A Journey Unwanted

Chapter 527 - 515: Choice to make

[Realm: Uhorus]

[Location: Verdantis]

[Capital City]

It was not long before Alyssia and Lucinda found themselves back within the former’s chambers.

Lyra had led them there personally.

The familiar room greeted them with an atmosphere that felt oddly welcome after the various conversations throughout the castle. The moment Lucinda stepped through the doorway, her gaze immediately moved towards the others.

Victoria and Fiona remained exactly where they had been left.

Victoria sat comfortably in her seat, her fingers lightly resting against the armrest. For some reason she looked unusually intrigued, as though she had spent the last while entertaining a thought she found particularly interesting.

Besides her sat Fiona.

The wolf-eared girl appeared far more distracted.

Her ears occasionally twitched beneath the ornaments, clear signs that her mind was still turning over something.

Neither seemed particularly surprised by their arrival.

"Ah, you’re back." Victoria was the first to notice them; her blue eyes shifted towards the doorway as a small smile tugged at her lips. "Did the two of you enjoy yourselves?"

Lucinda blinked.

Alyssia immediately looked suspicious. "Enjoy ourselves?"

Victoria nodded innocently. "The conversation."

"Ah." Alyssia folded her arms. "It was adequate conversation, I suppose." The answer came with indifference, but it seemed more like something that was very carefully constructed to avoid sounding pleased.

Unfortunately for Alyssia, everyone in the room had become familiar enough with her to recognise exactly what she was doing.

"No need to be shy, Alyssia." Lyra moved past them and settled into the room. "You may simply say that you enjoyed it."

Alyssia immediately turned away; the reaction alone was enough of an answer. "I did not."

"You did."

Alyssia let out a long-suffering sigh. "Must every conversation become an opportunity for you to torment me?"

"That is reserved for the more enjoyable ones," Lyra clarified.

"Ugh." Alyssia shot Lyra a very annoyed look. "I will not continue standing for this teasing." Her words did not at all sound threatening.

Victoria laughed softly, and Lucinda found herself smiling despite herself.

Alyssia noticed. "You as well?"

"I didn’t say anything." Lucinda shrugged lightly.

"You were thinking about how amusing this was," Alyssia accused.

Lucinda wisely chose not to answer.

That only made Alyssia narrow her eyes further.

Eventually the spawn relented with another dramatic sigh before dropping into the nearest seat. For all her complaints, however, the atmosphere felt noticeably lighter than it had earlier.

At least for a moment.

Then Lucinda remembered why Lyra had sought them out in the first place.

Her attention shifted back towards the Court Mage.

"So what was it you wished to discuss, Lady Lyra?"

Lyra glanced between them. "In a moment." She motioned towards the empty seats. "You should sit down first." Her expression softened slightly. "It may be somewhat lengthy."

Lucinda exchanged a glance with Alyssia before she complied, moving towards her respective seat. Lucinda naturally settled besides Fiona and Victoria once again.

Across from them, Lyra took a seat, with Alyssia besides the Ancestor. The spawn crossed one leg gracefully over the other and leant back.

"I certainly hope this conversation shall not be as great a bore as some of the others I’ve endured recently." The complaint almost sounded automatic.

Lyra merely looked amused. "Well, that depends entirely on your tolerance for sensible discussions."

"My tolerance remains extremely limited," Alyssia stated.

"I noticed."

Alyssia huffed.

Lyra folded her hands together as she spoke.

"Truthfully, it is more of a proposition." Her gaze shifted towards Lucinda. "A proposition involving you."

Lucinda tilted her head.

"Me again?"

"Among other things." Lyra nodded. "While I still hope for you to help Alyssia with her training personally, I was hoping you might assist with another aspect of it."

Lucinda listened attentively.

"So to speak, I hoped you could take her into the field."

The room grew quiet, and Lucinda immediately understood what Lyra meant. Though she still sounded uncertain when she spoke. "As in... assisting with the Abyssal tears?"

Lyra nodded. "Among other related situations, yes."

Lucinda frowned thoughtfully; across the room, Alyssia turned towards Lyra. Her expression carried a clear question.

You are serious?

Lyra noticed immediately, before she could answer, however, another voice entered the discussion.

"It was actually more Guinevere’s idea." Victoria spoke up; every head in the room turned towards her. The blonde merely offered a small shrug. "She was the one who suggested it first."

Alyssia’s eyes narrowed instantly; that explained quite a lot to her.

Victoria continued.

"She wants Alyssia to develop as quickly as possible."

Lucinda blinked, then immediately connected the pieces. "To help fuel the realm-travel spell." The conclusion emerged naturally as Victoria nodded.

"Precisely." The blonde confirmed.

Alyssia rolled her eyes so dramatically that even Fiona’s ears twitched.

"That woman..." The words escaped in a long exhale. "She truly does whatever she pleases." There was frustration there, but not genuine hatred. "She makes plans whenever she pleases." Alyssia folded her arms tighter. "Requests whatever she pleases." Then she paused for a moment. "Actually, ’requests’ is the wrong word." Her gaze drifted towards the ceiling. "She announces decisions and expects everything to rearrange itself accordingly."

Victoria looked thoughtful. "That is admittedly fairly accurate."

