Chapter 11: Timeless
There was no explanation of what woke Olsen out of his sleep, but all exhaustion left him in that instant. Thoughts of when he had begun his journey swirled in his mind, and now he had received training from the High Elders the previous day. Helen lay beside him peacefully, no doubt letting her sore body heal from the rigorous training that expanded her mana reserves greatly. Careful not to disturb her, Olsen left the cot and donned a pair of jeans, shoes, and a flannel shirt. Throwing his Gaia cloak around his shoulders, he pulled up the hood and walked into the evening air to clear his mind and ease his heart.
For a while, Olsen stared across the bay. Thick fog blanketed the water, making the night air chilly and damp. As he walked, he could feel Helen's undeniable power approaching from behind until he felt her hand on his shoulder.
"If thou lack sleep, then thy mind will not clear as easily, Olsen." Helen's calming voice hummed as she circled him, walking backward.
"What about you? Aren't you just as tired?" Olsen smiled and followed her lead, guessing her meditation grounds to be her destination. Helen sleepily grinned in return, reaching for his hand and leading him along the misty path.
"Aye. But the time of the early morning is best for meditation when none but the stars are witness," she said, leading him along until she sat on a small hill of dirt and reached for a book that filled her lap with its covers, opening it to the center pages. Olsen stayed silent for a while, feeling her power wash over and around him like a river while her hair shimmered in shades of violet, giving the area an almost ethereal glow.
"Would it bother you too much if I were to practice my Tai Chi here?" Olsen asked. Helen smiled, enjoying the sound of his voice, opening one eye as the shimmer in her hair faded slightly.
"Not in the least, Olsen," she answered, the glow of her hair returning. With a silent nod, Olsen began shifting through his stances, standing to one foot or sweeping his hands in wide arcs, 'feeling' the area around him and listening to the sounds in the silence. Helen opened an eye, watching as Olsen moved, noting how natural he seemed. Maybe this could help her meditation, and she should try it. Olsen's abilities and training often trained one's focus and balance, which could greatly help a mage. Setting the book aside and springing upright, she brushed off the backs of her legs and approached Olsen.
"Wouldst thou become bothered if I were to ask thee to teach me Tai Chi?" she asked, almost in a whisper. Olsen shrugged as he took a neutral stance, waiting for Helen to do the same. Once Helen had mimicked the stance, Olsen slowed his movements, allowing her to copy them more easily. In a way, Helen thought, the ninja fighting art and some of its stances were similar to the ones used in casting her spells. And so while they moved, Helen readied fire and ice spells, holding them in her hands to better feel their power and learn how to hone it into an even more powerful spell.
The cold of the early morning nuzzled Jenny awake, making her try to get up when she remembered Jack's heavy arm around her waist. After squirming from his embrace, she sat up and stretched, cracking her back before dressing in comfortable clothes. Before leaving the hut, she glanced back at Jack as he lay asleep, rolling over when the morning light slapped him. As she turned to leave, Matthew and Lillianne walked by, wooden practice weapons in hand, covered in dust, grass, and weeds, no doubt from their early morning sparing.
"Oh, Jen, you're up. We were just about to find Olsen and Helen to hang out before breakfast. If Jack's up, care to join us?" Lillianne called, pulling the blades of grass out of her long hair as Matthew put an arm around her waist.
"Jack's not up yet, but I can kick him outta bed. You guys out 'sparing' again?" Jenny asked with a laugh. Matthew tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow.
"Jenny, you know us better than that."
"Well, it is kinda hard to think otherwise when you guys are always covered in dirt and grass once you finish sparring," Jenny laughed, ducking back into the hut and shaking Jack awake. After another ten minutes of groggily pulling on his clothes and a break for a few push-ups, Jenny and Jack followed the warriors to Helen's meditation grounds. Upon nearing, Jenny couldn't help but notice the last two of their friends moving through the last few stances, thinking about how she and Olsen had been a couple just a few months prior.
