Chapter -114: The Alchemist Who Has Decided the Future
"Sarajin! Will you hold your horses for just one second?!" Temporis tried to call out to him but he was on the set and narrow, and nothing was going to slow him down.
"Urgh...!" Temporis stopped, rolled her eyes, then used her time stopping powers to close the gap and position herself directly in his path with her hand planted against his chest.
He coughed in surprise and then looked down, finding her usually demure expression turning sour.
She looked into his eyes with blinding fury as she told him, "Are you nuts?! Barging in to speak with my father is the total OPPOSITE of what we want to be doing here!"
"I can't leave Justek the way he is, Temporis," Sarajin rebounded with a gentle shove to get her hand off him, "L-Look...I just want to talk with him. Get some answers. I'm not going to fight him."
"..." Temporis slanted her brows and clicked her tongue, "Yeah well...I almost wish you would."
She turned aside and crossed her arms under her chest, kicking the dead air, "Maybe he'd listen if he was humbled."
"Haaaa...!" Temporis rolled her eyes and then threw her hands up in defeat, "Fine! We're doing it for Justek."
She then looked out from the side of her face and inquired, "Do you even know where you need to go?"
"That large building behind the pyramid, right?" Sarajin said, pointing in that general direction.
"Yep. The bastard holes himself up in there almost every day, with Gabe watching guard over the place."
"So first we're going to have to get past Gabriel to meet with your father?"
"Pretty much. Though if it'll be anything like the last time you two met-"
"It won't," Sarajin had a rather eager smile on his face as he stroked his hand up the length of his sheath, "Actually, I was kind of hoping if we had to get into any fights, he'd be the one I'd have to face."
Temporis' eyes widened and she couldn't help but crack a smirk, "I don't think I've seen you this excited before."
He pressed onward towards the main palace of Sancturia, the Royal Hive as Temporis once described it. His gaze was firm and narrow and he remained calm, concentrating on the echoes of the past.
"It's been six years since you taught me that important lesson about strength, Gabriel. Today...I'll show you just how much I've learned from you!"
There was silence between the two as they approached the front doors of the towering palace. But it's reinforced walls were but a front, for the true line of defense against intruders stood in wait patiently near the door.
Though his eyes were shut and his body as unmoving as a statue, he had already read the air around him and foresaw the two's approach long beforehand.
He laid his palm against the tip of his hilt and pulled away from the wall, his eyes opening with a cautious but friendly calm.
"So, you have returned, Sarajin Stratos." He said, his baritone voice recognizing the forever expansive gap in experience between him and the young man who intruded upon his post and yet, showing a mild hint of respect.
Sarajin stopped twenty feet apart from the man and bowed his head, "It's been a while, Sir Gabriel."
Gabriel stepped a few feet away from his post and glanced at both parties, "Lady Temporis, were you not warned never to bring outsiders back in here again?"
"I shouldn't be expected to follow the rules of a home that doesn't accept me anymore." Temporis barked back.
"...I still accept you," Gabriel said with a sigh, "Even if I am hurt by the pain you've put upon Lord Borealis' heart."
Temporis glared at him and decided she was no longer going to mince words, "Move aside, Gabe. Sarajin's here to speak with dad."
"I figured that was the case," Gabriel remarked, focused solely on Sarajin thereafter as he continued to walk clockwise towards him, "I can see the determination in your eyes. You are not the same boy I brought to his knees."
Sarajin turned aside and began walking clockwise as well, keeping his hand ready atop his hilt at all-times, "I'm here because of my friend Justek. I don't want to hurt anyone."
"Perhaps not, but that doesn't mean your heart isn't still one of a savage," Gabriel pushed his katana an inch out of the sheath with his thumb, "I will not waste our breaths on soliloquies. If you wish to pass these gates, then prove to me that you've learned the true meaning of strength."
The two stopped on opposing sides of where they began. Sarajin took a deep breath in through his nose and slanted his brows. He pushed his katana out of his sheath with his thumb and then nodded.
Gabriel's scruffy brows furrowed as he drew his blade out all the way, holding it masterfully in both hands before his waist, and leaving no openings exposed.
Wind started to gather within Sarajin's sheath, pushing his own katana out the remainder of the way into the grasp of his right hand. He then swung it to his side to cast the wind away, leaving all his hopes in his own strength of will.
