Chapter 13: Chapter 12 - Some Misunderstanding

CHAPTER 12

Some Misunderstanding

(That's Why Communication Is Important, Guys)

“What about this Crown of Cosmos power? What is it, exactly?” Lee Jihoon asked, sounding a bit frustrated by his own nescience.

“It’s hard to explain,” Yuriel said awkwardly. “It’s like a representation of what my responsibilities are—but it’s also a real entity, bearing half of the power of cosmos. The other half is in the Scepter of Cosmos—Tang Tianjue’s.”

“I don’t quite get it.” Edward shook his head with a wry smile.

Yuriel chuckled. “Then just forget it—you’ll understand. For now, we need to find Celosia. Although she’s not in imminent danger, it’s still better if we find her as soon as we can.”

The others nodded. Edward, as the one most familiar with Celosia’s aura, led the search. He claimed that he sensed the girl’s aura not far away approaching quickly, carried by the lava stream. Finally, they stopped a few meters away from the starting point, scrutinizing the river’s boiling surface.

“Are you sure she’s not in imminent danger?” the guy asked.

“Right now? No. But in a few hours, she’ll die.” Yuriel said.

“What did you say? Die?!” Edward’s pupils narrowed as he rushed forward and grabbed Yuriel’s shoulders. “So because of you, she will die?”

“Originally, yes. But now that I’m here, she won’t.” Yuriel said.

Edward clenched his jaws. Earlier that month, when Celosia broke up with him, saying that she was bored with him and that he wasn’t good enough for her, he was confused and angry.

He blamed himself for thinking that Celosia was a kind-hearted girl. He cursed her, loathed her... But then, it turned out that the reason Celosia broke up with him was because she got poisoned—all because her birth time was just two minutes later than the Twin Stars of Cosmos, and thus got suspected to be a Star of Cosmos. And now...

“You were so calm, so I thought she must be fine... Yet now you say she is supposed to die in a few hours?” Edward smiled bitterly, taking a step back. “Sure, you know everything, and wouldn’t blink even if I die in front of you, if it’s supposed to be like that. But have you thought about my feelings? Celosia is the girl I love. I’ve misunderstood her, and I want to help ease her burden now. But you kept being so calm, as if you were just taking us to a stroll. You knew she’s dying, Yuriel. How could you—?”

“Because this,” Yuriel cut his sentence. “Because I knew you’d be like this. Panicked, out of your mind.”

“Of course I’m out of my mind. A living being is dying, Yuriel!” Edward’s smile was completely absent from his face.

“Well, then save her now.” Yuriel shrugged, gesturing casually at the boiling lava river next to them.

Edward looked at her in disbelieve, shocked speechless. This was the one who was given the task to save the world? He shook his head.

“I’ve misjudged you, Miss Zhang.” he said quietly, then without looking back, he descisively rushed into the Phlegethon.

“Don’t—!” Lee Jihoon shouted—cyan light flashed, and he reappeared in mid-air, trying to grab Edward’s arm—but it was too late.

Splash! Shining Prince was gone, swallowed whole by the lava.

Lee Jihoon himself nearly fell into the river, but he nimbly rotated in mid-air, borrowing the force to forcefully land on the ground. The tip of his right shoe still touched the lava, though. It sizzled, but it wasn’t burned. However, Lee Jihoon’s face showed immense pain. He groaned, falling to his knees. One hand supported himself, and the other clutched his forehead.

“Jihoon, what happened to you?!” Tie Li rushed to his side.

“The Phlegethon burns the soul.” Yuriel told him.

“And you’re still this calm?!” Tie Li frowned.

“Because he won’t die.” Yuriel shrugged. “The Phlegethon only tortures the soul—it doesn’t burn it to ashes.”

“Then I’ll... help my friend.” Lee Jihoon said through gritted teeth, trying to struggle free from Tie Li.

“Go—but leave your spatial storage and electronic devices behind.” Yuriel said, then proceeded to sit on a relatively flat black rock nearby.

“Edward’s right... We’ve truly misjudged you...” Lee Jihoon sniggered at himself as he did what Yuriel suggested.

Then he plunged himself into the boiling lava. This time, Tie Li didn’t stop him. He took one last look at Yuriel, then followed suit.

Soundlessly, his pair of tiny white earpieces landed next to Lee Jihoon’s eyeglasses and ring. Yuriel closed her eyes tiredly.

“Must you be this harsh?” Hades’ voice echoed in her ears.

