Chapter 744 - To Be Played With By Destiny… You Will Laugh At It In Scorn
In a clearing inside a forest near the Capital City of Orion…
Rebecca's clothes were soaked with sweat as she knelt in the center of a magic circle.
She had been maintaining that flow of energy so that the portal that connected to the void wouldn't close. This required an extensive amount of concentration and magical power, which Rebecca possessed.
Suddenly, a blue bird materialized in front of her.
It was none other than Meredith, that had returned from the battlefield. After the Giants had been defeated, it had slipped out of the battle undetected, and returned to where Rebecca was.
"Where are Elliot and Chloee?" Rebecca asked as she looked at the Guardian of the Savadeen Mountains with exhaustion.
"Dead," Meredith replied. "You can close the portal now."
As if she was given a royal pardon, Rebecca sighed in relief as she stopped channeling her magical energy into the formation that was etched around the clearing.
As soon as she stopped feeding the magical array with her mana, Rebecca felt light-headed and almost collapsed on the ground. Fortunately, Meredith was there to support her and prevented her from losing consciousness.
After giving her a few minutes to catch her breath, Meredith explained everything that happened in the Void, which made Rebecca gasp in disbelief.
She couldn't believe that the Angelic Familiar had dragged her and Meredith along to participate in a war that had the Fate of the world at stake.
"What should we do next?" Rebecca asked. Since the battle had ended, and Elliot had died, she was unsure about how to proceed.
Meredith glanced in the direction of Hestia Academy before shifting her gaze back to Rebecca.
"Let's go back to the Misty Sect," Meredith replied. "I will inform them of what happened here, so they can also make the necessary preparations."
Rebecca frowned, "Preparations for what? Isn't it already over?"
Meredith chuckled before shaking its head.
"Over?" Meredith sighed. After seeing the battle in the Void, it knew that the future would be filled with hardships."No Rebecca. It's not over yet. Come, let us go back. Is it time for the Misty Sect to prepare for war."
—--
William clutched his chest with his right hand as he sensed Elliot's demise. This was not the first time he had felt this sensation, because his Angelic Familiar had died several times when he had taken them to the Dungeon of Atlantis to train.
Even so, it was a very painful feeling.
Elliot was not an ordinary familiar. He was part of William's soul. Everytime Elliot and Conan died, William felt that his soul was being torn apart.
Fortunately, this painful feeling would go away after an hour or two.
Seeing his pained expression, Princess Sidonie and Chiffon hurriedly supported his body. They didn't know what happened to William because the latter had his eyes closed, and beads of sweat had started to form on his forehead.
"Will, are you alright?" Chiffon asked.
Princess Sidonie eyed William's expression and rubbed his back with her hand. "What happened?"
William took in a few deep breaths before he answered his wives' questions.
"Elliot died," William answered. "I don't know how he died. I just know that he did."
Before Elliot left the academy, he had told William that he might be gone for a few days to accompany Chloee on her excursion. William didn't think much of it back then and allowed his Angelic Familiar to have his way.
Chloee was strong, so he wasn't worried about Elliot's safety. He was more worried that his skirt-chasing familiar would offend his Sixth Master and get punched to oblivion.
Suddenly, a green blur appeared in front of William.
A beautiful Elf, with fairy-like wings spread wide behind her back, looked at William with a serious expression on her face.
"Did Elliot die?" Celeste asked. There was a hint of anxiousness in her voice as she waited for William to answer her question.
William nodded. "Yes. He went with Chloee on an excursion…"
Celeste didn't give William a chance to finish his sentence, and told him about Chloee's death.
"Both Chloee and Elliot are dead, but looking at our expressions, it seems that Elliot died before Chloee did," Celeste said after making a rational statement. "Chloee did mention that she would go sight-seeing for a few days, but she didn't tell me where she was going."
WIlliam frowned. "There are very few beings that can kill Chloee. Whoever killed both of them must be someone very strong."
Celeste nodded in agreement. Since Chloee was born, she had only died once. This was why the beautiful Elf knew that her familiar had died because it was the same sensation she had felt back then.
However, just like William had said, there were very few beings that could threaten the life of her familiar. The only time that Chloee had died was when she challenged Tarasque in a duel a few years ago.
"We'll know the answer we want after twenty four hours," William commented. "I just hope that they didn't offend someone who bears grudges."
Chloee's twin, Claire, had canceled her fusion with Celeste and landed on the beautiful Elf's shoulder.
