Chapter 55: 55: Choose a side!
"That boy teleported again!!" Lord Thane exclaimed
Under her veil, the High-luminary was surprised by the sudden disappearance of Elias and Carius. She thought to herself: 'He can teleport?!'
The queen heaved a sigh of relief, her heartbeat steadied itself as she was no longer in harm's way. But she was not entirely calm, not for her life was she worried anymore, but for Elias Ashdown.
"Elias…" She muttered
The cloaked priest grunted in frustration, "So many things happening all at once, by the Goddess Lira we were supposed to come home to a decent rest.
First, the unexpected tournament, and now the Child of Light is somewhere playing hero." She said, throwing her arms up
The High-luminary placed a comforting hand on the priest's shoulder, "I know we've been traveling for a while now and you need to rest, but you must control your emotions, Margo."
The cloaked priest's shoulder relaxed as she heard the comforting words of the High-luminary.
"Where is the Chosen child now?" She asked, "Even if he teleported, he cannot have gone so far away,"
King Alaric stood up from his seat, and pointed to the fabric that shielded the sky's view from their sights,
"They're up there," He said calmly, still pointing up.
Everyone present looked up at once, they knew not what to expect, maybe Elias was on the ceiling? But they looked regardless, after all, the king was the one who spoke.
As if on cue, a mildly strong wind current blew the canopy away, revealing the beautiful golden sky above.
"They're in the sky? Flying? That's impossible as even myself is not capable of flight, surely Elias Ashdown can't. He can't…right?" Lord Thane spoke, his neck stretched toward the heavens just like the others.
Margo, the cloaked priest, looked intently at the sky, "I can't see them, are you sure they're there?" She asked
"Look closer," the king instructed
Margo pulled back her cowl, revealing her face. Margo's hair was a striking mix of dark and vibrant blue, flowing in soft waves barely grazing her shoulders. Her eyes were an intense shade of violet, they were almond-shaped and framed by long, dark lashes.
Her nose was small and straight, complementing the delicate structure of her high cheekbones. Below, her lips, full and slightly parted, had a natural rose tint that contrasted with her fair skin. A small, silver stud adorned her left ear, catching the light and drawing attention to her graceful neckline, just below that, she sported a black plain choker.
Having a clearer view of the sky, Margo focused more on the sky, searching for any sign of Elias and Carius…mainly Elias.
"There! I see them!" She exclaimed, pointing at a dot in the sky.
At first, everyone couldn't see what she talked about, then upon further inspection, they noticed that the 'dot' Margo pointed to, was in fact not a dot, but Elias and Carius free falling. Elias had teleported them far into the sky!
Thousands of feet above ground level, Elias and Carius fell, they tumbled through the sky, the world beneath them a dizzying blur of blues and greens. The rush of wind roared past their ears wildly.
It felt like they were suspended in time, just two of them, embraced by the endless expanse of sky, unbounded, before gravity would inevitably claim them.
"You fat-kidneyed fool, take me back!" Carius demanded, screaming at the top of his lungs
Elias had a wild exhilarated grin on his face, "This is nice isn't it, imagine you died before experiencing this," He said
"We are going to die if you don't take us back fool!" Carius barked
"I can't, I'm out of teleportation rings," He said, his tone filled with indifference
"What do you mean you can't, you fool! You want us both to die" Carius shouted, his tone filled with nervousness
Noticing Carius' growing nervousness, Elias sighed, "This should be enough," he said, "You have magic, you can save us."
"I can't fly,"
Elias sighed disappointedly, "Use those crystals of yours to create a platform and control it as you would normally,"
Carius' face lit up, he had never once thought to use his abilities that way, "I can do that?" He muttered
He closed his eyes, and with utmost concentration, he willed a crystal to appear, it was flat like a platform, just as Elias instructed.
Flares who chose to be mages like Carius were called innate mages, being an innate mage, his spell requires no chants or incantations. Innate mages weaved spells with their mind, will, and emotions, it was part of what made them feared as warriors.
Both Elias and Carius stood on the platform, their deathly descent was stopped by Carius' spell.
"Creativity is key," Elias said as he got up to his feet
Carius' expression hardened, "Elias Ashdown," he called, ignoring Elias' remark, "Why do you get in my way, I had the king where I wanted him! By the ballsack
First, you sell us out to that slothful king and now you save his wife's life? If I remember correctly, you promised to help us.
Tell me Elias, what side are you on?" Carius demanded sternly
Elias furrowed his brows and stared at Carius directly, "What side am I on? I am trying to liberate the Flares, just like you.
Attacking the king and those around him wouldn't help your situation in the slightest. All that would do is bolster the King's agenda against the Flares. It's not too late, I can turn the other way, I'll tell them you escaped.
Just let me follow through with Loria's plan and you'll be a free man, a free man without any innocent blood on his hands," Elias explained
Carius' face was wavering and hard as steel as if the words Elias spoke passed through his right ear and passed out through the left, "We tried Loria's way, and look where she ended up. I'm done trying to talk away my problems, what the king needs to do is die!" He said, his tone filled with passionate hatred and anger,
"Now answer me clearly Elias Ashdown, what side are you on? I've seen how strong you are, will you help me kill that inhumane King?" Carius said, holding out a hand to Elias
Elias' gaze narrowed and his eyes watched Carius closely, there was no way he was going to help Carius kill King Alaric, doing that would ensure the certain doom of the Flares and cause numerous innocent lives, both Flares and regular humans to be wasted. Elias opened his mouth to give Carius his answer when his free will system popped up with a new message.
[New Task Available!]
Seeing the Task details, Elias' eyes widened and he felt his certain decision tilt toward uncertainty.