Chapter 20
A few days later, as Rosette was asleep she was dreaming a peculiar dream. She was at the carnival where she had just met her brother, Joshua. "Sister." Joshua called out from far away behind her. "Joshua!" Rosette yelled as she ran towards him. Just as she got close to him, Joshua suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it in front of her face. "You aren't my sister." Joshua said to her coldly while giving her an intimidating look. "Rosette, give me your hand!" Chrono called out as he rushed towards her. Rosette turned around and saw Chrono. However, she began imagining Chrono in his demon form biting her neck while she was dressed in a short, white tattered dress. Rosette was afraid that Chrono would put her life at risk through him transforming into his demon form. "Nooooo!" Rosette yelled and slapped Chrono's hand just as he was offering her to escape. Chrono then looked sad as he couldn't believe that Rosette would refuse his help. "I'm sorry, Rosette." Chrono apologized and his body began to fade. "Hey, wait Chrono, please wait!" Rosette called out in desperation as Chrono's body finally disappeared. Rosette all of a sudden woke up from her nightmare and began to breathe and pant heavily. "Oh my god, what a dream this was." Rosette said to herself as she was catching her breath. Just then, she looked out of her window and saw something that resembled a colorful river flowing in the night sky. "That river up in the sky, could it be the Astral Line?" Rosette asked herself as she recalled seeing it before. "Yes it is Rosette." Reverend Gilliam confirmed as he walked towards her hospital bed with a bandage cast on his right arm. "Oh, Father Gilliam. Owww." Rosette greeted him as her head started hurting. "I can see you're finally awake. You've been asleep for three days." The Reverend told her. "Where am I?" Rosette asked in a weak tone as she was still rubbing her head. "In a hospital near San Francisco. The Militia had also set up a temporary base here. Currently, the city is still in a state of rebuilding and there are still many victims who were sent here to be treated." Reverend Gilliam explained. "Where are Chrono and the others?" Rosette asked. "Well, as you can see, things had become quite crazy." Reverend Gilliam said and handed Rosette a newspaper that focused on the demon who destroyed San Francisco. Rosette became shocked when she realized that the demon who was in the picture was Chrono in his demon form. "Wait a minute, that demon was Chrono!" Rosette said with certainty. "Mysterious monster destroys San Francisco. That's what the media is focused on right now." The Reverend stated as he told her the name of the newspaper article. "This time, things have gotten completely out of control. The Militia has very little power on the West Coast and they couldn't control the media in time." Reverend Gilliam continued explaining while Rosette had a shocked expression on her face. "I'm afraid we couldn't spare him any special treatment. So he was locked up." The Reverend began explaining Chrono's current condition. "Locked up? Where? Where is he? Tell me Reverend Gilliam!" Rosette asked the Reverend in a worried tone. "He is in a room downstairs at the Hospital basement. If you'd like, I can take you there." Reverend Gilliam revealed as he offered Rosette to take her to Chrono. "Yes, please do! I don't care what state I am in right now, I just want to see how Chrono is doing!" Rosette said with great determination as she was more worried about Chrono's condition than her own. "Very well then, feel free to follow me downstairs. But I will warn you, what you will see down there in that room will most likely upset you. Are you sure you are able to handle it?" The Reverend asked curiously as he took off the arterial line on Rosette's arm. "Yes Reverend Gilliam, I am!" Rosette answered optimistically. "Alright then, follow me!" Reverend Gilliam said and began to walk his way out of the hospital room. Rosette quickly got off the hospital bed and put on some light, pink slippers that were right beside her bed. She followed Reverend Gilliam out of the hospital room downstairs to the basement. After passing by a few rooms, Reverend Gilliam stopped by one door. "Here we are Rosette. This is the room where Chrono is currently being kept in." The Reverend stated. "Regardless of what state he is in, I do hope he is okay." Rosette said as she was hoping that Chrono's condition wasn't too serious. "Like I've said before, what you are about to see might upset you. I really hope that you will be able to handle this situation without being too shocked." The Reverend said as he grabbed the door handle. "Don't worry Reverend, I will try to contain myself!" Rosette promised the Reverend and he opened the door. Rosette saw a crucifix barrier set up on the left side of the room which made her somewhat worried. Rosette slowly walked into the room and as she walked by the crucifix barrier, she vaguely spotted someone bounded and tied onto a cross. Rosette slowly turned around and to her shocking surprise, she saw Chrono. He was unconscious and was tied onto the cross with small belts tied around his arms, his legs and a big belt tied around his legs as well. The crucifix barrier that was around Chrono was in the shape of a square with two crucifix barrier crosses on both sides. "Chrono!" Rosette called out his name as she was shocked at what she was seeing. "It's no use, he can't acknowledge the outside world." Reverend Gilliam told Rosette and she turned her head facing the Reverend. "Why is Chrono tied up onto a cross? What happened to his body?" Rosette asked in desperation as she was pointing to his unconscious body. "He lost control of his legion." The Reverend revealed. "His legion?" Rosette curiously asked. "You know that every living being is composed of millions of cells, right? A demon's body is also formed by countless microscopic organisms, and that is what a legion is. They repair his wounds and injured body parts after battles, but his legion never stopped functioning. Because