Cadell and Nico fell silent and turned to me as they felt the sudden pressure I released. Straightening my back and hiding any signs of weakness, I stood tall and let my pressure weigh down on the surrounding area.
Cadell raised a brow as he studied me. “Looks like you still have some fight left in you.”
“Explain what you meant when you said vessel,” I demanded, my voice carrying with the help of mana despite the near-whisper of a volume that I spoke.
“You said taking Tess isn’t going to bring Cecilia back, right?” Nico replied, his voice a lot calmer than it was before. “Well, what if it will?”
“Then I would say you’re out of your mind,” I retorted, staying strong despite the burning needles stabbing every inch of my body.
“This is what Agrona has been researching and perfecting over the past few hundred years, Grey, and your reincarnation was what allowed everything he had worked for to turn the gears into motion,” Nico explained. “And that was how I was able to reincarnate into this world. After al,l if someone deserves a new life, it isn’t you…it’s Cecilia and me.”
“Bullshit,” I spat, the word leaving a trail of pain throughout my lungs and throat.
I took a deep breath and let the anger fester inside me in order to mitigate some of the pain coursing through my body. Once more, I desperately tried to move the aether, but the motes of purple wouldn’t budge. The pain grew stronger with each attempt and I could feel my body deteriorating.
To make matters worse, the gate was destroyed and there wasn’t another one nearby.
It wasn’t fair. No matter how much stronger I became, why did I always just barely lack the power to win?
Damn it. Damn it. Come on, now would be a great time for a weapon! I pleaded, clawing at the palm of my hand where that bastard asura, Wren, had stuck that acclorite.
Tess suddenly gripped my wrist. “Arthur, stop! What are you doing to your hand?”
Just then—as everyone’s eyes were on me—I felt hot liquid pour down my nose, spilling on my hand.
“Art? Your nose…” Tess gently touched my shoulder, worried.
I hurriedly wiped the blood running down my nose and lips and looked back up to see Cadell’s lips curved into a smirk. “You’re body is breaking down, isn’t it, Lance?”
“What? Is that true?” Tess asked. “How bad is it?”
“I’ll be okay,” I lied, shrugging her away. I couldn’t even look her in the eye. Instead, I kept my eyes focused on the opponents ahead.
Talking was pointless now and whatever that asura jabbed into my hand wouldn’t help me now.
Whether it was Elijah or Nico, it didn’t matter. He was an enemy trying to take Tess, and they wouldn’t stop there.
I infused mana into my legs and prepared to make whatever desperate attempt of an attack I could make, but a small girl stood in the way.
“Sylvie. Don’t try and stop me,” I muttered, cladding my degrading body in mana in preparation for one last battle.
“Would you stop even if I tried?” my bond asked solemnly. She took a step to the side as a golden-white aura flared to life around her. “If you’re so bent on killing yourself, We’ll go together.”
Cadell and Elijah clad themselves in their dark mana as well. The ground cracked and splintered around us as whoever was left from the Alacryan side had all run away.
“Nyphia. Take Tess and Madam Astera as far away as possible,” I said, looking back over my shoulder. Shifting my gaze down at Madam Astera’s stump, I forged a prosthetic leg out of stone before turning back. “And don’t stop.”
“Elf Princess,” Cadell said his smirk widening. “If your dearly beloved stays in that form any longer, whether he wins or loses this battle, he’ll die.”
“Leave her out of this!” I shouted but by the time I turned around, Tess had already shrugged off Nyphia.
Tess didn’t speak to me, though. Instead, she gripped Sylvie’s wrist and asked her, “He’s lying, right? Tell me he’s lying, Sylvie!”
Sylvie looked at me, but didn’t respond.
“I’ll be fine, Tess,” I lied again, but my words were met with a venomous tear-filled glare.
“You always do this. You’re always ready to give up your life to save me,” she shot back.
“Tess…” I grabbed her arm.
“Do you think I’d be grateful if you died to save me?” she asked, her lips quivering.
She wrapped her hand over mine and peeled herself from my grip. She touched my forehead with hers as she closed her eyes, chest heaving erratically as she held back sobs.
She let out a whisper after placing her lips against mine. “You idiot.”
Then she tore herself away from me and walked off, straight towards the enemy.
“No!” I stepped forward, ready to sprint after her, when Sylvie held me back, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“Sylvie! No! You can’t do this to me!”
“Arthur, please…” Sylvie begged, her small body trembling. “I don’t want you to die.”
