Chapter 1054: Reunion |
"..."
"..."
Both Lab and Elias were... unsure as to what they were looking at right now.
Just moments ago, there was a spectacle of explosions and clashes above the sky. The appearance of a second Lord with Lab wanting to make a move but Alice refusing to give the signal.
Then, with the appearance of a third combatant, Alice suddenly stopped. The next thing they knew, she had turned around and hugged the woman, thus leading to this current... situation.
They were led into the tower and rested in a guest room of sorts.
Much like the rest of the tower, white marble stretched beneath their feet and across the walls and ceiling. Liquid gold seemed to flow within the marble as cracks were filled with splendour that shimmered under the chandeliers.
To their left, tall windows reached from floor to ceiling while flowing curtains tied with golden thread parted to reveal a jaw dropping view of the city.
But rather than the view of the city, they were more shocked by the view in front of them.
Nestled in Allura’s arms, Alice and Allura sat in the same seat with Alice refusing to let go.
Her arms were wrapped firmly around the tall woman who simply smiled and patted the short girl’s hair. Like a cat or rather a baby, Alice had a happy look on her face while ignoring the gaze of her companions.
"What? Something on my face?" Alice glanced over, wondering why they weren’t saying anything.
"That’s... No, never mind." Elias sighed, massaging his eyes. How was he even supposed to tell Alice to let go of Allura?
He may not know the full picture but he fully understood the desire to hug a loved one after a long time of separation.
It’s something he wished I could do but has forever lost the opportunity to do so.
And now that Alice had the chance, who was he to deny her of this chance?
"I think they’re just concerned about everything that’s going on." Allura chuckled, patting Alice on the head while trying to sit up straight.
But Alice, having missed being next to Allura, simply glanced up with a set of puppy eyes that made it hard for Allura to deny.
’Urg... this isn’t good for my heart.’ She thought to herself before glancing towards Karya and Gin for a bit of help.
Noticing this signal, Karya was the one who decided to step in.
"I know you’re excited about the reunion but are you aware of Allura’s current condition?"
At the mention of Allura’s health, it was akin to a basin of cold water being doused over Alice.
Her fingers twitched as reluctance and pain appeared in her eyes.
In the end, she slowly let go of Allura and sat down next to her. This was as much as she was willing to compromise.
Seeing the delicate fingers holding onto her sleeve, Allura felt a pang of guilt in her chest.
To think she was even thinking about not meeting Alice in order to help her deal with the dangers elsewhere...
It may have come from a place of care but... at the end of the day, with such little time left, she wanted to spent it near people she cared about.
"I... know. She has less than a year left, right?" Alice bit her lip before letting out a sigh.
She knew that Karya was pointing towards. For her not to waste time if possible.
Even though she wanted to try and help resolve Allura’s issue asap, the more pressing matter as on what Nyer was planning.
The transformation of the Void Realm along with the World Tree.
And to address the biggest issue would be to talk about the Nightmare realm that was all over Extalia.
Organising her thoughts, Alice started her report.
Small journeys could be left out for now. From the moment of their departure, she retold everything she had gone through to Allura.
When she reached the part about meeting Kaden, Allura’s finger twitched. She tried to keep herself composed but Alice could tell that a myriad of thoughts were drifting through her mind right now.
She continued the report...
Metting Velouria in the Inverted World, Nyer’s plans, the Allies she’s made, her encounters with the churches and Cults.
Everything.
The more the group listened, the wider their eyes became.
In the short time that Alice had been away from Allura, the journey she had embarked on was unlike anything they had ever expected.
When they thought the story was over, she would continue the tale. The journey to the east, her travels through the layers of the Abyss. Her meeting with Rosalyn’s brother and information gained on Yvael.
Monika and Plume.
The visions she saw in the Nightmare.
And finally, her agreement with Enris.
At the mention of this part, Gin’s expression turned sour but he quickly hid it. Yet not fast enough as Alice clearly noticed his displeasure.
She didn’t blame him.
After all... She couldn’t quite believe she chose to work with Enris herself.
