Ep 150. I’m Sure We’ll Meet Again. (4)
Some time ter, Aymeia’s closed eyes began to twitch; the girl winced in pain as she came to, opening her eyes rather abruptly.
And, much to her own dismay, she found herself alone and freezing within what seemed like a wooden cage. Just outside the cage was Light, sitting on the ground with her back against the wooden bars.
Hearing Aymeia stir, Light turned her head to face the former deity, waving a shreeting.
“Hey. You’re awake.”
“What happened? Why am I in a…”
Squinting in disbelief, Aymeia quickly made her way over towards the half. She gripped the wooden bars keeping her within, as if to make sure that they were real.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
“One of the warriors started questioning if you’re really Aymeia or not while you were passed out. No one could really prove it, so…he put you ihat cage.”
“An Asardan doubted who I am? Who?”
Just as Light was about to ahe fused former deity, Orkaan stepped into view, croug downwards to meet Aymeia’s eye level. His enormous figure nearly rivalled that of the entire cage.
After a few seds of observation, the warrior’s rumbling voice addressed Aymeia’s question.
“That would be me.”
“…You’re the one who put me in here? Why?”
“A strange question. I was told that you were allied with the monster responsible for this chaos. Had it not been for the white one’s request, your head would have long joined our firewood.”
“I was...only trying to mediate things. I’d never harm my own people.”
“We are not your people. You are but an outsider to us.”
“…”
Grittieeth, Aymeia gripped the bars that caged her. She summoned her strength to burn down the cage’s wooden make to prove her identity to the warrior before her.
Unfortunately, not a single spark arose from her palms.
Orkaan mused as Aymeia seemingly struggled in vain to break out of her cage.
“Is aught amiss? I was told you were Aymeia.”
“I, I am! I don’t know what’s going ht now, but I’m-”
“I’d thought Urgus had outgrown his fantasies. But I see he’s still just a child.”
A rumbling chuckle from Orkaan interrupted Aymeia’s protests. The warrior then pushed his hand iween the wooden bars, flig his fi the prisoner’s forehead to seumbling backwards.
Even when Aymeia rubbed her forehead with a despising gre, the warrior showed no sign of remorse.
“The guardiaence is but a legend. Asarda has seey of pretenders like you.”
“…I’m not a pretender.”
“Hmph. A revolting thought, that.”
“What?”
firming the disappointing, expected oute, Orkaan rose to stand firm once more. He turo leave Aymeia be, giving a final gre at the imprisoned guardian.
“Imaginary as she may be, I would rather our people’s faith rest in a righteous, benevoley: the infallible Star of Asarda. Not some puny ss helpless within a cage of wood.”
“…”
Aymeia couldn’t say anything back at the leaving warrior. She instead bit her lips, once again gripping at the wooden bars, but to no avail.
Seeing the frustration on the former deity, Light cautiously tapped the cage to gaitention, pointing at her own head.
“Um, in case you didn’t realize…”
“…? Realize what?”
“You’re…normal now.”
“Normal?”
Only then did Aymeia finally take the time to run her hands through her head. When she began to examine herself, it didn’t take long for her tnize all the ges.
Her horns were no lohere; her e hair had lost their color auro the bck that she’d been born with; she could no longer summon her fmes, and she could no longer recall a single memory of Vulka’s.
But, most notably…
‘It’s…cold…’
In all fairness, Aymeia was wearing only a single grey cloak Light had put on her. Her own clothes had been long burnt by her own fmes.
But for the st thousand years, the former deity had lived her life having fotten what it was like to be cold. Even the worst Asardan winters couldn’t make Aymeia shiver.
That is, until today.
? ? ?
After leaving Light and Aymeia, Orkaan trudged his way through the surviving inhabitants of Chell.
Everyone was busy with rec what they could from their broken homes. The fires had at least been put out, but there were still tless huts to rebuild, and tless bodies to recover.
And amongst Chell’s inhabitants eculiar purple-haired individual, wordlessly helping the people effort with nary a pint.
“Lizar…dragon.”
“…”
Ilias didn’t return an immediate respohe youngling instead lifted another burnt wooden beam off the ground, cheg for any valuables or survivors underh.
Finding nothing, the beam dropped back down to the ground before she’d finally turn to face Orkaan.
“What is it?”
“The ss has awoken.”
“…So?”
“Why, I thought you might want to know. It souo me you were quite i on turnio firewood.”
“…”
When Ilias first learhat Aymeia was responsible for Raizel’s state, the red dragon had made an immediate attempt to return the favor.
Of course, her attempt amouo nothing as Serenis prevented her from harming Aymeia.
“…I ’t. Not until Lord Serenis is back.”
“That’s the white one, yes? Where has she goly?”
“She told me she o be aloh Raizel.”
Ever since Serenis had sent everyone away, Ilias had busied herself with helping Chell’s inhabitants.
She o do something – even if they were just menial tasks. Without anything to do, she felt as if her fear and ay would drive her insane each sed.
‘I’m worried about nothing. I’m sure I’m worried about nothing…Raizel will be fine. She always was. Lord Serenis will find a way.’
“…”
Uo uand the full extent of the rambling that was going on ihe youngling’s head, Orkaan loudly cleared his throat, awkwardly turning to a nearby rubble.
“Now then…with Urgus asleep, I suppose I should pick up his sck…”
Soon enough, Ilias would likewise resume her efforts in silence.
Though, the youngling’s mind still ed with incessant thoughts of Raizel’s state.
Truthfully, she didn’t get along with Raizel as well as she did with Light – but the steel dragon far surpassed Light in terms of time. After all, Raizel had been with her sihe day Ilias had hatched.
They’d argued often, they’d fought often, and more often than not, they were scolded together for it. They’d spent time away from each other then and there, but as far as Ilias was ed, they basically grew up together.
And in that time, Ilias had e to think that the two of them would never fay real danger. Being the twest individuals of a nigh-invincible race, her sense of danger had long grown dull; thinking back, Ilias had been ughing about their crazy trips with Serenis when, realistically, she should’ve been growing worried.
‘…It’s too te now.’
As much as she wao, she couldn’t go ba time to rethink their decision to e here.
The youngling tio occupy herself with menial bor. And, as much as her worries grew, her bitterness was likewise growing.
“…”
On the off ce that Serenis would return with dreadful news, then…
