Chapter 53
CHAPTER 53
THE DISTANT HOME
A gaping crater stood at the very top of a cloud-piercing mountain, entirely spherical as though carved out by a godly hand . Steps cascaded downward through thousands upon thousands of buildings stacked atop of one another, some made of white marble and some of green limestone . Above, in a dome-like fashion, light arrays wove a massive net cast over the entire crater, shining eternally, whether day or night . It appeared splendid, even extravagant, as it cast holy rays of light down onto the entire, massive compound . The design of the sect was spiraling, staring from top to bottom, where a tower overseeing the world, made entirely out of ebony stone, piercing the sky . It looked like an obelisk from a distance, yet was much winder and sharper toward the tip, more akin to a pyramid pressed at each side . The streets bustled with noise, ceaseless chatter spanning the whole of the city-like sect, drowning out any emerging silence . People clad in white, green, yellow, golden, red and black robes moved in and out of the grounds in droves, creating a never ending stream of visitors . One of them was a woman wearing a plain, tattered dress and a bamboo hat on her head, hiding her face . Her strides were wide, her pace quick as she skillfully weaved herself through the crowds, bit by bit approaching the center .
She had left the topmost part rather quickly, descending the white stairway leading further down, when she saw two elderly land on the other end . Both wore old, gray robes, and had almost identical faces and expressions . With hands behind their backs, they stared at her expressionlessly, yet she could discern a deep glint of something far greater in their eyes . She paused only for a moment, braving forth step by step, until she had reached them both . Silence emerged as they stared at one another, the world around them seemingly locked and frozen in time, without any passersby for minutes on .
" . . . why are you here?" one of the men broke the silence at last, asking in cold and distant tone .
"Am I not welcome?" the woman asked back .
" . . . you were welcome for over a thousand years," the other man joined, a hint of anger in his voice . "Yet, you never so much as visited to say you are alive . "
"You knew I was alive . "
" . . . is that your excuse?" the man asked .
" . . . did they send you here to escort me or expel me?" the woman asked instead of replying, seeming impatient .
" . . . they are waiting . " a man waved his arm slightly whereupon a spinning, white vortex appeared next to him . Woman, without hesitation, took a step forward and walked through .
After a bright flash of light, she had found herself in a massive hall spanning hundreds of squared meters . The floor beneath was tiled and glistening, chandeliers hanging above, paintings decorating the walls while sculpted columns held up the domed roof high above . The whole of the hall was brilliantly lit, perhaps even too much, to the point it took her a moment to regain her vision . When she did, she came face to face with a table and four people sitting behind it . Three men and a woman, all clad entirely in white, stared at her with different expressions . She choked for a moment, feeling an overwhelming wave of memories assail her . No matter how many years had passed since she last saw them, all these faces were forever imprinted in her memory . To the far right, she glanced, was a seemingly middle-aged man; he had golden hair woven into a bun, with a few strands of hair falling over his forehead . His eyes were sky-blue, lips thin, nose long and narrow, cheekbones extruded, jaw squared . His eyes shimmered in an array of complex emotions, she realized . How could she ever forget his face? It was her father, after all . Next to him sat a woman, similarly in her forties or so . Much like him, she had golden hair threading over to half her back and sky-blue eyes, seemingly holding the secrets of the whole universe in them . There was a faint smile on her face, yet her eyebrows were heaved backwards, as though wishing to both express joy and sadness at the same time .
Next to her was an elderly man, with a face full of wrinkles . His eyes were seemingly closed as his hand creased his beard repeatedly . His back was hunched, and he appeared over a head shorter than everyone else on the table, yet the woman knew one could hardly discard him for it . On the far other end of the table sat a youth, seemingly in his twenties . His hair was unnaturally crimson, eyes even more so, and his expression danced between anger and resentment . Only now did woman’s expression change, as she did not expect him to be here as well .
"So," the oldest man was the first one to speak . "You have at last come here . What for?"
"She didn’t even greet Us," the young man scoffed . "Why are you addressing her?"
"She has no need to greet us . " the old man said without looking at the young man which caused the latter’s brows to furrow even further . "Speak, Elanor . Speak or forever remain silent . "
" . . . I have come in search for an answer . " the woman spoke, taking off the bamboo hat . Beneath she hid hair as golden as the sun shining in the sky and eyes hued in deep, ocean’s blue . Her face was like a mirage of perfection, ethereally beautiful without any blemishes . The young man’s brows relaxed as his eyes drew a line over her body without any secrecy .
"And to what question do you seek an answer for?" the elderly man asked as though he hadn’t noticed anything .
"Why are Demons invading our world?" she asked .
"Demons are always invading our world . " the elderly man replied .
" . . . I broke a vow by coming here," she looked deeply into the old man’s eyes . "Betraying everything I trusted ever since leaving . At the very least you can indulge me for a single question . "
" . . . your vows have little to do with us, Elanor," the old man said, his expression still tranquil . "You had broken just as many, if not more, when you left, too . What of it?"
" . . . why are Demons invading our world?" she asked yet again .
"Why are you asking?" the old man asked back instead of answering .
"Because I wish to know . "
" . . . " the elderly man suddenly opened his eyes halfway through and looked deeply into her eyes . "Varren, Jade, Crug, leave us . "
"But, Patriarch--"
"Leave us . " the old man’s voice was calm and tranquil despite the three pairs of eyes staring at him as though fire was about to burst out of them . The three of them remained silent for a moment before suddenly disappearing as though they were never there . " . . . now that they are gone," the old man said, slowly getting up . "We can have an honest conversation . "
"Why the need to dismiss them?" the woman asked, following him as he began walking further down the hall .
