Isekai Journey Of The Magic Archer

[OP: ]

A night that starts blooming in the evening when the sun sets beyond the blue horizon, below the water surface shining with the colors that it paints it with.

The sun, the source of light and warmth, is the birthing unit of life. Its mere presence brings more to a world than anyone could imagine.

It is the father and the overseer, the one who looks after all and the one that guides us even in the darkest of times.

It is beautiful and bright, sometimes blinding, while sometimes spectacular. Explore more at empire

Because it provides light to this world, people can see what is present around them. Because it burns itself, the beings that it has given rise to could live a life of joy and sadness.

It does not discriminate and it does not interfere. Like the highest existence, it shines upon all and gives a part of itself to everything.

But, it is not the only element that is responsible for the emergence of a conscious life.

"The moon looks prettier here, don't you think?"

The sun gives light and warmth, the moon provides companionship and stability, the faraway stars bring meaning to the desolate life, and the fragments of chaos that shape this world births the equilibrium which helps the lifeforms evolve and adapt to everything around them.

"The blue moonlight simply brightens up the waters. It's not that the moon looks prettier, it's just that the background that we have here makes it look prettier."

Sitting on the shore by themselves, the two presidents of the grand academy chat while looking up at the starry sky, and the blue world of serenity.

The winds are blowing calmly around them, the sound of water is calming, there is a salty smell in the winds, and the cool sand beneath them is making their bodies calmer.

"The stars and moon don't change depending on the place we are in, Zod… it's just that our perception changes because of the unfamiliar environment."

Cradle, with her jade green eyes reflecting the moonlight reflecting on the waters before her, was playing with the fine grains of sand, as well as a seashell she found a while ago.

Her casual clothes danced with the calm winds, grains of sand stuck on her hands and feet, with her short dark hair staying stationary.

She looked breathtaking in this simple form. Someone seeing her right now might have even skipped a heartbeat, but then, looking at the one sitting right beside her, they would be ambushed with the unfairness of the world.

"It's not always about our perception, Cradle."

President Zodiac, smiling at his Snake buddy, replied to her in his ever-calm voice.

"Sometimes, what we see is also influenced by what we are feeling at that moment."

His pretty white hair had grown longer recently… but his gentle golden eyes were still the same.

They had warmth in them, some gentleness, and along with it, if looked closely, one would also see an uncommon helplessness that didn't seem to belong in those pretty eyes.

"Sometimes, depending on what we are feeling, we would see some of the simplest scenes as some of the most unforgettable ones. And sometimes, even the most marvellous wonders of the world becomes… somewhat of a common occurrence to them."

The two sat there, alone, on the small shore by the calm waters, playing with sand, with their little friend… with a myriad of emotions weighing down on them.

"You're upset that you weren't with them, aren't you?"

She looked beside her, at his little smile. He was playing with Sansan, but, even the little creature knew his father, his master was not feeling well.

"It's not like you're fine either. So, I'm not the only one that's thinking about those two."

He smiled at her helplessly as he said that, bringing up a topic they both had decided to not speak of for the time being.

"I'm not thinking about Them, okay? I'm only thinking about Her, and her alone." Cradle did not want to bring this up again since they had been busy thinking and talking about this for the last two days already.

The reason they were here, on this shore, in the first place, was because they wanted to free their minds and think about something else… or preferably, nothing at all.

"That's not possible now, is it dear? People don't think about the moon without thinking about the vast sky it is part of, or about the sunset without the colors that it brings with it."

They wanted to distract themselves from the two who had been through a complicated experience once again, and just how much the two had changed because of it.

"I get that Miss Elle seems to have become a completely different person now, but even if it's you, it is nearly impossible to not think about the new presence that Eon has to him." the President himself could not distract himself from it, so he knew what might be happening with her.

"..."

Ever since Eon and Elle came back from their dungeon run which was supposed to be a harmless, little dungeon experience for both of them, they had almost become different people.

It was known throughout the house how they ended up exploring a new region in the dungeon, but only a select few like them were aware of how the two actually faced something from a past civilization.

Especially, both president and Cradle were aware of what exactly the two of them had been through in that place and how the two experienced something unfathomable.

"While Miss Elle has been out of place recently, it seems like only her mind is distancing itself from the world around her… but on the other hand…"

Recently, as the two of them and Cradle's familiar Mirror had noticed, they were somehow forgetting about Eon.

The memories that they had of him seemed to become jumbled up with other kinds of memories and Mirror, a being that mainly relied on memories for communication, found it very strange.

This strange phenomenon was happening because of something that Eon had done to himself… perhaps, when he entered that strange mind zone, he did something that changed a lot of things about him.

And, for the people around him that knew this, this was becoming more and more concerning…

But, as Mirror discovered this morning, the effect of this phenomenon was slowly dissolving and things were stabilising as if everything which seemed to be scattering was coming back into the place.

This entire thing was strange to people who did not understand how something someone had done could affect the world around them or the perception of the people around them entirely.

However, since Eon himself didn't seem to care about this and was more focused on Rein, who was constantly getting lost in her own thoughts, the others tried not to take it too seriously.

"I can't help myself but ask whether things would have been different if we were there-."

"There's no point in thinking about something like that, dummy-."

"I know."

He knew how meaningless it was to contemplate something which would not change anything about what has already passed.

It was a waste of time, and yet, the thought of something going differently because of his and Sansan's presence in that place haunted him constantly.

Cradle didn't think much of it, she knew nothing would have changed even if she was there.

"We would have either been separated with that group, or even if we were with them in the trial area, I don't think any of us would have been able to defeat that Naga that they described.

And, even if we did do it… as they were saying, the trial was never about fighting, but about their legacies."

Cradle had also thought about it and worried about what was happening with Rein.

She couldn't see her like that… just the other day, when the two of them were together, Rein drifted off into her thoughts and even though she stayed with her and tried calling out to her for hours, she did not respond to her at all.

Cradle had never been more concerned in her lifetime than she was at that time, and only after Eon got there, was when Elle was able to get out of that state of automation.

"It wouldn't have mattered anyway…"

She would have been helpless in that place since she did not even have anything like a legacy.

She did not know what Zodiac's presence there would have changed, but she at the very least, would have been useless to them during that trial.

And, she could not stop thinking about it… the way Rein was simply Doing everything while being unconscious had nearly traumatised her.

Even still, all that she could think about, was how the one she loved, despite looking perfectly normal, was not really in the right state of mind.

Just thinking about how it must feel to experience something like that sent shivers down her spine…

And yet, what frustrated her the most, was the fact that Eon was able to bring her back to her senses without any trouble.

"Haaaaa."

She looked back at him helplessly, knowing well how this darling friend of hers was worried about Him, a helpless smile present on her sad face.

"I don't like it either, Zod… I don't."

Sansan saw her sad look and moved to her hand, sliding up to her neck to hug her.

And she appreciated the little one's thoughtful gesture.

But that didn't ease her sadness.

"But this isn't something I can help her with. It's… their fight."

Divinity was a distant concept to her. Perhaps, not to Zod, but to her, it was beyond nearly everything.

And even if she would have done anything to Her, there was nothing she could do for her.

Being there for her… even, that was painful.