Chapter -115: Things Change, Yet Remain the Same
Sarajin awoke the next morning to a heavy feeling on his eyelids and the smell of the dusty wastelands he made his bed in.
The sun was burning through the crust on his eyes and left him reeling from the assault. He flailed his hands out to get some shade and then rose up with his body feeling stiff all over.
He's had worse nights of sleep but the only thing he had to say about this was, "How does Bunny manage this every night?"
He rubbed the sore spot in the center of his back and let out a light hiss between his teeth. He then found himself greeted by a delightful and familiar smell.
It was the aroma of their dinner, unspoiled by the passing of night. He turned to the cauldron and saw Temporis standing over it, stirring the bubbling liquid with a ladle of aura and a couple of bowls hovering off to the side.
"Mornin', Sarajin!" She proclaimed with a bit of a teasing chuckle.
As Sarajin groaned awake and stood up, she laid into him with an even stronger tease, "Had a hard time sleeping?"
Sarajin's bones cracked as he stretched his arms towards the sun and felt the breeze of the early morning tickle his body.
"I fell asleep just fine...It's my body that's making noise." He replied humorously.
"Heh," Temporis grinned and then bent in to sniff the broth, "There we go, good as new!"
She then scooped some of it up into each bowl and then paddled the back of her fingers towards Sarajin to float his bowl over to him.
Sarajin rubbed his eyes clean and then stared down at the bowl out the corner of his eyes, picking it up, and watching as a spoon popped in out of nowhere, splashing down into the broth.
"Eat up, we got a long day ahead of us!" Temporis proclaimed, leaping back and plopping her bottom atop the nearby rock.
Sarajin sat down and moved straight to eating his meal without a second thought. Only when the broth ran over his taste buds did his brain register the weird events transpiring in the moment.
"This...tastes just like the broth we had last night!" He proclaimed, staring stunningly towards his spoon.
"That's because it IS the same broth, just with it's time rewound so it's as fresh as when you made it!" Temporis said, her smile beaming with pride.
Sarajin smiled back and shook his head, dazzled by her confidence, "There really is nothing that Drive can't do, huh?"
"Give me enough time, and you'll be calling me the Goddess of Time!" Temporis declared.
"No way," Sarajin firmly looked her way, "I'll always call you Bunny."
"Sheesh...!" Temporis smirked with her brows nudged upward, "Buuuut, I guess Goddess Bunny has its own charm."
The two had a few bites of their meal before Temporis shifted right towards the topic of the day, "So. We still heading to Sancturia today?"
Sarajin quickly nodded and Temporis put her empty bowl down at her feet, "Ok, cause before we leave we better go over our infiltration plan."
Sarajin tilted his bowl to slurp up the remaining broth and then with a snap of the fingers Temporis dispelled them both, utensils and all.
She then stood up and marched around the cauldron with a spring in her step, pointing towards her far off home to the west.
Sarajin turned around in his seat and focused on the magical barrier surrounding it, waiting patiently for his friend's explanation.
"It's not going to be as easy to get in this time around. Before when you managed to sneak in it was because dad had faith in the Arrow Wasps to ward off anyone who'd try to reach the barrier."
"Now he's not only removed any blindspots in the Wasps formation but also changed the barrier to be more impenetrable."
"It looks like the same barrier as before though." Sarajin noted.
"From your perspective, yeah," Temporis commented, her tone getting serious, "The barrier now consists of billions of tiny particles spinning around and around at speeds the human eye can't perceive. If anyone tries to walk in now they'll be pushed back. And if they try to force their way through, the particles will shred them down to the atomic level."
Sarajin felt sick to his stomach thinking about it, but was eased when Temporis faced him with a firm look of determination and her eager smile.
"But that's why you're lucky to have me!" She declared with certainty, "With my ability to stop time we'll be able to get beneath the towers before the guards can notice us. Then, once I catch my breath a bit, I'll stop time again and we'll be able to get through the barrier while the particles are unable to move."
Sarajin then wondered, "And we'll be safe once we get inside?"
"Mostly," Temporis murmured, "Depends on how many of the Ten Sages are in the city at the time. Not to mention Gabe will be highly sensitive to our presence if we're not careful."
"I can't afford to mess this up then," Sarajin took these warnings to heart and stood tall, facing the city with an iron gaze, "We're going to succeed and reunite with Justek. I know we will."
"Well alright then!" Temporis turned around, waltzed on over to her coat, and slipped it on with ease. She then tightened her gloves back onto her hands, squeezing her right one into a fist and cracking a grin, "Let's get you into Sancturia!"
