Entwined With the Villainous Guardian
Chapter 379: Back In The Cave

Chapter 379: Back In The Cave

Viviana couldn’t believe her eyes. She didn’t think she could be here again.

The point of view was different because they used a different entry. But it was that place—the place she thought she could never come again.

The Cave! THE CAVE!!!

She remembered hearing the sea at the distance through the opening but she didn’t know there was another way to the cave. She looked around trying to find the way they came to this cave that day. She found a dark tunnel across the pond on the other side. She couldn’t see very far and there were rubbles.

Did the tunnel collapse? Is that why they closed the entrance from the Church?

A gust of wind slipped in through somewhere bringing in a multitude of memories.

She looked around. The pool was right in front of her. She couldn’t see the flat pebbles anymore.

Did the water swallow the pillar of stones?

That day Leona jumped in the water without any second thoughts. She stayed in the water for long. Viviana hugged herself as the wind gave her chills.

She looked back feeling a gentle touch on her back. Leander leaned and kissed her temple.

"Brings back memories, doesn’t it?" he asked.

His glimmering eyes rested on her face. He reached out his hand to her cheek. "Melony Lemon..." he smiled. "My Jophiel."

Viviana’s lips trembled. His eyes reminded her of that day, once again. The intense familiarity in his tone when he said ’My Jophiel’ made her heart skip. It was possessive, a little bit obsessive, and a hell lot affectionate. She remembered that tone that made her entirely bound to that person.

"Michael?" she asked as she went back to her childhood days when she spent careless days with Leona.

She couldn’t hold back anymore.

"Leo...?"

Her voice broke.

"Leona...?"

"It’s me, hi!"

He scoffed but she saw the ripe tear hanging at the corner of his eyes.

"You- you’re ali-ve?"

"Yes, I am, Melanie... I am..."

The sob that was caught up in her throat exploded with vengeance. She fell on the ground kneeling. Shaking, she ended up howling with tears. "How?"

Viviana’s heart leaned more toward Leander being Leona. Everything leads to that. But something stopped her from believing it. The Whys she asked in the past was now replaced with How.

She was asking why Leona had to die and why her parents had to die at the hands of the same family who killed Leona. Now, she was confused. How did Leona survive? How did Leona become Leander?

Leander sat beside her on the rocky floor and embraced her. It hurt him to see her breaking down. But he knew it was to be expected. She will react emotionally when it comes to this issue; that he knows.

"I saw Leona die..." Viviana said.

That was the last thing she remembered before she passed out. Maybe that’s why she gave up. Maybe that’s why she stopped struggling. She wanted to join Leona.

But she survived; with no use of her legs. She had to push through after that. She had to survive.

But what is he saying? Was Leona alive the whole time?

"No, Melanie," Leander gently rocked her to comfort her. It physically hurt him to hear her sob. It’s been a long time since he heard her sob. "You saw me catching fire. I didn’t die. I didn’t, Melanie. I wanted to see you. I heard your cry for help. I wanted to help you get out. I survived, Melanie. I survived for you... I thought you were dead and I..."

I wanted to die!

He was not lying. He remembered the explosion. And then there was the fire. He caught fire. He put out the fire on his back by rolling on the rubble. His back hurt. The pain of the burn was excruciating he wanted to die rather than be alive. It was an indescribable pain. His back stings even now thinking of that pain.

Then he heard Leander—his brother. He didn’t know why he was there. He tried to warn him not to come there but it was late. He could only hear Leander’s screams. He knew it by then—the brother he got to know just for a day and who showed him nothing but love—he would not survive.

His chest was crushed with pain. Amidst that pain that made him yearn for death, he remembered calling out for her.

Jophiel! Jo! Jo! Please be alive, Jo! Come to me, dear Jo!

His fingers were trembling. He didn’t have a very big hand then for he was just a twelve-year-old. He could smell his burnt flesh; he saw his brother’s charred body as the dust settled. His heart sank and his stomach churned. His legs trembled and yet he didn’t stop digging, in the heat reminiscent of the atrocity that happened there.

She is trapped there. My Jo is in here. I need to get her out. I need to look into my Jo’s eyes once more...

He dug and dug. He managed to get a small breathing hole for her. He could vaguely see her face—just her dark silhouette. The lower half of her body was trapped underneath something heavy. He couldn’t see clearly, but he couldn’t see the obsidian eyes holding the entire universe anymore. He knew if she had her eyes open, she would call out to him. But she wasn’t saying anything.

No! JO! Wake up! Let me see your eyes!

The pain he could bear up until then became unbearable as his will to live depleted. His soul ripped apart dreading the unthinkable—is she dead?

Please, Jo... Please, come back to me... Let me see your eyes once more... Please, God! Let me see her eyes once more...I will protect her with my everything if you give her back to me!

That was the last thing he remembered before everything went dark around him. When he woke up, he was informed that his mother died. He wanted to know what happened to Melanie. He wanted her to be alive. Without her, what will he do with his life? He had nothing else!

He didn’t know what happened then. Lucious came and introduced himself as his father. He said that he would take care of him and give him the life he deserved. He met his grandfather and he wanted to take him home to raise him.

His hold on life was weakened hindering his recovery. His family had a lot of doctors look at him but no one could help him. His life had left him, what could he do? He was just a zombie—someone without a soul!

He didn’t know what happened after that. Those parts of memories were still hidden from him. Somehow, he forgot his past. He was told he was Leander Kastello, and so he became Leander.

He might have forgotten his past, but the soul he lost was lost. He couldn’t find it back until the day he met her on the rooftop.