Chapter 71 - 70: Cave Of Regrets

Chapter 71: Chapter 70: Cave Of Regrets

1 hour later,

"Ricky!"

*BAM*

The door burst open, and there stood Father Sebastian, his robe slightly askew and his hair in disarray.

"Ernst has entered the cave, you must follow now!" Father Sebastian's voice rang out in a sharp, urgent cry as he stood in the doorway, his eyes locked on Ricky.

Panic flickered in his gaze, his chest rising and falling quickly and Ricky, caught mid-motion with a piece of bread poised near his mouth, froze as the weight of Sebastian's alarm settled in the room.

"Can I finish my-"

"There is no time, Ersnt has initiated the trails meaning you must go now!' Father Sebastion informed, rushing to Ricky and pulling him towards his feet before leading him down the hall.

"I literally just sat down father-"

"By the rules, once a successor enters, the others must enter right after." Percival appeared at his side with a knowing expression, quickly offering an explanation to Ricky who was currently showing an annoyed gaze.

"These rules are so f*cking stupid-"

"Language, child," Father Sebastian interrupted as they descended the ancient spiral staircase into the depths of the Vatican.

The atmosphere grew heavy with an ominous presence, pressing down on Ricky as they approached a vast cavern.

At its entrance stood a weeping woman carved into the stone, her expression haunting and with a slow, grating sound, the gate began to scratch open.

"That's not creepy at all," Ricky muttered under his breath, his eyes fixed on the gates creaking open before him.

The slow, deliberate movement made him feel a little foreboding, but he took a step forward regardless.

Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed Percival lingering behind, rooted in place, his face unreadable.

"Are you not coming?" Ricky asked, his voice tinged with confusion as he turned to face Percival who merely shook his head.

"The Cave of Regrets is the only trial I cannot help you in," Percival said, his tone solemn and unwavering.

Immediately upon hearing the words, Ricky stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowing in confusion as he turned to face him.

"The what?" Ricky stared at Percival, dumbfounded, his confusion deepening.

The weight of Percival's words hadn't fully sunk in, but the unease in his voice was undeniable.

"There are three trails; the cave of regrets, the approval of the past, and the dual of blood-"

"Wait, wait, wait, did you say this is the cave of regrets?" Ricky pointed at the completely void of darkness in front of him with a slightly foreboding feeling as Percival raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Ricky," Father Sebastian said anxiously, his voice barely steady while trying to gesture him in.

"This is the real Garden Tomb of Jesus Christ, the very place from which he transcended to Heaven." Father Sebastion continued his explanation, his eyes wide, pleading for Ricky to understand quickly.

"In it, Jesus was said to have confronted all his regrets, everything he endured on Earth, and accepted his past. Only then did he ascend." Father Sebastian finished speaking, his eyes searching Ricky's for some sign of understanding. But instead, Ricky took a slow step back, his hesitation clear.

"Listen, Descendant." Percival''s voice softened, trying to steady Ricky's nerves.

"This cave manifests all your regrets, everything you bury deep, and traps you inside until you come to terms with them. But if you're worried, only you will know what you see. No one else will witness it but you." Percival words, though meant to be reassuring, carried an undeniable weight, leaving Ricky completely in a panicked state.

"Whoa, why didn't anyone tell me about this?" Ricky said, his voice edged with disbelief.

The sheer number of regrets crowding Ricky's mind made the prospect of facing them feel insurmountable.

His entire past life and current had been a relentless effort to bury these regrets, shoving them into the deepest corners of his consciousness.

Percival raised an eyebrow from the side, a hint of curiosity in his gaze as he observed Ricky's reaction, perhaps pondering why this was such a shock.

"Ricky, it is the easiest of the three-"

"Child, there is no time, you must enter and exit within twenty-four hours, or you will be lost within its depths forever." Father Sebastian urged, his voice growing more insistent as he hurried him forward, but Ricky remained rooted to the spot.

