Chapter 76: [73 – response; burning battle]

Before Soren escaped the memory, the God of Death assured him, [After this, the forest should direct you to Uriel. You’ll leave soon after.]

“Okay. Thanks.”

There was a pause, which was common in their awkward conversations considering neither were much talkers. [Don’t lose yourself to the memories.]

“I won’t.” said Soren calmly, closing his eyes peacefully. It was if he were ready for all the burdens that’d soon fall on him, reaching a new level of understanding. Understanding for himself, or for the situation, who knew?

No ‘goodbye’ or ‘stay safe’ followed, which suited Soren more. The memory faded before closed eyes, and soon he was standing in the pure white world of the soul forest once again. He stared ahead, and started to move forward.

It turned out Raphael had desperately remembered Ren Suzuki for so long, to the point it almost drove him mad as that single tie to his old world made him unable to accept his new world.

That was the Raphael who had fallen to his lowest point after living for ten lifetimes.

Although Soren had personally witnessed the journey, it was impossible for him to truly understand the feelings and thoughts that went through that man’s mind. To fully comprehend a person was impossible, and one could only draw their own conclusions.

However, he wasn’t good at understanding people. Therefore, as he walked under the pale blue leaves that swayed overhead, casting a gentle shadow over his figure, he decided he’d ask Raphael.

Because if one didn’t ask, then they couldn’t know.

Soren wanted to understand Raphael as best as he could, even if it meant stepping out of what he already knew.

As told by the God of Death, it wasn’t long before Soren arrived before another tall tree with peaceful leaves. Unlike Raphael’s bothersome tree, it wasn’t hard to notice the problem.

The black root was inconspicuous and striking in the sea of white, and he crouched down before it.

An apple was quietly placed beside the root by slender hands that almost blended in with the pearl-coloured grounds, and he waited.

‘Hiss…’

A phantom pain itched at his chest and the corners of his lips tugged down in discomfort. The pain wasn’t overwhelming, but constant, throbbing with every beat of his heart.

Slowly, the darkness trickled away, and the light returned to the root. On the side, the apple lost its original luster, still a light blue, only having abandoned its vague glow that was there originally.

Soren bent over as the pain suddenly spiked, before completely dispersing, only leaving behind a faint pulse. He rubbed his fingers together in a daze, falling back as he lifted his chin at the sky.

There was a feeling of having lost something.

Yet as he flipped his hand over, silently scanning his body for any signs of injury, he found nothing. Like it was just an illusion.

When his mind cleared, he stood up and started to walk again. To the exit that existed somewhere among the grooves of trees.

It didn’t take long for him to see the outline of the hallway where the illusion rooms were, new colours suddenly entering his view as three figures waited. As soon as Soren stepped through the door, Deimos fell backwards with a huge sigh and released his magic.

“I’m afraid, to say that I could have lasted longer was a mistake, little brother.” laughed Deimos lightly through his tired breaths. “Thank you for returning quickly.”

“How long has it been?”

“Ah… around an hour and a half?”

Another voice called to him in a laid back manner, as if Soren had gone on a stroll down to town. “Welcome back, little prince. Did you have a fun adventure?”

Soren nodded. “Very fun.”

“And do you plan to share the details of this very fun adventure?”

“Not at all.”

Raphael raised his brows and looked at him with questioning. “Oh, I see.”

“Do you want to know?”

The protagonist observed Soren’s expression carefully and threw his hands behind his head, leaning back. “Forget it. If you won’t say, then there’s a reason for it, so I won’t ask any further.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” said Deimos from where he laid sprawled on the ground, looking rather elegant in his own strange way, “What did you see?”

Soren didn’t mind answering. “A world of white. The feeling… hard to describe, but it’s soothing. The forest led me to Uriel’s tree.”

“Useful.” remarked Raphael with a grin. “If only you had something like that in real life.”

The prince made a gesture and calmly stated, “I do.”

“Do you?”

He nodded. “A useful human GPS.”

Deimos laughed as Raphael looked amused and wondered, “Then, shouldn’t I get some payment?”

Soren blinked at him quite innocently as he said with a relaxed expression, “No.”

“.....”

Vincent cleared his throat, the corners of his lips tugging slightly as he watched. “What else did you see, Soren?”

“I saw…” Flickers of dark roots that were crumbling at the edges flashed in his mind, and the memories that repeated over and over until a certain person was forced to forget. “Nothing special.”

Raphael, being infuriating as always, noticed his hesitation immediately. “Nothing at all? You looked at if you ate something bad.”

“Did he?” said Deimos in surprise. He was good at observing emotions, but he hadn’t noticed the quick glimpse of hesitation on Soren’s face earlier.