"Because I very much doubt you’d want them to know you were in possession of a Writ and have given it away to someone . " though the old man’s tone was ever the same, the words had tremendous impact on the woman, causing her to freeze in place . "Don’t be so shocked, Ella . Your grandfather knew what would happen to him when he carried out the Fiend, so he told me . . . many things . Some of which I still have trouble believing . "
" . . . thank you . " Ella said meekly, quickening her pace to catch up .
"Don’t thank me," the old man said . "I am merely doing this for the Clan . "
" . . . I know . You were always devoted to it, even more so than my grandfather . " Ella said .
" . . . hardly," the old man paused for a moment and glanced back . "It takes a man whose entire heart is encased in Clan’s well-being to do what your grandfather did . "
"And if he hadn’t, you would have . "
"We can all claim we’d have done things in the past differently now," the old man continued . "Whether we would or not . . . we may never know . Why are you interested in Demons, all of a sudden?"
" . . . I wasn’t at first," Ella replied . "I wasn’t even going to come here initially . But, the further I travelled, the more I realized the sheer scope of their invasion . "
"Where’s Eggor?" the old man suddenly asked, startling her .
" . . . he’s not here . "
"Oh, I know he’s not here . I’m asking where is he . "
"Safe . "
" . . . good . " the old man said, sighing faintly . "Though he’s not a very popular figure around here, I remember him to be a great young lad . Honest . Devoted . Faithful . I imagine he’s the sole reason you’ve endured what the Clan had done to you back then . "
" . . . you’re different than I imagined . " Ella said .
"What were you expecting?" the old man asked with a chuckle as the two came to a stop in front of a massive painting; on it, another old man with white hair and beard and golden robe stood smiling, as though overseeing the whole of the hall with his glistening, cyan eyes . "A biased, old, muddled head who would have chased you out immediately?"
"Pretty much, yes . " Ella said, chuckling as well .
" . . . from your memory, I suppose that’s how I come off," he said, turning toward her . "But, every soul’s prone to change, Ella . You ought to know that best . "
" . . . yes, I suppose I do . " Ella said, sighing . "This place hasn’t changed much . "
" . . . no, no it hasn’t . " the old man said, smiling faintly . "And to answer your question . . . I don’t know . " seeing Ella’s surprised expression, the man laughed for a moment before continuing . "How long has it been? Ah, at the very least half a millennium has passed since I last talked with any of the Ancestral Devils . Truth be told, our Clan isn’t the only one being frozen out . It’s the case with all Holy Grounds . They suddenly went mum, and it was only about a year ago that we realized they were planning a massive invasion . The only word we’d gotten from them was ’Don’t meddle . It’s not your place . ’ . For the time being, we chose to sit on the sidelines and observe . "
" . . . all Holy Grounds decided the same? I find it very hard to believe . " Ella said, even more surprised .
"Ha ha, I know . You’d think old man Jarn would have burst into Hell and cleaved it open to figure out what’s going on . But . . . even he simply withdrew . It’s possible he was told more than we were, but he isn’t saying much . "
" . . . " Ella grew silent, entering deep thought .
"You haven’t changed since I last saw you," the old man drew her back from it, smiling with warmth in his eyes . "With the exception of your eyes . I imagine it has to do with the kid you’ve passed on the Writ to . "
" . . . you’re as perceptive as ever . " Ella said, smiling faintly .
"What’s he like?"
" . . . strong . " Ella said .
"He ought to be," the old man said, sighing . "Although there’s no proof of it, I am certain all of this has something to do with Writs, Ella . "
"I had the same thought," she said, looking up at the painting . "I think I was eight years old when he told me about them . He rarely spoke truth, but when he did, he laid it all out on the table . "
"Ha ha, that he did . " the old man laughed, looking at the portrait as well . "Sometimes, I really resent him for handing me over this position . "
"That bad?" Ella asked .
" . . . knowing things others don’t, and making decisions others don’t understand based on the things they aren’t aware of . . . it is never easy, Ella . If it weren’t for your folks, I’d have given up a long . . . long time ago . "
" . . . how are they doing?" Ella asked, her voice cracking slightly .
" . . . how do you think?" he replied, looking at her . "When are you going back?"
" . . . immediately . "
"You ought to talk to them first . "
"I--"
"They love you, Elanor," the old man interrupted . "And, believe me, that is a rare thing in this world . You may think you were once their shining star that had fallen, but, in their eyes, you have never fallen Ella . You merely hid behind the clouds for a while . When you left, everyone went up in arms to form a party to search for you . They, however, insisted you be left alone . They defended you every way they could . Talk to them . Let them know how you’re doing . "
" . . . they’ll try to keep me here . " Ella said after short pause .
"Aye, of course they will . It would be odd if they didn’t . However . . . I very much doubt your resolve is so weak as to break merely because of that . It would hurt them more your leaving without saying goodbye than refusing their love calls . "
" . . . I didn’t think you were a softie . " Ella said, chuckling .
"Ho ho, look who’s talking . " the old man laughed, stroking his beard for a moment . "Go . They’re at their place, pacing around and waiting . "
"Why was Crug here?" Ella asked before leaving .
" . . . I have my reasons . "
"You suspect him of something?" Ella added on .
"No," the old man replied, shaking his head . "His cultivation had been stalled for centuries now . "
" . . . and you think I’m the reason?"
"In his heart, you are," the old man said . "You’ve incurred his greatest shame and humiliation in life . Someone as proud as him . . . that doesn’t simply vanish one morning . Go now . They are waiting . "
" . . . thank you . For everything . " Ella said as she turned around and began walking away, her steps slow and lacking assurance . The old man stared at her back, eyes glistening slightly, sighing when she disappeared from his sight .
"You’ve condemned that child Ella," he muttered, looking at the portrait . "To a life far worse than you could ever imagine . . . "
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