"..."
Sephaies's eyes opened at the familiar feeling of the Iris flowers pressing on his body, also surrounding the entire space, even beyond the limits of what eyes could perceive.
However, it was not the flowers his gaze first fell upon first,it was her, Iris, the dawnmother–or more specifically, the Mother Goddess of End.
Her smooth and flawless skin which looked even more breathtaking with her smooth and long white hairs that fell on her face as she looked down at him with her Bronze like eyes.
He felt something very soft, almost cushion like things below his head.
'A lap pillow...'
He bit his lower lip in an attempt to stop his anger from coming up. She had been kind enough to try to save him and is even trying to comfort him. Who is he supposed to be to tell her what to do and not?
She gently brushed aside the hair that was hiding his face from her. Her fingers were thin, soft and warm.
Just then, their eyes met each others.
Seph's heart began beating louder and louder. This feeling was strange at first, scary even, but even though he was alot mature than he used to be, he did not understand it.
Iris was not faring any better. Her heart also began beating loudly. Blood rushed to her face making her cheeks blush. But that heartwarming feeling was overshadowed by the melancholy in her eyes as she peered into his.
After realizing that they both have been staring at each other's faces for too long now, their faces quickly reddened.
Not wanting to die out of embarrassment, Seph quickly got up from her lap and sat facing opposite to her to hide his tomato red face.
Although embarrassed, Iris was enjoying the feeling of Seph looking in her eyes and to have it been taken away was certainly not quite pleasing for her. "Getting up already? I actually wouldn't have minded if you rested a bit longer~"
"Wh-what are you talking about?!" Seph's voice stammered and tried to turn his face even further but this was not saving him from Iris, who simply grabbed his head and turned it towards herself.
"Ah! Your face's so red! Then you must've like my lap right? After all it isn't a common thing to get a lap pillow from a goddesses." Iris with her hand to her chest, spoke with a lot of pride.
"Heck like you can talk about my face when you're so red yourself!" Seph pointed his finger accusingly at Iris.
"E-eh? Mine? R-red?" Iris's hand reached up to her cheek, which to her felt super hot. "I-it must be a-a-a fe-fever. Yes! It's a fever!"
"...is that seriously the best excuse you think of?" Seph asked her with a deadpan face.
"Uh-"
"Aren't you a goddess?"
"I-"
"This is who they call the Wisdom queen?"
"Arghhhhh!!!!There you go bullying me again!!!" She started crying fake tears. "You're a horrible man! Making a girl cry like this sniff" It was now her who was acussingly pointing her fingers at him.
"Hk!"
The last part, although intended as a joke, hit Seph alot harder than it should've.
All forms of friendliness on seph's face instantly faded, now replaced by a down look at his palms, his pupils dialating and constructing repeatedly and hyperventilation.
"It's okay"
A warms palm touched his cheek. It was Iris's. Her gentle voice almost seemed like all it promised was comfort, bringing him out of his panic.
"It wasn't your fault. None of this would've happened had I not gotten mad so childishly."
"Huh? Your fault? For getting angry at being discredited and having the guy who's just leeching of you shout at you? Where's your fault in that? It was me who was at fault!" Sephaies retorted back to her attempts at ignoring his own flaws.
After being absolutely humiliated by Alamans and knowing the truth behind Iris's action from the shadows, he took out all his anger on Iris. And she listened, not daring to oppose any of his words, only getting mad at his statement of calling their relationship being built on 'mere memories of a dead one'. After that, she hadn't visited him in his dreams at all. In fact this is the first time they had seen each other in 2 months or something.
Iris shook her head and replied with a low tone-"You weren't in the right mind. I should've been more reasonable." With each words escaping her lips, her head went down along with them, until they finally reached the Iris flowers on the ground, on which they were sitting on.
Sephaies's mind surged with pure anger and annoyance-"Hell are you talking about?! You've lost your mind or something?!" He jolted up from his place onto his two feets. "Just cause someone's not right doesn't give them the right to shout at someone for no reason at all!!"
"But it was for a reason! I killed, murdered, just to pave your path with their blood!!! IF THAT DOESN'T MAKES ME A DEVIL THEN WHAT DOES?!?! TELL ME SEPHAIES! WHAT DOES?!" She also stood up and unleashed her emotions and doubts to their full extent. Years of unshed tears flowing out with no end which she desperately tried to wipe away.
