Chapter 21: A Great Dream Drop
Goblins, hobgoblins, skeletons, raiders, bandits, outlaws, enemy types of all kinds.
And...Vaniti. Stayed here. At this exact spot.
For four. Four. Four, direct days.
I look awestruck at Vaniti, she can barely see me, but I see the tears well up in her eyes. Her armor shines as normal, not a single rip. But...I could see it. The direct exhaustion plastered on her face.
No...no way. I was only in there for an hour. I...
"When...when you fell, your mana signature suddenly vanished. I tried sensing for it all over the cave. I couldn’t find it...and then in the middle of it, a light beamed into the sky...almost like a beacon." She explained.
She limped over to the other bodies, kicking one over. Her blindfold was underneath it. No...don’t tell me she was fighting without her blindfold too?
Just an outright negative penalty.
"I stayed here...thinking that could bring you back. But it only brought adversity. Enemies," She says. She holds her blindfold, but it’s ripped. No longer concealing her eyes. It doesn’t have a purpose anymore.
Vaniti must’ve realized that, and let it slip from her grasp. The wind carried it away anyways.
Then, she turned towards me.
"They didn’t stand with me, so more than likely they were against me." She says, darkly. Cultic, even.
I could only look down at the ground.
I became a burden for her.
When only I wanted her to not over-exert herself. She did so anyway. She’s limping, and her breaths are irregular. There’s no telling how long...or how many people she had to fight.
She did it regardless.
Because she couldn’t lose me.
I looked up once.
"...I’m sorry. I—"
Stopped.
My voiced cracked. Useless.
She just smiled and shook her head.
Like I was the one who needed saving.
Funny.
I got...I got hard carried.
It’s laughable, even.
Sovereign of Calamity, of Strife, of everything bad the world had.
And here I am, getting saved like the sweet princess in fairy tales.
Not ironic.
Just...funny.
The scent of blood, dead corpses, and death was too strong in the air. My tail whipped across the ground. It was clear all of them were brought here thanks to the light beacon.
Which only proves that Vaniti wasn’t just having a regular skirmish, no. At times, it was a wave onslaught. Continuously, wave after wave.
She didn’t look bothered, not once. Blood painted across her armor and slightly into her face and she never did notice, or pretended not to care.
No...I don’t think Vaniti would pretend. It’s just not in her to. If anything, it’s more that didn’t care outright.
I turned around, there was a pedestal with an artifact. This must’ve been what the Ascendant Quest was based around.
Light must’ve shot out of that, enemies came, Vaniti didn’t want to leave, and so, she fought.
and fought.
And fought.
I release a shaky breath.
Then, I turn to her. "Vaniti,"
Her long pointed ears twitch, she looks in my general area, but there’s no eye contact to be held. Of course, she’s practically blind.
"Why...why didn’t you leave? You could’ve gotten hurt dangerously. If you did...then I don’t know if I could live with myself."
She squints, she’s clearly confused...or can’t see me. She probably only sees me as a big bright light bulb just like majority of the environment.
Vaniti takes a step closer, unsure at first, and then deciding that it is truly me, she takes another.
"I’m your Consort, aren’t I? I’ve entirely devoted myself to you," She says.
"You helped me, even when you clearly never knew me. If I had spent multiple lifetimes, I would still struggle to pay back in faith and servitude."
Then, she looks down, just slightly.
Her lips part once, but close. She’s...she’s hesitating. Not wanting to say something just once.
But something inside tells her to do it anyways.
"...i-in...in this lonely world...only you were there for me, Ryuuzen." She says, but it felt more like a confession.
She then looks up back to me.
"I can’t lose someone like that. Never again."
The word resonated with my heart first, and then my mind. I wanted to tear up, but I held back my eyes from burning.
Vaniti didn’t say...thank you.
She didn’t say I’m glad you’re back.
No, she devoted her loyalty to me. And somehow this feels worse.
She fought until she couldn’t see, and then after that, she still kept fighting.
Even her enemies...the wounds they suffered. Overkill, which led me to believe something. That her enemies weren’t just goblins, or raiders, or skeletons.
It was just anyone or anything that wasn’t me.
How did she even survive without food? I...I don’t want to think about it. I don’t think Vaniti would go to those lengths.
Hopefully.
I look into her eyes. Big, looks puzzled. I guess to her, "seeing" didn’t necessarily matter in the long run. Either she was running off of instinct which she honed herself...
...or that just feeling for my return was more than enough.
She limps, like a hurt coyote. Down to her right ankle—must’ve rolled it. A sprain. She can barely move her left wrist, must’ve overused magic purely bad locked it up.
If this what she does without my surveillance, than what if it was something else entirely? Does Vaniti even know how strong people can get? These mobs are no joke, yes. Just...I guess, a week ago now, she was struggling to fight them.
But what if it was against higher-ranked people? Ascendants like me? Exalted? Master? Would the sense of superiority strike her and tell her to stop?
No...I don’t think so. Not as long as "getting to Ryuuzen" is on her mind. Because if she has that mindset...than anyone else who opposes...
...is her enemy. Regardless.
I looked at her one final time. It looked like it hurt to just stand outright. But I couldn’t tell, because Vaniti couldn’t show it.
So, I sighed.
The Ascendant Quest might be done.
But the damage here is still dealt.
Four days.
10,000 years.
Hmph.
I just can’t stay reliable just for one second, huh?
I guess that’s the curse for me.