Chapter 24:
Nysa tumbled out from the rock as a fledgling monster; she felt pain immediately. She was not like any other Xenos. Her heart, her magic stone, was chipped and cracked. There was something terribly wrong with her. None of the other Xenos listened to her when she complained (except for one). They all assumed that she was just complaining. It was only until she met Typhon that the pieces started to click together.
"You weren't just a monster," explained the upcoming leader of the Xenos.
At this point, Nysa had only been alive a month. Like Fear and Wiene, the others had been kind, but Nysa knew they didn't understand. Even among the Xenos, she was an oddity. Her traits, her line of thought, were more humane than most.
"I have made a friend," began Typhon, "Who told me of beings called 'creatures.' They were not monsters, but humans with magic stones at their core. They were hybrids."
"And I am one of those creatures?" asked Nysa.
The king shook his skeletal head, "No, but you were, once upon a time. That is why you think and feel so differently than the rest of us."
"And now?"
Nysa was scared. She didn't want to be alone anymore. If she wasn't like the other Xenos, would she be removed? Or kicked out? Would she be allowed to stay?
"You're a Xenos now, Nysa. You're allowed to do and be whatever you want," replied Typhon. "Is there something that you desire?"
The Banshee frowned. There was one thing…
"I dream of a smiling face…someone important…."
"Oh, and what do they look like?"
"They have long hair…and pointy ears, with blue eyes," explained Nysa.
Typhon made a sound of regret, "I see…so it's a surface-dwelling creature…."
Nysa frowned, "Is that wrong?"
To Nysa, it sounded like the tremendous skeletal Xenos sighed, "Not entirely, but it could be better. You have heard the stories, haven't you?"
Nysa shook her head.
"Those disgusting surface people do nothing but kill us. Their Familias attacked us only a couple months ago, and look at what happened! Many of the strongest among us are dead now."
Nysa had always known that Typhon had his disagreements with Lyd, but it sounded like there was something else at play to her. She had heard of his secret rendezvous with some of the other angry Xenos. The ones that had been close friends with Gros and were mad at the rampant slaughter caused by Freya Familia.
"You think my dream is involved?" replied Nysa.
Typon shook his head, "No, child, your dream is just a coincidence. But a word of caution, surface dwellers are nothing but trouble."
Nysa's frown deepened.
Two more months in, three in Nysa's life, and she had grown to like Typhon. He did not shirk his share of duties, and he stood up to Lyd when no one else would. The lizardman continued his rhetoric that humans (the collective term for all races topside) could still be trusted. That the best way to get to the surface was to work with the humans. Talk like that confused Nysa. It was apparent that the humans did not care. They hated the Xenos; it was as simple as that. As for this Bell Cranel, their supposed saviour, he was just like the rest. He ran away when things got tough and left the Xenos to fend for themselves. That was Nysa's viewpoint, at least. The ones who had been there, especially the little dragon girl, all said that it wasn't his fault. Nysa didn't believe them, though.
Still, Typhon told her to keep her opinions to herself. These 'old guard' Xenos were still stronger than them, after all. If they wanted to truly make a difference, they'd have to train.
"So, how strong do you feel?" asked Horra, the silverback.
Currently, Nysa was busy training with Typhon and some of his fellow Xenos. When she asked why, Typhon claimed that it was to help them, 'seek the sun.'
Their small band had gone as deep as they dared, hunting down as many powerful monsters as they could. There were Nysa, Typhon, Horra, Scipio, Nastro (a bipedal dragon Xenos) and Bragi (a large troll with red crisscrossing veins). All of whom were on their way to becoming some of the top monsters around.
"Why are we training so much?" asked Nysa.
There had never been a reason given for what's going on. Nysa was happy to follow Typhon wherever; she had very few desires of her own, but she was curious about why there was a sudden intense focus on monster killing.
"To get stronger," said Typhon. He ate another magic stone.
"But why?" pressed Nysa.
"Because a change is gonna come," replied Typhon, "And we're going to make sure that everyone understands, we are not going to be subservient."
