Eternal Elysium

"Hey, Chris. You can let me down now."

"Are you sure? We can reach the base in twenty minutes; I am sure I can carry you till then."

Chris answered nonchalantly as I was being carried on his back.

"No, I can't let people think that on just the first mission I need to get carried by my team members."

I said, with a serious face. While it was embarrassing to get carried, I was in no position to complain. My foot has turned bloody, my hands were strained, and all muscles felt torn open. It was extremely painful to even walk anymore.

"Yeah, we can't have you get looked down on now, can we?" Summer added with a mischievous grin on her face.

I scoffed.

"Well, of course, what else do you expect?!" I said playfully.

Almost a day has passed since the swarm of churners attacked us. We had managed to trick them and even killed half of them by using the maw, but I was sure by now they should have escaped it. That thought made my jaw tighten in anger.

Even after all that, we couldn't get rid of it.

"Too bad." I muttered as Chris put me down.

"What happened now?"

Enzo said, coming out of shadows, his ability to get inside shadows was truly something else, as I found it rather cool to look at. On his hand was a large piece of paper, as he had come back after surveying the area.

"No, I was just thinking how the swarm of churners is still alive."

I said, my face showing every hint of regret possible.

Enzo frowned and, raising his brow, said in a confused voice.

"If you wanted to kill the churners, wouldn't it have been better to return back to base yesterday? Because, as I remember, it was your idea, Captain, to complete the mapping first."

I winced back at his words, as I remembered my own options.

Yesterday we had the choice to go back to the central base and tell about the churners and prepare a team to eradicate them. But I hesitated to do that. There were several reasons for that, and the most important one was time.

Even if we had reported it, time would have still been needed to make a proper plan and then act on it. It could have taken days, and we would have needed to come back here once more to map the area. If that were to happen, the real mission we had would be compromised.

"Ow. Ow. My back hurts!" Chris said, stretching his back. His face contorted into a frown as he raised his hands and started to move them.

We stared at him, left dumbfounded by his words.

"What?"

Chris paused and looked at us with a surprised look.

"Chris. I was speeding you up the whole time, remember?" I reminded him with an awkward voice.

He has not even carried me for too long to begin with. It was no more than thirty minutes, but if someone were to see Chris, they might think he was forced to piggyback me the whole day.

"Chris, you know it's okay to admit when you are tired." Summer said, trying to suppress her laughter.

"I'm not tired!" Chris protested, his cheeks flushing a bit. "It's just... I'm not used to carrying someone on my back. And you guys are heavier than you look."

I shook my head, a small laugh escaping my lips. Enzo moved forward, patting Chris' shoulder, as he gave me a tired look.

'Maybe… Just maybe I could actually—.'

I stopped those thoughts, my mind for a moment going numb from deep thoughts.

We had gotten a lot closer compared to yesterday. Close enough to joke around like this. I even have gotten a good hold on how their personality works. But still I could feel the distance between us. A wall that separated me from them. Something I wasn't very eager to break.

While I wasn't actively trying to get closer to them, I still thought getting to know them better wouldn't be so bad.

The rest didn't last long. I stood up from the ground; my hips felt sore as I took a step forward.

Even while mapping we were forced to face several monster threats; it was never-ending in a sense, as creatures of beyond here lived abundantly. Luckily beast ranks were still fewer in number.

We finally headed back, our steps carrying us through the treacherous land. Not long after, my eyes squinted as I saw large walls appear at the horizon.

"What are you thinking about?" Summer asked, stepping near me. Her brown hair, now open, fluttered in the wind. I turned my gaze away, contemplating before answering back.

"About what I need to do after going back."

"Like what?"

"To report the situation to Commander Alos. After that, start the investigation."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Summer blinked, her eyes lighting up immediately after.

"So we don't need to report anymore?"

I chuckled, her excitement palpable.

I shook my head, my voice calm as I answered back.

"No, you only need to report to me from now on."

Summer nodded.

"Did you hear that, Enzo!"

"Yes, I did."

Enzo replied to Summer's excited voice, a subtle smile on his lips, as he touched his scarf.

As we came closer to the wall, the dark metallic door opened. I sighed, moving inside; my body started to relax, as if a burden on my shoulders seemed to have lightened.

I stopped and turned my gaze back and parted my lips before saying.

"You all should rest."

They nodded, giving me a tired gaze.

"Good night, captain." Chris said before leaving with Enzo.

Summer stood there with her eyes on me.

I raised my brow, as she didn't leave.

"Is there any problem?"

Grimacing, Summer stepped forward, her eyes squinting right at me.

Tentatively I took a step back.

"Did you forget your orders?"

'Ah, she meant that.'

I nodded, keeping a straight face, and walked together with her.

"Your quarters should be near the infirmary, right?"

