In the familiar darkness, Nico witnessed the vision of the conflict between the Transcendents once more. The army of white-winged beings bathed in holy light, sea creatures, chimeras, skeletal serpents, tall towering one-eyed Giants… and finally, the demonic army composed of bestial warriors, covered in impenetrable dark armour.
The strange thing was, Nico felt a certain connection with these bloodthirsty beings. He did not know where it had come from…
… All he knew was that there was something at the back of his mind telling him not to view these demonic warriors in a negative light.
The vision continued as it had many times before, with the alabaster being treating his fellow Transcendents with disdain before the mighty beings flickered up toward the heavens, where the aftershocks of their clash had less chance of affecting the people down below.
Then, the image shifted toward the obsidian tower, where the final and most mysterious of the Transcendents stood. The crimson being wielding a scythe, slowly turned and gazed in his direction.
With this minuscule action, it seemed like the world had held its breath.
That stare… Nico felt like it transcended both time and space, the very fabric of reality…
… both omniscient and omnipotent.
"Fate."
***
Nico gasped awake. A piercing pain burned in his mind. He clutched his head, dazed as he took stock of his surroundings.
A white-washed room. Drawn curtains that let plenty of sunlight through. The gentle hum of monitoring machines, as well as wires connected over his body.
A broadcast mounted on the wall.
'This is not the East Leaf Wilderness.' Nico suppressed a frown, the name of the forest sending a strange pang of guilt and pain through his chest.
He threw the weird feeling to the side momentarily and turned his focus towards his body.
Many wires and bandages covered his figure. The gentle beep of a life-support machine continued to stream into his ears.
Nico idly noted that a pale-white hospital gown covered his body.
'Where did the Camp Uniform go?' his frown deepened.
The brown-haired boy attempted to move his body… and found no pain - apart from the piercing one in his head, which was slowly subsiding.
'Strange…'
Nico shook his head, softly sensing the remnants of the migraine fading away. He decided not to think too deeply about the state of his body and instead focused on the weight he felt on his chest.
It was not a physical one…
No, it was more of an emotional one… Nico realised after a few seconds of serious contemplation.
Just then, the sound of a door opening resounded. He shifted his head and stared at the two figures that entered the room. The first was a female had flowing silver hair tied up in a ponytail.
Her jade green eyes which normally shone bright and full of vitality, now dimmed, betraying her inner anxiety.
Beside her, a ginger-haired woman clad in a red robe with a scythe embroidered on the seams patted the silver-haired woman comfortingly on the arm.
Her subtle frown eased when she noticed Nico awake.
The fact that her son was now conscious dawned on Cynthia a second later.
"Nico, you're awake!" she cried, her body instinctively rushing forward to envelop her son in a crushing embrace.
"I'm so glad you're alive!" Cynthia sobbed in her son's arms, her shoulders trembling in a mixture of worry and relief.
She cupped Nico's face - once she released him from the bone-crushing hug - and stared at him lovingly. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"Mom, I'm fine! Really!" came Nico's reply, once he found Cynthia examining him with great scrutiny. His ears turned red in embarrassment, mirroring the warmth in his chest.
When he finally managed to placate his mother, he shifted his head and stared at his Aunt.
A sheepish grin appeared on his face, "Aunt Beverly…"
The ginger-haired woman merely shook her head at her best friend's antics and moved to ruffle the little rascal's hair. She pushed aside the sudden pang of sadness in her heart and focused on showering Nico with her affection.
Nico's ears burned hotter.
Eventually, Beverly stopped playing around and retreated to the edge of the bed. She sighed, "You scared us, kid. After that instructor of yours said an incident had occurred on your way to the meeting point, we came here as fast as we could."
"Incident?" Nico echoed, a little puzzled. 'Ah, they must be talking about the reason why I ended up in the hospital…'
Beverly shared a silent glance with Cynthia, worry swirling in the depths of her pupils. "Yes, an incident…" the ginger-haired Priestess straightened. "Kid, do you perhaps not remember what happened?"
As he gazed at the pity on his Mother and Aunt's faces, Nico's breath hitched. Those expressions were like a catalyst that caused a damn in his mind to break.
