Descent of a God

Life and Death

|Jude|

After the conclusion of the peace treaty discussion, it became clear that signing an agreement with Dicathen was impossible while Agrona held a grip on the continent. The only hope was for Kezess to declare war on Agrona and create an opening for the unbrainwashed Alacaryans who believed in peace to flee to the strongholds built by the ancient mages.

As soon as Cordelia and Scythe Seris were outside the castle, I froze time for everyone except Cordelia and me. I couldn't resist the urge to hold her in my arms and whisper, "I missed you," before embracing her tightly.

Her pat on my back was reassuring as she replied, "I missed you too, Jude," and I reluctantly pulled away, barely stopping myself from kissing her. She noticed the longing in my eyes and asked calmly, "That black-haired girl is your lover, right?"

I nodded in response, bracing myself for her anger or disappointment.

But instead, Cordelia surprised me with a sly grin and said, "I don't mind sharing," before leaning in to kiss me.

As I unfroze time and we both stepped away from each other, my mind was in complete disarray. Seris remained unaware of the moment that had just passed between Cordelia and me as they departed.

I couldn't help but wonder how complicated things were about to become with the two women I cared about.

_______________________________________________

|Jude|

As I lay in bed, my mind was consumed with thoughts of the kiss I shared with Cordelia and her ambiguous remark about sharing. My thoughts raced as I contemplated whether I was headed down the same path as Lucas, who pursued multiple love interests.

Suddenly, a powerful wave of mana jolted me out of my reverie, and I quickly changed into my Lance uniform. Kathyln, who had also sensed the pulse, joined me outside, and we both exchanged a glance of concern.

I used sound magic to communicate with Arthur, letting him know that Kathyln and I would investigate the mana pulse while Lances Varay and Bairon stayed behind.

We soon met Arthur, who informed us that Tess had escaped. It was understandable that she would need an outlet for her pent-up emotions, given the weight of her responsibilities and the loss of her parents. However, leaving without permission was not the right way to go about it.

Tracking Tess's mana trail, the three of us arrived at an unmanned teleportation gate. Tess had passed through it, and we followed suit, finding ourselves in Xyrus City. The once-thriving metropolis was now abandoned and devoid of life, with all the teleportation gates deactivated.

This raised a red flag. Why was this one gate still functioning when the rest were shut down?

(A/N: Just going to point out, the above line is going to get important much later.)

As we approached Tessia, it was clear that she was in a state of panic. She was running around aimlessly, seemingly without any sense of direction or purpose. It was only a matter of time before she hurt herself or someone else.

I acted quickly, using Gravity magic to immobilize her. "Tessia, stop," I commanded firmly.

Arthur approached her and asked, "What are you doing, Tess?"

"I need to... I need to do something. I need to find my parents," Tessia replied frantically.

It was clear that Tessia was not in a good place mentally. I mentally berated myself for not noticing earlier.

Suddenly, a powerful presence appeared within my sense range. I quickly turned my head and began gathering mana and aether to defend against an attack. However, despite my defenses being up, I was still blown away by the force. It was stronger than anything I had ever encountered, surpassing even the Scythes in power.