TBATE-REDEMPTION

Chapter 2

It had been a few months since Caera first met Grey, the boy she once thought was a girl in the relictomb. Since then, her time spent going on ascents with him and Regis had become something she looked forward to. She had always been curious about the relictombs growing up, but now, it wasn't just the thrill of exploring them—it was Grey.

There was something about being around him that made her feel at ease. With Grey, she didn't have to be the proper and composed Lady Caera of highblood Denoir. She could just be herself. Unlike the boys from other families who only cared about her status, Grey treated her like a person, not a title. He was her first real friend.

Now, she was walking to Grey's room at the central academy, hoping to ask him to go on another ascent with her. The academy was going to be closed for a week, and the thought of spending that time alone with him made her heart race a little.

She couldn't deny it anymore—she liked him. Over time, as they fought together, taught together, and shared their lives at the academy, her feelings for Grey had grown. But the frustrating part was that he seemed completely unaware of how she felt.

Still, Caera had noticed a change in him. When they first met, Grey was distant and cold, but now, he was opening up to her bit by bit. It wasn't much, but she could see that he trusted her more than he had before. Even so, she knew he still held back a lot.

She liked him, but did he feel the same way? Caera often wondered who Grey really was. He seemed to have some connection to her mentor, Scythe Seris, which meant he had to be important somehow. But no matter where he came from or what secrets he had, Caera didn't care. He was her friend, and that was all that mattered to her for now.

She had made a promise to herself. No matter what Grey was hiding, she wouldn't turn her back on him. She wasn't as strong as him, but she wanted to be someone he could count on, someone he could rely on when things got tough.

It didn't even matter to her if he asked her to leave her adoptive parents or the Denoir bloodline behind. Grey was the only person who made her feel like she could be just Caera, not Lady Caera of highblood Denoir. That was more important to her than anything else.

Her family only saw her as a way to gain more power. If they found out she had awakened her Vritra blood, they'd send her to Agrona in a heartbeat. She would become a tool for his experiments. That's why she had kept her awakening a secret. As far as her family was concerned, she hadn't inherited any special power. They constantly tried to marry her off to some other highblood, looking to strengthen their connections. It was suffocating. The only escape she found was in the relictombs, away from their schemes.

Lost in thought, Caera realized she had already reached Grey's room. She knocked but heard nothing. After a moment, she noticed the door was unlocked, so she quietly opened it and stepped inside.

Grey was sitting there, meditating with a familiar rainbow-colored stone in his hand. She had seen him do this many times before during their ascents. She knew the stone was important to him, but she had never asked about it, sensing that it was something personal.

She sat down in a chair, waiting for him to finish. As she watched him, her eyes traced over his sharp features, his golden hair, and his pale skin. He was handsome in a quiet way. She couldn't help but admire him.

After what seemed like ten or fifteen minutes, Grey finally opened his eyes. The first thing he did was glance at the stone, then he tucked it away in his dimensional rune before turning his gaze to her.

"Hey, Grey," Caera said with a small smile.

Grey smiled back at her—something that caught her off guard. He rarely smiled.

Grey finished pouring aether into Sylvie's egg and tucked it back into his dimensional rune. As he looked around, his eyes landed on Caera, sitting nearby and waiting for him.

"Hey, Grey!" she greeted him, breaking the silence.

Grey felt a smile tug at his lips. Regis had been right—he was starting to express more emotion around her. It wasn't something he did on purpose; it just felt natural.

"So, what brings someone like you, Miss Denoir, to a place like this?" he asked with a playful tone.

Caera smirked and matched his teasing. "This lady has come to offer the gentleman a chance to join her on an ascent to a relictomb."

"It would be an honor, Lady Denoir," he replied with a chuckle, and they both laughed lightly.

Just then, Regis popped out of Grey's body, full of energy. "Oh, my dear horned goddess! You have no idea how much our princess here has missed you!" Regis said with a grin.

Grey shot him a glare. "Shut up, Regis!" He turned back to Caera, noticing a slight blush on her cheeks.

The academy was going to be closed for a whole week, and Grey hadn't planned anything for that time. An ascent would be a good way to replenish his aether, and spending more time with Caera wasn't exactly a bad idea.

"So, should we get going?" Grey asked, pulling out the compass that allowed them to access the relictomb from anywhere.

"Wait, let me check if I have everything I need," Caera said, rummaging through her belongings in her dimensional ring.

Regis took the opportunity to speak directly to Grey through their mental link. 'So, princess, you going to tell her about your past in the relictomb?'

'Yeah, I think it's time,' Grey replied. 'There won't be any distractions in there. It's a good place to talk.'

'Good call,' Regis said. 'She deserves to know the truth, and it's better coming from you.'

'I just hope she doesn't hate me after she knows,' Grey admitted.

"All set!" Caera said, snapping him back to reality.

Grey nodded and activated the compass. Together, they dove into the relictomb.

As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a wave of monsters. It wasn't anything Grey couldn't handle. The relictomb's difficulty adjusted to the strength of the strongest person in the group, which, of course, was him. The monsters were tough, but they weren't experienced, making it easier to deal with them.

Grey had told Regis to watch over Caera and make sure she didn't get hurt. She handled herself well against the creatures, but when a larger group surrounded her, she began to struggle. Regis jumped in to help, and together, they took down the monsters.

After clearing two zones, Caera was starting to run low on mana. Grey suggested they take a break to let her recover, and she agreed.

As they sat down, with Regis keeping watch nearby, Grey knew it was time to tell her the truth. He had been thinking about it for a while, and now, with no one else around, it felt like the right moment.

"Caera," Grey began, his voice hesitant. "There's something I need to tell you. About my past... and who I really am." He looked down, nervous about how she would react. "But please, don't hate me or leave after you hear it."

He buried his face in his knees, bracing himself for what might happen after he told her everything—his origins, his secrets, all the things he had been hiding.

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