of that, he had to keep his body from absorbing an external life force." Reverend Gilliam explained to Rosette. "So he lost control because of that? But why?" Rosette asked as she didn't understand why Chrono lost control of his legion. "It's because he was trying to save your life Rosette." Father Remington, who was also in the room, said as he walked towards her. The minister then recalled the time at the end of the carnival battle when Chrono volunteered to have himself restrained by the Order. "Rosette had already wasted a lot of her soul. If this continues, she won't last much longer. So please, take care of her Minister!" Chrono pleaded in a weak tone as he was kneeling on the ground. "But that means you'll lose control of your legion." Father Remington alarmingly pointed out. "Please tell her that. I'm sorry." Chrono once again pleaded to the minister in a weak tone. "I've always brought pain to you. I'm so sorry. Those are the words Chrono have said before he was restrained." Father Remington said. "What was that? I don't want to hear you say such things! You have nothing to apologize for!" Rosette said in an irked tone as she became aggravated with Chrono's self blaming. "I'm the one who should really be sorry. So please, say something. Hey, can't you hear me? Please Chrono, answer me!" Rosette pleaded out of desperation as she began to cry heavily. The minister then patted Rosette on the back as he felt sorry for her. He knew the emotional state she was currently in. "Minister, I think I should be heading back to my room now." Rosette said. "That sounds like a good idea! I can see that you are going through quite an emotional state. If anything, heading back to your room for some alone time and rest would be best for you at this time!" Father Remington said as he encouraged her to have some rest and alone time in order to recover from her emotional despair. "Thank you Father Remington!" Rosette thanked the minister and gave him a hug. She made her way out of the room and went back to her hospital room for the remainder of the night. The next morning, once she woke up, Rosette grabbed a sweater and walked downstairs towards the hospital lobby and made her way straight to the telephone booth. She decided to call Sister Kate's office.
"Good morning!" A man said once he picked up the phone and answered from Sister Kate's office. "Wait a minute, you're not Sister Kate." Rosette said out of surprise as she realized that the voice who answered was someone else. "No I am not. I am her replacement, Deckard." The man revealed. "Replacement? Are you saying that Sister Kate has resigned from her position as headmistress?" Rosette asked out of curiosity. "That is correct. I was the former Minister of the Chicago branch. The council had decided to dismiss Sister Kate due to the incident. It was the decision of the bishop's council to take her resignation." The man explained to Rosette. "What happened was entirely beyond the Militia's control. Your mission on the search for Joshua has also been called off." Deckard continued explaining. "What? The search for my brother Joshua has been called off?" Rosette asked out of disbelief as the search for her brother meant everything to her. "Yes, but don't worry about it. You should be grateful Rosette. All of this was possible because of your insistence. You still need more rest. Take as much time as you need!" Deckard advised and Rosette placed the telephone down. "Time?" Rosette asked herself in a discontented tone as she walked out of the hospital building. "Hey, watch out!" One man with a broken arm told her frustratingly as she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. She was lost in thought about something while walking. Once she managed to get out of the civilian base, she turned to the left side of the building and walked into a corner where she found two wooden benches. Rosette walked towards the first one and sat down. She began to think deeply to herself as something was bothering her mind. "Ever since I was little, I never stopped running. I've always felt that if I had stopped, something will eventually swallow me whole. That's why, no matter what, waiting will always be so painful to me. But, whenever I run, I lose something precious along with it." Rosette said to herself as she acknowledged the fact that she was always overly persistent with everything she dealt with regardless of the situation. "God, I'm so stupid. I didn't even know what I had until I lost it." Rosette said to herself in a blaming tone as she was thinking about Chrono, Azmaria, Satella and Maria. She acknowledged that even though she hadn't realized it before, her friends were the ones who were always there for her even if they at times disagreed with her. Rosette began to cry out of despair as she was beginning to lose hope with herself. "I can't run anymore. The only thing I can do now is wait." Rosette said to herself as she continued crying her heart out. "Wait for what if I may ask?" A familiar voice asked as the person walked towards her. Rosette turned her head forward and saw that it was Father Remington who had approached her. "Father Remington?!" Rosette exclaimed out of huge surprise as she wasn't expecting him to approach her at that moment. "How did you know I was here?" Rosette asked. "I saw you walking by the base from inside and I could tell from the look on your face that you were feeling very down. So I decided to come over here to talk to you!" Father Remington said as he explained his reason for approaching her. "Talk about what?" Rosette asked again. "Something about myself that I should have told you a long time ago!" The minister said as he took a seat beside Rosette on the bench. "A long time ago, around forty years ago, I was gravely injured in a battle. My injuries were so severe that while being treated, I was on the verge of dying in the process." The minister began to explain his back story. "But if you were dying at that point, then how come you're still alive right now?" Rosette confusedly asked. "It's because of a condition