The Inner Odyssey

Drakon watched Celeste's father fight within the harrowing horde. A hint of longing appeared within his gaze.

Oh, how he yearned to be like that!

Mighty.

Explosive.

Powerful.

An Expert.

The resentment he felt towards his bottleneck increased. Drakon muttered a fiery curse.

He continued to observe the broad-shouldered man bulldoze through the tigers. The Ember heir was more than a little envious.

His expression darkened slightly.

Drakon looked out from the corner of his eyes and ground his teeth. The little phoenix was so close yet so far.

He inhaled deeply and reminded himself that now was not the time. He would undoubtedly be rewarded for his patience, so all he had to do was wait. The Ember heir sighed and turned his attention back to Celeste's father and the small band of men he commanded.

They fought viciously, slaughtering the Snow Tigers like there was no tomorrow. It was almost as if their roles had reversed.

…The men in golden armour had now become the abominations.

A hint of respect sparked to life in Drakon's heart. He admired strength. And these combatants were most certainly strong.

Eventually, the tide of battle shifted again. The progress Celeste's father and his men had made was swallowed up very quickly. Instantly, the small group found themselves in grave danger. Drakon's expression turned grim.

Just as he debated whether to order his underlings into the fray or not, he paused.

…The number of Dark Elves had just exponentially increased.

The Ember heir gritted his teeth.

What an incredibly annoying enemy.

The last thing Drakon sensed of Celeste's father was that three corrupted beings converged on him, no doubt tasked with bringing him down. For some strange reason, he was confident that the broad-shouldered Expert mage would triumph.

'Of course, anyone I look up to won't die so easily.'

He scoffed internally.

Shaking his head slightly, Drakon retreated a few paces from the front lines for good measure. He didn't want to be anywhere near that hellish crucible.

The situation had deteriorated to where he would just be risking his life pointlessly. Nothing he did would affect this new wave of Dark Elves.

Probably.

Just then, Drakon snapped his neck towards a particular direction.

He paled slightly.

A Dark Elf with a terrifying aura exited a section of the vanguard, its steps languid and expression more so.

With a simple wave of its hand, humans and Defiled alike were frozen stiff, completely encased in ice. Drakon watched it slowly clench its fist.

The abominations and warriors of the Sanctuary were instantly no more. All that remained of their existence were broken shards of their once-frozen form.

The Ember heir shuddered.

Drakon's mouth opened, yet no sound came out.

He was speechless.

That Dark Elf…

Was comparable to an Expert Mage.

Drakon cursed.

Luckily for him, the corrupted being wasn't heading his way.

Instead…

It was heading for Alden and Celeste.

Drakon's eyes gleamed deviously.

He observed the Dark Elf unhurriedly launch an ice spear in their direction.

'This'll be fun.'

Drakon thought.

He ordered his men not to dive in - even though a few wanted to protect the Chosen of the Divine Sovereign.

A vicious smile tugged at his lips.

***

Celeste surveyed the havoc her father had caused to the horde and her face beamed with pride. Alistair was like a maelstrom of death. None of the tigers could resist his will.

She marvelled at just how much strength he had. No matter how many times she saw her father battle, his stalwart figure always managed to awe her.

A small smile stretched across her lips.

With Alistair here, things were bound to improve.

And improve they did…

However, just as quickly as the situation had changed in their favour it came back crashing down.

Celeste's expression turned grim.

She turned her head and glanced at her first love. Alden's expression was startlingly cold. His jaw was clenched so hard she feared it would snap.

Celeste sighed internally. If it was Alden before the battle, he would have definitely cursed out loud a few times. The absence of that worried her a little. Shaking her head, Celeste shook away the unnecessary thoughts.

She would have time to dissect what was happening to her childhood friend later.

Right now, they had a battle to win.

Just then, a chill crawled down Celeste's spine. All the hair on her body stood on end.

She slowly turned her head and watched with wide eyes as an ice spear barreled towards her and Alden.

The young lady gasped.

The projectile moved with stunning speed such that her eyes just barely tracked its progress.

A wave of fear engulfed her. However, it wasn't fear for herself.

It was fear for Alden. And Ignia.

"Al! Watch out!"

Celeste screamed at the top of her lungs. Suddenly, she found her body being pushed to the side.

Her heart dropped.

'No!'

Snapping her neck urgently towards Alden, Celeste froze, stunned.

She blinked.

Her jaw went slack.

Was she hallucinating?

Celeste instinctively bit the inside of her cheek.

It hurt.

That meant this wasn't a dream.

This was… reality.

Celeste blinked a few more times. The sight before her remained the same.

Eight shadowy tentacles surrounded her precious love, making him look like an eight-armed demon. That wasn't what stupefied her, though.

No, her surprise had to do with the fact that her childhood friend had stopped the ice spear.

Through a mixture of multiple [Shields] stacked against each other, using all eight tentacles and gripping the gelid projectile with a tenebrous energy covering his hands, Celeste realised Alden had blocked and neutralised the lance she thought would kill them.

He took a half-step back.

A flood of relief tore through her. Celeste instinctively assumed Alden had died.

'Thank the Asterons.'

She thought, pressing a hand to her heart. Celeste panted slightly. The shock of Alden's miraculous feat caused her to feel a little dizzy. She gritted her teeth and shook her head.

In the next second, she felt Ignia land on her shoulder.

Alden's emotionless voice reverberated immediately after:

"Take care of her, please."

A moment later, a Dark Elf with a terrifying aura arrived.