The group continued their training. Nysa killed more monsters than she could count, and she gobbled up each and every magic stone she could find. Big and small, Nysa did not discriminate. She had a dream to chase, and she would do whatever it took. Like Typhon always told her, if they were to make actual change, they would need to put themselves into the muck. This was how the Sun Seekers would become truly powerful.
Six months into her new life, and something beautiful happened. Nysa was exploring the deep floors, searching for more magic stones to eat when she felt the ground tremble. One of those so-called expeditions was making its way through the Dungeon. Nysa had heard that they were nothing but trouble and that the best solution was to hide. Even if she was stronger now, she was also on floor forty-six. Any Familia that could make its way down here, with enough members to cause the ground to shake, was not to be trifled with. So, Nysa hopped into a crack in the wall and watched the party pass.
For the most part, the ignorant humans walked by in silence. They took the occasional break to kill stray monsters, but for the most part, they passed her by. No one even bothered looking in Nysa's direction. The Banshee was about to depart, bored of these proceedings, but then the most astonishing thing occurred. A little elf with a staff walked by, and the powerful Xenos almost fainted. This was her dream, walking in front of her.
Nysa kept to the shadows as she tailed Loki Familia. She followed them deep into the bowels of the Dungeon and kept her eyes focused on her desire. She watched the little elf (that was the species with the long ears, right?) bustle about her Familia's campsite. Nysa smiled when she saw how clumsy the elf was. Nysa did not know her name, but she felt something strange begin to stir in her chest. She did not have a heart, but she felt it beat in her body.
Later, after she had finished watching, Nysa returned to where her friends were waiting. They must have noticed the look on her face because they all started to ask questions.
"Why are you so happy?" asked Nastro.
"Do I look happy?" replied Nysa.
"You are smiling much more than usual," said Scipio. The moss monster lumbered around and regarded Nysa with curiosity. "Strange, usually you display no emotions at all. What a fascinating turn of events…."
"So…what happened?" asked Horra.
"I found her," replied Nysa. Her lips felt stretched.
The others nodded along. They had all shared their dreams and memories with each other. Scipio had nightmares about rabbits. Horra chased a little girl with a big face. Nastro only ever saw a bright flash of white, and Bastri was chased through dark halls. None of them understood what the dreams meant, though. The only one who knew what their dreams had to say was Typhon, and he refused to share his knowledge.
"What happens next?" asked the leader of the Sun Seekers.
The Banshee tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"What happens next? Do you want to pursue this girl? Would you like to learn more?"
The Xenos could not blush, but she felt her eyes drop to the floor.
"I do, but I can't, right? Because we have to stay down here? And she's up there?"
"Maybe," said Typhon, "but maybe we get to be different." He laid a bony hand on her shoulder. "What if we did something about it?"
"Like what?" asked Nastro. He wasn't a thinker, but his fighting capability was among the highest.
"Real action for real change. A revolution that tells those disgusting humans that we will not be cowed." Typhon looked at Nysa, "A chance to follow our dreams and our hearts desires, wherever they may lead us."
Everyone listened in rapt silence. Their eyes followed their leader, not because he was a great speaker, but because they were tired of being afraid. The stories they heard made them watch the shadows for first-class adventurers. Every sound made them jump because disaster waited around the corner. Something needed to change.
"I hate to bring it up," said Horra, "But how are we going to start a revolution? We're a lot weaker than most of the other adventurers, especially those first-class ones."
Typhon sighed, "I have an idea, but it will make a lot of people angry."
"What?" asked Bastri.
"I have made contact with some…potential allies," said Typhon. He seemed nervous.
Everyone was silent for a moment. All of them were terribly confused because who would be an ally of a bunch of monsters?
"I was introduced to a large Boaz by the name of Ottar," said Typhon. A collective shiver went up everyone's spines. Ottar only meant one thing. Before chaos broke out, Typhon raised his hands in a placating gesture.
"Lady Freya is ready and willing to apologize. She wants to extend an olive branch and help us move forward."
"How can we trust her?" asked Scipio.
"She is willing to meet with us in that old fake Dungeon."
