Scarlet

Blue simply walks up to me after arriving in a splash of water and says, “Ask for my help three times and I will assist you.” Then he nods his head and turns around, beginning to walk away.

I blink in surprise at how abrupt his words were before shrugging, deciding that it’s normal for him.

What isn’t normal though is how he pauses after taking a few steps, glances behind himself at me, and opens his mouth to say, “And…” But he doesn’t say any more than that. He just looks slightly unsure for a second – something I’ve never seen from the psychopath before – before he turns around again and says, “Nevermind.” Then vanishes in an orb of water.

Uh… what just happened?

“I don’t know…” Tar mutters.

Several seconds pass in silence as I stare after him.

“Oh, I forgot to mention, but Blue’s been acting stranger and stranger over the past year or so while you were in your coma,” Tar says, confusing me even further.

What do you mean by strange?

“He’s started acting unsure of himself at times, and seems to be showing the slightest hint of emotions every now and then,” Tar answers, making me openly gape at the spot the man was just standing.

That’s… a surprise. Did Xyvandra let go of his emotions or something? That would be out of place for her if she doesn’t have anything to gain from it.

After all, he woke her up.

“Well…” Tar begins only to pause. Then he starts again, “It’s possible she may have let go some of them. Enough for him to regain his emotions back over time.”

But why would she do that? Did you ask her to do it while I was in my coma?

“No, but your Grandfather mentioned that you wanted to return Blue’s emotions to him while you were in a coma,” Tar mentions right as I sense another presence appearing on the roof, making me turn to find Purple appearing with her eyes closed, just like they almost always are.

That was nice of him. From what I know of Xyvandra, if Gramps mentioned it, she would at least consider letting go of some of his emotions.

Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if she did. After all, letting go of only some of his emotions and letting him slowly come to realize everything he’s done while not having his emotions is probably a lot crueler of a fate than just giving him them all at once. And a mad mindeater would probably find that option appealing.

Blue’s slowly returning emotions aside, I focus entirely on Purple as she stops a meter in front of me and Tar. Then she just nods her head and says, “Should you ever need my assistance, simply ask.”

Without another word, she vanishes, her body clearly having been a projection.

“These Knights sure don’t talk much,” Tar mutters, and I can’t help but nod my head in agreement.

You’re not wrong there.

And as expected, the last of the Knights arrives without any fanfare, just appearing in front of me with a smile on her face. One that’s somehow sad, proud, and happy at the same time.

Not sure how she pulled that off.

She doesn’t say anything for several seconds before eventually saying, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

I give her a faint smile back along with a nod of my head.

Silence once again fills the rooftop before she eventually raises her hand with some sort of orb on it and a very familiar voice echoes out of it.

“Scarlet! How are you feeling?!” Leonidas asks, his voice filling the rooftop with both worry and excitement.

I snort in amusement as I answer, “I’m fine, don’t worry. And tell Gramps that as well.”

“That’s good,” he says with a relieved sigh before adding, “and I doubt your grandfather would be satisfied with me telling him. Just come to Tartarus after you’ve ascended and tell him yourself.” He pauses for a second, only to continue with a slightly stressed tone of voice, “He’s been… antsy… since you fell unconscious again.”

Tar snorts at that this time, meanwhile I just raise a brow.

Why do I get the feeling he’s been bullying his Nobles and Leonidas?

“Because he probably has been,” Tar answers while seemingly trying to hold back another snort.

“Won’t that tax the reality energy in the Gates and Fractures? Are you really sure you’re fine with me wasting some of that energy?” I ask, curious about this decision. Because that’s not something he’d overlook. I know that for a fact.

Leonidas answers, sounding more than a little happy, “Father hasn’t told the Nobles yet, but he’s been preparing new laws to deal with the loss of humans as an EXP source for a while now. So I’m pretty sure he’s basically given up on the war by now, leaving it entirely up to The Reaper’s judgement.”

Seriously? Lucius is in charge of the war effort now…

“Wait, does that mean he’s going to be coming to Earth?” I ask, my eyes widening at the possibility.

“He will be, although thanks to your mother’s visits it’ll take a lot longer for him to be able to than it would’ve otherwise,” Leonidas says, more than a little amusement in his tone as I glance at Amelia, who has a proud smirk on her face at that.

“We can talk about the war later,” Leonidas says, his words going serious again. “I’m sure Scarlet wants to get to her ascension, so we should give her some space for that.”

The smirk fades on Amelia’s face as she sighs, briefly looks like she wants to hug me, and then says, “Yeah, okay.”

I purse my lips for a second, considering about whether I should let her hug me or not, only for her to say, “Good luck, sweetie,” and vanish without another word, not giving me time to react.

“So, are you going to ascend now?” Tar asks while moving through the air to stop right in front of my face.

Yeah, I will.

Time to become a Noble.