Chapter 64. Asteora

It was already dark when I reached the room. I was feeling tired and with a strong desire to simply lay on the mattress and rest. However, there was something strange in the dark room. It felt… like something or… someone was inside.

I looked around in the darkness, but despite the odd feeling, I couldn’t quite see who it was. I looked at the stove and the cold coffer; at the bathroom; at the computer; and finally at the mattress, somewhere close to the window. It was then, when I turned my attention to the window, that I saw someone I thought I would never see again. My eyes widened and I nearly dropped to the ground.

It couldn’t be… it was… “A-Asteora…?”

Asteora.

She was my oldest friend, and the most powerful Magic Master back in Arretia. A tall, beautiful elf who would help me with everything I needed. From the first few times when magic and combat were as foreign to me as this world is right now, to the days of the Final War when I feared it might be the last time I would see anyone again.

Right now, she was standing by the window of the room, looking almost as young and beautiful as she usually looked as moonlight illuminated her long platinum blonde hair, fair skin, long pointed ears, and bright green eyes. I knew it had been a few years, and I could tell that she was no longer as youthful as she used to be, since tiny wrinkles were forming by the edge of her eyes and soft smile.

But I couldn’t understand how she could be standing in front of me right now. Perhaps she was nothing more than a ghost, or an illusion of the woman that I once looked up to.

The reason for that… was that she was supposed to be dead. She died at the start of the Final War, when she sacrificed herself to destroy the first and most powerful dark barrier that Salrak had placed over his continent. I had felt her magic burn to the sky in a flurry of bright rainbows, a fusion of every element that magic could shape into to overpower the darkness at the edge of the continent, leaving nothing of the woman behind.

So it made no sense that she would be in this world. Unless she was brought back to life like I was by Salrak, which was a possibility, but He never mentioned anything about it, or maybe He didn’t have the time to do it.

I took an uncertain step forward, fearing that if I moved from the spot, her image might vanish into the night with the cold wind. But she remained as real as she appeared. I tried to say her name once more, but nothing more than choked sounds came out of my throat as tears were threatening to spill out of my eyes at the fact that I could see her again.

The smile on Asteora’s face widened and she moved from her spot, just a step closer to me. A full room was still between us, so if I wanted to confirm for myself that this was the real woman, I’d have to move over. And yet, my body remained in shock.

But that shock only lasted for a moment, as suddenly, from her back, she pulled out a small artifact; one I had seen a few times already. It was one of those loud weapons that would fire a tiny arrow tip after pulling on a trigger.

I widened my eyes in surprise, and my fighting instincts immediately kicked in.

Asteora brought up the weapon to point it at me, and at the same time I brought up my left hand and created a Mana Barrier as fast as I could. Right after the Barrier was created, she pulled on the trigger.

I expected a loud bang to come out of the weapon, but a sound no louder than that of a bird’s chirp came out of it, with that same arrow tip firing from it. I managed to sense the mana coat over the whole weapon, especially on the arrow tip, which meant that this weapon was likely more powerful than everything else—more so if it was my old magic master.

It immediately touched my Barrier and it popped as if it was a soap bubble. She was second to none when it came to magic, and I knew I would have no hope to fight her right now if I didn’t use Holy Power or Darkness and Hellfire.

If she were to fire again, it would likely be the last breath I take.

Without hesitation, I reached for that same Darkness and Hellfire Power and reinforced a new Barrier, pouring everything that I could into it.

Before Asteora could pull on the weapon’s trigger, the Barrier reformed, changing its shape from the usual pale blue transparent dome to a blackened one, full of blood-red patterns in the shape of hexagons.

She pulled on the trigger once more, and the arrow tip flew just as before, hitting the barrier just as fast. This time, the barrier held the impact, bouncing the arrow tip away as a small blue spark reflected off its surface.

More of those arrow bits were fired in quick succession, all of them hitting the barrier just as it had happened before, bouncing off of the Darkness and Hellfire Barrier. Each shot was extremely powerful, as even with the help of this power, I could feel both my mana and my strength being quickly drained.

After a few seconds, the arrow tips stopped, and the soft sounds the weapon made were replaced by a dry clicking sound.

“Just what I’d expect out of you,” Asteora leisurely said, dropping the weapon to the ground.

The Darkness and Hellfire Barrier remained in place as I looked astonished and confused at who I thought was my old friend. “W-what?”

Asteora chuckled and slowly walked over to me. I took a step back and worried that perhaps this was just some assassin sent to kill me, but she just stopped a step away with the same soft smile from before, which left no doubt in my mind that this is the same woman I had last seen a few months ago—years for her.

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She placed her hand on the Barrier, and then clutched. I tried my best to hold her back, but after a few seconds of struggling as her hand shook due to the power she was using, my Darkness and Hellfire Barrier cracked. I reinforced it once more, but the same rainbow colors from the time when she destroyed Salrak’s first barrier appeared under her palm, and the Barrier easily shattered.

This was it. She was here to kill me, and I didn’t have any means to stop her. I closed my eyes and braced for the pain of death once more. I had no means to escape such a powerful woman.

But after a few moments, she just chuckled, and I opened my eyes.

“No need to be so worried. I was just testing you,” she said, swiftly turning around, her long hair swinging with her movement as she made her way to the white table.

“W-wha—You… you—you’re Asteora, right?” I stuttered, taking another uncertain step forward, but fearing that she might do the same thing she did before.

“That I am,” she said with a smile as she took one of those light-weight white chairs and settled herself in it. “Quite the humble place you have here.”

