Revelations of a Seeker

Katherine breathed out; eyes focused on Frein. He slept without any visible strain, breathing normally on his bed as if he wasn’t half dead just hours ago. She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss.

When he didn’t respond, she passed the time by idling around Frein’s minimalistic apartment and listening to music. She was pleasantly surprised to have discovered music on her first day on Earth, admiring the similarities and differences between it and Brymeia’s.

Katherine could only describe this apartment as a humble abode, designed particularly for efficient storage with a lack for anything grandiose.

The entrance led to a narrow foyer with a closet for footwear which was filled, surprisingly, by Katherine’s collection of shoes and slippers. Frein had two pairs of footwear—including the one he wore today—arranged on the floor beside the closet.

A short walkway—lined again by closets on either side to store various things like umbrellas, I.D.s, bags, and most of the outdoor necessities—led to the living room with a small set of sofa and table, doubling as the dining room. In here were Frein’s pride and joy, his book collection comprised of four shelves which was, considering Frein, the most expensive set in his entire home.

Across one side of the dining-living room was the single bedroom where Frein currently slept while on the other side provided space for the kitchen and the washroom. Further in one of the corners near the end had a bathroom filled mostly with Katherine’s toiletries than with Frein’s, while another storage for less used things had a locked door in the other corner.

All in all, this studio apartment was supposedly meant for one person. Katherine rented the room just beside this one, but with all her belongings practically fighting for space with Frein’s, she was essentially living-in with him at this point. She only ever went to her own apartment whenever she needed to Gather and Mill her meiyal. Otherwise, it was empty.

A soft rumble came from her stomach, reminding her about dinner. So, she busied herself working the kitchen, switching to autopilot mode while her brain recalled just what happened.

“Technique…” Katherine said, smiling despite herself. What an excuse. Her worries for Frein fighting in that cursed place had gone to a point where she bestowed him a safety measure, giving him very specific limitations and permissions on when to use it.

She had called it a secret martial arts technique and had made it believable enough for Frein to buy the story; he still had his speculations even today.

Of course, she had always gone out of her way to see all of his matches, hiding in plain sight in each one, and had only made her appearance today because David had been beyond her expectations. Frein had exceeded all her expectations when he used the technique, crushing David to a pulp with such a powerful display. And that same level of power had made such a paralyzing presence she hadn’t been able to respond on time to protect him.

Now, she even brought him back from the brink of death. There was absolutely no way she could hide the truth now. Well…Frein was skeptical even from the beginning. So maybe he wouldn’t panic. Maybe he would still accept her.

And hopefully they could just stay in this room, on this planet, living together like any other couple. Somehow, she couldn’t see that happening. In her heart she already knew she had found the Visitor. She knew it was him right on the very first day, right when he took her handshake. For four years she had savored her time with him. If only it could be forever…

If Kristel saw me now, she’d probably be very confused. Thoughts of her dear friend brought along with it a stream of memories.

Princess Kristel Irista, along with her retinue, Frill and Liona, were some of the few people she spent time with outside of training. They grew up together, played together, studied together, and fought and reconciled with one another. They even shared dreams, passions, and hobbies. Including regrets.

Due to her rigorous training sessions in preparation for her duties as a Lady of the Void and as the chosen Seeker, her precious moments with Kristel and the others were limited. It also meant she didn’t have time for anything else. It was one of her deepest regrets when she saw the other three girls spending time with their cuddly yuma pets while she stood there all alone.

She missed them.

She finished cooking just in time for Frein to wake up. He blinked twice, thrice, trying to make sense of it all. Only when their eyes met did clarity appear on his face. It was a mixture of relief and subtle anguish ebbing and flowing in a sea of disappointment.

“I should be dead.” His words were cold and dry. A frown formed while he felt around his chest. “I got shot right here.” The wound had already mended into a scar, a symbol of both miracle and curse.

Katherine couldn’t say anything. She sat on a chair beside the bed, holding his free hand. The soft shine of the evening moon gave little light, unhelpful in the situation.

“You did this?”

Panic would’ve been understandable. Confusion more so. But Frein was different, he had always been. And this, right here, was another reminder to Katherine why she fell for him—why it was inevitable. Despite the welling emotions mixing within him, his will to maintain control was something that impressed even someone as special as her.

“You…did something to me.” Not a question; a statement. A calm declaration of a fact, as if he was willing to believe she was some sort of a miracle worker.

“Yes.” Relief escaped Katherine; her tears thankful of Frein disposition. Anyone else would freak out, scream at her, call her a monster, or even force her away.

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Not Frein.

“Then this could only mean one thing.” A face of excitement slowly appeared on Frein. Weak, but apparent. Katherine knew right away what he would say next. “I’m right.”

A storm of emotions whelmed inside Katherine. Ever since they first met, Frein had expressed his suspicions. She was never instructed to keep it a secret, but she had always talked herself out of it, dropping his theories and assumptions without as much as a hint. She even went as far as calling him crazy, but it was mostly because of how crazed and obsessed Frein was with fantasy, aliens, deities, mythologies, legends, and other otherworldly entities that Katherine felt at ease whenever she was with him.

Now she wasn’t sure if admitting to it was the right answer, but denying it any further would only harm their relationship.

“Yes,” she said hesitantly, doing her best not to show her internal conflict. She tapped her temple, and the floating hair ornament glowed in various colors. “You’re right.”

As simple as that, Frein turned from a man prime for the Ritual of Peace to a kid petting his bonded yuma for the first time.

His jaw dropped, speechless at her display. Brows curled in doubt, head tilted to reason. Then the sigh of acceptance came.

