Tales of Astora: Legacy

Chapter 104: Prelude of the End

Chapter 104: Prelude of the End

The first few days after the war ended pretty quickly with no particular events worth mentioning. The demons in Ragna were busy to prepare for the reception of the many leaders of Astora while other countries were still stuck in a transition period to accommodate themselves with the new world, especially with the idea of a new race now able to join the primes as part of the recognized living beings of this world. Willing or not, they would have to accept it if they did not want to be erased from the courses of history. It would take time for the process to be imprinted in the mind of the people but the results so far were quite plausible.

And yet, there were still those who did not accept this result of a peace treaty between all races and now they were on the move to make sure that the peace talk would not go as planned.

However, their story was destined for later as a certain event took place the night two days before the peace talk. An event that no one was even aware about, not even when it concerned the one person that many was looking for, the person who was responsible for the tragedy a decade ago.

While everyone in the castle was preoccupying themselves in order to finish the preparation in time, no one had time to pay attention to the lonely celestial who spent her whole day locked up in her chamber, for her own safety according to them. Because of her handicaps being both blind and deaf, she was unable to communicate normally and therefore had a lot of trouble to talk with anyone, not to mention her damaged mind which was that of a child. But there was no need to feel pity for her. For recently, she has gained a new friend who would come and see her every now and then. Thanks to his special nature, not even Alastor could detect his presence unless they were in the same room or very close to each other. Still, the Lord of Oblivion was lucky for Alastor has been busy with his 'nightly adventure' so he has paid no heed to some fluctuations of mana around him. And that was a big negligence on Alastor's part, a mistake he might have wished he has done differently.

With no one around, Sinforma decided to bring Ingrid out of her cage for once, not just because he wanted her to have some fresh air after being copped up in that room for days but also because he had something in mind. After a long research, the leader of the Reapers believed he has finally found a way to cure Ingrid or at least reconstruct the lost memories of the celestial. But could it really be done? For a task that even the creator of the soul itself claimed to be impossible, would Sinforma be able to accomplish such unfeasible thing?

After bringing the impaired woman to a lake far from the castle, hidden by the tall trees surrounding it, Sinforma placed Ingrid against a tree as he asked for her permission.

"May I?" he inquired. It was a bit odd for someone like Sinforma to care about someone.

If it was anybody else, he would not have hesitated for even a second to claim what he desired. Yet this youngest child of Alastor somehow was very patient with the broken hero. Up until recently, the only person the phantom would care for was his own sister Odium. In a way, his relationship with her, from his side of view was rather abnormal, to the borders of obsession. What he really felt about her, admiration, adoration, idolisation or even love, no one would ever know. The only thing that mattered was how he felt when Odium died. On that fateful day, he came too late, unable to help his beloved sister when she needed him the most. Alas, he set out a new goal for himself that day, a goal that would later bring on a new age.

"Will this hurt?" asked Ingrid reluctantly.

"No! I promise that you won't even feel a thing. You trust me, right?" spoke Sinforma in an inhuman voice but with a gentle caring tone.