Chapter 646: Chapter 647: Damon’s Demand Damon closed his eyes. So this was Xander’s choice after all. He had given him a choice, and predictably, Xander had let his hate consume him. He glanced at the young man sitting across from him. "I’ve always hated you, Xander Ravenscroft.... Do you know why?" Xander narrowed his eyes. "So what...." Damon chuckled softly, leaning back. "I hated how honorable you were. I hated how I could not embody such an ideal. To put it simply, I hated you for being you. There was nothing deep about it.... but" He paused, clenching his fist tightly. "I hate this version of you the most. You turn your back on truth and justice just to become this...." Xander gritted his teeth. "You believed in revenge.... You always have...." Damon nodded slowly. "Yes, and I am a hypocrite. But I will not deny you the right to choose your destiny." Leaning back further in his chair, Damon closed his eyes. "Do you remember when Sylvia was possessed in the Whispering Forest?" Xander’s hand trembled slightly, his expression shadowed by the lingering fear of that nightmarish event. "Yes.... How can I forget something so horrifying...." Damon chuckled again. "Do you know... the Unknown God doesn’t accept fate, but believes what we call fate is merely choice that accumulates into a consequence. We only hate when those choices don’t serve us." Xander raised an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say...." Damon shook his head slowly, a weary smile flickering across his lips. "One day, you will look back on the choice I gave you here and wonder why it led to whatever lies ahead of us. I wonder if you will laugh... or cry...." Xander closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them with a cold resolve. "In the end, we only regret the choice we didn’t make. I have made mine." Damon smiled calmly. So this was it, then. "I know I of all people should not be speaking, but hear me out all the same." He kept his true thoughts hidden, adding in his mind: ’Because this is my last kindness to a friend.’ He had been giving Xander a choice. If Xander had chosen truth and justice, Damon had been planning to tell him the truth about his brother and the fact that he was the one who killed him. This was not a plan without merit. Damon had been planning to make sure Xander would sign an oath of silence, never telling anyone what he had learned. It was dangerous, because it put a lot of Damon’s plans at risk and created an unknown variable he could not kill. Xander would have been free to choose what to do with that information, even if he had to carry it alone. "This is your last chance to make a choice." "Revenge is a vicious circle. Hatred fueled from a place of love will only birth more hate." He pressed on, a strange calm settling in his heart. "If you face Amon, and let’s say you kill him... what about Amon’s sibling? Will they not also want revenge? And so the circle continues." He fixed his gaze on Xander, his dark eyes flickering. "Have you asked yourself why Amon killed your brother? What wrong Godric could have done against him?" Xander stiffened. Damon’s words pierced deeper than he liked. "Xander, did you think about this? What you stand to lose from this vicious circle?" Damon bit his lip, his tone growing heavy. "The dead are gone, and the living inherit their hate. We hate in the name of love...." Xander looked at him coldly. "Are you done? Thank you for your advice, but I didn’t come here for a lecture from someone who’s lived by hate his whole life. You would never forgive if you were in my shoes. Why should I?" Damon chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I see.... So be it then. The man I hated is gone. Now all I see is a spirit of vengeance." His eyes grew colder, his voice a low growl. "Xander, I know what I want from you." "You wish to fall into this vicious cycle? I welcome you. Know this you either kill your enemy at the end of this path or die. There is no mercy in our world." In that moment, Damon resolved himself. If he faced Xander, who had come for revenge, he would kill him. This was the one thing he could give him the right to die as his enemy. "The truth is painful, and lies are kind. When you face Amon and unveil his mask, I hope you are still strong enough to fight...." Xander clenched his fist. "I will be. For my brother." Damon shook his head, his voice weighted with experience. "No, Xander. This revenge is not for your brother. It is for you... the one who was left behind." He knew. Revenge was never about the dead. It was always about the living, who refused to let go. "I have a price, Xander. I was initially going to ask for money or something frivolous, but now I want something more. For agreeing to help, I make no guarantee of success. You will most likely die...." Xander’s eyes hardened with resolve. "Name your price." Damon closed his eyes. "I will either fuel this circle... or break it. Only time will tell. But know this you made your choice, and this is the last choice you will make before you walk the road to ruin." Opening his eyes, his dark voice reached Xander’s ears. "For my price, I demand you give me your firstborn child. I guarantee no harm will come to him, and when your child is of age, I will return him. That is my price, Xander. Do you accept?" Xander’s hands trembled, his heart beating so loudly Damon could see his chest heaving. "Why would you...." "Yes or no. Make your choice," Damon cut him off sharply. Xander was still young and had no wife or children. Still, he gritted his teeth, the eyes of an avenger burning. "I accept your terms...." Damon’s eyes glared coldly at him. "You betray your offspring... for hatred of a minute." Xander bit his lip until it bled. "This is your price, and I accept it. My future offspring will live well in your hands. I have no fears." Damon reached into the shadows and pulled out a small scroll. It was ironic. This scroll had been what he obtained after killing Godric Ravenscroft. A page from the Unknown God’s forbidden tome.