Chapter 11: Setting out and a certain swordsman.
It was a quiet night, the sound of the wind blowing. The moon in the sky was shining, its light falling upon the world.
However, inside Zephyria's halls, that wasn't the same. There were yellings.
"What do you mean, that you have to leave!?" Yelled Nyxelle, her tone one of shock and desperation after hearing Lunaria's thought about leaving her.
With a sigh, Lunaria tried to explain. "Nyxelle, you have to understand that Vaelthar was suggested to be Collapse class level in the 2nd Dawn by Father. He already reached Disturbance class level upon his return. We can't take any risk of waiting, someone has to take the responsibility to do research from the outside." The older sister, explained, trying to convince the phantom.
But her words were ignored as Nyxelle started to yell at her again. "And why you!? Why, YOU!?"
"Is it because, this will help you attain more knowledge!? You never ever bothered to take actions in the past when bubba left!"
"In fact you caused sissy to leave in search of bubba, all because you couldn't ever bother to help find him! There is no point in trying to lie to me because I know, that you plan to leave because of your greed for knowledge, Knowledge Seeker!"
It was a tone of anger, sadness and desperation. A yell of frustration and anger. Her hair starting to float because of her phantom aura coming out of her body due to anger.
Lunaria couldn't speak for a moment. The older sister had no way to ignore the phantom about the fact, that she truly never tried to leave in the past to look for her siblings that had left them.
Before Nyxelle could yell any further, a finger poked her at the back of her neck with some mana infused in it. Her eyes went pale white before passing out on her sister.
Lunaria caught her sister in her arms and then looked at the one who caused Nyxelle to pass out. And there she was, standing firmly, Yuren Xia.
"Mothe-" Lunaria tried to ask, yet immediately getting cut off.
"My apologies my dear, but I couldn't let my daughters to start fighting, so I had to do that." Yuren Xia explained herself, taking the passed out Phantom into her arms and looks back at Lunaria. "Astraeus called you, about your request to leave, Zephyria. He said, that the Judgement told him about someone who can aid you a lot in your journey and act as a good companion for you."
Lunaria hearing the words, nodded and bowed slightly. "I see. Thank you, for informing me, mother." Raising her head back up, again. She walked past Yuren Xia to reach Astraeus. However, before she could completely leave the room. Yuren Xia, called her out behind their back causing her to halt her movements for a moment.
"And Lunaria, you have to remember. Nyxelle still hasn't recovered completely after your brother left, then followed by your sister to search for him. She still hasn't recovered from the loss off her older siblings, especially of her brother."
"She does not hate you, for leaving, she understands your reasoning but can't bear to lose you as well. That's why she yelled at you."
"She may be over twenty-eight-hundred years old, now, but her heart for you and her siblings is still that of a child."
Lunaria stood there for a moment, registering the words in her head, before replying back quietly. "I understand, that..." Before, walking out of the room.
Yuren Xia glanced at Nyxelle, moving her hair slightly away from her face wnd whispering quietly. "You are awake, aren't you?"
Nyxelle didn't replied back, but to answer her mother, the phantom clenched her fists tightly to herself and opene her red eyes slightly.
Lunaria, now in front of Astraeus in the main room, stood firmly and spoke. "Father, mother told me that you had information about someone for me? Who are they?"
Astraeus kept a glass orb aside on the table and looked at her. As he answered her with a firm tone. "Correct, I talked about it with the other Primordials and the Primordial Judgement, told me that there is someone in her nation who can be a great aid for you."
Lunaria raised an eyebrow at that and asked another question. "How much of an aid are we talking about?" Her tone one of curiosity, to which Astraeus replied. "I haven't personally met him, but based on how Judgement described him, he is a swordman, and his skills are almost as good as S-"
Astraeus stopped his sentence, his words halted at the last part. He looked at Lunaria and spoke. "I suppose, you already know who I meant to compare him to, am I correct?"
Lunaria sighed slightly, answering back. "Yes, I am well aware of who you meant to talk about... But if this swordsman is almost as good as him, in skill and talent. Then he will surely be a really great aid."
Looking back at Astraeus, she questioned him again. But this time it was about something else."Father... Another question. This one is not related to this, but..."
"Why do you always refer the Primordial Titan of Judgement as just Judgment?"
"You refer all the primordials by their primordial status, but refer mother by her name? Why?"
Astraeus went pale at the question, and started sweating bullets at the thought of whether to answer it or not. "Ah... About that, my dear daughter. Some questions are... Suitable to be left unanswered." And immediately tried to leave the room to from the side door to avoid answering it.
Just as he was about to leave, an authoritative tone called him out. Astraeus froze, and slowly turned his head towards the direction of the voice with a sheepishly terrified smile. "H-Hello d-dear."
