Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night
Chapter 275: The Truth is Revealed

Though she hadn't quite gotten the visual she wanted, Gwen was happy with her antics nonetheless, and ceased pouting the moment after she was kicked out of the bath. She scampered off and got herself dressed in her usual clothing.

But stopped to stare at it, while pouting once more. Zane had promised her new clothes, but he had yet to fulfill that promise and it had been a few days. She was starting to think he was not a man of his word.

Begrudgingly, she would get dressed back in her cheerleading outfit and wait for Zane to emerge from his bath. Which when he did so, his expression had returned to one that was as cold as ice. Zane then manifested the other Horde Kings from the void and gave them a very specific order that included Gwen as well.

"I'm going to get some sleep. You all keep watch for the night. Though I'm not afraid of the undead attacking us, I'm not so sure about the living. I maid sure to leave tracks that led to us going elsewhere but humans are unpredictable and you never know when somebody might try to break in during the middle of the night for whatever reason."

Nobody could really argue with Zane's logic, and with Gwen taking charge of all of them, they would have no choice but to fulfill Zane's orders to the letter, not that they were free to do otherwise. Gwen was excited to prove herself to her big brother. And quickly assured him that everything would be fine.

"If anyone is foolish to break in here, I'll make sure there's nothing left of them by the time we are done with them!"

Zane scoffed at this comment before going up to the master bedroom of the luxurious mansion and climbed into its sheets. Due to the gift his mother had given him not even an hour ago, everything was fresh and cleaned. As good as new. As were the silk sheets which he climbed into after stripping out of his clothes.

Once Zane shut his eyes, he found himself enveloped back in the dream world he had become so accustomed to. Sitting on a log skipping rocks into the lake was his mother, Death, as if she had been waiting for him for some time.

Knowing that this was her way of communicating with him most efficiently while not physically in his presence Zane quickly rushed over and sat by the woman's sighed. Where she was quick to grab his head and stuff it into her lap.

Zane was about to protest when Death looked down at him and put a finger to her lips. Shooshing the man as if he were a mere child while telling him to get some proper rest.

"Shhh… Don't fight me, just get some sleep."

It was weird to be dreaming about sleeping, but Zane closed his eyes and did as the woman suggested. He did not know how much time had passed before he opened his eyes to replace himself once more in the world of darkness. But when he did so, he was greeted by his mother's voice.

"You slept a long time… 25 years to be exact! Oh, don't fret now, that's just by the time in this world. In the real world, it has only been a few hours. So, how about we talk for a bit about the current state of things?"

Zane rose from his head so that he was sitting by the woman's side and nodded his head. He had a lot of time to think these last few days and had a lot of questions on his mind. He had come to a certain conclusion. His mother had withheld the true nature of Elysium from him and had done so on purpose, and he wanted to know why.

"Alright fine, you want to talk, let's talk. Why? Why did you not tell me the truth about Lilith and Elysium? You clearly knew, right?"

Death remained silent for some time. She did not know whether to tell Zane the truth even if he was asking for it. And because of this, she looked at him with an almost painful expression as she asked if he really did want the truth.

"Honestly? Do you really want me to tell you the reason? Or one that will help you feel better?"

Zane did not know how to react to this, but he had been through enough pain in life to endure anything. He didn't need his feelings to be spared. He needed the truth, and because of this he grabbed his mother's shoulders and shook it out of her. Much to her surprise that was.

"The truth, mother! You knew this would happen didn't you? So why?"

Death sighed heavily and turned her face away. She began to pout as she spoke. In a way that was incredibly childish considering she was the cosmic and omnipotent entity that was death.

"Because they were holding you back! You grew complacent during your time in gravestone. You less frequently sought out dangerous challenges that would help your grow fasted. All for the sake of those little harlots!

But I knew you would be a bad boy, and not listen to your mother if I asked you to leave them. So when you decided to go to Elysium I warned you about Lilith, but without revealing precisely how dangerous it was. Ultimately, it was your decision to go. And you can't hold your mother responsible for your actions!"

Zane was astonished by just how shameless the woman was, even as she stared him in the eyes and continued to pout at him like a child. He wanted to scream at her and blame her for causing the rift between him and the only family he had ever really known.

But he couldn't. Because her last words were the god honest truth. She warned him there was a possibility Lilith would be there. And that alone should have been a reason not to go. Yet he was foolish, and didn't understand the depth of a warning coming from Death herself.

Because of this, he sighed and stood up, walking away from Death who dropped the pouting façade and immediately expressed concern as her son walked waywardly into the dark forest.

"Zane… Zane, are you alright? Zane! Come back here!"

Zane needed a moment to himself, and being in his mother's presence would only further complicate his thoughts. Because of this, he sought out a place to lie low until he woke up from this dream, which was not much longer.

When he opened his eyes, he saw another message from the system, one from his mother where she was clearly expressing her concern for his current state of mind.

"I'm sorry, I only did what I thought was best for you! Please don't hate me!"

Zane could only wear a bitter smile and sigh. Even though what his mother had done had caused him some serious grief. And had made him a fugitive on the run from the Horde Kings. He couldn't stay mad at her. Not only because she was right insofar that he shared the blame for the consequences of his actions.

But the woman made it very difficult to be angry with her when she acted adorable like this. Thus he rose from his bed and looked out the mansion windows which were illuminated by the outside world. Whatever depression he had vanished in that instance as he realized here in this wild wasteland, his potential was limitless.

Thus the last thing he said before getting dressed for the day, and starting his grind up again. Was a silent forgiveness towards death.

"I could never hate you, mom…."