“I didn’t intend to get into an argument with them.” Yuriel shook her head. “It was a misunderstanding. But tell me, Hades—was I wrong? Should I have told them Celosia is supposed to die? Should I have acted panicked and rushed to save her, even though I knew she wasn’t dying right then?”

“You were not wrong, Yuriel. Like you said, it was a misunderstanding.”

Yuriel didn’t say anything. She just stared at the Phlegethon silently, eyes flickering with the somehow very clear reflection of the bubbling lava.

***

‘AAAAARGHH!!!’—was the first thing that came to Edward’s mind right after he impulsively jumped into the boiling lava river.

Physically, he was fine—well, his energy-protected skin was shrivelled and cracked here and there—but that was nothing compared to what his soul was feeling.

It was as if his very existence was being skinned alive, minced, stabbed, and whatever else, all at once. Painful. So painful that he would rather die than experience this kind of pain ever again.

He trashed and flailed about like a fish fried alive, soundlessly roaring in pain. Forget about saving his ex—right now he just wanted to die.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

For what felt like an eternity, he was drowned in endless pain and despair. Until suddenly, a thought crossed his mind—

‘Am I in the Purgatory?’

No—he was in Hades! And he was there to... save Celosia! Yes, he was there to save his ex girlfriend!

With this thought in mind, he finally noticed his surroundings. Though blurry, he could see the bright, boiling lava around him. Faintly, he could see translucent humanoid figures trashing about in pain. Some were also roaring and shouting, but no sound was heard.

‘Cellie. Cellie. Cellie.’ Edward repeated the nickname continuously in his mind, struggling to stay conscious as he looked around.

He didn’t know how he managed to do it, but he found Celosia. Floating along the current, her long, fiery-red wavy hair was unmistakable. In a daze, Edward somehow swam to Celosia’s side.

‘Cellie... I’m here...’

Upon closer inspection, Edward found that Celosia’s face was strangely peaceful—too peaceful. As if her soul wasn’t even there...

Edward bit the tip of his tongue, using the pain to stay conscious. With difficulty, he activated the Faithful Prayer. Pale-gold sacred light blossomed, lighting up the surrounding even further. Immersed in it, Edward’s mind cleared a bit, the pain now just enough for him to bear.

‘Please... please be alright...’

Holding Celosia’s scalding-hot hand, Edward closed his eyes tightly and prayed with all his might. Even though he was born with the power of faith, this was the first time ever he truly prayed. He prayed with every ounce of his power, he prayed from his heart. It was a desperate, and truly faithful prayer.

The sacred light intensified, blinding those who laid their eyes there. Time trickled, but Celosia stayed like that without any change.

‘Please... Cellie, please wake up and be alright...’

***

At the banks of the Phlegethon, Yuriel, who had been sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed on the rock, suddenly opened her eyes.

She looked at her hands, studying the purple-gold energy swirling uncontrollably above her skin.

Suddenly, she clutched her heart, doubling over. Her pupils constricted, her face pale. Purple-gold energy surged chaotically, rushing through her meridians. Instantly, crimson liquid seeped out of the corner of her lips.

“Yuriel, are you alright?” Hades’ somewhat worried voice sounded. “That child’s ultimate faith is truly the most powerful I have seen in centuries.”

Yuriel shook her head. “I’m fine. You should watch over the seal—they will sense my power in no time.”

You must be wondering, what’s happening here? Actually, it was quite simple—it was all because of Edward’s Faithful Prayer. He prayed for Celosia to wake up and be alright, and well, it couldn’t happen without Yuriel’s Crown of Cosmos power. Feeling the incredibly powerful prayer, the power surged by itself, eager to offer its help.

But as you know, Yuriel wasn’t supposed to have awakened the Crown of Cosmos’ power, so actually, her current body wasn’t powerful enough to bear even a fraction of it. Even if she wanted to use it, she must be very careful. Now faced with the sudden surge of the power, she was naturally slightly injured.

“I guess I should save them now.” Yuriel muttered to herself.

Slowly, she rose to her feet. Beneath her slightly-closed eyelids, her gaze was heavy. Purple-gold power surged, and under its influence, her hair color turned into the gradation of purple to silvery-gold, and her eyes also turned purple-gold—the appearance she had when she just woke up from the awakening a few hours ago.

With slow but steady steps, she approached the river of lava, and dove into it with a splash. Immediately, piercing pain assaulted her soul.

