Capítulo 71: Conjecture
"You should have told me everything."
Aldric spoke in a sombre voice.
Pupils dilating at the comment, Cassie was ready to respond defensively until she paused. Taking a moment to collect her errant thoughts, she didn't have anything to say to refute the statement.
She was playing it too safe.
How could she have withheld so much information from someone that she was counting on?
Utilising her now stronger dormant ability after awakening, she viewed the aspect ability and rank of Aldric.
'Divine.'
A bitter chuckle left her mouth.
'He truly was the only one able to get between those two.'
Having just seen Sunny's aspect rank as well as believing that Nephis could not have one any lower than Sunny, she truly made the wrong call.
Deep down, she knew it. It was because she had doubted everything that [Destined] meant.
Many thoughts came to her mind. The same thoughts that explained her decision to withhold the details from Aldric.
'If he truly could change fate, shouldn't I have already seen a changed future the first time that night?'
'Why did the vision not change as we met?'
'Why could I not see him in my visions?'
Thoughts were racing through her mind. However, there was a much larger reason as to why she did not tell Aldric exactly what she foresaw.
'I made a mistake by telling Nephis and Sunny. Perhaps by revealing it, did I speak it into existence.'
She did not want to ruin her second chance by telling him everything. What if he made things worse or ended up setting the scene for it to happen?
But she was wrong.
With all these thoughts rushing through her mind, this thought battered her psyche. Like a beam of light, destroying any other thought.
"I was wrong."
The girl whispered in her voice. As if she were confessing a sin.
She had made the wrong gamble.
Cassie had assumed that the fact that she did not have visions of a changed future meant that Aldric's attribute did not act in the way that she thought it would have. Causing her to lose the belief that he could really change anything, thus not trusting him with the full picture.
All her prior visions were vague enough to not include the changes that Aldric's presence had caused. During the war over the castle, she foresaw how Gunlaug would be defeated; however, she did not know exactly how many people would have survived without the interference of Aldric. With her vision of the siege being similar in that regard.
Her visions were not detailed enough to see these changes.
But this spoke of her ignorance.
It was the orb of darkness that manifested into a nightmare creature at the entrance of the spire that revealed her mistake.
While she had seen the Crimson Terror in her initial vision, that nightmare creature was a complete anomaly.
That nightmare creature was the sign of fate intervening in the presence of Aldric. Holding him back long enough to not interfere with what was preordained.
An anomaly made to battle another anomaly.
If she had just told him about the true details surrounding the battle between Nephis and Sunny, the hunter would not have been so eager to hold the creature back alone. With the assistance of everyone, Aldric would have been in the position to interfere and alter the conclusion of the battle between light and shadow.
'I was arrogant.'
She thought with feelings of self-loathing.
Cassie recognised this as a product of her arrogance. Her arrogance in believing that her powers over fate gave her more knowledge than it did. Causing her to draw conclusions that she shouldn't have.
Believing that she could manipulate her friend into acting in her interest without telling him all the details.
Upon reaching this epiphany, all the noise had drowned out from her head. Looking at the young man in front of her with a look of regret, obsession, and something else, she collapsed into him. Crying as she uttered words of apology.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, Nephis."
"I'm sorry, Sunny."
Enveloping the young woman in his much larger frame, Aldric became the pillar that she could rely on. The warmth of his body welcomed her, and his steady heartbeat calmed her chaotic state. When her friend had deserted her in justified hatred and as the other remained lifeless to the world. Only he was here.
They stood there for a long moment as Cassie let out all her emotions. Her breathing slowly calmed to a slower rate.
Aldric assessed her, finding that he could continue the conversation.
Looking down at the small figure, he asked the exhausted girl a question.
"So what will you do next?"
He spoke. Purposefully shifting the conversation.
The question seemed to jolt the young girl from her current mood. With her eyes gaining some clarity at the question, she answered.
"Nephis..."
The girl spoke as she looked down to the ground.
It seemed as if she was collecting her resolve after her pitiful display. This was after Aldric successfully steered the conversation away from her negative thoughts towards what she could do in the future.
With a firm expression of resolve on her face, she spoke.
"I will save her."
"No matter what it takes."
Declaring her intentions to the world.
With his eyes locked onto her. Aldric spoke out.
"Keep me in the loop this time. No more omissions."
"Promise?"
Extending his pinky finger into the air in a gesture of promise and trust.