that was placed onto me. Before I could ascend into heaven through the Astral Line, God's voice spoke to me. He told me that since I have failed to protect the holy woman, Mary Magdalene, I could not die just yet." The minister continued explaining. "Then what happened to you next?" Rosette intriguingly asked. "God then told me that I had to keep on living so I could be able to atone for my failure on the condition that my aging process gets halted. I gladly accepted that fate which meansthat by continuing to live, I was now able to continue my work as a minister so I could help the Magdalene Order." Father Remington revealed. "Wow, you've been through quite a lot. By the way, how did your aging process stopped?" Rosette curiously asked. "Through some Astral energy that was bestowed upon my body once I gained back my consciousness. Since the Astral Line's purpose is to bring life onto the earth, God can also use the Astral Line to halt a person's aging process. Once the Astral energy was placed onto my body, from that day forth, my body was unable to age. This means that throughout those forty years, despite now being old, I still have the body of a young man. This ageless cycle of mine will continue until the Sinners have one day been finally defeated. When that day arrives, the Astral energy that was bestowed upon my body will begin to lose its effect on me, which means that my body will begin to age again gradually like that of a regular human." Father Remington finished explaining and Rosette looked at him with pity. "So, what do you think? Your opinion of me hasn't changed, has it?" The minister asked as he grinned. "My opinion of you hasn't changed one bit! You are strong! Much stronger than someone like me! I can't even save one person." Rosette yelled as a tear dropped from her eye as she began to blame herself for not being strong enough. The minister then stood up from the bench and began to look at the sky. "You know Rosette, I am not really that strong. The truth is I merely started walking steps earlier than you." Father Remington said. "What do you mean?" Rosette asked as she got herself up from the bench. "What I mean is that the only difference between you and me is the distance between us at this point in time. Humans really are no different from one another. They are always contending with bitter regrets of the past, obstacles of the present, and uncertainty of the future. People are fighting their own battles as they ceaselessly forge ahead. Why give up while there is still a path ahead of you?" Father Remington explained and he then turned his head behind facing Rosette. "So what you're saying is that no matter what our situation is, we must keep on going regardless of the challenges we will inevitably face?" Rosette asked. "Yes, that is exactly my point." The minister confirmed. "You're right! Thank you for the advice." Rosette gratefully said. "No problem. I'll be going back inside now to pray." Father Remington said and began to walk his way towards the corner of the building. "What is it that you'll be praying about?" Rosette asked loudly. The minister stopped walking and turned around facing Rosette. "I'll be praying for Maria's well being along with Azmaria's. Since it is not yet decided when we will make our next move, the only thing I can do is to pray so to make sure that they are doing alright." Father Remington said. "I see, you do love her, don't you Father Remington?" Rosette asked. "You're right, I do! The fact that she has been kidnapped by Aion again makes me frightfully worried about her. Considering that she is a successor of Mary Magdalene, I cannot bear the thought of losing her the same way I lost Mary Magdalene fifty four years ago. Maria is the most important person to me. The thought of her being in Aion's grasp pains me." Father Remington said in a tone that was both angry yet broken at the same time while Rosette looked at him with pity. "However, I am sure that we will be able to get Azmaria and Maria back eventually one way or another. I am sure of it!" The minister said optimistically as he looked towards Rosette. "I really hope so Father Remington!" Rosette commented. "I'll be heading back inside now. Continue to rest until further notice. You'll surely need it for the battle ahead of us. See you later!" Father Remington said and continued to make his way towards the corner of the building. "That minister sure is something!" Rosette said to herself and walked towards the base. While walking, she saw another two benches not far from the tents where there were plenty of white doves on the ground pavement and seated herself on the bench nearest to the tents. Once she sat down, she thought back to what Father Remington had said to her earlier as his advice inspired her to keep going no matter what the circumstances were. "I've been looking for you!" One familiar young woman called out towards Rosette which caught her attention. The woman who approached her was Satella. "It caused me quite some trouble. Nobody at the Magdalene Order would tell me where you were." Satella said as she walked towards Rosette. "Satella?" Rosette said as she was surprised that Satella was looking for her. "It's been a while Rosette." Satella said to Rosette in a friendly tone as the doves flew away. "Hi Satella, it has indeed been a few days since we last met." Rosette greeted her. "What's wrong?" Satella asked as she could tell that something was on Rosette's mind just by the look on her face. "It's nothing Satella, I'm fine!" Rosette assuredly said but Satella grabbed her hand as she wasn't convinced. "What do you mean it's nothing? Obviously something is bothering you. I can tell just by the look on your face." Satella said in an unconvinced tone while Rosette looked at her with a blank expression. "Come with me! Let's talk about our troubles by one of the bridges nearby! That way, we can be able to get some kind of common ground!" Satella said and she forcefully dragged Rosette out of the Militia base and took her to a bridge that was not far from the hospital.