"It never would have worked," Jenny thought, pulling her grip around Jack's arm tighter and curing a stare from Jack as he unknowingly tensed his arm.
"You okay, babe?" he asked. Jenny nodded wistfully and guided Jack into the area just as Helen and Olsen finished. After saying their good mornings, they all sat silently, thinking about their training and the journey that had brought them to this point, until Jack broke the silence.
"Hey, d'you guys remember when we first came here?" Jack asked, leaning back against his hands.
"Yes, I do. I remember that Helen and I almost didn't board the ship for Victoria," Matthew commented as he thought back, playing out the scene in his mind.
"I remember that as well. We both jumped into the water after the ship and grabbing a rope Athena shot to us with all our strength as the ship hefted itself aloft to the clouds." She smiled.
"Oh yeah, I remember that. And then there was the time that Olsen released full control over his crystal; that was intense." Jenny laughed.
"I do not remember well what transpired. Couldst thou recount it for us?" Helen asked as Jenny thought for a moment.
"I think it was when Francis attacked us with a controlled Tae Roon. Jack was down with a broken leg, so Helen and I carried him away while Olsen tried to distract him. I didn't look back, and I could hear Olsen yelling how he needed more power. The next thing I knew, Olsen was streaking around the battlefield like a bright pink comet. It was a sight to see." Jenny smiled, leaning against Jack.
"I remember our first battle against the Slime King. I think I almost drowned the in that thick goop." Olsen laughed, scooting closer to Helen and reaching for her hand, lacing his fingers into hers.
"Yes, 'twas Matthew's expedient thinking that saved thine life." Helen pointed out.
"Oh yeah, I fired Helen's staff at you like an Arrow while Jack vaulted you into the sky. I still don't know how you caught that thing mid-air without spinning like a top," Jenny laughed.
"You weren't the one that had to toss him. He dropped his sword, but the dude still weighed about 250 pounds. I'd like to see one of you toss him," Jack laughed. "My arms were sore for nearly 3 days after that."
"I can still feel that thing's goop all over me," Matthew shuddered, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head as his skin broke out in gooseflesh.
"Was it that bad?" Lillanne asked in surprise, reaching to his shoulders and massaging them.
"You have no idea; it was like having someone sneeze all over you," Olsen replied, making Lillianne shudder.
"Yick, no wonder. I still remember what it said about the Black Mage being the Supreme Ruler of Ossyria; It still gives me chills." Lillianne mused. "I remember when Helen's crystal was finally released. That was an awesome display of power." Lillianne said.
"That victory was tainted by taking Keeny's life in Jack's stead. I hath continued to search out a way to cast the Life Call spell without sacrificing another," Helen interjected. Lillianne's shoulders slumped, and her eyes fell.
"Helen, I didn't mean to…"
"Tis alright, Lillianne; we all shared a bitter-sweet moment that day. There is no reason to worry in offending me." An odd silence fell over them, each trying to remember an instance from the past until Helen thought about their first day in training.
"Doth any of you remember when we traveled to Victoria and began our training?" Jenny laughed as she could still very clearly remember the brutal training.
"Yeah, that was the first day my mom kicked me out of bed before sunrise. She became a drill sergeant, and I felt like a lump of goo at the end of the day." Jenny laughed as the others recalled events of when they had begun training. Each was subjected to torturous routines day in and day out, knowing it prepared them for the journey ahead more quickly.
Lilin cut their nostalgia gathering short, requesting they return to Herb Town. After getting up and brushing off their clothes of leaves and debris, Olsen looked out over the valley below.
"Don't worry, Ossyria, we will free you from his grip." He thought, following the others to join them for breakfast.
It was a hard few months leading up to the final graduation of Minerva's training. Luminous felt he had been shunned despite being a more powerful mage than that man was a brawler. Minerva claimed she wasn't discriminating against any of the six people who endured her intense training, but there wasn't room for ANOTHER mage within their elite team, currently held by the Dragon Mage, Freud.
