Late again, but the next chapter is here. Thanks again for all your support for this story.
Now, onward to the chapter.
Chapter 47: Silence
Lloyd groaned in frustration as he looked through another book.
So far, no one had much luck finding the Boltzman's Book. In this giant library, it could literally be anywhere. The only luck that they had so far was that Colette illness hadn't taking hold. For some reason, she never seemed to get sick until they leave the temple.
"Any luck?" Genis asked.
"Nothing," Lloyd said as he put up another book. "Man, isn't this stuff supposed to alphabetize or something?"
Genis sighed. "It's supposed to be, but someone hasn't been maintaining the library. There are book all in the wrong section."
"If we don't find it soon, Pietro will be dead," Lloyd said as he looked over another book. "I mean, the guy has been sick for awhile already."
"I know, but we're moving as fast as we can," Genis said as he put up a book. "At least there's one good thing. Our journey will be ending soon."
Lloyd paused as he was turning a page. "...Yeah."
Genis became silent. "I'm worried too. I want to believe in Martel and Remiel, but I am afraid what will happen once we walk out that door. When Colette becomes...sick what more could she lose?"
"It's a question I fear more than any other," Lloyd admitted. "A part of me almost wishes we never leave this library."
"Huh, you must be desperate," Genis teased, trying to bring up Lloyd's mood. It didn't work.
"I want to believe in Colette… I want to believe she knows what she's doing, but...I can't find anything right about this," Lloyd spoke softly.
Genis chose to say nothing. What could he say? In many ways, Lloyd was just voicing what he was feeling. He believed in Martel, he believed in the Church, and he believed in Colette. Yet, he couldn't find anything good about what was happening. Was he being selfish? Was this a test of faith?
"Hey, I think I found something!" Sheena suddenly shouted, getting Lloyd and Genis out of their funk.
They rushed over to her and saw her holding a large green book. Raine was faster and was quickly glancing over the pages.
"There is no doubt about it. This is the Boltzman," Raine said with stars in her eyes. "There is so much stuff in here. Where to begin?"
"First, we have to find out how to cure Pietro," Genis reminded his sister.
Raine nodded. "Of course. Let's see." There was a several minute paused. "I see. According this we need either a medical herb or unicorn's horn to cure Pietro."
"A unicorn's horn?" Genis repeated.
Raine nodded. "It seems the legends are true. A unicorn's horn can greatly enhance one's healing arts."
"Which means if you had one you would become much stronger?" Lloyd asked.
"Yes, in theory," Raine said. "Without something to greatly amplify my magic, I cannot make use of any of the healing arts within this book."
"But finding a unicorn can't be easy. We may have better luck finding the medical herb," Sheena said.
"Given the state of the world, finding a medical herb will be difficult if not impossible. They're quite rare and expensive to buy," Raine said. "Besides that, we already know the location of a unicorn."
Sheena stepped back in shock. "What!?"
"You mean the unicorn at Lake Umacy," Colette said.
Raine nodded.
"But that's another problem. That unicorn is in the lake far from reach," Genis said.
Lloyd rubbed his head. "Yeah, I've forgotten about that."
Sheena looked at the group. "You say it was in a lake?"
"It's in a protected air bubble where we cannot reach it," Raine explained. "We deducted that the only way to reach it is to borrowed the power of a summon spirit. Unfortunately, there haven't been a summoner in several generations."
"A summon spirit?" Sheena repeated more to herself.
Genis sighed. "Looks like we have to search for that medical herb after all."
Raine sighed. "It seems so. In order to use Master Boltzman's healing techniques, we need the unicorn's horn."
Lloyd sighed in disappointment. "I just hope Pietro can hang on before then."
"There's a way," Sheena suddenly spoke up, getting everyone's attention.
"What?" Raine asked.
"We could summon Undine, who exists somewhere in this world, to control the water's mana," Sheena stated.
Kratos listened closely.
"Undine…you mean the summon spirit?" Lloyd asked in surprised.
