"I'm sorry, Ceres. You can head back first. I want to walk around for a while."
"...Take care, Brother."
Ceres left gloomily. It was obvious to her that any efforts to talk to her brother right now would just worsen his mood. Caelum watched as the car vanished amidst the traffic, his thoughts unknown. His gaze lingered for a while longer before he turned around and walked toward a random direction.
"You could've joined them, you know."
"Like I said, my lord, you need an escort. Even just one is fine."
"Then at least hide your presence from me. In case you didn't understand, I wanted to be alone for a while."
Reynor no longer replied as he concealed his presence from everyone. He became like air, present but imperceptible. It was truly a practical ability with many uses, but right now, it was enough to just give Caelum some space.
Caelum finally let out a sigh. He honestly had no destination in mind. He just wanted to be alone with his thoughts.
The master of Titans Guild wanting to meet him to apologise did not really bother him too much. Instead, he wanted to think about how he should react to and treat people like him from now on.
Caelum already realised that he was being overly sensitive to isolation, but he could not help it. At this point, it was just so much easier to push people away and accept his solitude rather than try to make connections only to find that they were bridges waiting to be burnt.
"My priority is to get stronger. No matter what they think about me, it pales in comparison to what's coming. They will all know it soon. I need to be strong enough to protect Ceres."
His gaze was no longer focused on anything, but if one looked closely, they would find that he was unconsciously staring in the direction of the Imaginary Tree. He was so lost in thought that he had already forgotten about Reynor who was following him invisibly.
Reynor, on the other hand, found Caelum to be pitiful. He had already realised since the time he began training Caelum that he knew some deeper secrets about the world and that he was willing to shoulder the burden all by himself. Of course, he already expected this to some extent. Given Caelum's identity, Reynor would not have doubted it at all if he said he was the cause of it all and was only taking responsibility for it.
That was why he wanted Caelum to at least rest whenever he could. Even with all the devotion Reynor was willing to give him, there was not much he could actually do to help. Caelum seemed intent on keeping the details to himself at the moment, shouldering the weight of the world all on his own. However, he misunderstood Caelum's goal.
"Dungeons… I might be able to figure something out if I could experience dungeons."
Caelum's thoughts had circled back to the beginning. He had hit a wall too early in his training period that it was greatly frustrating him. It had only been a week since he began, yet somehow he was already met with a bottleneck that he could not slip through.
On one hand, it was proof of the level of training he had been undergoing in just this past week. On the other, it meant that he lacked insight with regards to himself and his powers. But what did it take to gain insight on such matters?
Did it not take an eternity from him the last time?
Would he have to endure another bout of solitude in his mind to trigger an enlightenment?
Power, how little people truly understand of its nature. They wish to claim it with nothing but brute force when all it takes was luck.
If one is lucky to have been born with talent, then they will become powerful. If one is lucky to have found a treasure, then they will have power. If one is lucky to stumble upon insight and enlightenment, then they will obtain more power. Then Caelum thought back to his experience.
Was he lucky?
To be thrown into a place he had no knowledge of whatsoever, to spend eternity alone with no company other than the bursting stars and the still water that reflected their madness beneath the crystalline canopy, it was painful.
Every moment he spent in that place made him ever conscious of the grinding pain of his mind being shaved away, parts of it being scooped out one after the other until what was left of him could no longer feel the pain. He could only feel the loss.
He wished to fill it back up again, to find the things that had been taken from him. He wished to be whole again, but he did not know where to begin. If only he could devour such things from his enemies, use them to fill his broken hollowed mind. Alas, it does not work that way. Or perhaps his perspective was incorrect.
He was unsure. As much as he wanted to think that he knew a lot of things, the truth was that he knew barely anything at all. In this new reality he found himself in, power translated to anything and everything, even knowledge. And since greater and absolute power still eludes him, so too does greater knowledge.
Caelum's thoughts had spun out of control. They strayed from his objective at some point, and yet they still seemed perfectly coherent. As long as one could understand the relation of his thoughts to each other, they would find a steady trend that seemed to have grown organically. A strange thing to say about something that was not even tangible, but it was true nonetheless.
Caelum thrived in such chaotic thoughts. He found solace in their ordered disorder. It was the Serenity he always yearned for. And through it, he unknowingly approached a breakthrough, an answer to his dilemma. But just as he was about to grasp it, he suddenly stopped. His heart's beating was loud in his ears, but beyond that was something he could barely make out.
"Reynor, are you still there?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Do you hear something?"
"What do you…"
Before he could finish his question, a tiny shrill sound reached his ears. It was like a small screech that could barely be heard even with their heightened senses. Caelum looked at the empty space to his right. He should not be able to see Reynor, but he did not seem to care about what he should and should not be able to do.
He was able to perceive Reynor's presence for only a second when he spoke, but that was enough to capture his location. Reynor was surprised as he knew from training Caelum for a week that he did not have such acute senses. But this was just a product of Caelum's progress that inched him ever closer to a breakthrough. Reynor was speechless until he heard Caelum's next words.
"That was a scream, wasn't it?"
"Ah! Control, are there any reports of monsters in London?!"
Panicked, Reynor immediately contacted Halo's Operations Control. On the other hand, Caelum was sharpening his senses with mana to determine which direction the scream came from. He was already certain that it was a scream and did not bother waiting for confirmation. And at that moment, an explosion rang out.
"Check up on Ceres! I'm going ahead!"
"I'm coming with you! Halo 1, report your status! Is the Lady safe?!"
[This is Halo 1! We're already in HQ! Your orders, Sir?]
"Stay with the Lady! Control, dispatch all available units and converge on my position!"
[Dispatching all units! Reports of monsters are just coming in now! The monsters are appearing near the cathedral!]
"Reynor, you handle the Chosen! I'll take a look from above!"
"Tsk… Take this! Stay in contact, alright?!"
Reynor did not want to leave him alone, but the situation was not so forgiving. Considering their distance, Caelum's ability to fly will give them a better chance at scouting ahead to prepare. Caelum took the earpiece, spread his wings and flew toward the sound of explosion.
He did not need to worry about flying now as he had strengthened his body and the troll's vitality was replenishing his stamina. Fortunately, he did not need to guess which way to go since he found the smoke from the explosion soon enough.
From its position, he had an idea of what had happened, but until he could confirm it visually, he could not tell others and risk an even greater panic.
Several vehicles full of Chosen belonging to Halo arrived at Reynor's position. He rode on one and gave orders to move out. The reports on monsters were only concentrated near the cathedral, but they could not relax.
If they were even a bit late, it could spread to the entirety of Aegon. Sirens were already ringing loudly everywhere. It was the alarm set off by the appearance of monsters. The panicking people made it even harder to drive through the roads.
Fortunately, one of the guilds called the Bracer Guild, were able to calm the people enough to make them move out of the streets. All the guilds and Chosen of Aegon have come together for this very moment. Reynor sighed in relief when Caelum's voice suddenly came through his comms.
[Reynor, we have a very big problem! The Clocktower is about to collapse!]