Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 31: Chapter 31 — Conviction

Chapter 31 — Conviction

Victor looked toward the voice that had reached his ears. It was weak, barely more than a whisper, but he knew it immediately. His eyes found Jacob, and for the first time since waking, a spark of relief and excitement appeared in his exhausted expression. Jacob was awake. Victor slowly pushed himself to his feet and made his way toward him, each step sending pain through his battered body. When he finally reached Jacob, however, that brief relief began to disappear. Jacob looked terrible. His face was pale and drained, his eyes barely open, and even breathing seemed to take everything he had left.

"Victor."

Victor lowered himself beside him and managed a tired smile.

He studied Jacob’s face for a moment.

"I’m glad you’re awake. I was starting to worry about you."

Jacob didn’t answer immediately. He simply looked at Victor, his expression strangely calm despite the condition of his body. There was something in his eyes that Victor couldn’t quite understand, something that made the small smile on Victor’s face feel increasingly difficult to maintain.

"Victor."

A few seconds passed before Jacob continued.

"I can feel it. I don’t have much time left."

Victor’s expression tightened.

"Jacob, what do you mean? You’re awake. You’re talking. You’re going to be—"

Jacob suddenly doubled over.

COUGH!

A mouthful of dark, bluish-purple blood spilled from his mouth.

Victor froze.

His eyes moved from the blood on his cheek to Jacob’s wounds. For the first time, he noticed the strange dark lines spreading outward from where the arrows had pierced him. They hadn’t been there before.

Or perhaps they had.

Victor simply hadn’t noticed.

His eyes widened as the realization settled in.

Poison.

He had treated the wounds. He had stopped the bleeding. But he had never considered what might have been on the arrows themselves.

Victor looked back at Jacob.

Jacob seemed to understand that Victor had figured it out. A faint, solemn smile appeared on his face.

Victor forced his own expression into a smile.

Jacob took a shallow breath.

"Victor, I have a favor to ask."

Victor nodded.

"Anything."

Jacob’s breathing became increasingly strained as he fought to get the words out.

"I need you to find my daughter."

He paused, gathering what little strength remained.

"Her name is... Sarah Steinhhelm."

Victor listened carefully.

"Sarah Steinhhelm."

Jacob gave the faintest nod.

"I left her with my sister... back in the town where I lived."

He coughed softly and closed his eyes for a moment. Victor remained beside him, watching helplessly as Jacob struggled simply to breathe.

"Ask her to forgive me... for not being there."

Jacob’s voice became weaker.

"And tell her... I love her."

Another cough escaped him.

This time, far more blood stained his lips.

Victor’s smile remained.

But inside, something was beginning to break.

He hadn’t known Jacob for years. They hadn’t shared some lifelong bond. Their relationship had begun because they had been thrown together by circumstance, two people forced into the same miserable situation. Yet somewhere along the way, Jacob had become more than that.

He had become someone Victor trusted.

Someone he cared about.

Someone who had stood beside him when there had been almost nobody else.

Victor lowered his eyes for a moment, forcing the emotions inside him back down.

Then Jacob’s voice pulled him back.

"Victor."

Victor looked at him.

Jacob’s eyes were still open.

"Don’t be sad."

He coughed again, his entire body trembling from the effort.

"This isn’t your fault."

Victor remained silent.

Jacob struggled to draw another breath.

"You have to remember what I told you."

His voice was barely above a whisper now.

"When you make a decision... you must make it with conviction."

Victor listened.

"Never look back on your decision with regret."

Jacob’s eyes remained fixed on him.

"I told you before... you must have conviction in your way."

He paused to breathe.

"Always stand strong."

Victor’s smile became increasingly difficult to maintain.

Jacob took another shallow breath.

"You will be a light to this world..."

His voice faded.

"...that’s slowly dying."

Jacob suddenly convulsed.

COUGH!

Another mouthful of dark blood spilled from his mouth. A single drop of blood landed on Victor’s face and slowly rolled down his cheek.

Jacob’s breathing became ragged, and he struggled for another breath.

And then—

Nothing.

Victor stared at him.

He waited.

Once he could feel that Jacob was no longer alive.

Victor didn’t move.

He continued looking at him, a faint smile still resting on his face. It was the same smile he had forced himself to wear moments earlier so Jacob wouldn’t see his sadness.

But Jacob couldn’t see it anymore.

The silence stretched.

Then something inside Victor finally snapped.

His right fist slammed into the ground.

BAM!

The stone cracked beneath his knuckles.

Victor hit it again.

BAM!

Again.

BAM!

His breathing became ragged as he continued punching the ground with his one good arm. Blood spread across his knuckles, but he didn’t stop. Every strike carried the anger, helplessness, and grief he had been forcing down since the moment Jacob spoke his final words.

BAM!

Victor slammed his fist down again.

And again.

Until his knuckles were split and blood dripped freely onto the stone.

Eventually, his arm stopped.

Victor’s entire body trembled.

He lowered his head.

Then he slammed his forehead against the ground.

THUD.

He remained there.

Victor slowly raised his head. His bloodied fist rested against the stone, his breathing gradually becoming quieter as the rage settled into something colder.

His thoughts turned toward one person.

Alex.

Victor stared into the darkness of the cave.

Alex.

His fingers slowly curled into a fist.

His eyes hardened.

Victor’s expression became cold.

I’ll break your neck with my own hands.

The cave fell silent once again.

Victor remained beside Jacob’s body, staring into the darkness.

Jacob’s final words echoed through his mind.

Conviction.

Victor closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them again, something had changed.

The grief was still there.

The pain was still there.

But now there was a purpose buried beneath it.

A promise he had no intention of breaking.

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