The Divine Obelisk is a symbol of growth. The light it exudes is nurtured by the countless lives that have been born under its blessing. Thus, for the Avatars of the Divine Obelisk, the connections they make were of utmost importance
They were the pillars with which their powers were founded. The stronger the connections, the stronger the Avatar becomes. And the strongest connection one can make is one made through a Life Covenant, tying not only each others' lives, but also their very beings.
As one gains power, both would grow stronger. None can ever sever this connection other than death.
"So you're saying that this is the equivalent of marriage?"
Erta nodded meekly, her face hidden behind her hands. She couldn't handle the embarrassment, but she had no choice but to tell Caelum everything. She owed him that much for agreeing to help her world and become her partner.
Caelum sighed as he tried pulling away her hands. Erta gave up hiding all too easily, but she looked about ready to cry at any moment.
"Stop hiding your face. There's no point in being embarrassed now. You've already shamelessly clung to me last night in front of everyone anyway."
"Ahhhh! No! Stop reminding me!"
"Alright, then let's begin. How do we perform this Life Covenant?"
"You'll... really do it? Don't you have a lover? Aren't you worried about getting married to someone you just met?"
"Do you want to do it or not? Besides, it's not like I have any leisure to meet up with girls, much less start a relationship. If getting married to you will make both of us stronger, then there's no reason to refuse."
Erta pouted at his dismissive tone, but soon smiled as she realised that he was being sincere when he said he didn't mind getting married. Then she stood up and pulled Caelum's arm.
"Alright, then let's not waste time. Come on! It's easier to do it on the bed."
"What exactly are we going to do?! Why is it easier on the bed?!"
Caelum became flustered at her suggestive words. Erta laughed and thought he was surprisingly cute. She dragged Caelum to the bed and made him sit facing her. Then she put her hands together as though in prayer and chanted in a language that Caelum could not understand.
Light peeked out from the gaps of her fingers and when Erta opened her hands, a ball of light the size of a baseball was floating over her palms. She brought it close to Caelum like an offering and urged him with her eyes.
Caelum reached out with both hands, but the moment he felt the heat from the ball of light, his wings emerged uncontrollably. Similarly, Erta's wings appeared behind her, unfurling on their own without her will.
The surprise on her face told Caelum that this was unusual and unexpected, but he did not mind it anymore. Instead, he focused on something that he had felt since the day before, a connection that seemed to exist between them without their knowledge.
It seemed to be tied to the ball of light. He followed his instincts and let his wings touch the ball while he chanted.
"O Serenity, long have I waited. Yet Chaos comes so swiftly still."
He could feel the ball of light being infused with his energy. Chaos was making it grow and Serenity shaped it into a perfect ribbon that connected his existence with hers. Soon, the light disappeared into their bodies.
Caelum and Erta were fully connected on a fundamental level. They could feel each others' existence as though they were their own. They were now united as one in the truest sense.
"Well, that was new."
"What did you do?! That was way different than how others did it! This doesn't even feel like tying ourselves together. This is like-"
"Being two parts of one whole. That's what you're going to say right? Wow, even our thoughts are shared. But yes, it seems this Life Covenant is a perfect application of my Serenity and Chaos. It worked a little too well, in fact."
"No… I won't have any privacy anymore! How could you do this?! You evil bastard! Scammer!"
"Hey, I didn't know what was going to happen either. Anyway, just set up a mental lock or something so that your thoughts don't leak out. See? Can you hear mine?"
"What the hell? Are you even human? How can you adapt so quickly to this?"
"Like I said, it's a perfect application of my Serenity and Chaos. It's easy enough to control. Well then, I'll be in your care, partner."
Erta was annoyed by how relaxed he was about all this, but she still accepted Caelum's hand and shook it.
"Right. Take care of me too, partner."
"Or should I call you wife?"
"Noooo! My husband is a scammer!"
While Caelum was having fun teasing Erta, he noticed that someone had entered the room. He turned to look only to find a pale Ceres staring at them in shock. Behind her was Reynor who was bowing toward him over and over again. He seemed to be apologising, but Caelum didn't really know what for.
Then again, seeing as Ceres had entered his room without permission, he could guess that Reynor failed to stop her. Erta, who noticed their presence a little later because of Caelum's teasing, stiffened up and hid behind him. Caelum just chuckled at her reaction before speaking to Ceres.
"Good morning, Ceres. Do you need something? I was actually planning on talking to you at lunch, but since you're here, might as well."
"Brother… I thought you said… she was just your partner?"
"Yeah. She is my partner. What's wrong?"
Ceres's trembling voice was concerning. This was the first time that Caelum had seen her like this. He got up and walked toward her. Erta followed right behind him, desperately hiding in embarrassment. Ceres flinched as she saw that.
"You called her… wife?"
"Ah well, we were just playing around. But there's a reason for that."
He began to tell her a summarised version of Erta's story. Of course, he left out parts that would be difficult for her and Reynor to understand like the Anchors.
Reynor only silently listened. His face grew dark as he heard that Erta's world was facing the same enemies as Earth. On the other hand, Ceres became angry.
"You vixen… you're trying to take my brother away?!"
Erta looked confused while Caelum was stunned. Reynor looked nervous and did not know what to do. Ceres continued to glare at Erta who only stared at her quietly. Ceres, who took that as a provocation, yelled at her.
"Get away from my brother! Take your problems back to your world! If you're going to die anyway, don't drag my brother with you!"
Erta flinched at her words. She tried to hide it, but Caelum already felt the complicated emotions stirring inside her. Among them was guilt. Erta was shaken by the hurtful words.
She could not retort because everything Ceres said was true. She should not be relying on Caelum, but she was. She should not be dragging her problems to Earth, but she did. And she should not be putting Caelum in danger, but she could not escape it now. They were already tied together through the Life Covenant.
Caelum could feel her tears on his back. By being tied to her, he had realised that everything she said was true. He also realised that it had been difficult for her. Like him, she was burdened with the responsibility of saving her world. Caelum grew angry in her place and scolded his sister.
"Ceres! Even if it's you, I won't allow any insult to Erta. You don't know what she's been through. You don't know what I've been through. So don't dictate our lives."
Ceres paled even further as she stepped back. She almost tripped, but Reynor caught her before anything happened. Caelum saw that, but ignored it. He could not go easy on her just because she was his sister. He needed to discipline her especially since she was no longer a child.
"Have you learned nothing of respect? Does becoming head of the House make you think that you're entitled to everything? The world is at war, so open your eyes. If Erta hadn't been with me yesterday, then the entirety of this city would be drowning in flames by now. I might not have even survived the battle. We both owe her our lives. And trust me, it isn't just her problem alone."
At this point, Ceres began to cry. She was already 20 years old, yet she looked like a child abandoned on the streets. She glared at Caelum, anger burning in her eyes.
"I lost Mom and Dad right in front of me. You almost died and left me alone. You don't understand how it feels to be alone! I don't want to lose you again!"
"And I lost everything! All memories of the life I had was flushed out into the void I stared at for millennia upon millennia! You think I don't understand how it feels to be alone? Try being stranded on an uninhabited island for years and you'll barely understand a fraction of the madness I felt!"
The gravity of his words slowly began to sink in to everyone who heard it. This was the first time that Caelum had revealed the full truth of how his coma had affected him. His anger was seething, but there was nowhere to vent it.
"Don't think you're the only one who suffered, Ceres."
With those words, he left the building with Erta. The rift between them had grown too wide to fix easily. Caelum realised that he could not continue seeing Ceres, at least until he could recover some of his old memories enough so that he would not need to pretend to be someone he was not.