Chapter 669: The Truth She Chose To See

Selene remained quiet for a long moment after Orion’s question.

The silence between them stretched naturally, as though the goddess herself was carefully deciding how much of the truth she wished to place into words. Outside, the snow continued to fall in slow waves beneath the moonlight, covering the grounds of Nirvana in white while the room itself remained untouched by the cold.

Orion watched her without speaking.

Noctis remained restless within him, uneasy in a way Orion rarely felt from him. It lingered at the edge of his awareness like a warning that this conversation was stepping into places best left buried.

Then Selene sighed softly.

"You are quite stubborn," she said at last.

Orion’s expression barely shifted.

"That is not new information."

A faint flicker crossed Selene’s gaze, something that almost resembled amusement before it disappeared again.

"And you are not going to back down from this," she added.

Orion nodded once.

"No."

Selene looked at him for another second before she finally spoke again.

"As I told you before," she said calmly, "Noctis failed to stop Dolion when he began walking down the wrong path."

Her voice stayed even, untouched by emotion.

"He was aware of what Dolion was doing," she continued. "He knew Dolion was gathering followers. He knew the kind of thoughts growing within him, yet he did not stop it."

Orion stayed quiet for a moment after hearing that.

Then he frowned slightly.

"...am I understanding you correctly?" he asked softly.

Selene tilted her head faintly.

Orion exhaled through his nose and rubbed a hand briefly across his jaw before looking back at her.

"Can you lie?" he asked suddenly.

That seemed to catch even Selene off guard.

Her brows drew together ever so slightly.

"Lying is not a part of me," she said. "Everything I speak is truth."

Her gaze remained steady on his.

"I cannot lie," she added. "Just as you cannot."

Orion hummed quietly at that.

Then he nodded slowly.

"Perhaps you cannot lie," he said, "but that does not mean you cannot skirt around the truth."

Selene’s gaze sharpened faintly.

"You can omit things," Orion continued. "You can present one side of something while leaving out another."

The goddess watched him carefully now.

"What are you getting at?" she asked.

Orion shifted slightly where he stood before answering.

"I have lived with this...curse for years now," he said. "Long enough to understand its flaws."

Selene remained silent.

"One of those flaws," Orion continued, "is that people can still say things that are technically true while not being fully honest."

His eyes narrowed slightly in thought.

"If someone genuinely believes what they are saying is true, then the curse accepts it as truth even if reality is more complicated than that."

Selene didn’t interrupt him.

"And sometimes," Orion added, "there can be multiple truths attached to the same situation."

The room grew quiet again.

Selene’s gaze stayed fixed on him.

"What exactly are you trying to imply?" she asked.

Orion stared back at her.

Then he spoke carefully.

"Do you truly believe Noctis did nothing?" he asked. "Or have you convinced yourself that he did nothing because it aligns with the judgement you already made?"

Selene’s expression remained composed, but Orion noticed the faint shift in her eyes.

Orion continued before she could answer.

"Or perhaps," he said slowly, "the truth is that Noctis did try to stop Dolion at first... but eventually gave up when Dolion refused to listen."

The silence that followed felt heavier than before.

Noctis stirred sharply within him this time.

But Orion ignored it.

Selene remained still near the window, moonlight spilling over her pale hair until she almost looked carved from the same snow falling outside.

Then, after a while, she spoke.

"I have noticed this about you," she said quietly.

Orion raised a brow slightly.

"You are perceptive," Selene continued. "You observe things most people overlook. You pay attention to what is not being said as much as what is."

Orion shrugged faintly.

"That still doesn’t answer my question."

Selene looked at him for another moment before finally saying,

"Noctis did attempt to reason with Dolion."

Orion’s jaw tightened slightly.

"But he did not try enough."

The words had barely left her mouth before Orion shook his head in disappointment.

Selene noticed it immediately.

"You disagree," she observed.

Orion let out a quiet breath.

"I do."

Selene remained silent.

And Orion laughed softly then, though there was no humour in the sound.

"He advised Dolion," Orion said. "You claim he did not try enough, but he tried, did he not?"

Selene did not answer.

Orion stared at her for a long moment before speaking again.

"You know, you keep judging everyone based on what they should have done," he said. "Sophia should have done this. Noctis should have done that. My people were supposed to become corrupted. Brynhild was meant to be the successor."

His eyes remained fixed on hers.

"But every time someone acts outside what you expected, you treat it like failure instead of accepting that maybe your judgement was flawed to begin with."

Selene stayed quiet.

And somehow that silence irritated him even more.

"You know what I think?" Orion asked softly.

The goddess tilted her head slightly.

"I think Noctis was easier to punish."

Selene’s gaze narrowed faintly.

"He was a wolf," Orion continued. "A spirit tied to someone you already condemned. Blaming him was simpler than accepting that Dolion made his own decisions despite being advised otherwise."

Noctis stirred uneasily again. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

*Orion,* he called out, a warning in his voice.

But Orion ignored him completely.

Selene’s expression had not changed much, but there was something heavier in the air now, something less composed than before.

And Orion noticed that too.

Then he sighed quietly and rubbed a hand through his hair.

"For someone worshipped as a goddess," he said slowly, "you seem surprisingly willing to place impossible expectations on others."

Selene’s gaze remained on him.

"You speak boldly," she said.

Orion shrugged at that.

"Tell me something," he said. "Are all gods as selfish as you?"