Chapter 1185: Something Else
"So, you wanted to talk about Ascension yesterday, and we agreed on tomorrow. Tomorrow is here, so let’s talk about it," Vega stated as she smoothly changed the topic.
Anthony stayed silent for a moment before he replied, "There is nothing to really talk about between us unless you don’t want to Ascend," his tone calm.
He didn’t need to explain anything to Vega, as Klaus and Amara had already done so a few weeks back before her closed-door seclusion.
"Of course I’m ascending. I have no reason not to," Vega replied as she put on her clothes.
Anthony nodded. "Well, I will be going with my subordinates to meet Aaaninja, Lucian, and Aura Nova, so we can talk about the Ascension and agree on a date when we will gather for it," he explained.
Anthony was sure he didn’t need to explain Ascension to Aaaninja, as he was certain the River Of Time had already given that guy enough information. However, he would still have to fill Kingsley, Aura Nova, and Lucian in on a few details.
Then there was also the issue of Bloodlines, which he would help Aura Nova and Kingsley with... if they accepted his help, of course.
"So, I will be meeting Vivian and Donna then," Vega stated as she put on her shoes.
Anthony shook his head as he replied, "Unfortunately, you won’t. Both of them, along with Evelyn, won’t be ascending yet, as they have the Orphanage and Guild to handle before they Ascend within a few months or perhaps a couple of years," his tone calm as he explained the outcome of their meeting yesterday.
Vega nodded and didn’t think much further about it, but then a slight frown appeared on her face as she spoke.
"There is something I need to tell you," Vega began.
Seeing the change in Vega’s expression and tone, Anthony couldn’t help but develop a bad feeling about whatever she was about to say.
"I’m listening," he replied, his sky-blue eyes meeting Vega’s purple ones.
Taking a deep breath, Vega spoke, "I won’t be ascending with you," her tone low, her words soft and gentle, as though that would somehow soften the impact her words would have.
Anthony sat stunned for a moment at what he had just heard. Just yesterday, Vivian, Donna, and Evelyn had said they wouldn’t be ascending yet. Now Vega was saying something similar. Who was next? Aura Nova?
Anthony couldn’t help but wonder what the women around him were thinking.
He closed his eyes for a moment, his thoughts spiraling. He had dozens of questions he wanted to ask, but he forced himself to remain calm and ask them one at a time.
"Just a few minutes ago, you said you were ascending. Now you’re saying you won’t, I don’t understand" he asked.
The smile on Vega’s face had already vanished. She shook her head as she explained, "You misunderstand. I will Ascend. I’m just not going to the same Upper Galaxy as you, nor will I leave the Upper Galaxy I arrive in to come to you," she said as calmly as possible.
"Before you ask why, hear me out," she continued. "As you know, all my life I’ve done nothing but train, but I never had any real adventure simply because my father didn’t allow it. I was only able to enter the Military under special circumstances and because he knew I would be taking low-level missions that I was far too powerful for and could complete even in my deepest sleep," she began to explain.
Anthony didn’t speak. Although he wasn’t in a good mood at the moment, he did nothing but listen to every word she said without interrupting her in the slightest.
"And of course, that began to change when I met you, and when we started dating, allowing me to participate in various battles and major events that I otherwise would never have experienced," Vega continued. "But throughout all of that, I could always sense you nearby. I always knew you were ready to swoop in and save me if I was ever in danger, and for that I will always be grateful," she paused for a moment, her purple eyes meeting his sky-blue ones.
Anthony finally spoke, "So, you are saying..." barely completing the sentence before Vega followed up.
"Yes, I want to experience the danger," Vega replied. "I want to feel the threat. I want to feel a situation suddenly spring upon me in the moment, forcing me to think, adapt, and overcome in real time or suffer the consequences of my own actions and shortcomings," she paused for a moment, her voice almost breaking into a whisper as though she felt she was betraying Anthony. "I want the adventure everyone else had, the adventure I never got" she added in a final tone.
With that, her eyes lowered to the floor as though she were waiting for him to speak.
Anthony’s chest tightened as various emotions consumed him at that moment. He felt guilt, pain, sorrow, and empathy.
He understood where Vega was coming from, he truly did. Eerything she had said was true.
Whenever Vega was in a fight, Anthony’s senses were always focused on her, ready to swoop in and save her at a moment’s notice. Even during his battle against the Demon King and the God, Anthony had devoted a portion of his Thought Compartments to monitoring Vega despite being light-years away.
And yes, he understood her desire for danger, her desire to feel genuine threat, and her desire to experience the pressure that rested upon a person’s shoulders during missions and battles where a single mistake could lead to annihilation.
He understood all of it.
After all, he had gone on his own adventure. From one battle and life-threatening situation to another, he had faced everything without supervision, without anyone watching over him, and without anyone prepared to rescue him the moment things became difficult, emerging victorious through his own efforts each time.
The same could be said for Aaaninja. Even Lucian had left home at the age of twenty to explore the Galaxy on his own. The same applied to Aura Nova and Kingsley. They all had their own journeys, journeys that had shaped them into who they were today. None of them had someone constantly watching over them, ready to save them at the first sign of danger.
But Vega had never experienced any of that.
Yes, she had participated in her fair share of battles after joining Anthony’s team, but Anthony knew that wasn’t what she meant.
hose battles had always come with an invisible safety net; Him.
No matter what happened, Vega had always known he was there.
And now she wanted to stand on her own.
Anthony leaned back into his seat, a different expression appearing on his face as he stared at the ceiling like a defeated man.
At that moment, all sorts of emotions filled the air between the two of them. One could only wonder what decision the two of them would ultimately make and where their relationship would lead from this point onward.
For the time first, a relationship that had been filled with nothing but love, laughter, teases, dates, and playful banter now created room for... something else.
