Aria felt like her heart was sinking to her stomach...
She doesn't know why but she sure doesn't like it. She's feeling so scared all of a sudden when in reality, there was nothing to be afraid of.
Ashton had this covered. This fight was going according to their plans. Everything went according to his calculations. Even the unexpected development was taken care of before it turned into a huge headache...
All in all, this was another resounding victory for all of them. And with the scale of this fight they won, it's guaranteed that Humanity will have a long period of peace and development.
But for some unknown reason...Aria just can't seem to feel good about it.
Although they won, she didn't feel happy about it. Something lies underneath the surface that just prevents her from enjoying this victory to the fullest, and she has no idea what.
"Is Ashton here?"
Aria was startled for a second upon hearing Blake's question. She looked at the Big 3 whose faces were starkly pale and felt increasingly nervous.
"H-he should be around. Maybe on the rooftops? That's where I last saw him."
"He's not there. We didn't see him there." Alice replied. Pursing her lips and feeling conflicted.
"W-well, he should be somewhere around here. Maybe he's in his office or...anyway, he should be here. Where else would he be? It's not like he had to interfere or anything, so he should be nearby." Aria stated, but the look on their faces made her doubtful.
"He interfered." Mary decided to come clean with it.
And Aria could've sworn that her heart truly dropped this time around.
"...what?"
"We killed it...whatever that Abomination was. We certainly killed it. We were supposed to return but all of a sudden, something happened. We don't know what exactly because it happened way too fast." Mary explained.
"All of us were still on guard, but it didn't matter at all. Before we knew it, we were about to be swallowed by golden light. That's when he suddenly appeared. The next thing we knew, he was gone. Nothing happened to us, or this world. Everything happened so quickly that we're tempted to think that it's all just some hallucination."
Alice added, feeling quite disturbed and nervous as well.
Aria's body trembled. She certainly didn't like whatever she was hearing. She was feeling frantic and her thoughts were surely getting darker and darker.
"Oh, you guys are here. I assume that you're done with everything?"
"Ash!!"
Aria swiftly turned around and flew to his embrace. Ashton tilted his head in confusion but received her nonetheless.
"Well, I guess someone missed that much. Hey, what's wrong? Why do you look pale? Are you sick or something?"
"No..."
"Are you sure?" Ashton narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her and she shook her head adamantly.
He then looked at the Big 3 and also noticed that their faces were pale but relieved as well. So, he smiled at them and said:
"You guys must be tired. You can rest now, don't worry about the rest, they can clean up after themselves."
"...right." Blake nodded in reply. "Oh by the way, where were you just now?"
"I was at the Control Center." He replied. "I just prepared some stuff just in case. I also made an additional entry for the thing you just fought. By the way, we'll be discussing that thing in the future so do try to remember everything you noticed about it. For now, though, you all can rest."
The Big 3 stared at him for a solid while. They saw how he looked genuinely confused as to why they were staring at him so much.
"Are you...worried that I'm not gonna pay you for this job, or...?"
"No, no...of course not," Blake replied. "Don't mind us, we'll go now. See you later."
"Right...see you."
After that, the Big 3 left the office, leaving the two of them locked in a tight embrace.
Ashton made no effort to detach her from him since he was also enjoying this.
"You might've convinced them...but not me." Aria mumbled on his chest, causing him to chuckle ever so slightly.
"Well, what can I say? Good for you?"
Aria smacked his chest and looked at him pitifully. Ashton grimaced upon seeing that. He never liked seeing her this way but right now, there was no helping it.
"You're fading..." She pointed out. "Where are you going? Actually, you know what? It doesn't matter. I'm coming with you anyway."
"I'd love that actually." Ashton let out a derisive chuckle, but it faded too soon. "However, I'm afraid that I have to leave you here."
"No..."
"Babe, listen to me. Please?" Ashton's expression turned serious. He cupped Aria's face and forced her to look at him. "I'm going to need you to listen to me carefully and remember my words."
"Why?" Aria cried out, "Why do you have to leave? Aren't we doing fine here? I don't want this! I can't do this without you."
"I don't want to leave either. But I'm afraid I don't have a choice. I have to or else I'm going to die. I'm fine with dying but your life is linked to me, I can't bear the thought of being the reason why you died as well."
Aria sobbed. She could form words properly but it was clear that her heart was breaking.
"Babe, listen to me." Ashton stressed. "This won't be permanent, okay? I will return to you, to our home. I don't know how long it's going to take but I will certainly return. You know me, I always hold up to my promises. I need you to trust me on this, you hear me?"
Aria nodded despite her tears.
"To be completely honest, I don't know where this will lead me either. All I know is that, I was saved by someone, and by extension, that someone also saved our world. They interfered when the Celestial God attacked us just now. But that interference had a cost. I have a Karmic Debt to pay. That's why I have to leave. I promise you, I am not dying. I will return to you."
"..."
"Here, take this." Ashton took out several items from his Inventory and passed them to Aria.
These items were his cloak, his scythe, his gun, and his book artifact.
"You're the only one who can bring out the true potential of these items aside from me. When you find yourself in a bind, don't hesitate to use them."
"I am also passing my authority over to you. Just as long as I'm gone. Humanity still needs a leader, and since I can do it, you're going to have to do it in my place. Don't worry, you can rely on our friends to support you in this. You're not going to do it alone."
Ashton then took a deep breath and said:
"Me and that someone had an agreement. He will imprison the Celestial God in their realm for quite some time. I don't exactly know how long but they said that it should be as long as the estimated time for me to settle down my Karmic Debt."
"That sounds good actually, at least the Celestials won't be a problem for us while I'm gone. But of course, we have no idea when a twist of fate happens."
"If I'm still not done by the time that the Celestials are free, do not hesitate to initiate the Planetary Relocation Plan. You will know if this happens, that's for sure. You need to relocate the Blue Marble planet to save everyone. Don't worry about me. I'll have my ways of finding my way back to you."
"As for the Hypogeans, they weren't included in the agreement sadly. But that's fine. If you continue to develop this way, the Hypogeans should never be a problem for you. But in case the Demon God arrives, the same plan, relocate the planet. Do you understand?"
"Mn..." Aria nodded, she bit her lips and forced herself to remember everything that he was saying.
"I hate to burden you with my tasks, but you're the only one I can trust here. I'd love to leave West Two with you to act as a link but I'm afraid that it's not possible either."
Ashton hugged her tightly and buried his face in her neck. Aria could feel his heat but more importantly, she could also feel his unwillingness and hesitation to leave.
"I love you the most. Never forget that. I promise you that I will return to you. Just make sure to keep yourself safe and healthy when I return."
"You better keep that promise, Mister." Aria huffed despite the sadness she felt. "And when you return, you better give me a child or two damn it. You must return before my womb dries out, you idiot."
Ashton chuckled and said:
"Babe, if you want to raise a battalion of kids then you will have it. I promise, when I return, we will start our family."
Ashton truly wanted to hug her some more, but unfortunately, he ran out of time. He detached himself from her embrace and smiled sadly at her.
"Take care of yourself, My Love. Wait for me."
[Mission: Karmic Repayment, initiating in 3...2...1!]
And just like that, Ashton disappeared from this world. Leaving a sobbing and heartbroken Aria behind.