Genis shook his head. "Wouldn't work. As Raine said, there hasn't been a summoner in generations. Even if there was one, they would be impossible to find."
Sheena looked away from them. "….I'm a summoner."
Everyone, saved for Kratos, was left shocked.
"What!? You're a summoner!?" Lloyd exclaimed once the surprised wore out.
Colette clamped her hands together. "Oh, Sheena. Why didn't you speak up sooner?"
"Well...it's not something I like to talk about," Sheena replied in a soft voice.
"That would explain how you are able to summon that creature, Corrine," Kratos said.
Raine frowned. "But how can you be one? The art of summoning has been lost."
"Well, it still exists. Anyway, if you're not interested, I'm not going to force you," Sheena said rather quickly.
"No, we need that unicorn's horn for Pietro's sake," Lloyd said before glancing at Colette. "Who knows. Maybe we can also use it to heal Colette."
"Lloyd," Colette said softly.
"I mean, it's worth a shot, right?" Lloyd asked before turning back to Sheena. "Please do it, Sheena."
Sheena was unable to resist. "Al..alright."
"Well, now that's settle, where do we fine Undine?" Genis asked.
"I would say that for certain that Undine can be found at Thoda Island," Raine answered.
"I have to agree," Kratos stated. "Each of the Seals have been represented by the Summon Spirit of the Elements. Where the Seal of Water lies has to be the domain of Undine."
Lloyd groaned. "That means we have to walk all the way back to Thoda Island. That's at least two weeks' journey. And that's one way."
"We don't have a choice. We promised Sophia that we would save Pietro. After all he'd done to help us, we can't just turn our back on him," Colette said.
Lloyd sighed. "I know..."
"There is no point worrying about that now. We should go and rest before we make any further plans," Kratos advised.
Raine closed the Boltzman. "Agreed. We all had a long day and we are all tired."
Everyone nodded in agreement and made their way to the door.
They were so distractive by current events that they nearly missed Colette collapsing as soon as the evening breeze hit her.
Lloyd was quick, and kept her before she completely collapsed. "Professor Sage! It's Colette's Angel Toxicosis…"
Raine nodded, expecting this to happen once they left the tower.
"Colette, are you alright?" Lloyd asked, deeply concern.
Colette lifted her head to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, there were only huffs of air.
Now Lloyd was really worried. "What's wrong, Colette?"
Kratos stared down at the young girl and gave her a rare look of pity. "I would assume she has lost her voice."
There was a deafening silence that fell onto everyone.
"What!?" Genis screamed after several seconds.
Colette looked like she would scream too if she could.
Lloyd shook his head in denial. "No...no...that can't be true."
Raine looked ill by this revelation.
"You can't be serious!?" Genis yelled. "I mean...how can she lose her voice!? I mean, I can accept angels don't need to eat, sleep, or even feel like us, but they certainly do talk! I mean, just look at Remiel! Why...why did this happened to Colette!?"
Kratos didn't answer. He knew why, but he couldn't tell them.
"Dammit!" Lloyd screamed in rage. "Those...those angels are taking everything from her. Now...now...she can't even speak to us... Is this Martel's will? Is this the will of a suppose merciful goddess? Well, skitsnack! Förbannelse Martel! Förbanna henne och alla hennes jävla änglar!"
"Lloyd!" Raine yelled as she slapped him hard across the face. "That's enough."
He glared at Raine and refused to apologize. He meant every word. He was breathing hard and it felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest.
"Lloyd, go gather firewood," Kratos advised.
Lloyd wanted to say something, but he knew this was Kratos' way of getting him cool off. Whether he liked it or not, he needed to clear his head.
He slowly got up and made his way into the nearby woods.
Genis could only watch him go. Even without knowing dwarven, he knew Lloyd said something really bad.
"Here, Colette," Sheena said gently as she helped the younger girl up.
Colette gave her a grateful look as she was led to the open field. While this was happening, Raine went and put the monster repellence around the area.
