Why is the price for doing the right things always pain? I wonder…
The Naga attacked, but the shield held it off. Instead of attacking again, the Naga started circling them patiently waiting for an opening.
Luna was quickly running out of energy and her barrier would disappear any second now. She knew the end was nigh.
A swooshing sound cut through the air and a spear impaled the Naga.
"Sorry, I am late," said a familiar voice. Luna finally smiled upon hearing that voice.
"Aranea!" Luna had never been happier to see her.
Aranea leaped high and unleashed another powerful attack on Naga. Not wanting to fight two on one again, the Naga slither away.
"Are you okay, Luna?" Aranea asked, walking towards her.
"Thanks to you, now I am," she replied happily. "How did you even find me here?"
"I had some help for Gentiana," Aranea admitted while using an elixir on Luna. "My, my, who do we have here?" she wondered, looking at a man being cradled by Luna.
"He is Leon," Luna said. Aranea just arched an eyebrow wanting to know more. "It's a long story. Let's just say he is a friend."
"Just a friend? I wouldn't say that by the way you are holding him," she remarked with a wink.
"I think we should get out of here first and talk later?" Luna proposed.
"Are we taking him with us as well?"
"We can't just leave him here. That would be cruel, don't you think?"
Aranea saw Biggs and Wedge entered the scene from the corner of her eye. "What's wrong with him? Why is he asleep in the middle of a battlefield?" Aranea inquired.
"I don't know. I woke up and found him unconscious," Luna replied.
Aranea kneeled down to check his pulse. "His pulse is weak."
"Lady A and Lady Lunafreya, are you okay?" asked Biggs, closing in.
"Yes, but we have a guest who is not okay. We need to carry him out of here," Aranea summed up the situation.
"Leave it to us, Lady A," assured Biggs.
The whole entourage made their way towards the exit. Aranea clearing the path as the rest followed behind.
They were greeted at the entrance by Gentiana. "It is good to see the lady survive the trial of Ramuh."
"Thank you, Gentiana, for bringing Aranea here on time. Without her aid, I wouldn't be here."
"She was already looking for you, I just pointed her in the right direction," Gentiana replied with her eyes closed. "What happened to the visitor? Is he okay?"
"No, he is not okay. I don't know what's wrong with him," she said with sadness evident on her face.
"He is not okay now, but he will be," Aranea said reassuringly. "We need to go now."
"Where are we to go?" asked Luna.
"Your brother dear was worried sick about you so he had sent me to find you and bring you back to Tenebrae. Based on a recent shift in weather we knew that Astral must be involved, and that meant you must be involved as well. We knew you were in this area in general, so we had the patrol set up. But it was Gentiana who showed us your actual location," recapped Aranea.
"Hold on, why are we going back to Tenebrae? I need to go to Altissia to awaken the Hydrean." Luna protested.
"Lady Lunafreya, your mortal body will not survive another covenant in this state. You need to recover your strength before you take on another Astral," Gentiana said, even before Aranea could get a word in.
"Besides, I am under a strict order from your brother dear to bring you back to Tenebrae. Like it or not, that is what I intend to do," Aranea said with her military tone.
"No, I need to go to Altissia. I don't care what happens to me. It is my duty to awaken the Hydrean," she refused stubbornly.
"The Empire knows that you are on the move. They have ordered the army to swipe through the entire Lucis to find you. It is not safe for you here anymore. Moreover, they know that you will go to Altissia to awaken the Hydrean so they have shut down all maritime and air travel to Altissia. Tenebrae is the last place they would expect you to be. You must return there at least until we find an alternative route to get you to Altissia."
"But-" she said hesitantly before being cut off by Aranea, "Also, your friend needs a doctor's attention so Tenebrae is your only choice at this point."
"Fine," she surrendered. "So, what's the plan?"
"Biggs and Wedge will escort us to the train station. We'll take a transcontinental railway, Magna Fortia, to Tenebrae."
After looking at Leon, Luna inquired, "Can't we just take the airship? It would be much quicker that way."
"Unfortunately, that is not an option. All the ships were deployed to Lucis. If one ship suddenly makes the trip to Tenebrae then it would raise suspicion," Aranea reasoned.
"Oh, I see," she said with a hint of disappointment. "My life is in your hands, lead the way."
The entire area was shrouded with dark clouds and torrential rainfall drenched every inch of dry land. Ramuh had truly awakened.
Aranea, Gentiana, Luna, Leon, Biggs, and Wedge embarked on a journey towards Magna Fortia. Being under the protection of Aranea, Luna did not have to fear the Empire. After about half a day's travel, using various modes of transportation, they finally arrived at the train station around midnight.
Biggs and Wedge hauled Leon to one of the passenger compartments. Luna decided to stay in the same compartment.
Aranea, after taking care of some important business, boarded the train at the last minute. Biggs and Wedge went back to man the airship and would continue to follow the assigned route.
At midnight, the train left the station. "Get rest, we can talk about everything tomorrow. There is a lot of catching up to do," Aranea stated, standing by the door. "My cabin is next to yours. Don't hesitate to wake me up if you need anything."
"Thank you, Aranea. I really appreciate everything you have done for me."
"Mention not. Rest well princess," she said with a wave and made her way to her own cabin. Luna stood up and gently closed the door. She came back and looked at Leon, peacefully sleeping. Just looking at his scars and bruises filled her eyes with tears. She was too drained physically and mentally to process anything at this point, so she forcefully averted her eyes from him. She sat on her berth with her back flushed against the cabin wall. She retracted her legs closer and wrapped her hands around them and rested her head on it. She looked like a small child badly in need of a hug.
