Chapter 9 - Splash Of Blood

Falling.

In my time here on this island, I was told that falling could be a very great feeling.

And I don't disagree. It did feel good. Only if I didn't think about how my blood will splatter on the ground once I reach it.

They said that falling feels better when you know that someone will catch you in the end.

But who will catch me?

I chose to fall on my own. I didn't have the time to think over my actions. I just did what I felt like doing and it led me to this gruesome scenario of me, free-falling from the skies after catching my gemstone, ready to die.... but with a smile on my face.

Because I am thankful.

Thankful for the short amount of time that I was able to experience even just a tiny little bit of happiness in my life, all thanks to Venedette.

My sheer luck managed to save me from death twice already, and I don't think luck can save me again this time.

It's all over.

I have overextended my time here on Earth.

I don't even know why I was born.

It's ridiculous.

Did my parents let me out into this world and left me just to suffer? Find happiness.. and then, die just when I found it?

I don't know.

It seems like fate is playing with me.

And instead of thinking of ways to survive this fall, my brain lazed down and just told me to lie on my back while falling.

Just so I can prolong the time I'm in the air while hoping for some magic to save me again.

I really don't know why I thought jumping after the necklace was a good idea.

Actually, I didn't think it was a good idea. I really didn't think like that at all.

I just found myself moving out of control, went numb, and then jumped.

The stone was calling to me.

It cried 'help'.

And although I'm expecting for it to save me again from death... deep inside, I know it can't grant me my wish, this is beyond its powers.

But how did I know that?

It's like... we're communicating, without words.

We're just... connected. Somehow.

And for the first time, before I died, it talked to me.

"It's alive!" I heard Venedette's voice echoing in my mind.

Turns out she was right.

It is alive.

<I'm so sorry master, I have failed you> A robotic voice said in my head.

"It's okay, I understand. I'm all you've got, and you're all that I have." I reached him up to the sky, aligning him with the brightest star in my vision.

At least, I experienced the great things in life before dying, didn't I?

I shut my eyes tightly as I wore the necklace in my neck, and when I opened them again, I noticed the beads of tears that had formed in my eyes lagging in the air, and a silhouette of someone, falling to me, after them.

"HANG ON!" He shouted.

Von was the last person I'd expect to see, let alone save me.

And although I knew he could fly, I also knew about how he's weak and how he's such an asshole! Do I really expect him to save us? No! I don't trust him and it's entirely his fault that I'm in this position in the first place!

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? ASSHOLE!?" I shouted.

Venedette told me to take care of my gemstone, and her brat of a son thought that it was a good idea to throw it into the cliff!

The audacity of this boy to jump after me!

"UHH, SAVING YOU?" That felt like deja vu. Did he just copy what I told him in the cave??

He was diving in the air to catch up to me, and I didn't care!

"JUST LET ME DIE YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT! DO YOU REALLY THINK I'LL BELIEVE YOU!? YOU CAN'T EVEN FLY THAT WELL SO WHO DO YOU THINK'S GONNA SAVE WHO!?" I rolled my eyes at him. I don't want help from a plastic bag like him! He's so noisy and annoying and unreasonable in everything that he does!

And now that I know we'll die sooner or later, I don't even need to hold back my feelings anymore.

I can just say whatever I want and he won't give a damn because we're both holding the wrong side of the knife.

A superhuman may be strong but they can't withstand the impact of a 10,000 km fall. No one can do that. Unless they're one of the first five.

But I am just a common supergirl, and even if Von here is a royal, he's still too young to be able to max out his defenses. I even doubt he has any of those just by basing on his skill level and the few hits that he didn't know how to block from me earlier.

"JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME THINK! I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOU HERE ALRIGHT!!?" He said, standing almost at the same level as me, trying to position his hands in my back softly to prepare for a stop.

"Fine. Do whatever you want. This is your fault anyway, you've got to take responsibility." I said, to which he only replied with a "tch."

I didn't have the energy to complain anymore.

I've got to take this thread even if it has a very slim chance of succeeding, only because I've got no other choice.

I tried to look down and saw that we're still a couple of hundred meters above the sky, and he's really taking his time on breaking the fall.

I guess he didn't want to injure me by putting a full stop at once so he's taking it slowly?

I don't know. I'm still not thankful to him.

He's just paying the price for his dumb actions.

