-Chapter 50.5-

Eighteen Months

Alea Langston, an half-elf Noble raised with love and discipline in her family, by her Elven father who immigrated from the land of the elves.

He, who was a former Royal Guardsman, trained her to be a warrioress, and that she did become, evidenced by her rising to the position of the new Holy Knights at the age of eighteen.

Spirit Queen Gaia whom she signed a contract with, only further enhanced her capabilities.

She parted ways with the boy who made it possible, and in the blink of an eye, eighteen months went by.

They had three years between their ages. When she was eighteen, he was only fifteen. As she recalled his figure fondly, a beaming smile sat on her face.

She reached up to the strands of her hair to instinctively feel her precious hair clip, but wait. Nothing was there. No hair clip.

That’s odd. Why did she suddenly feel like she had a hair clip? She never had one in her life.

An odd sensation of dissociation overcame her, but it faded away as quickly as he came when all thoughts of how odd it was left her, and she continued her fond recollection of the boy.

How much has he grown up now? How much more will he continue to grow?

The boy she saw was both strong but vulnerable. She wanted to sit down and ask him of his life. She wanted to know more about him.

She wished for more time with him.

Alone at the edge of a rocky cliff surrounded by trees, she looked up at the moon shining at her from the night sky.

Every passing night, her Holy Powers grew stronger and stronger. Yet the Goddess gave no response to her.

The only lead she had was her bond to him. What was so special about the two of them?

Why were they Chosen?

No matter how many times she asked this question, the day would end and begin anew like nothing was of significance.

She carried out her duty and mission, returned to base, received her new task, and completed it again.

Whenever she gazed off into the distance, searching for his presence, she found him to be so, so far away. Almost like he was worlds apart from her.

Their meeting was only a brief day out of thousands, like how their world was only one, shining light out of millions in the sky.

As long as he is happy, that is all Alea could ask for.

Hopefully, he can find his path. He seemed so lost when they met. A child with nothing to his soul.

A diamond in the rough.

When they meet again, will he have become a fine, young man? Will he embrace her with strong, secure arms?

In the blink of an eye, another eighteen months went by.

And she had her answer.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Yes, indeed, he had turned into a fine, young man.

She could tell by his voice, when she heard his name fall from his lips.

“Alea… this can’t be…”

The deep despair in his voice was disheartening, but she still relished hearing it.

She wished she could see his face, to see how he had grown. But her eyes had been gouged out by the monster that killed her.

Stifling pain ran up her entire body. Missing legs, missing arm, and a gaping hole in her chest. Her very own blade, pinning her to the wall.

Abandoned by her ashamed, powerless Spirit contract, Alea expected to die alone in that cold, stone cavern.

Had Aelius thought of her was much as she thought of him?

She could feel her mind fading into the darkness.

Why? Just when they had reunited, after all this time? Even though it was such a brief meeting, it kept her going for so long.

She did the only thing she could think of, as she felt his trembling touch embrace her.

“Tell me about yourself, tell me what’s happened since we last met,” she softly asked him, putting on a brave smile.

As he began to recount his story to her, she found herself thinking ‘ahh. How nice would it have been if we led normal lives with each other’.

It turns out her fate… was never destined to be by his side. The Holy Power in her veins meant nothing at all.

That monster didn’t even flinch in the face of her energy. The Goddess had merely… toyed with her all her life.

And now, this was her end.

To die in the arms of the young man so important to her. They weren’t in love. They didn’t have the chance to fall into it.

She died before they could. The life they were meant to have together will never blossom.

It’s being nipped in the bud.

Sadness overwhelmed her. Grief and despair overtook her.

She was trapped in darkness, even if she wasn’t alone in it. She was blind. She was lost. And she had no hope of living past the next few minutes.

At her tears, she heard Aelius’ voice break. Oh, how traumitised he must be going forward from this day.

Unlike her, he must live on with this. If she was really as important to him as he was to her, she knew for a fact that this will destroy him.

All at once, dozens of realisations and epiphanies settled within her.

The grief melted away. The regret remained, but… it was okay. This is fine.

It’s just merely another story out of thousands. It carries no weight on the scale of destiny.

Suddenly, Alea was at peace, for she could hear her Aelius describe his life to her.

That weak, sad, puppy-like aspect of him had not changed, yet it was nowhere to be found within him either. He had done well to master the sword and break out of his shell.

She was so, so proud of him.

She was so, so proud that she could be the one to make it happen. Even if it was only a moment they crossed paths, that single moment is enough to have given her whole life meaning.

“Live on well,” she wanted to tell him but found no voice would come from her throat. Even her mouth refused to move.

Her thoughts were… degrading now rapidly.

“Alea… Alea! Please wake up! Don’t go… please don’t leave me behind,” she heard him cry.

Oh, since when had he stopped talking about his story? That’s a shame, she wanted to hear more.

Instead, she could only hear her name from his broken voice.

But even the cries were becoming distant.

Even the ground did not feel like it was beneath her. Her body was floating.

One, final breath of relief escaped from her lungs and she softly smiled.

Aelius. Thank you for be-

Like a weak flame in the wind, it was blown out abruptly.

Not even her final thought could be finished. And like that, she was gone.