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“We have always… had more than enough time.”
Her brother’s smile was serene as his figure disappeared into the fog and mist. In her desperation, Lumine lunged after him, hoping to go with him - but the intangible fog had long swallowed him, dissipating right before her fingertips.
Lumine collapses, her knees scraping the cold hard floor, but she feels no pain greater than the one in her heart. No matter how much she tried to scream, no sound ever came out; no matter how much she cried, Aether never came back.
“We will be reunited again,” his voice echoed, but those words did nothing to comfort her, nothing to stop her uncontrollable tears.
You always say that…
But why do you turn away from me every single time?
---
When Lumine finally awakens, she’s greeted by the morning sunlight filtering through the inn’s window. Blearily, she rubbed at her eyes, finding dampness in the corner of her lashes.
It was nothing but a dream, but the grief of separation broke her all the same. Lumine sighed as she wrapped her arms around her pillow and cuddled it tight, a listlessness settling in.
She closed her eyes hoping to fall back asleep, but the stimulation of the waking world prompted otherwise. The incessant chirping of the finches quickly grew irritating, and the constant rustle of the window curtains flapping obnoxiously in the breeze was just too much. That, coupled with the stuffy warmth of the soon-to-be afternoon sun made it near impossible for her to sleep.
So after countless bouts of tossing and turning, of smothering her face into pillows until she nearly suffocates, Lumine abandons the ordeal and kicks herself up in a shout of frustration.
Why? Why wouldn’t the world let her sleep? Why must they keep her awake, away from the only reprieve from the ache of her heartbreak? Why does the globe keep spinning, and why does it insist on taking her along with it? And why, pray tell, does the world think it’s fair to move on when hers had long collapsed on that one, fateful day?
One by one, tears trickled down her cheek as anger turned to sorrow because nothing was fair. How many times had she done an archon’s bidding only to end up with more questions than she started? How many nations must she save, how many wars must she wage for this godforsaken world to get another glimpse of the person dearest to her?
What even is the meaning of this journey anymore?
In her sadness, she fails to hear it. How the birds stopped singing, how the curtains fell still. How the wind suddenly ceased in its path with the arrival of the adeptus that commanded them.
And for a moment, it appeared as if the world stopped spinning, becoming suspended in a single moment.
“I know nothing of the answers you seek…”
“But perhaps I can grant you a moment of peace?”
Calm and gentle was his voice, tender the way he coaxed her from despair. She doesn’t resist his zephyr-like touch, the texture of his glove already granting her far more comfort than the world ever had to offer.
Lightly, he thumbed away her tears, cradling her face as if she were made of fragile porcelain — but being cherished like this only made it hurt more. There was no remedy for this kind of pain - the pain of a wound constantly reopened time and time again, until she’s inadvertently numbed to feeling anything at all.
But it’s him, it’s always him that saves her from her descent. Even before his name escapes her lips, he’s already captured her in his loving arms, pulling her close to shield her from any harm. And should they continue to fall, it will only be deeper and deeper into love, into utter bliss — a feeling only he can grant her when he kisses her, soft but true.
Misery nearly forgotten, Lumine threads her fingers with his, a sigh of contentment escaping her lips.
“It’s strange, how everything suddenly feels okay when you’re around, Xiao.”
Xiao hummed. ”If that’s the case, then why do you hesitate to call my name?”
Uncomfortable, Lumine shrinks, before opting to take refuge in his shoulder.
“…Must you ask such difficult questions?”
“As long as you remember to summon me when you need me, I won’t.”
“It doesn’t bother you?”
”Of course not,” Xiao smiled, stroking her hair affectionately. “Why would it? I was the one who made this promise to you, was I not?”
Lumine closes her eyes in resignation. “I guess… I’m just not used to beckoning another person without any reservations.”
He tilted his head. “Another person?”
“My brother, whom I used to travel with,” she answered solemnly.
My brother, who used to come when I called .
At this, the wave of sadness that had nearly completely receded returns with a vengeance. It does not go unnoticed.
“Certainly he has his reasons?” The adeptus inquired gently. “A reason that he’s yet to make clear — or perhaps a reason that will become clearer in the future?”
“He better,” she huffed with a pout. “Otherwise, I’ll give him an earful the next time I see him.”
“Well, if that’s what keeps you going, so be it,” Xiao chuckled lightly. “And as for the meaning… I’m sure it will become apparent as you continue on your journey.”
Brushing aside a stray strand of hair from her face, he presses a chaste kiss onto her nose, even squeezing her hand for some extra assurance - all gestures that Lumine returns with a loving, appreciative smile.
And perhaps it was in that very moment, where she gazed into his amber gold eyes and found it so full of fondness and affection, that she might’ve realized the answer reflected within.
The meaning of her journey, of the places she’s been, of the people she’s met, and the stories she’ll carry along:
“Once you reach the end of your journey as I did, you will see for yourself the true nature of this world. View it, adore it as I had…
That is the true meaning of your journey.”