He then grasped the blade in both hands and pointed it forward out beside his face. Gabriel appeared to smirk, then was off like a gust of wind, silent and swift.
Sarajin pushed forward and swung his blade down as Gabriel was ready to raise his. He was able to make Gabriel hold the blade in one hand and as the two passed, they immediately spun around to meet eye-to-eye.
Sarajin grit his teeth and charged in again as quick as the wind he lived his life admiring. Free as a bird, he was weightless in his movements but could strike with precise and unexpected strength.
Gabriel found himself digging his feet into the ground and swinging his free hand down to grab Sarajin's hands before the katana struck his gauntlet and disarmed him of his own sword.
Gabriel then pulled Sarajin past his hip to leave him disoriented, giving him time to return his katana to the grasp of both hands and swing down at Sarajin's exposed back.
Sarajin twisted back and guarded with his katana, feeling an intense crack in his elbow. He stepped away and waited for Gabriel to advance.
When the samurai moved his leg forward Sarajin slashed at the ground to make him flinch, giving him ample time to bring his sword back into both hands.
He then dashed over the line and sliced towards Gabriel's armor. Gabriel turned his sword diagonally to block it, then parried Sarajin's successive slashes with ease.
He was being pushed back but his repeated breaths carried the weight of a long living and patient man. He was not deterred, but rather contemplative of his next move.
Sarajin froze as suddenly, Gabriel's next parry had him whipping his sword out and then back, forcing distance between the two.
Gabriel poised his sword's tip at the ground and then slashed up and down in quick succession, forcing Sarajin's blade to be pointing downward.
Gabriel then pressed on and glared into Sarajin's eyes while swinging his sword towards his chest. Sarajin's strongest steel didn't come from his blade, but the grit in his gaze.
With this intense focus, Sarajin was able to lock blades with the samurai and swing the blade upward, grinding up sparks as the two then parted ways.
Gabriel smiled and Sarajin smiled back. He was then the first to make the next move, putting himself deadly close to Gabriel's range in an attempt to slice his armor.
He knew Gabriel would defend himself, so Sarajin pulled away at the last possible moment, then immediately swung his blade up when the tip was underneath Gabriel's katana to force it up.
Gabriel's eyes widened as without pause, Sarajin came at him again, slicing through the air repeatedly while his guard was down.
But every cut inflicted only damaged his armor.
Gabriel eventually delivered a heavy slash down to force Sarajin away. But it was so heavy that it released pressure in the aftermath, causing Sarajin to skid further back in shock.
Gabriel's speed increased and he ran up to Sarajin to deliver a decisive strike to his sword hand. Sarajin turned aside and still felt the blade grazing his stomach.
He then continued to turn and slashed down towards Gabriel's shoulder pauldron. Gabriel pulled back and guarded with his blade, turning to lock eyes with Sarajin once more.
The two then bounced away and regained their footing, with Sarajin putting his sword diagonally by the hip while Gabriel looked to be sheathing his.
Sarajin's heart was pumping as he couldn't tell if the samurai was going to attack or wait for him to strike first.
Gabriel suddenly closed the gap between them in an instant and drew his blade. He was an unrelenting force, cleaving the air quietly with enough strength to rob an Argent Heaver of their tusks.
Sarajin had the speed to match Gabriel's movements but not the strength in his wrists to keep this up forever.
He tried to back away but Gabriel's attacks were deliberate in leaving him no room to escape as he covered every direction with his seemingly endless slashes.
Eventually Sarajin found he had been pushed against the wall of the Pyramid with Gabriel retreating to sheath his sword once more.
In the blink of an eye Sarajin watched as the man whipped his sword out from the sheath and disarmed him of his katana using one beautiful, glistening green stroke.
And then said blade was an inch from his neck with Gabriel motionless.
"It is over..." Gabriel decided, right as Sarajin's katana impaled the ground between them.
Sarajin was sweating but kept his cool, watching as the samurai withdrew his blade into his sheath and stood up. He then pulled Sarajin's blade from the ground and held it carefully so the hilt could be pointed at it's rightful owner.
"You have shown me restraint and the capacity to stay true to your determination even when faced with death," Gabriel said with a smile, "Carry this strength with you proudly, Sarajin Stratos, and you will always be able to protect those you care about."
