Chapter 387: The Beginning Of The End [XLIX]
"Haah..."
After the fight, Aestrea headed to the cafeteria, where he would et up with Kael and Tyrian.
The place was crowded, filled with voices, laughter, and the sll of warm food. Aestrea moved forward, grabbed a tray, and calmly began picking his al.
With the tray in hand, he turned around and scanned the room.
As expected, he spotted Kael and Tyrian sitting at their usual table.
As usual, the two idiots were bickering about sothing; however, looking at them made Aestrea rember Jas and Derek.
...He also missed those two idiots.
"I’m telling you, that wasn’t my fault!" Kael said loudly, slamming his hand on the table.
"It was absolutely your fault," Tyrian replied, calm as always. "You touched sothing you were clearly told not to touch."
"I was curious!"
"And now the artifact’s experinting lab is missing a wall."
"Minor details." Kael waved his hand.
He walked toward the table.
The mont Kael noticed him, his eyes lit up, instantly, a wide grin spreaded across his face.
"Aestrea!" Kael shouted.
"You’re alive!"
"Good to see you." Tyrian smiled lightly and gave a small nod.
"Why would I not be alive?" Aestrea placed his tray down and sat across from them before fist-bumping Tyrian.
"Yeah, yeah. Says the guy who just destroyed a god in the arena." Kael leaned back and crossed his arms.
"The whole academy is talking about it. Indrath won’t be waking up anyti soon." Tyrian raised an eyebrow.
Aestrea picked up his spoon, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"Really? I just finished the fight."
"News spread fast in the academy," Tyrian shrugged.
And before he could say anything more, Kael suddenly leaned forward, his grin turning sharp and sneaky.
With a quick motion, he waved his hand.
Fwoom...!
A strange barrier ford around the table.
In the next second, the world around them blurred slightly, as if they were inside a small tent made of sound and light.
The noise of the cafeteria disappeared entirely.
"What... are you doing?" Aestrea paused mid-bite.
Kael lowered his voice dramatically and leaned closer.
"You didn’t hear this from , okay?"
"You’re already doing sothing stupid." Tyrian sighed.
Kael ignored him and whispered, "Did you know there are rumors that Thaliel and Emyria are lesbians? Like, actually dating?"
"Thaliel... and Emyria?" Aestrea frowned slightly.
"Yep. That Thaliel. Ice-cold face, scary eyes. And Emyria, the one with the calm smile that feels faker than Selindra’s boobs." Kael nodded fast.
Aestrea leaned back a little, not answering right away.
At first, he didn’t rember who they were.
Then it clicked... they were the girls Kael warned him about before, when he had just arrived at the academy
The dangerous ones... basically the ones he told him to be careful around, along with Lunara. But, well, Lunara wasn’t a problem anymore.
’...Lesbians?’
"...I didn’t know," he said.
"See? That’s why it’s interesting." Kael smirked.
"The rumors didn’t co from nowhere. People saw them together late at night. In the training rooms, in the academy’s archives, and even in the restricted floors!" Tyrian finally spoke, adding more details.
"And not just once. A lot." Kael nodded.
"That doesn’t exactly an that they’re dating." Aestrea tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
"True," Tyrian said. "But the timing is strange. Every ti sothing goes missing, or so formation gets ssed with, they were nearby."
"And here’s the best part. They always leave together." Kael leaned even closer.
Aestrea frowned at their words.
"What do they want?" he finally asked.
"Hard to say. Thaliel cos from an old divine line. Her family deals with secrets. Emyria, on the other hand, is connected to several hidden groups in the academy." Tyrian folded his hands.
"In simple words, trouble." Kael clicked his tongue.
"So why are you telling
this?" Aestrea sighed.
"Because they’ve been asking about you." Kael grinned.
Those words made Aestrea pause.
"...Asking about what?"
"About basically everything," Kael replied without hesitation.
"Your powers, how you fight, how fast you grow. Who you’re connected to. And most of all, your relationship with Lunara."
"They were watching your duel today. Not from the crowd, but from the highest seats. It just gave
the creeps, looking at them... their gaze wouldn’t budge off you for a damn second!" Tyrian nodded in agreent.
Aestrea felt a faint chill.
That explained the strange feeling he had before the fight.
"So," Kael continued, lowering his voice slightly, "if those rumors are true, and they really are together, then... You gotta be really careful!"
