The desire for revenge was something dangerous. On the one hand it served as a hope that binds someone to an objective, and in its absence turns life into an infinite emptiness. On the other hand, it could bring relief to a soul tormented by a sense of injustice.
Aries knew very well that revenge was a beautiful and tempting double-edged sword.
He was surprised to see how determined Cale was to take revenge. Of course, he already knew that his master wanted it; he knew very well of his earnest desire to make the gods pay for the suffering he lived unjustly. But for Aries, that look and tone of voice when he reasserted his revenge... sounded so frightening.
It was strange.
Turning to try to ask his mother not to feed such sparks, Aries petrified to see the malicious smile that sprang from her lips. Her eyes deep as an abyss reflected a malicious glow filled with satisfaction.
Is it that...
"Curse them... you know that you were judged for such heresy. Do you really want to use it as a method for your revenge, Child of the Universe? What would be the beauty of a suffering not witnessed?"
Cale clenched his fists, stepping forward without hesitation.
"The method does not matter when the judges themselves will be judged."
Aries shook Cale's hand, and when those amethysts fell upon him, he shook his head. Aries didn't know exactly what he was disagreeing with, but he needed to do it. Facing Belize again, Aries did not see that malice in her soft and tender smile.
It was changing!
She was changing her face!
Terrified, Aries moved in such a way as to hide Cale in his chest, blocking him from the goddess's field of vision.
"Mother, please don't encourage him to do this. The boy's revenge must not become an eternal torture."
Belice tilted her head slightly and smiled sweetly as if nothing had happened.
"It seems that I gave the wrong impression. I'm just expressing a concern, considering that the Child of the Universe's actions may bring some impact to my blood."
"There is no reason to worry. My back is warm enough to protect my subordinates." Cale answered, narrowing his eyes on the dragon's shoulder. Holding Aries' arm and pushing him subtly so he could face the goddess, Cale had a provocative and irritated expression. "Besides, you make it look like I'm just trying to bring trouble on your side. Do you fear my vengeance?"
"Fear you? By chance..." the voice of Belize was low, and gently the depth of her eyes seemed to swallow Cale's presence "... Do you think you have chances against me, Child of the Universe?"
Aries felt Cale's body harden in his arms. Instinctively he embraced him strongly, even knowing that he could not remove the sense of divine presence from Belice. And Cale continued to be stubborn in facing her despite his curse torture him silently.
"Mom! Please..."
"Ha... something tells me that there is something wrong with you, goddesas" Cale gasped, holding firmly on the arm of Aries, still head stubbornly raised.
He trembled. The divine presence of Belice pressed his curse again. Aries perceived by the panting breath and the tremors in Cale's body. He could feel a curse working and it made him anxious.
Cale's accusation also resonates in Aries. He pressed it against his chest and looked out of the corner to Belice, a sharp and quiet look — containing as many obscure meanings as possible.
"You should be grateful, Child of the Universe. I have allowed you to stay right inside of me. I gave permission even to take my blood. But dare to doubt me, when you are still a mere demigod?"
"Ha... haha" Cale laughed as he grabbed Aries' shoulder, leaning enough to face her fiercely "Well well well, look who are showing the real colors here. "
That shouldn't be happening. No way he should let it happen.
Cale was blinded by the desire for revenge, not respecting the gods who held an immense power enough to decimate all existence. Even he could feel the second divine presence coming from Belice, causing a suffocating nausea in him.
If those two continued with the provocations, even more within the Dream World, what would be of him?
"ENOUGH!" cried Aries.
His fingers were stuck in Cale's body, and his own breathing was accelerated in terror. Staring at the goddess, the warrior took a deep breath.
His emotional explosion caused another tremor in that dream world. The tremor that soon made Cale embrace Aries and look at him worried.
"Aries..."
"He is my master and will never harm any of us. If it's hard to trust him, at least trust me."
Belice stood still for a moment, her countenance without any hint of reaction. It was hard to tell if she was calm or angry, her divine presence still pressing Cale. Finally, she sighed and stood up.
