Gate Guardian - Tale of the Blazing Heart

Phase 9: Starry Night

Phase 9: Starry Night

[Heightsburg Campus - Entrance]

[5:04 PM]

"Th-That's absurd! She trained me yesterday afternoon!"

"Don't tell me she-" Mia immediately ran back into the school.

I asked her to wait, but she seemed to be in hurry, certain where she's going. I must find Erylle too. I don't know what happened but I'm responsible for this. I'm the last one who saw her yesterday. I won't forgive myself if something bad happens to her.

Mia told me that she might be hunting the One-eyed octopus like Eidolon. It will be difficult for Erylle to hunt it down because it is a high-level Eidolon. I heard that it has the ability to give nightmares to Guardians. She might end up dead if we can't find her on time. Heushac is hunting another Eidolon on the other part of the city, so we can't rely on him this time.

We decided that Mia will search the classrooms, the canteens, and the basements. I'll check for the grounds, the common rooms, some other classrooms and the rooftops.

I checked for the grounds where the clubs are preparing the booths. I first went to the Archery Club since she might just be helping her organization, but she's not there. Common rooms, there's too few people right now that I can say that she's not there. Classrooms. Of course she's not there.

<>

It was already nightfall when I went to the rooftops. A silhouette of a woman. Her golden blonde hair was dancing with the wind, and she has her bow attached on her back.

"Erylle!"

I immediately ran into her and started apologizing.

"Erylle! I'm sorry about yesterday...Come on, Mia is worried waiting for you-"

I went in front of her and looked at her eyes. Her green eyes were no longer sparkling, and her face looked pale. She's sweating, and there are traces of tears from her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Erylle."

"It's not your fault." She spoke softly. "...Hey, I defeated that red-eyed octopus monster all by myself...I hunted it the whole day...I-I finally killed it..."

Tears began flowing from her emotionless eyes.

"H-Hey Yohan...You will not leave me right? ... You will not leave me like my parents...You will not leave me like Eliseo...Right? You're not going to leave me like A-Atlas..."

I never made any response. But she immediately went closer to me and made her head lean on my chest. She started to wipe her tears using my school uniform.

"...Right?"

"I-I'm not going to leave you. I-I promise."

<>

Mia said that Erylle was affected by the curse of the octopus Eidolon. It has the ability to make people suffer by giving them images from their painful memories. If we haven't found Erylle that fast, she would have herself in her mental breakdown and have the rest of her days in comma.

What really helped Erylle overcome that trauma is what I said to her. That "I'm not going to leave you" line. Mia told me that. Quite cheesy for me to say, but it's the truth.

We're on their bungalow. Mia is teaching Heushac about mathematical equations and such on the living room. They seemed so busy that I never disturbed the both of them.

I decided to go at the backyard. Erylle is meditating on the grassland, to help her emotional health return back to normal. When she sensed me coming, she stopped, and glanced at me with a smile.

"Hi..."

"Hi. I'm sorry about what I said to you yesterday. It was rude of me." She said.

"I-It's okay. You're telling the truth anyway."

"I'm just having a bad day at that time, geez!..." She stood up and sat beside me.

We sat down on a bench at the side of their backyard. There was silence. She was staring at the night sky and her emerald eyes sparkled like the stars. It's good to see her back in her usual self. As soon as my heart race again, I looked away, gazing at the stars.

"Do you think stars are beautiful?" She said. "They always glimmer even though they are scorching. Even if the black clouds cover them on the darker eras, they still shine on the next time we'll see them. They are like the hearts of the people that never gives up."

T-That's too poetic! I just scratched my head and made a fake smile.

"Teacher, I don't understand..." I mumbled.

"Let's leave you aside and move on~....On second thought, I can tell you my story."

I suddenly switched to my smiley face.

"I'm just doing this to lighten my load." She pouted. "I can't carry it just by myself anymore...And hey, this is a secret! Don't tell anyone else!"