After a brief trip to buy all the necessary supplies, they left the house and found themselves on a train heading to one of the five Apogees. They were all in new clothes and carrying backpacks stuffed with their loot.
"So, where are we heading?" Celestia asked, her expression slightly annoyed.
Ice tilted his head. "To a place where we'll be... safe."
Celestia bit her lip, already certain she wouldn't get any more information after that answer and just shot him another dark look.
"Calm down. You know he knows what he's doing... At least, I hope," said Ray, his voice hesitant.
"Very reassuring. All this because I criticized your cooking," Ice remarked, clicking his tongue. "It's not my fault if it was barely edible."
Ray frowned and leaned back in his seat. "No one ever recognizes my greatness," he muttered under his breath.
They talked for a while before the train reached its final destination. Once they stepped out of the station, they followed Ice, who seemed to navigate the city without any difficulty.
It was a more modest town compared to the one they had woken up in. There were no towering skyscrapers, just simple, functional houses sprinkled with a few that looked more refined. Even the traffic was sparse.
Celestia raised an eyebrow and looked around. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"
"Yes. According to Jean's directions, it's pretty close to the station," he reassured her, slightly lost in thought as he tried to visualize an imaginary map. "It should be right here."
He quickened his pace toward a building about ten meters away. Like the other buildings around it, it wasn't very tall, no more than two stories, but it was far more elegant and looked new and well-maintained.
They stepped in and approached the receptionist, who greeted them with a radiant smile.
"What can I do for you?" she asked.
"We're here for recruitment," Ice said, glancing at Celestia.
"Yes, of course. Follow me," she replied, her professional smile still in place.
"After you," he gestured to Celestia, who nodded reluctantly, giving him a suspicious look.
They watched Celestia walk away before entering the room. Ice and Ray turned and headed to the waiting area, where they would await the results.
"Are you sure this is the best solution?" Ray asked.
"Yes, and the only one too,'' Ice replied, his gaze firm.
Ray let out a heavy sigh. "Looks like a quiet life definitely isn't meant for us."
Ice scoffed. "At least we're alive. And even that wasn't guaranteed in the first place."
"Not wrong," Ray agreed. "You've been acting strange since you got back. What happened when you parted from Natasha?" he continued, his voice suddenly serious.
Ice looked at him like an alien, once again surprised by how Ray noticed the smallest changes that he often considered insignificant.
"Ray, I don't remember anything," he admitted his voice low.
Ray raised an eyebrow. "You're amnesiac, right? You already told me that."
Ice shooked his head. "No, I'm not talking about my amnesia. After the Chamber of Torments, I don't remember anything, just standing in front of the door. Yet I'm fairly certain I talked to someone," he said, his gaze hesitant. "Someone is messing with my memory, and I fully intend to find out who it is."
"Yeah, I can confirm, peace avoids us like the plague," he admitted.
"Indeed. A three-tiered sensory trait," said the young receptionist as she came out of the room with Celestia, barking into her phone. All trace of her initial calm had disappeared.
"You already knew she had such a trait?" Ray asked, giving Ice an accusatory look.
Ice shook his head. "No, but Jean told me sensory traits are rare and prized. So I figured this was the best solution."
They were currently in one of the scouting houses of the five Apogées, specifically the Fords. They had houses everywhere to quickly identify talents and gain an edge over their rivals.
Offensive traits and blessings were common, but someone with a sensory-type blessing that enhanced one of the five senses was quite rare. Such blessings were essential for anyone venturing into the Death Zones, where even standard blessings often became useless.
And Celestia had three, visual, auditory, and somatic. Ice had already suspected she possessed at least some of them. She had navigated the darkness using her hearing, noticed the glowing tree from afar, and even pinpointed the exact location of the beast's heart.
It was already night when the receptionist led them outside, locked the door, and walked away, continuing her phone call in the distance.
Ice clenched his fists as he watched Celestia approach hesitantly.
"I'm going for a walk," said Ray before turning his back and walking away.
Ice and Celestia sat on one of the steps in silence, the dim light barely illuminating the area.
They remained in an unusually awkward silence. Celestia opened her mouth, then quickly closed it again, observing Ice, who seemed distant.
Though still young and inexperienced, she wasn't gullible. Far from it. She already knew how this would end ever since she had received the necklace, or perhaps even before.
Now, she was only afraid that voicing her thoughts might make them come true. Not knowing what to say, she looked at Ice with a sheepish smile, which slightly eased his tension.
He took a deep breath, trying to appear as composed as possible, thinking about the words that would seal their farewell.