"Wait so, what will I see? " Ricky asked Percival, clearly uncomfortable and seeking clarification, while Percival regarded him with an understanding expression.

"Everything you've truly regretted will be shown to you, and you must overcome it all." Percival said with a smile, his hand pointing forward but Ricky shook his head in disbelief, while Father Sebastian bit his lip.

"Nevermind, I'm not doing that-WHAT THE!" Ricky, in his efforts to suddenly stop whatever he would see, stopped paying attention for a split second, and in that moment, Father Sebastian pushed him into the encroaching darkness.

"YOU MOTHERF-"

*BAM*

The boulder slammed shut behind Ricky, and he was immediately plunged into darkness.

It felt as though he were plummeting off a cliff, the sensation of falling and descending deeper into the abyss overwhelming his senses as the oppressive blackness closed in around him, each moment stretching into an eternal void.

"May god be with you Child." Father Sebastion gave him a silent prayer, asking for forgiveness for his shrewdness not from Ricky, but God.

*Thump*

Ricky collided with the ground, his eyes snapping shut for a moment from the impact.

When he opened them again, he was met with a strangely familiar scene, as if he had been here before or was reliving a memory as the surroundings seemed to shift and breathe with an eerie, unsettling familiarity.

"Slick, are you okay?" Trevor tapped Ricky's cheek, his figure looming over him in a sharp dress suit, surrounded by a crowd of people.

Ricky looked around in confusion, trying to make sense of the scene unfolding before him, his bewildered gaze darting between Trevor and the unfamiliar faces surrounding him.

"What is-" Ricky let out a breathless sigh, at a complete loss, and turned to the side as there, in the reflection of a glass window, he saw his own image staring back at him that wasn't what he was used to.

"DADDY!" Jessica lunged at him, her face a mix of urgency and relief, while Ricky instinctively caught his daughter.

Sam, her now husband, stood nearby, patting Ricky's shoulder with an overwhelming smile that radiated gratitude for saving Jessica.

"Buddy, you're alright!" Dan flashed a toothy smile as he gazed at Ricky, who stood unscathed.

He dropped the bloodied driver to the ground, the one who was driving that car that barely missed him, with a relieved expression.

Ricky, still holding Jessica clinging and crying in his rented suit, pushed himself to his feet.

"What happened, what's happening?" Ricky asked, his voice tinged with disbelief, as he looked down and saw his old appearance.

He patted his body all over, as if trying to convince himself that it was truly him, the familiar contours and sensations stirring memories he had thought long forgotten.

"You don't remember?" Sam asked, a hint of surprise in his voice and Trevor let out a sigh, though his smile remained.

"That jerk over there almost hit Jessica, and you pushed her out of the way, saving her once again." Trevor said, his tone carrying a note of admiration for once as Ricky scratched his head, feeling a wave of confusion.

"I-this-but-" Ricky stumbled with his words, trying to make sense of it before regaining himself.

"Sweety, can you give me a second?" Ricky asked, and Jessica nodded, allowing him to step back.

As he took a good look around, he realized it wasn't the old New York he had grown accustomed to.

Instead, it was a skyline filled with towering skyscrapers, the bustling cityscape unmistakably marking the twenty-first century.

"But wasn't I-didn't I die?" Ricky was completely and utterly confused by the situation, trying to grasp at straws that always seemed to slip away in his mind.

He turned around to face his reflection, which revealed his old self, as if his next life had been nothing more than a dream.

He rubbed his head, struggling to piece together the fragments of reality and make sense of the surreal scene before him.

"I need a drink." Ricky let out a sigh and walked back into the venue, his mind reeling from the confusion as Trevor rolled his eyes.

"Of course you do." Trevor scoffed, watching as Ricky made his way through the anxious crowd and disappeared into the bar.

"Slick didn't I say you were cut off-" The bartender pointed at Ricky, putting away the bottle of bourbon as Ricky had a sudden thought.