The two cleaned up their mess here and then began a one-way march towards the city of Aurians.
Sarajin kept his focus forward and unshaken by worry. As they approached the halfway point of the city, Temporis had one last thing to say, "Oh I almost forgot! I'll need about fifteen seconds to catch my breath."
"That's not too bad." Sarajin whispered.
"I'm just warning you. We want to stick underneath one of the towers when we get to the barrier, cause the guards will sense that I activated my powers and will become more acute in their awareness...So there's a slight possibility that they'll sense you're with me."
Sarajin tensed up in the moment but really, she had things covered, "But the towers help act as conduits for the barrier, so by sticking against them you'll be able to mask your presence for a little while."
"Fifteen second break, stick near the tower," Sarajin nodded his head, "I understand. Anything else?"
"Yeah," Temporis suddenly stopped in place and put her hand out against his stomach, "We're here."
They were still a couple miles off from the walled city and the imposing towers surrounding it appeared differently to the now mature Sarajin. They were the iron masts meant to ward off invaders, the symbols of the rule Temporis' father had over his people.
His hairs stood on end across his arms as he felt as though he'd be shot in the heart if he took one step closer to the city.
He kept an easy hand over the handle of his sword, only for Temporis to clutch her fingertips into his gut and whisper, "At ease, soldier! We'll be fine."
"Are you SURE you're ready?" She said, boring into his eyes with her glare.
"...There's no going back if I say 'Yes', is there?" He said, rubbing the back of his head with slight uncertainty.
"Either you get what you came for or you're put into the grave." Temporis said, relaxing her hands on the back of her head.
"..." Sarajin pulled his hand out and looked at it, squeezing it into a fist and throwing it down by his hip, "I didn't spend these last five years just to die. Let's go. I'm ready."
"Alright then...!" Temporis grinned and then leapt towards him, his natural response being to catch her in his arms even as he looked surprised during it.
She then flicked her pointer finger out towards the city and shouted, "Time to penetrate the impenetrable city!"
She curled her fingers and let out a resounding snap, causing time to stop for everything but the two of them. The monochrome filter put over the wasteland almost felt like an improvement.
Sarajin then steeled his gaze and dashed ahead with Temporis cradled in his arms. She giggled in delight to mock the guards while they were unaware they were being bamboozled by her trickery.
Sarajin was still a little stiff in the legs but never lost speed and never looked back. He pressed onward until he knew for certain that they would make it to their destination.
It took them a minute to get to the barrier, beneath the shade of the nearest tower. Temporis hopped on out of his arms and slapped her hand against the pristine stone, hunched over and quietly catching her breath as time resumed.
Sarajin pinned his back against the tower and looked up, tense as he could only use his imagination to see how the guards above were acting.
At the moment, the guard was manning his post. He wore a black, form-fitting suit of armor with the ability to bend the light of the aura around them for concealment. They were armed with an elongated bow on their right arm with a sharp, black tip and a porcelain mask with black and yellow stripes, along with a dark yellow cape down their backs.
The guard grimaced and stepped over to the edge of the tower. They saw the world in a vivid shade of black with the imperfections of the world lined with a sharp yellow aura.
There was a faint trace of pink in the air, mixing in with a hint of white. The guard silently turned their head and prepared to peer over the side of the tower when suddenly...
"Yo!" His iron gaze was forced to pay reverence to the presence of one of his ten magnificent leaders.
The one revered as the Sky Scourge, Nimus, landed atop his post out of all others, following a sharp descent from the sky.
Still as carefree as ever, he approached the guard with a smile and curiosity brimming from his eyes, "What seems to be the problem?"
"Lord Nimus, I have sensed the presence of the Exi-"
"Hey hey hey," Nimus wagged his finger directly at the guard's face, "She's still to be called by her royal title. Got that?"
The guard nodded, "My apologies, my Lord. The Princess' presence has been felt approaching the city."
"So, what else is new?" Nimus said with a shrug as he pulled out one of his patented sandwiches and took another bite out of it.
"There is the presence of another with her."
Nimus wagged his sandwich out and murmured, "Really? I don't sense anyone else nearby. Maybe a bird flew by or something?"
"I should investigate her entry, just to be safe-"
"AH!" Nimus threw his hand out towards him and he froze on the spot, "Will I have to report to Lord Borealis that you're planning to hassle his daughter?"
