The Warlock's Azalea (EDITING) ✔

Chapter 9.2 - Remnants of a Loved One

Chapter 9 – Remnants of a Loved One

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From the diamond-like crystal walls beside her shone a dim light. Another memory, huh? Whose is it this time? Pretty sure everyone in her party already appeared in these images of the illusion.

Wait, no.

What about Aziel?

Nothing else lit up except for that one tiny spot. What's going on? Is the illusion about to break apart?

The tiny spark of light slowly covered the entire wall, but it was still dark. Moments of silence passed until the place of memory became more evident.

A person sitting in a brown vest topping over a long white-sleeved tunic was in the corner of a dusty, wooden planked house. The person's legs in black slacks and feet in black boots covered most of their features. But it was still mostly the room's darkness that the person was hiding in.

If his legs were bent in front of them, covering their upper body, how could Keir immediately know what they were wearing on top? Why, of course.

This was Aziel.

The place was messy—scrolls, shards of broken glasses, colorful liquids, and broken furniture pieces surrounded him. His arms wrapped around his legs, and he was shaking. And sobbing?

Occasionally sniffing, too, but more panting and trembling.

Keir's hands bumped on the crystal wall, her fingers shaking and attempting to open up the diamond-like borders to maybe go to where that was, and then, what?

She bit her lip and squinted. Aziel, crying? Unbelievable. What does this mean?

What happened to him?

One of his arms slid to his side, and his hand gripped the grey cloak tightly beside him. Like in the middle of the night on top of a hill, as if Keir grew deaf. His hold on the mantle softened, and he whispered something that echoed across the entire illusion.

"...Azaleas?"

Keir clenched her fists as the illusion distorted.

No!

What was he saying?

Azaleas? The flower? What about it?

What wrong timing!

"Az, please make the portal to where we last saw Evril, right now!" Exadrin?

"She's alive... she's alive... she's alive... she's alive... right? Right?" Hale?

"G-guys, calm down!" Jaxith?

"..also known as the one people fear of ever getting in.."

What could the others have seen to panic so much suddenly?

Exadrin clutched to Aziel's cloak, a look of terror on his face while he continued to yell out something regarding Evril. Hale knelt on the ground holding her head, her eyeballs about to pop off, and tears ran down from them while she kept screaming and murmuring something about someone being alive. And Jaxith tried to calm her down.

"My cousin...! I saw her! S-she's alive!" Jaxith hushed her down. "She's been stuck to a Leave One... and then kept getting stuck into one over and over again!"

"There, there. That's great news, isn't it? To know that she's alive." Hale didn't answer and only kept repeating the same information. "I saw that, too, you know, along with some weird place in Keir's world full of people in weird outfits." University?

At least she didn't see anything regarding the gloves, right?

"Also saw a few glimpses of Aziz's birthday two weeks ago." Jaxith leaned in towards Keir a bit and covered some part of her hood with two arms. "That was quite the awkward event. I'm glad I wasn't there when it happened in real-time."