Edited by: ASaltedFish
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After finishing up in the greenhouse, Ellery, Akimitsu, and Edros headed to the Guide Association to do another session.
Ellery had already done several deep cleanings on Akimitsu's spiritual sea, so it was easy. With it being maintained by Ellery, Akimitsu would never have to worry about his spiritual sea being corrupted.
Edros's spiritual sea was in a much rougher state than Akimitsu's, so this would be the first time Aster had done a deep cleaning on his spiritual sea.
It took weeks to get Edros' spiritual sea to this point, even when he had been using stabilizers to keep the corruption to a minimum.
His draconic features had lessened significantly. Only his eyes and a few scattered spots of scales were left of it.
Everyone had already noticed that Edros no longer had any spiritual energy outbursts. Even though he still had his usual expressionless face, his aura didn't repel people away. Seeing these changes, the media and netizens cheered for his recovery.
Akimitsu's session was quick and easy, leaving a lot of time and energy for Edros' session.
After the first Guiding session, Aster was a lot more comfortable with Edros, who had also been sending him pretty stones and crystals, which made Aster happy. When Aster had control of their body, they ended up talking about their collections for hours.
"Are you ready for your first deep cleaning?" Aster asked, no longer avoiding eye contact with Edros. He was still quiet, but at least there was no fear or awkwardness in his eyes.
Edros responded, "Yes, thank you for your hard work so far, Aster."
"It is no problem at all. Since you are ready, let's get started."
Aster wasn't one for small talk unless it pertained to certain topics, but this was something Edros, Ellery, and Akimitsu were used to.
He summoned Lune, who also brought out Casir. This time, the two were sitting next to each other on the floor, huddled up against each other. Casir wrapped his tail around Lune's tail, occasionally nuzzling his head. Lune was a bit shy but didn't move away.
Seeing them like that, Aster felt a bit bashful but tried not to think too hard about it. Edros was happy, which showed a lot through Casir.
He coughed. "Give me your hand."
Edros did what he was told and gently held Aster's hand.
Aster closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing his spiritual energy as Lune guided him to Edros' spiritual sea. Edros did not resist, allowing himself to become immersed in Aster's spiritual experience.
When Aster opened his eyes, he saw the familiar dark purple background and the white clouds floating in the spiritual sea. There were still red strands of chaotic energy swimming through some of the clouds, but their density had decreased significantly.
Aster should be able to clean out the spiritual sea in this session.
He placed his hands on one of the clouds beneath him and took a deep breath. Then, he started to pour his spiritual energy into the clouds.
The scene was similar to PAC-man, where Aster's spiritual energy would gobble up the chaotic energies, but he also had to be careful not to get consumed as well.
It was not like the first time he guided Edros, where Aster felt that he had to use as much spiritual power as possible. He took his time and did his best to use the least amount of spiritual power.
Edros' spiritual sea was quite large, and there were times when corrupted energies would hide in the clouds, so Aster had to be careful and thorough when he combed an area.
Meanwhile, Edros was comfortable in Aster's spiritual sea. It was a familiar environment, but he enjoyed sitting in front of the fire while sipping hot chocolate. Next to him, the warmth of someone brought him great comfort.
The cup in his hands held a never-ending amount of hot chocolate. Whenever he thought he would get to the bottom of the cup, it seemed to fill up, placing more of the tiny marshmallows on top.
It was quiet, but the silence was not awkward. He didn't feel the need to talk while basking in the person's presence. To him, it felt like Aster was hugging him.
Edros liked Aster a lot. While he seemed a bit cold, Aster was actually a gentle soul who liked to look at shiny gems and was protective of his friends, even if he was a little awkward and not good at talking. He was shy and cute, especially when his eyes lit up when talking about things he was interested in.
Sometimes, he wondered if he liked Aster because he was the only guide who could help him, but when he looked at Aster's fleeting but kind smile or his joy when he'd found a pretty crystal that he wanted to share, he felt his liking was more than just Aster being a guide.
Being a guide may have let them meet, but Aster's personality stole his heart. Then he realized that if he didn't like Aster as a human being, he wouldn't want to be in a romantic relationship with him–even if he was the only guide in the universe who could help him.
The Imperial family has always been known to love their partners with their whole heart and soul. He wouldn't be able to like someone he didn't get along with just because they were a guide. It was not in his nature to do so. They could be friends, but not the lifelong partners that the Imperial family sought.
He liked Aster so much, but he didn't want to scare him away when they were finally able to get along with one another. One day, he hoped that he could confess his love, but for now, he was happy being by his side.
As he was thinking to himself, Edros could feel that his spiritual sea was completely free from the chaotic energy that plagued him for decades. When he took a deep breath, it felt like the heavy weight on his shoulders was finally gone.
Taking one long sip of the hot chocolate, etching the taste, warmth, and smell into his mind and soul, Edros hoped it would last forever.
At this time, Aster had put a protective barrier around Casir's home cloud, hoping that Casir would be comfortable in his new space. Once he finished, Aster called out to Lune to help him slowly retreat from Edros' spiritual sea.
When Aster was done, he opened his eyes and felt a bit tired. Guiding Edros was not difficult, but it was time-consuming. Edros had the largest spiritual sea in the Zevaria Empire, maybe even in the Zephyrus galaxy.
He looked over at Edros, who was still in a daze. "He may be like this for a while because it is the first time he had his spiritual sea completely cleared out and a barrier placed around Casir's home cloud. Let Edros know I will be retreating. I would like to rest." Aster told Akimitsu before he switched out with Ellery.
"I will let him know. Please rest well, Aster. Ellery and I will handle it from here."
"Thank you…" Aster quickly switched with Ellery, thankful that he could recover in peace.
Ellery was used to switching out with Aster, so he was not caught off guard and didn't need to catch himself from falling.
"He is always quick to leave when he gets tired…" Ellery said this, but his tone was tender and doting.
He knew that Aster got overstimulated easily, especially when he was tired or had low spiritual energy. It was like everything that was helping him block out the constant stimuli from the outside world was gone, and he needed a place to run to so he could recover and start the cycle all over again.
Ellery felt it was exhausting to live like that.
"It's kinda cute though." Akimitsu chuckled. "He reminds me of a timid little rabbit that needs a burrow to hide in all the time. Only coming out when the coast is clear and he can run around by himself."
"Maybe his quantum beast should have been a rabbit instead of a red panda like me."
"I'm sure there are red pandas who are shy and awkward too."
"That's true. Every quantum beast has a differing personality, just like us guides or sentinels."
The two talked about different topics and playfully bickered until Edros snapped out of his dazed state.
"Where's Aster…?" Edros was a bit groggy, but he still wanted to know where Atlas was.
Akitmitsu immediately teased him. "You wake up, and the first thing to ask about is Aster?"
"Sometimes, I feel like you don't like me all that much." Ellery also joined in because he felt Edros' reaction was funny.
"I see you as a friend… Just I feel closer with Aster." He didn't think there was anything wrong with him asking about Aster. "Is he okay?"
"Ah, so this is the difference between friends and potential love interests. Ah, the bias," Ellery exaggerated at the end of his sentence so they knew he wasn't serious.
"Aster is resting. You know how he is. He gets really tired after guiding you since your spiritual sea is much larger than the average sentinel."
That was true. He felt bad every time Aster had to do a guiding session with him, but it should be a lot easier now that he was free from the corrupted energy.
Finally, he was free and could live a long life.