There she was, Yuren Xia standing at the entrance of the room with a gentle look on her face with a gentle smile. "Dear~ I see, that you were planning to not answer our daughter's question?~ Seems, like I have to tell you again, when to answer~"
Turning her head towards Lunaria, Yuren Xia spoke with a orderly tone. "Sweetheart, can you leave me and your father alone for a moment?~"
Lunaria went a bit pale upon seeing the look on her mother's face, realized what was about to happen. Quietly leaving the room, and closed the door, as she covered her ears to protect herself from what was about to happen—
"AHHHH!" A yell came from Astraeus, inside the room. Then followed by the sounds of breaking and destroying stuffs from the inside with Yuren Xia, yelling. "YOU WILL NEVER LEARN WILL YOU!?" As more earthquake like shakes and yelling came from inside.
Lunaria sighed slightly at that and turns towards the door and mumbled to herself quietly. "Why are those two even fighting because of what I asked?" Before she could think any further, something wrapped itself around her from behind, when she looked behind her to see who it was, it was none other than the phantom herself.
"Nyxelle?... Is something wrong?" Lunaria asked, her tone calm and gentle. To which, Nyxelle replied in a quiet tone. "Just wanted to apologise for yelling at you earlier, but didn't knew how to apologise properly. So, I just used the method, I always use..."
But then her words were a bit silly compared to her tone. "I call this, the "Hug of Apology".
The two blinked. Once. Then twice. The thrice.
Lunaria just stared at Nyxelle. Then both the sisters, realized how silly the sentence was, and tried to hold their laughter. Before the two, burst out laughing.
"I didn't even realized, how funny that sounded compared to my tone!"
"You always find something adorable to say even in the most tense situation!"
The two later spent their night laughing and talking to each other. However, someone was not living their time the same way.
Astraeus in the room was sitting on the floor looking down avoiding any eye contact. His face beaten up with small bruises on his body, sweating slightly in fear.
Yuren Xia standing in front of him was looking down at him with an authoritative look. Showing the superiority in their relation.
"Promise to correct that habit of yours?"
"Promised..."
"Good."
And how the night went for the two Primordial Titans. A complete contrast compared to the two sisters.
By the next morning, Lunaria was already ready to go out now. Her silver hair tied into a ponytail, a tightly packed dress hugging her waist covering her arms and legs entirely, a pair of high boots up until her knees. A choker on her neck.
She looked at herself in the mirror, feeling something missing out. As she mumbled. "I still need something to cover myself up. Considering, I have to go to Eryndralis firs-"
Poke!
Just as she was thinking someone poked her neck from behind, Lunaria turned around and saw Nyxelle standing behind her holding a fur cloak. "You can wear this, maybe?" The phantom tilted her head in curiosity, wondering whether her sister would accept it or not.
Lunaria took the cloak in her hands and looked at for a moment, before putting it on and looking back at the mirror. "Hmm. Not bad." The Willorion patted the phantom's head who just smiled slightly at the action. "Thanks for the suggestion."
Then right at the same moment, Nyxelle's smile started to wear down and looked down. "But, do you really have to leave?"
Noticing the look on her sister's face, Lunaria tried to reassure her. "Don't worry, I promise, that I will come back." She hugged Nyxelle and patted her head, teasing her next. "You are still a baby, even when you are almost a whole three millenia old now."
"You literally lived for half of this dawn, young looking grandma." Nyxelle's words hit Lunaria straight to the heart, not denying the truth. After all she was, in fact, older than twenty millennias, right now.
BONK!
"Ow..." Nyxelle rubbed her head, slight tears from her eyes at getting hit by her sister. "Next time, choose you words carefully." Lunaria suggested, with a not-so-gentle look.
After sometime, Lunaria was standing outside Zephyria, ready to go to Eryndralis. Her home behind her as she waved a goodbye hand to her mother, Yuren Xia standing there waving back at her for one last time.
Lunaria's journey to Eryndralis, had now begun.
But there was something, no one was aware of, that was going on with someone.
"Don't leave me... Even if its just an illusion."
Nyxelle mumbled those words in her room. She was sitting on the floor, hugging her knees and her wings covered around her and her eyes closed. Her entire room a mess. The furtinure lying around, broken glass and vases on the floor, the curtains barely hanging. This was her room. Like this, everyday she refused to let anyone fix.
She kept mumbling to herself, untill—
Brother's vessel has been tested well. It would be my pleasure to take the sister of who he fought ~
I'll devour you just like a part of me is consuming you~
The voice was chilling, Nyxelle's eyes snapped open at the sudden voice. Instinctively, she flew up to the ceiling of her room, looking around to find the source. She knew what was an illusion and what wasn't. So, she understood it well that something or rather someone was in here with her.
Then the voice came from behind her whispering into her ear.
Look at you, little phantom. Trying to escape me. My brother, I and our siblings aren't something anyone can escape from especially those...
Who carries a part of us in themselves.
Nyxelle tried to jump back down on the floor, but she felt like her body had frozen. She couldn't move her body and it felt like she was paralyzed mid air on the ceiling.
In a weak trembling voice of panic, she started to mumble. "S-S-Stop... Stop... STOP!..."
Those were the last cries from the phantom during then. What happened to her and what was the voice remains a mystery for now. But one thing was certain. That it had something to do with not just her but many more.