Nastro's fist tightened, but Nysa couldn't blame him. Something was wrong with Knossos. Just talking about it made her head hurt. Her anger, sadness, and overall feeling of being lost felt tied to that place. She never wanted to take a single step in there.
"Her and her Familia?" asked Scipio.
Typhon shook his skeletal head.
"She says that it will just be her, and no guards and no familia members. And it will just be us. No Lyd or human lovers. We will meet with Freya, she will offer her help, and we will begin our quest for change."
In the Present:
Nysa had brought her desire down to the thirty-second floor. She had travelled at full speed and used every shortcut at her disposal. Her plan was to get to the relative safety of the thirty-fourth floor, but she also had to wait for Scipio. They were partners in this endeavour, after all. While she was waiting, the little elf woke up.
"Miss Filvis?" said the elf. Her eyes blinked, trying to regain focus. For a moment, she saw her old sweetheart in front of her. Then, everything came together, and she was looking at a war shadow-like creature.
Lefiya sat up and shuffled away. She knew what this creature must be. It was the Banshee that she had been warned about. Which meant that she had been kidnapped and separated from the others. She could imagine what Ais and Elwin would do when they learned. Then she looked at the Banshee and saw that it was frowning.
"What do you want with me?" asked Lefiya.
The Banshee continued to frown, "So you don't know who I am?"
Lefiya's face scrunched up. "Why would I know who you are?"
"You're in my dreams," replied the Xenos, as calmly as could be.
Lefiya felt disturbed at that moment. Nothing was making sense, and everything felt terribly off. She had to figure out what happens next.
"Well, what do you dream about?"
"Twinkling lights, your face, and I feel like there's a promise," said the Banshee.
"Ok…and do you have a name?" asked Lefiya. Keep it talking, bring down its defences and stay in the same spot. Do everything it took to give her friends the time to find her.
The monster smiled, "I do! My friends call me Nysa! So, you can call me Nysa!" She reached forward and took Lefiya's hands, "Please call me Nysa!"
Lefiya blinked, "Ok…so Nysa, why did you kidnap me?"
Nysa frowned, "Because I wanted to meet you!"
"Because I'm in your dreams…."
Nysa nodded; a large smile bloomed onto her monster face.
"But you don't know why I'm there? You don't remember anything else about me? Like…my name?"
A look of horror and surprise washed over Nysa's face. Obviously, she had not even thought about considering what Lefiya's name was. She leaned forward, monster eyes wide.
"I'm guessing you want to know my name now?" asked Lefiya.
Nysa nodded.
"My name is Lefiya."
"Le-fi-ya," said Nysa, sounding out every syllable like she was tasting the word.
Nysa smiled, "It's a pretty name! Can I call you Lefiya?"
The little elf nodded. She was unsure of where this conversation was going but kept talking anyway. Unfortunately, Nysa didn't have any more questions. Instead, she spent her time just staring at Lefiya, studying her. Lefiya would try and ask questions but was more often than not met with silence. Nysa said that they were supposed to wait for her friend to show up. Lefiya thought that this meant the other monster, the swamp warden.
Eventually, he did show up. In fact, he was riding inside of a desert worm. The monster glowed purple, like the others Lefiya fought, and drilled up out of the ground. It loomed over the two. Lefiya started scooting away again, but Nysa watched unpassionately. The desert worm opened its mouth like it was about to eat them, but instead, it made a terrible retching sound. It spat out a large green lump. The lump landed with a wet thunk and made an awful sound moving its body. Then it shook drops of water away.
It regarded Lefiya, its gaze hidden by hanging lichen. Still, though, Lefiya felt her body tremble. This beast was much more intelligent than she was. She felt like when Finn or Lili were studying her, looking for opportunities.
"This is the one?" asked the swamp monster.
Nysa nodded, cautious. She opened her mouth, "We can use her, right, for the plan? She works? Please tell me she works, Scipio." A dark aura overtook Nysa, "If she doesn't, I don't care."
The swamp monster nodded, still not facing the Banshee. It checked behind itself as if searching for its enemies. Then it turned back to Lefiya.