"Luminous, I see you've been brooding again," Freud called, walking into the Palace after he had finished his patrol of Orbis and El Nath.
"I'm not brooding; I'm thinking," Luminous answered, looking up to see Aran and another blurry man returning from their patrol of the Ariant desert. Freud laughed under his breath and walked back to his room, leaving Luminous to his thoughts. Luminous glared at the blurry figure. The figure shook his head and walked up to him, but when he spoke, it sounded muffled.
"Luminous, look; I don't want any bad blood between us. I understand you're a mighty powerful mage, and I respect that. Honestly, I feel a bit out of place around you mages." The man said, extending his hand as if it would improve everything.
"I don't want nor need your faked attempt to become friends." Luminous snapped, folding his arms over his chest, making the charms woven into his hair clatter.
"Then can we at least be comrades?" The man asked, still holding his hand forward, lifting it slightly as though asking for it to be shaken. Luminous's thoughts were interrupted when Phantom appeared next to them, his usual boyish grin on his face.
"Just get over yourself, Gloominous; Freud may be another mage, but he's limited to what he can do without Afrein." Luminous looked at Phantom hard, clenching his jaw and making the muscles flare before turning and storming back to his room.
"Don't be so hard on him, Phantom. Besides, that boy's got some mighty fine power at his disposal. I bet he could even outwit you." The man smiled, catching a whiff of the fine perfume hanging around Phantom, knowing exactly where that scent was from.
"You went to see her again, didn't you?" the man asked, making Phantom smirk all the wider. Luminous heard the comment, ducking behind a column to listen in.
"What's the matter, ermrrerl? Are you a bit jealous since you're about to get married?" Phantom asked in return. The name Phantom uttered sounded so distorted that Luminous couldn't understand it. But it felt like he had known that man for a long time.
"I wouldn't go chasing anybody except Yuris anyhow," He laughed as the two of them faded into the distance. Luminous sighed, listening to their conversation and thinking back to what he left behind at the Temple of Light: Phantom had this mystery royalty woman, Freud and Mercedes seemed to be hitting it off, Aran surely had someone, and this other man had someone by the name of Yuris, an Elfin sounding name. But him? He left his love in the Golem's Temple and the Order of Light.
"Lucia…"
"This doesn't look good." One of the guards said as he watched readings on a machine beside a stone covered in thick power cables, sending the energy emanating from it to the Black Mage's castle.
"What doesn't look good?" demanded a female voice asked, making the guard spin around.
"Madam General Orca! I didn't hear you come in!" the soldier called when Orca became serious and leaned closer to him. Her form appeared to grow, and the air became heavy, pressing down on the soldier as his skin glistened from the cold sweat running down his face.
"Don't ever call me Madam General; I'm not that old," Orca growled, moving back and crossing her arms. Despite having the body of a child, the guards shivered in her presence.
"So what's not good? I don't have all day to play guessing games." Orca huffed, hovering behind the guard and looking over the screen and gauges.
"If I've been reading this right, this rock produces brain waves," The soldier said, scrolling the screen to the right to view a set of waves.
"A rock? Producing brain waves? Are you hearing yourself?" Orca snipped, looking back to the boulder. The Black Mage appeared in a wisp of black smoke, making Orca turn and bow her head and cross a hand over her chest while irritated whispers filled the cave.
"What do you mean, Master?" She asked, trying to seem as compliant as she could. The Black Mage set his hand on the stone, breathing a long hiss before murmurs filled the air. Orca looked down as her eyes flitted back and forth in thought.
"Are you talking about the Demon General? THE TRAITOR?!" The Black Mage turned his head to her, slowly nodding as he clenched his hand, digging his fingernails across the stone's surface.
"How do you know? I could just be another rock," Orca asked as the Black Mage walked to the machine and held a sheet printing from it. He pointed to a specific waveform as whispers filled the air, narrowing his eyes in annoyance.