Noishe also made his return. He felt something was wrong and whined loud when he saw Colette.
Colette patted Noishe's head, trying to make herself and him comfortable. Noishe missed Colette's baby voice, which she always used when talking to him.
By the time night came, the fire was burning and dinner was being cooked by Kratos since no one else had the will to cook.
Lloyd sat by Colette, looking especially depressed. Colette tried to comfort him by grabbed and squeezing his hand, but that did little to ease him. It actually made him feel worse since he knew Colette couldn't feel his warmth.
"Everyone, I have something to say," Sheena suddenly spoke, breaking the somber mood.
"Huh?" Lloyd asked as he dragged himself out of his depression.
Sheena took a deep breath.
She knew they may not believe her and may even see her as crazy, but she had to say something. After all she had seen, she couldn't keep this a secret anymore. Whether she liked it or not, she had come to care for this world just as much as her home.
"I want to explain to everyone why I was trying to assassinate the Chosen," Sheena said, getting straight to the point.
Raine shifted in place and stared at Sheena expectedly. "Alright. We're listening. Tell us about your homeland. A land that doesn't exist in this world."
Sheena's eyes widen in surprise. Was she that obvious? "You knew!?"
Raine shook her head. "No. But you said it yourself that Sylvarant will be saved. That must mean you are not from Sylvarant."
Sheena gave a humorless laugh. She did give herself away, didn't she. In her frustration and anger at the tomb, she said too much. Her grandfather always said she let her feelings get the best of her. "Yeah…you know, it's really a shame that your intellect's being wasted here. You're right. My homeland is not here, not in Sylvarant."
Genis tilted his head. "What does that mean?"
Sheena sighed again. It was time. "My world is called Tethe'alla."
Genis' eyes widened in shock and surprise. "Tethe'alla? You mean the moon?"
Sheena giggled. For someone so smart, he was so innocent. Then again, she forgetting that in this world the moon was named after her world, much like how the moon in Tethe'alla was named after this world. "Of course not. My world isn't the moon."
Lloyd gave her a puzzled look.
"Even I really don't understand the specifics, but there is another world that lies entwined with Sylvarant, as shadow is to light. That's Tethe'alla…my world," Sheena explained as best as she could understand it.
This got Raine's curiosity peaked. "Two entwined worlds?"
"The two worlds lie directly adjacent to each other. They just can't see one another." She paused to collect her thoughts. "Our scholars say they exist on shifted dimensions. Anyway, the two worlds can't see or touch each other, but they do in fact exist next to and affect each other."
"What do you mean by affect each other?" Lloyd asked, not really understanding any of this.
Sheena ran her hand through her hair. How to explain this? "They vie for the supply of mana. When one world weakens, the mana from that world flows to the other. As a result, one world is always flourishing, and the other waning. Sort of like an hourglass."
Genis stood up as a realization hit him. "Wait, so, right now Sylvarant is…"
Sheena nodded. "Yeah. Sylvarant's mana is flowing to Tethe'alla. Therefore, Sylvarant is in decline. Without mana, crops won't grow and magic becomes unusable. If there is no mana, the summon spirits that protect the world alongside the Goddess Martel can't survive in Sylvarant either. As a result, the world slips even further down the path of destruction."
Raine rubbed her chin. "Then the Chosen's world regeneration is actually the process of reversing the mana flow?"
"Exactly. When the Chosen breaks the seal, the mana flow reverses, and the summon spirit that governs the seal awakens. I was sent to prevent the world regeneration from happening," Sheena explained, feeling somewhat ashamed about that last part. "I broke through the supposedly impassable dimensional fissure for the sake of protecting Tethe'alla."
Lloyd lowered his head in thought. "In other words, to assure the decline and destruction of Sylvarant?" His voice was cold and unfeeling. It was hard to say exactly how he was feeling at that moment.
Sheena couldn't look at him. "You can say that, but your Journey of Regeneration is also an attempt to destroy Tethe'alla. We're both doing the same thing."
