Upon Issei's grand idea to have all of us make it over the lake with his Instarope, we were thankfully saved by that self-proclaimed Goddess brat's Iro Wielding. Still, it's incredible just how much power she has over the water. It kind of makes me wonder if she truly is who she claims to be, but I'll remain skeptical until further notice. She's way too untrustworthy for me to be naive around, and Prylos knows we don't need any more of that on this journey.
So yeah, we're now on the sunny and lush side of the lake. In other words, at the very base of the mountain. Looking up, I'm really starting to doubt if this is even possible to begin with, given how tall Mount Ivrys actually is. Well, for the adults it shouldn't be impossible, I think, but we've got Cene and Aru to take care of. I really don't want anything to happen to them, so I'm betting everything on Aru's favor or whatever she calls it.
"The path is a bit steep, but it's pretty straightforward when you ignore that part." Aru hiked in front with Cene in tow, "Just watch your step, feeble mortal, and everything will be alright. You've got me on your side, after all!"
"Awoo, so cool!" Cene tightly held her hand.
"She's stealing my child." Cecily grit her teeth at the rather adorable sight.
"Doesn't help that his mother forced him to accompany us on a perilous journey." Othelia shot back with a rather underhanded retort.
"If you had something against it, why didn't you say anything sooner, then?" Eleanor was quick to defend Cecily, "She's little Cene's mother, and if she says it's alright, then I'm on her side!"
"He's gonna die on this mountain..." I gloomed the situation up with a negative response, making everyone stop their squabbling almost immediately, "What? I'm just stating facts here. He's just a three year old, not at all fit to handle the treacherous climate."
"What the hell are you saying, all of a sudden!?" Cecily started shouting, "It was your idea, so you better take responsibility!"
"Oi oi, shhhh!" Issei ran in between us, shouting in a whispering tone, "You idiots, don't you know you're not supposed to shout on a mountain!? It'll cause an...!"
"Avalanche!" Aru shouted as she tightly hugged Cene, "Everyone, run over to me! I can shield you wherever you are, but we might get separated if you don't stick close!"
"Shit, everyone run!" I commanded, "Dammit Cecily, this is all your fault!"
"My fault!?" She gasped as we ran up the steep path, "Ever since Lune died, you've done nothing but blame me for all your mistakes! Own up to them every once in a while, dammit!"
"The fuck do you mean by that!?" I shot back, slipping and scraping my knee on a sharp rock as I yelled, "Augh, fuck this! I hope we all die so I don't have to listen to your bullshit anymore!"
"Don't say that, man!" Issei found a rather poor time to joke, "You're my one and only chance at seeing catgirls in real life, so I'm gonna need you alive until then!"
"Catgirls?" Eleanor raised an eyebrow as she stammered a bit, "Whoa! Come on guys, don't get distracted! Just a bit...!"
She didn't even get a chance to speak before the snow from the avalanche sent her, Cecily and Issei falling from the edge. Turning around to try and grab them, I was stopped by Othelia and was forcefully dragged over to Aru and Cene against my will.
"No! What are you doing!?" I yanked my hand free, "I need to save them!"
"Mommy!" Cene too desperately went to jump free of Aru's embrace, but that didn't work out.
"Whoa, kid! Calm down!" She chuckled all carefree, "They're gonna be fine, don't worry."
"Fine? You think they'll live through that!?" I pointed all the way down the mountainside, the height making me a bit nauseous, "Fuck, no..."
"Aru said we're all protected because of the Gods' favor, so I trust in her words." Othelia said solemnly.
"Fuck you!" I lunged at her, "What kind of a horrid person are you, woman!? Because of you...! Because of you, they're all dead now! Issei, my dear sister, and...! Cecily..."
Ah, it's this feeling again. Grief, or at least that's what I think it feels like. This feeling of loneliness, the feeling that you'll never see your loved ones' faces ever again. It's all in the past now, just like it was with Grim. Dammit Cecily, don't leave me all alone...! First it was Carter, then Grim, and now... you. Sigh, I always knew I would be the last one standing, but I never imagined it'd hurt this much. Fuck, why did we even go on this damned hike in the first place!? Cene, my poor, poor Cene. Because of my yelling and shouting, you won't ever see your mother's face again. And Nelly, what am I gonna tell her now? God, I'm the worst...
"Because of me, they're all dead." I fell to the floor, lying down in a fetal position as salty tears started to trickle down my face.
"Who decided that?" Issei's voice echoed from the depths below.
"Heh, told ya, mortal." Aru smirked, "Gods' favor, fools. Can't die while I'm around."
"Yeah, we're alive, but it's not all smooth sailing just yet." Cecily was the next one to speak, "We're all the way down to the main entrance. The one the Megalomanic was guarding."
"Mommy!" Cene cried tears of joy as he heard his mothers voice.
"Haha, don't worry, dear! Mommy's safe and sound, so just listen to the others while we find a way to get up there." Cecily's motherly reassurance was comforting not only for Cene, but for us as well.
"Oh dear. Can you go around to the back entrance, then?" Othelia asked.
"Nope, the avalanche screwed everything up." Eleanor said after a small pause, probably because they were looking for a way around themselves, "We'll just go through this path, then. Chances are we'll reconvene somewhere, be it during or after the hike to the top."
