A Walk with Eternity-Chapter 39: Involvement
"Ugh..."
Syvestian let out a pained groan, feeling the heaviness on his head as he regained consciousness. Opening his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling. He was lying down on his bed in the Redridge Mansion.
Is it over? He thought to himself as he pulled himself up. Well, fuck, I didn’t expect that modifying transmigration would take up all my mana and energy. I thought I had more than half of my strength back.
He looked around, only to see his companions sitting on the couch next to the bed, sleeping peacefully. Cimmerian was in the middle, Kian and Lysander were leaning onto him. Dolunay was leaning onto Kian, while on the other side, Milera was leaning on Lysander with Ezio lying on her lap, completely taking up the space of the couch.
From the looks of it, Lysander has been touched up and healed up completely. He looks completely healthy again. He was still a vampire, his regeneration was simply slower than others.
Seeing that they are getting along like kids again, Syvestian has assumed that Lysander was Lysander again. He couldn’t contain his smile at how cute they all looked.
Brings me back to when they would rest after morning practice, how nostalgic, he thought to himself. His heart felt joy, that he himself couldn’t deny this feeling.
He looked outside the window only to see that it was daytime. I wonder how many days have passed, he thought.
"You’re awake?"
Syvestian turned to the door after hearing a familiar voice.
"Father... You’re here..." Syvestian was surprised but didn’t have the energy to show it in his voice. Samael walked in with a tray on his hand and a figure followed after him, it was Tadeas. "And you too, Lord Tadeas..."
"Yes, we had to come. The children were panicking because you’ve been unconscious for days, Yves. Why did you have to push yourself too hard?" Samael scolded as he placed the tray on the bed-side table. It was a glass of water and a light soup meal prepared just in case Yves wakes up.
Syvestian’s eyes widened hearing that. "What? How long has it been?"
"We arrived yesterday, but it’s been a week since you’ve lost your consciousness," Tadeas answered his question. "We travelled for four days. They have been worried when you didn’t wake up for two days and wanted to take you back to the palace, but we suggested that we come here instead."
Tadeas held out his hand. "Your hand please," he asks nicely and Syvestian gives his left arm willingly.
Tadeas Knightdale is a craftsman1, like his sister Milera, and he has a deep affinity with nature. He’s an all-rounder of all sorts. While he is the emperor’s external aide who handled many external affairs outside the capital, he is also the emperor’s attending physician because of his wide knowledge within the medical field.
"Your rate is normal, it’s nice to see that you don’t look dead." Tadeas says as he lets go.
Syvestian’s brow raised at that statement. "Did I seem like I died?"
Tadeas chuckled. "Well, in a way, you did. Your complexion was pale, your pulse was faint, and you were unresponsive. It felt like you would die any moment if we weren’t attending you with utmost care."
"Oh..." Syvestian trailed off then turned to his friends. "No wonder they’re here."
"They were worried sick."
Syvestian turned to Samael who used a serious tone. That wasn’t like him at all, and it felt off for Syvestian.
"Were you worried too?" Syvestian asks.
"Of course I was, fool," Samael responded and sighed as he took the cup of water and handed it to Syvestian. "You never passed out like that before, not even after multiple all-nighters doing your research."
Syvestian let out a chuckle. He finds it rather amusing that Samael doesn’t find any weakness in showing emotions in the slightest.
I guess he does treat me like his son, Syvestian thought. His mind then comes back to everything that happened.
The Deity of Death, Daimon, fought him. In all honesty, if Daimon faced him directly using his godly body, it would take Syvestian a while to deal with that lunatic. A deity against a deity would be able to shake this whole earth if it happened.
I didn’t think the Council would be so involved deeply that they are directly putting themselves on this earth to pursue me... Syvestian’s hand was shaking as he drank the water in the cup. Putting it down, he stared at the half empty cup.
Now, I wonder... just how much of this have they planned and interfered with... I doubt it’s just Lysander that they had under their control, he thought to himself and suddenly, looking at the water. It reminded him of something.