"Hey! Don't move! I'm not used to flying while carrying people yet! Do you want to die!!??" He scowled at me.

I just chose to stay silent and let him focus on his work. He already managed to break my fall and now he's trying his best to get us back on the island.

I still can't believe he actually came here to help me. Of course, it's his fault, but who would've thought he'll take responsibility for it?

I mean, I guess they had no choice but to send him after me because he's the only royal left on the island who can fly...

The flight was taking too long because of how slow this Von is flying. Is he running out of gas or something? He's very slow!

But my conscience wouldn't let me say that out loud, instead, I just ranted about another thing that I'm concerned about in my mind to gemstone. I'm sure it's listening.

"Just why aren't there any precautionary measures on the island's cliffs! So what if someone like me were to fall? Someone who doesn't know how to fly!? Are we just going to accept the fact that we fell out of the nest like a birdling but still died anyway because we don't have wings!?" And by wings, I meant the 'royalty' blood that Venedette and her family share with the first five superhumans that allows them to fly and have more attributes than normal peasants like us who are descendants of normal people with only enhanced super resistance to the virus and other lower perks.

I'll make sure to complain about these to Venedette if we ever manage to arrive back on the island safely. But I doubt that'll happen, not unless the gemstone helps us. I already accepted my fate that I was going to die sooner or later in this life anyway. But what about him?

I turned my cheek to look at him. I wonder if he realizes the fact that jumping to save me is equivalent to him risking his life? And he seems to be getting weaker and weaker the higher we soar to the sky.

"Are we there yet?" I purposely distracted him, trying to direct his attention away from thinking about how hard it is to cut through the sky. But he didn't respond to me.

I guess this is what overworking is doing to his little body. He was sweating bullets, and his face is becoming paler and paler each height we ascend.

"Are you okay!?" I shouted at him because the air turbulence was getting louder.

"Sh-ut.. u-p." He was having difficulty breathing too whereas I was just chilling in his arms.

Suddenly, a weird idea flashed into my mind, probably coming from Mr. gemstone.

It told me to bite one end of the gemstone in my lips and pass it to Von's mouth. And although I was not sure of what it was trying to do at first, I realized the point of the plan when I felt it release a soothing mist in my mouth that felt cured my thirst and depleted energy.

I wasted no time and held Von's face with both of my hands immediately to make sure that the gemstone would land perfectly on his mouth from my lips.

He didn't have the time nor the energy to complain about what I was doing.

He looked at me like I'm some crazy woman, but he didn't let go of the stone on his lips. He probably felt the gemstone's magic, feeding him energy.

I even saw the faint cyan mist coming out from the gaps in his lips when I moved away from him. But not too far away, I'm still leaning very close to him because the stone is still attached to my necklace.

Soon enough, I felt Von's flight becoming slightly steadier and faster. His arms also felt stronger in my back.

And instead of being thankful, Von rolled his eyes at me and just continued flying as if nothing happened. After getting full, he let go of my necklace and I got to finally lay down comfortably in his arms again.

Not that I'm saying his arms are comfortable, it's just... my position earlier was very uncomfortable. I think I sprained my neck because of it.

Von's flight was still very slow compared to his Venedette's. I witnessed that when I saw him falling behind her so many times when we were flying from Mt. Sana back to the manor.

He even had to hold Venedette's hands to keep up with her speed.

And so as we ascend, even if the air pressure feels so heavy that you'll think we're flying very fast, in reality, we're just like a bike in the sky compared to the adults who can be cars or trains or even airplanes depending on their skill level.

That is why I had to give Von the gemstone at least twelve times more before we finally arrived back at the manor just before sunset. Everyone was waiting outside of the manor, worried about us. I still can't believe that we really managed to survive on our own through that very dangerous situation.

But Von is still an asshole, he just threw me carelessly into the ground when we're already so near the floor. He could've just put me down gently.

But I guess I deserve that much for being too dumb and jumping recklessly.

The both of us collapsed on the floor after that. Me because my limbs were paralyzed from staying in the same position for too long, and him because of the exhaustion from flying waaay beyond his limits and all that other crazy stuff that we did to survive in the sky.

However, Mr. Gemstone is the real MVP in this flight. It is all thanks to him and his endless supply of oxygen and energy mist that kept us going for so long. If it wasn't for his powers then I'll really be a damned splash of blood right now.