Two Futures Bound

Chapter 87

ARTHUR

I let out a small sigh, my breath stirring the still, musty air around me. The room was dimly lit, the pale light filtering through the dusty windows casting long shadows on the wooden floor. It had been a week since Caera and I had taken refuge in this abandoned house. The first few days were spent in conversations, planning our next move, debating whether this place could truly be called our home. Caera, with her unyielding optimism, insisted on making it our home. We had cleaned, dusted, and tried to make it feel less like a relic of a forgotten past and more like a sanctuary.

Now I sat in the living room, the only spot we hadn't managed to fully clean. Dust motes danced in the thin beams of light as I hunched over a makeshift map spread out on the table before me. It was a rough sketch of the city, a work in progress. So far, it only included our immediate surroundings – the house and a few nearby blocks. Venturing further had proven too dangerous, with those creatures lurking, always ready to give chase the moment I stepped out.

I had learned a few things about our pursuers. They fed off Aether, as if it were the very essence of their existence. Regis's destruction flames, which burned away Aether, seemed to weaken them, often driving them to retreat to places where Aether was more abundant. I had initially assumed that destroying their core would kill them, much like the Licht's. But yesterday's encounter shattered that hope. Regis had obliterated their core, only for it to reappear moments later, as if the city itself was replenishing it.

"Is there even a way to kill them?" I mused aloud, frustration creeping into my voice. The memory of their relentless pursuit played over and over in my mind, each detail scrutinized for a potential weakness. They seemed indestructible, an implacable force against which we had no defense. Everything has a weakness. I just need to find theirs.

"You're going to get a headache with all that thinking, Arthur," Caera's voice broke through my thoughts. I turned to see her standing in the doorway. She held two glasses of water, her face softened by a gentle smile. She walked over, handing me one of the glasses before perching on the armrest of my chair.

"I just don't get it," I muttered, taking a sip. The cool water was a welcome relief. "These monsters, if they can even be called that, don't seem to have a weakness. We destroy their core, and yet they come back. If that doesn't kill them, what will?"

Caera's eyes met mine, filled with determination and a glimmer of hope. "We'll figure it out," she said softly. "We have to."

I leaned back in the chair, staring up at the ceiling. The weight of our situation pressed down on me, but Caera's unwavering resolve was a small beacon of light. I closed my eyes, letting out another sigh. "I hope you're right," I whispered, more to myself than to her.

"We need to figure this out," I muttered, the weight of our situation pressing heavily on my chest. "Dicathen depends on it. No, our lives depend on it. If we want our happy ending, we need to learn everything about the Djinn—their lives, their magic, their inventions, and especially what they know about Aether that we don't. A magic that forms the very building blocks of our world. If we can harness it better than the Asura, we might have a chance."

Bitter memories surged, a painful reminder of what we had lost. Cast out of our home for revealing the truth about my reincarnation, my parents' hatred, my sister Ellie, probably not understanding where I had gone or why I wouldn't return. Our life at the academy—gone in a single day.

Wait. The mana beads I had gotten from the shop. I had two left. Initially, I planned to give them to Sylvie, helping her grow stronger faster. But would it be better for Caera and me to use them? Could they push us to a white core, or would we fall just short?