"You are lucky to have my blood on your side, Child of the Universe. Get out of his unconscious, and try at least totake revenge before you dare to make stupid threats."
The image of Belice faded into the air, and Cale can finally breathe. Only the two hugs brought a calm that ended the tremors. Aries laid his forehead on Cale's shoulder, taking a deep breath and feeling his head throbbing.
That was... almost.
By little those two did not do an irreparable damage.
The situation escalated so abruptly that he barely understood how it all happened. There was only the despair to prevent that second face from appearing.
"Aries... look at me, please."
Cale's request was promptly granted. Raising his head, he found those amethysts, now calmer.
"I'm fine, kid. You should wake up now... and wait for me. I just need to rest."
The gentle touch of Cale on his cheek brought a calm without equal. Aries saw himself rubbing his cheek in the hot palm of Cale, a caress so intimate and soft that stilled their insecurities. Even the landscape within your unconscious is no longer a dry field, but something green with a gentle breeze.
"You should rest in my arms, but we still have much to talk about."
An anxiety took hold of Aries. He had hidden about his own family, omitted secrets from his master, only to focus on serving him. He should have imagined that Cale was not the kind of person who did not care about his companions.
But there was the fear of being abandoned and ignored for having lied.
"Could you not be angry with me?" asked Aries, leaning his chin over Cale's shoulder. "I've already apologized for not telling you about my parents."
How pathetic... his insecurity was clear in his tone of voice. Aries was acting like a spoiled child in that dream, and it caused shame. At the same time he was unable to let go of Cale.
The demigod, on the other hand, rubbed his thumb on Aries' cheek and looked at him tenderly.
"Asking this way, how can I say no? Rest as much as you want, but when you wake up... be honest with me. You must not hide anything from me. I am your master, your owner and your lover."
A beat accelerated in the chest of Aries. "Lover" was a strange word at the same time comforting, as if it made sense at the same time that it was unwanted. His pride still seemed to exist, but in that unconscious world, the desire of Aries was stronger.
"Yes... master."
(...)
It had been a few hours since he had woken up, and Cale couldn't help but think of the feeling he had inside the Dream World. Even if his head was throbbing and he felt that had spent an entire night turning around without really resting, it wasn't enough to keep him from seeing Koa.
Needed more information, because the intuition of Cale continued to bother him with this. From the moment he saw Aries preventing Belice from touching his master, Cale was intrigued by such a gesture.
And in the course of the discussion, which was heated and deep... became even clearer. Aries tried to protect him from Belice by calming her fury.
That was not a pleasant thing. That was no small thing.
And now, that creeping silence after telling what happened, fed the doubt he had. Koa was the only one who could explain to him what had happened. Not only because he was the father of Aries, but because Cale was the master who needed to know.
Belice was strange.
Koa took a deep breath and looked at the statue inside the temple. His voice sounded low like a whisper that only Cale could hear.
"So you saw... the real face. Haa, that's tiring. I thought she'd stay out this time".
"The gods feel anger and joy like any other being, no one believes a nonsense about the gods are infinitely good or evil. At the same time that I can understand, I cannot help but feel uncomfortable."
Scratching his neck, Koa walked away from the sleeping trio — Yvaine, Linus and Mikhal. Next to a window whose stained glass represented the goddess bringing good dreams to the child, he sighed heavily looking even more tired.
"This is more a mental game than anything else. But I'm glad that Aries was strong enough to prevent the worst from happening. Awakening the fury of Belice within the unconscious of Aries could put him at risk."
"I was more surprised that she got angry at being threatened by me. When I confronted her with mere questions, she got defensive very quickly."
Releasing another sigh, Koa looked at the stained glass.
"Do you remember a deity called Ellires?"
Raising his eyebrow, Cale crossed his arms over his chest.
"Ellires? The name is not strange to me, but I do not remember any myth of a goddess called Ellires."
"Because her whole existence was mixed with another deity" Koa's eyes turned to Cale. "The story I'm about to tell you, is a secret hidden even from the higher gods. And that only I and Aries... know."