Chapter 32 – Until Next Time
Rain and Bright emerge from his Soul Temple and lean back on the floor of his room, facing one another. She throws back her head, her silver hair sweeping back to cascade down behind her ears. Her face looks troubled. Rain runs his hands through his hair as he lets out a deep sigh, then he flashes an amused grin at Bright.
"So, was it as much fun as you were hoping? I'm very much looking forward to getting to poke around your soul now."
She cuts her eyes at him, her expression bewildered.
"Fun? Is that...you're joking, right? The stress of just knowing about what you're hiding in there is exhausting. What kind of lunatic would have found learning about all that to be fun?"
He raises his eyebrows at her skeptically.
"Uhm...I'm pretty sure you would. You're exactly the kind of lunatic that would love learning about that."
Bright stares back at him for several seconds, frowning in disapproval. However, her frown suddenly falters as the corner of her mouth twitches upward, then her face twists into a huge, wolfish grin. She shrugs at him nonchalantly and chuckles.
"Yes, I suppose that you're right...it was pretty fun."
Smirking in amusement, Rain just shakes his head at her. She smiles back pleasantly in return. However, her face suddenly exhibits alarm, and she snaps her head to look at the omniwatch on her wrist. After a few seconds, her eyes widen, and she lets out a frustrated groan. As if remembering that he's there, she looks at him. She gives him a strange smile that seems almost...disappointed...apologetic.
"Damn it...I've remained here far longer than I should have. I got too caught up in the excitement of everything we discussed. I'm sorry Rain, but I've got to leave soon. I'm on duty today, and I'll already have to explain my prolonged absence. I know I promised, but...can we have you visit my Soul Temple next time?"
Rain shrugs and waves dismissively, then gives her a breezy smile. He's definitely curious about her Soul Temple, but he's also surprised that he got to take up this much of her time. Plus, he'd like to settle into his room a little after she's gone – take a shower and change out of the grey tracksuit.
"Yeah, don't worry about it...seriously. You've been a huge help today, and as you've told me repeatedly, I'm sure you're a busy woman. Uhm...but when you say 'next time', does that mean you plan to visit me again?"
She blinks at him in confusion, as though she's surprised by something he said. Then, her expression becomes vaguely...apprehensive.
"Well...yes...I was. I...uhm...assumed that us discussing runic descriptions, Asphodel, and the divine realms together would be an ongoing arrangement. You know...as you obtain new, unique Relics...gain new Talents and whatnot. Plus, we need to discuss our plan for disseminating information about the Falling and Nether. Err, are you...saying you'd rather not...uhm...continue meeting with me?"
He directs a surprised look at her.
"No, I was hoping that our arrangement would be an ongoing one. I'm pretty heavily relying on your help, actually. It's just that...well...I assumed you'd want me to do it all using electronic messages or video calls or something. I didn't think you'd actually spare the time to come visit me in person again after this. If that's what you want to do, though, I'm all for it."
Bright stares back at him blankly for a moment, then her demeanor seems to become kind of...embarrassed. Rain swears he can even see a bit of color in her cheeks. She responds quickly, and her voice has a flustered overtone.
"Oh...I...that's of course what I would prefer, given how busy I am. It's just that...uhm...well there's still the matter of that strange table in your soul. I might be able to decipher more of the runes' meanings and the table's purpose by manually translating the runes, using later runic languages as a template. However, I can only study it in person...and it'll probably take awhile. That's the only reason why I want to meet in person for our discussions for now."
Rain's eyes widen in surprise, remembering the strange table. Feeling a sudden rush of excitement at the unexpected possibility of Bright being able to uncover more of its secrets, he prepares to thank her for going out of her way to help with that. However, before he can speak, a strange heat emanates from his left hand, distracting him.
Glancing down, he notices that it's coming from the ring Bright loaned him...the one to detect lies. He stares at it for a couple moments, trying to make sense of the situation. After a moment, it clicks, and a small, mischievous smile spreads across his face.
'So, it works after all. Gods...she's going to kill me for this, but...I just can't resist...'
Turning his attention back to Bright, who is just watching him with the same mildly embarrassed expression as before, Rain gives her an appreciative smile.
"Oh, that's amazing, Bright, thanks! I'd really appreciate the opportunity to do this again. Still, you'd really go through all that trouble just for me?"
Bright nods nonchalantly, but she seems to be subtly relieved.
