The Inner Odyssey

Endless darkness surrounded Alden.

He didn't know where it ended or began. His self-awareness was extremely faint akin to a candle on the verge of being snuffed out.

It felt like he was on a dangerous precipice. If he succumbed to the blackness, his existence would likely become no more. Unfortunately, because of his weakness, Alden had no strength to resist his oppressive surroundings.

All he could do was float within this never-ending blackness and hope.

…He was at its mercy.

Luckily for him, it suddenly receded after an interminable length of time.

Alden's eyes slowly fluttered open.

He braced himself for the heavenly sight that would doubtless greet him. At the back of his mind, the young man wondered why it had taken him so long to die. It would be foolish to assume he still lived - the severity of his injuries was too much.

With his mind dazed from just waking up, it took a moment for Alden to survey his surroundings. For some reason, he could only see from his right eye. The other did not work. A jolt of fear and panic ran through Alden's body for a moment.

Then, he forced himself to relax.

Had his wounds carried over into the afterlife?

It seemed so.

In any case, it would take some getting used to.

However, since he was now dead, he had all the time in the world to get accustomed to this.

Alden groaned softly as he shifted his neck. He gazed around. From what he could immediately tell, he was in a somewhat spacious room. The walls were painted a soft red.

Alden vaguely spied pictures of an unruly youth attempting some dangerous acrobatics plastered on them. His mind buzzed, a sense of familiarity assaulting him. He ignored it and shifted his gaze down slightly.

Alden was lying on a bed.

Suddenly, he noticed another presence in the room.

He froze.

There, sprawled at the end of the bed, an angel slept. Her brows were creased as if reliving an unpleasant dream.

Alden blinked.

His heart skipped a beat.

…She was just too beautiful.

Her beauty couldn't be described with words alone.

What's more…

The stunning lady's small frown only added to her attractive allure. Alden had the instinctive urge to wrap her in his arms.

To reassure her.

…Only in Heaven could one find such a beautiful being.

A small smile appeared on his lips.

Maybe Death wasn't so bad, after all.

Just then, as if his earlier groan had caused her to wake up, the beautiful angel's eyelids slowly fluttered open. They caught the light like two precious jewels.

A sudden pang surfaced in his heart. Her eyes reminded him greatly of Celeste.

His precious love.

'Cece…'

He hoped his death wouldn't affect her that much. And while that was mostly likely impossible, Alden also wished she could move on and find her own happiness.

His expression fell slightly.

Alden's smile turned bitter.

He watched as the angel blinked. Then, realising he was awake, her eyes widened. Alden thought he saw them sparkle with pure joy.

Why was she so happy to see him?

"Oh, Al! You're awake!"

The angel launched herself into his arms and Alden barely had the time to sit up. He felt her sob and instinctively wrapped an arm around her. Her cries seemed to be one of relief. Which was odd. However, Alden didn't focus on that too much.

Instead, he paid attention to something much more pressing.

'Al?'

Why did the angel call him by the nickname Celeste and his family used to call him with?

He internally frowned.

Did she… perhaps know him?

Alden's head suddenly pulsed with a headache.

"Thank the Asterons you're alive!"

The angel muttered the same sentence over and over. As he heard her words, the fog of confusion blanketing his mind cleared. A rush of memories flashed before Alden.

Eventually, he blinked. An expression of pure disbelief settled on his face.

He looked down at Celeste who was eagerly embracing him and mumbled:

"I'm alive?"

In the next moment, he paled, realising he had almost touched her with his whole palm.

***

Celeste felt Alden flinch. She hurriedly disengaged.

She searched his face for any sign of what was wrong and discovered he was pale.

The young healer frowned.

She scanned Alden with her Mana Sense and found nothing to warrant such a reaction. He didn't seem to be in any pain either.

So why did he flinch?

Was it perhaps because he didn't want her to be in his arms anymore?

Had the Dark Elf invasion affected Alden much more than she thought?

Celeste couldn't eliminate the possibility that witnessing so much death had scarred her precious love.

…It had also scarred her as well.

But not to where she would refuse an embrace from Alden.

Did he… dislike her presence that much?

'No.'

She shook her head.

She would not let herself think that.

Alden most likely had a good reason for doing what he did. Now was not the time to worry about such trivial stuff. Celeste watched as Alden mumbled to himself. He seemed to be in a state of disbelief and shock, as if surprised that he still lived.

A hint of pride surfaced in her heart.

She giggled to herself slightly.

Finally, Alden broke out of his daze.

He only had one question for her.

"How?"

Then, his good eye widened, perceiving something. He didn't give her a chance to speak and pressed on.

"You ranked up!?"

Celeste nodded.

A bright smile slowly spread across her face. Alden stared at her, itching to find out how she had ascended. She could also tell he wanted to know how he had survived the invasion as well.

"Where should I start?"

Celeste mused aloud as she sat back down on the bed. She took a moment to ponder, before settling on an answer.

"I ranked up in the middle of healing you. For some strange reason, your body rejected whatever life energy I gave it. Initially, I was a mess. Panic had caused me to freeze. But then, somewhere along the way, I began to focus. After that, my whole body felt hot and soon, I found that my mana flow had gotten smoother and my life energy was more potent.

With that, your body no longer refused to heal."

"As for how we survived, it was thanks to the Patriarch of the Ember Clan. He suddenly appeared in the skies and rained down hell on the Dark Elves until every single member of the vast horde had turned into ash."

Celeste saw a mixture of awe and amazement flicker across Alden's face.

Then, he suddenly froze.

"Ignia? Is she okay?! And Dad? Did he survive?!"

Celeste's expression turned a little dark.