Soren frowned and Raphael raised an eyebrow. “Even if you frown, I’m still going to ask. If it’s something personal, then there’s no need to tell me, but if it’s something bothering you, then don’t keep it to yourself. That was the deal, wasn’t it?”

“I saw a pitch black tree, standing out in the sea of snowy trees.”

His frown deepened as he spoke. Regardless, it wasn’t the time to ask about Raphael’s past in front of everybody else, so he could say this at least.

Deimos widened his eyes in surprise. “Oh, so it seems you saw the thing which Anima wished to protect.”

A nod confirmed the thought, and Raphael turned to look at Soren, who blinked with a look of ‘I’ll tell you later.’

“Were there any traces… of your mother?” asked Deimos somewhat curiously, though the chances were slim.

“I heard a voice that helped me. I don’t know if it was her, but it might’ve been.”

“Hmm, the soul forest works in mysterious ways. Perhaps even after death there were lingering traces of her soul, waiting to aid you.” Deimos smiled. “I find that’s a rather lovely thing to think about. It is something she’d do.”

Soren nodded slightly.

Vincent had quietly listened to the conversation, his stern expression softening slightly at the mention of Anima. The only warmth in the cold palace, to all of the princes.

“Well, go check on Uriel, little brother. I will rest up for a while, and speak to you later.” said Deimos as Vincent reached out a hand to support him in standing up. The former flashed a grateful smile at his elder sibling before nodding at Soren.

His steps were shaky and breaths still heavy from overusing his powers, but there was a look of complete satisfaction on his face.

“Thank you, Deimos.” called out Soren, as they were a few meters away.

Deimos paused and laughed lightly. “You’re welcome, Soren.”

Vincent also glanced back and said carefully, “Get some rest after you check on Uriel.”

“Yeah.”

As they left the building, a large hand ruffled Soren’s hair with a low chuckle.

“You know, it’s pretty satisfying to watch the awkwardness between you all.” remarked Raphael as his hand was shaken off.

Soren glanced at him, judgingly. Raphael only grinned in return.

When they arrived back, Vendra was the first to rush up to them with a smile that couldn’t fall on her face. She clasped Soren’s hand and said thankfully, “Thank you so much, dear Soren. Uriel has yet to awaken, but she has shown signs of movement. Celine is by her side at this moment.”

As she spoke, she moved her body slightly to reveal a mess of pink hair, a head pressing their forehead against the limp palm of another in silent prayer.

There was something different about the familiar scene. And that lied in the fact that the sleeping person’s chest softly rose, subtly yet noticeably as her eyes stirred. Uriel no longer looked like a peaceful corpse who’d never wake again, but a living person in a light slumber, who’d wake up at any moment.

When Soren took a step in, Celine moved her head to smile at him.

“You kept your promise, prince.”

“Of course.”

She directed her gaze back to the sleeping sister of hers warmly. “Actually, I thought there might be no way to wake her up. Though that wouldn’t stop me, I felt a bit hopeless, y’know?”

Vendra knelt down beside her, rubbing circles into her hand.

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Celine continued, “I hate the whole honesty and emotional thing, prince. But know how much I appreciated it. I would’ve turned the world around to have Uriel wake up again.”

“Thanks.” said the death saint genuinely, eyes curving slightly. “Really. Thanks.”

“...anytime.”

The door creaked open and another pair of visitors joined the group, Damien’s eyes flicking through the room, briefly resting on every person before narrowing on the person on the bed. He walked forward and lowered his head, ears perked and listening.

“She should wake up in a few hours.” said the teenager finally, straightening his back. “Her breathing has stabilized and is at a regular pace.”

Alvara explained quietly to Soren, “About a dozen minutes ago, Uriel started breathing again but it was rapid, and hasty. All of a sudden it’s normal, but I don’t really know what’s going on. It’s good that she’s awake though, I’m happy.”

Raphael patted her on the head. “You’re a good kid.”

She frowned but didn’t remove his hand. For some reason, although she was sweet and docile to Soren, Raphael felt as if this teenager was a little harsher to him. “I’m not a kid.”

He patted her again.

“.....”

Damien glanced back and raised a brow, a hint of amusement crossing his emerald eyes.

“Ah, but…” muttered Alvara suddenly, lowering her eyes to the ground. “Now what?”

Soren tilted his head in questioning and she continued, “It’s always been one thing after the next, even when we returned. Soren suddenly had to go to the forest, but now there’s really nothing.”

“We still need to keep an eye out on the third religion,” said Celine seriously. “It’s weird that they’re not acting yet, but the leader is full of tricks. However, it’s impossible to chase after them and act before they do.”

“Don’t you know where their base is?” asked Damien.

The saint shrugged. “It moves every three months, and even as the second in command, I had limited power.”

“I’ll keep an eye out.”

“Yeah, that works. Thanks, kid.”