"Hmm...just make sure to procure tea and cake for me up front from now on. I mean, driving out here to have these discussions in person isn't my first choice for how to spend my days off, you know? It's the least you can do to make up for it."
Rain feels the ring heat up again, and he has to stifle the instinct to laugh at her. As it is, the corner of his mouth still twitches upward.
'Oh...my...gods...she's really that much of a lunatic...'
He directs a polite smile and nod at her.
"Sure thing, Bright. While we're on the subject, mind answering a question for me?"
Her eyes widen in surprise, and she stares back at him expectantly.
"Sure, what is it?"
Not bothering to hide his amusement any further, Rain directs an obnoxious smirk at Bright.
"Wouldn't you be happily driving out here on your days off anyway, even if the table in my soul didn't make it necessary? You know, because you're obsessively excited to have someone to discuss your hobby with, and you find yourself enjoying the thought of my company."
Bright becomes visibly flustered, her grey eyes struggling to stay focused on him as she stutters out a response in an indignant tone.
"W-...what are you talking about!? Of course not...neither of those things are true! You must think rather highly of your-"
Rain feels the ring start to heat up as she denies it, and he lets out a wide smile. As she's about to continue on her indignant ramble, he holds his hand with the ring up in front of her with a shit-eating grin, cutting her words off. As her eyes focus on his hand in confusion, she seems to notice the ring, remembering that he has it. Her expression slowly twists into one of horror, then she looks back at him, mortified. This time, there's no mistaking the deep, red color rushing to her fair face. Rain just continues smiling with mischievous glee.
"Sorry, Bright, you were saying?"
Her horror slowly subsides into annoyance, but the blush of her cheeks remains. For several moments, she just stares at him in tense silence. Eventually, she narrows her eyes at him angrily and grumbles in a low tone.
"One of these days...I really am going to strangle you."
That only makes Rain grin even more widely, and clicks his tongue at her with an amused tone.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk...now, that's no way to treat new friends. Are you new at this?"
Her expression devolves into one of pure displeasure. After a few seconds, she snaps at him in an annoyed tone.
"I think it's about time you returned my Relic, you little shit."
Rain flashes his best smirk back at her.
"Sure thing...friend."
*****
After their touching heart-to-heart, they returned their borrowed Relics to one another. Then, Bright helped Rain exchange their personal contact information on their omniwatches. Somehow, she managed to be both awkward and threatening while doing so. Then, she departed from his room, leaving Rain alone.
'Gods...I could really use a shower after all that nonsense. What a day!'
Rain unpacks his few sets of new clothes, both from the academy and the military base, and hangs them in his new closet. Then, he discards the grey tracksuit into his laundry basket and climbs into a long, hot shower. He's surprised to find that the bathroom is already equipped with every manner of toiletries and soaps, so he leaves the shower feeling cleaner than he ever has.
Afterwards, he makes his way over to the bathroom's sink to brush his teeth. When he arrives in front of it, however, he nearly yelps in surprise at his reflection – it's the first time he's been in front of a mirror post-Marking, and he barely recognizes himself. His body still looks human, but...it's like it's been tempered.
He never had much fat on his body to begin with, and that hasn't changed. His build is also more or less unchanged, but it's as though all of his muscle has become tauter...leaner. His skin has also become healthier, less porous looking. It's not the marbly perfection of Bright's, but it's definitely enviable by normal standards. Leaning in more closely to the mirror, though, he finds the biggest change is his face.
Before, his face and eyes had an almost perpetually tired, gaunt quality. Combined with his raven-black hair, pale skin, and shimmering eyes, he looked like a creepy zombie. Now, however, his face seems to have become fuller, healthier, and they complement his dark features nicely. His appearance has shifted from creepy, to darkly intriguing. He blinks several times, taking in the sight of his new self.
'Am I...good-looking now?'
No matter how critical he tries to be, that's the impression he's left with. He's not on Aron's level, and certainly no match for Bright, but by normal human standards he'd be considered very alluring, he thinks. He hasn't seen many Champions yet, but he thinks he'd still qualify as average among them, which is better than he could say pre-Marking.
'Huh...I might have actually gotten adopted if I looked like this when I was younger...'
Of course, that was never in the cards for him. It would have required the Marking, which only affects people between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four. Sighing regretfully, Rain finishes with brushing his teeth. Then, he gets changed into a set of the casual clothes provided by the Academy.
Feeling incredibly refreshed, he makes his way over to his bed, flops down on it, and lets out a loud, satisfied groan as he stretches his muscles. Then, he promptly falls asleep.