He then chomped down on his sandwich and spoke while chewing, "I'm telling you, it was probably only a bird."
He then swallowed the last of his meal and let out a light burp, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to Caimanabal."
Once the guard had been put at ease, Nimus stood up on the edge of the tower and looked down out of the corner of his eye.
He picked out Sarajin and Temporis right away and grinned, "Heh, looks like you took my advice to heart after all..."
He then summoned his wings of blades and chuckled dryly, "Good luck, cotton puff, I'm rooting for ya."
As he took off to the sky Sarajin flinched and looked up, feeling a familiar backdraft blow his way. His eyes narrowed and he rested his hand on his sheath, trembling with disgust...
"Ok, I'm ready!" Temporis declared.
Sarajin eased up on the spot and turned to face her and her extended hand, "Shall we?"
Sarajin took one last peek over his shoulder and then laid his fingers on Temporis' palm. She stopped time again and this time, their surroundings looked much different.
They got to see the barrier's true form, with millions of specks of aura just floating there, like soft and fluffy snowflakes.
There were a lot of gaps in between the specks but only one big enough for both of them to squeeze on through sideways.
Once they had slipped inside Temporis resumed time and the barrier went back to normal, unaware it had been penetrated.
Sarajin was graced immediately by the scent of clean air he remembered liking the most about this place. The city had maintained it's luxurious paradise glow and clear skies and out of all the Tribes he had been to over the last five years, this place felt like it had changed the least...For better and for worse.
This meant the city and it's people still lacked spirit and caught on the presence of the two's arrival with their blanketed stares and still bodies.
It wasn't a populace of living people but almost more akin to a colony of ants going about their daily functions.
Sarajin shivered as he looked into their blank eyes and felt them boring back into his body so cold and empty and only then did it hit him that his best friend had been trapped in this place all this time...And how suffocating it must have been for him.
"...So where do you think Justek is right now?" Sarajin wondered, trying to tip-toe around the subject of the city proper for Temporis' sake.
Temporis threw her arms down at her sides and leaned out, waltzing towards the bridge spanning the sparkling river around the city, "I've got no clue. Like I told ya, I'm not around long enough to do anything but say 'hello' to my sister."
She then spun around on one foot and put her hands behind her head with a smirk, "But if there's one thing I'm sure about, it's that I'll be able to pick out his aura easily among all these sterile folk. So just gimme a few minutes to sniff him out, a'right?"
"What should I do in the meantime?" Sarajin wondered.
"Just stick behind me, the other Aurians won't try anything funny while I'm in your presence." Temporis said with her full assurance given.
Thus the two waltzed right into the city without a second thought. Sarajin swiveled his head around slowly and felt each and every person looking at him like he was unnatural. It was worse than it was last time, but Sarajin didn't feel any hatred towards them...Just pity.
"Your father is responsible for all this..." Sarajin murmured, letting Temporis' bitter words from the night before truly sink in.
"...Yeah, sickening isn't it?" Temporis murmured back, dripping with revulsion.
"Why would he do this to his own people?" Sarajin wondered.
"I frankly couldn't give a shit 'Why'...!" Temporis said through gritted teeth, then following a few rowdy huffs threw her hands behind her head and shook it around, "No, you know what...I don't want to get into this right now. Just...be quiet and let me concentrate."
"...Sorry, Temporis." Replied Sarajin with a sincere bow.
"...I'll let that one slide," Temporis said in a more light-hearted tone, "Thanks."
They wandered around the city for a bit, with her consciously keeping them away from the large towering palace near the pyramid.
"No." She would occasionally mumble with mild annoyance.
They eventually had made their way to the other side of the city without any problems, so far anyways. Temporis then stopped and leaned up next to a hut, sliding into a slump on the ground.
"Ugh, ol' four-eyes sure isn't making it easy on us, that's for sure." She said.
Sarajin waved his hand out and wondered, "And you're sure there's nobody we could ask for help?"
Temporis swung her hand down and murmured, "There's a few people I trust but it'd be too risky to try and seek 'em out blindly."
"Ah," Sarajin closed his eyes and started to find himself worrying the longer this went on for, "Justek, where are you?"
Temporis winced upright and the way her brows rose made it seemed like she had gotten inspired with an idea.
"You found him?!" Said Sarajin with a bit of unrestrained excitement.
"Shhhh...!" Temporis put a finger to his mouth and glanced to her left. She then grew this rather wicked and curious smirk, giggling like a girl half her age.
