The Damned Paladin-Chapter 136: Gabriel And Mera

Gabriel found her on deck the next morning.

The sun had just broken the horizon, painting the ocean in shades of copper and gold. Mera stood at the bow, her hair whipping in the wind, arms spread wide like she was trying to embrace the entire sky.

She looked almost peaceful.

Gabriel approached carefully, his ribs protesting the movement but manageable now. Two days of rest had helped more than he wanted to admit.

"Mera."

She turned, and Gabriel saw the change immediately. The haunted look was gone. The withdrawn silence had vanished. Instead, her eyes burned with purpose. With certainty.

"Gabriel." She smiled. "You’re recovered. The Maker’s providence."

"We need to talk about the book. About what you saw."

"I know." Mera moved closer, her movements fluid and confident in a way they hadn’t been for weeks. "I understand now why you’ve been reluctant to embrace your destiny. You think you’re just a man. Just someone trying to survive."

"Because that’s what I am."

"No." Mera’s voice carried absolute conviction. "You’re so much more. The visions showed me. Drusgard’s voice spoke directly to me. ’You will see what he will become.’ Not what he was. What he will be."

Gabriel’s jaw tightened. "The book shows memories. History. Things that happened to Dracamerians who came before me."

"Some of it, yes. But not all." Mera’s eyes were bright. Feverish. "I saw you burning temples. Leading armies. Fighting divine beings and winning. That hasn’t happened yet, Gabriel. That’s still to come."

"Or it’s symbolic. Metaphorical." Gabriel kept his voice calm despite growing unease. "Ancient memories mixed with my current situation, creating images that seem prophetic but aren’t."

"You’re trying to rationalize what you don’t want to accept." Mera reached for his hand. Gabriel stepped back before she could touch him. The rejection flickered across her face but didn’t dim her certainty. "The Maker sent you to save me three years ago. That wasn’t chance. That was His will setting events in motion."

"I saved you because you were in danger and I was there. That’s all."

"No." Mera shook her head firmly. "Everything happens for a reason. The Order torturing you. Ariya testing you. Even Castor. All of it preparing you for what’s coming."

"And what’s coming, according to you?"

"War." Mera’s voice dropped to something reverent. "War against the Seven. Against the Order. Against everyone who’s twisted the Maker’s truth into something corrupt and rotten." She stepped closer again. "You’re the weapon He’s been forging. The fire that will purge the world clean."

Gabriel’s hands clenched into fists. "I’m not a messiah, Mera. I’m not chosen. I’m just someone who’s been hurt and changed and is trying to survive long enough to find answers."

"You keep saying that. But your actions prove otherwise." Mera gestured broadly. "You saved this ship. You killed a kraken with fire that should have killed you. You pushed past human limits because something greater sustains you."

"Desperation sustains me. Fear. Rage. Not divine providence."

"Call it what you want." Mera’s smile was gentle. Understanding. Like she was speaking to a child who didn’t yet grasp simple truth. "But I know what I saw. I know what you’re meant to become. And I’ll be here to help you reach it."

Footsteps on the stairs. Tess emerged onto the deck, her eyes immediately finding Gabriel and Mera. Her expression tightened.

"Morning conversation?" Tess crossed the deck with deliberate casualness. "Mind if I join?"

"We’re discussing Gabriel’s destiny," Mera said simply.

"His what?" Tess stopped beside Gabriel, close enough that her shoulder brushed his.

"The path the Maker set him on. The purpose he’s meant to fulfill." Mera’s tone suggested this should be obvious. "I’ve seen it now. The book showed me what Gabriel will become."

Tess’s hand moved to her sword hilt. "The book that you stole from Gabriel’s pack and used without permission?"

"I didn’t steal it. I borrowed understanding." Mera’s expression remained serene. "And what I learned changes everything."

"It doesn’t change anything," Gabriel said flatly. "You saw visions. Interpreted them as prophecy. But they’re just possibilities. Potential futures that may never happen."

"They will happen." Mera’s certainty never wavered. "Because you’re strong enough to make them real."

"I’m not interested in burning temples or fighting angels," Gabriel said. "I’m interested in finding the Isle of Giants. Learning about my ancestors. Understanding what was done to me."

"That’s the beginning." Mera stepped closer, ignoring how both Gabriel and Tess tensed. "Understanding leads to power. Power leads to purpose. And your purpose is clear."

"My purpose," Gabriel said slowly, "is my own to decide."

"Is it?" Mera tilted her head. "Or has it already been decided for you? The moment Dracamerian blood mixed with divine torture, the moment fire answered your call, the moment you survived what would have killed any normal man?" Her smile widened. "You don’t get to choose destiny, Gabriel. You only get to accept it or run from it."

"Then I choose to run." Gabriel’s voice was flat. Final.

Mera’s expression flickered. Disappointment. Then understanding. Then something that looked almost like pity.

"You’re not ready yet. That’s okay. The Maker is patient." She glanced at Tess. "But she’s holding you back. Keeping you tethered to mortal concerns when you should be rising above them."

"Excuse me?" Tess’s voice went dangerous.

"You offer him mortal love. Comfort. Humanity." Mera’s tone suggested these were weaknesses. "I offer him his destiny. His true purpose. The chance to become what he was always meant to be."

"You offer him chains." Tess stepped forward, putting herself partially between Gabriel and Mera. "You offer him worship that treats him like an object instead of a person."

"I offer him greatness."

"You offer him insanity." Tess’s hand tightened on her sword. "You’re so wrapped up in your visions and prophecies that you can’t see you’re hurting him."

"I could never hurt him." Mera’s voice remained calm. Certain. "I love him too much."

The words landed like stones.

Gabriel felt Tess tense beside him. Felt the moment shift from argument to something more dangerous.