Sarajin returned the sword to his sheath and the two exchanged bows, "Thank you for the compliment, Sir Gabriel. But I still have a long way to go."
"Every path begins when you take the first step," Gabriel remarked with a sagely tone, "But only you can decide how long that path will go."
He then stepped aside, leaving a clean road between Sarajin and the entrance to the palace. Sarajin stared at him with surprise and the man answered in kind, "Just this once, I will grant the request of an outsider. But be warned, Lord Borealis' will is beyond the strength of heart."
Sarajin walked towards the door and Temporis joined him by his side to say, "So we're doing this, huh?"
"You don't have to come in if you don't want to, Bunny." Sarajin said with sincerity.
Temporis shook her head and remarked, "I ain't leaving you alone with that bastard. And besides, Justek is my friend too."
"Well then can you do me a favor?" Sarajin went and detached his sheath, "Hold onto this for me until we're done. I want your father to know he can trust me."
"Ok," She accepted without hesitation and strapped the sheath to her hip, just to be safe, "Let's do this then."
After the two took their last second to reconsider, they made their way inside the Royal Hive.
Gabriel walked back up to the entrance, his right hand trembling slightly. He grabbed hold of the wrist to stop the shaking and then brought it before his face, looking past it at Sarajin's back.
"He was deliberately trying to avoid hurting me. If we had fought seriously...Would I have come out victorious?" It was a cause of concern, but also, left him intrigued regarding the future for the first time he could remember, "Perhaps this one might even be worth your attention...Lord Borealis."
Sarajin was now deep into the heart of the Aurian city, where it's greatest and wisest leaders gathered, the Ten Sages. This was once the place Temporis lived, where Auris currently lives, and where Nimus nowadays calls his home...
The mere thought of that man made Sarajin tremble with rage for a moment. But he brought his heart still in the presence of the palace's crystalline interior.
It reminded him of the deepest, prettiest parts of Oreore's gem mines. Here the air was at its cleanest, almost suffocating in how much freedom there was to just take in the air and enjoy it.
And there was one man at the center of all this. The Lord of Aurians, the Lord of Sages. A man who was both admired and hated by his daughters, and presided as a resident in this world with an immense and powerful presence that no mere human lexicon had the words to describe.
Sarajin found himself frozen in place in the middle of the palace as he met the eyes of this very man just sitting on his throne, clad in two gauntlets, one gold and one silver.
He had a bearded mane of a hundred bears. The build of a hundred men. His garments were woven with aquamarine silk and beneath it were his trusted tools of the trade around his hips and a suit of skin-tight armor that could weather a hundred storms.
But behind this indomitable body was a softer and weary face. He did not have satisfaction sitting on his self-made jeweled throne and his mind was in a state of perpetual motion, constantly thinking towards the future and whatever consequences may come of it.
On this day, however, he had not expected this. That his inner most deepest sanctuary would be penetrated by the one whose identity he had only paid heed to when whispered to by his fellow Sages. This person stood before him, unarmed and on his feet, swearing not to fealty but defiance of everything he had built and stood.
But what was perhaps more worrying to the man, was that his daughter stood at his side, eyes glaring straight through him.
"What is the meaning of this?" The man uttered in a puzzled, husky tone, gripping the sides of his throne with intensity as he began to rise from his seat, "How has a savage managed to breach this far into the city? Where is Gabriel?!"
"He let us in." Temporis remarked.
Borealis' brows slanted downward as his eyes met with hers. A long, long time felt like it passed before he spoke, trying to reach out to her with a courteous, but tragically timid welcome, "...Daughter."
However, she replied swiftly and bluntly with, "Dad."
He swallowed hard, his heart thus skipping a beat when the stranger in his chambers addressed him, "You must be Lord Borealis."
Sarajin bowed his head and gave a sincere gesture of respect for his rule, "It's an honor to finally meet you, sir. My name is Sarajin Stratos."
Borealis furrowed his brows and mumbled in a stern, disdainful tone, "Why are you here?"
Sarajin felt a shiver down his spine that left his knees feeling weak. The man's eyes were slowly widening to contain the hostility he felt towards him. And it was more than just loathing towards one man...He was putting the weight of hatred towards an entire race upon Sarajin's soul.
