TBATE-REDEMPTION

Chapter 8

"Ughh... I swear, using Godstep really takes a huge toll on this body," Art groaned, feeling the strain of his recent journey.

"You are a masochist anyway, so that shouldn't be a problem for you," Caera replied sheepishly.

"Hey! I am not a masochist!" Art yelled back, a hint of indignation in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever helps you sleep at night," she shot back, rolling her eyes.

"Now can you explain to me why you brought me to this cave?" Caera asked, curiosity evident in her tone.

"No, it's better if you see it for yourself. Let's go," Art said, signaling her to follow him as they ventured deeper into the cave.

"Hey, Regis, you up?" Art called out to his pet. When there was no response, he took it as a no and figured Regis was still hibernating.

As they walked further into the cave, the temperature around them began to drop. Art took Caera's hand and augmented both of them by channeling mana and a bit of aether to keep them warm.

'You both are sent here by Sylvia, right?' a voice echoed in their minds. Art recognized the voice immediately, recalling Sylvia's earlier mention of it, but Caera looked shocked and scanned her surroundings for the source. She shot Art a look that seemed to ask, Do you know where this voice is coming from?

"Yes, we are. Grandma Sylvia sent us here to talk to you about something," Art replied, deliberately ignoring Caera's confused expression.

'Fine then, I will guide you two to where I am right now. There are no mana beasts in the cave, so you should be able to find me easily,' the unknown voice instructed.

The voice directed them for almost 15 minutes until they finally stood before a small hole. 'Both of you, augment yourselves with mana and jump down from that hole; you'll be able to find me,' the voice advised.

Art looked at Caera, giving her a nod of confirmation, and told her to jump after him. He leaped into the hole, and Caera followed suit. The jump felt long, as the hole was quite deep.

After a few seconds, Art landed perfectly on the ground, catching Caera just a second later.

Putting her down, they began to examine their surroundings. The place they had fallen into was... beautiful, to say the least. One half of the area was covered in thick ice while the other flickered with blue fire.

As they scanned their surroundings, their eyes finally settled on a figure. It was blue, with large wings, and blue fire emanating from the top of its head. The creature had an elegant shape reminiscent of an eagle but was much larger. As stunning as it was, it radiated danger. It was a blue phoenix. This phoenix was unlike any Art or Caera had seen in books, which usually depicted them as red or orange. But this one looked like she was dying; a stab wound near her stomach caught Caera's attention.

Caera instinctively grabbed Art's hand and tried to pull him back. "We finally meet, my little guests," the phoenix said, her voice soothing yet powerful.

"My name is Lumina, and as you can see, I am a phoenix. Please, make yourselves comfortable; I mean no harm. After all, if Sylvia allows you to call her grandma, then she cares for you both deeply," Lumina stated warmly.

"Before you ask anything, let me clarify that I might not be of much help to you. Sylvia may not have told you about our situations—" she was cut off by Art.

"About that, Sylvia has explained her situation to us and told me about yours too. As for why we are here, it was a request from Sylvia. It would be better for us to show you than to explain," Art said, extending his hand toward Lumina. She placed her forehead against his palm, and Caera watched in confusion, quickly realizing that Art was probably showing his memories to Lumina.