Chapter 48 - A Promise For Tomorrow

Mifa was an ordinary girl in a far west village, located on a floating islet called Eltas.

Eltas was like a great forest surrounded by small hills and right in the middle of it, the village Mert.

One day, Mifa found Klad and Killa on the edge outside of Eltas, they were lost, hungry and injured.

Mifa had two choices, abandon him or save them.

The hyena girl was always very lonely, even in the hospitable village that was Mert, so when she met Klad and Killa, Mifa helped them.

After a few weeks, the other three also showed up and Mifa heard the most diverse stories about the world outside Eltas and desperately wanted to see it with her own eyes.

On the day of the departure of Klad's group, Mifa joined them, said goodbye to her homeland and left to see the world.

Mifa and her friends went through several situations together, hunger, cold, thirst, dangers and defeats, but in the end, they always ended up laughing.

This continued until they found Athena.

Due to the adventures she had lived and the experiences she had accumulated, Klad had become convinced that she was strong.

The truth was bitterly painful for them.

After the death of Klad and Killa, Mifa learned that the world was much wider than she had ever seen it, and after traveling fair to her, Mifa learned more about Athena.

She saw in Athena, in addition to her strength, a sweet, affectionate, mysterious person, at the same time clumsy and skillful.

Mifa admired her, but this admiration soon grew and changed shape and had become some form of love, which the girl only came to discover when she felt jealous of Athena when the woman was talking to Lobana in a more intimate way.

But in the end, that love was impossible.

Mifa was curled up in her blanket in her room when she felt someone sit on her bed.

The girl stuck her nose out of the blanket and quickly identified the person when the rainbow rose scent.

"You… don't need to say anything." Athena said. Her voice was withered and hesitant. "Just listen to me."

Mifa curled up in bed and waited for Athena to speak, but the voice didn't come for a short, long time and the girl, thinking that Athena had left without her noticing, looked back.

Athena had her head down, her hair falling in her face and her hands covering her eyes.

She didn't know what was going on with Athena and jumped on the bed when Athena sobbed and then took a deep breath.

"The story I told in Basilian about my daughter's birth is a lie." Athena started. "Fotiá is a nymph born from my mana, so yes, she is my daughter...

I'm telling you this so you can understand the story I'm about to tell. A part of my story.

A long time ago, longer than you can imagine, I loved someone in a way I never loved anyone. She had become the most important thing to me and I lived for her.

For her, I left a lot of things and many other people important to me. I loved her so much, I would kill the world if it would make her happy, but... I was betrayed."

They were silent for a while longer, Athena feeling her mouth bitter and a lump in her throat, and Mifa simply stunned by the story.

"...After that, I abandoned her and closed my heart in fear and hating, hating and hating for a long, long time.

But then one day I woke up and there were my reasons for living again. My little innocent Fotiá and the fragile, strong, intelligent and lovable Anemus.

But one day Anemus told me she loves me and I realized my fear and hate for love, and so I ran away like a coward, leaving Anemus furious with me and Fotiá alone.

I am so grateful that you love me, but Mifa, I am by no means the person you imagine me to be.

I am cowardly, hateful, selfish, lustful and in this new phase of my life, lost and impulsive."

"That means..." Mifa was now sitting and having heard everything Athena had to say, she felt like Athena was asking to wait, but...

"I mean I can't… no, I can't answer your feelings." Athena looked at Mifa and on her face there was only regret mixed with anger.

Athena was angry at Luana for betraying her, she was angry at herself for betraying Anemus' trust, and she was angry for not being able to go on with her life even though she left the world where the woman who did her so badly, is or he was, and regretted hurting Mifa.

"I can't ask you to wait for me to solve my problems. I don't-"

"Then ask!" Mifa buried Athena when she saw a chance for her love to come true. "Ask me to wait."

Mifa took Athena's surprised face in her hands and leaned her forehead against Athena's.

"I'll wait if you ask me. I'm still young and I have another four hundred years to go. Can I wait?"

Athena looked into the girl's eyes and because she was so close, she could hear Mifa's desperate heartbeat.

Athena smiled at Mifa's courage, courage which she lacked and feeling ashamed of her cowardice, Athena nodded.

"Wait for me." Athena smiled sweetly. "But if you don't understand, I'm really, really old. Do you still want to wait?"

"How old could a human look like you be?"

"I'm not human." Athena said and Mifa jumped to the corner of the bed.

"What are you then, demon?"

"Worse, I'm a high human." Athena said and Mifa laughed.

"What are you talking about? High humans were extinct millennia ago."

"As you can see, not everyone." Athena rose. "There is one more I know who is alive."

After that, Athena and Mifa made peace with an unsecured promise as the basis for their new friendship.

After a week of travel, the Goddess Glory entered imperial territory again and continued their journey through the hot winds of the Sigma desert.