Gale flew alone in the dark night, as a chilly wind slapped his face. He increased his speed, unceasingly; uncared and unbothered by the wind.
Even the local festival had calmed down, as it was hours past midnight. Still, half of the lights were still blaring. Only a handful of people could be seen in the area, mostly drunkards and prostitutes.
It was a moonlit night as one full and another crescent moon beamed in the sky like an old-school lightbulb with countless stars twinkling, although the gathering clouds would cover them soon enough, if the Sun didn't overshadow them before that.
Gale flew aimlessly. He simply closed his eyes and let the wind lead him.
Unconsciously, Gale found himself approaching Stormhold, which might be because he had no other place to be, and the wind was leading in that direction. Probably the latter.
On most occasions, flying calmed him down, but that was not today.
Moreover, the excessive use of his abilities caused him to have burning indignation in his body and spirit. He wouldn't be relieved unless he drank the ambrosia again, or had the right amount of rest.
The Stormhold was quiet as it could ever be. Only the creaking of insects could be heard as Gale flew over the farmland to land a dozen paces away from the mansion.
Gale thought he would be alone at this time in the farmland, considering everyone was busy with the festival. But it seemed there was another person who couldn't be bothered with the festival at all.
Gale found a defenceless woman wrapped in a blanket resting right on his open balcony peacefully. He didn't have to reach next to her to discover who the figure belonged to.
Sumei, the ebony-haired woman, seemed to have some problems with the outside world, as she never made her presence known. For that reason alone, she had to spend her nights in the wild. That got her into trouble on more than a few occasions.
For example, the first time Gale found her was when she appeared on his farm, wounding up seriously injured by wild beasts. Of course, he helped her, as it was the most humane thing to do; to help a stranger in need.
After that night, he met Sumei a few times, and most of the time, she asked for a way to repay him.
On their last meeting, Gale gifted her a Stormhold token, which would give her free access to enter through the formation he placed around the property.
And it seemed she had invited herself in when he was in town, though she hadn't entered the mansion yet. Her token left her with access to a few guest houses, but he feared she didn't even try, finding no one present.
'I guess she found it impolite to barge into someone's home when they aren't present.'
Shaking his head, Gale climbed up the stairs to appear on the balcony. He stooped next to her and wondered what to do with her.
Three options came to his mind, one after another:
First, wake her up and offer the guest house.
Second, Carry her to the guest room without disrupting her sleep.
Third, leave her here in the cold.
Gale eliminated the third option immediately, leaving only two options. He has a problem with the second option, considering it could cause a misunderstanding between them if he just carried her into the room without permission.
Acknowledging what had happened back in the inn, Gale wasn't in the mood to create another trouble for himself, even if she didn't mind.
That left only one option: waking her up first.
But disrupting her rest might not let her sleep again tonight.
On second thoughts, Gale sat next to her, leaning against the wall as a fourth option appeared on his mind: Stay on the balcony with her until she wakes up on her own.
Gale gave her a look and looked up at the sky again. He sighed.
The pain of overusing his Qi was still there, biting into his spirit. Gale was pretty sure he deserved it for failing so many people over the years. But he was in no mood to endure it today.
Without bothering the woman sleeping peacefully, Gale brought out the bottle of Ambrosia and gulped in one mouthful of the divine wine.
A soothing warmth filled his mind as all the flavours and fragrance exploded in his mouth. Gale sipped in slowly, groaning in ecstasy.
"Fucking hell!" He cursed out loud. "Why is everything my fault?! I know I have problems. . . a big temper. . . But why is everyone so prepared to blame everything on me?"
Gale sipped in another mouthful of the ambrosia as ecstasy enamoured his mind and body, but wasn't feeling all that satisfied yet.
"That Summoner! That fucker, if I get my hands on him, I'll. . .I'll. . ."
Gale's voice trailed off as a burp came out of his mouth, which led him to spray half a mouthful of ambrosia in the air.
"I'll kill him, I'll kill that madafaka a thousand times. . . I'll skin him alive and. . ."
