Regaleon: The Forgotten Knight

Chapter 104: Sylveris’ Apology

It was only after they reached the intersection that Aureleah finally allowed herself to relax.

But even then, "relax" was hardly the right word to use.

Her posture remained tense, every muscle in her body coiled like a drawn bowstring. Her twin Daggers stayed firmly in her grasp, their edges catching the dim light filtering through the ancient tunnel.

Blood seeped steadily through the numerous tears in her clothes, trickling down her arms and dripping softly onto the stone floor. Each wound throbbed painfully, silently reminding her of the desperate battle they had just survived.

Yet Aureleah ignored every injury because there was only one thing that mattered to her. Without another word, she stepped forward and gently grasped her younger sister by the shoulders.

Her usually cold, steady hands trembled ever so slightly as she carefully examined Sylveris from head to toe, checking every inch of her body with practiced precision. Her eyes searched for hidden cuts beneath the dust coating her clothes, for unnatural movements that might indicate broken bones, or for any injury that the younger girl might be trying to hide.

Sylveris remained still, allowing the inspection without protest and it was only after several long moments passed that Aureleah finally let out a quiet breath.

Aside from a few bruises and shallow scratches, Sylveris was unharmed and the crushing weight pressing against Aureleah’s heart finally eased.

Thank Aetherium, she thought, genuine relief softening her usually expressionless face. She was just about to lower her hands when a timid voice suddenly broke through the silence.

"...I’m sorry."

Those words were barely louder than a whisper as they almost disappeared into the stillness of the tunnel. Yet everyone heard them clearly and instantly, the intersection fell completely silent...

Everyone instinctively turned toward the source of the voice. Even Aureleah blinked in confusion as she looked at her sister.

"...Sorry?"

Sylveris lowered her head; the silver strands slipped over her face, concealing her expression.

The cheerful sparkle that usually danced within her bright eyes had vanished completely, leaving only guilt behind.

Her fingers tightened unconsciously around the pair of ivory fangs resting in her hands as she spoke once more.

"I’m sorry that I was useless..."

The words were uttered slowly and painfully. She swallowed hard before continuing...

"During our escape, I couldn’t help anyone. Even back inside the crypt, I couldn’t fight; I couldn’t protect anyone, I couldn’t even protect myself..."

Her voice trembled with every sentence as she spoke further. "Instead, I just stood there hopelessly; watching as all of you got hurt and risked yourselves... And all I could do was hide behind you."

A tear rolled silently down her cheek as she clenched her fists tightly.

"I wasn’t even helping in any way. Instead , I was only making things harder to the point that I felt like a burden to you guys."

For few moments after her confession, silence followed as no one immediately knew what to say...

The battle had been so overwhelming that none of them had stopped to consider what it must have looked like from Sylveris’ perspective.

She had been surrounded by monsters beyond anything she could hope to fight and forced to watch the people she cared about bleed for her sake while she was unable to do anything except survive...

Aureleah slowly stepped closer.

Her daggers dissolved into countless motes of silver ligh and without hesitation, she wrapped both arms around her younger sister.

The embrace was firm, protective, and warm; making Sylveris to stiffen. However, this reaction was only for a heartbeat as she buried her face against Aureleah’s shoulder a moment later.

"You aren’t useless..." Aureleah started gently.

Her voice was so gentle that several members of the group instinctively looked toward her in surprise. Honestly, it was quite difficult to believe this soft, comforting woman was the same Assassin who was usually so cold and indifferent.

She stroked Sylveris’ silver hair as she comforted. "You were never a burden. If anything, you are my little sister and that alone makes you so precious to me..."

Her words carried no hesitation or doubt; just absolute sincerity. A faint smile appeared on her lips as she gazed into the fourteen-years-old eyes.

"You keep saying you couldn’t protect anyone; but tell me honestly, if our positions had been reversed and I was the one unable to fight, wouldn’t you have protected me?"

Sylveris immediately nodded against her shoulder. Her voice was firm as she replied. "Yes, I would. In fact, I’d do anything to protect you."

"There, I already knew that would be your answer..." Aureleah said, smiling warmly.

She then gently lifted Sylveris’ chin until their silver eyes met.

"So you don’t need to punish yourself over something that was beyond your control. You aren’t an Awakener yet and none of us was expecting you to fight enemies that even we struggled against. But I know for certain that there will come a day when you’ll be able stand beside us as an Awakener and be strong enough to protect others..."

Sylveris looked at her and asked uncertainly.

"You really think so?"

Aureleah chuckled softly, then she gently tapped her sister’s forehead. "I don’t merely think so. I know so."

The certainty in her voice carried far more weight than empty encouragement ever could and just like that, the guilt clouding Sylveris’ eyes began to lessen gradually...

For a few lingering moments, no one spoke as the6 simply allowed the two sisters the time they needed...

At this point, the heavy silence that had settled over the intersection was no longer suffocating. Instead, it carried a quiet warmth, allowing Sylveris to compose herself within Aureleah’s embrace...