Sephaies just stood there. Realization and guilt weighing upon his conscience. His hadn't expected his words to cause such a heavy impact on her. Words spouted out in a flash anger had poisioned the self image and the usual cheery and prideful personality of this girl. He had done this. He. YOU.
"I-" Words got stuck in his throat, refusing to leave, scared if instead of a melody of comfort, they would again come out as a sharp hot knife meant for killing.
"A pathetic man is all you can be"
Those words resonated within his mind. Trying to imprint its meaning on his very conciousness, on his purpose.
"I-i just-" Finally, words came out of his mouth, although scared but nonetheless better than nothing.
"I just wanted to know...who am I? Where did I come from? Why did i come here? Who is the sage? What is his relation to me? How and Why are we connected? Who are you? Who are we? What were we? Why-" His voice breaking at regular intervals, trying to force their way out of his mouth despite the overwhelming pressure of the negative emotions swirling pressing down at his throat. "-Why did you choose someone like me? I'm not smart, nor am i strong, nor do i ever do the right things. I-i...I'm scared of this task. I want t-to make your long a-awaited wish come true. I want to set you free. I want to, really do...but...I'm...terrified." His body shook with unease and in fear of hearing her disappointment as his legs gave up and he fell on his knees.
Iris listened to him, the emotions in his voice being recognized by her perfectly. After all, those were the questions she had once asked herself too.
Her gaze drifted behind Seph, to the river flowing just a small distance away from them. That's when an unbidden thought leaped into the forefront of her awareness.
"You want the answer to all that right?" She asked Seph without even looking at him.
"Huh?" Seph looked up at her with teary red eyes.
"I said, you want the answer to all that right?" Her gaze drifted from the river to Seph as a small smile bloomed on her tear stained face.
Not grasping the intention but understanding the meaning behind her words he nodded his head.
"Great!" She extended her hands towards. "Cmon boy get upp! We've got a long journey ahead!" She exclaimed with enthusiasm.
Although confused, when Seph saw her hand he tried to follow suit, but then, he hesitated. His insecurities stopping him from taking her hand.
Seeing he would not take her hand, she let out an exaspered sigh before she herself grabbed hold of his hand and forcefully him lifting off the ground.
"Wha-?!" Iris did not just stopped at pulling him up, she then turned around and started running while still holding his arm, basically dragging him along with her.
"Iris what are you-?!"
"JUST SHUT UP AND KEEP UP WITH ME!"
Both of them ran under the lavender-orange glow of the setting sun through the never-ending garden of Irises.
Seph soon saw the river and understood where she was taking him. Straight into the Instream.
'What is she planning?' He thought.
Splash
Only after a few seconds of running Iris's feet first splashed on the river's waves but this was not our stop.
Splish splosh splash
Both of them continued going deeper into the river until the river bed vanished from under our feet.
Seph looked down as her felt nothing for his foot to stand on. He was slowly falling into the water,as if the whole world had slowed down. Before he fell straight into it, he took a deep look at his face that supposedly resembled the Sage's.
Then-
SPLASH!
Both of them were now totally under the water surface, the water felt almost non-existent but its effect on our weights and its flow was very thoroughly felt by us.
Opposing the flow of the Instream, Iris pulled Seph down with her. Her hand holding onto his with tremendous strength, to not let go of him. It was etheral, not he scenery, not even the feeling of the weightlessness. What was etheral was this time i was spending with her.
Seph's eyes were still half closed by reflex of being underwater so he wasn't able able to see anything as of now.
Both their feets finally landed on a solid surface. The streambed, the pillar upholding Time.
On the sensation of surface, Seph's eyes finally opened.
Being underwater had made one significant change to them, which he was now realizing after opening his eyes.
Their clothes, along with their breath had escaped off them as bubbles.
They were totally clothless, her back turned against him while still holding his hand, guiding him through the flow.
Yet, even seeing godlike beautiful body, he felt nothing.
No lust to become one with her.
No Greed to claim her.
No Gluttony to devour her entire body.
No Sloth to lead her astray from her current efforts into worthless work.
There was no great Internal struggle this time.
But he felt one thing for her.
Love.
Unbridled and Unfiltered love.
His soul found its native tongue in the raw, uncut dialect of his love for her. It was a love so pure and potent it bypassed his mind entirely, flooding his very marrow.
That's why as a last act of my gratitude for her I-
*END OF VOLUME*