As Alden plunged into the radiant water, his expression turned grim.
His heart also became heavy.
'What is one of 'its' kind doing here?'
He internally cursed.
The sudden appearance of one of the dire horrors inhabiting Nature's Grove greatly surprised him.
Although, in hindsight, he probably shouldn't have been so shocked. He was inside the Wilderness, after all.
A place teeming with an untold number of Defiled.
'Blast it!'
Alden descended deeper into the lake, doing his best to hurry.
'Sorry, Ignia. Please bear with this.'
He sent a burst of calm through their bond, hoping that would reassure his scared familiar.
Diving deeper and deeper, Alden was aware of the approaching danger. He could sense the Defiled's aura getting closer and closer.
Gritting his teeth, Alden pressed on.
He dove blindly through the radiant starlight, wondering when in the Asterons it would end.
'How deep is this blasted thing?!'
He cursed and cursed and cursed still.
The abomination was now out of the range of his Mana Sense, but just vaguely, Alden estimated it must have reached the edge of the lake by now.
'Not good!'
Things only got worse.
Faced with the never-ending descent, his body was always going to protest.
His chest tightened.
Alden was running out of air.
That was not all.
…Ignia was too.
And her situation was a lot more dire.
Since she was just a baby, Alden doubted that she could store large amounts of air.
At least compared to a grown human.
It was already a miracle she had held on for so long.
The little phoenix issued a weak cry.
Finally, a hint of panic and desperation surfaced on Alden's face.
He thrashed wildly, hoping to find something.
Anything.
…Some form of salvation.
Just as darkness creeped into his vision and his awareness turned faint, Alden suddenly touched the bottom of the lake. Hazily, he noticed an opening in an earthen wall beside him. Swimming towards it with all his might, Alden careered into the hole.
Then, with the last reserves of his strength, he sensed an open space above him and waded upward.
The young man felt himself break through the surface.
Darkness then fully enveloped his vision.
Alden swiftly lost consciousness.
***
Celeste groaned softly as she awoke.
Finding that it was still dark, she sighed.
Ever since Alden left, she had had trouble sleeping. Sometimes nightmares of his death plagued her at night.
Other times, the pain in her heart kept her from getting a good night's rest. Celeste sighed again and removed the covers of her bed.
She slowly rose, battling against the weariness that sought to overwhelm her figure.
Her skin glowed for a second as she forcefully increased her body's natural recovery rate.
'I wonder how he's doing.'
The young lady thought to herself.
Was he eating well?
He could have eaten much better food if he had stayed with her.
Maybe… her cooking had gotten stale.
Celeste winced and furiously shook her head. She would not let herself go down that route… again.
Asterons knew how much she had moped during the last week.
Sighing for the third time, Celeste slowly walked to the balcony that overlooked her garden, still bleary-eyed.
The sight of the moon and the vast sky always helped calm her down. With practiced ease, she opened the door to her balcony and stepped into her new favourite spot.
Moonlight shone on her face, illuminating her features… and her bone-deep fatigue.
Now that Alden was gone, Celeste didn't pay as much attention to her appearance. That was not to say she wasn't beautiful; any young man in the Sanctuary wouldn't hesitate to court her.
However, she no longer had any need to spend so long trying to make herself look more attractive.
Alden's response had been clear. Although non-verbal, his leaving obviously told her that she wasn't alluring enough. Instead of her beauty, may he had been put off by her 'rotten' personality.
'That's enough.'
Celeste tried to put a stop to her spiralling thoughts.
She closed her eyes, feeling a soft breeze caress her face. Then, as usual, she tugged on the link connecting her to her Sponsor.
'Are you there?'
…Yes.
The reply came back a second later.
Already accustomed to this form of communication, Celeste no longer found it weird that the Asteron spoke inside her mind. Just from a simple word, she could sense the power the nebulous being had at their disposal.
Power… befitting a Divine Sovereign.
Celeste sighed.
'Do you think he'll survive?'
She asked absently.
…We've gone over this numerous times. Focus on the upcoming expedition and unlock the next Stage of your Magic Class. The stronger you get, the more of my blessings you can handle. Forget about that young man.
'...'
Celeste kept silent, keeping a lid on her irritation. It always irked her how her Sponsor was so dismissive of Alden.
Was it really only her who could see his good qualities?
No, that wasn't quite right.
She was sure her Mother and Father also knew how good of a person he was. Alden was probably content keeping it that way.
Celeste unconsciously cracked a small smile, internally calling him a dummy.
In the next moment, her smile faded, noticing his absence for the umpteenth time.
She sighed - how many times was that now? - and stared at the vast canvas of the night sky.
Her Sponsor's words echoed in her mind again.
Forget about Alden?
The very idea was inconceivable for Celeste.
How could she stop thinking about the one who had made her world that much brighter… and that much better?
But her Sponsor did have a point.
She couldn't keep brooding.
Alden had already made his choice. No amount of sulking would change that fact.
A tiny ember of resentment flickered to life in Celeste's chest. She pushed it down, refusing to let it fester.
Then, she bit her lips, her expression slowly turning determined.
'It's time.'
It was time for Celeste to increase her power and knowledge.
Love could take a backseat for now.
The young lady renewed her resolve as she continued to stare at the sparkling tapestry.
'Let's meet again when the time is right, Al.'
For that to happen, though…
He had to survive the horrors of the Apocalypse and make it back home.
The odds, however, were not in Alden's favour.
An uneasy feeling took root in her heart.
'Stay safe out there, my love.'
She placed a hand against her heart and closed her eyes.
Under the moonlight, Celeste's silhouette appeared extremely forlorn.