Chapter 92

As long as Eleterria existed, Miralys’s soul would fracture. There could be no yielding here. “Valt,” called an anxious voice in his head. It was the girl he wanted to shelter from everything. His one and only. If he could free her, it didn’t matter if he ceased to exist and she forgot all about his love as if it never was. “Valt…! Run…!” “It’s all right. I can still do it.” He couldn’t back down. Dying with his mission incomplete was unacceptable. Fighting was the only recourse. He could rise above despair. “Please, come back.” She was seeking confirmation. Pleading. Never had Valt doubted her love for him. Still, he trusted she could love another if he didn’t exist, if they had never met. And that would be fine. It was better that way. Valt tightened his grip on Eleterria as he stared Oscar down. He would handle this battle alone, atop a sense of disquiet no one else would comprehend. The girl continued to call to him. “Are you listening to me? It’s pointless saving me if you just end up disappearing. I would choose unhappiness and knowing you over happiness and never knowing you. Even if our time together is limited. That’s what it is to be human. So please, come back to me.” “Miralys…” Valt was breathless. She must have caught on during his conversation with Tinasha. Miralys knew that she was the last heir…and that Valt would disappear along with Eleterria if it were destroyed. Knowing everything, aware of what she would suffer, she still chose him. That was the type of person Miralys was. Her strength was so familiar to him. Valt wanted to cry, to seek refuge in that power of hers. A desire to let her tranquil love compensate for all his repeated lifetimes rose within him. Yet Valt held his ground. He couldn’t see the future, which meant he couldn’t give up. He listened with growing frustration as Oscar and Tinasha spoke to each other. Just as he was about to urge his captive to teleport them away, something knocked into him and sent him reeling. “Don’t kill him!” A gigantic splash echoed in the cavern of the dark, subterranean lake. Held behind Valt, Tinasha gazed past her captor to Oscar. Fury was plain on his face. No mage could take him on at this range. If either of them cast a teleportation spell, he would be on them instantly. While Valt held Tinasha hostage, there was no avenue for his escape. Tinasha glanced up at Valt’s tense, tight face. The imprint of a round orb shone through one of his pockets. She looked back to Oscar. Valt had to know that Tuldarr was no compelling hostage to Oscar, which meant that he was stuck, just as Tinasha was. But Oscar wasn’t. He would fight Valt with no hesitation at all, despite Tuldarr’s fate being on the line. That was the sort of person he was. Tuldarr wasn’t his country. He would make the choice he had to, even if Tinasha resented him for it. His fortitude was entirely unbreakable. That made him the only one she could rely on, the only one who could shake them out of this stalemate. Tinasha sucked in a deep breath. She could trust him. There was no one else but him. His eyes, the color of a bright twilight sky, were fixed right on her. “Why does something like this happen the second I take my eyes off you?” Oscar sighed. “I’m sorry,” Tinasha responded. “It’s fine. We’ll figure this out,” he said. The steady response was characteristic of her husband. The two of them were to be husband and wife; that was a milestone they were meant to reach on their long and winding journey. No matter who they were up against or what sort of situation it was, they would overcome it, just as they had so far. Oscar adjusted his grip on Akashia. “I know you’re in the midst of a situation, but don’t get reckless. Or do anything you don’t have to.” “Despite how things look, I’m always considering what would be the quickest way out.” “Yeah, and I’m telling you that’s unnecessary.” “I can do it because I have you,” Tinasha replied. Her deep trust in him was more than she had even in herself. The two of them had each other. Surely it was a stroke of fortune, enabling them to take on this intersection of their many layered destinies. Tinasha gave Oscar a smile like moonlight. “So Oscar, come and save me.” A hand shot forward and plucked the Eleterria orb from Valt’s pocket, quick as can be. Then Tinasha rammed herself into her captor and used the recoil to leap backward. From the corner of her eye, she could make out a look of astonishment on Oscar’s face. “Don’t kill him!” she shouted to Oscar before diving into the lake, the blue orb still in her hand. A loud splash rose with white foam. The cold of the water hit her like a shock. I know Oscar can stop Valt. A little smile materialized on Tinasha’s lips as she peered at the water’s surface growing farther away. What a task to leave to someone else. Was it all right to dump it in his lap? Regardless, he’d allow it. This one time, Tinasha would sit back and let him take the lead. If anyone should shoulder the blame, it ought to be her, not Oscar. Tinasha wouldn’t let that happen, though. No one would be lost today. She’d return to Tuldarr and undo that spell at any cost. Then she would face Valt again and attempt to extricate the souls from Eleterria. Oscar would almost certainly call her naive for such an attempt, but that was his standpoint talking. If Valt and Miralys were trapped, wedged in the middle of the war between the world and the alterations, Tinasha would see to their safety first. Then she would talk to him again and consider what to do about Eleterria and the world. For now, she need only survive to reach that point. Tinasha focused her mind. The lake water dispersed her magic. However, its ability to do so was weaker than Akashia’s. She hadn’t imbibed any of the water, enabling her to push past its effects by enhancing the pressure of her power. That was how she averted danger the last time. As quickly as able, Tinasha cast an incredibly dense spell. Once the teleportation spell was complete…she suddenly realized that the blue orb felt warm. Despite the chill of the cold water, the half of Eleterria in her grip was giving off heat. And it felt like all the water in the lake was quietly urging her to clench it tighter. Something’s wrong. Her movements slowed. Her spell dissipated. Tinasha was sinking, caught in a trap and dissolving as she held this little burning sphere. Losing track of her very place in the world, she no longer knew what was happening. A crack appeared on the orb’s surface. Tinasha stared at it numbly. Before her eyes, it widened, and lake water flowed into the fissure. The sigils carved onto it glowed white, almost defiantly. It began to activate. Frantically, Tinasha poured magic into her hands to stop the orb from triggering, but the light intensified. I want to go back to him. That wish flashed through her mind. She could tell she was about to lose everything. She was so close. She was about to be his bride. The promise he made her when she was a girl would come true. With each new component of her wedding ensemble, Tinasha had savored the pure excitement. It didn’t seem real that the time had really come for her to wear the veil her parents gave her; she’d thought it something that had long passed her by. Even the wait for her days with him to start was joyful. Oscar had given her something that transcended four hundred years. Once she wed him, she could die happy that very night. And yet now… A blinding light engulfed Tinasha, blotting out her vision. The hand holding the orb disappeared. Her body, mind, and magic were all dismantled. As was her heart. I want to…go back— With that final thought, her memory cut off and vanished.