"No...Sofie...I will save you. I won't let you die...please come back!" Damien shouted, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on his bed, and the sky was dark with only the moon illuminating it.
"A nightmare again…" Damien muttered as he wiped the sweat flowing down his forehead.
He realized that his heart was still stuck in the past and wondered why he can't have happy dreams about Sofie. Unknowingly his eyes had become moist.
"Big Brother! Are you alright?" Valentina asked with a worried face as she sprang up hearing his shout.
She started caressing his back as she had learned from him one should do that to relax the other person.
"I am fine...it was just a bad dream." Damien smiled at her as he cupped her face.
"Did you dream about Sofie again?" Valentina asked as this was not the first time she had seen him have a nightmare. She also knew that Sofie was his long-dead wife. But knowing that she was dead, she didn't know what to feel. Whether she should be happy or sad that Damien was suffering from her loss.
She wondered what kind of a girl Sofie was to make Damien miss her so much. She felt jealous of Sofie and wanted to fill the void Sofie left in his heart.
"Yes, don't worry, I will be alright," Damien said with an empty gaze.
"Big Brother...don't worry, I will always be there for you. I will never leave you." Valentina wiped his eyes and kissed his cheek as she hugged him.
Damien had a startled expression. For a moment, as he saw her mystical face brimmed with concern and worry for him, he felt some kind of attraction and emotions that he only felt for Sofie or Lily.
But he quickly shook off those thoughts, telling himself that she was just a little girl. Even though Valentina had grown up physically, Damien still subconsciously saw her as a little girl because of how drastic her transformation was.
He cleared his throat and said, "I know. I will just go and get some fresh air."
"I will join you," Valentina said as she gripped his hand.
A half-naked young boy was gazing at the waterfalls in the huge open balcony, which seemed mesmerizing under the moonlight while enjoying the cool and refreshing air. A naked girl was hugging him from behind, and the whole scene looked romantic that one would think they were passionate lovers.
But Damien wasn't worried anybody would peek on them as he saw the various ethereal formations set up around the villa. He also verified with Luna whether anyone would be able to snoop in on them inside the villa.
He was surprised when she said that the ethereal formation around this villa would set off an alarm if someone tried to spread their spiritual perception, even if it was a Profound Ethereal Realm cultivator trying to snoop in on them.
And even if they tried to force their spiritual perception past the ethereal formations, it would still take them some time to fully get past it, giving Damien time to prepare.
So Damien knew that nobody would waste their time trying to sneak in or spy on him. He also learned that not even Peak Level Heaven Ethereal Realm cultivators would be able to break in through the defensive ethereal formations without taking some time.
He felt that the whole villa was like a mini fortress, which was perfect for him.
Valentina was enjoying the view and the warmth from his body. Her hands were all over his chest as she softly stroked over his chest and his abs.
Valentina asked in a soft voice, "Can you tell me more about Sofie?"
She was curious what kind of a woman Sofie was to make him so wistful.
Damien was a bit surprised hearing her question, but he answered with a soft smile, "Some years ago when I had lost everything, and everyone was my enemy, she was my world, my lifeline. She had been with me since I was a child and taught me how to care about others. There couldn't have been a more benevolent person than her. She only saw the good in people and didn't run away from me despite the things I did. She stood beside me to face the whole world even though she knew that she would also be hated upon by everyone and have a kill order on her head. Even though I tried to push her away, she didn't budge, and was the only time she refused to listen to me."
Valentina didn't expect that Damien was with Sofie since childhood. She cursed fate for not letting her meet him first. She was sure that if she met him first, she could have protected him from getting hurt in the first place.
She didn't exactly know what Damien experienced during all those years, but she could see that he didn't lead an easy life all these years. Damien had told her that his past wasn't worth talking about, but the true reason was that he didn't feel it was time yet to talk about his reincarnation.
"Was she powerful?" Valentina asked curiously.
"No, she was as mortal as one could get without any powers or cultivation. In fact, for the most part of her life, she was blind and half-crippled. She couldn't walk and had to sit in a wheelchair. But her voice was so beautiful that it could stir my soul whenever she sings me a song. She used to sing songs for me whenever I was feeling down."
Valentina was surprised that Damien's dead wife was a cripple. She thought that Sofie must have been a very powerful girl.
"Were you powerful during those times, Big Brother?"
"I got my powers when I was in my pre-teens. Till then, I was as weak as one could possibly be. I didn't know how to fight and got bullied by other kids because of how quiet and withdrawn I was during those days. Sofie would save me by bringing an adult with her, or sometimes she would even come by herself and get beaten along with me while trying to stop the others from hurting me. Even though she was older than us by two years, the other kids wouldn't hesitate to beat up a helpless girl and even push her down from her wheelchair. They looked down on her for being disabled and called her names while ostracizing her." Damien said in a doleful tone.
Valentina accidentally almost let her nails pierce Damien's skin as her fingers involuntarily tightened in anger when she heard how hard his life was. But if she had known what really happened during the last dozen years, she wouldn't rest until she bathed the whole earth with the blood of every single person who hurt him.
"Big Brother, where are all those people who hurt you?" Valentina asked in a grim tone.
Damien turned around and saw her lips pressed together, trying to hold in her hatred. He could guess what she was thinking about and said with his lips pinched, "They are all gone now. Otherwise, I would have killed every last person who destroyed my world."
He caressed her head and continued with a dim smile, "But you don't need to worry about what happened in my past as I won't let things like those happen to you nor me, nor to anyone I care about."
"I will also make sure not to let anyone hurt you, Big Brother," Valentina said with a determined expression as she hugged him.
However, unbeknownst to both of them, there was a third party who was keenly listening to Damien's past. Despite looking down on mortals and their so-called troubles, for some reason, the most powerful goddess couldn't help herself from listening to Damien.
Damien thought that a goddess like Luna wouldn't even bother to listen to his past and assumed that she would be using that time to recuperate herself. But even Luna wondered why a supreme and transcendental being like her felt drawn to his past.
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