Chapter 252: Alive

"I was right, Evans. This is not the Afterlife."

Charlotte and Angela could only watch as Artemis's Soul slowly faded away. This was the first time the two of them were seeing an ephemeral soul, yet they could not comment as doing so with this kind of atmosphere was truly not appropriate.

They could see the obvious melancholy building up in Van's eye. Of course, they could not truly understand why, as they had only met Artemis almost just an hour ago. Perhaps there was some kind of connection they had? Van even went so far as to call her a family, which he didn't even with his own mother; which is understandable, of course.

"Please, use my powers for peace…" Artemis once again repeated her words as the edges of her lips faded. And soon, the light that previously flooded the entire Portal was gone, along with her soul.

It wasn't only her soul, but the trees, the leaves, and even the very dirt they stood on withered; blown by the wind that now continuously flowed across the Portal. Instantly, the temperature of the Portal rose up a few degrees as the natural foliage that covered it was completely gone.

"...Shall we bury her?" Charlotte was the first to speak as they stared at Artemis's body, still kneeling on the ground as the roots were the only support that kept her once-glorious body upright.

The ground trembled as Angela slowly raised her hand, but before she could fully do anything, Van stopped her.

"Please let me, Angela," Van said as he kneeled down, looking at Artemis with the same melancholic expression he had from the start. He then closed his eyes as he took one deep breath.

1 second.

5 seconds.

15 seconds.

He held his breath for a total of 30 seconds before releasing it in one full blast. And as soon as he did so, several roots emerged around Artemis, covering and circling her as they continued to grow towards the sky, but stopping just enough before they could reach it. The top of the roots then expanded, each blooming like a flower that almost covered the entirety of the Dome that served as the cage of the Portal.

"This…" Both Angela and Charlotte could not help but open their mouths in shock as their necks almost break from looking at the colossal tree that suddenly emerged from the ground. They then looked towards Van, who was still kneeling on the ground, in disbelief. Was this the power he got from absorbing Artemis?

"Evans, you--"

"It's alright, Miss Charlotte," Van did not let Charlotte finish as he approached her, "This was going to happen from the start, things are just… a bit different."

"!!!"

Charlotte then quickly caught Van as his legs suddenly gave in, causing him to fall towards her.

"Everything… everything will be fine…" Van whispered before his body completely relied on Charlotte's arms.

"...Poor kid," Charlotte could not help but utter, "Even if he was destined to be one of them, the only thing he knows is how to be human… and he experienced the worst of us. Do you still trust this plan of that master of yours?"

"...Of course," Angela nodded. But although her words seemed sure, there was a certain hesitation in her voice.

"Because if it were up to me, and we were going to rely on a child to save us all, I wouldn't put him in the Relic Graveyard," Charlotte said as she lifted Van, carrying her in her arms, "I would have taken care of him the way a mother would have, the way I couldn't with my own son."

"..."

"You knew all of this, and yet you allowed something like this to happen? You of all people should know what kind of people are born from the Relic Graveyard," Charlotte continued, "You know, I could crush him right now, break his neck and he won't feel a thing."

"What, why would you do that!?" Angela quickly grabbed Charlotte's arms.

"To stop him from the monster he could possibly become. I mean why? Why would you put such a child with powers into such a hideous environment?"

"It had to be done."

"Why?"

"...Because it is master Evangeline's plan."

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"This is wrong, Angie. And I know you know it too," Charlotte said as she started walking away, "Remember Artemis and think of Evangeline. One is a true god, and one is just a proxy. And yet the former seemed more human. What would you do if Van ends up turning his back on humanity after all of this?"

Angela could only stay silent as she followed behind her, looking at the unconscious Van as his head bobbed up and down. Evangeline's orders were absolute. She had already disobeyed her, she can't do it again.

***

"How long has it been?"

"It's been about 5 hours and 32 minutes since they entered the Portal."

"That's it, we're going in."

Adia cracked her neck as she readied herself to go inside the Portal. Kamia, who was previously resting, could not help but let out a long and deep sigh. They were strictly ordered to stay here, and yet the Princess wants to go inside-- as expected of someone privileged, she thought.

But before Adia could even take a single step, something shot out from the Portal. Everyone quickly put up their guards. The camera crew, which had been bored through their minds, also instantly pointed their cameras towards the mysterious object that shot out, only for the Standby unit scout to come up from their lenses.

"Mbita!"

The Standby unit members quickly rushed towards the scout to help him up, but most of them stopped their tracks as he was completely naked and they wanted nothing to do with it. But after a few seconds, they swallowed their disgust and helped him up.

"White Imvubu…. Va-an!? What happened to him!?"

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Adia's loud voice then entered everyone's ears as she rushed to the Portal as soon as she saw Charlotte, with a seemingly lifeless Van in her arms.

"He's alright," Charlotte gestured Adia not to approach Van, "Don't touch him if you don't want your fingers to be blown-off."

"W… what?"

Adia was confused at Charlotte's words at first, but then a certain hum entered her ears. A hum that was coming from Van's body.

"That's… what's happening to him?" Adia could only let out a small breath as she noticed something unusual. Van's whole body was vibrating, enough to even chafe of Charlotte's skin.

"Let's go back," Charlotte then said as she walked back into the truck, "We're done here."

"But… there are still Portals near--"

"I won't say it again, let's go back."

The Standby unit leader was about to say something, but as soon as Charlotte's eyes landed on him, the only thing he could do was nod and order his men to pack up their things. Angela, as well, did not say anything as she got inside the truck.

"What… what happened inside?" Adia's whispers seemed to be only reaching air as not one responded to her. She could only stare at the White Portal that still stood strong.

***

Back inside the Portal, the wildlife and the monsters were all circling at the colossal tree that Van summoned. Everything seemed so peaceful and quiet… and finally, Artemis achieved her peace.

But a peace that did not even last an hour.

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Slowly, certain parts of the tree opened up, with the roots being pushed to the side as a pair of hands emerged from it.

"W… what? Why…

...why am I alive?"

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