Chapter 31: Athanasia P6
~31.6~
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"Not exactly a planet?"
Kye smiled apologetically, but didn't explain. Instead, she created a portal and led the small group through. On the other side was an ornate white stone city that stretched as far as the eye could see. In the distance stood a gargantuan pillar, more to either side that formed a massive circle.
"Incredible. It really is a different place." She bent down and place a hand on the ground. "It's ominous. The power flowing beneath is incredible."
She can sense that? She truly is extraordinary.
Kye smiled at the princess. "Yes. This is where I traveled from, some ten million years from now."
Athanasia looked at her in utter shock. "Did you just say ten million years?"
"... Yeah."
The princess didn't know what to say.
"That's why it's going to take a hundred years to go back." Kye looked down at her clenched hand. "It will take me that long to supply the necessary mana to transport us to my era. Perhaps I could use Foundation Mana again, but I would have to get approval from the governors all over again, and in this era... it would just cause problems for my present time. It's best to just tough it out this time. Sorry for the long wait this is going to be."
"We can cut the time down with all of us contributing," Alethea said.
"A bit, yeah," Sanae added with a shrug.
Athanasia chuckled as she looked out at the city. They were standing atop the observatory that Kye had taken her class to before. "I was right to have faith in you."
Kye shook her head as she stepped toward the edge. "Thank you, but please... it's a bit embarrassing."
"I see. Then I won't say it, but I will continue believing it. Thank you for saving us." She joined Kye at the edge and leaned on the railing. "What now? A hundred years seems like a long time to me. I know my lifespan is much longer than that, but I'm twenty-eight now."
"It'll go by quicker than you think. The older you get, the more warped your perception of time becomes." Kye removed the aethersteel bracelet from her right arm and held it out for Athanasia. "Especially since we'll be training most of the time."
"Huh?"
Kye ran a bit of mana through the bracelet and transformed it into a sword. "One hundred years is a good bit of time to improve."
Athanasia reluctantly took the blade. "If you mean to teach me, I will learn."
Kye smirked. "Imagine the look on everyone's faces when we show up slightly later than your brothers, and we're all much stronger than before. Heh." She sighed, not wanting to think about the negatives. "I don't relish the idea of being away from everyone for a hundred years, but we should make the most of it. The reunion will be all the sweeter for us." Then a thought crossed her mind, and she grimaced.
"What's the matter?"
Kye fake smiled and looked at Alethea. "Our wives are going to be pissed when we get back. We were already outpacing them, but we're about to get a hundred years of growth ahead of them. Heh. Hehehehe..." Alethea smiled apologetically.
"Wives? Plural?" Athanasia asked.
Kye didn't answer. She was too busy thinking about what they would do.
Uh oh...
*****
Atalante fell to her knees when her sons stepped through the portal. "Arte! Alex!" Astraia gasped, and Astarte looked on with wide eyes. The retainers that were with them came through the portal, too, and one immediately curtsied and explained what had happened.
"What?" Atalante said, now on her feet. Her sons were clinging to her, each having been frightened by the disaster. "Athy stayed?"
Immediately, Joey, Rei, Alethea, Sanae, Liliana, and Aliana bolted through the portal. Rei and Alethea carried Sora and Kaede in weapon form with them.
"Huh?" Astarte jumped toward the portal as well, but it abruptly closed. "No!" She turned to Kaylie and gave the redhead an angry glare.
"Don't look at me," she replied. "The portal ran out of mana, and everyone here combined cannot supply enough to maintain it for even a second." She shook her head.
"Gaia, look at me," Astraia said as she walked up to her green-haired sister. "Athanasia is with Kye and now Alethea as well. They will-" She was interrupted by the very thing she was trying to explain.
Another portal opened, and through it came Kye, Alethea, Athanasia, and the others, their hair longer and their physiques more muscular. They were more like the older royals than the younger ones. At a glance, one could tell the difference between the older and younger generations. The younger generation had slim physiques with little muscle definition showing. The older royals were also slim, but lean.
"Athy!" Atalante ran up to her daughter and pulled the blonde into an embrace. "Athy!"
Athanasia smiled and wrapped her arms around her mother. "Hello, mother. I've missed you." Atalante cried, and the boys joined in on the embrace. "Though I believe you've gone much longer without me than I have without you. One hundred years is hardly comparable to ten million years."
Atalante pulled back and looked her daughter straight in the eyes. "No. It does not matter. It only matters that we're all together again." She pulled away and glanced at Alethea. "Though I suppose you've already met now?"
"Yes, Alethea and I have had a lot of time together, and we're very close." She glanced over at Alethea, who was approaching her little brothers. "However..."
Alethea curtsied and greeted them. "I greet Alexandros and Artemios Atlantis. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Alethea Atlantis, adopted daughter of-"
The two boys rushed forward and hugged Alethea. "Sister!" They were overjoyed.
"Heh," Athanasia said. "I figured they'd just instinctively know."
"Well, you knew right away, too," Alethea said warmly. "You just played things as if you didn't until we talked." She smiled and hugged her brothers. "Hello, brothers. I'm your little... big... I don't know. I'm your sister! I'm glad you're safe, Alexandros, Artemios."
"Alex!" said the thirteen-year-old.
"Arte!" said the twelve-year-old.
"We have to come up with a nickname for our adopted sister, Arte."
"Yeah, we'll come up with a good one."
Alethea smiled reluctantly, and Athanasia noticed. "Now, Arte, Alex, you should get to know her first."
"But, Athy, you've only known her for a couple minutes yourself!"
The blonde shook her head. "No, I've had a hundred years to get to know her. And she already has a nickname like ours!"
""Sister, what's your nickname?!" the boys asked with stars in their eyes.
"Call me Aya," she said, patting both of their heads.
"Yay, I can't wait to get to know Aya better!" said Artemios.
"Yeah! We're gonna have a lot of fun!" said Alexandros.
"That's right," Athanasia said. "We'll have plenty of sibling time together. We're all safe now."
*****
Revision: 2024-10-1