Chapter 408
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she took a deep breath and stepped out onto the deck once more. With a mental command, she lowered the magical shield that protected the ship from the sun’s rays. The world opened up before her, a vast expanse of blue sky and shimmering ocean. The sun beat down, bathing everything in its golden light.
But it wasn’t the same.
The sky was blue, the sun was bright, but the sensation she craved was absent. The warmth was there, the physical warmth of the sun, but it lacked the... something she had experienced before. It was like a melody without its key, a painting without its color. Disappointment washed over her.
From that day forward, Xerosis began a daily ritual. She would venture out onto the deck, hoping, searching, for that elusive feeling. She would stand beneath the sun, willing it to happen, but it never did. The ordinary warmth of the sun was a constant reminder of what she was missing, a pale imitation of the intense, almost spiritual experience she had briefly encountered.
Crepuscular watched her from his fiery realm, his gaze fixed on the tiny ship sailing across the vast sky. He saw her repeated trips to the deck, the subtle shifts in her posture, the faint flicker of hope and disappointment that played across her face. He understood her yearning, her desperate search for something she couldn’t quite define.
He hesitated to intervene. He was accustomed to such reactions. Fear, awe, even revulsion – he had seen them all reflected in the faces of mortals, and even in the faces of some of his own kin. His very presence was overwhelming, his power too vast for most to comprehend. His daughter’s fate served as a constant reminder of the potential for unintended harm.
Weeks went by with Xerosis not giving up to where she triggered her innate protection from the sun which was the mist, that still didn’t deter her as she had a look of challenge while staring at the sun.
Seeing Xerosis’s unwavering persistence, her daily pilgrimage to the deck despite the repeated disappointment, stirred something within Crepuscular. He recognized that drive, that relentless pursuit of something just beyond reach. It was a trait he himself possessed, a burning desire that fueled his own existence. He had initially retreated, hesitant to inflict further discomfort, but her refusal to give up sparked a renewed resolve within him. He couldn’t simply stand by and watch her chase a phantom sensation. He had to try again, but this time, he would be more careful, more measured.
He focused his attention on the ship, not on Xerosis directly, but on the very air around her. He wouldn’t manifest as a blinding aura this time. Instead, he would weave a subtle warmth into the sunlight itself, a gentle caress that would barely register as anything out of the ordinary. It would be a whisper of his presence, a hint of the connection he longed to share.