CHAPTER 142. LOSS

ATHENA'S POV

The rain drummed relentlessly against the window pane, each droplet echoing the emptiness within me. I sat perched on the edge of my bed, my gaze fixed on the somber scene outside, where the world seemed to blur into shades of gray under the heavy downpour. It was as if the heavens themselves were mourning alongside me, shedding tears that mirrored the desolation in my heart.

"Athena?"

Oneka's voice pierced through the silence, pulling me back from the abyss of my thoughts. I turned my head slightly, acknowledging her presence without uttering a word. She entered my room with a tenderness that only she possessed, wrapping her arms around me in a sideways embrace.

"It's time," she whispered, her voice barely audible above the sound of the rain. I felt the weight of her words, the gravity of the moment pressing down on me like an anchor dragging me beneath the surface of an unfathomable sea.

Tears traced silent paths down my cheeks, betraying the numbness that had engulfed