*Inaudible mutter*

*DING*

*BAM*

Ricky muttered a word under his breath, and in an instant, he drove his fist into the bartender's face, sending him staggering backward.

Ricky leaned over the bar, his hand hovering inches from grabbing the bartender, but he clenched the edge tightly instead.

For a moment, he questioned his sanity, doubting the reality of his second chance at life as his knuckles turned white from the force with which he gripped the bar as he whispered a single, fateful word.

'Status.'

"F*cking hell, this isn't real."Ricky let out a curse under his breath, feeling both unnerved and oddly relieved.

The bartender, brushing himself off and chuckling, pulled himself to his feet and set a glass down beside Ricky.

"You are correct, this is not real." The bartender smiled, and in that moment, everything around Ricky seemed to freeze, isolating just the two of them.

The bustling bar fell silent, the world narrowing to the shared space between Ricky and the bartender.

"I am the manifestation of your regret for what could've been." The bartender said with a bright smile, nodding toward Ricky.

Ricky's expression grew wary, the weight of the bartender's words settling heavily on him as he tried to process the gravity of the revelation.

"What are you-"

"Slick, even though you're relieved to have a chance to start over, part of you still regrets leaving this world too soon." The bartender said, spreading his arms as Ricky glanced at the bottle in his hand, the bartender's words resonating with a troubling truth.

"I mean, your current life is a hundred times better than this one, yet a part of you remains regretful and trapped here. Isn't that something?" The bartender poured himself a glass of bourbon, the amber liquid catching the light as he took a measured sip.

"So, is there something I need to do in order to-" Ricky scoffed, gazing at his empty shot glass, proning for a complicated answer only to receive an interruption.

"No, the way to pass this part is to simply walk through that door." The bartender said, pointing behind him.

Ricky turned to see a red door standing alone in the middle of the bar, its presence oddly out of place amid the familiar surroundings.

"That's it." Ricky glanced back at him, raising an eyebrow at how straightforward it all seemed while the bartender took another sip of bourbon, unfazed.

"That's it." The bartender mused thoughtfully, causing Ricky to frown but still, he stood up and made his way to the door.

"That is, if you want to leave." The bartender smiled as everything around him slowly unfroze with Trevor walking into the scene.

*Sigh*

"It went wrong when everything was going so right. Why couldn't you let us be happy?" Cindy asked, clutching his hand and gazing deeply into his distressed eyes.

"Why couldn't you let yourself be happy-"

"This is stupid." Ricky scoffed, pushing himself away and standing up, pacing back and forth.

"Can't you just yell at me or throw your drink in my face? Seriously, I'm actually begging you," Ricky said in a desperate manner, placing his hands together in a pleading gesture.

"I knocked you up TWICE, and not only that, I slept with your mother and cousin. On a lighter note, I honestly think that little Geoffry might be my bastard, but I'm only 70% sure," Ricky said, trying to distract the gravity of the situation around him with humor.

But Cindy only shook her head, taking another sip, clearly unimpressed by his attempt to deflect away from the conversation.

"You did that after I pressed you about a ring, Ricky. Can't you simply admit that you did all those things because you were afraid of being happy?" Cindy continued to probe the scar on his heart, but Ricky just shook his head.

"When will you forgive yourself for what happened to Danielle-"

"Don't, do not finish that f*cking sentence," Ricky said, his eyes dangerous as he pointed at Cindy, who sighed.

"That is not why I ruined us-" Ricky began, trying to retort with more lies, but Cindy saw through his attempts.

"And here we are, back to the start." Cindy leaned back, Ricky plopping down and collapsing his head into his hands.

"Alright, you want the truth? I was afraid you'd be happier without me, constantly ruining your life. Okay?!" Ricky looked up, confessing why he left Cindy as she smiled at his words.

"I was a wreck when you found me, and I didn't want to keep hurting you, showing up late, waking up a baby Jessica, f*cking up Trevor's life with my crappy personality. I wanted you to smile when all I ever did was make you cry." Ricky let out his grievances, leaning back in the chair and grabbing the bottle of wine, taking a long swig.