Raine crossed her arms and frowned. "It's hard for me to believe all of this."
Sheena looked directly at the elf. "I'm the proof. I possess summoning arts that have been lost from this world."
Genis gasped. "So, that how..."
Colette stood up and looked at Sheena. Despite no longer being able to speak, her eyes and facial expression said everything.
Sheena quickly felt very uncomfortable. "Please don't look at me like that, Colette. I know that wasn't your intention. I don't know what I should do either. I came here to protect Tethe'alla, but this world is impoverished and everyone is suffering." She gave a defeated sigh. "But if I allow the world regeneration to occur, then Tethe'alla will become just like this."
Genis tilted his head. "But right now you're helping us, right?"
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can just abandon Tethe'alla!" Sheena yelled before calming down. "I…I don't know what to do. Isn't there any other way? A way for Sylvarant, Tethe'alla, and Colette to all be happy!?"
She wanted…..needed to be another way. She loved her world, but she couldn't just leave this world to destruction and suffering. By the goddess, why did it have to be this way? Why does this system of declined and flourishing have to exist? She couldn't believe this was Martel's will.
"I want to know too!" Lloyd yelled as he stood up.
First Colette, now this whole wacky system? What the hell was happening? When did things become so complicated?
"Have you considered that perhaps nothing that convenient exists in the real world?" Raine asked harshly. It was like she was addressing small children.
"The best thing we can do right now is to save Sylvarant from its current crisis," Kratos said, speaking up for the first time.
Sheena noticed that Kratos didn't seem surprised at all by what she just said. In fact, he looked almost bored. Didn't anything faze this man? Maybe she should have said she came from the moon to get a reaction from him.
Lloyd looked at Kratos almost desperately. "What if we don't regenerate the world and just defeat the Desians?"
Kratos sighed and leaned into his hand. "Although we succeeded in destroying some of their Ranches, we cannot possibly eliminate all the Desians. The mana will eventually be exhausted."
Raine glanced at Kratos. She had a feeling that there was more to it than that.
Lloyd rubbed his head. "Is mana really that important?"
"I suppose only magic users and scholars worry about it," Genis mused before becoming serious. "But mana is even more important to life than water. Without it, the land will die. Mana is the source material which composers everything. At least that's what I've been taught."
Raine nodded. "Unfortunately, the Giant Tree of ever-flowing mana in fairy tales doesn't exist in the real world. We live by chipping away at the limited amount of available mana. Why do you think the ancient magitechnology was lost?"
"Because mana disappeared from the world," Sheena answered.
"Correct. Magitechnology consumes large amounts of mana. If things continue the way they are now, Sylvarant will eventually loss its mana just as it lost its magitechnology and be destroyed," Raine stated.
Colette suddenly walked over to Lloyd and gently grabbed his hand. She turned his hand palm up and began to draw on it.
Lloyd looked down in confusion at what she was going. "Colette? R…e…m…i… …Ah! You're trying to spell something, right?" he exclaimed in revelation. "I'll…try…asking…Remiel…if…there's…a…way…to…save…the two…worlds."
Sheena shook her head. "If it doesn't work out, I may have to kill you after all."
"Sheena!" Genis yelled in outraged.
Colette, without missing a beat, wrote more words on Lloyd's hand.
"When…that…time…comes…I…may…fight…back…because…I…love…Sylvarant…too," Lloyd translated.
Sheena frowned before nodding in understanding. "I understand. You intend to become an angel, no matter what, don't you?"
Colette didn't have to write anything to convey her determination. Come hell or high water, she was seeing this through to the end.
Kratos turned away from the group as he reflected on current events.
So, they knew at least part of the truth. He knew this would eventually happen once that girl joined. She was too much a person of conscience to stay quiet.
Well, that was nothing he could have done to prevent it. It didn't change anything since the Chosen was still willing to finish the journey. Yuan was not kidding when he talked about the iron determination of a Chosen. And Mithos was proven correct that people would willingly sacrifice their lives and even their souls for the salvation of others.
