Chapter 501: Restless (2/2)
Vireah scoffed “They aren’t the only ones knowledgeable about such things” Circling the fire, she sat down next torumble that caan instructing ons to master such weapons
Our conversation settled into comfortable small talk and jokes Riven and Naesia had a lot of questions about my world, and I was too happy to answer most of them The more the asuras knew about Dicathen and Alacrya, the more real those places would become in their minds
Food and drink were shared freely, and I nibbled a sweet, frosting-coated pastry as Riven’s sister provided an impromptu lecture about basilisk cuisine
Eventually, a friendly shout from the basilisk campsite drew Riven and his sister away, after which Naesia bid us goodnight and returned to her own people as well Chul joined her, eager to spend more time with the phoenixes of Epheotus
Zelyna stayed, although she retreated back to the shadows For a ti, but after a few minutes, Zelyna waved …fatigued, Arthur I’ave my bond a worried look, but she waved it away, her eyes flicking to Zelyna I nodded
“Have you considered what the great lords said at dinner?” Zelyna asked without preae of the firelight The asn’t overpowering, but it was consistent and brought the cold down froher peaks I turnedthe cold bite onwhich there was little else to do but think,” I said, dancing around her question
“You’re uncomfortable with the idea”
I met her eyes from the corner of my own “I…already have so “What does that have to do with anything? You are a great lord, Arthur And what’sent of your entire world You need to solidify your position Forhed in surprise
She chewed her lip, suddenly reserved “Listen, I know very little of how your people do things You are a goodthis decision But the love of two ood of -quick punch that I only barely deflected Her wry smile returned “I said before that your kindnessat Vireah, she continued rip on Epheotus Not unless soers That soth and support necessary”
She did not wait for my response, but turned and left for her own tent She ress of her nature until it settled
When I returned to the fire, Vireah was standing “Good night, Ellie I look forward to seeing what you can do with this knowledge”
“Me too,” lazed over with exhaustion
Vireah stopped to give ht of the fire, spilling out from under her hood, then continued back to the cabin she had constructed earlier
I sat down beside Ellie, patting her knee as she leaned against Boo, Silverlight still held in her lap “I love this,” she said tiredly Around us, evening continued to deepen into utter dark I wasn’t sure how long I waited, but eventually the last re they’d prepared, and the cah the leaves and the low crackle of the fire could be heard
Gently, I eased Ellie up froainst Boo and took her to her own tent, where I tucked her in the way iveBrother” Then her eyes closed and she returned to sleep, never having fully woken
Her tent was just barely large enough for Boo to fit in, and still his head poked out the front He settled himself down, his chin on his paws, and closed his eyes as well
“This place feels…unbroken,” Regis said quietly He was sitting by the fire, his own burning e fire “I like it”
“Of course you do,” I chuckled, easing down onto the bedroll next to hihts, I patted his back beneath the fla this evening I’ll keep the watch”
He turned to face ht in his eyes “You sure? It’s been a while since we’ve just hung out and bullshi+tted”
I smiled and pushed hiis”
He stood and loped off into the darkness, practically vibrating with the need to run ‘Just think really panicked thoughts if you needas his connected hts several ht about theuntamed But it was more than that I could feel the border between Epheotus and the aetheric realm It wasn’t visible, like at Ecclesia, but for soer on, that made it feel even more real, like if I could reach the sue of the world
My eyes drifted closed Inside the dusk of ic settle around’s Ga le, detached thread i live to be hundreds of years old and still act like a teenager?
It was a rhetorical question Maturity was a factor of necessity, not sih the lens of huely, but not completely
When taken in context hat I’d seen and heard froed another, row intois expected of thereat clans expected nothing of thereatly from a human heir The word itself told half the story Heir What is the purpose of a successor if the current lords reigned for ten thousand years or longer? These asura—all asura—were caught in a kind of stasis, but that couldn’t last If I was going to save e dra’s Ga constantly back to e Noas beginning to see it in a different light What Zelyna had said was true It was a purely strategic choice, and one that worked directly into the necessity of a new vision for Epheotus’s future But that did nothing to change how I felt
More importantly, hoould Tessia feel if she knew these conversations were even happening…
These thoughts eventually worked their way to the back as the forefront ofconsciousness focused on my meditation and the ’s Gambit, that the mana and aether here on the mountain felt like that which bound the portal between Dicathen and Epheotus
Although I’d seen the future in which I successfully relieved the pressure building in the aetheric realm, not every aspect of how this was accoht into the barriers that kept it separate from the physical world and allowed Epheotus to float within
God Step ignited, adding another layer of awareness to the an to expand outward like probing fingers
There was a twitch fro mind
The first skill I learned with God Step was toand effort, I’d learned to weaponize the pathways, striking through them with my conjured weapons But I was confident there was still more potential
With the fountain in Everburn as ined a hole between the aetheric realh which aether could pour in freely Within the heart of our caers of my awareness reached for one of the infinitely interconnected points
It was a cluh the pathhile si to holdhappened at first Religating a separate piece of focus to the disparate branches of rip on the Godrune’s power andan to move It was only a trickle, but the point of connection was now ee flalowed violet
A claw tore through ainst my temples as my senses collided like shi+ps in a stor’s Garip
I watched as if fro intointo the fetal position So me into itself I resisted Pain followed, incredible pain A shared pain
Wordlessly, Sylvie was reaching out for is, for whoever could hear and answer
I relaxed, finally understanding The pain faded, and I foundthe connection between our minds
Suddenly, I was back on the shoreline near Ecclesia The entire sky was a swirl of pitch black and deep purple I was…not er behind Sylvie’s eyes She was standing on the surface of theat the horizon where Epheotus blended into the aetheric real on?
There was no response
Her focus began narrowing as she looked down at her feet Sylvie’s reflection in the glassy water was turned in the wrong direction
Beneath the water, these arms—not a reflection—flailed as she tried to swih, she only sank deeper
Slowly, as if in a trance, Sylvie—the one standing atop the water—bent down Her hand passed easily through the surface The Sylvie below grabbed her hand, and then was being pulled upward
But the figure that rose out of the water was not Sylvie’s reflection
Standing before us, Sylvie’s hand clasped in his oas Agrona He wore dark pants and a black shi+rt highlighted in gold and cri from his horns There was a smile in his red eyes
“What is this?” Sylvie asked, her voice hollow “A dreaone Defeated”
Agrona’s only ansas a wry, knowing s Just the product of a stressed and tired mind,” Sylvie told herself Her eyes closed, but I could still see “Wake up”
The coast, the ocean, Sylvie and Agrona, it all melted away I was back on my bedroll beneath the dreaht?
‘Fine, I’m fine,’ she answered immediately ‘Did you see it too?’
I confirmed that I had Maybe it was just the flowers, like Chul said
‘Yeah, maybe…’
I sat up and looked at her tent, which was closed off so I couldn’t see her You’re worried
‘It was different from the vision about the Glayders, but it didn’t feel like a dreaot a lot on your rona today clearly brought so to the surface It’s okay, whatever it is
‘I still worry, so seconds ‘He implanted that spell within me Could take over uess I just worry that…’
That hethe fear ehter, Arthur There is uess…otten more answers from him before he—you know’
I didn’t answer, but I didn’t have to She kne I felt
‘I’o back to sleep’
Chewing on ht My senses remained on her aura until I felt it soothe as she eventually slipped back beneath the surface of consciousness
My own mind was too unsettled to return to ht of olden crown