Eternal Elysium

Ch197 Amaranth-2


"Sir, can I have one of these flowers?"

Anny asked as she came beside me and stood in front of the old priest.

The old priest looked at her and then at everyone surrounding him. His smile didn't falter even under our gaze, as it only got warmer as time passed.

"I apologize, but that's not possible. These flowers can stay in bloom for longer than a human life and retain their beautiful colors with the same fragrance. But they have a fatal flaw or maybe a blessing. They only grow near temples; if far away they would wither and die." The old priest paused and hummed quietly in deep thought.

We didn't interrupt him and stayed silent.

These were the most mystical flowers we had ever seen so everyone was showing a hint of interest in them.

"To us priests and several others who come to pray here, it almost looks like they cannot stay alive without the presence of Goddess Celestia."

The words came out rather brightly as he told us with a nostalgic smile. Then, leaning down, he brushed the petals with his fingers, holding them gently.

And then—

They pulsed with a soft glow, making everyone's eyes widen in surprise.

"How strange?" Liber leaned closer as well, then gave a side eye to the old priest before asking with a polite smile. "Can I touch them?"

"Of course but do so gently."

"Of course."

He nodded and brushed the petals with his right hand.

Again the magical scene repeated itself with a soft glow of the petals.

I looked at it in a daze. And looking closer at one of the flowers with great interest, my fingers also went closer to touch it. As my fingers brushed against it, something changed.

It was not a visual change but something that I could feel.

The flower did glow similarly to how it did when Liber and the old priest touched. But what I felt was essence. Something that I could not feel in my rank, but I was sure of it—the feeling was similar to how I could put essence inside artifacts even though I can't control it.

I turned to look at Liber, still looking at it closely, now joined by others who looked at the silver flowers—Amaranth—with a child like gaze.

Do they not feel it, the invisible pull of origin?

I frowned and looked at the old priest. He was still busy admiring the flowers as if he had seen them for the first time, but he surely had seen them more than a thousand times.

I leaned closer to the flowers, my gaze getting more intense with each second that passed.

This sudden feeling has made my interest reach its peak.

One second passed, then another, till a whole minute passed. The group consisting of Liber and others have stood up. But I did not.

I remained still, still thinking about what to do with this discovery.

"Asher?"

Anny called out.

I didn't answer but instead did something else. My curiosity had finally gotten the better of me; I let nature in this case—Amaranth—take its course and allowed my essence to flow toward it.

The pull was not strong but I could feel my hand shiver slightly in a frenzy.

Fuuuuuu!

Wind left the flowers, surprising the others.

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"What's happening?"

The old priest's voice dropped as he said with a concerned look on his face. His hand stretched out as he reached for my shoulders.

"Please wait." Chris grabbed his hand, pulling him away from me.

"What?" The old priest let out a baffled sound, his eyes widening in surprise.

I ignored the commotion happening behind and let more of my essence pour inside the single flower in my grasp.

Another gust of wind left the flowers.

But now I added something to the mix.

[Kairosflow] left through my fingertips, connecting with the flower, and bursting along with my essence.

"What are you doing?" Summer asked with a frown.

By now they all felt it.

Something different was happening then when they had touched those beautiful flowers.

Blitzzz—

The sound was sudden.

But what happened after that was what I had been waiting for—or at least thought would happen.

The flowers started to grow rapidly; the vines spread widely in all directions. The small garden, carefully held now, filled the temple's ground like a spiderweb. They reached for the pillars coiling around them, then went for the spires covering the temple's dome.

And then—

The flowers bloomed, glowing beautifully under the grey sky.

The passerby stopped in their tracks, watching the glow surrounding the temple; the old priest fighting for Chris to escape his grasp gasped loudly. His eyes shook, mouth agape, staring at the mystical scene happening in front of him. While the other remained too stunned to let out any voice, wearing a similar expression to the passerby.

My essence finally stopped pouring inside, and I slumped back, my hand touching the ground as I let out a deep breath.

I had almost stopped breathing.

But everything came at once; my mind had stopped, going blank the moment I had let [Kairosflow] flow into them.

I craned my head to look up; a crown of vines and flowers remained atop me, even surrounding me in a cage.

No, not a cage—it was a wall holding me warmly, like I was in someone's embrace.

My eyes opened wide as I finally understood my position.

"Asher!"

The first to react was Liber as he raised his sword, coiling with burning serpents rushing toward me.

"Stop! Don't burn or cut them."

I yelled, stopping him in his tracks.

Liber frowned, lowering his blade.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded, still stuck between flowers, pulsing softly.

"I am… Just wait. I will do something."

"Alright."

Liber said and turned back to see others.

They looked at me as if I were some kind of exotic animal, trapped behind bars.

But even I had to admit—the view of the temple looked divine.

And I was at the center of it, surrounded by the same flowers.

I inhaled deeply, basking in their fragrance. For a second I found myself going dizzy as the odor, while good and light, still overwhelmed me at once.

I again poured [Kairosflow] to let the flowers grow but this time did not let it spread around. The flowers around me again moved, coiling the entrance and stairs, leaving me behind after brushing my face lightly.

I sighed, finally free from them.

I lifted myself and stood up.

My legs wobbled back slightly, but not enough to overwhelm me. It was not as if I was feeling weak but nausea was still there. The origin pulled out by the flower was not as smooth as how artifacts do it.

So a weird sensation had filled my inside.

I shook my head, trying to lighten the burden before turning back.

A large crowd has surrounded us; I looked around searching for others but could see no one.

"What's happening?"

"Hey! When did this grow so much?!"

"This looks beautiful… Is the Temple doing the stars' blessing?"

Questions. A wave of them came raining down as the crowd grew restless. More and more people joined, gathering around the Temple.

It was as if the whole city had come to bask under the flowers' glow.

"...Angel."

A chill ran down my spine as those words entered my ears.

"Wh—"

"The angel has returned." The old priest muttered with his hands clasped together. Tears threatened to stream down his wrinkled face.

My lips twitched.

'Angel? What angel?'

I looked around trying to see what kind of nonsense the old priest was saying. But his eyes was fixed on me—

No, maybe it was the flowers surrounding me.

The only emotion I could find in his face was nostalgia.

"Asher!"

From the crowd I heard a shout and turned my head in that direction. There Enzo and Chris raised their hands, signalling me to follow and leave this place behind.

I hesitated and looked at the crowd and then at the old priest standing in awe.

Should I leave or not?

I am not here as a fugitive but as a captain of the 11th division.

I did this…

"Alright everyone, stay calm!"

I yelled, raising my hands.

The decision was made and I could tell Enzo and the others didn't like it one bit.

'Don't worry, I also don't like doing this kind of work.'

I grumbled but didn't let the crowd go out of control.

Since the number of people here was so high, a stampede could have happened. And with so many awakeners mixed among them, getting crushed to death was not out of the question.

Enzo and Chris sighed, looking from the corner before coming out of the crowd to help.

The second who followed was Anny and then the rest of them joined.

Then five or so minutes passed.

We did as much as we could. Seeing our military uniforms, the crowd had not questioned our authority but some people couldn't take words too well.

Not long after, more soldiers joined, helping us.

The explanation provided was simple. And the crowd finally started to thin, spreading back but did not disappear entirely. They all continued to watch from afar, still in awe.

I sighed in relief looking over it.

But then—

Tiiiiinnnnggg!

Tiiiiinnnnggg!

Sounds of bells filled the city. The people's faces went pale before they rushed for their houses, pulling their shop shutters down.

"A monster's wave is coming." I whispered, not surprised.

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