Ricky finally confronted his lies and revealed to Cindy the real reason he left all those years ago, choosing to face the truth rather than taking the cowardly route that would have caused her so much pain that she'd be forced to break up with him first.

"If I wanted to drink f*cking water then I would've gotten a fresca from the fridge." Ricky gritted his teeth, frustrated that he couldn't drink away his feelings as he threw the bottle aside in exasperation, and Cindy chuckled as she stood up.

"Thank you, Ricky, for finally telling me how you really felt all those years ago." Cindy said with gratitude, plopping down on his lap and kissing his cheek tenderly.

Ricky caressed her back, still sulking while Cindy rested her head on his shoulder while they sat in a comfortable silence, cherishing each other's embrace.

"Can we-"

"I was waiting for you to ask," Cindy smiled seductively, her eyes twinkling with playful affection.

[Really short R18]

Ricky swept Cindy up in a princess carry, her laughter ringing joyfully through the air as he held her close.

The warmth of her body against his, their hearts beating in sync, created a tender connection between them.

As Ricky spun her around, Cindy's arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer as their laughter echoed toward the bedroom.

Their gazes locked, brimming with unspoken words of love and longing, before they tumbled onto the bed.

Their lips met in a passionate kiss, Ricky leaning down as Cindy cupped his face in her hands and gradually, they pulled away, their breaths mingling as they slowly drifted apart.

"God, you were one of a kind." Ricky smiled and kissed her palm, receiving a raised eyebrow in response.

"Were?" Cindy laughed, which only made Ricky laugh as well as he continued to kiss her palm, their joy and affection palpable.

"My bad, you still are one of a kind." Ricky chuckled as Cindy pulled him closer.

"That's better."

As Ricky and Cindy's lips met once more in a slow, passionate dance, their kisses deepened with each lingering touch.

Their laughter faded into a haze of desire, their bodies moving together as if they've danced this tango a million times before.

The bedroom around them became a sanctuary of whispered promises and heated gazes, the air thick with anticipation.

Ricky's hands traced the curves of Cindy's body, his touch igniting a trail of shivers along her skin.

She moaned softly into his mouth as he remembered the way she reacted to his touch, pulling him closer as they melted into each other's embrace.

Clothes were shed with a sense of urgency and reverence, each layer revealing more of their hunger and devotion.

"I've missed you, I still miss you." Ricky murmured between kisses, his voice husky.

"You're such a flirt." Cindy didn't buy it, and Ricky smiled widely at her disbelief, continuing to scatter tender kisses across her body.

Cindy's response was a wordless plea as she guided him onto her, their bodies entwined in a fervent embrace.

"Ha~" Cindy let out a refreshed sigh as she felt Ricky slip into her pussy, the very same that had given him two beautiful children.

Ricky felt lost in Cindy, who was both his first love and the last person he ever wanted to hurt.

This deep affection made him especially gentle with her as Cindy smiled, taking his hand and pressing it against her cheek as he moved slowly inside her.

"Ah~" Cindy moaned softly, and Ricky bit his lip, reflecting on how foolish he had been to let someone as special as her slip away.

"Ricky~" Cindy moaned, closing her eyes and losing herself to the sensation.

Ricky couldn't resist the urge to pull Cindy closer, his heart pounding with a blend of desire and relief.

Her moans were music to his ears, each breathy utterance driving him deeper into her being.

"Cindy~" Ricky whispered her name like a prayer, his movements becoming more urgent yet still tender.

He kissed her deeply, his lips seeking reassurance in the heat of their embrace while Cindy's fingers traced along his back, nails gently grazing his skin as she surrendered completely to the intoxicating pleasure of their union.

In that moment, nothing existed beyond the touch and connection they shared, a bond strengthened by years of love and longing.

Ricky cherished every sigh, every whimper that escaped Cindy's lips, knowing that this, here and now, was where he belonged yet knowing that he could never really stay.