She then slowly brought her finger down and flicked him on the chest, pushing herself away while telling him, "Gimme just a moment, something caught my attention."
"Bunny...!" Sarajin tried to follow her but she held him against her finger and giggled.
"Don't worry it won't take long. It'll help us out, promise!" She then turned around and remarked, "Just wait right here!"
Sarajin sighed and quietly leaned up against the nearby hut, fiddling his fingers along the edge of his sheath.
Temporis put her hands behind her head and whistled her way over to the corner of the pyramid. With a turn of the head she slyly smirked and said, "Now...who could possibly be snooping on us behind this pyramid? Why...it couldn't possibly be Auris Aurora, the proud, stiffly princess of Sancturia? Noooooo, there's no way someone so prim and proper would be caught in the act doing something so immaturely-"
"Cease this taunting at once, Temporis!" Shouted a flustered, eloquent voice from the mouth of a young woman.
Temporis laid her fingertips upon her lips and snickered, "What, you wanted to try and get the jump on me this time? I'm flattered!"
"Ooooor...?" Her smirk widened, "You sensed him in the area, didn'tcha?"
"G-Ghh...!" It sounded like Auris had bitten her tongue, "I don't have time to play your childish games, little sister! N-Now...hurry up and tell me why you've brought that foolish boy into the city again!"
Temporis leaned in with her hands behind her hips and wiggled them around, "You can come out and ask him that yourself! He's right behind me!"
"W-WHAT?!" Auris sputtered, "No! I refuse to fall for your pranks today you peckish little imp! Go find some other fool to feast upon!"
"You're the one hiding behind the pyramid and you're calling ME the fool?" Temporis shook her head with a humored sigh and then sprinted behind the pyramid.
"C'mon, big sis, don't be shy!"
"U-Unhand me! I am a proud warrior of the Aurora lineage, I will not let some savage boy feast upon my figure with his hungry eyes!"
"Ooooooooh, your arms are sweaty right now, Auris! You're soooooo nervous to see him again!"
"S-Shut up! Be silent! CEASE! I am the elder sister and you will listen to me before-"
"HEY SARAJIN!" Temporis blitzed her big sister by leaving nothing to chance and announcing their presence and location clear as crystal to Sarajin.
Sarajin peeled off the hut and turned in the direction of the voice, where Temporis continued to dismantle her sister's attempts at resistance by making it blatantly clear what she was trying to do.
"LOOKIE WHO I FOUND!"
"Huh?" Sarajin had to walk a little closer to make out just who she was referring to. But given the person's vibrant colors, there was no one else it could be but Temporis' big sister, Auris.
However, she had changed. Probably the least out of all of them and yet, what she lacked in overall differences she more than made up for with the strength of said changes.
She was a towering presence in her youth, but now age had refined any glaring outward flaws and presented a beautiful, inspiring lady before the young man.
There were no marks on her smooth and pristine skin, which was warm with color, especially in her cheeks. Her crystalline eyes sparkled with diligence, grace, and maturity.
Her hair had been shortened to her chin and combed to look more befitting of royalty.
Her chest may now have been as big as her head and her hips slightly wider than her shoulders but none of this was grotesque. She treated this body like a temple and kept it firm and strong, contained within her robe, still the same kind of one Sarajin remembered her wearing back then, only made to fit the kind of woman she was now.
She was far more than the knock-out beauty Temporis had described her as. For a brief moment, Sarajin flirted with the possibility of abandoning his faith...For Auris' appearance commanded divine respect, respect only a Goddess could accept...
But even with all the ways Sarajin could become intoxicated by her beauty, he was grounded by her appearing before him now with a tense expression of frustration towards her young sister.
Temporis pushed Auris along until the two long-lost acquaintances were reunited five feet apart from one another. Only then did she relent, and let her big sister growl and hiss at her to vent all her frustrations out.
Temporis tapped away backwards and leaned out with a giggle, "I'll leave ya two alone for a minute!"
Auris shook her gloved fist out and declared, "I-I swear when I get my hands on you, little sister, I will-!"
"Y-You're...Auris." When Sarajin spoke up, Auris' heart skipped a bit and all her rage just seemed to vanish in an instant.
She turned towards him with her mouth agape and her overall demeanor very unlady-like.
"My sister had weaved many tales about how he had changed over the last five years...But I admit, I never believed a word of them until the day we were reunited."
"By then I could no longer be a non-believer. I looked away for but a moment...And that foolish, ruggish boy had grown into a man."