"She'll do perfectly. From what my underlings observed, she is the strongest magic user, and she is beloved by certain group members." A twinge of jealousy spiked Nysa's heart. "She'll be the perfect one to lead them on. I'll start leaving the signs; you knock her out for the journey."
Nysa pouted, "I don't want to knock her out!"
"You have a problem hurting this one?"
The Banshee frowned, "Of course not." The smile returned, even more significant than before, "I want to keep looking at those pretty eyes of hers."
Oh yes, something was disgustingly off now. Even worse, the monster's mannerisms were that of Filvis's (and partially Ein's). The constant reminders of her last love kept Lefiya's mind spiralling. Any thoughts of rebellion were replaced with traumatic memories. She wanted to plan her escape, but something else made her stay. She knew Nysa. But she didn't like the way the Xenos was studying her. That sinking feeling in her gut just kept getting worse.
With Elwin's Party:
"Take it, easy, man!"
Welf grabbed Elwin, trying to hold him in place. The half-elf had stood up and tried to run off into the Desert, looking for any signs of the lost Lefiya. Welf had grabbed him, trying to reason with him.
"I have to protect her!"
The rest of their party was taken aback. Elwin had been unbelievably laid back the entirety of their trip. Even when they were under attack. Now, though, his calm was shattered. He moved like a madman, fighting to escape Welf's hold. Thankfully, his movement had no control; he was just thrashing about like a wild animal. The only one here who understood what was really going on was Welf. The smith had seen his hometown and understood what this incident meant. Protection, keeping people safe, this is what Elwin believed in. His father had abandoned him. He wasn't going to be his father.
"Welf! Let me go! I have to find her!"
"We'll find her, man! But you need to calm down right now!"
"Fuck off!"
Welf changed his grip to a more substantial headlock. He leaned in close to speak with the half-elf.
"Wherever they took her, she won't be in danger. You're not abandoning her. You're taking the time to give her a proper rescue. Now breathe! We have to find the others!"
Elwin started to still, but he did not look happy about it.
Lett nodded, "Welf's right. The mission is off! Everyone, get back to the campsite!"
They started to make their way back at a brisk jog. While they were moving, they met up with Lyd's party. They had just recrossed the river.
"Sir Welf! Sir Elwin! Are you two alright?" asked Mikoto. She was still carrying Haruhime on her back. She was also fully aware of how the Renard's chest seemed to be squished into her. She chose not to dwell on those feelings, though.
"We're fine," said Welf for the both of them. Elwin was still not in a state to be having a discussion.
Haruhime peeked over Mikoto's shoulder.
"Where is Lady Lefiya?"
"A monster got her," answered Ouka. The big man nodded to his two childhood friends.
"Cassandra! Are you ok?" asked Daphne. She spent a fair amount of time searching her partner over.
"I'm fine, Daphne!" replied a flustered Cassandra.
Lyd soon got the combined group moving again. They moved through the Desert at a breakneck speed, faster than most monsters could track. As soon as a member started to fall behind, they were carried. Joining Haruhime was Cassandra, who rode on Daphne's back.
When they got back to their campsite, they discovered that Wiene's group had already beat them to it. They also found that many of their supplies had been wrecked. There was debris everywhere but no blood, thankfully. The carnage mainly had been aimed at their food and water supplies. Welf's portable smithing kit, Urashima's mixing supplies, and their acquired drop items (including the phoenix feather) were still in top condition.
"Salvage everything, you can!" screamed Lili, "Take all the remaining usable canteens and refill them at the oasis! Mister Urashima, Lili wants you to start seeing if we can make new receptacles! Lady Otohime, Lady Wiene, take some of the Xenos and see if there's any food to be gathered! Lili wants at least something for when Master Bell wakes up!"
When the prum saw that the others returned, she smiled for a moment, glad that her family was ok. Then she noticed that Lefiya was missing. Her knuckles turned white, and her eyes gained a distinctive sharpness to them. In his mind, Welf smiled because these Sun Seekers had just made a terrible mistake.
"Little bit! Where's Bell?" asked Welf.
Lili set the others to work before leading the smith to an unconscious Bell. His head rested in Ais's lap while Ryuu performed healing magic.