I watched helplessly as Tess walked away, the sound of blood pounding in my head muting every other sound. I couldn’t even hear my own shouts as I begged Tess to stop, to let me fight, to let me die.
I watched as Tess turned back and smiled at me before saying something. I couldn’t hear it though. They may have been Tess’ last words and I couldn’t hear them.
No. I couldn’t let this happen.
My gazes flitted down to my bloody palm as I checked once more with the faint hope that the weapon would appear.
It didn’t, and I didn’t have time.
As Sylvie hugged me tighter, forcing me away from Tess as she walked towards Nico and Cadell, I wedged my hand inside my protective chest plate and pulled out the medallion that Elder Rinia had given me to bring Tess back—a reminder that this entire world and countless others would fall to Agrona if Tess was in his hands.
It all made sense now. For whatever reason, Tess was meant to be the vessel for Cecilia. Maybe it was because of our relationship in this world that created the bridge, but that didn’t matter.
If both Nico and I became this strong after reincarnating into this world, how strong would Cecilia, the ‘legacy,’ be if she reincarnated into Tess’ body?
“Sylvie. You know what Rinia said,” I pleaded, studying the ancient relic in my hand. “We can’t let them have Tess.”
Sylvie shook her head, her face still buried in my chest. “We’ll both get stronger. As long as we live, we have a chance.”
I felt my insides churn as I stood on my last few minutes of Realmheart, but I continued to study the medallion. Something about it that I hadn’t noticed before now stood out to me within this fully assimilated state of Realmheart Physique.
The recent memory of Rinia drawing the aetheric runes on the gate resurfaced and the hours I spent in that ancient cave watching Sylvie meditate while influencing the aether around her connected together instinctively in a way that my mind couldn’t fathom but my body could.
Sylvie sensed the change in the air as I got to work.
“A-Arthur? What are you doing?” my bond cried desperately, her gaze shifting around as she witnessed my act.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered as a metallic taste filled my mouth.
I dispersed the gathered aether I had influenced. I reached out with my arms, one pointed at Nyphia and Madam Astera, the other directed at Tess.
And suddenly, we were in a separate space. This was different from Static Void where I was in the same space as the rest of the world.
No, I had created a separate pocket dimension and brought everyone along with me.
With no time to waste, I threw the medallion that had the coordinates engraved in it and create
d a teleportation portal of my own.
“Into the portal, now!” I shouted as I struggled to keep the portal stable.
Madam Astera was the one that made it work. Wasting no time, she picked up Nyphia and sprinted towards the portal with the prosthetic leg I had conjured for her. After tossing Nyphia into the portal, she ran after Tess, who was a few paces away still.
I restructured the size of the pocket dimension, bringing Tess closer to Madam Astera and the portal.
Without even the chance to get a word out, I saw Tess get sucked into the portal. Madam Astera looked at me for a second before giving me a nod and jumping through the portal herself.
“Sylvie… it’s t-time to go,” I said, my bond just looking at me in horror.
She reached up and wiped the tears streaming from my eyes, only to see her fingers covered in blood… my blood.
“A-Arthur, you’re not going to make it,” Sylvie said as I felt her consciousness go deeper into mine. I couldn’t shield my thoughts from her in my state anymore, leaving me an open book.
“The portal isn’t…going to stay stable for much longer, Sylv. P-Please, I can’t have you die too,” I said, smiling while trying to keep blood from leaking out of my mouth.
A wave of blinding pain hit me and the pocket dimension rippled like a bubble about to pop. Disoriented, I tried to force Sylvie into the portal when she began glowing purple.
“Sylv? What are you—” My eyes widened in horror as I realized what she was doing.
The light spread until an all-too-familiar dragon was standing in front of me.
“Try to keep yourself alive while I’m gone, okay?” Sylvie said as she gave me a toothy grin.
“Sylv, no! Don’t do this!” I screamed. Desperate, I tried to push her to the portal, but my hands went through her.
Sylvie’s body was turning ethereal and she was fading as motes of lavender and gold began leaving her and attaching themselves to my body.
My body writhed in unimaginable pain at the sudden change it was going through, but I held on, unwilling to pass out. My vision faded as I screamed out to Sylvie, but her last words were cut off as she pushed me through the portal with the last remaining corporeal limb she had left.
My bond had left me with one word before she faded: ‘…again.’
TBATE Volume 7 Page 45