Sarajin still wished to present himself with as good of manners as he could muster, and gently gestured his hand towards the man, "I-I'm sorry to have come here uninvited, Lord Borealis. But it's about my friend, Justek."
"The last of the half-breeds?" Borealis murmured, "Sarajin...Yes. I remember now. It was the name that frightened child uttered for solace when he learned his people had been slaughtered."
Borealis put his hands behind his back and stood tall, marching towards the steps leading up to his throne, "But now you've invaded my city in order to steal him away and make him a weapon in your savage war."
"N-No. Not at all," Sarajin said, feverishly shaking his head, "He's my friend. I'm here to bring him home."
Borealis began to draw his golden gauntlet from behind cover, unmoving in his march, "My eyes see clearly through your fog of deceit, savage of the Sky."
Before Sarajin could blink the man was standing before him with his gauntlet pressed deep against his chest. This wasn't anything like Temporis' ability or superspeed. He decided where he needed to be, and thus was there.
The man's eyes flared and Sarajin suddenly felt weightless while time seemed to freeze around him in particular. He was floating away from his body in a translucent state of being, as the individual layers of his form were being taken off until only a grid-like frame remained.
And inside it was a large, bright, ethereal object perfectly shaped like a sphere and surrounded by seven smaller lights, each representing a different Wellspring.
"W-What's happening to me?!" Sarajin looked down at himself and saw that the ends of his limbs were bleeding out grainy light particles that formed a trail back down to his body.
There were suddenly words in boxes coming off the parts of his body Borealis had peeled away, along with these strange numbers depicting age, weight, height, and other various minor details such as the amount of minerals in his system or how much percentage of his body was made of water.
But Borealis ignored all that and focused on that large bright object. His mouth was moving but his voice was being distorted into something unintelligible.
His eyes eventually widened and a single drop of sweat trickled down the side of his face.
Sarajin could only stare in worrying silence until the man slowly drew his hand away, upon which Sarajin snapped back into his body.
The experience left him feeling foggy in the head and his chest pounding. He laid a hand over his chest and began to hunch over, staring up at Borealis' face while the man uttered a cold and worried "Impossible..."
He then turned aside and began pacing to the left, tucking his hand behind his back.
Temporis grabbed hold of Sarajin and helped pull himself back up, "You alright?"
"Y-Yeah but that was weird...It was like I wasn't in my own body anymore."
Temporis' expression got cross and she stood up, shouting with indignant fury, "You used your Drive on him?!"
But the man was absent of any reaction to her anger, standing there, his head craned back in contemplative silence.
"HEY!" She thus shouted later, "Answer me you goddamn bastard!"
"I-It's alright Temporis," Sarajin said with a somewhat cocky chuckle, "I don't think he hurt me..."
Borealis began to turn once he lowered his head, keeping to a sideways stance as he glanced at Sarajin from across his shoulder. His temperament was milder, but still could be considered hostile.
"I have put that half-breed under my protection for his own safety. I will not permit him to leave these walls...even if you do allege to be his friend."
"Why...?" Sarajin wondered.
"Do not feign ignorance," Borealis said in a stern voice, "Surely you have bore witness to the power those scaled creatures in human flesh once displayed. That power cannot be entrusted to remain out in the open, where any mad, desperate soul would scour flesh from the bone just for the opportunity to make it theirs."
"Here, as the last of his kind, can he be protected from their blood-soaked claws, denying them their ill-gotten privilege of making him into a weapon of war!"
Sarajin shook his head, "I can protect him."
"Can you?" Borealis said in a somewhat mocking tone, a long pause gripping Sarajin with anxiety before he continued, "I heard that a new monster now seats itself upon the throne of darkness. What if their enigmatic whims lead them to lust for power, they would seek the half-breed to bolster their rule and you would be unable to do anything but crumble at their feet."
"What of the warmonger of winter, who cuts a swathe through the land on a parade of steel-clawed bears in pursuit of conquest? Or the ruler of fire, who pledges his sword to blaze and blood in order to perpetuate an endless cycle of violence and death?"
Sarajin's eyes began to narrow in scorn, with Borealis then raising his voice and thrusting his silver clad finger his way, "And if not for my daughter's aid, would you have been able to breach these walls?"
He squeezed his fists and raised it before his chest, bellowing in a deep and penetrating tone, "Do you boast the arrogance to lie to my face, and claim that you are stronger than I?!"