“You—What is going on here?” I asked, still unable to understand this whole situation.

She looked at me with the same soft smile she’s had the whole time, and leaned her arm on the table, rhythmically tapping it with her fingers a few times. “I’ve been watching you for a while now.”

“You… you have?” I asked, not really thinking about the implications of what she said.

She softly nodded, before turning to look at the table and the few ‘red fruits’ that Nicole had gifted me as a ‘recovery’ gift. Asteora reached for a grape, easily plucking it and taking it to her mouth.

“You’re not as subtle as you think,” she said between chewing. “Most Tenebreians easily identify you, and a few of them have already sent a report about ‘the Hero of the Holy Gods’ being alive and kicking in their local supermarket.”

“Then… what does that mean?” I asked, still unable to wrap my head around what was going on.

“For most people: nothing. It became a common practice a few years ago to have disgruntled ex-couples send a report about their partner being you so they would get attacked. And so, most of the time—every time—those reports go into the trash can,” she said, reaching for another grape.

“So… why are you here? Is it—is it to kill me?” I asked, my voice almost wavering.

She ate the grape and looked at me with an unreadable expression. I couldn’t really tell why she was here.

“A couple of weeks ago, I came here almost on a whim to see for myself about this look-alike. It was amusing to see someone like you fumble with the things that most common people in this world take for granted. But those weren’t enough to convince me that you were really Althea.” She paused for a moment to reach for a red apple this time, which she just held in her hand as she looked at me. “It was that… dark and red burning power that you used a few nights ago…”

“Darkness and Hellfire Power…” I whispered and she nodded along in response, before taking a bite out of the apple.

“That’s right. Not only is that the same kind of godly power that you used to wield, but it’s also the same kind of Godly power that your mortal enemy used to have,” she said, taking another bite out of the apple. “How?”

I paused for a moment, trying to get my bearings as she quietly looked at me and slowly took bites out of the apple. I closed my eyes momentarily as I recalled what Salrak said to me with the phone. And so I took the phone out and showed it to her.

She raised an eyebrow and looked at it for a moment, but appeared to not understand what I meant by this so I opened my mouth again and retold her what Salrak had said to me.

I told her about how I defeated him in the final moments, and she nodded along in acknowledgement, as if she already knew. I told her how the Holy Gods descended and killed me right after, and she nodded again—no surprise in her expression. I finally told her that after everything went dark, I woke up in this place a few weeks ago, where Salrak used this artifact—this phone—to explain a few things to me, like how I got here, why I look so young, and why I… have his powers.

It was then that Asteora finally raised a look of surprise. “Then… He chose to save you too?”

“That’s right…” I admitted, feeling somewhat odd about it as well. “He didn’t give me a particular reason for why He did that but… if I were to guess…”

Asteora suddenly snapped her fingers and I turned to look at her with surprise, almost expecting her to have done another spell but she was just widely smiling. “It’s because He was in love with you!”

I was left in stunned disbelief. I never ever thought nor guessed that that could be the reason, so it took me a while to think if what my old master said was a joke or not… but judging from her expression, it appeared as if she was serious, so I shook my head with uncertainty.

“N-no… No!” I exclaimed and Asteora frowned, but remained quiet as I continued. “If I were to guess, it would be because the Holy Gods are looking for this place.”

“Ah… yes, that would make much more sense indeed,” she said, glossing over the ridiculous thing she claimed as she took another bite out of the apple. “Then you think that He wanted you to fight against the Holy Gods when the time came?”

“It’s… it’s a possibility, but… like I said before: He wanted me to live my life as I pleased, and that should the Holy Gods come here, then I should just be prepared to die or…” I trailed off, waiting for my master to finish.

“Or… what?” she asked, finishing the apple as she even ate the core and the seeds.

“Or prepare to fight,” I finished what she didn’t want or cared to finish.

“Hmm… so,” she said as she reached for another grape. “He simply gave you another chance at a free life? Is that it?”

“Yes, that’s what He said,” I replied and watched as she quickly ate the grape.

She chewed on it as she considered me, looking at me with the same unreadable expression that she would usually carry. “If anybody else claimed such a thing, I would set them on fire and launch them to outer space, but…” she rested her chin on her fist as she leaned herself on the table. “Let's say that what you’re saying is true; that He just wanted you to be free. Then, what is it that you want?”

“Me…?” I replied, somewhat confused about the question.

I hadn’t really thought about it. I looked over at the phone in my hand; looked at the handful of fruits still remaining on the table; the computer that was resting somewhere close to Asteora’s elbow; and finally, over at the small mattress and the opened window from which the curtains were softly swaying under the cold night’s breeze.

I contemplated the bright lights of the city; the sounds of the moving cars that reminded me of loud rocks moving down a river; I smelled the cold air of this strange city; and closed my eyes as I remembered the few calm days I’ve experienced with Nicole in this room, with Bo’guth’s family this afternoon, and the people from the Academy: Victoria, David, Steven, and Reeta.

After a moment, I opened my eyes and turned to look at Asteora, my old master. She carried a look of curiosity as she patiently waited for me to speak.

“I just wish for a peaceful life—not just for me, but for all the good people I’ve come to meet in these last few days,” I replied with a soft smile as I thought about them.

“Really…?” she asked, somewhat unconvinced. “Then, why do you train so hard?”

“Because, I want to be ready for when the Holy Gods come here. I can’t allow them to repeat the same thing that they did in our world, and…” I said with a frown as I looked down at my hands. “…and I have to make amends for the destruction that I caused.”