Comments of chapter undefined of Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
JasmineJosef
Chapter comments101
Lucrezia wants Williams blood, for what purpose is still a mystery. Raven will battle Damos again. That's what Lucrezia wants as his punishment. Angelica will become intertwined with Skender and Constantine's battle. William holds the missing pieces to the story where Angelica only sees bits. Their fates are also intertwined. unless and until the prophetess powers are returned to Angelica William will be the sacrificial lamb. Constantine made clear his intentions once he has the blood of the phrophet/ess. He wishes to defeat his father, so he will need the help of the demons as well as the blood of the prophet. Interesting turn.
Thank you Jasmine After the last chapter I was somewhat disappointed, I want the Rayven to be the hero, it is his book. I am really hoping for some Rayven sacrificing to save Skender. It would be to easy to sacrific himself for Angelica, but for Skender that would be changing into a redeemed demon. Lucrezia is so calculating, I can very well see her pulling all the strings of the lords. She know just what to say and do to make the cards turn in her favour. I am sure she is laughing and smiling. I think she knows exactly what she is doing, and is watching it unfold carefully.
Don't let jealousy come over you,Rayv's! You are Angelica's only love💕 Think of the good things and times you've shared and overcome together.Its not about what you weren't able to do, Angelica would know you tried. This is the beginning of how he'd be able to redeem himself. I hope Skender got a hold of his demon powers and control it🙏🙏🙏 I can't let the Arch kill you (I will protect you 🤭😍) You're born a defender,not a destroyer. thanks for the chapter Jazzy💕
Part 2 In the end there was no need for drama. Or there is drama but of a different kind. Skender did not kidnap Angelica or confused her with Ramona. He probably just went where his heart instinctively took him to and then fainted. Even Rayven was relieved when he felt he had taken her elsewhere. Nothing strange crossed his mind until he saw Angelica show him something as elementary as care or until he was faced with the aftermath and started feeling envy for not being the one to save her. I think we understand now why Jasmine decided to do it this way. We have been seeing a very impotent Rayven ever since Constantine showed up, something totally contrasting with the regular hero archetype. I have never had too much of a problem with it as I think the focus on the story is elsewhere and have never dwelt on the Rayven/Skender antagonism either. But I did think that the opportunity for him to finally prove himself and be smart could come from Lucrezia’s directions not to involve Skender. I thought the time to be a hero would be now but in the end that isn’t what the book is about, and Jasmine is reminding us of that. The heroism in this book does not rely in grandiloquent actions by the ML but on the fact that he can rise above himself and overcome his compulsions, his selfishness. That the prideful demon isn’t only impotent against an enemy but has to swallow the fact that another saves his wife is a lesson on humbleness. Or did we think that everything was done and resolved because he loves Angelica, and he got his heart back? I was never convinced that Rayven was completely redeemed. Not because I don’t like him or believe him or disregard his radical and wonderful change. But as Lucrezia said back then, one thing is no longer being punished and another is redemption, redemption requires work. It is in the actions that he will take from now on where we will see his true redemption. It is when faced both with trials and everyday events where we will see the choices that he will make. As romantic as it may be, loving someone does not make you a good person. Sometimes it even makes you a worse one. When you for instance put the lives of the many after the life of the one. I am not interested on the blaming game as it is useless, the only thing we have is the “now” that was probably unavoidable. Rayven couldn’t have stopped Skender from helping even if he tried. But it does leave some interesting questions, such as the one Lazarus asked. Why did he not tell them? I don’t know if they could’ve found a way, probably not, but Rayven didn’t even try. The logic of consequences is very interesting. If for saving Angelica, Skender becomes a destroyer and kills many, the good intention behind the act and his cluelessness regarding the potential risk of unleashing an unknown destroyer within him will amount to almost nothing whereas Rayven’s understandable selfishness will become immediately much more serious. The only one who can answer is time. An unpopular opinion though. I mostly equate Rayven’s and Skender’s actions in the sense that neither of them was thinking straight. But Rayven knew much more. Skender walked in with a plan and nothing more. He didn’t know about his powers. They took him by surprise. And he knows nothing about possibly becoming a destroyer. Rayven knows all this but he was desperate, so he chose to ignore it… That makes his side on the intentions department worse. Lucrezia was consistent with herself. I doubt she’s at all surprised. If she didn’t see this coming, she’s the worst schemer ever. It must all be going according to plan. Rayven will have to deal with himself outside the bubble of love now. See what he is made of. Can he be a friend as well as lover and a husband? Can he be a good man, think and act beyond his vanity and his pride?