“I have an alien girlfriend,” he said, shrugging as if it was no big deal. “Cool.”

Katherine dismissed her ornament in silence, giving Frein time to let the fact sink in. He looked at her funny, scrutinizing squinting eyes affixed to a relatively comedic stare.

“What?” she asked, defensively.

Frein squinted further, frowning at the same time, his eyes on the verge of closing altogether.

“What!”

“I just assumed you’d be growing tentacles or wings, or dissolve into a space blob and eat me. Or—”

“Oh, shut up!”

Frein smiled. If Katherine didn’t know better, she’d assume Frein was trying to break the tension. But she did know better, and he just loved teasing her.

“So, why tell me now, why not before?” he asked, relaxing now that he had time to digest the information.

“Because I didn’t want the attention. For my own safety, your own safety, that kind of thing, you know?” Katherine kept to her truths. With Frein’s instincts, he could discern facts from lies as if reading actual thoughts. Not that they were in any way as accurate as Katherine’s ability to hear thoughts. Still, they were sharp enough for him to read his opponent’s every move.

“There’s no way I could hide it after all this.”

Frein nodded like one of those dog toys people put in their cars, mindless and continuous. Then a smile slowly etched from his face, as if to telegraph to her what was going through his head.

She couldn’t read his thoughts anymore, something to do with the limitations of her gift, but she knew him well enough for it not to matter. There was a moment, a long one, enough for her to interrupt him, but she hesitated.

In this moment, Katherine understood what it meant to be duty-bound. Her selflessness and selfishness wanting and not wanting two things at the same time.

“Bring me with you,” Frein said, oblivious to the path he wanted to take.

The words have been said. And just like that, the storm brewing inside Katherine dissipated into nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Finally, she sighed and tried to formulate the best way to approach the situation, twisting the lover’s doubt into the Seeker’s work.

“It’s not that simple,” she said. Frein stopped nodding. He always knew when something bothered her. “I came to Earth looking for someone to bring back. That’s my mission.

“I began my training as a Seeker the day I turned ten. Apparently, there’s only one in, like, one or two centuries, something like that. When we’re ready, we travel to a world we choose then return with someone we call, the Visitor.”

Katherine leaned on her chair, placing both hands together over her stomach like a patient in one of those therapy rooms. She wished she was in one right now, actually.

“I can only take one Visitor back,” she continued. “That pretty much exhausts my ability to travel worlds. So, my teacher gave me a clue on how to find the right one.”

“So, am I the Visitor?” As expected of Frein. He caught up easily, but he didn’t understand the whole picture.

“For the most part,” Katherine replied, sparing an agreeing brow towards him. “My teacher said that, this time around, the Visitor would personally ask for a visit, which you just did.

“But there’s more to it than just simply going to our world. I don’t even know why there should be a Visitor in the first place. My teacher won’t tell me. So, if you’re asking me, I wouldn’t know.” She shrugged with another sigh.

“There’s also the whole deal with the actual visit.” She leaned forward at the same moment she mimicked quotation marks with her fingers. Frein must’ve felt the change in the air, straightening up on his bed with eager ears waiting for what she had to say next.

“It’s not really a visit, visit. When you come to our world…” Katherine sighed again. “There really isn’t a way to go back, and…”

“And?”

Katherine stared at him for a while, realizing now how much of an idiot she was. Here she was falling in love with the Visitor, the one man she had been looking for, and had known since the beginning, for four whole years. And now she was hesitating because of what it meant to be the Visitor, and how her heart couldn’t have possibly prepared her for it. Any sort of training wouldn’t prepare her for it.

When she was younger, she had made simulations inside her head of how she would tell the Visitor the truth when she found the right one. She had prepared persuasive statements and negotiation techniques to entice or even manipulate the Visitor. They all fell down the drain.

But now that she had thrown herself into this situation, she had to see it through. Frein wouldn’t let her go away at this point anyway. She sighed one last time.

“When you come to my world, you’ll die after one year.”

Her eyes were unsure where to look. They found their way to Frein’s eyes, calm and calculative. Immediately, she understood. The option to back out was off the table from the beginning.

“That’s a shame,” he said, forming a smile. “I would’ve wanted more, but I guess a year is fine.”

“What are you talking about?” A part of Katherine didn’t want him to go. And that part had taken over her judgment, pushing aside the mission and all else.

“I’ll go.”

“But you’ll die!” The irony spewing from her mouth was like poison, burning her lips and her sanity. They could just stay. No one would know. Well, her teacher would, but it wouldn’t care. It could always find the next Seeker after a few centuries.

“Everybody dies in the end, Kat.” Frein’s hands wrapped around Katherine’s. They were warm and caring, and a little sweaty, but anyone going through this kind of conversation would be made out of stone if they weren’t nervous. “Not everyone can die knowing full well that life beyond Earth exists.

“Besides, this is a life you saved. It’s only fitting that I use this life for you and your mission…whatever that is.”

Katherine knew him well enough to know this was a white lie. A half-truth at most, bred by his aspirations and standards. But upon those words, she found her solace. Her nods were slow and shaky, but they’ve returned to the cause.

Deep inside she knew there was one more way to save him, to make sure he could live a normal life.

She could return on her own, tell her teacher she failed and tell herself that she made the right choice, that Frein wouldn’t have to die. But Frein had become her everything. Whether it was her mission or Frein himself, it didn’t matter. She couldn’t bring herself to abandon him for his own sake. So, from this point on, until his final breath, she vowed to herself to protect him.

Cherish him.

Katherine wrapped herself around Frein, feeling for him, uniting with him. Submitting her entirety to him as he did to her. Etching everything about him onto herself.

For nothing will bring back the dead.

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