Skullius was astonished at the sight. He hadn't expected Alaris to be here. If the barrier hadn't ssed with his ability to sense everything within the Purity headquarters concisely, he
would have noticed him lurking within imdiately.
Quite different from his own look of shock, however, Elita donned a face heavy with guilt at the sight of Revia. The weight of it grew tenfold when Revia exposed her relief at seeing her and smiled. The burden of tension was released from the forr undead just from seeing the woman whom she had considered to be an older sister.
And yet, this older sister, Elita, had, at so point given up on everything she had left behind on Aigas. When Void had taken her, everything had beco bigger, broader and less black and white. Suddenly, there were more evils around her, but so of them were necessary evils that she understood. Good characters she t turned out to be evil and evil characters she t turned to be good... and then evil, and then good.
There were selfish n and selfless n. There were frauds and people who led people towards horrific beliefs, channelling their faiths towards ominous causes. Elita had loathed them. However, broad-minded she beca, she hated those who misused the faith of others and preached evil doctrines. And perhaps it was because Direction wished it, but she had t a lot of them on the many worlds Void delivered her to.
At one point, Elita had even begun to detest herself and everyone who wore the silver armour of the Purity, whether they be a Purity Knight or Paladin Champion. She had felt sick. She had considered Deities in many ways, revering so, loathing others. Everything was a ss.
...And then there was Revia, the younger sister she never had, looking up at her with the sa eyes she rembered. Elita couldn't et them the sa way.
She saw Revia as a child who didn't know any better. She didn't care that Revia had seemingly co to the Purity headquarters for her (Elita's) sake, even while plagued by a special brand of undeath.
The feeling of indifference haunted her infinitely in the short span of ti it took for Skullius to use [Sagacious Antiphon of Dawnlight] on both Revia and Alaris, healing them imdiately.
The latter drew in a deep breath as he spasd to his feet. It must have been a reflex. He looked left, right, up and down and then he t the uncanny group standing before him and Revia. He shuddered at the sight of Skullius.
Revia rose, looking at her limbs with a smile. Admittedly, she had loathed being reverted to a living being again, but she was slowly starting to appreciate it. She looked up at Skullius. Her smile dimd a little, but she kept it on.
"T-thank you," she said to Skullius. She owned him a double debt now, though, she was a little conflicted. His relationship with Elita seed... inconsistent.
The Hybrid Warmoth rely nodded to her before turning to Alaris who kept gawking at him. "Alaris... It's nice to see you again," he said.
Alaris couldn't even begin to compute what the sentence ant, of course. Where had he ever t such a creature?
Skullius realised this and made it easier for him. He created a mana link using the oh-so- powerful [Hegemon of Sorcerous Mana] and fed him a direct stream of information that gave Alaris a simple appreciation of what was happening.
Alaris drew back, shuddering.
"F-Festos? It's you?!" he cried.
Skullius gave him a small smile.
"In the flesh," he said, and then he pointed a finger to the side. Ju`wtte sparked violently from it and opened a rift in space - a doorway into the Empyrean Bosom.
Everyone except Araeyn, Kenno and Elita gaped. A portion of the Bosom was revealed through the rift and two Strawlers appeared within.
"Theurien is waiting for you in there. He'll explain everything," Skullius said.
Alaris gave him several different looks. He was evidently having trouble digesting all this. In the end, he passed through the rift and the Strawlers guided him deep into the Empyrean Bosom. The rift closed soon after, leaving behind a deep silence that was only filled in by a comnt from Aurolio.
"Always sothing new with you, huh?" the pale man said with the shake of his head.
Everyone ignored him, especially Elita, Revia, Skullius and Uyuniya.
Revia had her eyes pinned on Elita, as did skullius. Elita grew increasingly frustrated with their stares, and didn't know where to look; Uyuniya seed to find it hilarious.
"Elita..." Revia was the one to break the ice while sounding like a thin, crackling sheet of ice herself. "What's going on here?"
Elita drew a shaky breath.
Aurolio, like Uyuniya seed to find this interaction interesting. Thus, he created a connection of mana between Elita, Revia, Uyuniya and Skullius, all for the benefit of the terrestrial woman. He was lucky Skullius was too absorbed in what was happening to care to stop him.
Elita didn't know how to respond initially.
She opened her mouth, but no words ca out. The sudden cry of the nine right then from the distance made it even harder for her to form words.
"I ca here to destroy the Purity," she finally said and managed a small smile while looking at Revia. "I assu you ca to do the sa."
Revia, for a mont, was filled with joy, but then it all vanished. She struggled.
"You? You ca to destroy the Purity?" she asked, and Elita saw the confusion in her eyes. It mirrored the look Skullius had just given her. She did her best to ignore it.
"Well, truth be told, I destroyed it before I even got here," she said.
Revia seed to shrink by the second. There was a greater conflict within her, but she buried it to appear stronger than she was.
"I... I guess I wouldn't understand the how. You're so much stronger than I rember." She chuckled hollowly and blinked several dozen tis. Indeed. She rembered the Elita who was weaker than her by several leagues. The one she had only looked up to in terms for morale and advice. "But, why? And where have you been?"
"It'd take a long ti to explain," Elita said.
"Oh. Right."
An awkward, painful silence ensued. Skullius scoffed at it.
"Is it really all that hard to explain?" he said to Elita, who gave him a sharp, furious look.
"Back off," the forr Paladin Champion told him.
"Why? I saw it before, you know. Sohow, when you're speaking to this woman, Revia, you can't quite defend yourself as readily as you do against . Why is that?" Skullius hissed.
"Because IT'S SO DAMN COMPLICATED TO PUT IN WORDS SHE CAN UNDERSTAND!"
Elita flew into a rage.
Revia was so shocked she stumbled back and fell.
This was the first ti she had ever seen this Elita angry, but she was yet to see the fullness of Voided Deathform's fury.
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