Surprisingly, the blind girl did not miss the gesture and perfectly replied as if she could truly see what was going on in front of her.
"I promise."
Cassie's voice spoke out in the room.
In all her analysis and conclusions, her self-doubts and failures, the seer did not once fathom whether the reason that her vision stayed the same was because Aldric simply willed it to be.
----------
As Aldric walked through the hallway, it was time to speak to the government surrounding his next move.
It had been over 15 hours since he had returned from the dream realm. Which was more than enough time for the government to collate and build an account of what had happened.
It seemed that a common consensus among the dreamer army was that Aldric was the strongest sleeper amongst them behind Nephis. Thus, the most valuable awakened to all the factions that wanted to bring in the individuals that made it out of an uninhabited corner of the dream realm.
Second only to Nephis. The martyr of the dreamer army. The one that, with all their hearts, people believed would have a second coming.
Between the legacy clans, it was like global power houses fighting over a newly discovered resource. It was first come, first serve.
And it seemed that the government had an advantage.
While they could not offer anything to those that already had an affiliation with a legacy clan, certain people, such as Aldric, had no such relations. Given his profile as an orphan in the care of the state, it was obvious that he had no connections.
So he was ready for the taking.
Which was why he was on his way to an interview with someone important from the government. Who exactly, he did not know.
Walking through a long corridor, it seemed as if the shadows around him deepened and grew.
A small figure turned the corner facing him. With onyx black hair and eyes as well as skin so pale that he looked like he was anaemic. A young man came into view.
While not the most attractive of awakened, his aura and eyes captivated anyone that looked. Not with a look of beauty but with an air of mystery and death.
The young man spoke.
"So you made it out."
**********
Thanks for reading.
Anyone watched Arcane season 2? PEAK. I'm crying fr.
I hope all the ideas that were expressed in the first part of the chapter made sense. It was tough to write without butchering Cassie's character.
Dao_of_bonks: I enjoyed it. I liked all the new memories that the author wrote in. Would recommend.
Aadi_raj: "similar to how Cassie couldn't see herself more than a helper of nephis."- Well said.
Hope y'all liked it, Till next time.
-
Capítulo 72: Saint
Sunny's POV
"You made it out."
Sunny spoke in a calm voice. Without any hidden tones.
However, his voice was not as calm as his turbulent mind.
Sunny had still not come to grips with the utter betrayal at the hands of Cassie. With the revelation of his shadow bond with Nephis, he had learned the truth behind the source of her overpowering prowess.
However, what had completely shattered was the future of anything that Sunny and Nephis could have built. It was obvious to Sunny that their dynamic would never be the same.
The shadow analysed the young man in front of him.
It was strange.
In the same way that shadows emanated from his newly awakened body due to his lack of control, it seemed that Aldric did not struggle as much as he did.
That was not to say that the hunter's darkness was not obvious to him.
A feeling of emptiness and cold was concentrated around his figure. Even in his distance away from the man, he could feel the subtle effects of his aspect being inhibited.
But that was the least of his worries.
"It's good to see you, Sunny."
A small smile spread on the caramel-skinned awakened, happy to see his friend in the waking world.
Sunny was struggling.
Struggling to figure out whether Aldric had known about what was going to happen.
With the mystery surrounding the younger man, there were many things that made him question Aldric.
His overbearing strength.
The way that he had never seen Aldric absorb essence from a soul shard.
The ball of divinity concentrated near his chest. Not spread through his body in the same way as Nephis.
There were many things that didn't make sense. With more than enough ambiguity to make Sunny question whether Aldric knew.
Logically, he shouldn't. In the same vein that he wouldn't suspect Effie or Kai to know about his secret.
But there was a singular itch at the back of his mind, trying to tell him something.
Ignoring the feeling, he spoke.
"How was your battle with that thing?"
Asking the question seriously. It was something that he had been wondering about ever since he had returned. It was not usual for someone else to cover his back as he ran away to safety.
"It was strong. But me and Bael sorted it out."
Aldric responded. With a voice of casual conversation.
'What is he talking about? The feeling that thing gave off, it had to be a Fallen-ranked creature with a high class.'
Continuing the question, Sunny asked.
"What rank was it?"
Sunny's lips formed a hard line as he readied himself for the answer. He could already feel that it was going to be something ridiculous.
"It was a Fallen Terror. With it's birth, the creature was a lot weaker than it should have been."
