Chapter 1615: Hope Is Nothing Resonating with the circles behind the manifestation of light and destruction, Rowan crossed through space to appear by Eva’s side. However, he was still millions of miles away because the pressure surrounding Eva had gained the attributes of the Supreme Circle, where everything was rejected from the space surrounding the master of the circle. This trait was extremely important because it would keep away every outside influence from manipulating the flames of creation that were being born here. Because it was built upon a Primordial foundation, the Circles had inherited those strengths, building upon them to make something that stunned even the creator, Rowan. Rowan was not cutting off all connections with the Circle, and he could force his way into it if he wanted, but that would be a waste of energy and a pointless exercise. He was focused on building something that would carry a pillar of creation, and he would gladly give away any benefit he might gain in order to make it happen. He pushed his hand into his chest to remove the fifth ring of dust, and a slight grimace broke across his face before he suppressed it. Cutting out the Circles from his body was extremely painful and damaging, and it was a pain that Rowan could never get used to, but he endured it because no one else would be able to withstand this pain. Rowan was poised to activate the circle when Staff spoke, and he paused his actions to listen to her. He could feel the tension in her spine building up for a while, a visible wave of disquiet arising from her spirit. Her voice when she spoke was rough, as if she had been crying, but it steadily grew strong, and Reality seemed to pause alongside Rowan as he listened to her. "I am here not as a representation of the Primordial Demon. He has made his promises, given his gifts, but I still don’t fucking care about all of it, I think he knows that, and it amuses him to keep trying. But he is going to be giving me one of the things I care about most in the world, and in payment he wants me to be here as a damned bargaining chip, he thinks my voice is valid, that it may change the direction that you are pushing all of us towards, but Primordial Demon does not know you. All of the damned Primordials do not understand what a monster you are, and somewhere inside of me, I had hope that things might be different when I entered Reality, but my greatest fears has come to pass. After all this time, I still forget hope is nothing." Staff grinned at Rowan, "I hear you like songs and poetry, but I fucking hate that mumbo jumbo, but..." and then her smile faded, "... a poem occurred to me as I entered Reality, and I want to hear it. It is rough, but fuck you Rowan. I don’t care about your opinion on my poetic talents." "My hope is just a hollow whisper in the dark, a cruel taunt from a world that grinds dreams to dust. It’s the illusion that keeps me choking on air while the walls close in, the lie that tomorrow might be different when yesterday’s wounds still bleed." "Hope is the weight of an anchor, not the wings I was promised. It’s nothing. And nothing is all it will ever be." She had been standing a bit behind Primordial Demon, but now she had taken a step forward, so she was now standing ahead of him and looking Rowan in the eyes. A part of Rowan understood that what she was doing was beyond dangerous. All Primordials were arrogant, and standing in front of Primordial Demon who possessed more arrogance than nearly all Primordials combined was a recipe for disaster, but the manic look in the eyes of Staff told a story of apathy and pain, such that she no longer cared what happened to her. "You lied to me, Rowan, about my origin and what you believed me and my father was in the grand scheme of things. You lied about what you wanted from all of those who believed in your vision. But you see, I don’t care about your lies; all leaders lie. How else would you get your followers to die for your dreams? Despite all of this, I had hoped that perhaps you might be different, but you are all the same, all cut from the same piece of cloth." She paused for a while before gritting her teeth as venom poured out of her mouth, "Your dreams are yours, but they did not need to die for them. My friends, the Angels, that I played and sang with for a million years, you discard so willingly, and push them into a war with heaven. They are all dead. I can stand here reciting all their names to you, but you already know them, don’t you? Andar did not need to die, and I have searched for any remnants of his soul, and he is gone. Ah, he never got to fulfill his dreams, and now you are dying here, it is inevitable, I can’t even sense your soul, but you are still too caught up in your pathetic dream that you refuse to rest in fucking peace." Rowan’s eyes tightened as he replied, "What is your point, Staff? No matter the decisions I made in the end, I did not force any of you to go along with it. You knew how this might end; there was no assurance of victory in the end. I understand your pain, but your vision is too small. Your sacrifices are not in vain, and none of my children will ever be forgotten! The weight of their lives and their sacrifices would remain with me forever." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮 "Children, hahahaha, you dare call the slaves you have around you as your children?!" Staff laughed widely, "There is something I think you don’t know about yourself, Rowan, and standing here with you, at the end of everything, that has become increasingly clearer to me. You have no idea how much you terrify the people around you." Pointing at Rowan with her staff, her voice kept growing louder, "Do you know how fucking disturbing it is to be around you? You smile and you laugh, and everyone around you has to do the same because we are compelled to follow your Will. You are the sun, you are gravity, you are the life itself in our hearts, how the fuck would you say no to the center of creation. You bastard, you style yourself a mortal, and perhaps in a twisted way, you still think of yourself as such, but we never had a chance to know who we could really be without your overwhelming presence in our lives. You think you gave us a choice! Bah, bastard, we never had one! Not. With. You." Rowan closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, and said, "I have never denied that I am a monster, or did you think anything short of a monster can change the face of Reality? Fifth Destruction Circle... Open!" Under the blooming scarlet radiance of the fifth circle, he could hear the mocking laughter of Staff in the distance, "We all die for your dreams, we all suffer for your fucking dreams. Who gave you the right to dictate our reality for us? Even if we are in hell, we deserve the chance to choose if we want to live in it or fight."