"Father, there’s somewhere I want to go."
The Empire of Amadeus Oceana is a world-famous tourist destination. Confusing, isn’t it? Especially thinking about the fact that locals are not exactly very welcoming and extremely unfriendly. However, there were two things that attracted foreigners.
It was the empire’s unique geography and exquisite cuisine.
Oceana cuisine revolves solely around seafood, as the name suggests. It highlights the seafoods’ unique taste. Many foreign adventurers and nobles enjoy this cuisine as much as its locals do.
As for its geography... The capital city of this empire is in the middle of the ocean. One would have to get there by a thirty-minute boat ride. Not only that, their capital city isn’t just on its very surface, but has taken up even the waters under it. Many transparent tunnels were made to become a park of some sort for both locals and non-locals who have no time to swim and simply want to enjoy the underwater view. This fascinates many non-locals. They find the sea quite beautiful already, and being able to watch the underwater happenings without needing to swim helps them be able to enjoy it without worries.
For the past few years of building this empire, the empress herself initiated and managed business deals that would bring them fortune in the long run. She made sure to build back the wealth that was stolen from them years ago.
And of course, given that the empire has been brought back to its glory, many uncontrollable things have happened as well.
On its darker side, this empire is also known for its bounty culture. Sirens place rewards on criminals’ heads that enter their city, locals are no exception either. Once they are caught, the sirens rejoice with a killing, along with the gold reward. Sirens are brutal killers through and through, and it has been their very nature since the beginning of time.
Hence, this was something the empress couldn’t suppress even if she tried.
After all, she is a siren herself.
One simple night, Rue decided to sneak out of her own chambers, wearing comfortable clothes and a cloak to hide her eye-catching appearance. She took herself on a tour around the city life in peace. The capital was bustling even at night.
Upon reaching a specific suspicious pub, she walked inside. There were many people around, but none of them seemed to care about her business. She then walked to the bar stool and sat next to a similarly suspicious lady who was also wearing a cloak.
The male bartender recognized her from her deep black hair, her sharp and unique purple aniridia eyes, her purplish light skin, and her face that is all over the papers. He simply smiled, knowing that she must’ve wanted some fun and privacy for the night. "What can I make for the lady?"
Rue smiles back, finding his behavior quite pleasant. "I’d like your specialty."
"Purple Royalty, how suitable," the bartender chuckled. "Give me a minute, my lady."
With the bartender leaving, Rue’s smile immediately disappeared, sighing.
"What the hell were you thinking, Nilsine?"
Next to her was her long-time demoness friend, Nilsine Holloway. With a head-turning fiery long red hair, golden yellow eyes, and tanned and voluptuous body, Nilsine was bound to attract many people within the city.
"First time we see each other after years, and you had the nerve to greet me in such a way?" Nilsine says and scoffs, sipping on her cup of beer, not even turning to her friend. "Well, not that I’m here for you in any way. I am glad to see you’re doing well after your years of hard work."
Rue raised a brow at that attitude. It wasn’t a surprise that their kind and gullible Nilsine could have developed an attitude as she grew up, but she didn’t expect that she would be this feisty. There must be a reason.
"Then, what the hell are you here for?" Rue was beginning to lose her temper. "A bounty has been placed on your head. You know you’ll either be chased down for the rest of your life, or—"
"Die? Uh-huh, just what I was hoping for."
Rue was taken aback by Nilsine’s answer. She was confused, she wanted to ask why... but then, again, this was something she no longer had the right to put her nose into.
Noticing that Rue became quiet, Nilsine couldn’t help herself from letting out a small sarcastic laugh.
"What? You won’t even ask why I suddenly became a criminal and a suicidal?" Nilsine says, placing down her cup and turning her head to the lady next to her. "Oh, right. I doubt you would even bother learning about what happened after you sent that letter and how it ruined everyone’s lives."
Rue flinched at that sentence, forcing her to turn and meet those golden eyes.
"What letter...?"
A type of mana user, mentioned in Chapter 36.