"Like a fingerprint? I guess that's a thing, but that's still weird."
"Master, these patterns are getting stronger. If it continues, whoever is in that rock will wake up," The Guard warned as he watched the readouts. The Black Mage growled in his throat, casting a spell over the stone, making the activity drop to a minimum. Orca watched as he stared hard at the stone, narrowing his eyes and tightening his fists.
"Master, If this is that traitor, let me eliminate him for you. I owe him for what happened to my brother," Orca requested, bowing to her knee and crossing her arm over her chest. The Black Mage shook his head as his whispers howled silently and turned to leave, making Orca look up, her brow wrinkling as she followed him.
"Powering a backup project? What backup project? The Master won't Fail! Why would he need a backup project?"
For the past two hours, Dragon and Eleanor scoured hundreds of books and scrolls within The Black Wing's library for clues on where any of the Pillars of Time could be.
"Have you found anything?" Dragon huffed, letting his large book flop onto the table, throwing dust into the air. His head spun: so many terms and spells he didn't understand.
"Not a trace. I'm wondering if these Pillars of Time exist at all." Eleanor complained, supporting her head with her hands, rubbing the exhaustion from her eyes when a thought struck her. Eleanor grabbed a book she had previously searched, madly flipping pages before grabbing a piece of paper and copying a few runes before running to another part of the library and pulling another book down.
"AH! Here, our approach to finding the pillars revealed nothing because 'Pillars or Time' is their translated modern Ossyrian title. The goddess Rhinne created the Pillars well before any civilization took root."
"So, we've learned we were looking for the wrong name. Great. How does that help us find these stones, and what's so important about them?" Dragon asked, holding his aching head.
"Any Spell cast through these stones, as if they are a focus, will seem to become permanent."
"'Seem permanent?'" Dragon asked, raising an eyebrow while he held his aching head.
"No spell is ever permanent, dear. With enough power and time, any spell can be broken. Casting a spell with these pillars encrypts the spell, so to speak. Only the one who cast the spell can break or reverse it easily." Eleanor explained, looking over the ancient writing within the book she held, searching its pages for further explanations.
"That sounds like a spell becomes permanent to me."
"Oh, far from it. It only seems that way because the amount of power it would take to break it becomes so impossibly high that no mortal mage can muster the strength to do so."
"So if 'Pillars of Time' is their translated name, what were they called originally?" Dragon asked, reaching for a pad of paper to write with; he needed to keep up.
"Eagon Sol, but a direct translation calls them 'Spell of One.'" She answered as The Black Mage cruised into the library with questioning whispers rising around them.
"Not yet, but we have a more promising lead with this information." Eleanor smiled as The Black Mage held his palm flat, showing them an image of Orbis and the tower where Minerva would often sit before his defeat.
"Ah, Orbis; this is why you're the Master of the Black Wings," Eleanor smiled with a deep bow, reaching for her staff as she and Dragon left for the palace city. It would only be a matter of time before they began collecting the PIllars.
Not one letter came for The Guardians all day. It was as if an uneasy peace had settled throughout Ossyria, making 'The Six' feel restless as they walked through town, lauded and thanked by everyone they encountered for their deeds thus far. But with each thankful speech, a weight built in their chests, a gnawing fear that they might fail in defeating the Black Mage.
Later in the day, Helen went to a ridge overlooking Herb Town, one of the many places she used for meditating. In the distance, she could see Mu Lung and, beyond that, the borders of the continent of Ossyria and the Nihal Desert. Such a wide world lay before her, all its inhabitants waiting with bated breath for them to face the ultimate evil of this world and free it from his grasp.
Staring at her hand, she called up a cloud of Amethyst power, watching it swirl and dance in the breeze. As the wind carried the mist and she focused on the power, whispers came into her mind, quiet howls of, was that… sorrow and grief? Her thoughts turned to what Carta told them before sending them to deal with Pianus.
