Elpis x Pride: Resolve

The pink haired goddess stared at her reflection. The long pink locks that framed her perfect face cascaded on her back and fell onto her chest. Her eyes averted from the mirror to the dress that was laying on the bed. Pride had a minion deliver his first gift to the goddess. He might have been busy planning his next move on his siblings, he still wanted his « guest » to feel welcomed. The dress was a thing of beauty, adorned with golden threads and sequins around her chest, a very deep cleavage that was the only uncovered part of her outfit. It was form fitting and she knew that once she would put the dress on, it would flatter her figure. The dress in itself wasn't the problem, the fact Pride had it delivered by a minion wasn't either. It was the realization that nothing would ever be the same that was still hard to accept. A truth she refused to acknowledge, Her beloved was gone. There was nothing left of him, nothing but memories of them that bore no meaning for the new king of Hell.

She shuddered, her eyes still wet from the tears she refused to shed and ran her hand through the pink locks of hers. Her beloved was no more, but the burning love she had for him survived. How could she reconcile his 'death' when another version of him was still alive and very well determined to conquer the whole universe? How could she move forward, when there was nothing left for her, no comfort to take in the situation she was experiencing....no more love. Was Ayasha right to claim that she knew nothing about feelings? Was she right to say that it was a weakness that would consume her? Was she... Elpis held back a sob and lowered her head. Love? A weakness? If love was a weakness then she wouldn't have survived her curse. She wouldn't have retained her sanity 2000 years later. She wouldn't have. Curling her fingers into fists, she punched the mirror, breaking its glass and cutting herself deep enough to draw blood. It stung, badly. It hurt so much that she pinched her lips together and muffled a moan. It stung but she felt relief. The snarl turned into a grin as she stared at the crimson liquid run down her fingers and onto the table.

She would take her time. After all, revenge was a dish served cold and she would patiently wait for her moment to shine. The dreams she had, those dreams where she would bathe in the golden blood of her sworn enemy, Ayasha, filled her mind again. She would beg, oh she would beg for mercy. She would try and run away but Elpis would never let her go. Her death would take time because the pink haired goddess wanted her to feel the despair and the fear she felt when Ishtar stabbed her. Her smirk grew bigger and she licked her finger, tasting her own blood while her eyes turned into golden pools of light. There was a thin line between Hope and Despair, between good and evil and while Elpis was neutral, when rightfully angry, she was a force to reckon with. She stood up and walked towards the bed, where the dress was laid on and took another glance at it. This new Pride was putting her off, mostly because her mind was still resisting the truth and she was not done mourning, but he was not so different from the creature she fell in love with.

His own darkness resonated with hers, and since it was the only thing they had in common for now, she was going to exploit it. She was going to make the best of it, she would learn to like him, she would learn to love him...she would know him. That would require efforts on her part and acceptance from him, but maybe it could work. She patted her heart and clenched her fist. It had to work. If she could at least give him all the love she had for him, then her punishment would not have been in vain. Her eyes quickly filled themselves with unshed tears. A black dress, how fitting! She knew it was more of an aesthetic choice, but she would wear it as a mourning gown. She would carry her pain through her looks and try and move on. But could she ?.... Could she truly recover from the fatal blow Ayasha and Ishtar gave her? Or didn't they give her an opportunity to start over? After all, she wasn't the naive young goddess she used to be. She wasn't kept on a leash like she used to; She had her own agenda she would push through and goals she would achieve. The destruction of the Primeval Gods Pantheon was the absolute priority, alongside with getting to know this new Pride.

-TBC-