Words got lost in his mind when Gale found a palm tucked in his shoulder. He turned to find Sumei giving him a wide-eyed look.
He burped again. "Sumei!" His voice was more enthusiastic than he hoped. "When did you wake up? Wait, did I disturb you? Sorry, sorry, that was totally my fault, but definitely not what I did back in the Inn."
"What did you do back in the inn?" Sumei asked, her eyes wary and anxious.
"I made a mistake," Gale sneezed. "No, no, it's a blunder! But it was a mistake first, only she led it to a blunder."
"She?" Sumei picked her eyebrow. "Who?"
"Wang Li," Gale said with a hiccup. "You're right, she's pretty and does have a beautiful figure."
"Gale, are you alright?" Sumei touched him on the cheek, reaching to take away the bottle of Ambrosia from him. Gale clung to the bottle so strongly that her measly strength barely did anything.
"I'm alright," Gale scoffed, "nothing ever happens to me. Never. It is always the people around me, but I always remain fine and free. . ."
"Are you sure? You don't look fine."
Gale looked at her, eyes straight for an uncertain amount of time. She met his gaze straight as well.
"Fine, fine," Gale said. "I'm whining, I know. But I'll be fine. Hmm, tomorrow, I guess."
Sumei shook her head, unable to keep him away from drinking any more.
"When did you get so addicted to alcohol?" Sumei asked. "This isn't like you."
Gale snorted and sneezed together, leading him to break into a fit of coughs.
"Funny, really," Gale said, clearing his throat. "I actually never have drunk a sip of alcohol before coming to this world. I guess I have poor willpower and can't stop myself from getting addicted to ecstasy."
Sumei shook her head and moved to sit face-to-face with him. She touched his cheeks with both her palms.
"Gale, Gale, look at me," Sumei said, her wavy hair swaying along the wind. "I wasn't completely aware of your situation, but I heard you mention everyone blaming you for all that happened."
Gale looked at her, stupidly, blinking at her image.
"You don't believe that completely, do you?" she said with complete certainty. "Perhaps that's not even a thing. Maybe it's only you who blames yourself for everything that happened."
Gale stopped struggling and stared at her, blinking. He opened his mouth to say something, but it remained hung open, lost for words.
Weirdly, he found the bottle of wine in her grasp next as she tossed it out below without care.
"You need rest," Saarya said, guiding his head to her lap. "At this rate, you'll hurt yourself. Come on, rest."
Saarya's voice was ever so soothing, and her hands caressed his hair. Gale unconsciously closed his eyes and only then remembered it wasn't Saarya.
Saarya has been dead for six years now.
She died trying to save him.
"Don't struggle," Sumei said. "Let everything go. It's not your fault. Nothing is your fault. Rest and . . ."
Gale mumbled something incoherent as he really brought into a deep sleep on her lap.
***
Gale dreamt of carnage and blood. Of war and ruin. Of love and loss.
But there was someone to soothe him. Someone to cling onto his arm and guide him away of the carnage and blood the world led him to.
She led him out of the ruins and into the land of peace and dreams. Into the valley of life and bright light.
Saarya stood on the terrain of flowers, waiting for him, as Gale ran after her. She wasn't moving, standing still with a smile on her lips.
"You're finally here," she said.
Gale simply looked at her, eyes tearing up, teardrops dripping down his face. He reached to touch her, wanting to hold her in his embrace, but before he could do that a damnable storm landed on the surroundings.
"Remember Gale," Saarya said. "What I asked of you? Remember, don't ever forget that. You cannot--"
***
"Gale! Gale! Wake Up!"
Gale found someone shaking his body violently, calling his name.
"Wake up, please! Something is wrong with your constructs."
Sumei's voice barely registered in his mind, but he was so lost about Saarya that he didn't even want to listen to her.
"Please, I think we're under attack. They are breaking the defence construct. Please wake up. I don't want to die!"
_______________
Ah, so this is the beginning of the climax chapters and is going to be quite long.
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