This didn’t stop her advance. As she swam in the boiling lava, she found Lee Jihoon and Tie Li writhing in pain. She swam past them—they were fine—and found a patch of blinding pale-gold in no time.

Approaching it, she found Edward floating next to an unconscious red-haired girl—Celosia. Edward’s eyes were still closed, and his hands were still tightly holding Celosia’s hand, silently praying.

Yuriel smirked, suddenly having a mischievous idea.

‘Good child, your prayer has been heard.’ she relayed telepathically.

Startled, Edward’s eyes snapped open. He glanced around, and found a purple-gold-haired girl behind him. He frowned, but before he could voice his thought, Yuriel had already moved.

She put a hand on Celosia’s forehead, and another on her chest. Purple-gold energy rushed toward the girl through Yuriel’s hands, submerging her in a light of the same color. He frowned, but before he could voice his thought, Yuriel had already moved.

She put a hand on Celosia’s forehead—purple-gold energy rushed toward the girl through Yuriel’s hands, submerging her whole body in a light of the same color.

Next to her, Edward stared at her like, ‘What are you doing? I thought you weren’t going to help?’

Yuriel didn’t notice his look. All her focus was on Celosia.

The girl’s situation was very serious. First and foremost, her mind. For the past few weeks, under the continuous influence of the Asura Demon Poison, it had been breaking apart slowly but surely. Now, although the poison itself had been thoroughly purified by the Phlegethon’s judgement-fire-like lava, Celosia’s mind was on the verge of completely collapsing.

Next, her body. Previously, it had been weakened by the Asura Demon Poison. Then, she plunged into the Phlegethon. She indeed had ultimate magma attribute, but it’s the Phlegethon we’re talking about! Her weakened body simply couldn’t bear the terrifying power of the Phlegethon.

Actually, her condition was quite similar to Yuriel’s. Only, in Yuriel’s case, the injuries left by the Asura Demon Poison had been naturally cured by both her bloodline power and the Crown of Cosmos’ power during her awakening, and the majority of the Crown of Cosmos’ power was sealed.

Anyway, what Yuriel had to do was simple—use her cosmic power to stitch the cracks in Celosia’s mind and heal her weakened body, so that she could bear the power of the Phlegethon and refine it into her own.

Minutes by minutes passed. Celosia’s facial muscles twitched, pain starting to appear on her face. Still, it was better than being half-dead, right?By the side, Edward had at some time closed his eyes with his hands in a prayer position—he did all he could to help Celosia.

Unfortunately, he forgot—or didn’t care enough—to pray for Yuriel. The more he prayed for Celosia to quickly wake up safely, the more wildly the power of cosmos surged. Consequently, the seal on the rest of the power shook—some power leaked out.

Yuriel winced, but didn’t lose focus. Maybe because of Edward’s prayer—to successfully save Celosia, she absolutely couldn’t lose focus. Thus, she continued to direct the power of cosmos, ceaselessly soothing Celosia’s mind and body.

Suddenly, Celosia’s eyes fluttered open. Her gaze emanated confusion and pain, but she didn’t quite seem to be in the moment yet.

Yuriel studied her, sensing her condition—her meridians were healed, but the physical veins were still covered in cracks. As the Phlegethon’s fierce power coursed through her body, the cracked veins transmitted pain.

The power of cosmos wasn’t enough. Why? What was lacking?

Yuriel’s eyes lit up. She took the hand she put on Celosia’s forehead back and tapped Edward next to her.

The guy opened his eyes. When he found his lover awake and alive, relieve rose within his heart.

Yuriel tapped his shoulder again, pointing above at the surface of the river—they had to get out. Edward nodded. Together, they carried Celosia up, swimming through the current.

“Wait here—I’ll go get the others first.” Yuriel said, then jumped back into the Phlegethon, leaving Edward and Celosia on the riverbank.

Edward’s gaze flickered—he realized two things. First, Lee Jihoon and Tie Li had followed him into the river to help him. Second, Yuriel... seemed to have deliberately made the three of them voluntarily jump into the river...

But he didn’t think much about it. He quickly returned his gaze to Celosia. The girl’s eyes were half-closed. Her breathing, though weak, was rapid. And her clothes...

“Pervert.” Celosia muttered.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realize it!” Edward hastily looked away, face flushed.

Celosia let out a weak chuckle. It actually wasn’t that serious—her clothes were indeed burned in many places, but they still covered the most important parts.

“You look like my grandpa.” she suddenly commented in a soft voice.

Eh...?

Edward cleared his throat embarrassedly.