Rise of The Holy-Realm Rebel

The atmosphere was grim, and the silence around us added to that detail. The starry sky suddenly featured a depressing pressure, and I could tell that the situation weighed heavily on Nura who remained silent most of the time.

Her sister whom she had hoped would save her had indeed come. Except now, she stood at death's door as a result.

'A damaged Solarin core at this level,' Pity spread in my mind. There was nothing I knew that could help her. In fact, I already concluded that only the darkness of a painful demise awaited her.

"A few hours at most," I accidentally muttered. Eiko heard me.

"You seem informed," she expressed her amusement. I nodded in response.

"How did your core get this damaged?" I felt forced to ask.

She sighed, closing her eyes for a brief moment. It seemed to take everything in her being to not scream and writhe in agony. I suspected it was due to her sister's presence. She did not want to worry her any more than she did.

"I used ascenders" Eiko revealed, and my eyes widened.

"You know what they are?" she asked, and I nodded, even if I only understood the concept.

During my time, 'Ascenders' had only been a theory—a way to temporarily raise one's capacity heights above their normal level.

Then, it had been outlandish, and even banned in some regions.

'They actually succeeded,' I marveled inwardly, wondering how much time had passed since my era.

"One or two of those pills would not have done this damage. But I had been forced to take three at once; to combat the two Hill-stage threats within the castle," she explained, revealing another surprising detail.

As I had suspected, there had been another 'Rebel' apart from Ivon's guard.

"Both men had been exceptional," she admitted. "Knight-level, I daresay."

"Alright," I sighed, getting the full gist. Still, there wasn't anything I could do to help her situation, and she knew it too. Yet, for her sister's sake, she played along.

"Why don't you try getting up?" I suggested, scanning her surroundings. My gaze momentarily caught sight of the sword lying close to her. She had pointed it at me right before the fireball manifested. I ignored it of course.

"I'll need help," Eiko stated the obvious, and I gestured at Nura who immediately helped her sister sit up.

Eiko's expression contorted in bottled-up suffering. She even had to keep her eyes shut to not roar in agony.

Feeling worried, I made her left arm curve around my neck. Nura did the same and we both raised her figure. Slowly of course.

I clenched my teeth as her fingers dug into my chest.

The heat her figure emitted caused me to sweat. This phenomenon was due to her damaged core. It essentially caused the effects of her affinity to leak.

I picked up her blade afterward and we walked for nearly an hour. Southwest of the camp.

According to Eiko, she had stationed two horses a couple of kilometers from that general location. She could recognize it.

Apparently, she had reached the camp on sheer stamina. Hill-Stage 'Rebels' could achieve feats considered impossible to individuals like me.

Our journey was cut short by Eiko's groaning. Her legs gave up and she crashed. My figure staggered, but Nura completely lost her balance. She burst into tears immediately after.

I inwardly shook my head at that display, then again, I could not blame her. She had needed to keep her hope for nearly six months.

Suddenly I felt bad not being able to properly sympathize. Since In truth, I barely cared.

Managing to keep my legs up I slowly lowered Eiko's body to the ground. The second she lay on the ground I watched the last of her strength vanish. Her lips parted to let out a guttural cry.

A wave of gooseflesh crawled onto my skin, as I could very well discern the suffering behind that cry.

Eiko began to weep as her figure started shaking violently. Nura wept harder.

I tried to pin her down but her physique remained in the Hill-Stage. She accidentally caught hold of my right wrist and pain exploded in my mind.

In a bid to lessen the pain she experienced, she squeezed my arm and nearly crushed it.

Thankfully, she noticed in time and let me go.

Wincing in pain I created distance and for a bit our eyes crossed. Her tearful eyes looked apologetic.

I knelt before the suffering lady, she calmed down a bit, even if her figure continued to quiver. Nura continued to weep. The nineteen-year-old 'Rebel' could barely hold herself together before that scene.