"Is there anything wrong with him?" asked Welf.
Ryuu shook her head, "Just mind-down and some scraped knuckles. He'll be ok." The elf smirked, "Besides, he has the Sword Princess watching over him after all."
Welf was happy to see that Ryuu was relaxed again. At her little comment, Ais nodded once. Her hands were busy running their way through Bell's hair, a relaxed look on her face. Before Welf could dwell on the moment, though, the Dauntless dragged him away.
"Master Welf needs to get to work! There is equipment and weapons to maintain! Not to mention, he needs to help Mister Urashima try and create new ways for the party to carry their food and water! We are in the Dungeon's Desert! Get it together! Lili wants to be out of here by the end of the day!"
"Oh? And what comes next little bit?"
Lili growled, "We go hunting."
With Nysa:
Nysa had scooped Lefiya up and was now carrying her bridal style. If it wasn't for the fact that Lefiya was trying to figure out who she was being carried by then, she'd probably be red from embarrassment. As it stood, though, she was trying to put the puzzle pieces together. This creature acted like Miss Filvis, had dreamt of Lefiya, and was a reborn monster. This felt like it should be something else. From what Lefiya understood, Xenos dreamt of the times they were monsters. If Nysa was dreaming of her, that meant Lefiya had met this particular beast in a past life. And had left enough of an impression to warrant being remembered…
Slowly, things started to click. The idea was ridiculous enough to make Lefiya believe she was crazy. But technically speaking, Miss Filvis had been a monster (sort of) before she died. Were hybrids close enough to reality to count? The kind of implications that brought up were disturbing, to say the least. She had no idea how to confirm her theory, and she was afraid to do so. Because that meant that Nysa was Filvis but not really. And if this was sort of Filvis, what would that mean for Elwin?
At the thought of the jade-green elf, Lefiya almost had another panic attack. She knew him and how much he valued loyalty. If she had been suddenly snatched away, he was probably losing his mind with worry. He was going to freak out and try to do something stupid, like a one-man rescue attempt, the idiot—a handsome, well-meaning idiot but an idiot all the same.
Eventually, after an undetermined time of running across dunes, they left the Desert behind. Instead, they were in a sizeable clearing-like area filled with trees and a river. This was floor thirty-four. Just how long had the three of them been travelling?
Before she could think about that question, she had been lowered to the floor. Nysa smiled at her, her eyes just a little TOO focused on Lefiya. Beside them, Scipio lifted a plant-like appendage. In it was a stone weapon from the Dungeon. The implication was clear, try anything and die. No matter what Nysa wanted, Scipio was the one in charge. He was the one Lefiya was actually afraid of.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" asked Nysa. She turned to Scipio, a desperate look in her eye.
"No. But from the stories that Lady Freya told us, there is a possibility," replied Scipio.
"Possibility for what?" asked Lefiya.
"To make you like me!" said Nysa. Her wonder was childlike, and that just made Lefiya's horror worse.
The Banshee reached down to a small pouch hanging at her side. From it, she withdrew a monster stone.
"Apparently, there were once humans that got turned into monsters by having magic stones implanted in them," explained Nysa. "If I did it to you, and it worked, then you can stay down here with me!"
No matter if this had been Filvis, once upon a time, Lefiya was now face to face with a different person entirely. It was like if a five-year-old was given the status of Ottar.
"But if it didn't work?" asked Lefiya.
Nysa turned to Scipio. She had obviously not considered that possibility.
The swamp warden shrugged, "The most likely possibility? Death."
Nysa frowned, "Well, that wouldn't be good." She seemed to get lost in thought for a second before nodding, "I will wait then." Her smile returned. "For now, me and you can talk! There's so much I want to know!"
With Bell and the Party:
The expedition party had done all that they could to recover. Next up was trying to figure out what they did from here. It was obvious what direction the monsters had gone, down to the deeper floors. Obviously, they were going to try and follow them. The only problem was, there were still three floors of Desert to traverse. Each one was a hostile environment with few resources. They would have to travel next to the river and scavenge for food when they could while also finding enough to get them through the pure Desert of floor thirty-three.