"Thank you." Alyssia smirked as she sank into her chair more. "Honestly, I have never met anyone so controlling in my life." The statement carried exasperation, and for a moment the room quieted.

Then Lyra spoke. "Harsh as Guinevere may seem, she does want what is best for you, Alyssia." The words were gentle, almost convincing despite their simplicity.

Alyssia glanced towards her as Lyra continued before she could respond.

"Her methods are often questionable and frequently overbearing, and she is almost incapable of asking for help normally. But despite all that," Lyra finished, "her concern is genuine."

Alyssia remained unconvinced; the scepticism on her face was immediate, but some of the irritation faded, though.

"Somehow..." She looked away. "...I sincerely doubt that."

"You shall see in time." Lyra’s answer was as simple as ever.

As though she understood Alyssia’s doubts but had no intention of arguing against them.

Alyssia, naturally, looked unconvinced.

That earned a smile from Lyra, though the Court Mage said nothing further as Fiona finally spoke. The wolf-eared girl had been quiet for most of the discussion, but it was obvious that something had been bothering her.

"Sorry to cut in." Everyone’s attention shifted towards her; Fiona hesitated briefly before continuing. "But we’ve already determined that Abyssal Wardens are being drawn here because of spawns of Octavia. Because of Angels."

Her gaze moved between Lyra and Lucinda.

"If that’s true, wouldn’t the reaction from an Abyssal tear be significantly worse if two spawns were present in the same location? Wouldn’t that potentially attract something even more dangerous?"

The concern in her voice was difficult to miss; she wasn’t objecting for the sake of argument. She seemed genuinely worried.

Lucinda nodded almost immediately.

"That concern has crossed my mind as well." Her hands folded neatly in her lap. "I do not believe Abyssal Wardens themselves are beyond our ability to contend with." Her expression grew more thoughtful. "But the Abyss has never been predictable. Every encounter seems to do something we did not account for." She glanced downward briefly. "And the uncertainty is often what concerns me most."

Fiona nodded; that was exactly what she meant. The known threats were one thing; the unknown was another entirely.

Before anyone else could respond, Victoria spoke.

"This serves a research purpose as well." Several gazes shifted towards her. "If our goal is ultimately to understand the Abyss, then opportunities like this are valuable." She leaned back slightly. "We keep referring to it as a puzzle because that’s exactly what it is. Every anomaly gives us another piece."

Her eyes moved towards Lucinda.

"If the presence of two spawns changes the behavior of an Abyssal tear, then that information alone would be significant." Then toward Fiona. "And if it doesn’t, that is equally valuable to know."

Fiona frowned slightly. "I understand that." She really did, but understanding did not remove the concern. "But isn’t this a little too drastic?" Her voice remained careful. "We’re not talking about observing something from a safe distance. We’re talking about intentionally placing two people who already attract the Abyss in the same location."

Victoria didn’t immediately answer, because, truthfully, Fiona wasn’t wrong.

Lyra did instead.

"Of course it is." The immediate agreement surprised Fiona slightly, the Court Mage nodded. "It is absolutely drastic." There was no attempt to sugarcoat it. "No one here should pretend otherwise." Her red eyes moved across the room. "We are discussing a risk. However, calamities are not solved by waiting for safer circumstances." Her tone remained calm as she continued. "If caution alone were enough, the Abyss would have been understood long ago."

A brief silence followed.

"We take risks because the alternative is allowing the problem to continue growing." Then she looked towards Lucinda and Alyssia. "That said, none of this matters if the two of them are unwilling. This remains their decision."

Alyssia immediately spoke before anyone else could.

"Far be it from me to refuse," the response came almost too quickly; she shifted in her seat. "Remaining confined to my chambers is becoming exhausting in its own unique way." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "I am beginning to understand why prisoners become difficult to tolerate."

Victoria snorted but Alyssia ignored both.

"I’ve spent enough time sitting around discussing problems." She folded her arms. "If there is an opportunity to actually do something, I would prefer that."

Lucinda quietly observed her, the eagerness wasn’t difficult to notice. Alyssia was trying to sound indifferent, trying very hard, in fact and failing.

("I suppose she wants to test herself.") Lucinda found the conclusion fairly reasonable.

"I’m willing as well." The words came naturally from Lucinda. There had never been much doubt in her mind. However, she did have one concern. "I’m simply not entirely sure how this is supposed to work." Her gaze shifted briefly towards Alyssia, then back to Lyra. "If the goal is to involve both of us, there are still many unknowns."

Lyra waved a hand lightly. "You leave that part to me, dear." There was something reassuring about the tone of her voice.

Lucinda considered that for a moment, then gave a small nod.

"Very well." If anyone in the room could devise a solution, it was probably Lyra. Satisfied for the moment, Lucinda turned toward Alyssia. A small smile found its way onto her face. "I suppose we’ll be working together quite a bit from now on."

Across from her, Alyssia nodded; the eagerness hadn’t completely vanished. If anything, it had become slightly more obvious, though she was clearly trying not to show it.

"Seems that way." A small pause followed. Then she added, with considerably less reluctance than she might have shown earlier that day, "We may as well make sure neither of us gets killed."

For Alyssia, that was practically enthusiasm.