SCC Chapter 24 Sparks(3)

"That was something no one could have expected." Reed dismissed that easily.

"Though, I must say, you should be very careful. Cecilia was very heartbroken. She even threatened to attack Olympus if you had died." sighed Taylor.

Something heavy settled within Reed's stomach when he heard those words. He should have gone to see her first.

"She sees you as a son. If you ever have plans of dying, you should atleast let her know. Though, if you did, I, myself would make certain to annihilate the person who did it."

Reed blushed at that. Yet at the same time, the warmth within his chest increased.

"Sir... I want to participate in this war. I made a promise." Reed revealed his intention, with his heart in his throat.

-----

Reed left the Presidential cabin with light footsteps, yet when they reached Cecilia and Nikolai's cabin, they faltered. There is something, whether be it a situation, a person, an imagined scenario, or thing... That every human dreads facing or experiencing. For Reed, it was the rage and worry of Cecilia. The woman had cared for him as if he were her son. He mostly feared what would happen to her if he ever died. She had lost family once. He didn't want her to experience that once again.

Seconds ticked away as his mind cycled between the options of facing this now, or putting it off for a couple of days, probably the end of the war, or until he saved Lily. A breath left his lips. If he did that, then that would mean that he was being inconsiderate towards the people who had treated him like family.

While he was still ruminating upon his thoughts, the doors slid to the side, exposing him to the person who had been about to step outside. She was clearly worried, judging by her facial expression, yet that worry vanished like snow melted with the dawn of the sun the moment their eyes made contact, with a spark appearing within her eyes, and a radiant smile suffused her lips.

"It's good to see you healthy." she commented with the smile still on her lips. Tears, unbidden accumulated within the corners of his eyes only to be evaporated, before he threw himself into the woman's warm embrace.

"If you keep acting like a kid, you might never get married." she chastised even as she returned the hug. He had thought that she would be angry. That she would scold him upon their first meeting after his near death. This hadn't been expected.

"Brat! It's good that you're okay!" shouted Nikolai upon appearing, probably having been alerted due to the fact that his wife had paused within the doorway for several seconds.

The embrace was broken a few minutes later, after which, Cecilia eagerly pulled Reed into the house.

"I was worried. If it hadn't been for your AI, Paul, continously reassuring me of your recovery, I would have stormed your headquarters in Kampala." spoke Cecilia, who appeared even more excited than him about his being alive.

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Though AI lacked emotion, Reed still didn't want to imagine himself being in its feet.

Upon appearing within the living room of the cabin, Cecilia's spatial ring glinted for a fraction of a second, with a spread of dishes instantly materializing upon the table. Reed was touched that every single meal was nourishing food, all at the peak of tier 3. He was certain that if Cecilia had been a tier 4 chef, she might have even sourced those rare tier 4 ingredients to make him an entire full course meal.

"Don't just stand there in a daze. Eat! In just a few minutes, the both of you might be called away. That would be a waste of good food." she chasitized gently.

"Did Amelia and the others want to join?" asked Reed, after already having gone through a significant amount of the meal.

"Amelia wanted to. But as you know, she isn't a combatant. I told all of them that they had to atleast be at the peak of Core Formation to even think about joining." Nikolai said.

"You almost died. What about them?" mumbled Cecilia.

"I am okay. Something like that only happened because it was unexpected." Reed explained.

"That's the point, boy. Unexpected things happen. If the Golden Merchant hadn't attended your event in a disguise, your life might have ended right then and there." Nikolai's voice took on a rare note of seriousness.

Before the conversation could continue further, Reed received a transmission, one which facilitated the gathering of all at, and above the peak of Core Formation.

" It looks like the time is up."

"Aunt Cecilia. I promise to never bring you worry ever again." Reed spoke while rising from his seat.

"That's a promise we both know you can't keep. Even something you take to be normal, or harmless, might bring immense worry to me. Just promise me one thing. Always hang on to life. Never ever give in to death!"

-----

FCY 437, 2nd Month, Day 20, 12:14AM

Reed stood on the deck of a craft, leaning against the railing, gazing down from the sky, into the water below. The wind was cold against his skin, with the dark night holding no moonlight. The waters below were akin to churning ink, while also giving the feeling of hiding some great terrors beneath them.

Reed lifted his eyes and gazed at the clear dark skies, where the dots of light, stars, littered the darkness. There were many questions and worries within his heart, mostly about Lily.

Was she okay? Did she still trust his word? Was she being treated well? Had she been worried about his life?

They had calculated most things, even plotting to have Zeus capture her with a tracking device that would alert them to her location. Yet as man proposes, the heavens dispose. Another player had entered the fray, one who hadn't played by the rules. Even now, the tracking device couldn't be linked with... As if Lily had dispersed into bubbles.

This ship he was on, had been berthed within the mothership. And it had currently become the flagship leading the armada. The decision had been to enter the state of Greece from the sea as they had no idea how powerful the country was.

From behind him, he heard the sound of crystal heels clinking against the metallic deck of the ship. She wanted herself heard as she clearly hadn't made any attempt to muffle her footsteps.

"You haven't changed one bit." The silky voice entered his ears, dispersing most of his thoughts.

"How?" he asked without turning his head.

"Your nerves... They are still highstrung during meetings." Livia stood beside him on the railing, turning to look at him, yet his gaze was still towards the dark waters below. A faint glow from her entered his peripheral vision, a phenomenon from her white dress, that made her stand out in this night, but his eyes still didn't become drawn towards her perfect female form.

"You keep silent most of the time, unless spoken to; Pretend to be seriously paying attention to the discussion in order to minimize being drawn into conversation by the others; and most of all, you make little to no eye contact."

"Stop!" Reed felt some embarrassment creeping upon his face. This woman had, instead of paying attention to the meeting, been scrutinizing him!

"Are you that worried about her?" a few seconds later, Livia asked. There was something within her voice that he didn't even try to analyze deeper. Why? Because he didn't care.

"Let's say... Hypothetically... If I was ever caught in the same predicament. Would you be as worried? And even move to save me?"

"Mmmmm... That will never happen to you considering that brain of yours that is always at the forefront of every scheme. You would have already found solutions to the predicament the same day it occurred." Reed commented.

"You could have atleast humored me." pouted Livia.

As she opened her mouth to say something else, the temperature rapidly dropped within the air, with even water droplets condensing outside their spiritual energy wards.

The previously quiet atmospheric spiritual energy stirred, with all of it instantly converting to the water attribute. Then, an aura was felt, bringing goosebumps upon their skin. The flagship slowed, with the others following suit not a moment later.

A whirlpool had appeared right in front of the ships, down, on the surface of the ocean. It's spin was even affecting the atmosphere right before them, making it so, that anything that entered within the vicinity was swallowed.

The aura of the domain was something Reed wouldn't be able to mistake no matter how dense he was. Whatever was beneath the water had the power of a Nascent Soul. And demons were always a tier beyond humans in combat power, not to mention the reserves of spirit energy they carried within them, which were multiple times of that of a human.