Instead of answering back, Summer nodded her head. And pointed to her right, where a building the shape of a spacious dome resided.

"Thanks."

I said before leading Summer to her barracks. I stopped a little farther ahead, not wishing to appear too close to her. As Summer left without turning to look back, I realized how different she appeared outside the walls and inside.

Outside, her curses were louder than her attacks; her face remained cold in both places, but outside the walls she moved like a wounded beast, distrusting everything in her vicinity. But maybe that's how she appeared only to me. To Enzo and Chris, maybe she looked entirely different.

I stared at her back till she vanished from my vision.

"Ugh, just forget it." I grumbled and started to walk toward the medical building.

The central base was like a small city, as thousands of awakeners resided here.

As I walked straight inside the dome, my boots' sound echoed in the corridor for a few seconds before the background noises vanished. The inside was wide open, as several soldiers were seen walking inside. As they saw me appear, a subtle shift happened, as they cleared the way for me to walk.

My lips were about to curl up into a smile, but I suppressed myself from doing so.

Moving through the rooms, I appeared on the second floor.

As I was about to find someone with healing ability, I stopped feeling a presence behind me.

"Are you the new captain?" A woman asked, and my eyes looked down at her green eyes. She was wearing a white coat, given only to medics, with a subtle smile on her face.

I hesitated but then nodded.

"Yes, I am Asher… and you are miss?"

The woman smiled and nodded.

"I am Nasi Gristel. Captain of the 7th division. It's nice to meet you, Captain Asher."

'A noble?'

I frowned, unsure of what to do, but decided to treat her normally.

"Yes, are you also a medic? I was looking for someone to treat me, actually."

Nasi nodded.

"Yes, I will be more than happy to help."

She said cheerfully before taking me to her office. I sat on the chair as she gave me an expectant gaze. I slowly rolled both my sleeves, showing her my red and swollen arms.

"That's unexpected." She muttered, her eyes turned to look at me.

"What monster gave such wounds?"

Her eyes narrowed as her face turned serious.

I frowned before answering.

"It's not from a monster."

"Then how did you get hurt? Captain Asher, if it's from an internal fight, then—"

"I threw a large monster, which led to my muscles getting torn open, and then fought the whole day after making my arms swell."

"Wait, what?"

Nasi's face hardened; the noble demeanor surrounding her instantly vanished.

"Is there any problem?"

"No… No. I am just surprised by the stupidity of your actions, Captain Asher." Nasi gave me a wary smile. Her hands lit up as a blue mist coiled in my arms; a cooling sensation followed soon after, making me shudder and wince in pain.

She healed me in silence, not speaking unless necessary, and then asked.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, Captain Asher?"

"Ah, yes, actually you can."

Following that, I raised my right leg and placed it on my left; Nasi, surprised by my actions, frowned before moving back. I chuckled seeing her reactions, but as I removed my boot, her face turned serious.

"How is your foot so swollen? No, is it a sprain?" Nasi asked, dumbfounded.

"I ran."

"You ran?"

Nasi's voice cracked; she was obviously not ready for such injuries. Rather, they were not so serious either, except for my hands. This made the situation very awkward to look at.

Seeing her face contort into a frown as she started to treat me, I sighed.

"Captain Asher. I don't usually ask how soldiers get injured. In what kind of work, I mean. But my curiosity is getting the better of me right now." Nasi said, leaning back on her chair.

"A swarm of monsters attacked while we were mapping the area. My team and I ran for hours trying to escape from them. A huge monster came in between, so I decided to use it as bait for monsters by throwing it back at them…"

As I continued to tell her what happened, Nasi's face showed an expression that I couldn't describe. Was she angry, or was she left perplexed? Maybe a mix of both.

"I have healed many injuries, Captain Asher, in my life." She paused, her hand raised as she saw the lines formed on it. Her face changed, a bit nostalgic as she whispered. "For several decades I have provided my service at several places to several people. Your injuries are not serious, but do you know why I am so shocked?"

I hesitated, my words almost stuck in my throat. Did I do something wrong? I didn't know. Her reactions were surprising, but the way she talked showed her own wisdom of time, unlike her young and cheerful face.

"I… I am not sure what you are trying to say, Captain Nais."

"Hmm."

She nodded as if expecting my answer.

"Your injuries don't come from monsters. I am worried that it's a result of your own actions. I am not saying it's self-harm but rather something similar in nature." Nasi tilted her head as she searched for the correct words to fill in her speech as her green eyes looked at my silver eyes. "You are a captain; it means you are more than strong and experienced enough to know right from wrong. But I would say all your injuries stem from recklessness."

I frowned.

'Recklessness? Me?'

I was about to refute but then stopped as she whispered.

"Are you sure there was no other way except for endangering yourself?"

I fell silent at her words.