Sarajin's eyes started to tremble as he felt a vibration reverberate from his chest to his heart. His heart beat rapidly, rocked by the waves of Borealis' will, which were more unbreakable than diamond.
Borealis then thrust his hand out and proclaimed, "Look to my city and it's people for your answer! There's not a grave to need tending to, no child left behind to mourn a lost parent!"
"For as long as I stand and breathe these walls, my people will NEVER fall to the savage yearnings of those who lie beyond them! For you may believe you have strength because you have someone to protect, but I know I am strong, for I burden the weight of an entire race on my shoulders!"
He threw his hand aside and parted his cloak, staring at Sarajin with pure resolution towards his goals, "This is what it means to lead, to rule, to PROTECT. I cannot waver, cannot FLINCH, until I have guided this world's people away from their savage course."
He then tucked his hands behind his back and stood as indomitable as he always had throughout.
There was no comparison between him and Sarajin. The man was his superior in every possible way. And the overwhelming gap in their experience crushed Sarajin's soul down like gravity, rendering him mute.
"H-His resolve is just like Ophelia's...No, it's even stronger!" Sarajin' innards were shaking all over, "Borealis isn't just a man...He's like a god. T-Temporis was right, how am I ever going to convince him of anything...?"
Sarajin bit his lower lip and gulped, "But...there has to be something I can say. If I don't, Justek will-"
He felt a breeze at his side and the next thing he knew, he watched as Temporis had drawn his katana and pointed it at Borealis' neck.
She was panting and heaving while the man's eyes widened with shrunken pupils, his skin paled and looking extra frail because of it.
"Bastard...!" She growled, tears in her eyes.
"Temporis, w-wait!" Sarajin shouted out.
"SHUT UP!" Temporis yelled, burrowing her fury through her own father with white hot intensity, "'Protect'? How can you look at your own people and say they're protected? What, because they're alive? They might as well be dead with how much you've sterilized their ability to think for themselves!"
"Daughter..." Borealis murmured.
"Fuck you," Temporis barked back in a dulled tone, "Nobody laughs, nobody smiles, every one of my people are just puppets, slaves to your will! And why, so you can pretend that you're doing them a good service?!"
"Maybe there IS a lot of bloodshed and fear going on outside but at least the people out there have the GODDAMN freedom to make their own decisions."
"You've never even tried to look past your narrow world view, have you? Otherwise you'd see that these 'savages' you despise so much are good-natured people who are just trying to survive! But no, that'd go against everything you believe and we can't have that, can we?"
"LOOK AT ME!" Temporis screamed, pressing the tip against her father's nape as the tears continued to swell, "I could kill you right now and you'd STILL think you were right about everything! But you're wrong...! You're the wrongest person in the entire world! So don't think you're some holy symbol of altruism when all you are is a fascist tyrant!"
Borealis was still, the only movement coming from the tears trickling down his cheeks. He then whispered delicately at her, "When did you grow up...? And come to look so much like your mother...?"
Temporis grit her teeth with a hiss and her grip on the katana got dangerously shaky. But Borealis' stance remained resolute, as he mournfully told his daughter, "Hearing those words being spoken to me by that face...Wounds me deeper than a thousand arrows."
"...But I cannot stop. Everything I've done, everything I WILL do, is all in service of ensuring the protection and safety of the people most precious to me. And even if your words make my heart bleed dry...I will always have room in these arms to hold you and love you, Temporis."
Borealis slowly reached out until his hand could wipe the tears off Temporis' left cheek. And she stood there with a nervous, wobbling smile, shaking her head and continuing to point the blade at his neck.
"You already lost me forever, dad." With one last arrow to his heart, Temporis watched as her father's body trembled, and tears continued to flow down his cheeks.
He closed his eyes, and whispered, "...That doesn't change my feelings towards you."
"..." Temporis dropped the katana and sheath to the ground and then let loose a blood-curdling scream as she smashed her fist against the side of her father's face.
Her glove shattered and the pieces scattered everywhere, but all she did was put a red mark on his skin. His head didn't even move.
"Ha...ha...ha..." Temporis was hunched over and panting slowly. She then tightly grit her teeth and stood up, murmuring in a cold and callous tone, "Someday...Auris is going to wake up and see the kind of man you truly are. And when she escapes your strings...I hope it hurts like hell."