"If you continue down this path… If you succeed and defeat The Black Mage, one of you will suffer a great loss." The sea witch's words stuck in her mind like a splinter; who would suffer the loss? Losing any one of her friends would break her heart. There had to be some way to avoid that destiny. Her spiraling thoughts halted when Olsen put his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Did something interrupt your meditation?" he asked, gazing at the view before them.
"My mind will not still and allow me the solace," she said, drooping her shoulders and letting out a long sigh, resting her hands on Olsen's.
"What's been eating at you, Helen? Ever since we rescued Carta, you've been acting strange." With a gentle pull, Helen left his embrace, tangling her fingers before her as she stepped closer to the ledge, the breeze playing with her long heliotropic locks.
"It is the memory of all those that have perished in our wake, even when our words said we would protect them. How can we boldly say, 'We are the Guardians of Ossyria,' if we fail to protect every soul?" turning to him, she played with her fingernail, sometimes looking down to her hands and shifting her weight from one leg to the other. Olsen swallowed hard, kicking the dirt as he thought of an answer to such a weighty question.
"We call ourselves 'The Guardians' because we will face things no one will ever have to face again. We are the shield for these people, Helen. Our parents never said it was going to be easy, but we can't let the lives lost be for nothing and give up. We will defeat the Black Mage, and we will set Ossyria free. That is how we honor them, not by apologizing for something we couldn't prevent." The breeze played with a wisp of Pink Quartz power in his palm as he held it forward, pulling and stretching the cloud into different shapes.
"Thou makest out task sound so simple." Helen ground her shoe into the dirt as Olsen came closer, reaching for the side of her head and kissing her forehead.
"It always sounds easier than it is, but we will succeed and honor those lost once the Black Mage is no more. It all ends with him." Helen looked down at her hands, picking at a fingernail as she fell forward, resting her head on his chest.
"How canst thou speak with such certainty when the path ahead is so clouded?" the sound of her voice hitching made Olsen pull her away, cupping her jaw and turning her gaze to him while brushing away the tiny diamond of a teardrop from the corner of her eye.
"Because we're the Guardians of Ossyria." A long sigh escaped her lips, resting her head against his chest once more and embracing him, listening to his heartbeat. Opening her eyes, she started upright and grabbed Olsen's hand when Empress Cygnus stood before them.
"Empress! I beg thy forgiveness in not seeing thee." She stuttered as Olsen turned to face her, hoping only Helen heard his words.
"No, no, Helen, it's quite alright. There is something that I need to speak to Olsen about. It is a mission of utmost importance." Olsen raised his eyebrow and tightened his grip on Helen's hand.
"You know I need to let the others know about this too, don't you?" Cygnus's eyes darkened, her face becoming stern while squaring her shoulders, making Olsen narrow his eyes.
"Olsen, if the Empress requires thy aid, give it to her. We are the Guardians of Ossyria, after all." An annoyed hiss escaped Olsen's chest before kissing her knuckles and walking away from her, speaking in hushed tones that Helen couldn't hear. She could use a bit of Mana to enhance her hearing, but from their body language, it was a mission meant only for Olsen. After another few minutes of talking, Olsen returned to her, but the air around him was tense, heavy, and annoyed.
"Canst thou say what the Empress hath charged thee with?" Helen asked. Olsen shook his head silently, reaching up and kissing her cheek.
"The only thing I can say is that I will be gone for a while. I don't know when I'll return or what I'll find, but I will return." The two of them locked eyes for a long while in silence, their fingers tangling with one another until Helen reached for his neck and dove for his lips. Olsen returned the kiss, holding Helen firmly to him as if this would be the last time he would ever see her. Something in the wind screamed in his mind not to let her go; it shouted that a nightmare of heart-wrenching proportions waited on the horizon for them. But duty called, and after nearly five minutes, Olsen peeled away, their fingers lingering on one another as he walked away with the Empress.
"Keep her safe at all costs, Empress," Olsen sneered, his glowing gaze meeting Cygnus's with almost malicious intent.
