The relationship between Damien and Rose was inexplicable, to say the least.
It was filled with nuances and subtleties only understood by the two of them, to the point where an outsider would wonder how their love had managed to last until the current day.
Rose was Damien's first wife and first unfettered love in this life, and Damien was hers as well. The duo learned how to love and accept another into their lives together, an experience that brought them far closer than anyone could've expected.
They fell for each other as teens, and their relationship lasted through their twenties…
But the actual time they'd spent together was quite negligible.
Starting from the Cloud Plane, Damien had almost been unable to stop moving from place to place, growing at a pace that nobody in the entire universe could match. As this happened, and as Elena and Ruyue were introduced into their relationship, the time they spent with each other decreased even more until they rarely saw each other at all.
Damien apologized for his actions that day before he left for Niflheim, but he never felt that this apology was good enough. He and Rose weren't able to reach true closure before he was swept away into the Divine Realm.
Naturally, this separation wasn't his fault. If anyone was to be blamed, it was the Fifth Primal Sovereign.
Because if it wasn't for Damien's interference in that heaven-shaking battle, the Human Domain would've lost several more Demigods, a loss they didn't have the ability to take.
Rose understood this as well as Damien, but neither of them could control human nature.
Just as Damien feared their moment of reunion, Rose did too.
Because they truly didn't know what their love would look like after so much time had passed.
They'd both changed greatly, and though their core personality traits were the same, their worldviews were far more evolved than they used to be.
As people who understood the workings of this world and saw the sights it had to offer, could they still maintain that feeling that they originally captured together?
What would happen if they couldn't?
Some might argue that this possibility was too minute for it to become such a concern to them. With the lifespan of a powerful practitioner, a separation of several years meant nothing.
There were couples who'd be separated for thousands of years at a time and still maintain their love.
Only, Damien and Rose were still young. They were still on that journey together to understand love.
To them who lived every day minute by minute, hour by hour, a separation of several years was equivalent to an eternity, especially one that took place during this period of rapid growth.
Nevertheless, they were older now. Rose was in her late twenties, while Damien was a few years into his thirties already.
It was a bit strange since they started out the same age, but regardless, it was a little too late for them to just run away, right?
Damien entered Elena's room in Luxurion again and saw Rose's figure sitting peacefully on a lone chair, looking through a nearby projection of the starry sky beyond.
She was ethereal.
Rose was different from Ruyue and Elena. Her beauty didn't pop out if she was in a crowd, but if one was able to see her like this, in her own environment, it was impossible to find someone more enchanting.
As Damien watched, Rose noticed his presence and turned her eyes to him subtly with a smile.
"All done?" She asked.
"Not quite, but the rest can be done later," he responded, walking up to the bed and collapsing on it.
"Hmm…"
Rose gazed at him curiously.
The awkwardness he carried to this day reminded her that he was the same man she'd fallen in love with, despite the fact that he seemed completely different.
Rose was very perceptive due to her connection with the concept of reality itself, and in her eyes, Damien genuinely looked like he existed in a world beyond the rest of them.
That back was strong, it was domineering and left no room for doubt.
Yet, it was the loneliest back she'd ever seen, reminding her of those days she saw her father listlessly gazing into the sky.
Men who shouldered such burdens needed women by their sides to keep them grounded, but if one thought about themself from this perspective, it seemed more like a job than a relationship.
Perhaps it was like that for Rose. She ended up viewing her role in Damien's life as a job, her duty.
She'd gotten rid of the misguided notions she used to hold, but she couldn't get rid of this feeling, like she had no worth if she didn't contribute.
But it was strange.
When she was in his presence, these feelings were suppressed by a more powerful force.
The force of love that had existed within her since she was young.
Why were they together?
It was because they loved each other. Did they need to define this love and find a reason for it to exist?
Did Damien give her a reason to seek this answer, to put such strict definitions on their love?
No.
It could be said to be the habit of someone who once lived as royalty.
Damien was unaware of Rose's complex thoughts.
Because to him, it was guilt that held him back. He never doubted his love for her nor did he question what his role in her life was.
It wasn't because he didn't care, but because his love for the three women he was lucky enough to have was one of the only things in his life that he held in absolute certainty.
He would never allow himself to doubt it, for doing so would break the foundation of his emotions.
Plus, it simply didn't matter.
All he knew was that Rose's presence alone was able to give him comfort like no other and remove his worries, and he wanted to be the same for her.
He shifted his head slightly as he noticed the edge of the bed depressing.
He sat up, his shoulder brushing against Rose's as he looked out at the projection she'd been watching so intently before he arrived.
"How was it?" He asked vaguely.
"…it was hard," Rose responded quietly.
"Do you regret it?"
Rose finally turned her head to face him.
"I don't," she stated firmly.
Damien smiled.
"That's nice to hear."
The relationship between Damien and Rose was inexplicable.
Perhaps there would never come a day when another person could understand or rationalize their feelings for each other.
But regardless of the doubts or negative feelings in their hearts, they never wavered or questioned their connection.
Because Rose could clearly see the thick and vibrant red string connecting Damien to her, materializing his deep and unshakable affection for her.
And in a different yet similar way, Damien could intuitively feel the same feelings within Rose.
This reunion, when it came to appeasing, was the easiest for Damien, because he and Rose didn't need words of affection or words of apology. Those were things of the past.
Yet it was also the most unfulfilling.
Maybe those things weren't needed, but what kind of sane person wouldn't crave them from their partner?
The odd atmosphere between them was filled with tension of many different kinds.
Tension that was on the verge of exploding.