Aldric responded.
The response sounded familiar to Sunny. Ironically, it was similar to how Nephis spoke of defeating the Crimson Terror. With the creature being vulnerable in the moment before it evolved into a titan.
'He defeated a Fallen Terror just like Nephis did. He really is the only one in her league.'
Feelings of inadequacies filled Sunny's mind for a moment. With the revelation of Nephis' having a divine aspect like himself, it answered the question behind her strength.
A sudden thought came to mind.
'Did Aldric also have a divine aspect?'
Sunny connected the loose threads of ideas to form a conclusion.
It made sense and answered many questions.
This increased Sunny's opinion of Aldric. Vowing to keep an eye on the younger man.
After all, Sunny knew that anyone with a divine aspect had the capabilities to change the world, or at least have the ambition to. Nephis was proof of that.
There was a final question to ask Aldric that was on the back of his mind.
'How did he make it back? How did I miss him entering the gateway?'
'Did he leave after my battle with Nephis began?'
Had he known that Aldric was still in the spire after the death of Caster, then Nephis would not have had to make that decision.
However, he couldn't simply ask it.
'Hey Aldric! When did you leave for the gateway after holding back a Fallen Terror for us? Because if you did after I killed Caster, then I would have saved Nephis and left you in the Forgotten Shore.'
The sombre thought made him realise that choosing between friends wasn't really that hard.
'Is this what you felt, Cassie?'
Sunny threw the thought away as a familiar burn of anger built up in his stomach. Too hot to consider having an ounce of empathy for Cassie's position.
Luckily, Aldric asked a question that drove his focus away from his errant thoughts.
"So what do you plan to do after this?"
Sunny did not take a moment to think about his response. With his flaw, he had assessed that the information he was going to give was not detrimental to him in a split second.
"Honestly, I'm going to be an independent. Legacy clans aren't really my thing."
Sunny responded.
With a small snort, Aldric responded.
"Yeah, that really suits you."
Aldric began to step away from him, speaking as he walked.
"I'll talk to you later. I have an interview."
With that, he turned the corner, leaving Sunny alone in the dark hallway.
----------
After leaving the building that housed all the sleeping pods, Aldric made his way to the entrance of the government headquarters.
He was escorted by a woman wearing a black suit, in typical governmental fashion. However, this woman was a Master. He could tell.
It made him think of exactly who he was going to meet.
The young woman led him deeper into the main building where the government based their operations. The Academy City had a multitude of structures outside of the one that held him for the past year.
They were now walking down a long corridor that was devoid of any doors or rooms. Only leading to a door than stretched from the ceiling to the ground.
With a knock, the young woman opened the door and led him inside.
Immediately, bright lights enveloped him. This was not something that weakened Aldric to any degree. It was only essence-powered light that could inhibit him depending on its strength.
A massive open space that looked like a war room opened to Aldric. With a large round table in the centre. Behind the table was a smaller ring of circular tables that surrounded the centre. In the back and on the walls, military-grade technology displayed all sorts of numbers, graphs, and maps that Aldric was unfamiliar with.
However, this was all secondary.
A figure stood alone by the central round table.
There was some kind of force projecting from the person. It felt as if the figure was one with the world. Projecting their being onto the world and being welcomed in return.
Aldric could feel it through the air. Every inch of his skin felt vibrations just from the presence of the person. In a physical sense but also in the metaphysical.
He could not feel an ounce of essence from the figure, unlike the small amount released from the Master beside him unconsciously. Showing just how much control they had over their soul essence.
'So this is what a Saint is.'
Aldric thought in amazement.
The figure spoke out.
"So you are the one they call Singularity."
A tall, robust man in his mid-fifties came into view. With sharp features and a head of pitch black hair that looked amiss on such an old person. A piercing gaze and a sharp demeanour met Aldric.
"My name is Saint Cor. Otherwise known as Wake of Ruin."
The man who represented the current peak of humanity spoke out. The champion of the government and one of it's only Saints.
"You know why I am here today."
He spoke in a voice devoid of nonsense.
It was time to get into business.
*********
Thanks for reading.
Going to start using POV's. Assume that when not stated, it will be Aldric or just a general third person POV given the context. Let me know if this is a good idea.
A reminder that Aldric is a few months younger than Sunny. So he is still 17 about to turn 18 in a few months.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Till the next one.
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