The main problem was not the Chosen, but her group.
Since they knew some of what was going on they would be harder to misled, especially Miss Sages. He had a feeling that she was catching on to him. His lacked of interest in that woman's story did not do him any favors.
If it comes to it, he may have to fight them.
That shouldn't be too much of a problem. Even together, they were far weaker than him. Even if they did become stronger before reaching the Tower of Salvation, they could not hope to match him. He did, after all, have over four-thousand years worth of experience over them. He would not have to kill them either. Just disable them so they couldn't interfere with the Chosen.
Then again, there was Lloyd. Although he was still stronger, Lloyd's power has been increasing rapidly and it isn't just from his training. His power growth reminded him of the Chosen, except much slower. Could that mean his powers were awakening?
He better keep it under control. He didn't want to catch Mithos' attention. Hopefully, he would be too busy with the Chose to notice Lloyd.
Now for the other problem, that summoner planned to make a pact with Undine. After everything Mithos had done, he was more than certain his pact with her was broken along with all the other spirits. So, it would be possible for her to make the pact.
He wasn't sure how Mithos would take losing one of the summoning spirits. Granted, Origin and even Maxwell would truly upset him, but he was not sure if Mithos particularly cared for the Summon Spirits of the Elements. They were not the base of his power.
He supposed it would be okay. As long as Mithos got the Chosen, he probably wouldn't mind the lost of one summon spirit. Besides it wasn't like he could stop them from making the pact unless he somehow found some medical herb. Given the dying state of this world, he would have better luck finding a second unicorn.
Which brought about a whole new other problem. Could they beat a summon spirit?
He scanned the group again. If he was to estimate, they were far weaker than they were when they battle the spirits.
The boy Genis could only used mid-level spells and was physically weak while Yuan was using advance arts and was a weapon master. Lloyd was also weaker than him during that time period. The professor was a far cry from Martel in the healing and offensive light arts, and Sheena could only summon that strange beast Corrine and had low endurance. Only the Chosen was closed to their level of power and she couldn't even cast Judgment yet and was now a mute. Only he could fight a summon spirit evenly.
He sighed. This could be difficult. He really didn't want to carry them, but he would if he had to.
If that boy could at least learn Thunder Blade, they at least had a chance. He did know Spark Wave, but he needed to learn Thunder Blade since it would pave the way for him to eventually learned Indignation. He doubted he could make the boy learned such a powerful spell by the time they reached Undine, but he could push it. The boy had it within himself to be just as powerful if not more so than Yuan in terms of magic.
They did have time. As Lloyd pointed out, it would be weeks before they returned to Thoda Island. Plenty of time to teach the boy the spell necessary to beat Undine. He could also strengthen Lloyd as well to prepare for the pact, and maybe even Sheena since she would have to take part in the battle.
Although, he had mixed feelings about allowing Lloyd fight. Luna showed far too much interest in him. It was obvious that she wanted him to test him for the title of Beschermer. Since he held the Sorcerer's Ring and Mithos had broken his vow, he had the right to take it. He also doubted any of the spirits would be particular about pact rings.
He didn't want Lloyd anywhere near that cursed title given what it did to Zilveren and Mithos.
He quickly shook his head from that thought.
It didn't matter if Lloyd fought Undine. The trial of the Beschermer could only be complete by defeating all the Summon Spirits of the Elements. Half of them couldn't even be found in Sylvarant. Also, Origin was beyond anyone's reached. He made sure of that. One pact would make no difference.
Not to mention forcing one of their strongest fighters to be on the sideline over a silly 'what if' would do them no good, unless he really intended to completely carry them.
It looked like things were decided. Tomorrow, he would start training Sheena and Genis. In the long-term, this would also help Miss Sages. With her healing arts increased, she would be far more useful.
Mithos was all smiles as Remiel gave his report. Things couldn't have been going better.
"So, the Chosen has finally broken all the seals?" Mithos asked once Remiel had finished, although it was more of a statement than a question.
