of Sebastian's face rather interesting. "Nope. That we're actually not certain about." He said nonchalantly but Elle and Sebastian would never doubt a thing that Zeke said. 

"See? Don't you know that even in the Underworld, Zeke's words are absolute? And yet he keeps insisting I'll be king instead of him –" Gav teased.

"That's enough, Gav. Don't bring Underworld's matters here. They have no business knowing it." 

"As you wish, Your Liege." Gav sounded like that annoying teaser but Zeke was not bothered. At all. He did not even bat an eye or gave any reaction. Gav's words seemed to simply bounce off of Zeke's stoic expression like water off a rock.

Elle could not help but wonder if Zeke was simply like this even from before. He seemed to be an enigma, an unreadable book that held secrets that even the most skilled reader could not decipher. Was he truly like this all the time? Even as she sifted through her memories of him, she could not quite recall a single instance where his expression had betrayed any hint of what he might be feeling on the inside. Despite all the chaos that had ensued since a while ago, he remained as calm and collected as a relaxing day out at the beach. Almost as if he were a part of the very walls - non-living, silent and non-reacting - that surrounded them. It was as if he was a machine, programmed to carry out some specific tasks without any hint of feeling. Elle could not help but come to the conclusion that perhaps, Zeke was not capable of showing emotions through his face –

"Dad?" 

A familiar voice suddenly echoed in the Underground cemetery, causing Elle's eyes to widen in shock. First, from the realization of who had just arrived, and second, for the expression that finally showed on Zeke's face - that face that was known to never show any emotion.

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A/N: Thank you for your patience guys. I will be giving mass releases weekly except for the first week of the month. My release this week is only 3 chaps but the upcoming two mass releases for the remaining weeks of this month will be more than five chapters each.