Once they got to the bridge, Satella let go of Rosette's hand and they both began to look at the view. "Ahhh, what a view this is! Isn't it Rosette?" Satella said as she was embracing the breeze. "Yeah, I guess so." Rosette slowly said. "By the way, where is Steiner?" Rosette asked as she realized that he wasn't with her. "Steiner is dead I'm afraid!" Satella revealed in a broody tone. "Dead? How did he die?" Rosette asked out of wonder. "One of the Sinners at the carnival stabbed him as he was intending on taking Azmaria and Maria with them." Satella explained and a tear on her face dropped onto the ledge. "Satella, are you crying?" Rosette asked. "It's just that I can't believe that Steiner is now dead. He was the only one I had left ever since I moved to America. Without him, I doubt I would have been able to get as far with my goal as I now have." Satella said in a sad tone and began to wipe her tears. Rosette took a deep breath as she could tell that Satella was going through a rough time. "I think you should know that Chrono has been restrained by the Order and is now unconscious." Rosette revealed to Satella. "What? Chrono has been restrained by the Magdalene Order?" Satella asked in a shocked tone. "That's right, and on top of that, he might not wake up for a while." Rosette explained. "For how long?" Satella worriedly asked. "Five years, ten years, or maybe even more." Rosette continued explaining. "Wait a minute! How can you be so calm? Chrono is your contractor, isn't he? How can you give up so easily?" Satella asked as she couldn't believe Rosette's unusually calm behavior towards the situation. "I know what you mean. But in the end, it's all up to Chrono." Rosette calmly said as she slightly grinned with optimism. "I'm so disappointed! To think that you two give up so easily." Satella said disappointedly and realized that Rosette wasn't even answering. "In that case, maybe I should take him!" Satella said which quickly caught Rosette's reaction and she was shocked with what she just heard. "What the hell did you just say?" Rosette asked in a shocked tone and looked at Satella with a surprised look on her face. "Calm down Sister hothead! It's not as if Chrono belongs solely to you! Mein Got, I can't believe how possessive you are of him." Satella said with amusement. "Why you?" Rosette said crossly and began to charge at Satella. Satella however managed to charge at Rosette back and started to roughly grab her face while Rosette grabbed Satella's hair. "Say something Chrono!" Both Rosette and Satella said at once as they turned around and quickly realized that he wasn't there. "Hahahaha, how stupid of us! Chrono isn't here!" Rosette laughed as she knew that they were both making fools out of themselves. "Tell me about it, I am wondering what made us think he was even there?!" Satella said unamused and they both walked towards the bridge's ledge and looked at the view in front of them. "That was a bit pointless." Satella sighed. "Yeah, I guess it was." Rosette agreed while Satella had a small frown on her face. "Actually, I came to say goodbye." Satella revealed and Rosette looked at her with a surprised look. "So long as the Magdalene Order is going all-out on this, bounty hunters like myself can't intervene. At any rate, I can't work with someone in the Order like you. Your superiors most likely won't allow it." Satella explained and turned herself facing Rosette. "That is why I have decided to do this on my own. To be honest, I was just going to get Chrono to say goodbye for me. But when you make that kind of face, it's difficult to leave! Get a grip of yourself!" Satella said to Rosette. "If you don't mind me asking, how are you connected to Aion?" Rosette asked out of curiosity. Satella then seated herself on the bridge's ledge and began to tell Rosette about her back story. "I had an older sister by the name of Florette. She was so sweet and gentle, but above all else, my sister was powerful. Ten years ago, when I came to my house, it was engulfed in flames. My mother and father were dead. That demon held my sister and disappeared into the fire along with my mother's juwels. I was the only one left. My long search began and then I have finally found out that my older sister is still alive." Satella explained as she remembered the tragic event as if it was only yesterday that it happened. "This time I am sure of it. The hornless demon is Aion. The demon who is responsible for my family's death." Satella said as she was sure that Aion was the one. "You and I have the same goal Rosette. So, can you two move forward?" Satella asked passionately as she spread her two arms out while Rosette slightly grinned. "I see, the same goal huh? There was someone I looked up to. He was very strong and handsome. He always guided me. He never faltered and never shook. He was the reason I was able to become an exorcist. But he said that he