Explosive Departur

  ?“You want to blow your way through?” Raiden asked as they began running away from the monster, realizing there was no point in fighting this endless horde.

  ?“If you have a better idea, I’m ready to hear.”

  Blade meant it. He himself wasn’t the most keen on blasting a hole, but there weren’t really a lot of other options available at the moment.

  ?“Fine then. Do you have an idea where, at least?”

  She relented, but needed to know where. From the way he moved earlier, she had pretty much assumed he was still not at full recovery and therefore it had to be her who got them through.

  ?“Any requirements for where?” he asked, looking back to see the horde of hundreds of monsters chasing them.

  ?“Preferably a place with less people, but since we have little knowledge of where we will end up, I can’t say I have any.”

  ?“Good to know. Shoot lightning at me,”

  Blade says, turning around swiftly. Raiden was left momentarily confused, but quickly caught on to his idea as she uses Convergence to turn the cold into lightning that she sends at him. Using the lightning, Blade creates Caliburn in his free hand as he uses it.

  ?“Heavenly Reversal

  ?Easing the strain the lightning would have on him, and giving him far better control, he sends it hurling towards the monsters, watching it strike and destroy both the monsters and the sword.

  ?“The rest is up to you.”

  ?Raiden taking the cue takes control of the lightning, making it spread upwards before turning it into ice as it hits the roof. Opening her hand as the ice shatters, opening a hole for them.

  ?Taking their opening, Raiden flies up as Blade jumps up the walls. When they land above the ground, they find themselves a short distance away from Central City. They aren’t a long distance away, but enough to where the walls of the city can be seen. Raiden was the first to voice her thoughts.

  ?“Well, what’s the plan now?”

  ?“Well, after our last meeting, I now have other reasons I need you. But first, I want to ask. Do you want Iris and Indra to come back?”

  ?To his question, she fell quiet. Multiple thoughts rolled in her head. In truth, she wanted them back. And with her current freedom, she would prefer seeing them again. Yet she would be lying if she said she didn’t have doubts. In the end, she asked.

  ?“What do you believe is the right choice in this situation?”

  ?He took a while to answer. Not because he didn’t know the answer, it was the opposite, actually. Blade knew what the right choice was, yet that didn’t feel good enough. He found his answer, though, and left it up to her to interpret.

  ?“I know what the right choice is, but I won’t tell you as I myself don’t care. People say it’s easy to do wrong and hard to do right. I believe in another saying. It’s easy to do both right and wrong. The hard thing is following what you believe in. I myself care little for what’s right and what’s wrong, it’s not what I base my actions on. I do what I do because it is what I want. Nothing more. So ask yourself, what do you want?”

  ?Staying quiet while he spoke, she took in his words before finding her own.

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  ?“What I want is simple. If I had to choose between the possible options right now, then I would prefer having them back.”

  ?“Let’s do it then.”

  ?Thinking for a second, Blade looked at the ring on his finger. While doing so, he put his Mora into the ring, and as he thought, an opening to the Abyss appeared.

  ?“How did you do that?”

  Raiden asked, showing the first bit of genuine, unguarded surprise. Cutting to the Abyss was one thing, but seeing someone so freely be able to open a space to it was unheard of.

  ?“I have a special connection,”

  He responded as he walked in and gestured for her to follow. As they stepped inside, they landed on an island. It didn’t take long before Aira greeted them, though, as she appeared slightly above Blade, falling slowly as her arms wrapped around Blade's neck, resting her head on his shoulder. It was clear she was tired, as she couldn’t even bother manifesting fully, having only made the upper half of her body, thus keeping her floating behind Blade.

  ?“Raiden, this is Aira. Aira, here is Raiden. She is the one most suited to help us.”

  ?Finally opening her eyes, she looked at Raiden, giving her a glance, before closing her eyes again, stretching out her hand.

  ?“The Authorities.”

  ?Raiden understood that there was no turning back now. When she gave Aira the authorities, she was committing to this. It took a moment, only a second as doubt crept up her spine. Yet when she thought about it, the doubt slowly unraveled. She simply asked herself. What was she doubting?

  ?Was she doubting the prospect of it all? If this would even work? Was she doubting Blade and Aira, who had offered to help her and were even accepting her? Or was she doubting herself, still scared of what it meant to give in?

  ?She took a step back. The step was hesitant, a bit shaky even. Yet she was reminded of Blade’s words, but also of her friends.

  ?“Your statement. Do you remember it? It’s hard to follow what you believe in. I think I understood it a bit more now.”

  ?Letting the ease take her, she relinquished the Authorities of Ice and Fire, watching as they appeared as orbs in her hand, before handing them over to Aira, who made them float above her hand. The feeling was a weird one, and not one she had ever felt before. Unlike when Blade had ripped the Authorities from her, it now felt as if a missing piece of her was put back in place.

  ?“Can you truly bring them back?”

  ?Aira opened an eye at her question before nodding slightly.

  ?“As long as I have the Authority, I can bring them back. The hard thing is simply making sure it’s them. Since you let them go, they would probably incarnate naturally, unless someone else took the Authorities. Since I’m here, I can speed up the progress, though it will still take time, but to do so, I would need someone with extensive knowledge of them.”

  ?Raiden understood the implications behind her words. She had been brought not only because Blade wanted to fulfill his request of meeting, but also because they believed she had the most knowledge about Indra and Iris. Yet she did have one last doubt.

  ?“Won’t such an operation cost a lot of Mora?”

  ?Aira closed her eyes again at the mundane question as she said.

  ?“I’ll simply use Blade’s Mora. He does have a lot, to the point he hasn’t noticed me using it.”

  ?At her words, Blade got knocked out of his thoughtfulness as he turned to her, confused, only for Severance's voice to sound inside him, saying.

  ?“Don’t be surprised, you have terrible Mora management. You only notice when you’re running low or actively checking.”

  ?Blade gave up on any form of argument after hearing her voice, going back to simply being an idle onlooker.

  ?“Then I will put my trust in you,” Raiden said. When she finished, Aira deigned it necessary to finally fully manifest as she graced the ground, her legs and eventually feet manifesting as she made the Authorities rise and watched them as the bodies slowly, but surely started being made.

  ?“I will need you to stay here while we process this.”

  ?Walking beside her, Raiden nodded. It wasn’t like she had anywhere to go, so staying here wasn’t a problem.

  ?“Will you be going now?” was her final question for Blade. He had stayed quiet throughout the conversation.

  ?“Yes, I have to go find my little sister.”

  ?The words were a small surprise, with Raiden not having imagined that Blade had siblings.

  ?“You have a sister?”

  ?“Not by blood, but we are family,” he answered back, clarifying what he expected her to believe.

  ?Thinking back to the Arena, Raiden remembered the spirit chains that had blinded her, and the birds that had distracted her.

  ?“Now that I think back, I never got the chance to thank you for not taking my life. If not, I would have never been given this chance.”

  ?The surprise caught him off guard, not having expected her gratefulness, as he countered.

  ?“No need to say thank you. I doubt I would have been able to kill you even if I tried. Plus, you did take it easy on me, so I should be thanking you.”

  ?“You noticed? Well, honestly, I was simply surprised by your growth, though I can’t say I was truly thinking a lot about winning. I am glad I met you, though. I can see why Indra took an interest in you.”

  ?Taking the moment to leave, Blade waved the two bye as he went out a portal. It was time to find and regroup with Aisha.