"I couldn't see it any more clearly than when I gazed into his unclouded eyes. He had grown from his struggles in both body and soul but still retained the smile that shone with a gleam that could capture the envy of the sun."
"He was truly an adult while I merely looked the part, an exemplary specimen but a hollow one all the same. I had been surpassed by one I had deemed a savage and the sudden realization of this formed cracks in my thin, immature perception of the world I lived in..."
"'How could I have let this happen?' I wondered to myself in that moment, 'How could so much time have passed...Yet I haven't moved an inch?'"
"I was envious. I was nervous. I was breaking...I was in love. We had not exchanged a word...But he stole my heart."
"And that is the tragedy of youthful immaturity...You will deny what your heart wants, even if it hurts the people you care about."
Auris composed herself somewhat and flicked her hand off from the side of her face, scowling in disgust, "I do not recall giving you permission to leer at me like a craven beast."
Sarajin flinched in recoil and following a couple sputters said back to her politely, "S-Sorry, I...I didn't mean to stare disrespectfully or anything."
Auris smirked and then laid her arms under her chest, cupping her elbows in her hands, "But I suppose I'm feeling generous today. So feel free to lavish me with whatever praise you have in your small, dirty heart, outsider."
"Well...If I'm going to be honest," Sarajin put his hand level over his head and then slid it towards her and back, "I didn't think you'd still be taller than me."
Sarajin pulled away and flashed a tiny grin, "But you're just as pretty as I remember you, Auris. Maybe even prettier."
Auris' pupils shrank as she was left closing her lips and feeling her heart begin to flutter against her chest like a swarm of tiny butterflies, all of them scared off by her screaming internally.
Her cheeks warmed with a pinkish blush and she swung her head aside, flapping her hand against her face while saying in a blunt tone, "Y-You...! Just run your mouth, why don't you...!"
Sarajin blushed in return, lowering his head with wet, wobbly eyes as he rubbed the back of his head and murmured, "Did I say something wrong?"
"Hmph!" Auris crumpled her arms up beneath her chest and propped them up, turning aside and shouting with her eyes closed, "The fact you have the gall to even ask such a stupid question...! You're still as learned as ever!"
She poked one eye open and saw her sister cackling and pounding her fists against the side of the pyramid.
"Uuugh...! Curse that sister of mine!" Auris declared before spinning right around and glaring straight into Sarajin's face, "Why did she drag you back here?! Do you not get how troubling it is for you to be around me again?!"
"I-I'm not here to cause any trouble, I swear." Sarajin said, slowly withdrawing from the sheer anger Auris had on display.
"Then why, oh WHY, do you trouble me so?!" Auris demanded to know.
Sarajin steadied himself and looked her straight in the eyes, giving him his best manners as he asked, "I came here to find my friend, Justek. Do you know where he is?"
Auris' eyes widened and her pupils shrank, with her left dimly sputtering to herself, "T-That's all this is about...?"
She stood up, brushing her hair away from her eyes and leaving herself in a bit of a haughty huff. She then laid her arms under her chest once more and murmured, "Hmph!"
"Are you ok?" Sarajin was beginning to catch on, and Auris hated that.
"UGH! Enough with the annoying questions!" She turned right around and craned her head back, "If you're so desperate to see that half-breed, you'll find him in the library north of the pyramid."
"Library?" Sarajin turned his head for just a moment before Auris flipped back around and shouted at him.
"It's a place where you read BOOKS! Why must you be so infuriatingly dull in the head?!"
"A place to read books? Of course he'd be there, what was I thinking?" Sarajin smiled and then rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry I didn't get that right away. I'm not used to the way things are in Sancturia."
"Hmph..." Auris turned to her side, glaring over at Temporis while muttering under her breath, "I would've expected better, even from you. But I suppose my little sister has abandoned everything about her home, even something as basic as knowledge..."
Sarajin shook his head and told her, "That's not true. She still comes here to visit you."
"..." Auris' eyelids sank and a minor frown crossed her face. Her tone became weighed with melancholy as she whispered, "Your savagery has poisoned her so much. Look at how garish her clothes are, how disrespectful she is to our prized landmarks...and yet...and yet..."
"...She's still her same old bright and cheerful self. How?" Auris bit her thumb and tensed up.
"Auris," Sarajin spoke up, trying to remain respectful, "It's not as bad outside as you've been led to believe. Just because there's war, doesn't mean there's not good to be found. I bet Temporis would love nothing more than to show you some of the good in the world if you let her."
