Seeing his guess confirmed, Orion let out a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that again," he said, his brow furrowing as he regarded Aegis of the Arctic Deity.
"Nonetheless, since you decided to pinpoint my exact location and meet me, I suppose it's for a serious matter. Is it related to your sealed memories, perhaps?" he asked.
Aegis of the Arctic Deity nodded. "I'll explain everything to you when you arrive. Bring that goddess of yours along as well. It's something important that she needs to hear," he said.
Orion nodded in acknowledgement. Watching Aegis of the Arctic Deity vanish into thin air, he settled on the rooftop to contemplate. He decided to brief Aerialia on the situation before heading to the Garden, so he promptly summoned the Crimson Greatsword, beckoning for Aerialia to emerge alongside it.
"What's going on this time? Has Aegis of the Arctic Deity res—" Aerialia began, but her words froze as she noticed the intense darkness enveloping her. She looked skyward and immediately saw the once-brightened sky replaced by dark, inky clouds covering it, blocking the brilliance from penetrating and shining down on them.
Even in her incorporeal form, Aerialia sensed the immense Vylkr energy within the clouds, causing a frown on her lips. She turned her gaze towards Orion. "Did something go wrong with the burning of the Vylkr vines?" she asked.
Orion nodded gravely.
Aerialia's expression morphed into a deeper frown as she inwardly gulped and asked, "Was it that bad?"
Orion nodded again. "We found out just in time that burning the Vylkr vines in such large quantities results in a Vylkr Veil phenomenon, which…" He proceeded to explain the entire situation to Aerialia.
….......
After he was done, Aerialia lowered her head, her shoulders slumping downwards.
"So, I was wrong. Is that why you summoned me, to rub it in my face that my prediction wasn't correct and completely smother my ego?" Aerialia said with a defeated expression.
"I thought about doing that, but even if we had found out about the Vylkr veil phenomenon initially, the Four-star Vylkr vines are still enough of a threat to push us to take risks. So, regardless, it doesn't really matter, especially since you've acknowledged that you were wrong," Orion responded, shaking his head.
"Humph! You're just trying to make me feel better. As a goddess, I can't believe that—" Aerialia began. However, just as she was about to continue her sentence, she paused, noticing Orion's outstretched hand inching closer and closer to her face.
Aerialia wanted to open her mouth to speak, but strangely, she couldn't. Her words hung in her throat as Orion's fingers grazed her cheeks before they submerged into her incorporeal body and emerged from the other side of her face.
"I couldn't resist myself from pinching your cheeks. You… you looked like a goddess," Orion said, his voice becoming quieter as he stared at Aerialia's dazzling whitish irises, almost identical to The Princess of the Garden's… No, Orion inwardly shook his head.
Though they were identical, just by looking at Aerialia's trembling whitish irises, he knew that they were two distinct individuals. One was a goddess with only her name and title remaining as the sole possessions she had left, and the other was a woman trying her best to hold everything she had around her but without an identity to call her own.
Orion quickly withdrew his hand and cleared his throat lightly. "Let's get going to the Garden as quickly as we can, or else Aegis of the Arctic Deity might become impatient," he said, swiftly changing the tense atmosphere.
Orion rose from his seat and gripped the Crimson Greatsword firmly.
"Ahem! Yes, you are right. Let's get going, or else we'll be late," Aerialia responded, her eyes darting sideways as she stood up and spread her wings.
They exchanged tactical nods before Orion leapt into the air, Aerialia following beside him as they headed towards the Garden.
…....…..
Third Border City
Garden
Beneath the Diivine Lake Essence
"That is everything that happened. If I successfully unseal my memories, I'll remember everything else that I had forgotten, including how I was trapped here, the rest of the events about White Flame, and why I had initially chosen to seal my memories. However, such actions would lead to my death, triggering the Divine mysteries, which would be anything but pleasant due to the other half of my body being an Omnithralian, and it would also alert the various remaining gods still alive of my position."
"And when they arrive and see who or what I am, they will surely raze your territory asunder. At least, that is, if the Vylkr vines outside don't wipe out or drastically reduce the population of the denizens of the Orion Cities," Aegis of the Arctic Deity said, his eyes fixed on Orion's and Aerialia's stunned expressions.
"However, because I am satisfied with not knowing what is behind my sealed memories, for whatever reasons they may be, because my life will still end later, I'll leave such an important decision in your hands. So you have two choices: do you want me to unseal my memories regardless of the consequences that come with it, or do you want to sacrifice your only opportunity to discover more about Naka's identity and leave my memories sealed to prevent all these from happening?"
"As I said before, whichever decision you choose is the one I'll also choose. So, Orion, you can go ahead and make your choice."
When Aegis of the Arctic Deity finished speaking, Orion was too stunned to utter a word. He knew that unlocking Aegis of the Arctic Deity's memories was a very important matter. However, he never expected it to be so crucial that it could decide the future of the Orion's Cities.
Was finding out more about Naka's identity more valuable than the lives of the denizens in the Orion's Cities?
Meanwhile, Aerialia couldn't help but bite her lip, noticing Orion's tense, pensive expression.
"It's my fault. If I had known that this would result from wanting to unseal your memories, I wouldn't have been bothered about it," Aerialia said, her shoulders drooping with a defeated expression. Her wings closed as she descended to the ground, her eyes fixed on Aegis of the Arctic Deity.