"Whoever killed my sister will pay with their life," Claire said in a voice laced with killing intent. The moody familiar only cared for two people in the world, and they were Celeste and her twin sister, Chloee.
"Don't worry," Celeste coaxed the little fairy whose body was shivering from anger. "We will get to the bottom of this tomorrow. For now, all we can do is wait."
William's and Celeste's gaze met and a sudden realization appeared on their faces.
Both of them looked up at the sky at the same time, and extended their senses.
The rumbling sounds, and the flashes of light in the heavens were not as pronounced as they once had been. Just like a rain that was about to end, only a faint drizzle remained.
Clearly, the battle that was being waged through the Heavens was nearing a conclusion, and yet, no one knew which side had won.
William's reason for leaving his room was to visit Shannon in the Shrine. But now, he was no longer in the mood to do so.
He focused his gaze on the heavens as if trying to peer through the fabric of time and space. Unfortunately, he didn't have that ability to do that, so he could only sigh in his heart as he watched the flickering lights in the sky, whose brightness was getting dimmer with each minute that passed.
—--
Inside the Shrine located at the East of Hestia Academy…
Shannon's brush danced across the canvas.
Although her gaze was locked on the canvass in front of her, she wasn't looking at her creation, but at something else entirely.
Her eyes glowed with power as she watched the event that was happening in the Passage of the Worlds.
She watched Malacai's selflessness, Ella's elegance, James' act of vengeance, as well as Elliot's and Chloee's participation in the war.
Shannon had caught all of these events on the three canvases that surrounded her. The first canvas was the beginning of the war, the second was the climax, and the third was the ending.
Right now, she was painting the end of the war. Her brush was moving automatically like it had a life of its own.
Shannon sighed, as she made the final stroke on her masterpiece.
She panted for breath as the excitement and rush of adrenaline dissipated in her body. Her face was flushed as she bathed in the afterglow of the battle that had just ended.
"Beautiful," Shannon said as she caught her breath. "Simply beautiful."
Her finger lightly caressed Malacai's, Ella's, James', Elliot's, and Chloee's images in the canvas as if she was trying to touch her favorite idols.
"It is quite unfortunate that the world will not end today," Shannon muttered. "I wish it had. That way, all of my suffering would also come to an end."
The young lady who was wearing the clothes of a shrine maiden glanced at her three paintings one last time. After embedding their images in her memory, she waved her hand and all three paintings were bathed in purple flames.
The stench of burning paint spread inside the room, but Shannon was indifferent to it. Clearly, this wasn't the first time that this had happened and she was already used to it.
Suddenly, the window of her room opened, and a refreshing breeze passed through her body. Half a minute later, the smell of burning was gone, and was replaced by a fragrance that could calm the mind of those who smell it.
The lady wearing a celestial robe appeared behind Shannon and patted her head. Shannon sighed in pleasure, and she even leaned her back against the lady behind her, like a spoiled child wanting to be pampered.
"Will my visitors still come today?" Shannon asked sleepily. "I don't want to meet anyone today. I'm tired and want to sleep."
"Okay, I will tell the guards to not let anyone in today," the lady replied as she helped Shannon to stand.
Shannon didn't reply because she was already fast asleep. It was very taxing for her to use her powers, but she still did it because she wanted to see the outcome of the battle.
She was like one of those people who scrimped and saved so they could barely afford to buy a movie ticket for a movie that they knew they would only ever get the opportunity to see once in their lifetime.
The beautiful lady who was holding the young shrine maiden in her arms sighed. She then carried the sleeping Shannon back to her room, and laid her in bed so she could get a proper rest.
"Today is a day that will be remembered by many as the day where a battle was fought in the Heavens," the beautiful lady said softly. "The outside threat has been dealt with for now, but the internal struggles are just about to begin."
The lady sighed as she walked out of Shannon's bedroom with a sad expression on her face. She gave the sleeping lady one last look before she erased all traces of what had transpired inside her room.
After that was done, she gazed somewhere in the distance. After finding her target, she stared at that person for a minute, or two, before shaking her head in helplessness.
"Pitiful Prince who did nothing wrong, your Fate has been set since the day you were born," the beautiful lady muttered as her body slowly turned into particles of light. "Through the whims of the universe, you were once again reborn, to be played with by Destiny… you will laugh at it in scorn."
A playful chuckle was carried by the wind, as if to agree to the lady's muttering.
"It might take a year. It might take a day," a voice filled with certainty said from a place that was shrouded in darkness, "but what's meant to be… will always find its way."
—-
End of Volume 5: Battle Through The Heavens