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Unspoken Oblivion by Jaded Catalyst

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Chapter 38: Brothers
 
After the initial tension had passed, Broderick finally opened up, spending the past few hours telling his brother everything.
 
 “I see. It seems that much has happened in my absence,” said the ghost of the king.
 
 “More than anyone could have guessed. We all have mistakes to atone for a pasts that we have yet to put behind us. The ghosts of our past will never stop haunting us until we fix what we made wrong.”
 
 “I see that you are no longer the reckless commander that blindly led us down the bloody path of war. You have grown much since I last saw you, but your appearance is the same. Your eternal youth is a strange gift indeed.”
 
Broderick’s eyes darkened. “Don’t remind me,” he muttered.
 
 “You cannot escape your past, Broderick.”
 
 “The past should be left behind us,” he snapped.
 
Emrick remained calm. He knew that the best way to get to his brother was to use his temper against him. “The past is something that should be faced, not put behind you. If you can’t accept your past life then you aren’t accepting this life.”
 
 “What are you trying to say?”
 
 “How is Jayden?”
 
The sudden change in subject took Broderick off guard. It was subject he had been hoping to avoid. “Spiraling down the same path as the rest of us but falling even faster. Do you still think of her?”
 
 “Sometimes.”
 
 “I’m sorry. If I had known how things were going to turn out, I would have never-“
 
 “Enough,” the apparition cut him off. ”There’s no reason to apologize. I was not the one she cared for. The marriage was not meant to be.”
 
 “But-“
 
 “Nothing ill came of it, Broderick. I found another who loved me and had a wonderful son.”
 
 “And all of that went to waste because of me. So many lives were lost because of the war and I am at fault for so many of them. That is why I regret my actions.”
 
 “But do you regret loving her?”
 
Once again, his brother had caught Broderick off guard. He was fortunate to find his voice in time to sputter, “What?”
 
 “Therein lays the source of your strife. It is hard to believe that you, a warrior praised with titles such as the God of War, can lay waste to a thousand Cardin but cannot face your own inner demons. You say you fight for the future but why must that future be so far away? Have you ever once thought about what would come of you when the battle is won?”
 
At last, Broderick’s temper flared. “You know nothing! I gave up everything, and for what? So that I can wake up to the blood of a million innocents on my hands? There isn’t a moment I don’t hope for a brighter future. You are not the only one who was hurt from loving her.”
 
The king was not angry at his brother’s outburst. On the contrary, Broderick had said exactly what Emrick wanted him to say. “So you do love her?”
 
Broderick choked on his words. His voice failed him and his heart seemed to stop beating completely. However, it was not because of Emrick’s words. In his rage, Broderick had caught glimpse of a figure behind him. He didn’t know how long Jay had been standing there, but it didn’t matter; she had heard enough. The instant their eyes met, Jay spun on her heels and ran. Without hesitation, Broderick left the ghost of his brother and chased after her.
 
There was nothing but silence in the spring. Knowing he would perhaps never see Broderick again, he made his last wishes known, even if his brother wasn’t there to hear it. “Face the past with the same confidence as you are facing the present and you will never have to look far to find your miracles. Goodbye and good luck, little brother.”


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