Selasier (03) 036. Awakening to Ruby Eyes
Selasier (03) 036. When he opened his eyes, what he saw were two pupils resembling rubies. In the corner of the cavern sat two figures side by side. Kalen stared blankly, eyes wide, at Selasier sleeping soundly beside him. Their steady breaths mingled close.
Despite the great ordeal they had just endured, her faint exhalations were not unpleasant. One slept peacefully while the other gazed upon her. Kalen calmly assessed the situation with detached clarity. Even in life-or-death peril, he maintained this composure—that was why the boy was said to be beyond his years.
He got excited over bets and never won them, yet when stakes involved his life, he had never failed. That was the reason.
Kalen shifted his gaze from the rubies to the cavern. The pitch-black monster had vanished without a trace. Was it a mana beast? Personally, Kalen thought it closer to a spirit than a beast, based on the pattern at the cave entrance and its appearance. The pattern of the lord spirit that Sinat had contracted with—it was strikingly similar, and it had thrown itself into danger for her sake. It looked exactly like the monster he had encountered back then.
Only at the very end had he found a breakthrough, for that very reason. Assuming it was akin to that one, he had severed its connection to the Spirit Realm using a mental image, just as before. His hunch had been correct; the altar at the cavern's center lay in ruins.
In the end, this gamble had succeeded too. Kalen let out a soft pfft of laughter and turned his eyes away.
His body was a ragged mess, scarcely worthy of the name. His right arm and side were shredded, covered in wounds large and small. Strangely, though, he felt no pain. The visible damage was dire, but that was all—his body was otherwise in perfect, serene condition.
Just before losing consciousness, he had felt a chill at the nape of his neck. After that, his body had eased. He didn't know why, but it was a good thing regardless. Far better than being half-dead and immobile.
There were still many questions, but pushing further now would be unwise. Kalen carefully hoisted the still-unconscious Selasier onto his back and began to walk.
Outside the cave, the moon was setting and the sun about to rise. Gazing at the sky, Kalen suddenly grew curious about the peak of Hiatt Mountain. Ever since the mana beast appeared, the summit had become an unknown vista. Now, it piqued his interest anew.
Fog still lingered around them. It had thinned greatly from before, but descending safely might still prove tricky. Besides, from their current position, the peak was close—no reason to refuse.
He knew dawn landscapes were beautiful from anywhere. The blazing sun held a rare gentleness twice: at its rising and just before its setting. He would watch that crimson-tinged spectacle from the summit of Hiatt Mountain, now known to none.
Resolved, Kalen silently headed for the peak with Selasier on his back. He had watched the sunset over the ridge behind Sinat's cabin. He had beheld the frigid sunlight on Winter Island with Eliana. Would this be the same? He doubted he could relive such moments easily. Even so, Kalen placed another small bet: Would the summit be beautiful? It wasn't life-or-death, and he always lost those anyway. Expectations were low.
"...Kalen."
"Ah. You're awake."
Selasier blinked her dazed, rising eyes, struggling to clear her blurry vision. Her retinas gradually sharpened on a breathtaking vista unlike any she had known, one that stole her breath away.
"Where... is this..."
"Hiatt Mountain."
"The mountain...?"
"The summit."
Her body ached all over with exhaustion. Soaked in extreme fatigue and suddenly released from tension, it was only natural. Selasier forcibly turned her stubborn head toward Kalen beside her.
"Why here..."
"Curiosity."
Kalen was nonchalant. His body was utterly wrecked with fatigue, yet he acted as if pain were a stranger. Just like their first meeting. She had thought him merely cold then, but now she knew better. Beneath that chill lay his own warmth.
They said cold men weren't popular in the North. In that sense, Kalen might fare well. A hidden warmth amid the frost was more striking than overt affection.
Selasier felt that warmth on her cheek and quietly turned away. Her index finger tapped her jaw tap, tap, but for some reason, her mask wouldn't form. She had surely caressed his cheek in the cavern before blacking out. Her facade had crumbled then.
"The sun will rise soon."
"...Huh?"
"I just... wanted to see a pretty view."
Selasier tried to don her mask again but failed, reduced to furtive glances. Kalen gazed nobly toward the horizon. It was indeed beautiful. Even in the pre-dawn dimness, it entranced her. She could scarcely imagine it bathed in crimson.
If she had to compare... yes, Winter Island. She hadn't been, but it couldn't surpass this. Comparing to an unseen place was impossible, of course. Unconsciously recalling her mental image where the Rakatus lady appeared, Selasier realized she was consoling herself with jealousy and faint envy.
No, that wasn't all. Her nerves weren't solely on the vista. In that image of the Rakatus lady was Winter Island—and a boy. Kalen, right beside her now. She wished this view with him wouldn't pale against that island, a feeling she couldn't explain.
Drunk on the mood, her next words followed suit.
"Kalen."
"Yes."
"I have a favor to ask."
Selasier gauged where he looked and matched her gaze there—not the strange fog, but the serene, thick clouds on the horizon.
"When we get back safely."
Her tapping finger lowered. No need for a mask, nor did she want one.
"When we get back safely."
Instead, she covered up. With no other way to hide her expression, she shielded nose and mouth with both hands, leaving only her eyes to watch him. Maskless, she felt so fragile, so powerless—a mere girl.
"Can you capture Makbel... and bring him before me?"
Thump, thump. Was her heart in her cheeks and head too? Her whole body pulsed. Cheeks burned, head throbbed tight, heartbeat roared deafeningly.
Makbel had betrayed them. She hadn't been sane accepting it then. Now, she was fine. An unchanging, promise-keeping presence was at her side.
She would sever the longest-trusted betrayer and embrace the shortest-acquainted yet most reliable one. It would be a chain—for herself. And a promise. An eternal, unyielding vow. A chain declaring she could trust no one but Kalen, a promise that he alone wouldn't abandon her.
Selasier waited quietly, regretting not covering her eyes too. She lacked the courage to meet his gaze.
"Understood."
Only she thought it took ages. Hearing his reply, she exhaled a tiny sigh into her shielding hands.
Kalen hadn't betrayed her trust this time either.
"Ah..."
A soft gasp echoed from Selasier. Without further words, they watched the horizon until the sun crested. She wasn't the only one awestruck. Kalen's heart mirrored hers.
As if painting light into a colorless world, the horizon blushed faint crimson, sending shivers down his spine. Clouds just below the peak, and the distant abyss farther down—they all tinged scarlet, a thrill beyond words.
Kalen recalled Winter Island. The warm Rakatus lands. With their lady Eliana, he had seen a cyan-white world. Conversely, with Selasier of the northern Hiatt house, he faced this crimson realm.
In conclusion, this gamble succeeded. Joy at the sight alone was inexpressible; sharing such a spectacle again thrilled him more. The lights of those two worlds opposed, yet their beauty defied ranking.
Satisfied inwardly, Kalen nodded and glanced aside.
"It's similar."
"...Huh?"
"To your eye color."
"..."
Selasier had already turned, watching him, so she startled slightly. But gazing at her ruby eyes now tinged crimson, he spoke.
"...Thank you."
As she blinked in surprise, Selasier said it. Flustered by the sudden gratitude, Kalen reflexively asked,
"Pardon?"
"I said thank you."
Selasier smiled brightly, giggling. The rubies between her curved eyes held Kalen as before, now warmer than their first meeting.
"For showing me a world like this."
Sweet breath brushed faintly close. Her shy smile flushed red—was it the rising sun? That smile alone proved the tears on her chin weren't from sorrow.