Remiel smiled. "Yes, my lord. From where they are, they should reach the tower in only a few days. The resurrection of Martel is finally at hand."
Mithos leaned back into his throne. "Excellent work, Remiel. You shall be greatly rewarded for your diligences."
Remiel bowed. "I live only to served you, Lord Yggdrasill."
"I am afraid you will be waiting longer than a few days, my lord," Pronyma said as she teleported into the room.
Remiel glared at the woman. "How dare you come in here unannounced. And what do you mean longer than a few days? The Tower of Salvation can only be reached by air, unless Lord Kratos plans to take the Chosen through a forest of vicious monsters and beasts. He best bet is to fly to the tower from Hime."
"You tell me stuff I already know, Remiel," Pronyma came closed to spitting his name out. "However, I just got news from my spies regarding the summoner."
Now Mithos was interested. "Proceed."
"It would appear that they are going to make a pact with the Summon Spirit Undine," Pronyma informed.
This took even Mithos off-guard.
"They plan to make a pact with a summon spirit?" Remiel asked in disbelief. "What could Lord Kratos be thinking? Is this his way of strengthening the bond between the Chosen and the Cruxis Crystal?"
Pronyma shook her head. "No. It was the others' ideas. They apparently found a unicorn that they cannot reach without the help from the Mistress of Water. They need its horn for some type of healing art."
Remiel shook his head. "That makes no sense."
"Maybe so, but given the distance they must travel, they will not reach the Tower of Salvation for at least another month. Two at the most," Pronyma stated.
"Dammit!" Remiel cussed. He was so closed.
Mithos rubbed his chin in thought. "No...I think this will be okay."
Pronyma and Remiel turned to look at their master.
"My lord, they plan to break one of your pacts. Surely you cannot be happy about that," Pronyma said.
"The lost of Undine is not a major blow. If this Chosen is truly the one, there is really no need for Undine anymore. Besides, I think battling a spirit will do them some good," Mithos said with a huge smile. "Yes, I this will work out very well."
Remiel hesitated for several seconds. "My lord, outside of Lord Kratos, can they even beat a summon spirit? They are nothing like the Guardians we created to test the Chosen. They could kill her."
Mithos dismissively waved his hand. "Nonsense. Undine will stop the trial the moment she feels that they are in any danger. She is one of the kinder spirits. I would be concern if this were Volt or even Celsius, given their strong distrust towards mortals. Volt especially since unlike most spirits he has killed people."
Pronyma folded her arms. "I suppose since you are alright with this, I will just keep my spies on them to monitor their progress."
Mithos smiled. "Very good." He chuckled. "First the Grand Cardinals and now the summon spirits. This Chosen is by far the most amusing. I cannot wait to finally meet her."
Yuan leaned against the door near the throne room as he listened to the ongoing conversation. As far as he could tell, Mithos hasn't sensed him.
This was unexpected. Instead of killing the Chosen, his assassin has actually joined her. He was going to have a long talk with Tiga. Why did he send such an inexperience person for this task? Although he should be more upset, he found himself interested.
That girl was a summoner. Even in Tethe'alla that was an extremely rare skill. Because of the overall lacked of mana, summoning was a dying art and was even near extinction during his time, which was why they needed Mithos all those millennium ago. Knowing Mithos, part of that was on purpose to keep anyone from making summoning pacts. If that girl could summon the spirits, she could be far more useful than a mere assassin.
However, none of those plans would matter if the Chosen succeeded. No matter what, the Chosen must never come to the Tower of Salvation. If he had to, he would personally see to it himself.
He sneered to himself. Kratos being there was a major thorn to his side. The Chosen would be dead by now if he weren't there. To make matters worse, the Chosen was stronger than ever since she was closed to being a full angel. Things couldn't be any worse.
Well, that wasn't completely true. Having the Angelus awakening would be the worse. Thankfully, his powers remained mostly dormant despite that fool Kvar's attempts to forcibly awakening it. Nonetheless, having the Angelus come to the Tower of Salvation would be a disaster since the stress of seeing the Chosen's soul be sealed within the Cruxis Crystal was certain to break any remaining barriers that withheld his power.