By this point, Bell had woken up. He was embarrassed that he had fainted and was even more ashamed that everyone had watched him get a lap pillow. When he awoke, he expected to find a raging Lefiya, then he learned what had happened to her. He checked on Elwin first, who assured him that he was ok (for now). After that, he sat with Lili and explained what had happened with the sphinxes and the moss monster. Everyone else had similar experiences.
Lili rubbed her chin deep in thought. The purple glow of the monsters, and the way they behaved, all pointed in one direction.
"Mister Lyd, is there a chance that the Sun Seekers have found a way to control monsters?"
The lizardman rubbed his chin in deep thought. "It's possible, Lilliluchi. Typhon never comes to talk with the rest of us; he's always busy with something else. It's possible that he found a way. You all do have monster tamer collars, don't you?"
Ryuu frowned, "Not us specifically, but they do exist."
"But how would a bunch of Xenos get their hands on them?" asked Otohime.
"I have a couple ideas," replied Welf. Lili nodded with him.
"Freya is out in the world, and she might be a benefactor of these Sun Seekers," explained Lili, "It would also explain why the monsters glowed purple. That is the colour of Lady Freya's charm, after all. If she helped make some sort of new monster controlling magic item…."
"That…is a terrifying thought," said Daphne.
Elwin was busy grinding his teeth together.
"None of that matters. Lefiya's in trouble, and we're all just sitting here." He punched the ground, "We're nothing but useless right now."
Ais nodded along. When she learned that her friend was in danger, it took all her willpower not to jump up and chase after her. Lefiya was in trouble; that was all that really mattered to her at the moment.
"And we'll find her," replied Urashima. He was the most sympathetic at the moment. If someone captured Otohime, he'd probably slip into a coma. "But we can't run off half-cocked and put ourselves in harm's way. For all we know, we could be running face-first into a trap."
Otohime gave Elwin's hand a squeeze, "We'll find her, I promise." She looked back to Lili, "When do we leave?"
The Dauntless considered the question. If Lefiya was supposed to be bait or a type of hostage, then they had a little bit of time. That said, they still needed to move with a certain amount of speed and purpose. If they weren't careful, their supplies could run out. Thankfully, Welf and Urashima had been able to repair most of the containers. If they got down to Floor Thirty-four, the safe zone, then they could refuel with the Dungeon's bounties. After that, they would have to scout ahead to see how deep the Sun Seekers had gone.
"Mister Lyd, Lili wants you and the other Xenos to go on ahead. We must know how deep the Sun Seekers have gone and if the little elf girl is still alive. We will be right behind you as soon as we can gather enough food to survive," Lili turned to their resident little dragon, "Lady Wiene, you will stay with us to keep track of where Mister Lyd and the other Xenos are."
The vouivre nodded, smiling. She turned to Bell, "We're adventuring together now!"
Bell smiled and ruffled her hair, "We are, Wiene. We get to fight together this time."
"If that's settled, then we better get going," said Lyd.
There had been a setback. One of their party was gone, and they had lost most of their supplies. The swamp monster had lost his servants, but that didn't matter. They were replaceable, and he would probably find more dangerous ones on the deeper floors. On the flip side, the adventurers couldn't be replaced so easily. Lili had been backed into a corner by this monster, but she didn't feel too worried. In fact, she almost smiled. She had found an opponent worthy of her time. All her months of gruelling study under the Goddess Athena were about to pay off in a big way.
She watched Lyd and the other Xenos (minus Wiene) march off to the deeper floors. Then, she turned to the rest of the party.
"You get one hour of sleep. Half of the party for one hour, then they switch and the other half sleep. After that, we get moving. Be prepared not to get any proper rest for the next couple of days," commanded Lili. Then she narrowed her eyes. "One of our own has been kidnapped. They could be in danger, and we wouldn't even know. We are not going to let that stand. Lili won't, and neither will the rest of you. Lili doesn't care if it takes us to the bottom of the Dungeon. We are rescuing the Thousand Elf. Are you all ready?"
Her question was met with grins of anticipation. There was dread in the air and the chance for disaster to strike, but they were adventurers from Orario. This was what they did.