Despite the heightened emotions on display, Sarajin couldn't side with Temporis' feelings towards her father, even if he empathized with her frustration.
"All he wants...is peace?" And with that realization, what seemed to be an impossible to bridge gap between the two's strength of will had common ground to stand on in the middle.
"Lord Borealis, sir..." Sarajin addressed quietly, causing Temporis to look over her shoulder in disbelief.
Borealis raised his head. Judging from his reaction, he had chosen to forget he was here until now.
"I think we're both after the same thing here," He told him, "You want to return peace to the world. I'm trying to do the same by mending the broken relationships between all the Tribes."
"...Is that so?" Borealis remarked with an intrigued raise of the brow, "And how is someone like you, poisoned by a world of strife, expected to cultivate peace?"
"...I don't know yet," Sarajin said, closing his eyes and cracking a weak smile, "I've spent the last five years getting ready but I still have a lot to consider before I can start thinking about bridging the gap between the Tribes."
Borealis put his hands behind his back and murmured, "Then you have nothing to offer."
"No, not yet," Sarajin looked him straight in the eyes and said, "But, if you'd permit me, can I ask you one question?"
"...I will grant you one." Borealis murmured.
"If I can bring all the Tribes back together and put an end to all war, would you let your people leave these walls?"
Borealis widened his eyes and muttered in a mildly humored tone, "You seek the impossible, outsider. But...assuming such a way could be found, I would be able to trust my people to leave these walls."
"Even my friend?"
"Even the half-breed."
"Yeah right!" Temporis shouted, "There's no way in hell you'd let go of your property!"
"W-What?" Sarajin replied, "What are you talking about...?"
Temporis glared over her shoulder at her father and shouted, "What is the name of Sarajin's friend. Go on! Tell him!"
"You mean Arcavira?" Borealis answered immediately.
"A-Arcavira?" Sarajin stuttered, feeling a chill down his spine.
"That's right!" Temporis continued on, "And what does 'Arcavira' mean in our language, dad?"
Borealis was silent, his eyes narrowing with a mild groan of discomfort.
"Say it..." Temporis growled between her teeth. But still, he was silent.
"SAY. IT." Temporis growled harder. Still, he was silent.
She gripped her fists until her whole body was shaking and then spun around, shouting out loud to Sarajin, "It means 'Bound One'. Arcavira is a Forbidden Word that binds itself to a person's heart and makes them subservient to the speaker's will...Your best friend is nothing more than a slave and a thing to OWN in my dad's eyes!"
"I-Is this true...?" Sarajin looked to the weary man, whose eyes could no longer look straight at his.
Borealis swung his hand out and shouted, "You did not get to see his eyes like I did! How the light had been torn from them...Scorned from the protection of the Lords!"
"He would never have known a quiet night's rest again had I not bound his tumultuous heart to keep his despair at bay!"
Temporis just threw her hands up and walked away in quiet disgust. But Sarajin kept looking straight at him, sensing no lies or misdirection. Even so...
"But I'm here for him now, as a friend. I can burden the pain of his heart."
Borealis shook his head and tucked his hands behind his back, "How am I expected to believe the empty words of a savage?"
"That's just something we'll have to work on over time, Lord Borealis." Sarajin turned aside and extended his hand out, calling back his sword and sheath and put them together at his hip. He then laid his hand on the hilt and looked straight at the man one more time.
"There's some things you said I don't agree with...But I don't hate you. I'm going to bring the Tribes back together and Sancturia is no exception. Neither is Justek's people, even if he is the last survivor. So I hope you won't mind if I keep coming back here to meet with my friend, or share ideas with you about how to help fix the world."
"We won't ever succeed if we work alone," Sarajin ended this on a blunt but optimistic note, "I think deep down even you recognize that."
He then turned around and patted Temporis on the shoulder, "Alright, we can go now."
She stood there and took one last look at her father, his eyes tender while hers remained sharp and scornful. She shook her head and ran after Sarajin without ever looking back.
And Borealis, with all the prestige and rights granted to him as a Lord of Aurians, could only feel empty as he returned to his throne...
As they left the Royal Hive Temporis ran on ahead with her hands behind her head. Sarajin kicked up the pace to catch up with her and tried shouting out, "Bunny, wait!"