As the train ran along the tracks, the rhythmic sound it made was oddly soothing to her. A lot had happened today. She was happy that she forged a covenant with another Astral and was now one step closer to fulfilling her duty. However, she was hurt by the fact that she almost traded Leon's life for it. It was an emotional roller coaster for her. Subtle metronomic movement of the train combined with rhythmic sound soon puts her to sleep. The lights in her cabin were still left on.
She slept like a baby for a couple of hours. The vision of Ramuh attacking Leon mercilessly started haunting her dream world. Her refusal to fight, the stab of betrayal in Leon's eyes, him getting rid of his rubber hazmat suit to accept his fate, Leon's limp body bouncing off the wall, the blood on his face, his scream of anguish, it all hunted her. Ramuh hurled the lightning and Luna screamed and looked away, it was that moment when she woke up with a scream. Her breath was shallow, heartbeat through the roof, and she was perfusing heavily. It took her brain some time to realize the difference between dream and reality.
She looked at the clock and it was a few minutes past 2 am. She got up to turn off the light and returned to her berth. She tried to go back to sleep, but it would not come so easily this time. After tossing and turning for almost half an hour, she decided to take a little stroll in the train, thinking that some fresh aid would help her calm down.
She quietly opened the door and stepped out of her cabin. Much to her surprise, she saw a familiar face leaning against the railing, looking out of the windows at the tiny lights from a distant town.
"The Lady cannot sleep?" Gentiana asked, without looking at her.
Luna joined her by the railing and looked out of the window. Even though it was dark, you could see the general terrain passing by. "Yes, sleep is rather elusive tonight."
"The Lady has been through a lot. Her mortal body would require rest to recover," she pointed out in a soothing voice.
"Yes, I am aware of that, but the body does not heal well with a weary mind and a broken heart."
"Perhaps your familiar could be of any assistance?" she asked, finally opening her eyes and looking at Luna.
"Gentiana, I don't think I can do this anymore."
"What might the lady mean?"
"I had no problem sacrificing myself for the sake of my duty, but now I have started to sacrifice others for it too. This is a burden I cannot bear."
"And yet, you did."
"And I feel like a monster for doing it. Every time Ramuh struck Leon, I had wished it was me. Every time I heard Leon's scream, I prayed that I would feel his pain. But no matter how much I wished or prayed; the reality was that it was I who had put him in that situation to begin with. It's not fair that he has to suffer so that I can fulfill my duty," she said as tears streamed down from her face.
"The Gods work in mysterious ways. Humans don't live long enough to face consequences for all their actions. Hence, their karma carries over to their next life. What might seem like senseless suffering of an innocent often has an untold and a justifiable history behind it. The visitor's suffering was part of his redemption. While it may seem like it was caused by your own volition, rest assure that you were merely a catalyst in the process. Ironically, it is because of you that he passed his trial. In your absence, he would have succumbed to the darkness as he did last time."
"While your words may ease my mind, my heart will forever be scared."
"Human emotion is something I'll never fully comprehend," Gentiana confessed.
After a few quiet moments, Luna spoke again, "Gentiana, what do the Gods have against Leon? When we fought against the Titan he said, 'The Fallen has risen? How? He was erased. Matters not, for he shall fall again.' I thought it was strange that Titan said that, but now his words carry a meaning that I do not understand. Even Ramuh spoke at length on how Leon had defied the Gods last time. What exactly happened last time?"
"The Lady need not concern herself with the trivialities of the past," she shot down her curiosity with the coldness of Shiva. The way she said it would send chills down the spine of an ordinary human.
"It is too much of a coincidence that his journey to redemption is the same as my journey towards my destiny. I can't help but wonder if I was part of this 'last time,'" Luna persisted, ignoring her cold response last time.
"The lady is very perceptive," she replied with her eyes closed. Gentiana stood straight, opened her eyes and looked straight at Luna, "We refer to 'last time' as Omen. Omen was a failed timeline where the prophecy failed and the world was plunged into the darkness. He failed us all and for that he must repent. I am not at a liberty to speak beyond this."
"What was my relationship with him?" she asked with boldness unseen in her eyes every before.
"I cannot answer that. You must look inside to seek the truth," she said, placing a finger at Luna's heart. "But I can tell you this. Your tale is as old as time itself. Your fates have been intertwined for eons. How will your story end this time? I too am curious to find out."
Gentiana turned around and swiftly started walking in the opposite direction.
"Gentian!" Luna called from behind.
"Yes, my lady?" she paused in her steps.
"Thank you," Luna said with a bow.
"Anything to put my lady's heart at ease," she said with her usual eyes closed. "My lady, your burdens are many and your sacrifices are numerous. But if anyone can deliver our Star from impending darkness to the eternal light, it is you. Never forget that."
Luna nodded in acknowledgement.
"What happens to Leon?"
"I had warned you at Taelpar Rest Area that a great tragedy awaits you. How you come out of it, is up to you." Before Luna could ask anything else, Gentiana disappearing into the thin air, leaving behind small particles of ice lingering in the place where she stood.
Author's Notes:
Please leave a comment if you have enjoyed the story so far. Would love to chat with some of my readers. Or at least say 'Hi' so I know someone is readying this. Thanks :)