"What is your name?" Eiko asked me, grunting in between her words.

"Caeles."

"Caeles, take this," She grunted, yanking off the purple pendant around her neck. It carried the emblem of the knights. Etched into the round metal was a winged lion rearing up, from which a blade proceeded out of its mouth.

I shook my head, but she insisted.

"After finding the horses go far west, and show this to any settlement still having a banner with this emblem in front of their entrance. They will take you in and treat you with the honor of a knight," she explained grabbing a hold of my hands to push the pendant into my grip.

I wanted to protest but her figure collapsed the moment she did. She had suddenly fallen asleep. But I recognized that it wasn't just any sleep.

Alert and appalled, I sprung forward to inspect her state. My expression fell grim.

The blue veins were now twice as large as they were, and twice as much. This revealed that the damage to her core had reached its last stage... a critical one. Life visibly seeped out of her face now.

Nura drew closer but she depended on my expression to understand the severity of her sister's state. Needless to say, her heart sank.

Our eyes met, and I shook my head slowly. She got the message loud and clear and her eyes turned teary again.

Casting herself over her sister's dying figure, Nura wept, kissing her forehead before straightening her back to take in a deep breath.

Only one without a conscience would remain unmoved before that display of cordial affection. I wasn't without one.

The desire to help bubbled up in my chest, I wished I had something from my experience capable of delivering Eiko from her predicament.

"I'm sorry," I found myself confessing. One of the reasons I had sought power during my days of youth resurfaced before me, and I was unprepared.

Or so I thought.

At the instance of my sincerity, a strange sensation welled up within my chest.

It felt hot, yet satisfying. That experience captured my attention, and that detail skyrocketed when the sensation moved from my chest.

It traveled up my shoulders to descend into my arms and then palms.

THEY… BURNT!

But that wasn't all. Riding on an instinct I didn't know existed, my eyes moved from my burning palms to Eiko's dying figure.

I moved; kneeling forward to slowly lay my hands on her body.

Nothing happened for a second, and I even managed to catch sight of Nura's confused gaze.

I showed an embarrassed expression even if my attention once again moved to my palms.

The burning sensation suddenly intensified followed by a wave of fatigue.

I had followed my instincts and laid my hands on her belly. Yet to my absolute astonishment, a burst of golden-orange light left my palms as the burning sensation ceased.

Or rather it seemed to flow out of me.

Appalled, I shrunk back instinctively.

Instantly, the light died.

"What was that?!" Nura's voice assaulted me, half from surprise, and the other half from protective suspicion.

"I don't know," I responded, trying to sound as honest as I could. My reply didn't seem to satisfy the now defensive Nura who took an offensive posture, protecting her sister.

"I swear by my life, I know nothing—" My words were cut short by a soft gasp originating from Eiko's lips.

Our gaze sharpened as they fell on her figure in unison.

"She looks…"

"Better..." Nura completed my words, expressing the same astonishment I experienced. Soon my attention trailed off of Eiko's figure to my palms. They continued to burn, but not as fiercely as before.

My eyes met with Nura's, and as though we read each other's minds, she allowed me to do what I did before.

Stepping forward with my knees, I placed my palms on Eiko's belly half expecting whatever had occurred to not happen again.

My expectations were shattered.

The same golden glow came out of my palms to cast its radiance on Eiko's body; its light being more intense and warmer than earlier. I couldn't exactly put my finger on it, but, that radiance felt… Heavenly?

I watched with unveiled bewilderment as her state visibly improved. The bulging blue veins visibly reduced in size until they vanished under her skin. But more than that, the gash on her left side began to smoke, as the wound closed up!

Her injuries vanished and her face began to regain its color.

"H-how…?" I muttered, in a daze, even if I could say no more than that. The light had suddenly died off.

However, only then did I notice how energy-deprived I had gotten. Fatigue hit me with the might of a speeding horse immediately after, forcing my awareness to wobble before sinking into the darkness of unconsciousness.