Auris viciously shook her head with her eyes squeezed shut, turning to him while slashing her hand out beside her waist, "My heart will NOT be swayed by your temptations like you clawed your way into my sister's...!"
She grit her teeth and scowled, "Deal with your business here quickly, savage boy, and then I NEVER, EVER, want to see you again!"
Her blush only worsened the deeper she sank her fangs of disdain into Sarajin's throat. But he stood there, only looking saddened by her biting comments.
"..." He extended his hand towards her and all she could utter was "Why?"
"Maybe we can't see eye-to-eye right now, Auris. But I still want to try. Not just because you're Temporis' sister, but because I don't want to see you stay trapped in this place forever."
"..." Auris' eyes trembled and she turned sideways, pressing her arms under her chest and muttering under her breath, "I cannot and will not ever touch you. And we will never, EVER see eye-to-eye."
"..." Sarajin withdrew his hand and gave a short and pitiful nod, "Alright, well...I'll see you again someday, Auris. And I hope next time, you'll be comfortable enough around me to smile."
He smiled at her with all his strength, "I bet it'd make you even more beautiful."
He began to walk past her, ignorant to her gaze locked upon his back, and the feeling of loneliness present on her face.
"..." She bit her lower lip and thrust herself towards him with a hasty shout of, "Wait!"
Sarajin turned aside and Auris curled her fist against her chest, closing her eyes as she spoke out with sincerity, "...If nothing else, Sarajin Stratos, you have my begrudging thanks for keeping my sister safe all these years."
"Heh," Sarajin smiled, "Funny...Sometimes I think it goes the other way around."
He then kept moving forward, informing Temporis of their next move. Auris stood there in silence, only paying attention when Temporis hopped on up next to her real quick.
She was silent at first with the bobbing movement of her eyebrows being enough to incite Auris to anger, "Have you had your fun, sister?!"
"Y'know, you're only hurting yourself by acting like this, sis." Temporis retaliated with a knowing smile.
Auris shook her head and swung her hand out in a dismissive manner, "Just go already! Or I'll tell father what you two are up to!"
"Fine, fine, don't need to be a bitch..." Temporis turned around and put her hands behind her head and took two steps away with a whistle before glancing over her shoulder and commenting, "You could have at least shaken his hand."
Auris trembled, grabbing hold of her sleeve and peeling it back slightly to look at her skin. Her eyes wobbled and she mumbled aloud, "...I can never do that. My touch has become poison to anyone like him."
"Oh..." Temporis felt a little guilty, "Right, I forgot about what our bastard father did to you..."
She then faced her sister with a nasty, tearful glare and whispered, "H-He did it for my own good! So stop...stop taunting me with visions of a fantasy that can never be!"
Temporis sighed and shook her head, "I'll see you later...sis."
She then ran off with Sarajin, leaving Auris to hunch over and grasp her fists between her chest and tremble in an undignified manner.
"D-Damn it...! Why does being around his smile make me feel as though an arrow has pierced my heart...?! I am supposed to be a proud and mighty Aurian, and yet...!"
Sarajin and Temporis made their way to the north side of Sancturia, with Temporis verbally slapping herself across the face for a supposed blunder, "I had COMPLETELY forgotten we had a library. Course I uhhh, never used it myself, but-"
She looked out the corner of her eye and saw Sarajin deep in thought, "What's up, you don't look too good."
"Oh, uh...I was just thinking about your sister, that's all."
"Oooooh," Temporis flashed a gremlin's smile, "Tell me mooore."
Sarajin looked up and remarked, "Well...While I was talking to her, I didn't sense a lot of anger coming from her, even though she was yelling. It's like...she was hurting."
"...Sis is strong. Maybe too strong," Temporis closed her eyes and said bluntly, "I know ya got that whole 'help everyone' mentality, but maybe you'd be better off not worrying about her right now."
"True, I have more important things to worry about right now." Sarajin's heart started thumping as they headed towards the library, a ten story building shaped like a sharp "U" with massive windows on both sides and a single door leading inside.
This was Sarajin's last chance to take a deep breath and calm down...Which he failed at. The excitement was too much and he had waited too long for this moment.
Without a second word he picked his feet off the ground and barreled through the front doors of this massive building. Images of his friend flashed throughout his head, painting an ideal picture of what his friend would look like now, a few years older.
"Justek?!" He shouted, his voice echoing off the book lined walls and expansive floors, "Justek it's me, Sarajin! I'm here...! I'm finally here...!"
