Chapter 634: Chapter 635: Xander’s Wish Damon was quiet... he was just quiet. He took the alcohol bottle and chugged it down, but it wasn’t enough. He reached into his shadow and pulled out another bottle, the glass glinting dully in the dim light. Xander bit his lips, his hands tightening into fists. "I don’t know who else I can tell... Should I have told my father, who had lost his eldest son... should I have confided in my mother... or maybe my younger sister who knows nothing of the world... I... I just don’t know..." Tears streamed down from one of his eyes, which he hurriedly wiped away. A man should not be shedding tears his brother had taught him that, but speaking to Damon had made him unwittingly more emotional. There was a soft gasp from Damon as he forced all the air out of his lungs, his chest heaving. "Fine. I can’t make any promises though... I don’t want to be here and I don’t want to listen to this... to you..." Xander chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I know that... maybe that’s why you’re the right person to listen." "I feel so small... I felt so defeated and overwhelmed by my opponent... I was there standing in front of my brother’s killer but I couldn’t do anything... I was useless..." He smacked the table with his palm, the wood rattling under his force. "I want to kill him." Damon narrowed his eyes, his heart unable to stay calm. "Who..." Xander’s eyes grew cold, his aura flaring and evolving into something far more complex than before. "That faceless entity... Amon." Damon was confused. Who the hell was Amon? He never gave a name to his persona. "What...?" Xander calmed down slightly, perhaps realizing he needed to explain. "House Ravenscroft is powerful, and being powerful means we know people in high places. This Amon... this wasn’t the first time he appeared." Damon frowned. Right. That wasn’t his first time using a shadow clone. The last time was at... "Lumos. In the chambers of the Grand Duke. That was his first appearance. We were there that day. It was on that day his name was pried out by the skill of one of the knights there." Damon listened to Xander calmly. That made sense. He recalled meeting a knight that day who had a strange skill that caused the target to answer questions without resistance. At the time, Damon had only said part of his name. Damon... Amon... that was where Amon came from. He had just removed part of his name. Though in truth it was because Damon’s shadow clone hadn’t spoken his full name aloud. "And the Grand Duke told you this... this person’s name..." Xander nodded. He didn’t tell him directly, but he had heard it from his own grandfather. "Yes, that’s his name... Amon. We don’t have much information on him yet, but slowly, eventually, we’ll unveil his mysteries." Damon reached for his head and pulled off his hood. He wanted to look Xander in the eyes when he spoke to him. His long black hair fell to his sides like a river of darkness, and the crown resting on his head made him seem like a young king. His dark eyes peered into Xander. "Why are you telling me this, Xander..." Xander clenched his fists, his eyes filled with resolve. "I need your help... I need you to help me kill Amon." Damon’s heart shuddered in his chest. What kind of cruel joke is this? What is the meaning of this... was this a god’s cruel joke, was this his choice or the random cruelty of fate? Why me of all people... "No." His words were cold, his resolve steadfast. He would not play into the cruel hand of fate. He was not going to be a pawn of whatever twisted story this was. "Why are you asking me... why should avenging your brother concern me... I... Look, what happened to your brother was a tragedy... You have my condolences." Xander clenched his fists tighter. "I don’t want condolences. I want revenge. I need you. Please help me..." Damon’s hands trembled. To Xander, it must have looked like anger, but that wasn’t why his expression was so contorted. "Your family is powerful. You have wealth and armies at your bidding... you are the heir to all that power. Why should the help of one commoner matter to you in your quest for vengeance?" Xander suddenly stood up, tears gleaming in his eyes with frustration and helplessness. His aura flared violently as he threw the table to the wall, splintering wood against stone. "Because none of those people is Damon Grey!!! None of them are... you..." He collapsed to his knees with a thud. "I’ll give up everything... my dignity, my pride... I will give up more." He bowed his head, letting go of his noble pride and ideals. "No one can help me kill Amon except you. I know that in my heart..." "Get up, Xander..." "No... I won’t. I have already forsaken my pride. I will give anything... so help me..." Damon’s heart pounded wildly in his chest. "No... I won’t..." Xander smacked his head on the ground with a dull crack. "I will not get up until you do... I will work with a demon if I thought it would help me avenge my brother... You are the only devil that I know. This is the oath that I have made..." Damon didn’t know what to do. He was lost... truly lost. Xander had always been someone who refused to accept losing to Damon, obstinate in his ideals, but now he was discarding them all. His were the eyes of a man who would see the world burn. This was not the Xander Ravenscroft Damon once knew. Xander was an oath keeper. That was his class, and his vows were something he never broke. Damon closed his eyes, anguish twisting his face. Slowly, he turned around. "Give... me time to think on it..." Xander refused to get up. Damon bit his lips. "Please..." Hearing that soft whisper, Xander finally stood, his eyes closing as if sealing away his pain. "Tomorrow then... tomorrow." He left with steady steps, his face betraying none of the conflict within. As soon as he left, Damon pulled up his hood once more and fell back into his seat, holding his head with both hands. He was lost... he didn’t know what the right choice was. Right now, more than ever, he needed someone to confide in. This was a burden too heavy to bear alone.