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Chapter 294: Chapter 294 Damon sacrifice+Lucas POV
Lucas POV
"No," Damon said, his expression unreadable. "We will not leave without the world key." His gaze remained fixed on the wings attached to the strange round structure.
He moved toward it, his back to us, and for a moment, he seemed so... lonely. As he reached out to touch the structure, a sudden light burst from his back, illuminating the entire area. His wings—those powerful, majestic wings—unfurled from his back, shimmering with glow.
He turned his head to look back at us, though his eyes settled specifically on Oceanus. "Are these the wings you need?"
"Yes," Oceanus replied flatly, showing no hint of emotion.
I didn’t like this. Not one bit. My gut churned uneasily. What was Damon planning? He wasn’t thinking of clipping those wings, was he?
Damon stood in front of us, wings still glowing, an breath-taking sight against the dull stone and cold water beneath our feet. His face was emotionless, but his eyes—they held something dark, something I couldn’t name.
He turned to Oceanus. "Clip my wings."
My heart dropped. "Are you crazy, Damon?" I stepped forward, grabbing his arm, forcing him to look at me. "You can’t be serious. You need your wings! They’re a part of you!" The very thought of it made me sick. Cutting his wings meant cutting off his power, his strength—part of who he was. "There’s got to be another way!" I tried to convince him, my voice shaking. "You can’t do this, not for the world key."
But Damon didn’t flinch. His expression remained cold, determined. "We don’t have time, Lucas. My little thing—she’s out there, and she’s in danger. I’ll do anything to keep her safe. Anything." His voice was steady, but I could hear the pain beneath it. He was talking about her again—Kyra. He always called her his ’little thing,’ a term of endearment I could never understand, but I could feel his deep love for her.
"Damon," Simon shouted, his voice echoing in the cavernous space, "are you out of your mind? Your wings are your life! You can’t just clip them!" He looked at me, panic in his eyes. "You have to talk some sense into him, Lucas! He’s not thinking straight."
"I know," I said, trying to keep my voice calm, but my heart was racing. I could feel the weight of Damon’s decision crushing me. "We’ll find another way. We always do. You don’t have to do this, Damon. Please."
But Damon wasn’t listening. His gaze was locked onto Oceanus. "These wings are a curse," he said, his voice as cold as stone. "I don’t need them. They’re just a reminder of what I lost. I’ll give them up if it means saving little thing. If anything happens to her..." His eyes darkened, and the intensity of his words sent a chill down my spine. "I will not let any of you leave this place alive. Do you understand?"
Simon and I exchanged a glance. Damon wasn’t joking. He would kill us all if Kyra wasn’t saved. But that didn’t make it any easier to accept. Simon stepped forward, his hands trembling slightly as he tried to reason with Damon again. "We’ll find another way. We have to! Don’t do this, Damon. Don’t throw your life away."
Damon ignored him, looking back at Oceanus. "Clip them."
Oceanus didn’t hesitate. His webbed hands transformed, claws growing longer and sharper, gleaming in the soft light of the cave. I couldn’t help but shudder at the sight of it. The calm, detached look on Oceanus’ face terrified me. He didn’t care about Damon’s sacrifice—he was focused on the task, nothing more.
"No, Damon, don’t do this!" I pleaded, stepping between him and Oceanus. But Damon pushed me aside, his eyes filled with that same cold determination. "Please," I tried again, my voice breaking. "ky-ky wouldn’t want this. She wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself like this."
He gave me a sad smile, his expression softening for a brief moment. "Lucas, I’ve already lost too much. This is nothing compared to what I’ll lose if something happens to her. I don’t care about these wings. I don’t need them. But my little thing... she’s everything."
Oceanus moved closer, his claws glinting ominously. "Are you sure?" he asked Damon, his voice emotionless, but there was a hint of hesitation in his question, as though even he understood the gravity of what was about to happen.
Damon didn’t hesitate. "Do it."
Simon shouted in protest. "Oceanus, don’t! His wings—his wings are his life!" His voice cracked, panic rising as he watched Oceanus step forward. "You can’t clip them, Damon! Please, just listen!"
But Damon was unmoved. "We don’t have time for this. Clip them. Now."
Oceanus raised his claws, and I couldn’t watch. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. The place was filled with a tense silence as Oceanus positioned himself behind Damon, his claws hovering over the base of Damon’s wings.
"Damon, stop! Don’t do this!" I shouted one last time, my voice echoing in the cold place. But it was too late.
Oceanus brought his claws down, and in an instant, Damon’s wings were severed. The sound was sickening—a sharp, wet tear that echoed through the cave. Damon’s body jerked, and a guttural scream ripped from his throat, filling the air around us. The sound was unlike anything I’d ever heard, a mix of agony and desperation. My chest tightened painfully, and my knees buckled as I watched him fall to his knees, clutching the stone beneath him.
But even through the pain, even as blood dripped from where his wings had once been, Damon looked up at us—and smiled.
A smile. A small, weak one, but it was there.
"I’m... glad to do anything... for her," he panted, his voice strained with pain. His whole body trembled, but the smile never left his face. "Even... my life... if it means she’s safe."
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. All I could do was watch as Damon—strong, proud Damon—lay there, broken but still smiling. He would give everything for Kyra. Even his wings. Even his life.
And in that moment, I realized—there was no turning back.
"Damon..." I whispered, my voice barely audible.
But he just smiled again, blood staining the ground beneath him. "For my little thing," he whispered, before his body finally gave out, collapsing onto the cold water floor.