And the weight of this moment came crashing down upon him, leaving him winded and tired, but overjoyed in ways words could not express.
And so began a long wait, plagued by the sounds of metal platforms moving around with magic. At first, Sarajin had doubts that he had gone to the right place. This could've even been a trap set for him by Auris...
But then...
"Sarajin?" A voice answered. The deepness of it was unfamiliar to him but it's friendliness vocalized with a bit of surprise told him deep in his heart that there was no one else it could have belonged to.
He crawled forward and looked around, waiting for the sight of his friend to make itself known. There, at the left side of the first floor, he saw someone standing up from their table with a book in hand.
They were a frail young man who towered much like his father once did. He was clad in a green robe with rose rid trim with chrome plated armor beneath it and diamond chain mail beneath that, climbing up to his neck.
At his back was a long, gray silky cape wide enough to wrap around his body. His hands looked bony and his face was exhausted of color, but his green eyes still retained some semblance of light.
However, his hair had grown out and looked rather dirty and shaggy, covering parts of his glasses and shoulders.
Sarajin went quiet as the man's footsteps heralded his approach. Sarajin kept looking at the man's eyes and he looked back, his smile slowly growing as he did so.
He then stopped in place and raised his hand halfway. It was visibly shaken, like it could reach out, but did not want to.
And yet, it made the journey between them and rested against Sarajin's face. He felt only the cold of winter on their skin as they rubbed him down to the neck, and his smile was poisoned by the presence of a tear in his eyes.
"...This moment...is no longer a dream, or a vision," The man said with a trembling voice, "It can only be the real you...Sarajin Stratos, my friend."
"Justek..." Sarajin answered in kind, grabbing hold of his hand between both his and lowering it before his chest, tears swelling in his own eyes as well, "It...it's really you. You are alive."
"...Yes. I can say with certainty now that I am alive."
And just like that, they had bridged the gap of five years in an instant, and welcomed each other back into their lives with open arms.
With this ease of mind now present in both their expressions, Sarajin withdrew his hand from Justek and looked over his body one more time.
"You've got new clothes now?" He said, tugging a bit at his robe, "They look good on you."
"Thank you," Justek nodded, "They were provided to me by Lord Borealis."
"L-Lord...Borealis?" Sarajin stuttered.
"Is something wrong?" Justek said with a raised brow.
Sarajin's heart tensed up but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. He then shook his head and murmured, "N-No, I don't think so..."
"Mmm, well..." Justek smiled and chuckled, "You've hardly changed a bit."
"Really? Everyone else says I'm different these days..." Sarajin murmured and looked over at himself a little, causing Justek's chuckle to turn into a laugh.
"Come on now, Sarajin, let's not fool ourselves. You may have grown a bit taller but you're still the same Sarajin on the inside."
"Heh," Sarajin brushed the back of his fingers against his friend's chest and remarked, "Good to see you can still make snide remarks, buddy."
"Heh heh, well, I suppose I've had the time and resources to improve my craft," Justek turned around and guided Sarajin along behind him, "Come, let us sit down and talk for a bit."
They went to a nearby table and took a seat, with Justek laying his book down in the center. Sarajin picked it up and was intrigued by it's contents, "The Wayward Star-Gazer?"
"It's an old Aurian folktale. Quite a good read, actually. You're welcome to borrow it, if you want."
"Mmm, I don't want Temporis' dad to call me a thief." Sarajin laid it down and then flattened his hand against the table.
"Have you been able to keep learning how to read in my absence?" Justek inquired.
"Yeah, dad was able to teach me what he knew. Actually, I want to tell you about how things have been with him since we last saw each other."
Thus Sarajin explained what happened in the aftermath of the black monster's attack. Justek bobbed his head and cracked a mild smile near the end.
"I...see. I'm glad to hear that you and your father patched things up. A shame that Lord Nimus betrayed you."
Hearing that caused Sarajin's fingers to curl inward halfway before he put it at ease, his heart skipping a beat as he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "Lord Nimus...?"
He shook his head and then turned to his friend with a sorrowful expression, "It's been five years since you've lost your family. Do you still...have nightmares about that day?"
"Mmm..." Justek closed his eyes and continued to smile, "It's odd really. My parents died before my very eyes and yet...I did not mourn them. Is that...wrong?"
"Justek..." Sarajin murmured.
"Heh heh, it's quite alright, Sarajin," Justek smiled some more, "I've been able to occupy my mind with other matters these days."