"...Two dangerous people are working together, huh..." Aestrea muttered.
"Exactly. That’s the problem." Tyrian exclaid, looking at Aestrea with a hint of pity in his eyes that was barely concealed.
"See? He understands right away," Kael snapped his fingers and pointed at Aestrea.
"Well... I don’t really care about them."
"But," Tyrian added calmly, "you should still care about what they’re planning."
"And with your luck, or maybe your fate, you’re going to be right in the center of whatever they’re cooking." Kael nodded.
Aestrea didn’t argue as they were essentially telling the truth and giving him a friendly warning.
Swish!
With that done, Kael retracted the barrier, and the group continued to eat in silence... that silence barely lasted three seconds.
Aestrea spoke first.
"How strong are they?" he asked plainly.
Kael didn’t even need to think.
"Strong," he answered right away. "Really strong. If I had to guess, they’re around Lunara’s level. Maybe a bit weaker."
Aestrea’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You’re sure?"
"Pretty sure. There were rumors a while back that Thaliel dueled Lunara once." Kael nodded.
Tyrian looked up.
"And lost."
Kael pointed at him. "Exactly. She didn’t get crushed or anything, but she definitely lost. After that, Thaliel stopped challenging Lunara completely."
Aestrea leaned back, absorbing the information.
Thaliel.
Goddess of the Abyss.
A being tied to darkness, void, decay, and endless depth. Soone who thrived in places where even gods felt uneasy.
Then there was Emyria.
Goddess of Creation.
A title that sounded peaceful on the surface, but was anything but.
Creation ant control over matter, structure, formation, and laws. Soone who could build weapons, realms, or monsters as easily as breathing.
Abyss and Creation.
Destruction and foundation.
End and beginning.
An extrely dangerous combination.
"Honestly? If they really are working together, that’s bad news for you." Kael clicked his tongue.
"The Abyss swallows. Creation builds. One breaks things down, the other shapes what remains. Their powers cover each other’s weaknesses." Tyrian nodded slowly.
Kael glanced at Aestrea.
"I’m not gonna lie. Even you might not be able to handle both of them at once."
Aestrea didn’t react right away; instead, he took another bite of food, chewing calmly.
"Hey. I’m being serious here." Kael frowned at his actions.
"I know," Aestrea replied. "I didn’t say you were wrong."
"So what are you planning to do?" Tyrian studied him.
Aestrea set his spoon down.
"Nothing for now."
"Nothing?"
"They’re watching," Aestrea said.
"If they want sothing, they’ll make the first move."
Tyrian nodded at his words.
"That makes sense. Acting first could play right into their hands."
Kael sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Great. Two top-tier goddesses, one tied to the Abyss, the other to Creation, possibly plotting sothing... and we wait."
"I’ve fought worse odds."
"You say that every ti." Kael snorted.
"And so far, he hasn’t been wrong." Tyrian chuckled lightly.
Aestrea sighed deeply.
If both of them were around Lunara’s level, that ant that both of them were at least 7?? True Gods, and their authorities are extrely strong to say the least.
From his past lives, Aestrea barely t any God of the Abyss or Creation, not to ntion them. Which ant that those two died before he could ascend previously.
’...But what killed such a strong pair of gods? Or is there a rule that doesn’t permit homosexuality in the Divine Realm?’ he frowned slighly.
To be honest, he didn’t exactly... like gay people... as long as they didn’t bother him, it was alright.
In his past life, as an actor, his "superiors" wanted him to make a post about supporting the gay community, where he had refused.
Not to ntion the number of male fans who wore even thinner clothes than prostitutes. He almost developed trauma because of them!
Just rembering those days gave him actual chills!
That aside...
’If I use the Moon Mark, I shouldn’t have a problem dealing with them... the problem is that I never directly fought against their authorities,’ he frowned slighly.
But then, he shook his head, before taking a bit of the steak he had gotten.
’No use dwelling on those useless thoughts.’
He took another bite.
’They can attack
all they want, as long as I survive enough for
to gather enough energy to use my authority... that’s more than enough.’
His crimson eyes narrowed coldly as he thought about sothing.
"Kael... where can I sign up for the Ranked Duels to beco the official strongest student in the academy?" He asked directly.
Hearing his words, both Kael and Tyrian’s eyes lit up as they grinned.
"I was waiting for you to ask
that!"
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