"I will do what I can. But put your trust in Helen; she is strong in her own right," the Empress countered, handing Olsen a rolled-up parchment and a small sack of gold coins. Olsen snatched them away, tucking both into the pouch on his belt while he marched to his hut, and still, the gut-wrenching feeling wouldn't leave him.
"Please, Helen. Just stay safe until I return."
With cautious steps, Dragon and Eleanor made their way through the Palace City towards Minerva's Tower, looking over a scroll they brought with them for what the Pillars looked like.
"From what this says, finding one Pillar will lead you to the next by showing a riddle about its elemental trait." As they searched, Dragon saw several sphere-shaped stones embedded in the tower walls, each with circuit-like carvings. As they entered the chamber housing Minerva's statue, it felt like power emanated from one of the walls; it was almost as if a piece of the goddess herself remained. Eleanor followed the power and came upon an impression within the wall, housing a figurine with a symbol on its pedestal-like base of scratch marks and dots.
"Does the scroll say what this one is supposed to be?" Dragon asked as Eleanor looked closer at the statue and compared it to the symbols within the scroll.
"If I translate this correctly, this is the trait of Light. But it also says here that 'one must be aware of the Guardians that watch over them, else you trespass and awaken their wrath.'" Eleanor grinned, amused that such a word as 'wrath' was used to scare them off.
"I don't think we have anything to worry about, Eleanor. Besides, this place has been desolate for quite some time. I doubt the fairies would have enough strength or power to make our lives hard," Dragon scoffed, reaching for the statue and pulling it from the impression. Instantly, the spherical stones Dragon had seen earlier came to life, hovering out of their resting spot and separating horizontally. A golden light blinked to life in the middle as circuits blinked and flashed. Dust hissed from the top of the sphere as a small plunger rose, more circuits blinking near the top.
"Akimosoto bayan, fosil, abon!" The stone said in a rough mechanical voice as more stones came to life. Each hovering stone turned to them, spreading more dust into the air as they separated into four sections. Metal slid out from the middle, expanding into a dish. The circuits pulsated toward it, and the energy gathered in the dish until a beam shot out. Eleanor folded the scroll, tucking it into her top, and held out her hands.
The shield spell deflected the energy into another of the orbs, disintegrating it into dust. Dragon drew his Dume, slicing through each orb easily, but with each one that he cut down, there seemed to be two more that would take its place. Hot light gathered at the guard, flinging his Dume through a few spheres while an orb appeared on his shoulder. Dragon immediately absorbed it and swung hard while something like an eye appeared on his forehead, amplifying the swing and carrying it through a group. Eleanor swung her staff, hurling bolts of plasma from the end of it or her hand while building energy within her.
"Dragon, get down," She said calmly before throwing out her arms. A wave of power exploded from her body, pushing the spheres to the sides of the room and crushing their stone shells, allowing them to walk out with a proud swagger. The spheres sparked and twitched in piles of rubble on the floor.
"What were those things?" Dragon asked, sheathing the Dume on his back. Eleanor pulled the scroll from her bosom and opened it again, trying to smooth the wrinkles it had gathered.
"Those were creatures created by Minerva called Sentinels, a stone-machine hybrid. According to this scroll, they were created as an early training exercise for her students as guards for the tower so that nothing would be taken without Minerva's say so."
"I think we have made our clearance known," Dragon smiled, putting an arm around her waist until they boarded their skiff, turning back for the Black Mage's castle to find the secret to locating the other Pillars.
As the sun set over Herb Town, the blazing sunset caught Helen sitting at the ledge overlooking the world below. She tried meditating, but the way Olsen held her before leaving with the Empress kept her mind from settling enough for a meaningful session. Olsen's promise of return still clung to her mind, and the ghost of his kiss lingered.
As she closed her spellbook, she could hear the soft steps of Jenny coming up behind her, sitting down and absently pulling blades of grass from the ground.