A flood of memories flashed before him.
Nico clutched his head and released an anguished grunt, startling the Descender duo. His heart began to beat faster, and so too did his breath turn rapid.
Clear signs of a panic attack appeared over all of his figure.
However, the brown-haired boy paid it no heed, his thoughts focused on the memories that flashed before his eyes.
Setting out into the East Leaf Wilderness in a large procession. William and Nix fighting off the sudden beast horde. Phantom clashing against a Mana Beast. The shock arrival of the notorious bandit group responsible for Sally's death. Lucas's betrayal…
…his wounding of the Stanburg Heir, being ensnared into the sinister spell stored within the looking glass, and finally Henry's death.
The last one hurt Nico the most.
Too immersed in his grief, he failed to notice how strange it was that he didn't have a clear recollection of the events following the farmer's death.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Cynthia asked anxiously.
Beverly pressed her lips into a thin line, masking her concern.
Nico raised his head, his hands falling back to his sides as he stared intensely at his mother and aunt. His two hollow eyes bored into their souls, and the two adults realised with a jolt that the emptiness within the boy's eyes had increased.
"Life… this blasted life is what's wrong!" Nico clenched the bedsheets and gritted his teeth. A second later, he relaxed and allowed the grief to pass through him.
He released a sad sigh and narrated all that happened during his brief time in the Training Camp.
Beverly and Cynthia listened attentively. Although they knew of what happened during the trainees' journey toward the City of Valdence, they were not apprised of any events that had occurred during the youngsters' time within the actual Camp itself.
And so within the curious silence of the hospital room, Nico told his mother and aunt about his first encounter with Henry and Leon, and consequently Lucas… their first lesson under instructor William, morning inspection, breakfast in the Cafeteria, the physical training, the beating in the lavatory, and so on and so on….
He left out that his innermost desire had to do with getting free from this world.
By the end of Nico's narration, Cynthia's fists were clenched so hard it seemed the bone would pop out of the skin at any moment.
Her eyes flashed an icy-blue hue. The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.
Nico shivered as a thin sheen of frost started to cover his eyebrows.
"Those bastards…" the silver-haired lady muttered through gritted teeth. An icy gale swept through the room before it suddenly cut off and vanished.
The reason for its disappearance: a vast presence that abruptly permeated the air.
"Now, now, dear… let's not be rash," Beverly patted her friend reassuringly on the arm.
"This is the second time, Beverly! I took no action after the Battle of Sreb because it just wasn't worth it. And their reaction at the time was understandable, having lost their heir. But, this…" Cynthia motioned to her child, anger contorting her angelic features. "...this is too much! They have touched my reverse scale." she hissed in a quiet whisper, her body tense like a lioness ready to pounce.
"I know, I know…" the ginger-haired woman whispered back, her caramel-brown eyes turning several degrees colder.
Nico sighed in relief, sensing that the temperature had returned to normal. He didn't pay any attention to the adult conversation occurring in front of him; his mind was still focused on his mother's fleeting display of power.
'So cool…'
Inwardly he wondered how his Aunt had dealt with the chilling breeze so quickly.
Although Nico knew the two were powerful - one was a Descender, the other was a Priestess of perhaps the strongest Temple in Crelerath - seeing such an active demonstration of their powers, reaffirmed the notion that they were not to be messed with.
It gave him new insight into the gap between a mundane human such as himself and those who had stepped on the path toward the divine.
As Beverly and Cynthia finished their hushed conversation, Nico licked his lips. His mouth was extremely dry after the lengthy account of what he had experienced in the past month.
"Can I get some water please?" He stared at the pitcher full of water sitting on the window sill.
Cynthia hurriedly snapped back into her role as a mother and rushed to fulfill her child's needs.
The Priestess meanwhile, turned her head and stared at the brown-haired boy with a curious glint in her eye. "You mentioned you made a friend called Leon, right?" Seeing Nico nod, she continued, "Does he perhaps have a burly build, pointed ears, and red hair?"
Nico's eyes widened unconsciously.
That was all the answer Beverly needed. A light chuckle escaped her mouth.
She stood up and headed for the door, a sly smirk forming along the way.