Part One. After having finally succeeded in posting my comment at the end of the chapter yesterday, I went back to reread the chapter and felt the need to write some more. It got too long of course, especially considering I meant to post it at the end of the chapter’s paragraph. I think this would be a good occasion to use what I wrote. “Skender likes and cares for Angelica, but he has no romantic feelings for her. He never had. Yes, she reminds him of her, her looks her ways but he knows the difference. He never had “manly” feelings for her. Whatever happened between them stemmed from something not romantic that due to the times and circumstances, got mixed up. He also perfectly knows that Angelica is Rayven’s wife, and I doubt he needs to be reminded. This has nothing to do with “he had his chance”. If he is attached to Angelica through Ramona (and I doubt it is only about that, because I believe Skender likes Angelica for who she is as well) I don’t think his attachment is any longer founded on being reminded of her but on Angelica carrying her memories. That may be the reason why he brought her there. However, I doubt he made a rational or even a conscious decision bringing her to the place where he and Ramona met and as worrying as the situation might be for Rayven and for Angelica, I can´t bring myself to judge him or to expect him to be rational. Right now, he’s barely hanging on after being repeatedly stabbed in his heart. Despite all of it though, despite the last and most painful provocation, he was able to stop and go get Angelica. If we can be understanding to Rayven when he couldn’t think properly, I don’t see why we can’t be to Skender. Seems like he’s expected to be muscle, go grab her and take her to Rayven (who’s in a battlefield by the way), like he hasn’t just been through h 3 ll or like he isn’t undergoing a transformation that we have no idea what is doing to him, in a physical level as well. He’s passing out, calling her name like a dying man. Please, let us wait”. I asked for understanding because we were all very eager to understand Rayven going mad with worry and totally disregarding Lucrezia’s warning (who also said Skender’s life was on the line) and to give him a pass when he was so hurtful while Skender was getting a shower of admonishing remarks. Well, this chapter makes us look into it and I’m thankful for that.
Part 3 And finally… I don’t know if Lucrezia has a further use for William in mind. If this has to do with his blood or not. If Skender is that powerful more prophet power juice could be dangerous… unless it calms him down somehow. Bit of a Russian roulette though… Anyway, I’ll go with what I think is certain. William is instrumental in saving Skender. Just like Rayven needed Angelica to make his heart bleed, Skender, after the blow he just got and the ones he is yet to get (finding out about the destroyer, that his parents knew, that they probably concealed his powers etc), will need his “son”. Not quotes needed as that is what he is and will become. Angelica was Rayven’s red dot, William, Skender’s light and “soft spot”. Oh, and I’ll recycle something else as well, please don’t be mad. Wrote this many chapters ago: “You know, whenever prophesies are involved, I always found that it was the prophecy that caused the harm that finally caused the prophecy to come true, if that makes any sense. Like when they say someone is to become a horrible monster and then they lock him somewhere and he/she never gets any love… well… what do you expect? You created the monster yourself… I don’t know if that will be Skender’s case but if his parents believed he would become a destroyer and did something to his powers, and if Ramona believed it too and betrayed him… what will that do to him?” You know I’m still hoping she loved him despite all evidence. And his parents were probably trying to protect him but that change the fact that he has lived for centuries feeling useless, unworthy and helpless. I see dark times approaching and I’m both excited because I want to know and want to cry at the same time. Ps. I loved the balance between Ash and Zarus. Zarus values friendship more as he isn’t inclined to love (he is also clearly hurt with Ash) and Acheron is understanding towards Rayven and his mate. But I was surprised with Zarus’ reaction and though I found it a bit excessive I also loved the fact that he emerged as Skender’s friend when even Rayven, despite what they have gone through in this volume has never considered him that. Skender desperately needs a friend by his side so I’m really thankful for that 💙💕💙💕💙💕💙💕