himself isn't really that strong." Rosette said as she was dreamingly referring to Father Remington. She remembered the day when Father Remington took her to the Order of Magdalene in New York City and when he patted her head with a smile on his face. "So, I'm alright. It's still a bit hard now, but if Chrono and I find the answer, we can walk on forward!" Rosette said optimistically. "I see." Satella commented and they both began to laugh together. After they were done laughing, Satella and Rosette faced each other as they knew that this would be the last time they would see each other in a while. "I'll wait for you one step ahead. Let's meet again on the other side!" Satella promised and she started to take her leave by walking past Rosette. "Wait for me!" Satella said as she turned her head around and waved goodbye to Rosette. "I'll catch up to you!" Rosette shouted back and began to walk her way back to the hospital. Once she reached the hospital, Rosette made her way downstairs to the room where Chrono was in. Once she walked into the room she looked at Chrono and began to talk to him. "I now know that everyone around the world is constantly fighting his or her own battles. Just like Father Remington and Satella. That's why I have to continue fighting mine. Isn't that right Chrono? You're fighting too, right?" Rosette asked even though she knew that he could not answer her. "I guess you can't hear me. There's no response on the outside." Rosette said with a slight grin. "However, if there's no response on the outside, then what about from the inside?" Rosette asked herself as she was convinced that there was somehow a way for Chrono to respond to her.
The next day, the Elder had arrived at the hospital in San Francisco. He went to the room downstairs where Chrono was at. Father Remington had contacted the Elder about Rosette's decision to dive into Chrono's soul as a way to reach him. He arrived with the Magdalene Order's aircraft and brought the soul diving machine that Rosette previously used for her Militia training test. By the time Elder Hamilton came into the room, Rosette was already prepared and was dressed in her Militia outfit. She was seated on a chair and had some eye gear on herself for the soul diving. Chrono's body was also connected to the wires attached to the soul diving machine and with eye gear on himself as well. The Elder set up a round belt like circle consisting of the connection wires across the perimeter of where Chrono is in order to help set the soul diving method into motion. "Once again, you've come up with something audacious. If it doesn't work from the outside then try from the inside. Huh, I do hope it will work." The Elder said to himself skeptically as he was flipping the guide book while turning on the soul diving machine. "No one can predict what will happen." Reverend Gilliam commented to Father Remington. "There is no other way. Besides, this is what she decided on. We will give her maximum support." The minister said to his friend. "Dive, huh? Diving into a demon's soul is unheard of." Father Remington revealed since diving into a demon's soul was never done before. "But they're under a contract, aren't they? Rosette's soul could be consumed during the dive." Reverend Gilliam pointed out. "In that case, I'll take appropriate action before that happens." Father Remington said as he was holding his laser sword just in case something dangerous happens to Rosette during the soul dive. "Have you thought that he shut himself off? He might refuse to meet you. When I asked her that, she said: We're connected, so I want to believe!" The Elder quoted what Rosette had told him just before he started operating the diving machine. A few moments later, Rosette's soul had managed to enter into Chrono's soul while she was floating in the nude. "I am scared. It might already be too late to do anything. I might go through pain that I've never felt before. Maybe this time I might actually die. But to let it end this way is even more painful. That's why I'm coming to wake Chrono up!" Rosette thought to herself as her soul was getting closer to something that resembled a bee's hive. Once she reached it, she then saw the various memories that Chrono had with him through bubbles. "This is Chrono's soul. Then these bubbles are Chrono's memory?" Rosette asked herself as she was sure that was the case. "I see, so if I follow the flow, then I might be able to find out more about Chrono's history! Alright then, let's go further!" Rosette said to herself as her soul started to go further into Chrono's memory. "I wish I could change things, but we both know that this is not possible." Rosette recalled what Chrono said as her soul continued going further into his memories. A few minutes later, Rosette's soul had finally reached into one of Chrono's memories that began to show her the story that Chrono wanted to tell her one day.