"You always knew how to make my body bend to you~" Cindy whispered sweet words into his ear that made his spine tingle.

"You always did this, always revving me up on purpose." Ricky chuckled, kissing her tempting lips with that sleazy smile he always adorned.

Cindy's soft moans echoed in the room, mingling with the sound of their rapid breaths and the gentle rustling of sheets.

Ricky, overwhelmed by the depth of his emotions, caressed her cheek, tracing the contours of her face as if memorizing every detail.

In that intimate space, time seemed to slow down, allowing them to savor the intensity of their connection.

They moved together, bodies moving in perfect harmony, their union a celebration of their shared history and the unspoken promises of their future.

Cindy nestled closer, her fingers entwined with his, knowing that in Ricky's embrace, she had found her home while whispering a moan into his ear.

"I'm cumming Ricky~" Cindy seductively whispered, kissing his ear afterwards while closing her eyes while letting herself be taken by Ricky's being.

Ricky held onto Cindy tightly, thrusting gently but with enough force for them to truly feel each other's pleasure.

His cock feeling at home within Cindy, throbbing while her wall's twitched violently until Ricky let out one thrust.

As they both reached their climaxes, they embraced tightly, feeling the full force of each other's love and connection.

[End of really short R18]

*HUFF*

*HUFF*

*HUFF*

Lying on the bed with Cindy held tightly in his arms, they stared at the ceiling as he rubbed her shoulder slowly and gently.

"What now?" Ricky turned to Cindy, who rested her head on his chest, their bodies intertwined in a comfortable embrace.

"Now, it's time to say goodbye." Cindy looked up with a teary gaze as Ricky hesitated, unsure if he could walk away from her at this moment.

"Can't I stay-"

"You can, but you know I wouldn't want that for you." Cindy caressed his chest gently as Ricky laid his head on the pillow as he turned his gaze to the side, noticing a door nearby.

"I'm sorry for ruin-"

"You didn't ruin my life Ricky, I chose to be with you." Cindy kissed his cheek and gave him a warm, reassuring smile.

"But not everything works out the way we want it to, and that's why you could never let go." Cindy said, patting his chest as she stood up, throwing his clothes at him.

"Now get out of here." Cindy playfully teased as Ricky sighed but reluctantly put on his clothes.

Standing up, he glanced back one last time to see Cindy waving goodbye as he gave her a final smile before stepping through the door.

*THUMP*

A familiar room appeared before his eyes, causing his pupils to shake violently, as if in an earthquake while his breath began to come in rapid, shallow gasps.

"No, no, no-"

"Ricky, will you read me a bedtime story?" A little girl's voice asked cutely from behind Ricky, causing him to suddenly go pale at her mere voice.

"Ricky?" The girl called out in confusion, but Ricky refused to turn around, covering his ears and scrunching into a ball.

"Ricky, I know you can hear me." The girl called out, gently tapping his shoulder, but Ricky's breathing began to quicken.

Ricky's chest tightened, each breath coming in short gasps as his heart hammered in his chest, its rhythm erratic and loud in his ears.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as his vision blurred and his hands trembled uncontrollably.

He felt trapped, overwhelmed by a sense of impending doom, as if the walls were closing in around him.

Panic surged through him, a wave of fear and helplessness that threatened to drown him as he closed his eyes, trying to calm himself, but the panic only seemed to intensify.

Ricky muttered, shutting his eyes tightly and pressing his palms against his ears to block out the noise but despite his efforts, the words still trickled through.

"Will you read me a bedtime story, please Ricky-"

"NO!" Ricky yelled as he opened his eyes, facing the unsettling sight of a young girl who eerily resembled Sofia.

"Not today Danielle, I have plans." Behind Ricky stood his younger self, a teenage version of him shaking his head with an annoyed expression.

"I quit."

Author's Note: The status is really big and I saw the commetns so I just made an auxillary Chapter m