He stood in front of a mirror, looking at the face that now seemed changed. It was still the same face he always had, the same face he had seen countless times now. But as he looked carefully through the mirror, it also seemed to reflect a different one.
It was not just the eyepatch he now sported to cover his blinded left eye. There was something truly different but also very familiar at the same time.
He had been standing there for at least a few minutes, wondering what it was, before it finally dawned on him.
He could see them through the reflection. Many different faces, each with their own unique features. But there was one thing in common. They all had that same scarlet eye.
"Cal, what's wrong?"
Erta had just got out of the shower which still surprisingly worked. That was when she noticed the strangeness in Caelum's behaviour.
She had sensed that he had not moved from that spot for a while now, but she did not think that he was staring at a mirror. He had never done such a thing for as long as she knew him.
She was worried that perhaps the tribulation did in fact leave some hidden dangers within him, but Caelum's response cleared her doubts. With a sigh, he turned to her and asked.
"When you look at me, who do you see?"
"What? I see you. Who else am I supposed to see?"
Confusion, that was the main thing Caelum could feel from her at this moment. They have decided not to hide most things from their Life Covenant anymore. It was one of the reasons for a lot of their misunderstandings and issues with each other after all.
After remembering their past life together, they wanted to rebuild the relationship they had back then, thus their new approach to their connection.
Still, there were things that were simply too heavy and too personal to so easily reveal to each other without preparing themselves first.
And that was why Caelum opted to talk it out this time rather than simply relaying it through the Life Covenant.
"Yes. But which one of me do you see?"
Erta could feel it now, a trickle of emotion that he had leaked as he asked her. He wanted her to understand how he felt.
The steady stream of emotion that flowed through their connection came with a sense of relief, but at the same time, it quivered ever so slightly. He was conflicted, perhaps even scared.
This was the first time Erta had seen her husband ever admit such a thing. But she too knew his sentiment. She shared the same for herself.
So she closed the distance between them, held his face in her hands and forced him to look into her eyes.
"I see my husband, the man I swore to love to my dying breath. It doesn't matter who you think you are. If you are Li Xing Yue, then I am Himeragi Shizuna. If you are Caelum Grace, then I am Erta Ki'ana. If you are someone else, then I'll be the same person with a different name. Or not. In the end, it doesn't matter. You are my dear husband and I am your loving wife."
With her words, a wave of relief spread in Caelum's chest. It was not like him to be afraid of such a thing, but it seems this time was a special circumstance. His meeting with his past incarnations, especially Endir, had made him terrified of his lost memories.
"I'm sorry. When I saw my reflection, it wasn't the current me I saw. It was… them. A lot of them. And even then, I knew that was not all of us.
I was afraid. Because unlike them, I don't have memories of my life. I was afraid that the more I remember them, the more I'd become them…, the more I'd lose myself.
You are all I have in this life. I didn't want to lose you to them too."
Perhaps it was foolish and childish of him to be scared. After all, even though they all lived different lives, they were all a single person. They were One.
But the Scarlet Tribulation had truly left an indelible mark on him. He could not stop thinking of the similarity of Endir's false name to his own non-existent past.
Erta pulled him into a tight embrace. She felt so happy to hear his words despite her worry. But there was nothing they could do about his anxiety right away. That was something that could only be left to time to resolve.
What was most important was that Erta would treat him just as she always had in this life, but with greater conviction and devotion.
After calming down, the two prepared to return to Aegon.
They stood outside the house. Caelum took one last look at it. He etched it onto his mind as his heart had yet to connect with it. He did not dare beautify it nor embellish its features. He did not want such artificial attachments.
He would return one day. And at that time, he would see this place for what it is. Whether it was just an old ruined house or a beloved home, he would find out then.
He turned around and saw Erta smiling gently at him. She seemed to be in a good mood. Though he did not know why, as long as she was happy, he was happy.
He held her hand as they were bathed in scarlet light, disappearing from where they stood.
The two emerged in a beautiful garden in the middle of a river. They have returned to Aegon in the blink of an eye.
What immediately caught their attention was the bustling atmosphere of the city. Caelum was surprised. This was definitely not what he was expecting to see upon his return.
He thought they would all be wallowing in despair or something along those lines after the world had nearly been destroyed by him. But instead, people moved about busily, hurried but with purpose.
From their senses, Caelum and Erta found several demolished buildings and construction sites all over the city. What was more shocking were the tools being used.
They were all artefacts, devices created from a combination of relics obtained from dungeons and magic engineering. It was astonishing to see so many of them being used so openly.
Just over a week ago, no one would even dare bring out their artefacts for no urgent reason at all. People guarded them with their lives as though the entire world would gang up to rob them.
But now, even the common folk who were not avatars nor were knowledgeable in wielding mana were using artefacts.
"What the hell happened while I was asleep?"
"It seems they've started rebuilding. I told you, remember? They've already reestablished communications across the world. They must've started the next step already."
Caelum recalled the news that Erta told him about yesterday. It seems Halo had spearheaded the rebuilding of civilisation. He sighed.
In the end, his mess was being cleaned up by others. Even though the House of Grace was his to command, it did not feel right to leave it all to them. He had to do something as well.
At the very least, he had to ensure that the people of Earth were aware of their current predicament to encourage them to work for their own survival.
And so, Caelum devised a simple plan in his mind, organising all the tasks that needed to be done by him and his people over the next few weeks in preparation for his departure.
It only took him a minute before turning to Erta. The first task was for her to undertake after all.
"Erta, it's time for you to recover your powers."
Upon hearing his words, Erta's crystal white eyes briefly flashed with light. It was only for a moment, but the blinding radiance contained both golden and silver coloured light.
It was as though the two had been awakened by the promise of reunion with long lost parts of themselves. Erta looked at Caelum in anticipation.
~~~
Footsteps echoed along the lonely alley, its sound like a cascading waterfall upon the weathered rocks of the forgotten earth.
The shadow it carried moved without purpose through the quiet whimpers. Its unseen eyes could gaze upon the black that reigned there, meek yet smouldering.
It could not help but curse at the red that filled its mind, that which has yet to become like the hiding sun in the skies above.
Even now it refuses to reveal itself.
Even now it could not shed one dull light upon this forsaken land.
And yet it feels them clearly…, the agony in the screams, the iron in the cold, the cold in the air, the warmth in the red.
To its front was a mother, smiling in her red repose. In her arms was her child who could only cry silently, staring upon her loving face. And on her back was a thorn soaked in red.
It was red, that which lined the life that once squirmed underfoot.
It was red, that which dyed the white of innocence.
It was red…
The eyes that stared at the hollow love flared red. The world was black and white, yet all they could see was red.
Pacing forward, the shadow stumbled upon a string. It too was red, tied to the fingers of a young man and his beloved, the final hope in his eyes which yet hid the madness of the world. But it was cut too short.
It was red, that which tainted his beloved's flesh.
It was red, that which rumbled in the depths.
It was red…
The shadow moved on only to find a man standing solemnly at the end of the alley, at the edge of the world, on the brink of demise. He turned to it.
And it could feel them clearly…, the agony in the screams, the iron in the cold, the cold in the air, the warmth in the red.
It was red, that which reigned upon the forsaken land.
It was red, that which ruled his hollowed heart.
It was red, that which sundered the cowardly sun.
It was red, that which peeked from the horizon.
It was red…