144 Chasing a Phantom

Were it not for the dire circumstances warranting extreme haste, Reed would have never forgiven Mother-Bound-In-Stars for what she had done. Even now, he doubted whether she was actually trying to save his life or end it.

Adrenaline coursed through Reed's veins like wildfire as he struggled to hold onto the blazing meteor. He screamed out profanities and terrified pleas, but they had gone unheard by his tormentor.

Mother-Bound-In-Stars had pushed her abilities to the limit, something she had not done in millennia. Not since the days of her youth when she had been little more than a mischievous princess without a care in the world.

The last time she had pushed herself this hard was during the Great Invasion of Mu. When the Infestation had broken through the final defense line standing in between the planet and them.

She had been there through it all as a child. Seen everything unfold as it had when the Infested invaded the planet. The vast seas had been tainted black with the poison they had brought, killing and transforming all that once lived in her former home.

Had it not been for the swift action of those on the surface, everything at sea would have died. The Heavenly Barrier had torn a small portion of the former sea when it activated, unexpectedly saving all of the sea life that had been closest to the coast of Mulia.

Mother-Bound-In-Stars still remembered everything about the day when the Heavenly Barrier had been activated in last-ditch attempt to stave off the inevitable...

Fleeing as fast as she could away from the endless spread of death and suffering. Observing in pure terror as the seas turned pitch-black. Not even the sunlight above could pierce through that veil of dark madness.

She had not forgotten the innumerable screams she heard within that horrifying darkness that had once been her home. What followed afterward was something still haunted her to this day.

It was the painful, lingering silence that followed afterward. Nothing had frightened her more than that event to this day. How a vast majority of the sea had gone dead silent.

Fear bred despair. Moments later, it had begun to spread again, with even greater ferocity than before. From the black seas came twisted aberrations of life commanded by a single thought: To ravage all that laid before them.

Mother-Bound-In-Stars and her beloved, Dreams-Of-Azure-Stars, had tried their hardest to escape together, but she had been too slow. Had she been faster, he would not have had to...

A bitter, painful memory rose up from the depths of her heart. She had lost much that day because of her ineptitude.

Even now, she was still chasing the shadow of the one who had given his life for her sake.

It was why she had returned to rescue Reed. Forget about her; Mother-Bound-In-Stars knew well of the fate that would await the continent if the problem was not resolved.

...She had also returned because of another reason. A much, more personal one. Within the young boy, she saw a part of her former self. And a bit of her former beloved, too.

Everything about them had reminded her of the relationship she once had, down to the last detail. A repetition of fate itself, come back to test her -- that was why she had returned to save Reed.

To her, it was a redemption long-awaited. Mother-Bound-In-Stars was doing what she had not been able to do more than five thousand years ago on the day that the Heavenly Barrier went up...

Reed grunted in pain as he continued to hold onto Mother-Bound-In-Stars' burning shell, but suddenly went quiet when he noticed something very, very peculiar...

Something was off with his vision. He couldn't tell if it was because of the injuries he had sustained. Had he not regenerated his eyes correctly? Reed was positive that he had not messed up, but there was no other way to explain what he saw other than a fault of his own making...

How... is this possible? Is this some kind of Anima technique... or are my eyes deceiving me?

He saw something in the distance, not too far away from them.

It was so faint and subdued Reed had almost not noticed the phantom, but the instant he laid eyes on it, his attention had been captured by it.

Past the heated swells of Anima, collapsing mountains of bedrock and the visage of fire obscuring his vision, there was... another blazing comet.

Reed blinked his eyes hard again and again, but the result did not change. Out there in the distance was the glimmer of a meteor dyed in shining, azure flames. Where it had come from, Reed did not know.

In a strange way, it seemed akin to a dance than a race between the two. The two comets weaved back and forth upward towards the closing exit like a pair of bound stars.

Always one step away from each other, never to truly meet. They would come closer but in the same instant, fate would push them away from one another.

She struggled her hardest and chased after the fleeting figure in front of her relentlessly.

Again and again, she skirted around the collapsing fissure with the greatest of ease, unconcerned with the looming destruction beneath her. Nothing would stand in her way this time.

She would not fail. Not this time.

Reed desperately tried to keep up with the chaotic dance between the two but was barely holding onto to life as it was. None of it made sense to him, so he shut his eyes and focused on surviving. He had someone waiting for him at the top, after all...

The pair of rising stars continued to dance until their time had finally run out. Mother-Bound-In-Stars felt regret that the time to say farewell had come, but in the end, cherished that she had been given the opportunity in the first place.

She gathered Anima and pushed herself one last time. In an instant, the five-thousand-year-old gap between them had been closed, once and for all.

Mother-Bound-In-Stars reached the phantom and hurtled past it, leaving the past behind her...

Lu'um was out of time; she had stalled for as long as she could. If they were to escape, it would have to be within the next few minutes, otherwise...

The seafloor beneath trembled furiously. It was not because of Lu'um efforts; the forces that had begun to shake the seafloor heralded what was about to come.

Come on...! Anytime now...! Please, hurry...! I can't wait anymore...!

She gathered the last of her strength and once again resumed her work. The massive chains creaked in pain and begun their terrible work. Meter by meter, the fissure continued to close until...

A blindingly hot ball of fire burst out of the fissure and hurtled upward without stopping.

Lu'um immediately felt a rush of relief and gratitude, however, she still had her part to finish. Now that all of her concerns had been wiped clean, she was able to focus on her task with distractions.

She channeled a ridiculous amount of Anima and reinforced herself as much as she possibly could in preparation. Even so, her bones, muscles, and joints had not been able to withstand the immense forces she had placed on them when she let go of her body's limits.

A loud, deafen crack resounded in her ears. Her left shoulder had completely shattered into pieces under the pressure. Another equally gut-wrenching sound followed afterward.

It was the sound of her right forearm giving way. The tendons on her hands had snapped like rubber bands. Even so, she continued pushing herself without stopping.

Eventually, the fissure could hold no more. What once had been a titanic crevice in the earth, a gaping wound had -- against all odds -- been shut closed.

The terrible rumbling continued, as if to warn all in the vicinity that something big was going to happen. Not that anyone was around to receive that warning. That the price that had been paid here...

When Lu'um released the chains, she nearly fainted out of the injuries she had sustained. Her vision flickered dangerously. Surprisingly, she found herself feeling tired.

Ahh...? I-Isn't this is quite the... surprise? To think that I, of all people, would...

She wasn't afraid, just surprised. It had been a very, very long time since she had felt this tired before. Not since her childhood days had she felt this fatigued, back when she had not yet become a Mark-Bearer.

Lu'um precariously floated above the closed fissure as her shield flickered weakly until... a pair of arms caught her.

O-oh? W-When did--

When Reed caught her half-mangled body, her lips curled up into a big smile. It caught Reed completely off guard, so much so he had been at a loss for words.

Even half-dead, she still managed to be as cute as could be. The tenacity she possessed was absolutely astounding to him. How was this possible? Reed did not know, but he assumed it to be some form of magic.

He had seen much today, and a lot of it had been unbelievable to him.

"Today's been a day full of miracles, no?" said Lu'um

Reed closed his eyes and said, "You have no idea..."