Arc 8 - End of The World
Snow blinked and looked around. It wasn't the first time he was dragged through space in that … strange manner. Back when they'd fought the large feimao ZaiWin had jumped from one place to another just like that, dragging him along. But, back then, he'd been half-panicking, half-scared out of his mind, his head so full of concerns for their safety that he hadn't had the time to pay attention to any details. Now, however, he couldn't help look around in wonder. It was the third time they … 'jumped', and every time they did so the entire landscape around him changed, as if they'd traveled for miles in just a brief instant. The jump itself was always short. A burst of wind and a wave of darkness, as if a dark cloud rushed through him, and then he wasn't there anymore. How, exactly, ZaiWin was doing that, however, was something he just couldn't wrap his mind around.
Looking up at the tall man standing beside him, Snow couldn't help feeling worried again. No matter how easy he made it look, that jumping thing he did clearly took its toll. Even though they had been taking the time to rest in between jumps, ZaiWin still looked much paler than before, his forehead now covered by a thin sheen of sweat. And yet, no matter how tired ZaiWin obviously was, he still wouldn't allow him to help. Snow should take his time to fully recover, he'd said. Well, so should he!, Snow argued inside his head, frowning at the sound of his deep breath.
"Just one more and we'll be there," ZaiWin informed him and silently made his way to a larger boulder, taking a sit.
They were still in the mountains, though probably not so high up as they'd been before. The snow and ice had been left behind on the first jump, and now they were mainly surrounded by huge, rugged walls of black stone. The wind was still cold, but not the freezing biting cold from before. And, somehow, the land beneath Snow's feet felt … different.
Looking down at the rocky ground, however, he couldn't find any visible differences from the last place they'd been. It was still jagged and mostly black, except for a few thin white veins of some unknown mineral. And yet, the more he focused his attention on that piece of rock the louder it got - the humming whisper in his ears.
Squatting down, Snow pressed his hand to the ground's harsh surface. It felt strangely warm to the touch, even though the cold wind wouldn't even allow him to feel the warmth of the sun above his head. And then he suddenly knew, his eyes widening in wonder as he raised his head to look up at ZaiWin. His lips parted, the question dangling from the tip of his tongue, but he ended closing his mouth again. If it had been MenTar sitting there, he wouldn't have thought twice before speaking his mind. But the sight of that cold, beautiful face, the dark locks of hair that had freed themselves from his disheveled ponytail brushing against his pale skin, was just … too intimidating.
As if the mere fact that he was staring at him could make a noise, ZaiWin opened his eyes and looked back at him, catching him red-handed, making Snow quickly avert his gaze and focus it on the warm rock beneath his hand instead.
"Is something wrong?"
Snow quickly shook his head, his heart beating a bit faster than it should, as if he'd really been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to do. The rock beneath his hand hummed in reply, warming his hand, almost in a comforting way, and he couldn't help smile at the gentle way that feeling wrapped itself around his heart.
"What's wrong with the ground?" ZaiWin asked again, startling him. He was suddenly aware that, from ZaiWin's perspective, he had been smiling for no apparent reason, and so he quickly shook his head again.
ZaiWin sighed, raking a hand through his disheveled hair.
"You know, I thought we had already overcome this whole nodding and shaking heads thing."
Snow flinched at the sound of those words, waiting for the deadly threat that would definitely follow, but the harsh words never came. In the past he had always threatened to hit him or something worse, if he didn't use words to answer him. Peering sideways at him, Snow found him still sitting, although he had bent forward, elbows on his knees, as if to take a better look at what he was doing.
Softly caressing the humming rock beneath his hand, Snow finally took a deep breath.
"This … is Nox …" he whispered, his voice unwillingly echoing the gentle, loving humming filling his ears, and, for a moment, ZaiWin just sat there, staring at him, the cold mask he always wore hiding his true thoughts from him.
"You can tell …?" Snow nodded, still caressing the rough rocky ground.
"It feels … warm … and welcoming," he managed to put into words. If Snow were alone, he would have liked to lie down on the ground and press his ear against it. But he would never do such a thing with him sitting there, staring at him like that.
As if to test the boy's declaration, ZaiWin touched the black rock beneath his feet, but he couldn't feel anything but it's cold irregular surface. Straightening his back, he pointed towards the high, rocky mountain range at his left.
"Those mountains mark the border between the Provinces of Pon and Nox."
Snow followed his elegant finger with his gaze.
So he'd been right, he told himself, a small smile tugging at his lips. He felt strangely safe, in a way he had never felt before, not even when he had had a home to return to, and Sand waiting to welcome him. He recalled what VinWei had said, about how Tien'Elhar bound with the land through their Chosen Ones, and wondered if that strange warm, comforting feeling was what she had meant. And yet, could he really say that they were really bound to one another?, he pondered, his gaze falling on the glistening small crystals surrounding his wrist. He knew that the link that they had shared, and that he'd broken, had somehow been reestablished. But, besides that, nothing had really changed. Had they simply went back to being how they used to be? Would he still only see a terrifying mass of darkness instead of a man if he took off his bracelet?
"Will you really die if I die …?"
The words were out of his mouth before he could realize what he was asking, and Snow immediately turned to ZaiWin, wishing he could unsay them, fearing his angry reaction. Instead, he found a confusing, earnest pondering expression on his face, as if he were actually searching for an answer to give him.
"I really don't know," he finally told him after a brief moment. "In a normal situation, if a Chosen One dies, their Celestial will die as well. It can happen instantaneously, or it can take a couple of days. But the end result is inevitable. The contrary, however, is a bit different. Throughout history there have been cases when a Chosen One outlives their Celestial for a few years. But most will die much sooner than that. That their life spans are definitely cut short is undeniable, though. From what I gathered, I guess it depends a lot on why or how the Celestial dies."
"In a normal situation …" Snow repeated in a whisper and ZaiWin nodded.
What he had clearly left unsaid was that theirs was far from being a normal situation. Well, he wasn't what one could call a normal Tien'Elhar to begin with, Snow thought with a frown. Sure, he now knew that there were others like him but, apparently, none of them had a … Chosen One. None of them were actually recognized as Tien'Elhar by general society either. And, if that was so, why in the world had ZaiWin come back for him?
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There we go again, Snow being so shy that he doesn't say what he's thinking. 😒 At least now ZaiWin is actually interested in hearing what he has to say 😊