"Y-Yeah, I guess so huh?" Sarajin craned his head back and felt a little dizzy looking at his surroundings, "You've got enough books here to last you the rest of your life!"
He then let out a sigh that allowed Justek to clue in on his feelings instantly, "But...?"
"Well..." Sarajin fiddled his fingers atop the table until he could muster up the courage to say, "You know why I came here right?"
"...Yes, I am well aware of what you're about to ask me," Justek nodded and then with a look of solemn dejection on his face he replied politely, "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to pre-emptively decline your request to leave this place, Sarajin."
"What?" Sarajin stood up and slammed his hands down on the table to face his friend with disbelief and a little disheartenment.
"Time's have changed, my old friend..." Justek shook his head and chuckled, "And I can no longer afford to partake in the affairs of the outside world."
"T-That's crazy...! How can you say something like that?" Sarajin proclaimed, embroiled in bitterness and confusion, "Didn't we promise to unite the world together?"
"That we did," Justek smiled and sank into a fond whisper, "And for a time, that was a beautiful dream. But now, I can no longer play a role in the stage you've set for yourself."
"And I already know you've found the perfect replacement for me." He turned to the right, and both of them saw Temporis standing there quietly with her hands behind her head.
"Hello, Lady Temporis," Uttered Justek, the unabashed politeness in his voice causing Sarajin's heart to be stung once more, "You're looking as good as ever today."
"Justek, you don't have to keep lying to make me feel better." She barked back.
"Whatever do you mean?" Justek said with a thin smile.
"You can't see me anymore." Temporis uttered, freezing up and looking on with a hasty expression of guilt.
Sarajin widened his eyes and turned to his friend, shaken all over, "W-What...?"
Justek stayed in place and his smile began to fade away, as Sarajin gazed upon him with pity and remarked, "But...but...you're still reading aren't you?"
Justek pulled his glasses off and behind those clean lenses lied the truth, that his pupils were foggy and he could barely muster up the will to look Sarajin in the eyes...Because all he could see was darkness.
"There's been many things I've come to cope with in these last five years," Justek laid his hand atop the book and snickered, "The loss of my eyesight being the hardest hit to my way of living."
He curled his fist and gently pounded the book, "But make no mistake Sarajin I would never, EVER lie to you."
"Right now, I can tell you're looking at me with sadness cause you above all other people in this world understand how much I valued my eyes. And that you've grown-up into a fine man, standing out from under the shadow of your father. I wish I could explain how I know all this, but if I did...You'd only want to be away from me."
"No...No, don't you ever say something like that, Justek!" Sarajin declared, "You're still my best friend, even without your eyesight!"
"And if there's something wrong with you, I'll still accept it as part of who you are. Because that's what friends do! They stick by their side through thick and thin!"
"...You're right," Justek smiled, "How could I ever denounce that part of you?"
He pushed his glasses back onto his face in a rather plain manner. Sarajin was stunned silent, barely listening as Justek explained to him, "It's because of Lord Borealis' help that-"
"Justek, stop for a moment." Sarajin tried to say calmly but he was clearly shaken by what he had to say.
He had to pull himself away from the table to think. The overwhelming sense of joy from this reunion had benefited him greatly so far but now...Now he was getting too bothered to really enjoy the moment.
"Justek would never call someone 'Lord' or 'Lady'...And the way he pushed his glasses back on too..." There were many little tics and mannerisms that made Justek the way he was, and whether due to the guilt of surviving or something else entirely, it was like those individual pieces that made him whole had slowly been stripped away.
It was as though he was slowly being transformed...into those shells called "Aurians" outside.
Sarajin's body began to shake and he curled his hands into fists. He tried taking in deep breaths to calm himself down but it didn't work.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
His heartbeat was racing painfully against his chest and he realized there was only path he could pursue at this juncture. He could no longer ignore the question of "Why?" now that his own friend was caught up in the mystery that plagued Sancturia's people.
With only a swift "Sorry!" towards Justek he ran for the door and Temporis panicked.
"W-Whoa! Where do you think you're going?!"
"I'm going to have a talk with your dad!" Sarajin's voice trailed out the door and Temporis clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.
"Shit...! Sarajin!" She ran after him, turning around long enough to say, "W-We'll be back later, Justek!"
Justek merely sat there with his mouth agape and eyes glistening with awe. A genuine smile crossed his face and he murmured amidst the ambience of loneliness, "Haha, nothing ever will change with you, Sarajin. But then again...That's the quality I've always admired most about you, my friend."
Next Time: Who Decides Freedom for the Many?