Novel Bin
863. The Cer As We Know It
863. The Cer As We Know It
Frost slumped backwards, lying flat against the sand as Cer stood over her. Her face was tense with restrained emotion, and her eyes shimmered as the last of the blue petals faded from the great tree beneath them.
“No one will be able to bother mom again. Can I believe that Frost? Am I allowed to believe that no one can mess with her sleep again?”
“It’ll be impossible. Her soul… it’s gone.” Frost tried to reveal this as slowly as she could.
Cer took it better than she thought. There was no outburst or a hint of struggle to accept that her mother’s soul was effectively gone. Acceptance brimmed in Cer’s eyes.
“Mom ended up being the only soul to be destroyed outside of you eating them.” She joked before suddenly crumpling beside Frost. “Haaaaaah. Sorry Frost.”
The two were nowhere near Jury or Dark Memoria. The fading light of the Genesis Stone was at least several tens of kilometers away. It would be a short while before the others would reach them.
Or seconds if Snap ferried them over.
“You can lay your head on me if you want.”
“Can I? Don’t mind if I do.” Cer plopped her head on her stomach, her ears softly punching at Frost’s belly. “… I’ve said it a thousand times before but thank you. It’s always you, huh. I’m willing to bet that my Awakening was because of you.”
“So it was you who Awakened. I thought so. That explains your hair.”
“It matches yours, like what mom said.” Cer grinned, floofing Frost’s face with her tail for a moment. “Hah… Aha… Haaaaah. Shit. It wasn’t just us who didn’t move on for 30 years. Me, my sisters, mom, and Raoul. I didn’t tell you about Raoul yet… Fuck. But we reached the good ending despite the shit we trudged through.”
“The good ending would’ve been killing Iscario.” Frost sighed.
“I figured when he suddenly showed his face. Ahhhh. Then again, I didn’t do much better. Raoul’s still alive, but we got him with us. Iscario… he’ll be able to do this again, huh? Summon the Piece of the Fallen Star and pick a new victim to resurrect. Plus, we’ll have my father to worry about. He’ll definitely hear about what happened here.”
“Do you have any memories of him?” Frost asked.
“Nothing. I don’t even know the guy, but Raoul does. So, about Iscario… we’re gonna have to prepare for round two.”
“Unfortunately. He left with the rock that can summon the Piece of the Fallen Star.” Frost sighed.
Suddenly, Cer’s ears stopped punching Frost. She turned to her side and stared curiously at Frost’s face.
“Was it a white rock?”
“Yeah.” Frost said.
Suddenly, a mischievous grin formed on Cer’s face.
“Heh! Hahahaha! Then we’re in the clear!” Cer howled, lifting her head from Frost’s body. “Raoul has the rock! They gave it to Raoul for safe keeping! Meaning we have both Raoul and their key to the Piece of the Fallen Star!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
“Ah… Ahaha… Cer. I’d hug you if I could move my –!”
“I got you!”
She pulled Frost upright, supporting her with her arms. Cer was easily larger than Frost now. It felt weird being handled by someone who was so much shorter than her not long ago.
Cer brought her into an embrace and bombarded Frost with countless thanks. Frost should have been used to this by now, but it hit her harder since it came from Cer. Frost buried her head into her chest and murmured:
“When did you become so reliable?”
“Since we met!”
“… I can’t even refute that. You were there to help me in the Reception. First it was Ber, then Res… and now you. You did great, Cer. Coming all the way to here… and reaching an Awakening. I’m so proud of you.”
“Are you trying to make me cry?” Cer’s voice trembled.
For some reason hearing these words from Frost almost brought her to the tipping point.
But she remained the strongest of them all.
“Jury and Jury two are coming.” Cer noted.
Indeed. Jury and Dark Memoria arrived. Immediately, Jury noticed Cer’s hair and instantly flocked to her side giddily.
“Your hair! It’s just like Frost’s!”
“Heh, what can I say? We’re practically Light-related now.” Cer smirked, reveling in the moment for a second before folding her arms. “But really, it’s mostly because of my Awakening. We’re not actually related if that’s what you’re thinking. Light-Related. Heh. That’s a pretty funny play on words now that I think about it.”
Jury blankly blinked, as did the army of Little Frosts.
“What?” Cer tilted her head. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Nothing~” Jury hummed delightfully.
She noticed that Cer wasn’t fully committing to her obnoxious self and had a newfound serious side to her.
Then again, Cer had always been serious. She just never really showed it to anyone.
“Are you hurt? Injured? Tired? Broken? Hungry?” Jury inched closer to Cer with every word.
“Oi, what’s up with you all of a sudden you big oaf!? Frost should be your priority! Don’t worry about me!”
This caused Cer to retreat slightly, making Jury’s eyes sparkle as her uncharacteristic behavior. This Cer cared about her own personal space.
Indeed, it was quite the groundbreaking discovery.
“Hehe~” Jury’s tail wagged wildly. “Here we go Frost. I got you~”
She lifted Frost and held her in a bridal carry. Her tail acted as a cushion to stop her head from flopping all over the place. Being held like this by Jury was always a treat. If losing all motor function meant that Jury would have to carry her everywhere they went…
“Frost, are you seriously considering it?”
Huh? Of course not. I’m just saying that it wouldn’t be bad. Hypothetically.
“I fear that Cer’s disease has found a new host.”
* * *
Dark Memoria explained that Lethe’s soul was shattered alongside the Genesis Stone. It was the will of the owner that broke it. No item or weapon was left behind for them to salvage. Everything that belonged to Lethe was erased alongside her soul.
However, as they descended from the grand tree on Snap’s back, they could not help but notice that there were still particles being carried by the wind.
“Residual pieces of her soul.” Dark Memoria said. “It must be a part of her wish.”
“Wasn’t it already fulfilled?” Cer asked.
Dark Memoria’s gaze remained fixed on the fleeting particles as she answered.
“Wishes are fulfilled in ways that we do not intend. But the truest of wishes come from what the heart desires. Her soul has spread into the world rather than been erased. For what purpose is lost to me, but it may be her way of reintegrating with the world.”
What she meant was still not known, but it brought Cer to smile just thinking about it.
“What her heart wanted, huh.”
The group watched as the sun rose above the distant city of Frontier.
They were so high up the tree that they could see all of Grandis. Hundreds of colossal Markers riddled its lands like monoliths and occasionally released a plume of white creatures into the atmosphere. Pale entities were also birthed from cavities around the foot of the Markers.
Not only that, but the Markers seemed to sway as though they were alive.
< Michaela claims that they are harmless >
Nav flashed a prompt as the blade that impaled the world began to fizzle away. The light was absorbed into the White Star Arbiter and gradually, the White Star Arbiter condensed into a ball of pure light.
The light fell into the crater left behind by the blade.
< Do not worry about them. Her White Star Arbiter form has unmanifested >
< But she can always remanifest it as needed >
Good. I thought it was a one-time manifestation. I’m glad I’m wrong.
How remanifesting it would work was not known at the moment, but that information was due to arrive soon enough. As for now, Frost wanted to reunite with the others and finally conclude their operation in Grandis.
She clasped onto the petal left behind by the Blue Dahlia tightly and relished the sunlight.
< Oh! >
< Michaela asks if you can come quickly >
< There is someone who wants to meet you >