After leaving the tower, they continued to cross the wild jungle, slowly but surely.
Everyone was tired beyond relief, but no one complained nonetheless.
The one under the most pressure was, of course, Eric. The reason was simple, they didn't know how much time they had spent in the tower. Was it just an hour, or a week?
If it had been a week or more, how close was that creature that was supposed to always know his location by now?
'Still, better focus on the problem at hand,' Eric thought. They didn't know how much farther they had to travel through the jungle—or at least, that's what he thought… until.
The mushrooms began to thin out, the floating eyeballs started to decrease in number until they completely disappeared. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they crossed the jungle.
With a sigh, Eric raised his head. It seemed there was one more obstacle, a tall dark mountain they had to climb.
"So, do you think it's there?" Eric asked, turning to Aria, who seemed lost in thought.
"Think? No, I'm sure," she replied.
Opening his map using the gem, Eric saw that they were about six kilometers away from reaching the cathedral.
"I don't know about you… but I'm tired. Do you want to rest for a bit?"
Without even bothering to answer, the girls dismissed their armor, lay on the ground, and drifted to sleep.
It was a little strange to see the two of them fall asleep immediately—unbothered by the dangers all around them, or by him.
Was it because they were that tired, or was there another reason?
Eric didn't bother to dwell on it. Instead, he followed their example.
"It's time to get up," Eric heard Olivia's voice, so he slowly opened his eyes. It seemed a new day had arrived. By now, he had given up on counting the days he'd spent here.
Olivia looked exhausted despite sleeping for more than eight hours, which wasn't surprising. No matter how strong an individual is or how long they sleep, when you're in the middle of a death zone, you always sleep with one eye open. The quality of sleep was always poor.
Shifting his gaze to Aria, he saw her looking at the mountain. Eric knew she was a member of the Life faction and was now close to her cathedral. How did she feel? he wondered.
"The sooner we get it done, the better," he muttered as he stood up.
They began their ascent up the mountain. The higher they climbed, the more their surroundings seemed to dim, as if the rocks that formed the mountain were absorbing the sun's rays.
The only thing that seemed to glow in the dark was Aria and her armor.
"Olivia," Eric began. Unlike Aria, Olivia's armor perfectly camouflaged her in the surrounding area. It was almost as if she was in her natural element.
"I know Aria is a member of the Life faction. What about you? I know you're a member of the Underworld faction, but if I remember correctly, your uncle was part of the Ocean faction, right? How is that possible? Isn't it inherited by birth which god you belong to?"
"Not necessarily," she said. "In short, the reason is that my father was part of the Underworld faction, so now I am too."
Eric couldn't contain his curiosity and asked, "Was?"
"Eric…" Aria interrupted sharply. "Don't touch on that subject."
Eric's eyes narrowed for a moment. 'Shit… did I just remind her of some trauma or something?' he wondered.
"It's fine," Olivia reassured him, though her voice trembled slightly. "I can't always let the past haunt me. Plus, my family situation is… pretty complicated."
'Well… shit,' Eric thought. The way she spoke almost invited him to ask more. It felt rude to avoid the subject now, but rushing in might also be a bad idea. So…
"Well… when you say family, the only member of your family I know is your uncle. And to be honest, he didn't seem like a pleasant person to be around,"
Eric said, his brow furrowing as he remembered the tense argument he'd had with the man during faction meetings about the city's future. 'Though, to be honest, if it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't have been given the green light to try liberating the cathedral,' he thought.
"He wasn't always like this…" Olivia said quietly. "He used to be a pleasant person, but that changed one day." She seemed open to sharing her traumatic past. Was it because she felt comfortable enough around Eric, or was it the safety of the darkness hiding her expression?
"If… you don't mind me asking, what happened?"
With a deep sigh, Olivia began, "You see, my family wasn't always so broken. We were a family like any other… except for the fact that all of us had extraordinary power, of course."
Her voice started to tremble. "That all changed when I was around eleven. My mother participated in a dangerous mission, and… she didn't return."
She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "My father tried to act like nothing was wrong, but I saw how many times he cried when he looked at old photos of her. He didn't want to accept reality, so he started using alcohol to numb his feelings. At first, it was one cup, then two, then one bottle, then two bottles…"
Olivia paused, lost in the memory. "As time passed and I grew older, people started complimenting me, saying how much I looked like my mother…"
Eric could sense where the story was going but didn't interrupt. If she wanted to express her feelings, he couldn't stop her.
"One day… I'm not sure when exactly… my father returned home. He was barely able to stand on his feet but was still a master, while I, at the time, had only just awakened."
She sighed deeply before continuing, her voice distant. "When he saw me, he was convinced I was my mother… his wife. He tried to… have his way with me." Her voice broke slightly. "Thankfully, he wasn't able to. My uncle stopped him."
"How did he stop him?" Eric asked, trying to approach the delicate subject carefully.
"He killed him, on the spot," Olivia said, her tone steady but hollow. "Since then, he's blamed himself for killing his only brother. The man who was once patient and cunning became angry and bitter. But still… he saved me. No matter what, I'll always respect him for that."
'Wait,' Eric thought, his eyes narrowing as the pieces started to fall into place.
"Is that why, every time you touch me, your hands tremble? Are you… afraid of men, by any chance?"
…
"I know it's stupid, right? It's pathetic, right?" Olivia said, her voice cracking. It was clear she was crying, but the darkness around them hid her, so for once, she didn't have to keep up appearances.
"But… I can't help it. Every time I touch a man's hand, or sometimes even just by looking at one, I remember my father, and my body just… starts to shake."
"I… don't think it's stupid," Eric replied firmly. "All of us have our own dark pasts and experiences. You shouldn't be ashamed of your past. All you can do now is accept that you can't change it and live in the present. Your actions alone will show what kind of person you are."
"And," he added, "I've spent enough time with you here to know one thing, you are not stupid or pathetic. You are one of the bravest individuals I know. So don't treat yourself too harshly, and keep your head high."
Olivia was silently crying. She didn't want to embarrass herself any further, but despite that, she whispered just loud enough for Eric to hear,
"…Thank you."