Alma 146 Nothing to Worry Abou

They could not stay in one place for too long; every day wasted was a day closer to the inevitable end -- the prophesied Eventide of Faith.

Reed and Lu'um had considered every option available to them and after much discussion came to the quick conclusion that they would need help for the next great wound on the list. They had been given a specific, required order to follow by her.

There were some wounds that needed immediate attention depending on the severity of the infection and the next one was second on the list after the wound in Centlani Deep. In fact, it would have taken first place in terms of severity had Centlani Deep not been on the verge of blowing up.

Reed felt something in his gut telling him that this was probably predestined. He and Lu'um agreed on the hard fact that they would not be able to handle the next wound on their own.

They would need help. It was not something they were too thrilled about, but they knew better than to let their feelings get in the way of the immense task they had been given.

Lu'um did no have any qualms about returning and surprisingly, neither did Reed. She knew that Reed had grown and then some, but she had not expected for him to have agreed with her on the spot when she made the suggestion. Reed's calm response had shocked a little bit too at the time.

She had expected a little resistance, but...

"My feelings are of no importance in the face of an impending apocalypse, don't you think? We have a job to do and I intend to see it completely through, no matter what I have to do."

Reed had been correct, but the way he had responded genuinely scared the living hell out of Lu'um. Were it not for her warrior conditioning kicking in, she would have gone into a flight or fight state. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, screaming at her brain to do something, but she held firm like a mountain...

For a brief moment, she actually thought that... he had returned. Reed had sounded exactly like him, all the down to the intonation and cadence.

...A truly frightening prospect, indeed. I cannot even begin to imagine how terrible Reed would become had he decided to follow that man's path instead of his own.

Thank Heaven that he actually overcame his own 'Colelectli,' his self-destructive urges, and finally took hold of the Mark of Responsibility for himself.

There were some ideas that should not even be contemplated for fear of the dreadful possibilities contained within them. Not even the Devil himself would have dared to consider the horrors lay on such a terrible path.

Lu'um quickly destroyed the nightmarish idea and reigned in her breath, which had, unexpectedly, become slightly staggered and unfocused. A very thin veneer of cold sweat had also formed on her skin... not that Reed noticed as he had been too focused on remembering the faces of the people he thought he failed.

Even so, Lu'um did not get any sleep that night. Not with those accursed nightmares haunting her whenever she closed her eyes...

The following day, they set off toward their next destination and bid the city of Haufin farewell. In the end, Reed enjoyed his short stay in the city, despite his general wariness over the many Eisalons that called it home.

They flew straight over the eastern coast for several hours, and then took a sharp turn toward the west for the better part of the day until they finally arrived... at the Shining Nexus, the capital of the East.

It was still the same city as Reed remembered it, though it was not as if he had expected it to change much, if at all since he left. The Avunians were the longest-lived race, after all. For a mortal Avunian, a year was akin to a month for a mortal human.

Their perception of time was fundamentally different than that of all other races by far, so it made perfect sense that nothing had changed.

Reed had missed the Shining Nexus, despite not having explored much of it during his tenure as a prince. He always regretted that missed opportunity, but it was different now.

The first time Reed had come to the Shining Nexus, he had already been made a prince without his knowledge. This time, he had come as nothing more than a stranger -- a mortal from some random corner of the world. He was no longer a sacred son of the Alf.

It was a liberating experience being a nobody. Someone who was not beholden to the responsibilities of a prince. As magnificent as the view from the royal spire was, it had cost him many experiences that existed below on the ground. Suffice to say, Reed had not enjoyed the noble life he had been forced to live like a prince.

He would rather bite his own tongue off than attend another noble gathering.

To him, a noble party was equivalent to being tortured at the hands of the Infestation. It would not be a lie to say that he would rather fight an Infested horde than act like some highborn son of royal blood...

Reed and Lu'um had entered the city in disguise, in search of the one person who could help them.

When they reached the pearly gates of the royal tree-spire, they were stopped by the kingsguard. A pair of relatively young conquerors stepped out the void and said, "What business do you have here, strangers? This place is not open for commoners, let along foreigners without a proper..."

Ah, I forgot that I'm not a prince anymore. Can't just walk in like the old days. Whoops...

Reed groaned softly as he continued to ignore the conquerors in front of him, which only irritated the kingsguard. They, demigods entrusted with the defense of the royal tree-spire, were being ignored by some human mortal.

The conquerors were above doing anything foolish to the mortal though, as it would be in direct violation of the contract they had made when they became Chosen.

All Chosen were forbidden from harming mortals under the threat of instant death as per the contract with the Will of the World. They were not to kill the very people they were meant to protect. Chosen existed in service of the world and therefore, the people of the world -- mortals.

Reed stared at Lu'um and sent her a message with his eyes since he couldn't use Anima to converse mentally. If he did, the guards in front of them would likely not hesitate to capture them or possibly even kill them, depending on how they interpreted the situation.

Two random Chosen trying to enter the royal tree-spire of the East? Only God knew how that would turn out...

Do. You. Have. Any. Ideas? I. Got. Nothing.

Help. Me.

His face contorted in a variety of odd shapes as if he were being possessed by some malevolent ghost, but no matter what he tried nothing seemed to get through to Lu'um.

He felt betrayed, were Reed to be completely honest. The expression on Lu'um face seemed to one of relief, for some mysterious reason. It almost looked like she was happy that he was making himself appear like an idiot...

...Is this supposed to be something I should be happy about, or should I be offended?

Lu'um knew then and there that Reed was still very much himself. That she had nothing to worry about. The dark cloud that had been hovering over her head had disappeared.

She pulled out her tome, messaged someone, and then waited patiently. It would not be long before--

A large spatial tear suddenly appeared in front of the royal gates and a tall figure hurriedly walked out of it with an excited expression on his face. The moment he laid on eyes on the 'random' pair of humans, his face blossomed with joy.

The former King of the East, Velvund Goldentree, strode over to Reed and Lu'um and picked them both up as if they were dolls. He turned around at the two kingsguard and said, "Not a word, lads. Back to your posts. I'll take care of these two... intruders."

After that, he calmly walked into the royal tree-spire with his quarry without another word.

The kingsguard dumbfounded stood in place as they stared at their former king's back. For some strange reason, they found it oddly charming. It was as if they had seen something like that before, not too long ago...

"Hey... doesn't that remind of when the young--" 

"Don't. You know how His Highness gets whenever his name is mentioned."

"Yeah, it's just that... 

Chapter end