Eventually, Regaleon cleared his throat.

The failed Knight scratched the back of his head awkwardly, his usual composed demeanor giving way to visible embarrassment.

Actually, he had never been particularly good at comforting people, especially when emotions were involved. Fighting monsters was considerably easier than choosing the right words but at this instant, he couldn’t help but say something.

"...Well..." He began, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Your sister isn’t the only one who thinks like that..."

Sylveris looked at him and Regaleon offered a small smile before speaking further.

"You see, you weren’t really useless. Have you forgotten that you helped destroy the crystal nodes around the Mummification Array. If you hadn’t done that, we might not have figured out the existence of the Necrolith Array and the events that followed after. So in a way, that alone helped all of us."

Sylveris hesitated briefly before replying.

"But wasn’t destroying the Array what caused everything in the crypt to become so dangerous?"

Regaleon had barely opened his mouth when another voice suddenly answered. "You’re right. It was exactly because we destroyed the Mummification Array that we found ourselves in that predicament.

Immediately after Veyrath spoken, the intersection became strangely quiet as everyone turned toward him with varying expressions on their face.

Regaleon, especially, shot Veyrath a glare sharp enough to split stone, causing the failed Alchemist to shrink instantly.

"What?" Veyrath defended himself. "I was just stating the facts..."

"And must you choose now to state them?" Regaleon asked through gritted teeth. "Didn’t you see that I was actually trying to encourage her?"

Regaleon pinched the bridge of his nose before turning back toward Sylveris.

"Don’t listen to what he said. What I meant was that none of us could have predicted what would happen because we made our decisions based on what was known at that time. Besides, no one was expecting an army of ancient guardians to be waiting within the crypt so you don’t have to beat yourself over it..."

Regaleon smiled reassuringly before continuing. "Also, since you’ve already gotten weapons, I would personally train to you to use them so you don’t have to worry about being helpless anymore. Therefore, if another day like this ever comes, you would get a chance to stand by us; not as a burden, but as a fighter."

Before Sylveris could even get a chance to respond, Veyrath suddenly raised both hands up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on. Did you just say if another day like this ever comes?"

He looked between Regaleon and Sylveris, then vigorously, he shook his head as he rejected.

"Hell no! Absolutely not. Regaleon, I really appreciate the encouragement you str giving her but I think we should all agree that today happens exactly once, yes?"

Caelestra folded her arms before fixing Veyrath with an unimpressed stare, one elegant brow arched as though questioning how someone could be so oblivious.

"Can’t you see that he was comforting her? Did you really have to interrupt?"

Veyrath looked offended as he turned toward the failed Merchant. "Well, Excuse me? I’m not interrupting. Instead, I’m simply preserving our collective future..."

He pointed dramatically toward the tunnel behind them before speaking firmly.

"Starting today, I have become extremely sensitive to anything involving murderous statues, ancient tombs, and impossible battles. So if anyone casually mentions experiencing that nightmare again, I’m obligated to object."

A corner of caelestra’s lips curved upward as she looked at him with a teasing look in her eyes. "Why do I think that you are simply going in a roundabout way of saying that you’re a coward."

"What?" Veyrath shouted, nearly jumping to his feet but his injuries held him back.

"I’m not a coward! If I was, then I wouldn’t have been on the frontline! Don’t forget that I helped clear a way out for us to escape. It takes guts to do what I did. If anything, I think I’m a hero, not a coward."

Kaeloris adjusted his cracked spectacles before responding to him.

"You also shouldn’t forget that our escape was a coordinated effort. We all did out part and that is why we are here now."

Veyrath immediately waved both hands before replying. "I’m not denying that. But surely I deserve a little extra recognition than being called a coward."

Caelestra simply shook her head before looking at Sylveris. "Don’t listen to this insensitive bozo. The truth is you being useless couldn’t be further from reality. Listen, you are the youngest among us; so if anything, it should be us protecting you and not the other way around... So don’t rush to carry burdens that were never yours to begin with. Do you understand?"

Sylveris looked around, examining each of their faces until finally, she smiled.

"...I understand." She nodded.

Then she wiped away the last traces of tears lingering upon her cheeks before tightening her grip around the pair of ivory fangs at her waist.

Her silver eyes gradually filled with determination as she continued.

"I promise that the next time we face something like this, I won’t be the one everyone has to protect. Instead, I’ll become strong enough to protect all of you too."

Silence followed her childish declaration...

An unawakened girl declaring that she would one day protect a group of seasoned Awakeners was, by all accounts, an impossible dream and a funny one at that.

Yet not a single person laughed or mocked her because beneath those youthful words lay something far more important than strength; hope and resolve, the unwavering determination to become better than she was today.

And in the unforgiving Lands they now called home, those qualities often meant the difference between giving up and surviving long enough to grow stronger.

So they allowed her to have it because no one was sure about what tomorrow night bring...