Chapter 41 - 41 - The Nightly Sky

Before he could make any more out of the strange vision, the image faded, clarity returned to his mind. As his sight returned to reality, he saw a small change, a tinge of sadness appear over Sera's face, as she kept looking at the boy.

As if she was already aware of what had gone down, a wry look replaced her previously complex one, contorting her facial muscles, distorting her outlook filled with unexplained pain and heart-wrenching sorrow.

"I see. I guess your memories are slowly returning as you are growing stronger." She sighed, averting her eyes, and returning her attention towards the already dark sky.

She waited a bit, giving time for the boy to come back before she continued under the boy's stunned gaze.

"Before Master has left the world, do you know what was the last thing he did?" She asked, as the previously seen pain, continued to dominate her expressions, slowly forcing a smile to appear under its rule.

Lucien didn't speak, he was still under the influence of what he saw and consequently what he heard. Instead, he followed her gaze and looked up to the nightly sky.

Stars dotted the scape, dotting the heaven with countless little shining balls of gold. As he looked at them, Lucien wondered, were they real? Was this only an illusion? They are in a subspace, somewhere hidden, tucked away from the real world. Could what was displayed above be real at all?

He wasn't certain, still, he couldn't deny that the scene was marvelous, magical even.

After the initial inquiry, her rhetorical-sounding question, Sera didn't continue, she kept gazing at the stars, just like Lucien.

Several seconds of silence ensued between the two once again. However, instead of being tense, or awkward, it was soothing, calming even. They both enjoyed, deeply entrenched in their stargazing.

"Are they real? Or is this simply some illusion?" After what seemed like a few minutes, Lucien voiced his question, keeping his eyes above.

"They are." Sera commented curtly, waiting for a second before continuing with a slightly changed, sorrowful tone. "You see, before Master left, he was doing the exact same thing we are doing right now."

"What? Looking at the stars?" He asked with a bit of lingering confusion in his tone. What was she getting at?

Instead of answering directly, Sera went on, lost in reminiscing her last moments with her one true lord, her Master… her father figure.

"He was standing alone, his piercing eyes plastered above. He had this strange, distant look on his face, he was already determined. He knew that the ritual that he would do, would be the end of the line for him. He knew that he would need to… rest after completing it, yet he didn't falter, he didn't show fear, nor any pain." She explained, continuing after a moment of rest. "The only thing he asked me was what I asked you."

"You mean, what do I see?" Lucien asked, intrigued by the story. He still didn't understand where all of this was going, but learning more about his predecessor was something he was quite intrigued about. He had vastly more knowledge and experience dealing with the 'other one' and more than likely, with the system as well, after all.

"He asked: 'What do you see when you look at the sky above?'"

Sera turned her head, looking at the boy briefly, smiling at his continued confusion. She didn't mind it though, she looked back up to the nightly sky as she continued recounting her tale.

"I probably had the same look on my face then that you have right now. I didn't understand what the Master was trying to tell me, nor was I in the right mindset. I was sad, forcing my rising depression down, trying to show him only smiles on his last night." She sighed, letting out another pain-filled gasp of air. "You see, it was incredibly difficult. I wanted nothing more than to run and fall into his embrace… Just one last time."

"He wasn't simply a Master to you, was he? From what you are telling, and even from before, I feel there's more to you two than a simple Master-Servant relationship." Lucien abruptly blurted the question that was in his mind. Although he didn't mean any ill will, his question could be considered slightly offensive, which he wasn't aware of.

Luckily, Sera didn't mind it and responded with the same smile.

"Yes, that is true. He was more than just my lord, my Master. He was the one that found me, who… saved me." She spoke, her tone faltering as she was forced to remember her painful past. "He was my only family, my savior, my hero… He was a father to me."

She turned her head once again, looking at Lucien. Seeing how he was about to ask again she continued.

"Before you ask, he never showed me anything other than familial love and care. He also regarded me as his daughter. At the end…" She couldn't finish as she had to avert her swiftly blurring gaze and swallow the lump that started to gather in her throat. She turned her attention back to the sky and took a few brief moments before speaking again.

"Anyway… You still haven't answered the question, Lucien. What do you see when you look up?"

He wanted to ask more about the old man, he wanted to learn more about him. Still, even if he was antisocial, he could still understand that it wouldn't be nice to continue pushing the topic any further. It was clearly not an easy subject for Sera to talk about.

Lucien looked up once again, watching the countless shining stars as they dotted his vision. He wasn't sure what to say, he kept focusing, trying to find something that would guide him towards an expected, 'right' answer. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything.

"I don't know… I see the stars? The universe?" He probed after a while.

The previous distant, thin smile returned to Sera's face after the brief intermission. She gave him a bit more time, before resuming her tale.

"He looked up and said: I see the trillions upon trillions of shining stars, each carrying their own hopes and dreams. Each may very well nurture life on their own, just like ours. They may be similar to us or may be completely different. They could suffer as we do, or they could strive in their own utopia."

Lucien creased his eyebrows, not understanding anything about this answer at all. What does that mean? Why was he talking in such a manner? What did the old man mean by all that?

Seeing his troubled look, the first giggle of the night escaped through Sera's lips. She looked at the boy filled with familial emotions, speaking in a warm tone.

"I didn't understand it at the time either. I still don't to be honest, but after so many years of lamenting over it, I think I got the gist of what he was trying to explain."

"And what was that? What did he try to convey?" Lucien asked with impatience. By now, he was invested in her story, he wanted to understand the underlying meaning. What was he trying to say? Why did he leave? What was the whole point of his last actions?

"He was trying to save us, giving us a second chance. He sacrificed his last bits of strength, in this last chance. By giving away his life and power, he gave us all this hope for the better future."

Her expression which she hid behind her gentle smile, was hard to make out. Lucien felt her irregular heartbeat, but couldn't make anything out of it. She was, after all, much more powerful than his current self, she could easily block his attempts.

Before he had any chance to speak again, Sera suddenly jumped up from her seat and turned towards the door.

"Huah…" She let out a fake-sounding yawn, stretching as if she was suddenly tired. "It's getting late, let's go back inside. We both need to rest, we only have slightly more than a week left to enjoy and get you up in strength. You need to focus tomorrow!"

With that said, she left and went back inside, leaving the door slightly ajar behind her.

"Close the door once you are in! I will wake you up early morning, good night!" Her voice came from inside as she was walking to her room.

Left alone, Lucien's thoughts raced once again, trying to make sense of everything they have just talked about.

'So he sacrificed himself? What was this ritual actually about? She didn't explain it at all…' He questioned inwardly, returning his gaze towards the sky from the door. 'What was he going on about? What was he trying to prevent, what was this 'second chance' all about?' He wondered.

Trying to think back to everything that Sera said, Lucien kept looking at the clear night sky. Eventually, he resumed his breathing exercise, trying to calm his racing thoughts and clear his head.

He knew that there was no point in letting himself be stuck in these confusing thoughts. Time will clear out everything. Just as she said, he needed to be level-headed from tomorrow.. He only had a couple of days left to train before being forced to leave after all.