"Shut up, I'm not talking to you right now." She replied bluntly.
A few seconds later, she stopped right in place and turned around with her cheeks puffed and swung her arm out, "How could you do that in front of me? After all he said?!"
"Uhhh..." Sarajin rubbed the back of his head and felt pretty bad about her anger towards him.
"This was like, the easiest thing you should be on my side with! But instead you want to WORK with him?!"
"It's...not as easy as you made it sound." Sarajin mumbled under his breath.
"Bullshit."
"Look!" Sarajin thrust his head and his voice got firm and reprimanding towards her, "I feel like I should hate that man even half as much as you do..."
He then planted his palm against his chest and patted it down a few times, "But we're both looking for peace in the world. So if I give in to anger just because we're using different methods to reach the same goal, then that goes against everything I vowed to fight against!"
"Grrr...!" Temporis growled through gritted teeth.
Sarajin pulled back and narrowed his eyes, looking away with a bit of melancholy on his face, "I won't ask you to get along with your father, Temporis. But I meant everything I said back there."
Temporis glared at him some more and then walked on up, socking him hard in the gut to wind him.
"Khh...!"
She then backed away with her hands behind her head, "You also owe me another great dinner tonight."
Sarajin clutched his gut and stood up with a forced smile, "S-So we're good?"
"..." Temporis punched her fist into an open palm and cracked her knuckles, glancing over her shoulder with a big, determined grin, "If we can't make that bastard submit with our voices, then we'll do so with our actions. Let's go out there and create that united world so my people can get to know what freedom's like."
"Alright!" Sarajin nodded happily, "But before we leave, let's go let Justek know what happened."
The two thus made their way back to the library, correctly guessing he'd still be there deep in his books. He had pulled out a few others since they had left but upon them entering the building he poked his head up and smiled.
"So, how did the meeting go with Lord Borealis?" He pried with the implication he already knew the answer.
Yet Sarajin looked him straight in the eyes and gave him the honest truth, "I tried to get him to let you leave Sancturia. But..."
"He refused?" Justek murmured.
"Yeah," Sarajin nodded in shame, "...Justek, are all the Ten Sages as intense as he is?"
"No. He's entirely in a league of his own," Justek shut his book and stood up, "Both in resolve, and wisdom."
Sarajin was perturbed to hear this reverence come from his friend, and tried to pry into these matters with delicacy and respect, "Justek are you...Fine, with the way things are?"
Justek raised his brows and remarked, "You mean that I now live in Sancturia, cut off from the rest of the world?"
"..."
"..." Justek stared down at the table and closed his eyes, "I've had plenty of time in solitude to think about my place in the world. And I've decided...It's for the best if I live out the rest of my days here."
Sarajin's heart was stung and he shouted out in defiance of his self-defeating nature, "How can you say that? Borealis has made your heart just like the rest of his people's!"
"...I know," Justek smiled and turned his way, "And it's allowed me to know peace."
Sarajin let out a long, disturbed grumble. He then shook his head and gestured out to his friend, "I'll still come and visit you. Even if you can't leave these walls, it doesn't mean you deserve to be ignorant of what's happening."
"You and I promised to reunite this world together, remember?"
"How could I ever forget?" Justek chuckled, "The impression you leave on people's hearts is sometimes as stubborn as you are."
"Heeeey..." Sarajin bemoaned, letting out a chuckle after as he could feel some form of relief that his friend's biting sense of humor still shone through.
Justek then closed his eyes and nodded his head, "You're more than welcome here, my friend."
He then looked at him and remarked, "But before you go, may I ask a favor from you?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"...There's a journal I left behind in the ruins of my village. If you can return it to me, I will tell you something very important."
"The ruins of your village?" Sarajin tensed up a little, then nodded, "Ok. I'll see what we can do."
"Thank you." Justek bowed.
He then turned to face Temporis and pumped his fist her way, "Let's get going!"
"We'll be back before you know it, Justek!" She assured him.
As the two left, Justek paused for a long while before reaching up towards his glasses with a shaking hand. The shaking got worse and worse as he put his finger on the bridge of his glasses.
But then he pulled away, wearing a frown, "...Heh, that was the first time I felt that urge in years."
"...Be safe out there, Sarajin. Reclaiming my journal will be more difficult than you expect."
Next Time: Face the Fear