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Thank you, Gods! Thank you for this blessing, this miracle! Holy shit, holy shit! Everyone's alive! I can hear their voices, this isn't a lie! Oh my God, oh my God, we'll see them soon too! Fuck, I can't seem to calm down, my hands are shaking like crazy, fuck! But huh, wait a second...
"Can't you try and find a way around, just in case?" I talked down the ledge, "Don't you remember what Aru said? The path there is littered with dangerous traps."
"So what if it is?" Issei chuckled, "We've got the Gods' favor on our side!"
"Right, it may be a bit more tough, but our success is assured." Cecily agreed, "Consider it a race to the top, then! Don't fall behind, it'll be really embarrassing for you guys to lose even with your headstart!"
"You damned bitch!" I started raising my voice again, but was warned by Othelia's angry shush to lower it back down, "Just be happy you're alive and stop playing with fate!"
"Stop swearing in front of my boy!" She too got pissed, "That's it, just for that you're going down!"
"No the hell I'm not!" I retorted, livid as I declared, "Last one there does whatever the other group says!"
"You're on!" She roared.
And woth that, the race was afoot. Hold on, what the fuck am I doing? Othelia and the others also don't seem all that impressed by our competition, so this feels like I went on making decisions on everyone's behalf again. Uhh, sorry, I guess...?
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"..."
"..."
"Oh." I raised my eyebrows.
"What?" Othelia clicked her tongue.
"That cloud looks like a cat." I pointed up right.
"..." They grunted a bit before continuing on.
"Oh come on, what's with the cold shoulders!?" I looked over at Cene, "Cene, you agree, right? That cloud definitely looks like a cat!"
"Ah, uh..." He seemed at a loss for words, "Uncle, I dunno. It doesn't weally look like a cat."
"Sigh, whatever." I shook my head, "Come on guys! We should be on the easier road, and besides, everyone's alive and well, so turn those frowns upside down!"
"It's because of you and your stupid bickering that we're separated to begin with, reprobate mortal." Aru started throwing disses at me, "You may not fully understand the stupidity behind your action, so I'll explain it to you. This mountain, it's incredibly tall."
"Yeah?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Normally, this path would take us about three days of hiking to make it to the top." She said, "But now that half of our climbing gear went down with them, both of our sides got heavily nerfed, to the point where not even a week seems all that plausible."
"Eh!? By that much!?" I jumped, "God, what the hell..."
"I know you didn't do it on purpose, Edward, so I'm trying to keep calm right now." Othelia gave me a sidelong glance, "But it doesn't change the fact that you are the reason behind why I'm not with Issei right now."
"Well my apologies, Lovestruck." I rolled my Eyes, "I would've jumped after them, but SOMEONE stopped me from doing so. You were free to jump down as well, y'know?"
"And leave Cene and Aru all by themselves?" She raised a fair point, "Sorry, but not everyone can be selfish like you think you can. Sometimes you need to think about the rest of your group and not just yourself."
"But I was thinking about the group!" I raised my own point, "I tried to save them and bring them to us, and I would've made it too had you not grabbed my hand, y'know?"
"Maybe, but I don't know that for sure." She looked away, "In my Eyes, it was a fifty-fifty gamble at best, and I don't wanna take any risks. Having two adults here with these two is surely better than the alternative."
But we could have all been here, on the safer side, had you not grabbed my hand, dammit! I don't understand what's so difficult to get about it! For Prylos' sake, this woman is being needlessly complicated, and not only that, but she's also painting me as the bad guy here! I did nothing wrong in my attempts to grab them, she was the one who separated us!
"...Fine, whatever you say." I let it go and continued pressing onwards.
"Giving up already?" She smiled annoyingly, "Heh, only proves you yourself know I'm in the right."
"I don't care anymore. It's in the past." I shook my head, reminding myself to not flip it and just shove her off the ledge, "Let's just be happy everyone's alive and try our best to not get separated any further."
"Well said, Edward Saint!" Aru at least agreed with me, "Our best course of action is to remain calm and amicable! Nothing will come of discord, so choosing to ignore the what ifs and pressing onward is the sensible thing to do! A gold star for you!"
"Huh?" I chuckled melancholically at her, "Say that again?"
"Feeling nostalgic, huh?" She immediately recognized why I asked, "Fine then, I'll humor you and say the thing Lune Grimheart always said, ahem - A gold star for you!"
"Heh, yeah. That hits the spot." I looked at her directly, "Hey Aru?"
"Mn." She glanced back.
"Goddess or not, thank you for this." I nodded solemnly, "Even if getting Grim back doesn't work out, I'm still happy you're here with us."
"But of course you are!" She turned her head back forward as she proudly laughed, "Having such a Goddess like me on your side, your thankfullness is only to be expected! Muahaha!"
"..."
"..." She stopped to think for a bit before warmly smiling back, "Your welcome. I'm glad to see how much you've grown since his passing."
There it is, the heart tug I was waiting for. It was so powerful, so poignant, that it immediately sent the tears to shoot out of my Eyes at rapid speeds. Dammit, I hope I'm giving Grim and Carter enough of an interesting show to watch from up above at least.