"Da... damn it."
Astor had been caught within Dawn's attack. Multiple holes now riddled his body, drenching everything below his chest completely in warm and wet blood. However, that wasn't the worst of it.
One of the water pellets had completely shattered and pierced through the right side of his skull... It was a miracle he was still able to think and speak, and an even bigger one that he was still alive!
I am... I will not... give up. Astor thought as he desperately clung to the glacier. And eventually, he heard rough footsteps slowly head towards him... It couldn't be Rose, as even she would be in a similar condition to his, if not worse. So it had to be Dawn!
He was saved! A smile appeared on his bloody face as he realised he was finally going to return home! He had proved to the voice that he was worthy of becoming a Gatebearer!
He could have screamed to grab Dawn's attention, but he didn't have the energy, and Dawn was already heading towards him. So he just waited. And after a second, Dawn reached him.
He peered down at Astor as he took another step forward.
Dawn's condition, although better than Astor's, was still nowhere near good. His arms were burned so badly that his skin had disappeared — all that remained visible was scorched flesh, and his bones.
Even his chest and face were covered in blisters and burn scars. Most of the fingers on both his hands were missing, but even then, he firmly held onto his scorched sword in his right hand.
***
Caught beneath the light of the beacon and the rising sun, the remnants of Dawn's burnt silver hair glimmered perfectly as they waved in the calm wind, giving him an angelic look... And to Astor, he truly was akin to an Angel.
Finally... Astor lifted his right hand, which was dangling over the darkness, so that Dawn could grab him... However, as a few more seconds passed, Dawn simply kept on staring down at Astor, not helping him at all.
"Astor... Let me ask you a question. What do you think justice is?" Dawn's calm voice echoed within the dark ravine as he lowered the scorched blade — its glowing edge pointing straight between Astor's eyes.
What... What does he mean? Why is he not helping me?! Astor's arm, the one he had forced himself to raise moments ago, finally dropped — whatever strength he had left within him was completely drained out. Leaving his body dangling helplessly above the void.
"Is justice forgiveness? Of course it isn't. Justice does not peer into some imagined future where the sinner might redeem themselves. It does not care for what they could become, or what they regret now.
A crime committed does not fade with time, and blood spilt does not disappear just because the hand that spilt it now trembles."
[You have encountered a Divine Ascendant — Dawn Belleville]
Astor's smile slowly vanished, and his eyes widened as he kept on staring at Dawn. Although he didn't understand the meaning behind Dawn's words, the runes he saw made everything clear...
And he realised that nobody was coming to save him.
From the moment I first set foot on the beach, I knew not to trust anyone. Everyone, apart from me, was a heinous criminal.
But I made a mistake... I trusted one person. The person who had saved me from drowning. The person who had stayed by my side all this time...
Why did I not doubt Dawn?! How naive was I?! How could I trust him?! Have I been within the palm of his hand this whole time?!
Astor tried to curse, but all that managed to escape his lips was a weak breath.
"You don't understand? Hm. Well, let me put it to you this way. You were sent here by the sanctum to die... I'm sure you know that. But if I let you live, would that be justice to the families of your victims?"
Astor understood what was about to happen to him. And there was no way to change that. Destiny had brought him all the way here just to put an end to his misery.
How cruel.
"Astor," Dawn said quietly, "Perhaps this is your destiny. To die by my hands right here, right now..." He paused, taking a deep breath.
"It really does pain me.... But so is justice." Dawn tightened the grip on his sword before turning it and bringing it right next to Astor's wrist.
"Any last words?"
Astor could have pleaded with Dawn. Begging him to spare his life... However, he didn't. He believed Dawn wouldn't change his mind after simply seeing him despair. So there was no point in wasting his energy.
Astor knew he was going to die. There was no way someone like him would survive Borealis. That is why he had made such rash decisions during the past day. But now that the moment had actually arrived, he felt nothing but regret and guilt.
I'm sorry, sisters... I did promise to come and meet you once the ceremony is over, didn't I? Not that I was planning to meet them... But maybe I should have.
Astor could imagine the smiling faces of his sisters as they congratulated him even on getting a Dormant Origin artifact.
But I guess it's not going to happen...
Astor gathered the last fragments of strength left in his body and smiled as he said,
"Go to hell."
Dawn laughed as he heard that. And in the blink of an eye —Slink! His blade cut through Astor's wrist in one, clean sweep.
Astor's body tipped backwards, and he fell into the abyss below, swallowed by its darkness; however, even as he fell to certain death, his laugh echoed within the ravine.
"How pitiful," Dawn murmured as he drew the sword back, its light fading as it dissolved into his soul.
And then he simply turned around and walked back towards the statue, leaving nothing but silence behind.
***
.
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.
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.
.
.
.
.
Where am I...?
Have I died?
Is this... heaven? Astor's soft voice echoed within his mind as he looked around him.
He was now floating... floating in a clear darkness. The only light came from above, where he was facing, waving strangely as it reached him.
It felt strangely peaceful... he had given it his all. And he was happy with that.
However, as he kept on staring up, a strange dark figure blocked the light. And when he blinked, his surroundings shifted.
The darkness that surrounded him became clearer and bluer, and he realised that he was now floating in water.
[You have survived an encounter with a Divine Ascendant — Dawn Belleville]
Dismissing the Voice of the Artifacts, Astor looked at the blood spewing from his guts, making the water around him red, blocking the light coming from above. And then he realised. He wasn't in heaven. He was still alive!
He struggled to hold his breath as he realised this, breathing in the freezing water. And as he struggled, he tried to swim up. However, since he wasn't the best swimmer, it took him a while to reach the light coming from above.
And then he broke through!
"I'm alive!" He screamed as he coughed up the water within his lungs. He dragged himself upon the ice, and after being able to breathe normally, he lay down on his back.
He was now at the bottom of the ravine. He had survived a fall of that height! His legs and the ice sheet at the bottom of the lake had absorbed most of the impact, reducing his momentum, but shattering his legs completely.
Dawn's scorched blade had cauterised his wound as it cut through his wrist. Meaning, the only places he was still bleeding from were the small holes everywhere in his body, and the wound on the right side of his head...
Still, it only meant he wasn't going to die immediately. He was bleeding very fast. So he slowly got up, taking support from the cold glacier wall, gathering all the strength left within him.
And as he looked up, he realised how hopeless his situation truly was.
There was no way to reach the top. One of his hands was missing, his legs were fractured, and unlike last time, he didn't even have an icepick to climb the glacier wall.
He was simply going to painfully bleed to death.
However, just as he was about to give up, he heard a noise... A beautiful noise.
'Astor...'
He slowly turned to his right. And over there he saw something that should have been impossible...
The golden thread!
It was brighter than it had ever been, now, illuminating its surroundings as it headed into the dark glacier wall.
'Follow your soul...'
Astor's eyes flickered, and then he realised that there was a cave to his right... and the golden thread was leading him inside it.
The golden thread had never led him to the statue...
It was leading him to whatever was below it!