Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 654: Stay a while

Chapter 654: Stay a while

With Ulysses and the rest gone, the banshees of the Wailing Peaks were finally able to break free of their bindings, quickly gathering themselves into groups.

One group went after the intruders while the other group checked on Arwen.

It didn’t take long before they discovered the unfortunate truth.

Arwen was gone, same with the Silent Curtain.

This meant that they were currently without a leader and due to this, panic ensued.

***

Arwen awoke to find herself in bed, her gaze fixated on the faded brass roof above.

Blinking a few times, she struggled to recall what happened before her getting to this unfamiliar setting but try as she may, she continually pulled up blanks.

Just as she began to feel a slight headache, a slight voice echoed in her mind.

It spoke in a language that was unlike any she’d ever heard, yet for some reason, she understood what it meant.

Burn.

Her eyes flashed with pain as she gripped her head, struggling to keep out the voice when suddenly, the door to the room flung open and Alex stepped in, causing the voice to vanish like it never existed.

Having gained a sense of reprieve, Arwen let out a sigh of relief while Alex furrowed his brows as he noticed that something was wrong.

"Are you alright?" Alex asked as he approached the bedside.

Arwen nodded, before then shaking her head. "I don’t know."

She was struggling so Alex didn’t ask anything else as he sat beside her and allowed her to embrace him, placing her head against his chest.

"I’m sorry." Arwen breathed out after several seconds of silence.

Alex stroked her hair gently as he inquired. "Why?"

"I made a huge mistake and because of me, everyone got into trouble."

"You can’t blame yourself."

"But I was the one that decided to venture into the Afterlife."

"In a bid to live up to my expectations. Your heart was in the right place. However, I must apologize."

Arwen raised her to regard Alex, her expression marred with confusion as she inquired. "Why?"

"Because I took you away from a quiet city in Krobridge and on such a dangerous quest. It was selfish of me. Sometimes I wonder, what would have happened if we hadn’t met?"

"You’d be dead and I’d be dead as well."

Alex paused, quickly realizing that she had a point.

Chuckling, he intoned. "Well, in that case, there’s no need to think about the past, right?"

"... I guess," Arwen admitted as she pulled away from Alex.

Taking a deep breath, Alex intoned. "I wish to talk to you about something."

"If it’s about my father... It’s fine." Arwen suddenly remarked, catching Alex off guard.

"You knew?"

Arwen nodded. "Riona and I shared a body. There’s a reason she didn’t immediately kill the others or my dad when she discovered them."

"You held her back."

"... More like she felt the same emotions as me, so it was difficult to go against them."

"I see." Alex nodded in understanding before asking. "Are you upset?"

Pursing her lips, Arwen muttered. "... I don’t know. I should be but for some reason, I feel sad instead."

"Nadia told me everything and all I can say with regards to what she told me is that your father loved you dearly."

"You think so?"

Alex managed a smile as he reached out and patted her head. "Of course."

"Is he truly dead?" Arwen asked, causing Alex to pause as he struggled to answer.

"... I believe so."

"I see," Arwen muttered, her eyes turning wet as she curled in on herself, raising her legs in a bid to bury her face.

Pursing his lips, Alex intoned. "He wouldn’t want you to be sad for too long."

Then, he retracted his hand and got up to leave.

"Can you stay for a while?" Arwen inquired in a cracked voice with tears trailing down her cheeks.

Alex nodded. "Sure."

And so, he sat back down and embraced Arwen, allowing the latter to sob silently in his arms until she fell asleep.

***

A week swiftly passed as members of Constellations stayed aboard the submarine, taking the time to rest up and bond, having spent so long apart.

In the meantime, King Ull, accompanied by Cybele, had continued his goal of uniting Henos under one banner, his banner, further plunging the already chaotic continent into even more chaos.

As for the Wailing Peaks, on the sixth day after the incident that led to Arwen’s disappearance, it seemed to be hidden by a mirage while the trees of the Grim Forest grew exponentially, turning from medium-sized trees to towering plants without leaves, ensuring that no one could enter or leave the area.

Thankfully, this meant that the banshees would stop searching for Arwen till further notice which allowed the members of Constellations to relax, albeit briefly.

After enough rest was had, it was time to get to work and the signal for this... was a meeting.

Unlike before, when the Evernight Island persisted, and the members of Constellations utilized a great hall with a starry sky above, Alex and co. Made do with the meeting hall within the submarine with a round table which possessed a vague map of Eventide along with twelve chairs about it.

Alex stood at the center, and the members sat as they pleased, with Ana opting to sit at Alex’s right-hand side.

If anything remained from the meetings on the Evernight Island, it was the cloaks forged of black and white that everyone wore, including Ulysses.

"I welcome you all back." Alex calmly began. "After what can be considered a great interlude, we are here again. A lot has happened in the meantime. We have suffered losses and enjoyed gains, learned new things, and experienced some of the worst things out there. However, that doesn’t change the fact that we are going to continue our quest. But before we begin, there is an important question that needs to be answered. Do you wish to continue on this perilous path with me?"