While it wasn’t a verbal agreement, both of them understood that they had to work with one another if they wish to take care of Nyer, the greatest threat of all.
Once she finished speaking about Enris, Alice mentioned her partnership with the Outer God Zal-Ka’Rith.
By the end of her story, the group sat in silence, digesting everything they’ve just learned.
Lab was overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity of Alice’s journey. From being simply a weak Hunter to now contending against Lords and even being the one to kill Kazira.
Hell. The only reason why she was even allowed to know all of this was because there’s no point in hiding things anymore.
Alice saw no point in it, not when things have gotten to this stage.
The death of an Apostle was small compared to the Realm fusing with the Void.
Elias... zoned out. He was a simple doctor looking for a cure for side effects.
All of this was already far above what he was prepared to handle.
Gin, while worried about Alice, was more worried about Ria.
The two had been separated for a while with little communication between them. While her safety shouldn’t be an issue, as her guardian, he was still worried and wanted to find his granddaughter as soon as possible.
Finally, Allura let out a deep exhale.
She glanced at Alice who was looking up at her with a kind of expectant gaze and her heart melted in an instant.
Giving Alice a hug, she patted her on the back.
"You’ve done well. You don’t need to shoulder everything alone anymore. I’m here."
Hearing Allura say this, tears started to well up in Alice’s eyes.
It’s as though the pressure that had been bearing down on her disappeared in an instant.
All this time, she’s put on a bit of a brave front. To make sure the people around her weren’t worried and to trick herself into believing that everything was fine.
But the truth was that she felt overwhelmed all along.
Overwhelmed, scared and stressed out on what she should be doing.
It felt as though one mistake would cause everything around her to come crumbling down all at once if she wasn’t careful.
One mistake would be all it took for Nyer to achieve his goals and for a doomed future to arrive.
Yet with a single line from Allura, it felt as though all of her worries had melted away.
Unable to hold herself back, Alice sunk her face into Allura’s embrace as her shoulders trembled from the tears that refused to stop.
###
It took a while for Alice to stop crying. Once she finally stopped and separated from Allura, her eyes were now puffy and red while Allura’s shirt was stained with tears.
Feeling embarrassed, Alice was about to hurl a string of curses at Lab and Elias when Allura raised her eyebrow.
One action was all it took to tame Alice as she swallowed her curses and sat like a good girl.
"There’s a lot of things we should address, especially with the information that Alice brought with her." Allura spoke first as both Karya and Gin turned serious.
"Nyer is advancing his plans faster than I thought. And... With Kaden managing to escape somehow, that’s one less thing we need to worry about. Knowing him, if he’s escaped but haven’t shown himself, he’s probably looking for a way to recover or h’s occupied with something else."
Karya folded her arms.
"Raven b*stard doesn’t die easily. If anything, I’m tempted to gamble on the fact that he probably left behind a familiar to keep tabs on everything that’s happening." She grumbled.
It’s clear that Kaden didn’t have a great reputation amongst their friends.
Allura chuckled in agreement.
A part of her wanted to look for him as well but... with her lifeforce constantly draining from her body like a broken hour glass, she had to be careful with what she chose to do.
"Since Alice is here, I think our best bet would be to split up the group a little. Not by much. Gin, I want you to take Nalem with you to look for the others still stuck in the Abyss. With the two of you, finding a way out shouldn’t be an issue." Allura suggested, surprising Alice as she hadn’t expected Nalem to be here as well.
Noticing this, Allura quickly clarified.
"Nalem came to the capital looking for me as well. He mentioned that Nyer got a hold of Kaden but didn’t know where he was currently. It’s only now that you’ve confirmed his survival. As for where he is, he’s currently borrowing the Royal library."
Hearing this, Alice nodded her head as Allura continued to the next point.
"And speaking of the Royal library, I think it’s best I tell you why we’ve stayed in the capital for so long. Our original plan was to look for you but... some information came up that we simply couldn’t ignore." Allura narrowed her eyes.
"This tower that we’re in right now...
"There are traces that Velouria might’ve been involved in its creation."