With Riveria:
Up in Twilight Manor, a high elf was throwing supplies into a bag. She worked with none of her usual care. All she knew was that something horrible was happening in the Dungeon and that she was needed. Her instincts were screaming. She doubted it was for her daughter, Ais was a competent adventurer, but Elwin was new to all this. And Lefiya was still innocent in many ways. One of the two (or both) was in terrible danger; Her instincts were screaming this at her.
So, she packed a bag and grabbed her staff. She began to make her way towards the door when Finn dropped in her way. The prum smiled, but his body was tense. He was getting ready for a fight.
"What do you want, Finn?"
The Braver regarded her, and Riveria noticed that he carried his spear.
"Just making sure that you know what you're doing," said the prum. He had to strain his neck to look up at her.
"Something's going wrong, and my little brother is in danger. I'm going to rescue him."
Riveria began to walk towards the door. Finn stepped in her way. Her ears twitched, and she bit back her rage. She had to stay calm, or there was no way Finn was letting her go anywhere. However, she was so focused that she overlooked Gareth and the other executives filing into the room. The high elf was quite literally surrounded.
"You can't do that, and you know it," replied Finn.
"Oh, and why not?"
"They can't rely on others to solve their problems right now," explained Finn.
Riveria's eyes narrowed. "Their lives are in danger, Finn."
The prum shrugged, "Their adventurers, it comes with the territory. If we went to rescue them, they wouldn't be happy with it. They have to solve problems for themselves." He sighed. "Besides, whatever's down there won't be as bad as what's up here."
Riveria had no response to that, but she felt so wrong. Elwin and Lefiya needed her. She had not been able to be there for him for so long. She needed to make it up to him. She was supposed to be his big sister! This was supposed to be her job!
"So, I should just let him die?"
Finn shook his head, "I don't want anyone to die. But we also can't protect them forever." The prum smiled, "Besides, I trust Ais and Bell to keep them safe."
"You're scared, I get that," said a new voice.
Riveria turned to find Hestia walking down the stairs. Loki followed along, taking in the scene with her usual smirk.
"I am too," continued the Goddess of the Hearth. "In fact, I've been scared about what happens next for over a year now. I'm still running terrified from Freya for what she might do." Then the Goddess smiled, "But we have to keep faith."
Slowly, Hestia reached out to take Riveria's hands. Alicia, the only elf present, blinked in surprise. Sure, she was a Goddess, but it wasn't just anyone that was allowed to touch an elf. Especially a high elf of Lady Riveria's calibre! Still, though, Hestia reached out, and Riveria let her.
Holding the elf's hands, Hestia squeezed tight. "I'm worried, but I'm also kind of excited, you know?"
"Excited?" Now Riveria, and almost everyone else, was confused. The only one nodding along was Loki.
"My children are out in the world, going on an adventure. I'm worried, but I also can't wait to see what they'll do next!" Hestia's smiled turned into a beacon, "After all, they really are something special, aren't they?"
Loki Familia had known extraordinarily little about Hestia. All they really knew was what Loki had told them and what they had heard on the street. They had heard of a lazy Goddess who was drowning in debt. They thought she was a layabout who had gotten lucky with the right kid to take under her wing. Now, though, they started to see it. Why Bell Cranel, and every other member of Hestia Familia, fought so passionately. And they saw where that Familia, who had been betrayed more often than most, kept finding their kindness. Children took after their Deities, and Hestia had compassion to spare. Watching her, Riveria chose to keep faith. Elwin was her brother, which meant that he had her blood running through his veins. He would be alright.
With that, the Nine Hells felt calm wash over them.
Hello! A little late, but hey, life happens (unfortunately). Thank you all for your patience! Hopefully the quality of the chapter makes up for the time taken! Thank you to everyone who follows and favorites! To the Reviews:
To the large majority, thank you for bringing the issue up! I did not know that my scene transitions were going through! They existed, but for whatever reason were not present in the chapter. I switched it up, so hopefully they work this time? (Fingers crossed).
See you all next time (hopefully) on Wandering Wednesday?