"You don’t love him," Tess said quietly. "You worship an idea. A symbol. You don’t see Gabriel. You see some divine weapon you think the Maker created."

"And you see a broken man who needs saving." Mera’s smile turned sharp. "Which of us is really honoring what he is?"

Tess’s sword started to clear its sheath.

Gabriel caught her wrist. "Don’t."

"She’s..." Tess’s voice shook with anger.

"I know. But fighting won’t fix this." Gabriel stepped between them, facing Mera. "You need to stop. Stop using the book. Stop interpreting visions as prophecy. Stop treating me like I’m something I’m not."

"I can’t." Mera’s eyes were bright. Wet. "I’ve seen the truth. I can’t unsee it."

"Then you need to leave the group."

The words hung in the salt air.

Mera’s expression cracked slightly. "What?"

"If you can’t accept that I’m just a man trying to survive, if you insist on treating me like some divine instrument, then you can’t stay with us." Gabriel’s voice was steady despite the pain in his chest. "Because this worship is dangerous. For you. For me. For everyone."

"You’re sending me away?" Mera’s voice broke. "After everything? After I’ve followed you, believed in you, stood by you when no one else would?"

"Tess stood by me. Adan, Gilbert, Ennu. They all stand by me without needing divine justification." Gabriel met her eyes. "I need people who see me as human. Not as a weapon or a savior or whatever you think I am."

Tears streamed down Mera’s face now. "I saved your life. Multiple times. I stitched your wounds. I believed in you when you didn’t believe in yourself."

"I know. And I’m grateful." Gabriel’s jaw clenched. "But gratitude doesn’t mean I accept worship. It doesn’t mean I embrace destiny I never asked for."

"You’ll change your mind." Mera wiped her eyes with sharp, angry movements. "When the visions come true. When you’re standing in the ruins of the Seven’s temples. When you finally understand what you are." She backed toward the stairs. "You’ll remember this conversation. And you’ll regret sending away the only person who truly saw you."

She disappeared below deck.

Gabriel stood at the bow, staring at the space where she’d been. His chest ached. Not from his ribs. From something deeper.

I just lost her.

And I don’t know if I did the right thing.

Tess’s hand found his. "You did."

Gabriel turned to find her watching him with an expression that was both fierce and sad.

"She would have destroyed you," Tess continued. "Maybe not intentionally. But worship like that... it doesn’t leave room for humanity. For mistakes. For being anything except the symbol she needed you to be."

"She saved my life."

"So did I. So did Adan. So did Gilbert." Tess squeezed his hand. "We all save each other. That’s what people do. But we don’t demand divinity in return."

Gabriel was quiet for a long moment. The sun climbed higher, burning away the dawn’s softness. The ocean rolled beneath them, indifferent to human drama.

"She won’t leave quietly," he said eventually.

"I know."

"This is going to fracture the group."

"I know that too." Tess’s jaw set. "But it was already fractured. Mera on one side, the rest of us on the other. At least now it’s out in the open."

Footsteps behind them. Gabriel turned to find Gilbert climbing onto deck, looking rough from sleep and probably last night’s drinking.

"What’s happening?" Gilbert asked, reading the tension immediately. "I heard shouting."

"Mera used the book," Gabriel said. "Saw visions. Thinks I’m destined to fight the Seven."

Gilbert was quiet for a moment. "Is she wrong?"

The question caught Gabriel off-guard. "What?"

"Is she wrong?" Gilbert moved to the railing beside them. "I’m not saying you’re divine. I’m not saying there’s some grand plan. But Gabriel... you’re not normal. The things you can do, the things you’ve survived. That’s not just luck."

"Not you too."

"I’m not worshipping you." Gilbert’s tone was matter-of-fact. "I’m just observing reality. You have power most people don’t. You’ve been changed in ways we don’t fully understand. And yes, maybe you could fight angels if you had to." He shrugged. "But that doesn’t make you divine. Just dangerous."

"That’s different than what Mera thinks."

"Completely different." Gilbert leaned against the rail. "Mera sees a messiah. I see a very skilled, very dangerous man who’s been dealt a shit hand and is doing his best with it." He glanced at Tess. "And she sees someone she loves. Those are three very different things."

"Only one of them is true," Tess said quietly.

Gabriel thought about that. About perception and reality. About how the same person could be seen so differently depending on who was looking.

To Mera, I’m divine.

To Gilbert, I’m dangerous.

To Tess, I’m human.

Which one am I really?

Maybe all three. Maybe none.

"One week to the Isle," Gilbert said, changing the subject with characteristic bluntness. "Then we find this Grand Archive. Learn about Dracameria. Get some actual answers instead of visions and guesswork."

"If the giants let us in," Tess added.

"They’ll let us in." Gabriel’s voice carried more confidence than he felt. "They’re scholars. They value knowledge. And I’m the last thing my people created before they were wiped out. They’ll want to study that."

"Study or dissect?" Gilbert’s tone suggested he was only half-joking.

"Only one way to find out."

Below deck, Mera sat in the cabin they all shared. Her wooden figure was nearly finished now. She held it up to the lamplight, examining details.

The carving depicted a man wreathed in flames. Arms spread wide. Head tilted back. Every line suggested power and purpose and divine will made manifest.

She’d carved Gabriel as she saw him in the visions.

As he would become.

Mera set the figure carefully in her pack and pulled out a fresh piece of wood. She still had time before they reached the Isle. Time to carve more. To prepare.

He’ll understand eventually.

When the prophecy starts coming true.

When he burns his first temple.

When he stands against the Seven and doesn’t fall.

Then he’ll see what I see.

And he’ll thank me for believing when no one else did.

She picked up her knife and began to carve.