After months, he finally figured out Mithos' plan and why he didn't care to capture the Angelus. It was so obvious he wanted to kick himself for not seeing it sooner.
This entire time, Mithos wanted Lloyd to go on the Journey of Regeneration. He allowed him to become friends with the Chosen and bond with her so he would want to go with her to regenerate the world. By being subjected to the same stress, danger, and emotional turmoil as the Chosen, the journey would slowly awaken his power. Fighting the Desians, Grand Cardinals, especially Kvar, and now Undine would push him even further. By the time he came to the Tower of Salvation, Lloyd's powers would awake and Mithos would be there to take him along with the Chosen. Effectively, killing two birds with one stone.
The plan was simple, nearly perfect, and he didn't see it until it was closed to being too late. He wondered if Kratos realized any of this or if he even cared.
Yuan shook his head.
He couldn't worry about Kratos. He chose his path. He gave up on fighting Cruxis the moment his wife died. Instead of getting up and fighting to end the system that killed her, he chose to become apart of it again. After so much false hope, he wouldn't let Kratos fool him again. No matter how much he wanted to, he would never trust him again.
He walked away from the throne room.
For now, he would wait. He would allow the summoner to make the pact with Undine. While they were doing that, he would prepare the Renegades for a full assault on the Tower of Salvation. As for Kratos, he would deal with him himself.
Lloyd leaned against a tree as he stared at the moon. To think, there was another world out there. One within the shadows of their own, Tethe'alla. Funny, he still thought of the moon when he said its name.
He sighed. What did this all mean? How could an entire world be out there yet only a few knew it exist? He'd never heard stories about it and such things usually find themselves in lore eventually.
Wait. Now that the thought about it, there was an old dwarven tale about people who went to the moon. But he thought it was just a silly fairytale told to children like the one about the rabbits and marshmallows, so he never paid much attention. Could that child's story have something to do with Sheena's world? This was all so confusion.
The sounds of footfalls got his attention and he turned to see Colette staring at him.
"Colette?" Lloyd asked as she knelt beside him and took his hand. She gently wrote words on his palm. He blinked as he followed her words. "I will go to bed soon."
Colette stared worriedly at him.
"Yeah...I have a lot of things on my mind," Lloyd said.
Colette wrote on his palm.
"I don't know what to think. About Sheena...about this other world," Lloyd said as he shook his head. "To save our world….we have to doom hers. But if we don't do anything, people here will continue to suffer by the Desians. Nothing...nothing makes sense. And with your condition..."
He stopped talking as Colette wrote.
Lloyd shook his head. "How can you be fine? You can't even talk anymore."
Colette smiled as she wrote.
Lloyd inhaled. She wrote that she was fine with not speaking since she could still talk to him. "That's fine...but what about everyone else. Genis miss your voice too and so does Raine. I don't understand this. Why did you lose your voice?"
Colette lowered her eyes. She refused to write anything.
Lloyd sighed. "I guess like this you really can hide secrets from me."
Colette made a gasping noise. She would laugh if she was able to. He already missed her laugh. Even her fake ones.
"When you become an angel, will you turn back to normal?" Lloyd asked almost desperately.
Colette frowned, which told him everything without a word.
Lloyd sighed. "I see."
Colette moved closer to Lloyd and put her head on his shoulder. She grabbed his hand again and wrote.
Lloyd smiled. "You'll stay with me until I fall asleep? Huh, it sounds like you're taking care of me. It's supposed to be the other way around."
Colette returned the smile and moved deeper in the crock of his neck.
There, they stood for the rest of the night. Even as Lloyd succumbed to sleep, Colette remained by his side.
A giant info dumped chapter as everyone learns the truth about Sheena and we get more commentary from our favorite villain along with Yuan. The fight with Undine is coming up. Until then, stay safe and take care.