"Where's Olsen? He's usually here with you." She asked, crisscrossing her legs and grabbing her ankles. Helen said nothing, drawing up her knees and leaning on them.
"The Empress Hath need of him." Silence hung thick in the air, the breeze playing with the stray hairs on their head.
"Did something happen, or-"
"The Empress Hath need of him. Olsen doth not know when his return shall be." Helen replied bluntly, staring into the distance and hugging her knees all the closer. Jenny moved closer, putting an arm around her shoulders.
"Don't worry; he'll be back." Jenny smiled, matching Helen's gaze into the distance and letting the wind become the moment's soundtrack as it played with the branches.
"Do you remember that time back in Elementry when we were camping? Jack had just got a new compass for his birthday and wanted to explore the woods. I thought it was awesome, but you warned that we didn't have a map and didn't know where we were. It might have been just a place outside town for the weekend, but even then, you knew we didn't have the gear for that trek." Jenny laughed, grabbing a fallen leaf and spinning it between her fingers.
"Jack and I insisted we wouldn't go that far, so we set out. But after an hour of randomly wandering, we got lost. All our food was back at the camp, and it was getting dark. Jack tried to use his compass and began to panic, and you tried to use the surroundings, but we were lost. I broke down crying, but Olsen stayed calm, telling us to stay put and that he'd be back. It felt like forever, but just as it was getting dark, Here came Olsen with a lamp, a few granola bars, and a grin, leading us back to camp."
"Why art thou telling of this event?" Helen demanded, keeping her gaze locked on the horizon.
"If I remember right, you were the one who said Olsen had left us out there and that he wasn't coming back. But he proved us wrong. He's done that many times over since then." Helen signed, a minute grin curling her lips as she stared at the ground around her feet.
"Olsen will return. A long time may pass, but the world will end 'ere Olsen fails to return."
"That's the spirit. Come on, let's get some dinner. I hear Kyrin cook Tangyoon made his famous Island Trapocana." Jenny said as she sprang to her feet, holding a hand to Helen and dragging her up, the two of them walking back to town hand in hand.
The thunder of Lillianne and Matthew's sparring rolled over the hills, the clash of their weapons ringing through the trees loud enough to be mistaken for bells.
"Going soft on me, Champion?" Lillianne huffed, holding back Matthew's claymore with an excited grin.
"No, I just didn't want to use all my energy." Matthew smiled back, the veins in the sword humming and smoking with mana.
"Oh, really? And why's that?"
"So I can do this." Pulling back his blade, Matthew grabbed Lilliannes hand, prying the halberd from her grip, then pinning her back to the ground, holding her wrists. Lillianne stayed pinned to the ground for a few moments, heaving breath into her lungs and staring at Matthew as he leaned over her. She could break free of this position, albeit with a little struggle, since both were equal physical strength.
"Alright, you win." She huffed, making Matthew grin. He helped her by putting a hand around the small of her back, then pulled her close, where she leaned down to kiss him. Aran clearing his throat made them jump and back away from each other as Lillianne brushed her long platinum hair out of her face.
"Father! I didn't see you there!" she nervously smiled, feeling Matthew put a hand on her hip around her back. Aran chuckled and waved his hand, his heavy steps slow as he approached.
"I'm not here to scold you, Lillianne. You're old enough to make your own choices. But that's not why I'm here. We just received a letter from Alishar regarding the Time Sphere. Kyrin will brief you, but I can't find Olsen anywhere. Have either of you seen him?" Matthew raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.
"No, not recently. We've been here for the last couple of hours. If anything, he should be with Helen."
"I checked with Helen when she and Jenny came back into town. All Helen would tell me was that Empress Cygnus needed him for something. Jack hasn't seen him either." Looking at each other, Matthew and Lillianne could only offer confused stares as Matthew let go of Lillianne and picked up his sword, holding it to his back as the sheath appeared around the blade.
"If Alishar needs our help, and we're down a man, this could be a little more difficult than we thought."