Raphael turned to Soren and a mischievous glint appeared in his dark eyes, making the latter frown suspiciously. Before the prince could turn around and pretend that the other didn’t exist, Raphael spoke.

“How about a fight, little prince?”

Soren lifted his chin slightly, a tinge of arrogance in his jaw. “Okay.”

And that was how they ended up in the palace courtyard, several minutes later.

Celine chose to stay with Uriel, though she lamented on how she’d miss such an interesting battle, while Vendra had come to watch so that she could describe the events to Celine when she returned.

“When was the last time we fought? The tournament all that time ago?” said Raphael as he got ready, legs spread and ready for a fight.

The battle that made Soren burn alive.

He remembered it well.

Yet he only watched in acknowledgement before throwing out a question. “Weapons?”

“Not this time.”

“Okay.”

That was the last exchange before they both lunged in sync, as if they prepared beforehand. Raphael’s leg swung across the air, narrowly missing Soren’s head as it grazed a few strands of hair while the prince ducked forward.

His hands slammed against the ground and he pushed himself, using the boost to flip backwards as his legs kicked down with murderous intent.

It was impossible to avoid.

Raphael had to quickly yank his arms up as the kick crashed against his block, sending him sliding several feet back.

‘Ah, this feeling.’

This intense burning that made their whole souls light aflame, rising out of their chest as it consumed them entirely. The sweat that trickled against their skin, the sensation of their hearts hammering in their ribs.

It was loud and echoing, and it made the entire world come alive.

The protagonist laughed out loud at the blow, pain flaring in his arm as he rushed forward again. A series of punches rained down on Soren, as he swung his leg around to knock his opponent off balance.

Who would’ve known, Raphael anticipated the move and grabbed his leg, pulling it towards him as he grinned.

Soren scowled as swung his arm before a blow sliced across his lips, drawing blood. A tongue darted out and licked it, a pair of chilling blue eyes staring ahead coldly as he jumped backwards.

Raphael straightened.

“How is it, Ren?”

“Not bad.”

Then they lunged again.

The exchange of kicks and punches, of jumps and twists continued for a long time until both of them collapsed to the ground, energy drained. Damien and Alvara had already left, along with Vendra.

“Fighting until we collapse, it’s as if we’re young and stupid again.” chuckled Raphael, hair sprawled against the ground as the sun begun to set.

Soren breathed heavily, also staring up as his arms spread across the rocky ground. His whole body ached as he scowled. “You’re the stupid one.”

“And who indulged in this stupid person to fight until they couldn’t walk?”

After hearing no response from the cold idiot beside him, Raphael laughed again. Finally, he asked, “The thing you saw in the soul world, was it related to me?”

A certain somebody stiffened, and Raphael already knew the answer.

“Can you tell me what you saw?”

Although he wanted an answer, he was prepared for the little prince to ignore him. However, after several moments, Soren said, “I watched you die.”

“What?”

“Over, and over again. In every lifetime.”

It was Raphael’s turn to fall silent, closing his eyes. “So that’s what you saw. And I’m guessing that black tree belonged to me, didn’t it?”

“...Yeah.”

“I see.”

Soren hesitated to speak as he turned his head, only for the other to turn his head as well. The dark eyes peered at him, with memories and experiences one could only imagine.

“I don’t regret anything I did. In every lifetime, I tried to reach a satisfying conclusion, and failed. But that doesn’t mean I regret meeting the people I did, and trying as hard as I could. Even if there was no merit to it.”

The prince listened quietly.

“You know, little prince, a hundred lifetimes is very long. Some lives were short, and others were long and dragging. But if you see it from another perspective, it’s a hundred lifetimes of different experiences, valuable lessons you can’t forget. It’s a hundred chances.”

“I didn’t want to live again. But despairing doesn’t change the fate I seem to have, so in order to survive, I had to change how I viewed it.”

“However,” said Raphael suddenly, his lips tugging into a grin as the lingering daylight’s warmth reflected in his raven gaze. “If a hundred lifetimes is what it took to meet you, then I’d live a hundred more to see you again.”

Soren’s eyes widened suddenly at his abrupt words, only making the other smile more brightly.

“If I recall correctly, you never gave me an answer last time, did you?”

The prince blinked at him. Last time, when Raphael’s confession had fallen like sudden snow, Soren’s mind had been too muddled to answer. He didn’t reply properly, but Raphael already knew. Yet sometimes, proper confirmation would stir the emotions in one's heart, even if they already knew.

“Well,” said Raphael, turning his head back to the sky. “I don’t really min— “

The sound of movement.

And a shadow appeared over his face as a soft pair of lips crashed onto his, white strands of hair dropping over his skin. Raphael’s eyes widened at the weight above him, before he stretched a hand out and tugged the head down further and closed his eyes.

This was Soren’s response.

His own confession.